Merry Christmas 2011

I am so excited to finally be writing a Christmas letter! If you are reading this, I even remembered to post, email, and/or mail it.

Andrew turned SWEET sixteen this year. Don’t worry, the roads are still safe, for now. He is too busy doing what he loves (computer & reading) to be bothered with getting his driver’s license. He has grown several inches this year as well.

Brittany turned 12 this year. She has the eye -roll down to a science. She can also belch so loud you wouldn’t believe that sound would come from little her. She hung up her clogging shoes and is learning to play the flute, do yoga, and Zumba. Her appetite for reading is so voracious, I find myself at the library every week just to keep up. She is also a talented writer. In fact, I think future Christmas letters may be her responsibility from here on out.

There isn’t anything Gavin can’t do once he sets his mind to it. This year he had a winning soccer season, received the Builder of the Month Award, and got straight A’s. He loves to read, play with Legos, build, create, invent, and joke around. He also serves as our family’s full time conscience. He is tenderhearted, full of the Spirit, and melts my heart.

7 year old Ben is a natural born athlete. That kid has moves! He can tumble and flip and shake those hips. He likes to be the center of attention and can be very entertaining. In his prayers, my favorite phrase is “MAKE IT SO (insert whatever he wants God to take care of for him).”

Samuel (not Sam or Sammy) will be 5 years old in three weeks. He is a sponge at preschool. He wants to learn everything and tell you all about it. To say that Samuel is a handful is an understatement. He is completely obsessed with trains. If only we had a real train in our back yard so that he could ride it around and around while I got some household chores finished!

Elyssa (pronounced eh-li-sah) turned 2 this year. She is all girl. She picks out her clothes and usually insists on wearing her Tinker Bell PJs. Her long blonde curls and sweet smile have the rest of us wrapped around her little finger. Her vocabulary is amazing! Her favorite TV show is “Go Diego Go” and she loves to color.Busy is a good word for my life at the moment. To keep up with the kids, I started running (something I never thought I’d even try, let alone want to do). I’ve served as Primary Chorister (3 years) and was just called to teach Gospel Doctrine class.

Brian started running last year. This year he ran his first ½ marathon and full marathon. Brian currently serves as the Scoutmaster and 2nd Counselor in the Young Men’s Presidency. He has been on many a scout campout this year, and has dragged us up into the mountains as often as his schedule allows. In July, he took Brittany and Gavin on a backpacking trip in the High Uintas. Brian loves his job working for the LDS church in their Family History Department.

We are truly blessed to have each of you in our lives. We wish you a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Night Out -

Last night I got to go to the General Relief Society Meeting in the Conference Center with some friends from my ward. The talks were all very good, though I was doing a little head nodding through some of it but you can't blame me since it was dark and quiet and the only time the noise stops in my house is when everyone is sleeping.

Anyway, I think that I've been feeling a lack of "JOY" in my life as I move through my days doing laundry, preparing meals, and picking up toys just to go to bed and do it all again the next day. That's just the little stuff. I have been feeling overwhelmed with trying to DO everything that needs doing as a mother, a wife, a music leader, a friend, a sister, and so on. I was complaining to my husband Friday night about it and I knew that those things were not going to change, it was my attitude that was going to need to change, but how? I really felt like there was a big ugly wall in front of me. Fast forward to the next evening when Sister Barbara Thompson quoted President Monson as saying, “As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified.” And then she talked about the true joy and happiness that comes from keeping covenants. I really perked up at the word JOY. I like that word. It means so much more than just "happy." Joy is like rejoicing in life and feeling that all your burdens are light.

President Uchtdorf spoke afterwards and from his first point when he said "Please never forget that you must be patient and compassionate with yourselves..." I knew I needed to hear his message. I don't think I'm the only one who got something out of his message last night and that the message I got through the Spirit was what I needed to hear and that if you listened to him, you would get the message that you need to hear. I was just so surprised to be feeling utterly desperate and overwhelmed and the answer came so quickly and that I have direction now that I couldn't see before. I'm so glad that the Spirit speaks to each of us and that our trials matter to our loving Father and his son Jesus Christ.

Happy Pioneer Day --- and "my crazy family"

Elyssa kept climbing out of her crib, so it was time to get out the toddler bed. She absolutely loves her new bed! Now all I have to do is get her to actually fall asleep in it.

Ben thinks that Brian's back is a DANCE floor!

