Christmas Cards

Thank you to everyone who sent me a Christmas card this month.  They made me so happy!  I have no idea when I'll take them down...I love them.

Merry Christmas

A wonderful Christmas with my tall, beautiful daughters and generous husband - our theme was doggie jammies in honor of our number one Christmas present:  our dog, Ginger.

Hugging and loving my dad and sister who traveled to spend Christmas with us.

Topped off by a 2-hour phone call with my missionary son, who was blessed to teach and baptize a Korean brother on Christmas Day.  So thankful.

Looking Like Christmas

Making sugar cookies for our neighbors.

Got this pic at the local Christmas tree lot.

Crazy Holiday Season

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! Lots of basketball games (16 in one week). Here's a few pictures from some of our stuff:

Jenna and Kellie all dressed up to go to the Ugly Sweater dance at school.

Katie at her first basketball game.

Kellie's official pic for the sophomore team.

Jenna's official pic for the JV/Varsity team.

Looking alot like Christmas

It's looking a lot like Christmas at my house and I'm so glad because I like all our Christmas decorations! Here's a little virtual tour:

These are the stuffed animals - I had to put them all together this year in a room away from the dog because we discovered that the dog LOVES to pull the ears off of stuffed toys. I especially love the Rudolph and penguin.

These three are of the windows in my kitchen right by the sink. I stand at these windows a lot to look out back at Utah Lake (and do dishes), so I put all my favorite little knick knacks there. Favorites here are the sock snowman, "Teach the Children" poem and sack, picture of Mary and Jesus, wood manger scene, and little plaid Santa sack (which I have had for like 18 years).

Christmas trees - I love them! We have them in every room, including the girls bedrooms.

This is the tree in front of our house. Last year, we had Josh and Kellie climb up and put lights all in it. This year, I found gigantic ornaments to hang on it.

Kitchen Christmas tree - I use little lightbulb necklaces for the lights and the ornaments are new this year: snowmen and reindeer.

Our "Jesus tree" - the first year that Katie was in our home (2001) I got all the pictures of the Savior that I could find and we decorated them with paper and glitter and then hung them on the tree along with a "gift" of an act of service we would perform for Jesus' birthday.

Stockings hung by the chimney with care - I bought all the stockings and cross stitched everyone's name on them as each child arrived. The hangers are a new things for this year. I've always wanted them!

Our main tree. When David's grandpa was alive, he would send us money every year for Christmas. About 5 years into our marriage, we used the money to buy this tree. Every year when we put it up, we think of him and his kind, generous love for us. The ornaments are pictures of my children - my mom learned how to create them when we were kids and she helped us learn. My sister made some of these for me as a gift one year, and I have added some since then.

Elves! My sister-in-law made these cute elves each year and sold them at Christmastime. One year, she gave us a personalized one for each member of our family. This year, they're sitting on this shelf in the kitchen/dining - I usually pose them funny, this year Josh is lying down :)

Door hanger - I've had this for years and I just think it's cute.

Nativity - my mom got this for us many years ago when she decided she wanted all her children to have a nativity. It's still in pretty good shape except for the baby Jesus who has been held and dropped too many times by loving children.

One more tree to come: this year we're getting a live tree for our TV room, partly because we have so many ornaments and partly because we just think it'll be fun!

Ginger

Two weeks ago, a dog wandered into the Thunderdome at Timpview. The girls coach, Jaimie, felt sorry for the dog and said to Jenna, "Jenna, take this dog home and I'll be by to get her later." Well, later didn't happen and after realizing that the dog didn't have any tags and no way to find its owner, we called Animal Control. We could tell that the dog was well-trained: she sits, shakes, rolls over, so we knew that she'd had an owner and been well-loved. Animal Control took her to the shelter where they found that she'd had a microchip under her skin to identify her owner, but after following all the info on that, they ended up at a dead end.

In the meantime, we were told that if she wasn't claimed by Saturday, that she would go up for adoption. David and I were praying that the owners would be found because we just didn't know if we were ready for a dog. The shelter called us on Wednesday and asked if we were interested in adopting her and I said, "Well, we don't want her to be put down, so if her owners aren't found, then call us." Turns out, what the lady really meant was, "someone else is interested in adopting the dog, so if you want first chance, you need to say so" but she didn't say that.

