Grateful Friday

 Last night, Adam and I decided to come to Nevada a day early.  For one thing, to beat the storm.  For another thing, Adam said, “Let’s go!” And he is infinitely more spontaneous than I am.

So I am writing to you sitting next to the stove, enjoying its warmth and the falling snow outside.

This is the predawn picture out the bedroom window.  My dad said we should name the place Whispering Hush, as in what the old lady in Goodnight Moon says.

It feels appropriate this morning.

I am grateful to be here with Adam.  We held hands and listened to a podcast while we drove.  We had a bizarre cultural experience at Smiths in Wendover where we stopped for Tylenol.  He emptied the mouse traps when we got here (ugh—good news is that they are empty this morning.  No new mice.)  He read to me before I fell asleep and I love having him read to me.

I am grateful to my dad for turning on the heat before we arrived and I am grateful to my mom for inviting us to dinner.  I said, “you don’t have to feed us.”

She said, “I won’t every time.”  She has said that every time we have come so far.

I am looking forward to spending time with my family this weekend.

I am looking forward to watching snow softly fall on a dreamy landscape that was my childhood.

How to improve your day

Yesterday was an angsty sort of day.  We have had a few mice in our basement in the past few months and I am COMPLETELY horrified by this turn of events.  I don't know why mice are so terrifying, but they are.  

I decided that I would put all the Christmas decorations, which were formerly in cardboard boxes, into bins.  Also, since we're planning to go to Nevada this weekend, I decided I might as well start on the Christmas decoration dismantling.  

It's a big project.  

Especially the trees.  By the time I was done with the second, very heavily decorated tree, I decided that maybe the Grinch hated Christmas because he had to undecorate the trees by himself.  I may get rid of some ornaments now that my nest is empty-ish.

What was really bad in my day though, was that I took some stuff to the dungeon, which is what we affectionately call our storage room in the basement.  There was a dead mouse in a trap.

I. Can't.

I didn't even want to go downstairs for the rest of the day.

For the first time in my life, I was tempted to get a cat.  Or twelve.

Everything was left in more disarray than when I started it seemed with my Christmas project, and that was discouraging, but I changed my clothes and left the mess behind.  I picked Braeden and Anna up at the Carlsons and we met Emma and Adam at the Jordan River temple and performed sealings for our ancestors.

I loved being in the temple together!  All the angst of the day floated away and I felt so grateful for my children and Adam and the ties that bind us.  I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful for temples and covenants.  It was a perfect way to turn a grumpy day right side up.

Also, when I got home, Mark had emptied the trap and tidied up the house.  He checked the trap-line before work this morning and we are mouse free.

For now.

Mrs. Davis

Yesterday I went to the Orem library.  There was torrential rain.  Seriously.  It was like a pineapple express in November in Seattle.  That may not mean anything to you, but when you know, you know.  

I had slipped my glasses in my pocket so I couldn't see very clearly, but someone said, "Mrs. Davis!  Did you have a good Christmas?"

It was disorienting, because at school I'm called Mrs. Davis, but usually not at the Orem library.  It was the mother of one of my former students.  I know her first name.  Does she not know mine?  Weird.

I went to the mall to try to get my watch repaired.  I saw a woman pushing a cleaning cart with one hand and holding onto the hand of her daughter with the other hand.  The daughter looked about 3rd grade age and she looked like maybe she had special needs.  I felt so much admiration for her hardworking mother.  I also felt grateful for free public schools.  I'm grateful children have a safe place to go and learn, especially if their parents have to work.

Then I went to my school.  I spent about three hours in my classroom.  I had left hastily both Thursday and Friday in the last week of school and I had stuff to do.  I organized and filed and changed the decorations and calendar.  I moved desks and reassigned "dot spots," which is where they sit on the floor.

Enoch texted and asked if I was in Utah and I sent him a photo of my desk.

He said, "Christmas break!  Take it easy!"

I replied that it was my basketball, which I knew he'd understand.  They spend hours in the gym, because they know it pays off.

I don't necessarily want to be spending my Christmas break in my classroom, but I want to have spent that time.

Mrs. Davis was looking out for future Mrs. Davis. (And I am finished getting ready now, so I'm home the rest of the week.)

If not for Adam, we may still be sitting there

Yesterday we went to a movie, Spirited.  We liked it.  I wish it had been more PG and less PG-13, but it was funny and feel good, which is what I was after.

We went to Water Gardens in PG.  It is a delightful place.  They're very low key about everything.  Sometimes there's someone there to scan your ticket you bought online and sometimes there isn't.  Popcorn is cheap and so are the movies.  

Our movie was at 10:00 AM.  We got there a little late, but they were still showing ads.  Really cheesy homemade ads.  Except the Silicon Slopes ad.  It was pretty slick, even though it was advertising an event that happened in September.  We watched the same ads over and over.  I was reading The New York Times on my phone.  Finally, Adam asked Emma what time it was, she said, "10:25."

Adam got up and walked out of the theater.

He came back a few minutes later and the movie started.  (They skipped the trailers.)

Later, Adam told us what had happened.  He said there was no one around in the lobby, but he finally found the kid who had scanned our tickets.  Adam said, "I was selected to come and tell you that the movie isn't running."

The kid said, "That's not good!" and ran away.

My best bet is always do stuff with Adam.

Weekend--Merry Christmas edition

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Saturday, I tried a new recipe for gluten free cinnamon rolls.  The recipe was slightly confusing and I didn't use rapid rise yeast like I was supposed to (I realized too late).  Since gluten free dough is so different from regular dough, I didn't realize how under proved they were.  Mark still liked them.  I kept telling him next time they would be better.  He told me he has really low standards for gluten free.  None of it is that good.  Poor kid.  I did dump a healthy (unhealthy?) dose of icing on top to make up for things.

We had a nice day watching A Muppet Christmas Carol and A Charlie Brown Christmas and wrapping last minute things.  I loved the hubbub of anticipation.  Mark was especially excited.  He got good gifts for everyone since he is a working man this year and he loved it. (So did all his recipients.)

We had a FaceTime conversation with Stella which was wonderful.  She is such a force for good in the world!

In the evening, we watched the Nativity movie and Adam read to us from the scriptures.  And I cried.  Surrounded by my family who mean so much to me and thinking about other family who mean so much to me, I felt very grateful for Jesus Christ.  The older I get, the more it all matters to me.

We thought about our dear Raelyn and everyone who misses her.  I am grateful to know where she is and I picture her happy and progressing and learning and laughing her infectious laugh alongside Grandpa Linn.

Christmas morning we spent a peaceful and happy time opening gifts.  Everyone was happy with their gifts; everyone felt seen and loved.  I could not ask for more.

