oh what fun it is to ride!

In December, we went sledding FIVE times!!! We were so happy to have so much snow to sled in, compared to last year's December when we had none!

The 1st time we went sledding at Lover's Lookout (about a mile from our home) with the Evans family. There was no other people at the hill, and we loved having it to ourselves and going down over and over and over! Well, except for Kanyon: He said he didn't like his "fat pants" (snow pants), and he refused to go in a sled down the hill, instead he just sat around pouting for most of the time.

The 2nd time we went to Lover's Lookout again with the Evans, Gonzales, and Jensen families. There were other people at the hill this time, and we only stayed about an hour because it was crowded and noisy. The nice thing about going to Lovers' Lookout is that the hill is wide and long and not very steep. The kids get a good ride out of it, but it's a pain to walk up the big hill, so Josh brings his truck and he drives down to the bottom of the hill to pick up all the kids and their sleds, and then he takes them all back up to the top of the hill. Then he gets out and helps unload them and push them down the hill on their sleds, and he does the routine all over again. Josh is a super guy, and he makes sledding so much fun!!! It's fun to watch him go sledding down the hill, too: he prefers to go in a tube, while I prefer the flat sled.

The 3rd time we went to Lover's Lookout once again, but this time with the Hobbs family. We had the hill to ourselves, and we enjoyed sledding and talking and laughing. My favorite part was when David (the Hobbs dad) pushed Trevyn (who's barely 3) in a sled all by himself for the first time, he laid stiff on his back in the sled and he looked like he was paralyzed--frozen in place with his arms outstretched as he glided down the hill!!! I wish I had a photo of that (I forgot my camera), but there's a good one stored in my memory! After that, lots of the kids wanted to do the "trevyn move", and sledded down laying stiff on their backs with their arms outstretched!! (thanks Gina, for taking photos!)

The 4th time we went sledding with the Lingers and Jones and Williams' at Linger's hill below their home on Christmas Eve. Their hill is short, but steep. And at the bottom of their hill, their driveway cuts across. Right after the driveway is a drop-off: one side it's about 2.5 feet deep, and the other side it's about 5 feet. They covered the steeper part with hay bales to prevent falling off the edge, but the kids kept smacking themselves on the hay. So the kids started sledding on the side of the hill with the shorter drop off after the driveway, and they loved the extra jump it provided! The Lingers had a 4-wheeler that they drove to the bottom of the driveway to pick up kids and bring them to the top, but mostly, they just climbed back up themselves. They were sledding til after dark, and we all loved watching everyone fly off the edge of the driveway at the bottom of the hill! We laughed so much that night!!!

The last time we went was the week between Christmas and New Years, and it was the grand finale of sledding for the month: we went to Lover's Lookout with several families (about 35 people all together), we stayed there for hours, and we took along hot chocolate, camp chairs, and made a fire. Josh was the chauffeur again, and I loved watching as the kids lined up at the bottom of the hill after sledding down, waiting for their driver to come pick them up and take them back to the top! Josh is the best! The whole afternoon was truly enjoyable, and I loved every minute of being on the hillside with friends, being outside, and watching the kids have fun!

cut and color

This is how we get our Christmas tree....

Pile into the truck and drive a few miles down the road the day after Thanksgiving (this year it was actually a few days after).

Park the truck, and everyone gets out (except for Kanyon who refuses to make the hike).

Start hiking the uphill trail (and, for me, taking lots of breaks along the way).

Find the perfect Christmas tree (it was super cold this year, so this was our fastest find yet!).

Cut it down (with a handsaw).
Roll it down the hill to the trail (we all love to watch it and say whee!!!!).
Carry it back to the truck (more like "drag" it back to the truck).

Take a group photo (that's why I go--to make sure we get a picture taken!!).
Put it in the back of the truck to haul it home (or, in this case, put all FOUR in the back of the truck--one for us, one for the grandparents, one for a brother, and one for our friend).
Load up selves into the front of the truck once more and drive home (all squished for just 10 minutes).

Unload tree(s).

Cut off the bottom of our tree and fit it into the base. (Josh's job)

Take it in the house and set it in place (after the furniture has been rearranged, of course!).

