back in the rafters

I finally managed to dismantle my Christmas decorations and put them all in plastic bins, ready to stow in the garage rafters until next year. I'm sure glad that Storage of Christmas Boxes falls under Mark's job description, as I am not very good at standing on high ladders while hoisting large, heavy bins over my head.

The tree always seems a bit lonely after all the decorations come off, but I still think it's pretty (though I did notice a few strands of lights are not working--oh well, I'll deal with that next year).

Susan sent me a large box of beautiful assorted red ornaments to add to my tree this year. It took me way longer than in years past to sort and wrap everything. One idiosyncrasy of mine is that I like to dust the ornaments before I put them away. After all, they've been on the tree for about six weeks and no one dusted them while they were hanging there!

Moosey kept me company, cuddled up on the dirty table cloth (from John's birthday dinner) that hadn't yet made it into the laundry pile.

So now I feel a little blue and rather tired, but mostly relieved that I can now clean my house and move on with January.

happy 15th birthday John!

I always feel a little sorry for John on his birthday. It seems almost anti-climactic after the hoopla of the holidays, and some years--this one included--school has already started after the break. Happy Birthday. It's cold. It's January. Have fun at school.

Thankfully, John is easy to please and a good sport about the whole post-holiday-birthday thing. He started the day with a traditional box of Birthday Cereal, which in his case is Marshmallow Mateys. Inspired by his sisters, he decided he wants to fix up his bedroom for his main birthday gift. Before he came home from school, I made his bed with the new bedding that will inspire the palette for his room re-do. After a stop at Starbucks for a vanilla frappuccino (a treat--we never go there) he was pleasantly surprised with not only the new bedding ensemble, but also two new bed pillows from Emily. (His old ones were frightfully limp and lifeless!)

My mom came over later, homemade cake in hand, to help make dinner. Since my dad's birthday is the day before John's, and since we didn't want to make a roast with mashed potatoes and gravy two nights in a row (they both have the same favorite meal), we combined the family birthday dinners (more about my darling 89-year-old dad in an upcoming post).

My favorite gift for John was a larger-than-life framed photo of Moosey. The frame originally had a picture of Frank Sinatra in it and was on the clearance rack at Penneys. I replaced Frank with a black and white 12 x 12 photo of our adored pet cuddled up in her blanket. It will look perfect in his soon-to-be-painted room!


In addition to things for his room, he received an iTunes gift card (from Charlotte), a charger for his iPod, and a memory card to add to his cell phone. Mark selected the latter gift and John was beyond thrilled. I didn't even know you could buy memory upgrades for cell phones. It's a boy thing, I guess.

At the dinner table, when we each said something we love about John, I told him that I'm thankful and feel fortunate that I trust him. I appreciate that he wants to do what's right, even in a world where doing what's right isn't always "cool." I also love John for always telling me that he loves me--even when I drop him off at school, and even when he talks to me on the phone. I feel fortunate indeed to be his mother.

Another blessing? Look at what's waiting for us for tomorrow's breakfast:

this one's for you, Girls

Wood Family, Wood Family,
Be the strength!
Wood Family, Wood Family,
Go the length!

Feel the power.

final hurrah

Sarah had been pestering us all vacation long to go ice skating at a nearby outdoor rink. We thought we would go before Charlotte and Emily left, but for various reasons didn't, and wound up going Monday night for Family Home Evening, the night before school started again. Not being an outdoorsy or even remotely athletic girl, I was not looking forward to spending the evening in the freezing cold. I volunteered to stand on the sidelines and take pictures, even though I sort of felt like the "Boring Mom."

Though I did freeze and was sorely tempted to slip nonchalantly into the nearby Gap store, I was glad we went because the kids had so much fun. John is quite the speed skater, and Sarah--who I thought would be clinging to the side railing--didn't fall once. I guess she takes more after her Canadian-born father than her non-coordinated mother.

Lucky for me, John and Sarah worked up a sweat while skating and shed their outer-layer coats, which I gratefully accepted. I sat on one and covered up with the other. I wrapped Sarah's fleece scarf around my head and ears, and I'm quite sure I looked ridiculous huddled on a chair.

Sarah took a break and came to comfort me in my teeth-chattering condition.

When the kids were finally tired and ready to leave, I convinced everyone to pause under the light for a quick SP. It took a little persuading on my part, but they humored me. It's a little blurry, but I'll take what I can get under the circumstances.

I was ready for the hot cocoa we had upon returning home. Call me boring, but I'll take chocolate any day over any activity requiring dangerous footwear.