We went to church and I happily took on Grandma Duty.  Afterward, Braeden and Anna hastily packed and they headed off to the Carlsons for the rest of their vacation.  I cried again when I said good-bye.  We loved having them!

Adam and I took naps and when the introverts returned, they went to their rooms and closed the doors.  I got the house tidier than it had been in over a week.  All the people who say that it is a good thing you have babies when you are young are not wrong.

They take a lot of energy!

They also bring a lot of love, so much you think you may burst sometimes.

My friend at church was saying she was the most beautiful baby and I told her it is worth raising your kids.  Grandkids are the thing!

In the evening after we ate our simple ham dinner, we played games.  Megan sent us Left Center Right.  It comes with chips to play for, but we had played it at a work event (for candy) and Kristie said their extended family played on New Year's Eve for $5 bills.  

I pulled some quarters out of our everlasting coin jar     Emma said, "OK Nevada girl."

But is it gambling if you provide all the quarters?

Mark won the first round and kept the quarters.  Emma won the second round and said, "Is it OK if I don't really want these quarters?"

On brand for both of them.

Then we played It's a Small World, which is a game Adam bought for me.  1) I love It's a Small World.  It is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland.  2) It is a perfect grandma game to have because you don't have to read to play. 3) It fits the vibe of our family.  Completely uncompetitive by nature, but we were there for the art and the attention to detail and the clever nature of the set up.

It's a wonderful life!

Grateful Friday

I have so much to feel grateful about today.  I love spending time with family and Adam and the Christmas season. We went to Nevada and had a great time!

Eleanor was pretty much a champ in the car.  We were going to take two cars, but decided that we could pare down what we were taking and squish into one car and I'm glad we did.  It was fun to be together.  

First, we went to Olivia and Edgar's for a surprise graduation party for Edgar.  He is a very hard worker and besides his full time job and being father to five children he has graduated from Pathways.  It was worth the celebration.

My favorite part of the event was when Edgar's mother beat almost all her grandsons arm wrestling.  Grandma goals.

We went to Marianne and Robert's to show Braeden and Anna their new sunroom and visited briefly, which is always great.  Then we went to our house.  We got moved in (the process is getting more seamless all the time) and Eleanor napped and then we went to my parents' house for dinner. 

Marianne and Olivia and their group of carolers came.  It has long been a source of discussion that I don't like caroling or having carolers come.  It's just awkward to be sung to.  My sisters think that is a terrible sentiment.  So they enthusiastically caroled to me.

And I liked it.  They're my sisters so it wasn't all that awkward.

We went back to our house to put Eleanor to sleep and my parents came over to visit.  Since we don't have furniture besides a table and chairs and since Emma left a puzzle on the table the last time we visited, everyone sat around working on the puzzle.

My dad and I started talking about school and how it was like when he went there.  He was explaining the old grammar school and the new grammar school (which is actually also the old school that was torn down before I attended there) and we got all discombobulated about it so I found a box and he drew a diagram.  We argued about where the trailers were where I attended first grade while they were building the new school.  We went on a whole journey, but figured it out in the end.

They left and we were starting to get ready for bed.  Braeden locked the back door.  I said, "You don't need to lock the door."

He said, "Some of my most precious possessions are in here."

Anna came into our room and said, "There's someone knocking on the door." You can't hear anything from our room.

It was Marianne and Robert.  We were happy to see them and sat around the table for more puzzling.  Olivia and Edgar and Omar came and Omar is a whiz at puzzles so we'll have to have him over again if we ever want to use the table again.

Earlier in the day, the garage door had broken.  At least only one thing breaks each time we're there.  Adam and Braeden went out to get Robert and Edgar's opinion on the door.  

I went into the bathroom and was washing my face.  Anna was asleep and her phone rang.  It was Braeden.  She sleepily thought, "This house isn't that big.  Why is he calling me?" and went back to sleep.

I went back into the bedroom and heard the distant pinging of my phone.  It was in the kitchen so I went to get it before it woke up Eleanor.  

Adam and Braeden had been outside for about ten minutes knocking on the door.  They'd tried calling us and Anna and I had been completely oblivious.

"That's why we don't lock the door," I told Braeden.

The next morning we did various projects.  One was move the rat couches off the porch.  We've decided against them and don't want them to attract more rodents.  Before asking Braeden to help, I asked him if he would like a service opportunity.  He said yes like I knew he would.

Then I asked him to help us move the rat couches.  His expression said no way, but I reminded him he had already said yes.  He said we needed to rebrand them and not call them rat couches.

I also traversed the knee deep snow to check the propane gauge.  My boots filled with snow.

It is always an adventure.

Adam and Braeden got the garage door closed.  Adam said it was because Braeden is so strong.  All the food paid off.

We went to visit my parents and my mom gave Braeden and Anna and Eleanor bingo prizes.  You don't have to be present to win.

After lunch, we got everything ready to leave and hit the road.  Eleanor slept for a good part of the trip.  When she woke up, she wasn't happy to be in the carseat, like every baby ever on a road trip.  She was grumpy for a little while, then pretty soon started screaming.  I think it was incomprehensible that her parents were right there next to her and not getting her.  

She started screaming and there wasn't much we could do, like every baby ever on a road trip.  I got the idea to play Baby Beluga by Raffi.  I've read the book to her a lot and she likes it.

She stopped crying.

The song ended and she started crying again.

Adam's car delightfully picks random pictures sometimes to go with songs.

Braeden said, "All rise for the national anthem of the water nation."

We played the song on a loop for about an hour and she didn't cry.  She didn't sleep, she just sat there, listening.  If she started to fuss a little, Braeden would sing along to Raffi and it was like magic.

If you don't mind Baby Beluga by Raffi on repeat, and we didn't, it was pretty amazing.

I would listen to whatever that little angel wants.  

I mean, look at her.

A cup of good cheer

Yesterday we visited my grandma.  

The whole great great grandma thing is kind of astounding.  I can't imagine Eleanor bringing her granddaughter to visit me someday....

Sweet Ella was as good as gold.  She slept in the car, a shorter than usual nap, but she woke up happy just like her dad always did.  She was friendly and busy, but didn't touch all the things she was not supposed to touch, but wanted to.

Grace under pressure.

We hurried home to get ready for our dinner party.  Clarissa (Timeon had to work), Liberty and Nikki, Shuyan and Carolina came over for dinner.

Also, the most bizarre thing happened while we were scrambling to get ready.  I had just wrangled Mark to help me move furniture to set up the tables and there was a knock on the door.  It was a girl about Mark's age, wearing a dress and high heeled strappy sandals.  It was not exactly the weather for that outfit.  She was visibly shaken and said, "Is Mark here?  It is an emergency."