Hang lights on it (Kala's job)

Put up the decorations (I have two sets of lights and ornaments that I rotate between each year; this year it was the multi-colored lights and red & gold ornaments).
And enjoy it for a month! (I took it down the day after Christmas this year)

{This was the largest Christmas tree we've ever gotten, and I absolutely loved it! The last few years we've had to get a smaller tree and put it in the kitchen because there was no other room to put it in the house. I was SO excited to bring it into our new home and see it fill up space in the living room! My favorite time of each day to admire it was at dusk--it always seemed to sparkle, and it made me so happy!!}

Time to Shine

December was filled with opportunities for several members of our family to take turns under the spotlight. There were performances of different varieties, and I loved watching my boys be the shining stars of their musical concerts, piano recitals, poem readings, and class plays! I also had the opportunity perform on stage myself!

At the beginning of December, I played "Marley's Ghost" in our ward's rendition of "The Christmas Carol" at the ward Christmas Party. My friend John played the part of "Scrooge", and my friends Kimi and Hailey were also in the play. We had a great time being together backstage (and onstage too)! I'm grateful to belong to a ward that is filled with people who I love! I liked being on the stage again under the lights, and I forgot just how much I used to truly love it when I was a teenager!

I teach piano lessons, and this is the first year I decided to have a winter recital for my students. My two current students, Ammon and Wyatt, did a fabulous job with their three pieces. They each played a church song, a Christmas song, and a duet selection with me. The best thing about having two students is the recitals are super short--it was done in 10 minutes and then we had treats and chatted for another hour!

Ammon is a first-year band student. Since the 5th graders attend the middle school, they have the option to attend band class. Ammon is playing the trumpet--just like his dad did when he was in school. In fact, it's the exact same trumpet his dad played! His little band class did a great job at the winter music concert with their 3 holiday pieces. I loved listening to him produce Christmas music--it really helped me get in the spirit of the season. We are so proud of Ammon and his musical abilities!


This is during the performance. He is at the far right blowing his trumpet.

Jonah and Micah's 1st grade class performed a little play with several pre-show skits in their classroom. I volunteer each week in their classroom, and all the kids were so excited for their upcoming play! They made all the decorations and costumes, and they practiced and practiced so they'd get it right. Jonah was in multiple skits as well as a participant in the play, but Micah opted to have only a small part in the play. They both got to be the part that they had wanted to be in the play--Jonah was the clock, and Micah was a reindeer. Neither one of them likes to be in front of a group of people, and I was so nervous for them! In fact, the reason why Micah wanted to be a reindeer was because after perusing the whole script initially, he knew that would be the smallest non-speaking part!!! Jonah did a great job with all of his parts, and I was so thrilled! Micah's part was at the very end of the play, and he did a great job being on the sidelines until it was his turn to go on. I enjoyed every minute of watching their 1st grade class--they just grow up too fast! They don't stay so little and cute forever!

Seriously, they are all just too cute!!! Their class performance was one of the highlights of my Christmas season--I was just bubbling with excitement along with them!

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

When we first moved into this new home, the only heat source it had was forced air. So, we removed our wood stove from the old mobile home, and set it in the family room of this new house to someday install and use.

At first, the electrical heat seemed pretty reasonable. But as each month got colder and colder, our power bill got higher and higher. And we decided it was necessary to have the wood stove installed sooner rather than later.

The week before Christmas, our friends (and relatives) Dennis and Greg came and installed it. And what a difference it's made! We'd really missed the heat a wood stove gives, and we were so happy to feel of its warmth once again and save money on our power bill, too!!! Dennis and Greg finished the final touches around the hearth today, and it looks fantastic! We just love it!!!

But, I gotta say, the only thing keeping the fire going in our home is my hot husband.He cuts the wood, hauls it home, blocks it, stacks it, chops it, carries it inside, makes the fires, and stokes it throughout the day and night. It's because of him that our home fires are burning. And my own flames are kindled because of him, too. I love that man tremendously! My heart ignited 13 years ago when I knew I wanted to marry him, and he still continues to be the light and love of my life today!