On Friday, I woke up and knew that I wanted to adopt that dog, so you can imagine my dismay when I called the shelter and they said, "Well, we called you and we have an application from someone else, so you'll have to turn in an application, too, and then we'll give the dog to the best home for her." I hustled down and filled out an application and the next morning, we got the call that we were pet owners!

The dog is a girl who all my girls named Ginger within moments of first finding her. She is a cocker spaniel, super cute. The shelter estimated her age at 8 years, but a trip to the vet put her at 3 years old. The hair on her ears and legs and belly was so matted that the people at Petsmart were nice enough to clip it off her even though she couldn't be completely groomed until 48 hours after her rabies shot. She came out of that experience a completely different-looking dog. Still cute, but SHORT hair. The super plus: she smells so much better!

We are getting used to the new responsibility and adjusting to taking the dog for walks and out to go potty and all the things that go along with a pet. She absolutely loves us and does not want to be alone. She likes to go outside, but she will not explore unless someone from the family is out there with her.

So, I am a pet owner. I can't believe I just wrote that.

They made the team!

Jenna and Kellie made the Timpview girls basketball team! Hurray! Wahoo! Yeehaw! Even more amazing because only 16 girls were selected for the combined JV/Varsity team and Jenna was one of those, and only 6 girls for the sophomore team and Kellie was one of those. Good job, girls! I can't wait to spend the next 4 months watching you play!

Halloween

We definitely enjoyed Halloween, the holiday otherwise known as "gorge yourself on candy day." I have eaten so much chocolate the last few days that I actually wanted to have a salad yesterday. It takes a lot of sugar to get me to that point!

Alissa and her friends went as fairy ninjas - the perfect combination of girlie and tough!

Katie and her friend Grace went as pirates and were joined by some other neighbor friends.

Jenna and Kellie wanted to dress up (Egyptian and princess), but I was a little hesitant about them going trick-or-treating (too old?) so I said they could go to all their young women leaders. This turned out to be the best because they got full-size candy bars for their efforts!

Mom

Yesterday, my daughter called another woman "Mom".

I was surprised that this struck me with such force.

"But I'm "Mom," I protested mentally, at least when it comes to this child.

I tried to brush it off, no big deal, I'm not bugged, but the fact that I am awake at 5am with a tear in my eye tells me that this was no small thing to me and I have to wonder: why?

Perhaps it is that the word itself is entwined around a woman and a relationship that I spent decades deciphering. My relationship with my mom was...complicated. Two very different personalities, struggling to find harmony amidst conflicting ideas and viewpoints. I spent my teenage years grappling with her on every issue, disagreeing on the vast majority of them. In my early adulthood, I blamed her for some of my own troubles while at the same time, recognizing that no one loved me with the same intensity that she did, nor was there was anyone I trusted quite as much as I trusted her.

Fortunately, God is kind, and He brought me into startlingly close proximity with my mom to work out my lifetime of conflicting emotions until together, we found understanding, resolution, peace.

I think it is this battle that makes the term more precious. "Mom" is not a title that I apply casually. There is only one person who has earned that name in my life, and I guard carefully its application; hence, the strong emotions when it came out of the mouth of my own child towards someone other than me.

I cannot deny that I am incapable of raising my children without the help of other women. I am not the end-all of mothers, nor am I the perfect fit for every one of my children, and there are many areas in which I am seriously found wanting. There are countless women who have stepped up to fill these gaps in my childrens' lives and I am profoundly grateful that they would care enough about children who are not their own to help this way. I cannot say that I have done the same. More and more the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" echoes through my mind as I see my offspring become more than I could have helped them to be on my own.

So why the frantic stirrings over a title so small as "Mom"? Are we not all mothers?

And yet, a small part of me protests, "But these are MY children. I bore them. I sacrifice for them. I love them in a way that I love no other children and, I believe, in a way that no other person could love them."

I will have to think on this one.

Goblins

We spent two days camping out in Goblin Valley - the girls loved it! Me? Well, I surely didn't appreciate that the nearest (and only) restroom was the rock around the bend, but I did like telling scary stories and funny jokes and seeing shooting stars and watching Jenna, Kellie, and Alissa choreograph their own dance routine to Justin Bieber's "Baby" (they swear they aren't fans, but they know EVERY WORD to this song). I also love the beautiful pictures of the red rock area of Utah and eating s'mores and all the funny poses of my girls.

I hear there is a movie (Galaxy Quest?) that has some scenes shot in Goblin Valley...any opinions on whether we should watch?