I got Mark and she said, "John was in a car accident and I can't drive."

Mark looked a little taken aback, but said, "OK," and left immediately with her.

Anna and Braeden and I puzzled about the whole situation.  Who was John and who was this girl and how did she get to our house in the first place?

Mark called a bit later.  He had as many questions as we did.  He met John a few weeks ago, playing Magic with his friends.  He had invited the whole gang to his birthday dinner so John and his girlfriend had come.  The girlfriend had the address of our house since Mark had texted the group the address.  He's known both of them for about two weeks.  He never got much more of the story.  He took the girl home and I'm glad he was ready and able to be a helper.

But it was bizarre.

Our guests arrived and it was so fun to see them all!

I regret that I didn't take a picture.

We had dinner and Braeden asked Clarissa all about the Tabernacle Choir, which that amazing girl is now a part of.  He talked German politics with Shuyan.  She delighted and charmed us like she does.  Liberty and I chatted a bit about school and Carolina and I a bit about The Home Edit, of which we're both fans.  After dinner, Eleanor went to bed and the rest of us went to the basement to visit.  We talked about books and the cosmos and lego sets and Braeden shared a brief FHE lesson (it included the cosmos).  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Adult nieces and nephews are every bit as fun as adult children (Carolina is not quite an adult, but she's fabulous).

Weekend

To say I hightailed it out of school on Friday would not be an exaggeration.  We had a potluck lunch (except Miriam and her husband Nate catered the meat and it was amazing).  At the beginning of the lunch, Kristie said that no one would be watching the clock and we could leave whenever we wanted to.

I scarfed down my lunch and Kristie, as a grandmother herself, gave me her blessing to head on out.  (I posted my grades quickly while people were lined up for lunch.)

It is dreamy being with Eleanor.  She makes funny noises and funny faces and she is constantly in motion and she will pause briefly for a book to be read to her and I'm here for all of it!

Maybe nothing quite lives up to the hype like having a grandchild.  They are perfection.

She has stayed away from the tree so far.  We have strategically placed the basket of toys and the basket of books in the room to keep her busy.  

Those cheeks!

I don't have many pictures of her because she is mostly on the move.

Friday night and Saturday night, Adam and I had babysitting duties.  Separation anxiety is setting in a bit and she didn't love being left by her parents, but she is a great sleeper and she went to bed pretty easily both nights.

At church on Sunday, I proudly showed her off to all of my friends.  I loved after church when a handful of grandmothers gathered around me to tell me how adorable she was and we all talked about how great being a grandma is. 

My friend Bonnie looked across where Braeden was holding Eleanor and said, "She makes me so happy and I'm not even related!"

Sunday evening we celebrated Pikkujoulu.

Eleanor enjoyed all the food--in tiny pieces.

We love having the Davis Davises here.

After dinner, right before Eleanor went to bed, we opened ornaments.   Eleanor got an angel like I got when I was a little girl and like Emma got when she was little.

We went to the basement for our "program" so Eleanor could sleep (she's been sleeping upstairs in Emma's room).

Everyone shared something with the group.  Adam did a reading and I started to read Christmas Day in the Morning until I started to cry and Mark had to take over.

Emma and Braeden sang:

Mark read a bit of The Christmas Carol:

Anna created a graphic design that she gifted to everyone:

After that we watched President Nelson's Christmas message.  It is such a wonderful time of hope and love and President Nelson embodies that.

Adam and I had one more gift for the night.  I made a Snapfish book about our Christmas bears.

They loved it except for when they criticized that I'd referred to Alderwood as a "he".  Alderwood is a girl apparently.  I think whoever makes the Snapfish books makes that decision.

We had our treats, mostly gluten free and entirely from Trader Joe's.

This morning, I got up with Eleanor, hoping to give her parents a little time to sleep in.  Her diaper soaked her pajamas so we had to open a gift under the tree for a new outfit.  

Grandma's prerogative.

Grateful Friday

Yesterday there was a lot of snow.  I slid right through an intersection by our house on the way to school.  Luckily no one was around to crash into.  No lanes were visible on State Street and everyone was driving around 20 mph.  I don't know which thing was more unusual.

I also don't know what it takes to get a snow day around here.

It just kept snowing and snowing.  We had both recesses inside.  

We had both Christmas sing performances and despite the weather, both were packed houses.  The kids were nervous beforehand and then really happy when they saw their parents or grandparents.  I love that.

I didn't love how naughty all my students were all the live long day.  Christmas sing + inside recess + Christmas in general + their personalities in general.

It was a whole day.

One student got a really significant bloody nose.  Not the same student as last time.  What gives?!?  He was walking around in a panic, splattering blood all over the floor.  I told him to sit down while I grabbed kleenex.  I meant the nearest possible chair.  He walked back to his own chair, splattering more blood.  I pinched his nose and walked with him that way down to the office, while he was holding kleenex to his nose.  The secretary chided me for not putting on gloves.

It had not occurred to me.

I left him in her care and went back to the zoo that sort of looked like a crime scene until the custodians could get there.

As the bell was about to ring for the blessed end of the day, the announcement was made that the district "had not expected so much snow" (you think?) so they needed the teachers to leave as soon as the students did so that the district could plow all the parking lots.

I was hurrying around gathering up things and preparing hastily for the next day.  Braeden called.

He said that Anna's mom had tested positive for Covid.  Braeden, Anna and Eleanor all had Covid a few weeks ago, so they were not worried about getting it, but they wanted to come to our house early (they were going to come Sunday) so Amy could recover.

I'm sad for the Carlsons but happy for us, and also, I wasn't even a little bit ready.  Despite my proclivity to plan, I have 100% been living only day to day.

I was driving home and my mind was spinning about what I could make for dinner.  The day before, Clarissa and I had walked and I told her that I wanted to make good meals when they were visiting, but I wasn't all that great at that.

She said, "You know who is really good at that?  My mom."

Clarissa is not wrong.  I quickly called Marianne for help.  When you need to send a distress call, Marianne is a really good choice.

She said, "OK, will Mark be there?"  I said yes.  "So no gluten....it's too late for a slow cooker....how about a simmer sauce?  Cook chicken thighs and rice and get butter sauce or tikka masala."

I said, "We usually do chicken tikka masala on Christmas Eve.  What else have you got?"

She thought for a few seconds.  "Taco soup."

Yes!

I'm telling you, call Marianne.

I went to the grocery store for taco soup stuff and a whole cart full of other stuff.  I considered my cart looked like Braeden was visiting.  It made me happy.

