December 2017

December was a fun month!  We had a lot of highlights!  Here are a few:

On December 1st, Eve and Sterling participated in their school fundraiser, the annual Spaghetti Dinner.  Since they are both in music groups they were able to perform for those who attended.

The following evening we attended our ward Christmas party.  It was a "Polar Express" theme with a Nativity at the end to remind us of what we should "Believe" in - Christ.
I was asked to play the part of Mary which included a short speaking part and a musical duet of "Mary's Lullaby."  It was a very well planned evening.  There was a short movie clip of getting on the Polar Express train, a hot cocoa bar, dinner, beautiful dessert tables, as well as a craft table, which  I was also able to help with.  The kids all got to wear their pajamas.

This is my friend, Gina Forsberg in her cute PJ's.

Sterling had two concerts in December for school.  One was his 6th grade band performance and the other was another Fiddle Fusion performance.  Here he is performing with the 1st year orchestra students in his Fiddle Fusion shirt.  He is in his second year of cello at Davis Middle School.

 

On the 16th we continued our annual gingerbread decorating tradition with the Kleins. 

On the 20th Christian had his preschool Christmas party.  This was fun for me to attend.  I especially love how he learned to sing Rudolf the Red -Nosed Reindeer.  Here is a picture before school of his Play Dough creation, and during his party doing a craft.

On the 16th we also attended a holiday party for Matthew and his co-workers.
There was a catered dinner, bowling and arcade games, which the kids loved!

On Christmas Eve Ivan surprised the kids by visiting for a few days.  It was fun to see their shock when they woke up to find him sleeping in the guest room.  We  had banana bread for breakfast and then enjoyed church (sacrament meeting only).  After lunch we had a great time with Ivan, complete with wrestling, laughing, and fun.  On Christmas Eve night we read the story of the nativity, and joined the Murray family for their annual talent share (via FaceTime). 

We had such a wonderful Christmas!  Here are some pictures.

Our traditional pastry wreath

The kids waiting for the"green light".

Breakfast

 Opening Presents

Creating a terrarium together

Handsome guys assembling the new game table

Playing Code Names together

 Trying out the new toys

We had a nice dinner and also pies for dessert.  It was a wonderful day!
We were sad to see Ivan leave the following day  He made everything so fun for us.  He is such a great uncle and brother!

Our 30 year old furnace died two days before Christmas.  Fortunately we stayed plenty warm with the space heaters, oven, and fireplace while Ivan was here.  After he left the temperatures dropped and so we closed off sections of the house to conserve the heat until our new furnace was installed the following Friday.  As our old furnace left the house I felt like saying "Out with the old!  In with the new!" Perfect for the approaching new year.  :)
 

That evening we went to see the Chinese Lantern Festival.  It was pretty cool.

On the 30th we went to visit Kelly and the Sanchez family in Michigan for New Year's.  We loved being with their family!  It was a short, but sweet visit.  We are grateful for their willingness to host us.  Everything is more fun with family!

At this time of year we are especially grateful for all of our many blessings!  We look back on 2017 as a year filled with uplifting experiences, growth, and treasured relationships!  We know that all these gifts come from God and we are especially grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ to show us how to enjoy these blessings for eternity!  We are so grateful for all that we are blessed with, and look forward to a wonderful upcoming year.

November 2017

November was a month where we got many opportunities to enjoy our extended family.

At the beginning of the month Sheri and I flew to Denver to see my niece, Mary's baptism.  This was Sheri's first time on an airplane and it was fun to have a trip, with just the two of us.

I enjoyed catching up with my dad and then we met all the girls for lunch.  Wish I had a pic!
In the evening I got to see Joseph's play.  He did a fabulous job! 

Saturday morning my mom and I went to Deseret Book store and then we headed to the church for the baptism.
Annie had a beautiful dessert table.   The baptismal service was very special and had a sweet spirit of joy!  I was happy to share my thoughts on the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was great to see all the family and friends that came.  Mary looked beautiful, as did Annie.  Jeff and Jonathan looked handsome as well.

I am grateful to my Dad for sharing these photos with me, since most of mine didn't turn out at the end of the event.

After the baptism we went to lunch.  Here are Sheri and Mary with Ivan.  You can see how much they all love being together.

Later I got to spend an evening with Ivan.  We attended a salon for Annie's choir group where they did lots of mis-cast songs (where the performers sang nontraditional parts.)  This was so fun to see!  Annie was in at least 4 numbers and she did beautiful, awesome, hilarious, outrageous, and fun numbers.  She "ROCKED" that night.  What fun!  She has so much personality and zest for life.  I really admire how she continues to develop her musical talents (as do many in my family).

Sunday I attended church with my sisters and was grateful to hear Jennifer present a lesson in Relief Society about doing better or "lengthening our stride"  basically.  It was very well done.  She has set a great example of prioritizing time for serving God and others.  Our lives are all so busy that we must carve out time for the most important things.  I loved it!

Then we all came together for a family dinner.  I had such a nice time!

Each day was such a treasured time for Sheri and me to be with family!

The month continued on with the usual, dance, music lessons, clubs, church activities, and school.  Sterling started his basketball practices which has been a nice addition.

Eve had a music concert at school which included both the 8th grade band and orchestra.  She also was able to play with the ward choir in church.

Christian's become very interested in doing art.  His works have become more detailed and he spends more time on them.

Toward the end of the month Matt flew to Utah to see his nephew's wedding/sealing in the Salt Lake temple.  While he was there he also took the opportunity to attend a BYU football game and climb Y mountain with his brother, Michael.

Here are some pictures of the wedding day.

Then Matt flew to Washington, D.C.  while the rest of us drove from Ohio.  We were excited to spend Thanksgiving with Matt's Brother, Jeff and their family.  We were also happy that Mike and his family also came.
Here you can see how happy we were to be with Matt again.

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving.  It is so fun to bake and talk together.  That is when all the great conversation happens.  I also love that we all share the load.  And somehow, dishes are more fun at someone else's house. :)

The day after Thanksgiving we went into D.C. to enjoy the monuments and some fresh air and sunshine. It was a beautiful day.  We were also happy that Matt's parents flew into join all of us.

I was particularly touched remembering all those who have sacrificed their lives for building this great nation and for protecting freedom!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we were happy to be able to see Jeff's daughter, Sky get baptized.  She was baptized by her older brother, Noah and confirmed by Jeff.
I had the opportunity to share my feelings again about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and I hope that it helped someone gain a greater understanding of how this gift can bless their own life.

I was touched by the love I felt as I watched Noah help his little sister along the covenant path.  What a great example he was.  It is symbolic of the love Christ has for each of us as our Older Brother!

After Church Sunday morning we drove home to Columbus to begin another week.  That about sums up our November activities.

We feel extremely blessed to have such wonderful families and time to enjoy them!  We are grateful for our memories of precious time spent together!  These relationships are eternal and we are so grateful that we can be with them forever through the ordinances we receive in the temple.  We feel so thankful for all our blessings!