The Goals of Past, Present, & Future

My Goals of 2010 Summary:

1. Go to the temple 6 times--DONE (already blogged about it, too)

2. Read the Book of Mormon--Incomplete. I started last January, and I read it off and on all year. I haven't finished it yet, but I am in Alma and I'm almost halfway through the entire book. This is the furthest I've gotten in reading the Book of Mormon in 9 years, so I'm proud of my small accomplishment in making it to Alma, but I'm not satisfied with my inability to finish it in a years' time like most of my family has! I'm adding this to my 2011 goals...

3. Lose 36 pounds and maintain that weight--Failure. I started last January in a quest to become more physically fit, and lost 8 pounds. Then I quit and gained it all back. In June, I started again, and from June to October, I lost 17 pounds. I almost got halfway there! But then Halloween's chocolates came, and Thanksgiving's food, and Christmas goodies, and New Years munchies, and I'm ashamed that I've gained almost all the weight back. I can feel how yucky this makes my body feel. I admit that I'm addicted to good food, and I equally admit how much I hate how I look in the mirror in the morning. Josh gave me a treadmill for Christmas, and I'm re-dedicating myself to this weight-loss goal, so I'm adding this to my 2011 goals again as well!

4. Go out once a month with other ladies--DONE! (and blogged about it, too!)

5. Finish the England Vacation Scrapbook--Incomplete. I did work on it throughout the year, but it came to a halt when we moved, and I've only gotten 2 pages done since we moved into the new house. The London section is done, and I'm almost done with the Leeds section, so I feel like I'm at least still progressing with it. I miss the days when I used to go out with women each month to group scrapbooking--I find myself not having the motivation to work on it at home alone since I'm not surrounded by others who are doing it, too!

6. Pay off my local credit card--DONE! I was so proud of myself for doing it early this spring, and I've maintained a zero balance on it all year, until November when I started using it to purchase birthday and Christmas stuff. But I'm committed to paying it off again, and it won't take me very much longer now til it's zero once again.

7. Lower and Maintain my inbox to less than 50 emails at all times--Failure. My inbox gets out of control, and I was tired of always seeing 500 emails in it; it was starting to overwhelm me. I worked on it periodically throughout the year, and for the most part, I kept it down to under 100. The problem is that I share the same email address as Josh. And he gets lots of emails everyday about golf stuff for his work and school board stuff. I finally decided it's an impossible task to share an email with someone who's so busy and always try to keep the inbox below 50. However, I will say that Josh and I both made a conscious effort to delete stuff and move emails into file folders, so 100-200 emails in the inbox is still an improvement over 500!

8. Catch up and maintain ordering photos within 6 months of being taken--Incomplete. This one makes me sad. At the beginning of the year, I worked so hard at ordering all of 2009 photos, in an effort to catch up. I had finally gotten all of 2009's photos ordered. They weren't put in albums yet, and when we moved, there was a giant water leak in the room they were being stored, and it ruined a lot of them. I haven't had the strength to re-start ordering photos after that. I've got a painful mental block about the whole thing. Ugh. My energy is draining just thinking about it. So, moving on to something else...

9. Make something new and different with every food item we grow--DONE! (And blogged about all the food in lots of blog posts, too)

10. Forgive someone who hurt me--DONE! I tend to hold grudges, and I don't like that about me. When I made this goal for myself, there was someone in particular who I needed to forgive for a past offense, and I did. And in doing so, my heart healed and I learned to forgive others for smaller trespasses as well. There were 3 times this year that I was greatly hurt by people that I loved dearly, and those were the hardest times for me during the year, but the most humbling times came when I forgave them, and those times did the most good for my heart.

Only 50% of my 2010 were completed. That's not a very good ratio. I did work on all these goals during the year, and I'm grateful that my list of goals motivates me to constantly try to do better in areas of my life, but I'm disappointed that I fell so short at the end!