I hurried home and changed sheets in the guest bedroom, pulled out the baby toys and baby books and high chair.  I cleaned the kitchen and made the soup and got everything ready.

I'm so grateful for have them with us.

This sweet little girl was very tired by the time they got there, but I am so looking forward to time with her!

I'm grateful to have Marianne to tell me what to do.

I'm grateful I had to leave school early (I needed the time!).

I'm grateful for this wonderful season of light.  I'm grateful that we take a little time off from regular life and enjoy each other and holly jolly music and treats.  Mostly, I'm grateful for the birth and life of Jesus Christ.  When I hold that little baby in my arms and know that she's mine forever, I feel such gratitude for our Savior and Heavenly Father.  They make everything that matters to me better.

The Christmas sing

Yesterday we performed The Christmas Sing for each other.  Today we are performing for the parents.  Twice.  We perform at 9:00 and again at 1:00.

May the odds be forever in our favor.

If you could have bottled up the energy in the gym yesterday, you could have powered a city.  Third grade went straight to recess after because we aren't crazy.

Despite how loud and chaotic it was, it was also really fun.

Here's the third grade, singing their Christmas Candy Calendar a.k.a. Six Pink Peppermints.

Janelle held up the words, I did the actions and Miriam led the singing.  

At the end, the teachers performed Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  We were all in.

That's me sitting down, awkwardly holding that knee drum, waiting for Janelle to pass the microphone to me.

It was ugly sweater day and we were looking...amazing, I guess is the only way to describe it.

During one of our rehearsals, Kristie said, "This is so good!  I feel like we will be chosen for something."

If we were going to be chosen for anything, it would be enthusiasm.

After we performed, the children screamed.  It was kind of awful.  Do rock stars constantly have head-aches?  Because we did.  Actually, Janelle said to me before it even started, "Is it bad that I already have a head-ache?"

Miriam came into my classroom during lunch.  She said, "Do you have any ibuprofen?"

She had come to the right place.  When my own kids ask if I have ibuprofen, I say, "What family were you raised in?  Of course I do."

In the afternoon, we did Christmas mad libs.  You'd be amazed how many times third graders can use toot in a mad libs.  Is it a noun? verb? adjective? Doesn't matter.

A day and a half left.

If we can do this, we can do anything!

Delighting me

I went to the chiropractor yesterday after school.  The ladies at the front desk (who are basically my BFFs because I see them so often), asked me if I was "hanging in there."  One of them has a son who is a teacher and they talk to all the teachers who come in.  They know school is crazy town right now.  Crazy town!

I am trying to alter my expectations.  I'm trying to find that sweet spot of enough structure and enough looseness so we all survive and thrive.

And, oh yeah, grades are due on Friday so I'm doing assessments and make-up assessments and this is not the time for assessments.

Yet here we go.

Here are some things delighting me all the same:

1. My team.  I appreciate them.  Sometimes, one of us is braindead (it was me yesterday) and we wander into each other's classroom after school.  Yesterday I went into Miriam's.  She was feverishly grading tests.  "What are you doing during literacy tomorrow?" I asked.  "Just. Tell. Me. What. To. Do."

She handed over a master of a main idea Christmas around the world assignment.  Janelle came in.  I said, "I'm making copies of this.  Do you want some?"

Janelle said yes.  

I hightailed it to the work room and left a stack of warm-from-the-copier papers on Janelle's desk.

Teamwork for the win!

2.  Every day, someone in the class puts an ornament on the tree and there is a number associated with the ornament and an activity or treat associated with the number.  (My mom gave me the idea.)  Yesterday we made snowflakes.

I hung them afterward.

Some of them cut them all alone and some of them needed help.  They all needed help with the folding, but I'm fast so I zipped around folding one at a time.

When I was hanging them up, this one caught my eye:

It is pretty amazing.  You never know what hidden talents someone is going to have and that makes humans just wonderful.

3. I was grading some vocabulary assessments.  They were supposed to write the meaning of the unknown word in the sentence.  The word was scared and a student wrote this as the definition.

Why are apostrophes so hard?!?

Scared means that you're just not ready yet.  That is about the loveliest thing I've heard.  Such a kind view.  Such a hopeful view!

Friends are the gift that keeps giving

Thirty one years ago, we slept a few feet away from each other in a cinder block dorm room.  A computer matched us up in college as roommates, but Erin and I will be friends forever. 

She reads my blog (Hi, Erin!) and texted me awhile ago, asking if she could send gloves to my students.  It was such a kind gesture and meant so much to me!

I said, "Yes!"  I was fully expecting black stretchy gloves, like you see everywhere, but in perfect Erin fashion, she got them very brightly colored gloves that they loved.  

Yesterday, we had a fresh layer of snow.  I assembled my class and I told them about Erin and I said, "She sent you a gift!"  

They were wide-eyed. "What did she send?  What is it?"

I opened the package and showed them the gloves and they cheered and started claiming which color they wanted.  Since it isn't my first rodeo, I picked sticks and they got to choose colors in the order their name was called.  They are used to that routine and everyone got gloves they were happy with.

A few of them switched a glove with friends so they had mismatched pairs, which was very exciting.  They wore them through math.  Here's a little friend skip counting on his fingers, with gloves on.

It delighted me and warmed my heart completely to have someone do something so kind for these students I love.

They are exhausting and maddening and try my patience to no end.

But I love them. And I love Erin for loving them too.

Weekend

Friday was a hard day at school.  They've all seemed really hard lately.

After school, an adult approached me.  She wondered about sending her child to the school.  Her first question was "Do you say the pledge?"

I said, "Um...yeah.  I forget sometimes, but we do."  (I'm terrible at remembering.  I love America as much as the next guy, but I get started with math and forget.)

She said, "My child has been going to a charter school where they say the pledge and sing the anthem."

(I am sure there are good charter schools around, but we get a lot of students from charter schools where the children aren't learning/progressing like they should.)

She told me her child was not progressing in school (surprise, surprise) and she was wondering about sending them to our school, but she had heard it wasn't a good school.

I said, "What do you mean?"  I was taken back.  I love our little school!

She said, "Well, I heard that the academics aren't good and the teachers are bad."

I said, "It is a good school and the teachers are good."  Then I ended the conversation.  

Sheesh.

Later is when I usually think of what I should have said.  "You should probably stay at your current school.  I mean, they say the pledge and sing the anthem after all."

In other news that makes me want to kick someone in the shins, my classroom has been in the upper 70s and Emily's classroom down the hall has been in the 50s.  We decided we should switch halfway through the day.  I was talking to Riley and he said that we were up for a new HVAC system because ours is shot, but since the bond didn't pass, never mind.