State Champ

My daughter is a state champ - 'tis true, 'tis true. Her cross country team came in second in the Utah 4A race - running a difficult, hilly course that taxed their determination and spirit. It's a good things she's run over 500 miles in the last few months so that she could be ready!

Much thanks to her fabulous coach, Jaimie, and to the girls on the team who all support and encourage each other. And thanks, also, to her former coach, Travis Madsen, who got off work just to come watch her and whose cheering in the final moments gave her that little push she needed to keep going. We love you guys! Oh - and Jenna's team is nationally ranked. You can check that out here: http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-cross-country/team-rankings/fab50

Double Digits

Today is Double Digits Day for my youngest child. The big 1-0. Yep, she's 10. She was so excited about this that she woke up at 4:15 this morning. But then, a downer because she wasn't actually born until 4:59 am so she wasn't really 10 yet. Fortunately, she was able to fall back to sleep and wake up at 6:45 fully and officially 10 years old. Whew!

How I love my Katie Lois. She was the only one of my 5 children that we didn't find out was a boy or a girl before she was born. I wanted a surprise, so we could hear the words, "It's a girl!" and laugh with joy at the wonder of life and the fact that WE HAD FOUR GIRLS!

Katie is an individual. She has definite opinions about the when and where and why of life. She has a flair for the dramatic, and keeps us chuckling with her observations of life. She loves to laugh, and when she gets to giggling, she inevitably ends up with the hiccups (she had the hiccups the whole time I was pregnant with her). Her heart is tender, filled with compassion for babies and children and animals and suffering. At her young age, she understands what it means to mourn with those who mourn.

It can be a tough gig being the youngest. Lots of people telling you what to do or not to do, ratting you out to Mom and Dad, and you always get stuck in the back seat because you're the smallest. But then, there are the perks: you're still small enough for Mom to snuggle and smooch, you still want and get toys for Christmas and birthdays, and you can still order off the kids menu at restaurants where the macaroni and cheese is plentiful and comes with a drink (Sprite) and a dessert.

I love you, Katie! Welcome to double digits! I'm so glad you picked us as your family!

1st picture: the shirt Josh sent her from his mission.

2nd picture: Laughing at the card Grandpa Gresko sent her; it sings "Shake It Up, Baby Now!"

My Missionary

One of the things I do at the MTC is act in a short play that the missionaries see the Friday before they depart for their assigned missions. Since Josh leaves for Korea tomorrow, I knew he would be at the one this week, so I brought David along.

We were able to give our Elder Crowther a hug and a Korean flag cake and money, but mostly our love and support. Doesn't he look fabulous? And he's so excited and ready to go to Korea.

These are some of my favorite pictures from his two and a half months in the MTC. I LOVE MY MISSIONARY!!

Big group photo at the Provo temple with all the Korean missionaries.

Learning the language.

He loves Korea!

The sisters and elders in his district.

Josh, Elder Miller, Elder Gomez, and Elder McCausland have been together in the MTC for the entire 12 weeks.

Good men!

Lean on me.

Sporty Girls

Early on in our family, when we were having girls, girls, and more girls, David voiced his opinion on which direction we should try to steer their interests:

"I want them to be sporty girls," he said. "Girls who can play sports are a lot cooler to guys than girlie girls." (Although attracting the guys is the last thing he wants for them now!)

Add to that statement an oft-spoken disdain for cheerleading and other "girlie" pursuits and you end up with what we have now: a houseful of sporty girls.

They are pretty cool, I must admit.

And strong. These girls can endure and overcome all kinds of troubles and difficulties; in short, they can do hard things. Every time I watch them run a race or compete in a game and see them sweating or hurting or struggling, and then watch them push through it and finish with determination, I am in awe.

These amazing creatures are my children.

Now, lest you think we haven't allowed them the opportunity to explore all their interests, let it be known that I put them all in dance classes (much to the chagrin of their dad, but he did pay for it and attend all their performances, with flowers and a smile). But it was the sports that stuck.

[They also all play various instruments, perform in plays, and are excellent students. But that is another story...]

The really great thing now is that we have so many activities that we can do together as a family: hiking and running and basketball and soccer. Plus, they're good for us! Keeps the ever-aging mom and dad spry and agile (or at least moving).

So I'm grateful that my good husband put a plug in for sporty girls. I love 'em!

Playing hoops with Dad.