I'm excited for this new year! I've thought about the different areas of my life I still want to improve in, and things that I hope to accomplish during this year. Based on my thoughts, here's my List of 2011 Goals:

1. Do Service for others 1x/week

2. Go out on a real date with Josh at least 1x/month (grocery store trips don't count)

3. Go out with friends at least 1x/month

4. Invite friends over to my house 1x/month

5. Finish reading the Book of Mormon

6. Go to the temple 6 times

7. Save up $500 for my future trip to Italy

8. Finish the England Scrapbook (3rd time on my goals list--it's gonna happen this time)

9. Exercise 5x/week (in an effort to lose 36 lbs)

10. GET A NEW JOB!

I get by with a little help from my friends

One of my funnest goals of 2010 was to "go out once a month with other ladies". The reason I even set that goal was because at this point last year, I'd become an extreme homebody and didn't want to go out with others. I would receive invitations, and I would frequently turn them down. But I wasn't happy as a hermit, and I needed to push myself to go out. And I'm so glad I did! I absolutely loved completing this goal this past year. I've enjoyed getting reacquainted with some of my friends and I enjoyed having my own spirit flourish as a result of being out and around others. I made it a point each month to go out with friends at least once. And now that I think about it, since I didn't record each date, there are some months where I cannot even recall what I even did when we went out. But that doesn't matter, because it didn't matter what we did--have dinner, go to the movies, go shopping, watch a performance, go to the temple, hang out on the couch and visit, drive around and laugh--the point was to just be out and around people that I love. So, even though I can't remember every single thing I did throughout the year with my friends, I can say that my friendships grew and I have become a better person as a result of successfully completing this goal!

Here's some of the friends I was lucky to spend time with this year...

Katrina

Darcy

Heather

Natalie

Emily

D'Neill

Celyn

Amanda

Kimi & Kerry

Hailey
 

I didn't always think to take my camera with me when I went out, and there are others that I was privileged to spend time with this year as well: Denise and Gina and Ashley and Nikki! I am so blessed to have such great friends!!!

Opposition

I know the basic and simple truth of opposition..."For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. (2 Nephi 2:11)"

So, since my last post was all about the peace and happiness and joy I've recently felt, it only seems fair that I should also post about some of the things in my life lately that have brought me turmoil and sadness and despair.

I hate the feeling of "being behind". Right now I am behind on....
...editing December's photos (therefore I have no new pictures to blog about just yet)
...making a Christmas gift for my parents: a 2011 photo calendar from me and my siblings (I still haven't received some photos to put on it from my family, and I hate that it's past Christmas and it's not even done yet)
...working on completing some of my 2010 goals (like ordering the rest of 2009's photos, and working on the England vacation scrapbook)
...balancing my checkbook (it's been almost a month since I last did it! ugh.)
...sending birthday cards to my siblings and family members (at what point does it become happy "early" birthday rather than happy "belated" birthday?!!)
And those are just a few of the items on my "I'm behind at" List"! It's not that I don't have the time to tackle these tasks, but for some reason, whenever I do have free time to kill, I would rather sit and stew over the thoughts of not accomplishing any of these things rather than actually trying to accomplish them! My self-motivation is lacking recently!!!

I've also been lacking lately in the self-worth department, mostly from trying to get a new part-time job. I've been cleaning the credit union for 4 years (since I quit working there). I used to love it--it was a chance to stay home with my boys during the day and escape from home twice a week in the evenings. But now that my boys are in school, I want to work during the day when they're gone so that I can be home with them at night. In the last 6 months, I've applied for over a dozen jobs that I would've really liked and that I would've been really good at--but I still haven't gotten a single one. I hate feeling like I wasn't good enough or smart enough or talented enough to get any of the jobs. I hate the application process, I hate the waiting time between the interview and the rejection letter, I hate the time immediately following that's full of thoughts of all my inadequacies, and I hate experiencing the whole painful process over and over again.

But, after receiving the rejection letter, and after experiencing all those feelings of worthlessness, I remind myself that the perfect job for me is still out there waiting for me, and I remain faithful and hopeful that Heavenly Father is mindful of me and that He knows what is best for me. I also remind myself of my blessings every time I don't get a job; I tell myself that I'm lucky to be home during the day with Kanyon, that I'm lucky to be able to volunteer my time in the other boys' classrooms, that I'm lucky I have a husband who financially supports our family, that I'm lucky to live in this new home and spend time being in it and enjoying it, and that I'm lucky to be where I'm at at this point of my life.