Thanks everyone who voted not to fund public education.  Now your tax dollars will keep my classroom a toasty 78 degrees.

So I was a cranky Thelma.  Adam and I went to the ward Christmas party even though I didn't want to (I was cranky).  We sat by some friends and saw people we love.  It was an ugly sweater party and awards were given and everyone laughed a lot.  Then they opened the curtains and on the stage there were about 30 different pictures of Christ.  A primary child, young woman, young man, lady and man all spoke briefly about the Savior.  

It changed my heart.  I saw my difficult students in a clearer way.  I always think that if Jesus came to my school, he would probably gravitate towards those hard cases.  It is my chance to practice being more like Him.

Saturday was Mark's twentieth birthday!  My little baby is twenty!

In my mind he will forever be my sidekick.

For twenty years, he has been melting my heart with his sweetness, stressing me out, being stubborn, and having opinions.

I heard recently that what parents become is the outcome of parenting, not what the children become.  If that is true, Mark has taught me to be patient (still trying), love wholeheartedly, and stay for the long hugs.

I'm grateful I am his mother.

We went to lunch with Emma (Via 313, they have good gluten free pizza).  We talked about things, including Mark's plans and future.  It is clear that I need to trust him more.  He comes up with good ideas. It's easy to think I'm in charge of my adult children, and I am really not.  It's freeing to realize that.

And stressful.

On repeat.

In the evening, Mark invited a bunch of his friends over.  We see a few of them often, but some friends came who hadn't been here before.  I opened the door several times because the group was in the basement and it was disarming how old they were.  One of them had a small beard!  I guess when your twenty year old son invites his friends over you don't need to preside over the gathering offering fruit snacks.

I stayed upstairs but their laughter made me happy.

Sunday was a busy one.  We had church like normal and then I hosted the Relief Society Kringle Mingle at our house.  We had cookies and hot chocolate and oranges and lots of chatting and laughing.  We pulled ladies aside and did ministering interviews.  We used both my office and Adam's office as interview spaces which was a good opportunity to tidy them up.

Both rooms needed a spruce.

I loved talking to my friends.  Some of them said encouraging words to me and I tried to say encouraging words as well.  We need each other.

Storm clouds were gathering and snow was predicted.  After the Kringle Mingle, we decided to drive to Salt Lake to get Mark's computer so he could work from home and they wouldn't have to battle the snarl that is traffic when it snows.  

I was ready for a quiet evening at home, but a quiet evening in the car was good too.  Being together is the thing.

When we got home, we had the birthday cake I had made earlier.  I am experimenting with gluten free cake and it was pretty good.  It was a busy weekend and in the baking aisle at the store, a tub of frosting had seemed like a good idea.

It wasn't.

It never is.

That stuff tastes terrible.

We sang happy birthday anyway.

Grateful Friday

This week I have had before and after school traffic duty.  If you drive by the school, I'm the one out front with a stop sign and gloves + mittens.  Turns out doubling up is the secret to success.  My fingers aren't freezing.  

I love greeting the students--especially when I know their names.  I tell them good morning and I hope they have a good day and I am almost always rewarded with a big smile, which makes me happy.

There's a crosswalk right out front and that is my spot.  When kids need to cross, they tell me and I step out into the oncoming traffic with my sign and a deep hope that the people will stop and then the kids cross.  A lot of the kids tell me thank you.

Yesterday a woman was on her phone and she stopped her vehicle right in the crosswalk, waiting to pick up her charges.  I motioned for her to pull forward, you know, out of the crosswalk, and she started yelling and gesturing wildly and I couldn't hear a word she was staying and also, I'm around children all day.  A shrieking woman with oversized sunglasses doesn't really scare me. 

Move along lady.

The other day, a big diesel truck was idling at the curb, right beyond me and I was breathing in the fumes. Riley, the custodian came by and said, "I love that smell!  Cold diesel."

I said something about not really loving it.

He said, "It reminds me of camping."

I said, "Well, I don't like camping, so maybe that's why."

Then one of the administrators, Julie, came up. She said something about the fumes.

Riley repeated what he'd told me.

Julie repeated she didn't like camping.

Riley said, "That is what SHE just said."

Julie and I looked at each other in solidarity.  She said, "I love the great indoors."

I said, "Yeah, I'm indoorsy."

Riley shook his head in disbelief and walked away.  It happens quite often actually. He is the go to for some of the tough behavior kiddos.  He plays rock paper scissors with them, or sits with them at lunch, or lets them "help" him.  He's a good guy, but he works in a school full of women who were all cut out with the same cookie cutter.  He often walks away from us, shaking his head in disbelief.

Here's what I'm grateful for today:

• Adam's home from Phoenix
• The people I work with
• Gloves + mittens at the same time
• Today's the last day of before and after school traffic duty (at least for 6 weeks--maybe it will be warmer then?*)

*it won't be warmer then

Splat

In another episode of you can't make this stuff up, here's what happened yesterday:

A student who had been gone told me she was gone because she had head lice.  I said, "Do you still have it?"  She said she didn't know.

A BYU professor came to do a demonstration math lesson for the practicum students and third grade teachers.  He taught in my class.  My team and I were wondering 1) how my students would behave and 2) how he would handle it if they behaved "normal" which is anything but.

For the first 20 minutes or so of the lesson, they were angelic and it was weird.  It was also not sustainable for them.

Eventually, a girl lay on the floor under her desk.

A boy started eating paper.  He does that mostly when he's hungry and is trying to make a point.

A boy began removing his fake nails (painted black--I can't explain this) and stacking them on the corner of his desk.

I walked around the room and confiscated an inflated balloon (?), a Pokemon card, two different papers from two different students who were just filling up their pages with scribbling.

I took away the chairs from three students because they were using them in ways both bizarre and dangerous (for example, balancing their feet precariously on a yoga ball and then crouching down and shifting from side to side until you think they are going to crash).

The BYU professor mostly ignored them.  I think he thanked his lucky stars they were my problem and not his.  At one point, he turned to the BYU teachers and said, "The problem with being a teacher is the kids."  It felt kind of mean but kind of true in the moment.

During library, a student had what can only be described as a complete meltdown.  

It was a raucous afternoon.  How is it still so many days until Christmas vacation when they are this amped up?  It didn't help that my classroom was 77 degrees.  I told the custodian and I said, "The thing is that I'm wearing this Christmas sweater."  (And expending a lot of energy trying to survive in there.)

He said, "Maybe you need to dress like it's Christmas on a tropical island."

Maybe.

On the way to P.E., a student had a bloody nose.  An impressive bloody nose.  He was at the end of the line with the BYU teacher and I didn't realize he had dripped drops of blood all down the hall.  I alerted the custodian and took the boy to the nurse's office.