Samuel thought up a new recipe. He spent the morning pealing peas from our garden. .
The next step naturally was to place them in his waffle and enjoy with butter and syrup!

He's too adorable. What can I say?

Sweet Sixteen!

There is NO way I'm old enough to have a 16 year old! Unfortunately there are pictures to prove it.

Happy Birthday Andrew

We spent the morning at the Great Salt Lake and the afternoon having water wars in the front yard. Andrew's friends and family near and far joined us.
Cake and Ice-cream at Grandma Johnson's

My baby turns 2

Elyssa got: cute clothes from Brian's parents, an adorable dress and puzzle from my parents

We went to the most awesome park in West Jordan (Skye Park)

A mini pillow pet from her cousins-

Lalaloopsy dolls from her siblings -

My sister made the cutest cake ever!Here's my sister with her masterpiece -

Happy Number Two Blondie!

She's In Love With a Boy . . .

...was the name of the song Brittany danced to during her clogging recital on Saturday. I'm so amazed at how much she has learned in only 8 months. Great job Brittany - you are amazing!

Go Cougars!

It was a close game-- I couldn't watch, not because it was too intense for me, but because I don't have TBS on my TV (contractual agreements bah humbug!). That didn't stop us from cheering the Cougs on in hopes they would make it past Sweet Sixteen! Andrew even helped me make some goodies to get us in the spirit.
Andrew showing off his creations (including the clay dish he brought home from his pottery class).
I got these ideas from the blog "Our Best Bites"
Really, I'm not a big sports fan, but it was fun to curl up on the couch with Brian and watch basketball and cheer on our alma mater. We watched UCONN vs. SDSU while keeping track of the score between BYU and Florida.

I'm cooking again!

My thyroid surprised me and went berserk again, so I dropped my life and stopped cooking, cleaning, and exercising. Okay, so who am I kidding, it's not like I did those things on a regular basis anyway, but my thyroid making me feel yuck was just the excuse that I needed. Once I got back on medication, I started feeling like I could tackle cooking. (One of the meds I tried made me break out in an itchy rash but you don't want to read a blog about itchy rashes).

When my friend told me about their weeknight themed dinners, I decided to give it a try. There's a TV show and a blog called the FoodNanny. The idea is to pick a theme each night (i.e. Italian, Mexican, Soups, etc..) and then plan meals around the theme. The kids get excited because they memorize that on Monday nights it is Breakfast night, and on Tuesday nights, it's Italian. You get the picture.

Anyway, the foodnanny has a two-week planner and has recipes that you can use for the different themes. You can also put in your own recipes. Once you've planned out two weeks worth of meals, you can print your plan and print a grocery list based on the meals you've chosen. We've only been at this for two weeks, but I'm loving the new recipes and having things planned ahead so I don't fret all day about what I'm going to cook for dinner.

In the March Ensign there is an article about teaching our children the doctrine of the family. You can READ IT here. I thought that if I'm going to provide good family experiences and have opportunites to teach my children gospel doctrine regarding how we as Latter Day Saints feel about the importance and eternal nature of families, then what better way than at dinner time?

We've tried new things like Pad Thai and cream cheese wontons. I even found my new favorite recipe for cinnamon rolls. Okay, so I've never had a favorite recipe for cinammon rolls because I've never liked any of the recipes that I tried. These ones were superfabulousdeliciouso! Here's a picture -

Your mouth is watering isn't it? I know, too yummy. Anyway, having meals planned out has helped my family look forward to dinner time and has created a better atmosphere at the dinner table. I've menu planned before, but have never stuck with it for the long term. If I get all my recipes into the FoodNanny's planning manager, I think it will make it easier for me to make it happen. I love Allrecipes.com and use recipes from there at least once a week, but they make you pay money if you want to use their menu planner.

Running isn't fun

Running is on the Top 10 list of my least favorite forms of exercise. Maybe it is because I feel like I want to throw up after running 2 blocks. Yes, I measure my running capabilities in terms of neighborhood blocks instead of miles, because I've never made it out of the neighborhood. Brian, on the other hand, is my running hero. He only started running 6 months ago. Last weekend he completed his first ever half marathon. For you non-running folk out there, that is 13.1 miles! He raced with his brother in the Canyonlands 1/2 marathon. I would tell you how awesome he did, but I think I might embarrass him. I didn't get to go and watch him cross the finish line, but I am so proud of him! It almost makes me want to take up running so that we'll have some form of exercise that we both like to do! I said almost - I guess he'll just have to take up pilates!