And of course, that brings me back to feeling content with the opportunities and blessings that I've been given. So, opposition is good: for without my feelings of despair, I would not realize my joy, without the sadness I feel, I could not experience happiness, without having turmoil in my life, I wouldn't recognize the peace in it.

my perfect equation

Lately, I've been feeling good: I am in a good place emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I don't remember the last time my inner spirit felt this good...perhaps never?

I've been pondering and contemplating this past week about why I feel so good. I've been trying to put a name for how and what I feel, and I've finally come up with a word: PEACE. My spirit is currently free from turmoil, and the opposite of turmoil feels like peace to me. I've been thinking about why I feel so much peace recently, and I think it's because I currently have a wonderful balance in life.

I have found my perfect equation for my inner peace, and this is what it is:

Spending time with my husband +
Having fun with my children +
Being with my friends +
Having interactions with my family +
Enjoying living in my beautiful home +
Listening to uplifting music +
Filling my soul with laughter +
Sharing my passion for performing +
Studying and living the gospel +
Expressing gratitude for all the good in my life +
Meditating and Praying +
Receiving Inspiration =
My Inner Peace

Each part of the equation is necessary to the happiness of my spirit and joyfulness of my soul. And each part of the equation has to be in perfect balance--for example: if I spend too much time with my friends, I feel like I'm neglecting my family, or if I spend too much time at home, I feel like I'm closing myself off to other good surroundings, or if I spend too much time laughing, I feel like I don't open my soul to receiving quiet inspiration. It's important to keep a good balance between each part of the equation in order to obtain the result of feeling of inner peace.

I want to remember this feeling of peace that I have, and try to maintain what I feel and sustain it every day. I was looking back through my journal, and I stopped writing in it during the spring of 2008. I was mentioning that fact to Josh, and his reply was "That's because that's when you started blogging!". I hadn't even realized that connection! My blog is like my journal--I record our family's happenings, I record my personal goals and dreams and thoughts, and occasionally I record my feelings on a topic.

And now, in addition to those things, I'm going to add to my blog a daily record of something I did during the day that brought me happiness & joy, something from my perfect equation for peace. I'm calling it "Live & Love Life 365" (Thanks Sara, for the inspiration!). I don't want to let a day pass without doing something that I love to help feed my inner spirit; I want to do something everyday that will help me to sustain this feeling of true peace. And every day, I'm going to write down a simple aspect from my day that brought me joy, and record it on my blog tab titled "Live & Love Life 365" (see the tab at the top of the page under my blog title?).

I'm so excited for this new "chapter" of my blog and for the opportunity it will give me to focus daily on the blessings in my life, and help me to sustain my feeling of inner peace!

Markers & Cheeks

One day last month, I found Kanyon like this...

And it took me back in time about 7 years ago, when I remember finding Ammon like this...

At least Kanyon used red WASHABLE marker on his face!! Because I remember it took a while for that black PERMANENT marker to be washed off of Ammon's butt!!

In our home, the rule is: color on PAPER, write on PAPER, draw on PAPER--not walls or furniture or bodies! But, I think every child likes to rebel against their parents' rules, and in this case, create body art at the same time!! There's never a dull moment while parenting boys, that's for sure!!!

a place of love and beauty

One of my personal goals for 2010 was to go to the temple 6 times. I'm grateful I set this as a goal for myself, because it really helped me to push myself to make the time to go! And I'm happy to report that I completed this particular goal at the end of November!

In February, I went to the Logan temple alone.

In April, I went to the Twin Falls temple with Josh for our anniversary.

In June, I went to the Idaho Falls temple to attend Josh's cousin Alyssa's wedding.

In October, I went to the Idaho Falls temple again with my friend Natalie.

In November, I went to the Boise temple alone.

And the morning after Thanksgiving, I went to the Ogden temple with Josh.

I enjoyed accomplishing this goal! I like visiting new and different temples, I love the peaceful and calm atmosphere of each temple, and I love feeling of the Spirit while inside the temple.