Some days you write about how sweet they are and some days you...don't.

Sweetness

I have a new student and being the new student is hard, but she has had a hard life before she ever became the new student.  

On her second day of school, she went home with a stomach ache.

She was gone for three days.

She came back again yesterday.  A few hours into the day, she complained of a stomach ache again.  I talked to her about how maybe she was feeling anxious.  She agreed that maybe so.  I gave her a pop it to pop and a timer.  She sat at my desk, watching the timer and popping and then she went back to work.

Right before recess, she told me again her stomach hurt.  

I told her we would assess after recess.

I had recess duty and I watched her walk around slowly by herself.

I went and rounded up a few of my rambunctious students who were playing tag.  "Hey, will you invite her to play?"

Three of them stopped what they were doing and walked toward her.  One boy pretended like he was going in slow motion, ramping up energy, then he sped off toward her.

I heard them each ask her if she wanted to play.  She quietly said, "No thank you."

Two other girls, who I hadn't even talked to, came up to her next.  "Do you want to go down the slide with us?" one of them asked.

She softly said no.

The other girl said, "It's fun when it has snow on it.  It's fast!"

"C'mon," said the other girl.  "C'mon!"

And she did.

I could have cried by how much it melted my heart but my face was frozen.  (Recess duty in December....)

In the afternoon, we had a fire drill.  By design, the fire drills are loud and obnoxious.  They blare and lights flash and they straight up terrify some of the kids.  I gave them all a heads up, including get your coats on.  

One little guy is a very gentle soul.  He had headphones on to block noise.  Minutes before the fire drill, they were standing near the door, getting their coats on.

He said, "I'm scared."

I said, "You're OK.  As soon as it starts, we'll go right outside."

His little eyes filled with tears and he said, "I'm really scared, Teacher." He looked up at me and asked softly, because it isn't actually something third graders usually do, "Can I hold your hand?"  

He put his little hand in mine.  The fire alarm went off and we headed outside.  He held my hand all across the blacktop to the soccer field where we line up.  The trust he placed in the security of just holding my hand was a little breathtaking.

What an honor it is to be their person for a few hours every day.

More Christmas

Is there ever too much Christmas?

My mom asked for a picture of the whole tree.  Anything for my dear mother:

Of all the things I failed to teach my children well, decorating a Christmas tree is not one of them.  We build layers and they are good at it.  When Adam tried to hand them an ornament after he had attached a hook, they would say things like, "No Dad, we're just doing red balls now."

Braeden is a little less careful when he is here, but he is tallest and has the biggest motor and those things add a lot of value.  I missed him and Emma did too.  She said her Precious Moments ornament missed Braeden's Precious Moments ornament.  They've been hanging them next to each other on the tree since they were tiny little preschoolers.  Sniff.  

***

Yesterday at school, we had a really great experience.  Our principal, Kristie, called Jason Wright (of The Christmas Jars fame) and was sort of surprised when he answered.  She asked him to come to our school and he said yes.  And he lives in Virginia!  

When she told the leadership team about it, she said, "He is either coming or I am being scammed by someone who I thought was Jason Wright."

He came!

Third through sixth grade assembled in the gym.  He talked to us about the first Christmas jar he did with his family.  He said it gave him the idea for the book.  He showed us a map of where people reported Christmas jars sightings:

There was an audible gasp in the room.  He talked about how if someone was sick or needed extra love or had lost their job, people may want to give them a jar.  One of my students turned to me and exclaimed, "My mom and my stepdad have both lost their jobs before!"

It was relatable, having hard times.

We watched the movie that BYUtv created based on the book.  It was a little cheesy but also good.  It was the right kind of feel good you need on a cold December morning.  There was a teeny tiny bit of kissing and most of my students covered their faces or pulled their shirts up over their eyes.  

The "Hope Squad" in our school had popcorn for the students which made a holy mess, but made the students excited.

It was a great time.  I left the room feeling uplifted and I think they did too.

In the afternoon, for writing time, I had them write their thoughts.  I said they could write their thoughts about the jar idea or the movie or any aspect of it. (I didn't use the word aspect....)

One girl wrote at great length about how it was boring and her chair was hard.  Even a New York Times bestselling author isn't Nutella.  He can't make everyone happy.

Another girl who I can rarely get to do much of anything despite her being pretty smart, wrote two pages about it.  She is one of my sweetest kindest souls, even though she is also pretty naughty.  She was touched by the story and I loved reading her writing about it.

After school, I walked around showing it to anyone who would listen.  Then I hung all their writing up in the hall.

I love Christmas!

Weekend

Christmas is in the peppermint scented air around here (Peppermint Twist wallflowers from Bath and Body Works are my love language).

Mark arranged the bears.

They won't stay that way.  They are looking forward to Eleanor flinging them about.  The bears were meant to be played with and I think they've been lonely the past few years.

Speaking of Eleanor, I set up the nativity she can play with:

on the floor, hopefully distracting her from other pursuits

And the nativity she can't play with:

I got everything arranged and my favorite view is either this one:

red + straw forever

Or these from the upstairs hall (made possible by Mark climbing on a ladder and being willing to move it a little more this way or that, then ducking so I can see--I'm a lot of fun):

Once Horace is looking handsome in his red bow, I know it's time for Christmas magic.

Sunday, we decorated the big tree.  Adam managed the hooks and also took a few pictures.

Our tree with its quirky hodge-podge of random ornaments reflect our lives together and I love it.  The wrapping paper is courtesy of my Stendig calendar.  I have long been a red wrapping paper only person, but I like the black and white with red bows.  Plus I already have the calendar pages.  Why not?

Grateful Friday

This has been a sort of tough week.  I went to the chiropractor twice and the dentist twice if that doesn't just sum it up.

I have sick students and sad students and struggling students.

I have very kind students.  We got a new girl this week and they were kind.  When I asked a few girls if she could eat lunch with them, they said, "Yes!" They were enthusiastic too.  

I am tired and my house still isn't completely decorated for Christmas which is kind of killing me as a pre-crastinator.

Still.

I'm grateful for the way the city lights twinkle on frosty mornings.  

I'm grateful for our Nevada house and the spectacular neighbors who help us at every turn.

I'm grateful we get to spend Christmas with all our kids (and granddaughter!).

I'm grateful Adam reads to me every night.  It is cozy to be read to.

I'm grateful for the Christmas decorations I do have up, because they are cheering.

I'm grateful for the weekend (I'll get it all the way decorated!).

The coronation that wasn't

Yesterday I had an appointment at 5:30 PM, to get my permanent crown.  My coronation, as Adam called it.  My dentist is close to the school, so I took the opportunity to just stay there and work on all the things.  There are always things to do.  