2009 word of the year

Of the many fun and relaxing things we did together during the Christmas holiday, one of our favorites was looking at family scrapbooks together. I started scrapbooking in 1995, and although I haven't always kept up-to-date with my albums, I have compiled about a dozen or more books through the years. We loved looking through the collection, marveling at how much younger everyone was (myself included), how cute the kids were as babies and young children, and reminiscing about various celebrations, friends, houses, and projects that have been a part of our family life.

Inspired by many of your New Year's resolutions, I had been thinking about choosing a word of the year, as many of my blogger friends do. After some thought and consideration, I have chosen remember as my word for 2009. Though a fairly mundane word at first glance, I have come to find many layers of meaning for me. As I was reading my scriptures last night, here are a few things I thought about:

• Remember to recognize and do the most important things first.
• Remember the happy times and be rejuvenated by them.
• Remember and learn from mistakes and hard times.
• Remember to look at the "big picture" when working toward long-term goals.
• Remember the things I need to take with me each day before I go out the door.
• Remember to think of others--and let them know that I am.
• Remember and reflect upon my baptismal and temple covenants.
• Remember and give honor to my ancestors.
• Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
• Remember to reflect upon and acknowledge how I "have seen the hand of God reaching out to touch [me] or [my] family [each] day." (President Henry B. Eyring, Oct. '07 General Conference, "O Remember, Remember")
  
• Remember who I serve--my Savior, Jesus Christ.

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Helaman 5: 12

My goal for 2009: Remember.

time in a bottle: Christmas Day

It wouldn't be Christmas morning without Hot Punch and homemade Caramel-Pecan rolls!

Fortunately, I remembered to snap this photo before they were all gone.

We were all glad to see that Moosey was in fact on Santa's "Nice" list, and that he didn't forget to leave her something--a new bed and a few toys in her stocking.

After my parents arrived around 9 a.m., we took our time opening gifts. I love unwrapping presents one at a time so we can see what everyone gets. Here, Emily displays the cupcake apron she received from Aunt Susan.

In addition to a long-wished for Nintendo DS, Sarah received some much-needed clothing.

The only gift I made this year was a dress coat in charcoal grey wool for Charlotte. This picture is somewhat blurry, but nevertheless captures her excitement upon opening her gift. Rewarding for me to see!

John was happy to get Guitar Hero World Tour. Here, he is excited to open a thoughtful gift from Charlotte--a guitar music book of one of his favorite bands.

After the gifts were opened, we opted to stay in our pajamas--far more conducive to lounging, watching television, and napping--which was all we did. Later, we enjoyed leftovers from the previous night's buffet. Moosey, unaccustomed to having round-the-clock attention, basked in the plethora of laps and eager would-be scratchers.

Biggest surprise of the day? Mark venturing into the world of self-portraiture.

A day of many treats, surprises, smiles, laughs, and good memories. *sigh* Good times.

time in a bottle: Christmas Eve

It's hard to believe that one week ago it was Christmas Eve. What is it about time that makes it seem to go both super fast and surrealistically slow at the same time? How is this possible? In some ways it seems like Christmas Eve--the baking, entertaining, anticipating--was forever ago, but at the same time I feel the days slipping away far too quickly with Real Life nipping dangerously at my heels.

Before the moment is too far gone, however, I want to recap our Christmas celebrations in the hope that by capturing a few moments of "time in a bottle" I can convince myself that it wasn't just a dream.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve buffet of smoked turkey and salmon, beef tenderloin, crabbed-stuffed twice-baked potatoes, three different salads, homemade rolls, and cooked carrots (the mother in me always hopes that, since my kids won't eat the spinach salad, they'll meet their vegetable quota another way).

We seated eleven for dinner; our friend Melissa and the missionaries came. Later, our friends the Namiaches stopped by with their two children (one of whom is Sarah's good friend) for dessert. They arrived just in time for our annual Christmas Eve program of music and stories, which Sarah organized this year.

I love watching the kids perform together. Though you can't see it in this photo, Emily was accompanying Charlotte and Sarah.

My mom and I have sung Pinecones and Hollyberries/It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas together every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember. We didn't have accompaniment this year, so it was a little rocky, but I will always treasure this memory.

Sarah invited her friend Danielle to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas with her. They read with such expression!

We had invited the missionaries to contribute to our program. Elder Welch brought his guitar and he and Elder Hixon sang a couple of Christmas carols. They did a nice job!

No matter how old the kids get, they still look forward to opening their *surprise!* pajamas on Christmas Eve. Here they are modeling their new sleep/lounge wear.

When the kids were ready for bed and the cookies and milk had been left out for Santa, they gathered in the girls' room for a game of electronic Life. The kids' tradition of playing a Christmas Eve game together in one of their bedrooms started a few years ago, and as one of Santa's helpers, I am a fan.

By midnight or so, not a creature was stirring and we slept undisturbed until 7:45 a.m. Christmas morning, when Sarah and John came downstairs to wake us.