I went to the dentist.

They yanked off the temporary crown.  Which kinda hurt.  

They stuck on the new crown.  It didn't fit.

They yanked it off.

They glued the temporary one back on.  

I have to go back today.

There's a reason nobody likes going to the dentist.

Liar liar pants on fire

We share kids for science.  I teach weather (because I love weather) and I am teaching weather to Miriam's class right now.

We talked about extreme weather.  We talked about tornadoes, hurricanes and dust storms.  We talked about where those things are likely to happen.  I showed them maps of tornado alley and talked about how hurricanes happen on the coasts.  I explained that they get their power from warm water.

I asked if they had ever experienced extreme weather like this.

Every hand shot up.

One girl stood in front of the class and used to hands to dramatically explain a time when she and her mom had seen a tornado.  "My mom screamed!  I screamed! But then we realized it was a dust devil."

The rest of the students must have decided they had to do better than that.

"I was in a hurricane once."

"Where?"

"Um.  On the beach.  In Oregon?"

"I don't think so."

They all switched their stories to having happened while they were "on vacation" and they "didn't remember where."

Note to self, never go on vacation with these unlucky kids.  Every vacation it seemed had ended in either a tornado or hurricane.

The pièce de résistance was the student who had been on vacation and the first day was a tornado, the next day was a hurricane and then next day was a wind storm.  It happened long ago, when he was "like 5 years old" and at a forgotten location.

OK, so what you're all saying is that you have never experienced extreme weather like this, but have active imaginations.  Moving on.

Speaking of weather, I had recess duty yesterday.  The longest 15 minutes of my life is recess duty when the temperature is in the 20s.  Brrrrrrr.

We had fresh snow on the ground and no snowballs thrown is a BIG rule.  A second grader, who has gotten in trouble at recess before, was tossing a snowball.  I started toward him and he picked up several more snowballs and tossed them.

"Hey," I called.  (I had forgotten my trusty Fox40 whistle inside.) "Stop throwing snowballs."

"I wasn't!" he said. 

"You were," I said.  "And if you do it again, you'll have to go sit on the bench for the rest of recess."

His friend piped up, "He wasn't throwing snowballs!"

"I saw him," I said.

"I wasn't!" he said again.

"I saw you," I said again. (So much of my life is arguing with recalcitrant children!) "Don't do it again."

"He wasn't throwing snowballs," said the friend again.  "It was a toy."

"A toy?" I didn't believe them.  "Show me."

He pulled a small white round plastic windup toy out of his pocket.  It was the exact size as what I thought was snowballs.

At that point, I had to apologize.  

In my defense, trust issues are an occupational hazard.

Back at it

Yesterday I had a Christmas tree waiting for them.  It's small, but decorated with apples and also their names made out of scrabble tiles.  The little Christmas village was set up (by Mark).  Our kids made up a whole back story about each person in the village when they were younger.  My students stare at it and I tell them no touching.  I had an advent calendar and everyone got a Christmas themed eraser.  I have the elf door, with a student's picture behind it.  A few of them wrote tiny notes and put them in the elf mailbox.  I have three other tiny trees and a snowman.  I played Christmas music softly when they came in yesterday morning.  I read them The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza.  My aim is to create a cozy Christmas.  I want a happy place for all of us to spend our days.

It doesn't feel like enough.  Untangling the messes in their families is heartbreaking.  It seems like every day I learn about some new tragedy in their little lives.

My weak attempt at Christmas cheer feels pathetic but also really important.  I don't know what kind of mess they're in when they aren't at school, but today we're reading Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree and I'll play Christmas music.  There will be a spot of cheer.  

It isn't enough, but it's something.

Weekend

I am in love with our little corner of the earth and it was also not without its highs and lows.

Wednesday, Adam and I finished getting everything loaded and after a few last minute stops, headed to the land of the setting sun.  We unloaded in the ice crusted snow.  Adam pulled up onto the lawn (poor lawn, we'll treat you better someday) and he handed me things over the porch railing.  It was a good system, except our mattress in a box, that weighed about 10,000 pounds, wasn't going to work.  We went calling on the neighbors to borrow a dolly from my dad and Marianne and Robert and some of their family was visiting so Robert and Nikki came to help.  They made short work of not only bringing the heavy stuff inside but also they helped build our platform bed.

You can't beat the neighbors around here.

We had dinner at my parents' house and Ammon's family was there for that.  Emma and Mark arrived, having come after work and Adam and Mark drove back to our house together and Emma and I drove together.  Emma marveled at all the stars.  She said breathlessly, "I can see the Milky Way."

It is magical.

While I was putting away the additional stuff the kids brought me (most importantly the butter and pesto that were integral to my Thanksgiving contributions but I had forgotten--my extensive list let me down!).  Emma sat in our sparse living room and played her guitar and sang and I felt like I was pretty much in paradise.  

Thursday was when our reversal of fortunes came.

I made pie and pesto dip and hummed along in my lovely, if Spartan, little kitchen with the pretty views out the (very dirty) windows.  Marianne and Robert and a bunch of their people stopped by on their walk.  Everything was going swimmingly and then neither toilet would flush.

I called my dad to borrow a plunger and told him the news and he said, "That's not good."  I was hoping he would say that there was a magic button hidden in a closet that I could push to fix everything, but I guess there isn't.

My uncle Drew has a bigger house there, next to the smaller house his family lived in when we were growing up.  He told my dad he had some furniture there he wanted to get rid of and we were welcome to it.  It seemed like an easy short term fix to our no furniture problem.  My dad and Ammon met us there.

No ones uses the little house and it is not what you would call vermin proof.  Mark pointed to the mouse droppings and I said, "Oh, those aren't mouse droppings." Rats.  Literally.

The couches were in really good shape (besides the rats) and I wanted them.  Adam didn't.  He gamely helped load them in the back of my dad's truck.  We put them on the front porch and I started taking off the removable cushion covers to see just what the story was.  My dad nobly pulled a mouse skeleton out of a crevice and tossed it away so I didn't have to.

I wondered if those couches were going to spell the end of our marriage, but we rallied.  I was dealing with them and the men went to ponder the septic situation.  The couch cushions were in really good shape and the rodents hadn't done too much damage.  After my dad and Ammon left, Adam and I vacuumed the couches and flipped them over and they are very solidly constructed.  I think we'll try to get them reupholstered and they won't be just a short term fix.

The marriage will be saved.

Adam was in touch with Andrew, our contractor, and then spoke with a plumber/septic person?  I don't know his official title.  He agreed to come the next day to try to reconcile our troubles.

We called a family council.  

Adam and Emma were fine staying overnight in a place where there were not working toilets.

I was not.

Mark wanted to go back to Utah because his friend had sent a distress signal and he wanted to answer it.

We went to Thanksgiving dinner at Marianne's and left our problems behind.  It was a great affair.  Marianne knows how to throw a party; she always has.  I think there were 32 people if I counted correctly.  We had plenty of food and plenty of laughter and conviviality.  

My dad offered to come with his excavator the next day and dig up our septic tank.  Because he, you know, just happens to have an excavator like you do.  He said they'd build a fire to thaw the ground.  So we canceled with our other guy.

Adam, who is every bit the hero my dad is in my life, just in different ways, got us a hotel room in Elko.

After dinner we made these button Christmas trees which united two things I love, buttons and spending time with the ladies.

After our craft, we played a rousing game of Nauvoo bingo.  Clarissa and Timeon's adorable foreign exchange student from Germany (who knows five languages--she's amazing) enthusiastically played too and I wonder if she will go home thinking that Nauvoo bingo is a part of American Thanksgiving.  My mom created the game after their mission.  The spaces are photos they took in Nauvoo.  Enoch is the traditional caller of the game, but had the audacity to move to Portland.  Ammon filled in and Marianne and Olivia and I were sitting closest to him and several times we lost track of our boards because we were either chatting or laughing at what Ammon was saying.  It was a crying gasping situation at times.  Let's just say Ammon missed his calling as a bingo caller.  

Maybe it isn't too late, he's young yet.

The best part of Nauvoo bingo, besides the brother cracking wise while calling, is the prizes.  My mom has bins of prizes.  They were all laid out on the long countertop in Marianne and Robert's new sunroom and everybody got 1) a prize when they got bingo, 2) a prize when they got blackout and 3) another prize because my mom said they could.  They are legitimately good prizes and more than one person hid the Bath and Body Works lotion or hand soap they wanted before the game started.

The last thing was the talent show.  Robert juggled oranges (a fan favorite) and I sang with our kids, but otherwise it was just the grandkids performing.  They are some talented kids, but I thought Omar stole the show by solving a rubiks cube his brother Ammon had helpfully messed up for him in 53 seconds.  How is that even possible?!?

Braeden texted this peaceful scene of their Thanksgiving dinner:

Mark responded with this:

I think this happened during our button Christmas trees.  My favorite part of the picture is Ruben placidly on his phone while his brothers are getting pummeled at his elbow.

Mark went back to Utah, Adam and I went to Elko, and Emma borrowed a car from the Johnsons and slept in our house.  Brave girl.

Friday morning, I roped Adam into pondering all the Black Friday deals and then he took a shower and I called my dad.  My dad, brothers, Robert, Morgan and Olivia's boys had built the fire at 7:00 AM!  Adam felt bad he hadn't been there to help.  We headed to Starr Valley and Emma and I visited my mom and my dad and Ammon and Adam worked.  

We looked at her old high school yearbooks and she tried to remember the name of the musical she starred in when she was in high school.  When my sisters were in high school musicals and when my children were in high school musicals, my mom never mentioned she had been in one.  "Why didn't you ever tell us?" I asked.  She just shrugged.

We made spaghetti for lunch and then they went back to work outside and Emma and I inventoried stuff at our house.  I want to know what I have and what I need to bring when we visit.  I took this picture out the bedroom window:

Ammon is hard to see, but he's down in the hole.

I stopped by to thank Ammon and I said, "Say Ammon, how did you spend your Thanksgiving vacation?"  

He grinned and leaned on his shovel and said,  "Stay in school, kids."

Emma napped and I feathered my nest a little, organizing things until I had to use the bathroom and went back over to my parents' house.

Katie and Melanee and their kids were back from Black Friday shopping in town so we saw some of their spoils and then Adam called and said we needed to go to town for ten feet of 4 inch PVC pipe.  My dad said he also wanted me to get some starter fluid and I felt the returning panic of when I was in high school and my dad would send me to that store for something and I would get the wrong thing.  That store intimidates me.  Adam was getting the pipe cut and getting the stuff he needed and I wandered completely aimlessly not even knowing which part of the nonsensical store to look.  A worker took compassion on me and asked if I needed help.  I located the stuff for my dad, Adam tied the pipe on the top of the car (luckily he is better at knots than I am) and we were on our way.  It was dark by the time we got back and they used our car and my dad's (pull into the orchard?  no problem for the Subarus) to illuminate the way and they fixed it!  There were roots grown into the line.  (I won't hold it against the crabapple tree though.  I've always loved it since I was a little girl and would swing on the tire swing on the Big Treehouse tree and try to touch the crabapple tree with my feet.)

We had dinner at Marianne's, a reprise of Thanksgiving leftovers which was wonderful.  We went back to our snug little house which was also wonderful.

Saturday morning I got up before everyone else and I found my spot.

I will eventually get a more comfy chair.

I enjoyed the fire and the view.

The folding chairs are strategically placed to flatten the rug but they also are very lightweight so I don't think they flatten it much.

You can't see it in the picture but there was softly falling snow outside that then turned to more enthusiastic falling snow.

Emma and I went to Olivia's for her annual holiday brunch.  It is always a highlight.  Olivia also knows how to throw a party.

Here's a picture of my mom and her girls:

Melanee, Olivia, my mom, Marianne, me and Katie--why am I standing out in front of everyone?

Then here's a picture of our girls:

Back row: Clarissa, Carolina, Desi, Liberty, Shuyan (the foreign exchange student), Olivia, Destin (she lives with Marianne and Robert), Emma.  Front row:  Charlotte, Ruby (holding Liliana's picture), Azure, and Lucette.

Olivia had us each write a limerick about the person to our right.  What it comes down to is that none of us are going to quit our day jobs to become limerick writers, but we still enjoyed them.  We told about a rose, a thorn and a bud from the year and some of us cried. (I don't know if I've ever been to the brunch and not cried.)

We played After the Manner of the Adverb and Smurf, which is what my family calls Pluck the Chicken.

It was a good time.

Saturday night Adam and Emma and I worked on a puzzle and then went to Marianne's for some capitalism playing.  I'm not very good at it, to the chagrin of Robert who is super competitive and would cringe at my choices (he also looks at everyones' hands).  It was a fun time.  I love being a couple minutes away from my family.

Sunday morning we battened down all the hatches in our house and went to church.  We left after sacrament meeting and came back to Utah.

I feel rejuvenated and grateful.  I loved our Thanksgiving break, even with the reversal of fortunes, and I feel blessed in my association with my parents and siblings. 

And now it's the Christmas season!  Hurray!