announcing...

well, there are things in my life that are changing.  one of them is that a couple of weeks ago, i was "released" from my calling as primary pianist.  meaning that for the past two years, i had played the piano for the children at church.  it is a calling that i have really enjoyed.  it was the same calling that i had in oregon before we moved here and before that, i was in nursery (tending the babes) and primary on and off ever since our college days.  i have enjoyed those callings.  but i have to say, i was a little excited when i was released at the prospect of being able to attend relief society.

i TRULY have enjoyed primary but i have TRULY missed my "grown-up" lady time in the relief society. after i was informed of my new calling (which is our ward music chair-person in charge of making important decisions such as which hymns we will sing each sunday, keeping the chorister and organists in line and putting together musical numbers for our meetings).  i am glad to still be involved in a musical capacity as i really feel like it keeps me in on my toes and in good practice.

anyway, i was excited when they broke the news.  but i have to say, in the last week or so, as it has floated around in my brain that i get to attend rs, i have started to swell with excitement and anticipation to the point of being giddy.  i can't wait to sit with my mom.  i can't wait to chat with my friends.  i can't wait to meet all the new people that aren't really new but i have missed while being in primary.  i can't wait to have spiritually uplifting lessons that provoke spiritual thought and desire for improvement.  i can't wait to hear the experiences of others that make me see things in a different light.  really really excited.

so my announcement is that this sunday, i will be attending my ward relief society for the first time (officially) in a long time.  i will be the one with a cheesy grin on my face.  and i will be loving every minute. i'm ready for that lacy tablecloth and fake flowers:)

Christmas Card

we wish you and your families a very merry christmas!!!! thank you for being a part of our lives!

this christmas

this christmas, we have an an unusual opportunity to share and make a difference.  our inspired bishop came up with a plan to help several families from the downtown area who had REAL hardships.  handed over to our ward relief society, the project was filled with overwhelming results.  each family who wanted to be involved picked off of the list of many needs and a few wants and together we worked to get together on a christmas that none of us will soon forget.  we were asked to share our experience of tonight as we were assigned families to deliver the gifts to.  this is just a copy of the email and some of my feelings about the experience for the record.

{notice joshie and caleb in love with the baby}

Our family along with the Culebros visited and delivered the gifts to the Al-Hakeem family.  Mom and Dad and two adorable boys....Toddler (2) and Baby(6 months).  They were so sweet and invited us into their home.  They were overwhelmed at the number of gifts that we brought through their doors and into their little apartment.  It was clear they were not expecting that much.  We sang "Jingle Bells" and "Away in a Manger".  Knowing we were coming, she had prepared cherry crisp, brownies and hot chocolate for us.  We enjoyed playing with that sweet baby  and visiting a while.  

I would like to add a side note of how grateful I have been for this opportunity this season.  We have so enjoyed this experience.  I really feel like it has sunk in with my children in a way that nothing else would.  Caleb was so excited about the gifts that we purchased for these children.  He wanted to put all his favorite things in the cart for them to enjoy like he does.  When we loaded up the truck with the amazing race car toddler bed, he fell instantly in love and I wondered if he'd be too attached by the time we got there.  But he was so excited for his new friend to have that bed and was bursting to share with him the possibilities of the adventures that might be had with such a bed.  

Earlier today, my daughter, Maryn was feeling quite hard done by in her life's circumstances....mostly the injustice of having brothers and no sisters.  I had a long talk with her about how blessed she was but I was sure it hadn't sunk in. Tonight it did.  She realized her blessings and shared how happy she was that we could take all those gifts to that little family.  

For me too, it melted away the worries I have been feeling of getting by here and there and helped me realize the great blessings in this life.  Not only temporal but mostly the blessings of the gospel.  

This Christmas has been a very special and meaningful one for our family and we are grateful for the efforts of all those who made all this happen.  I know that it has helped those families and ours to have an unforgettable Christmas.

Thank you. 

season's greetings

this season has been fantastic so far.  i don't quite remember a holiday season that i have enjoyed quite as much in many years.  but it is flying by at a rate of knots and every time i think that i might be getting on top of things, i reassess how close we are to christmas and the day we leave for our eric's folks and all thoughts of being on top of anything are flying out the window too.  but it's been a peaceful craziness.  one in which we have taken the time to be close, hug one another, enjoy just being together, taking time to think of and serve others and most importantly remember our savior...even reconnect with him....with the divine and feel the closeness and tenderness of that love which surrounds us.

i don't know what you think about when you think about jesus.  i'm sure we all have pictures that are quite different.  when i think of who he is, i don't think of the somber character portrayed in much christian art (although beautiful in it's own right).  i think of the tender, sweet, kind eyes that are full of love for me.  i think of the loving arms i have felt in my life which have comforted me, lifted me, and reassured me.  i think of the strength of those arms which have forgiven my shortcomings and at the same time enlarged my abilities to be able to accomplish things i never thought that i could.  when i think of jesus, i think of love.  i think of how everything that is pure, good, and wonderful on this earth represents him....who created it.

don't forget this season to think of his arms.  those arms are meant for you and for me.

we are not perfect....

but through him we can become so. 

christmas party

last night was our ward christmas party....an annual event that is looked forward to.  i love our ward.  i know that is turning into a cliche but we seriously have the most phenomenal ward and i am in awe of the incredible ladies who are my friends, the honorable gents who serve their families diligently, the caliber of our youth, children and babies.  seriously, it's ridiculous.  i know the surrounding areas love to turn their noses up at highlands ranch, but i always chuckle to myself at knowing the incredible community that they are turning their backs on.

anyway, back to the party....or before the party.  a couple of weeks ago eric and i were asked to sing at the christmas party.  which was great.  but we've been busy...pretty much since about  18 months ago and so i kind of stuck it on the back burner.  until this last week when i went to get out our array of christmas music only to find out that it has disappeared off the face of the planet.  so after searching and shout-outs to the local community i borrowed a book with an adequate song in...this is now 3 days before the party and i didn't feel that it was fair to ask someone to accompany us with such short notice.  so i resolved that i would just play and sing...which i have done for a years...but i always try to avoid it in performance situations as some people think it's tacky.  so we ran through the song a few times (it's one that we have sung many times before) and our kids would sing along at home.  

anyway, the night of the performance, we get up to sing.  eric has to hold my mic and his.  but it gets off to an okay start.  thirty seconds into the song, maryn shows up at my side singing along happily.  next joshie shows up and climbs over my playing and singing and plunks himself right into my lap in the middle of the song.  this was a little awkward but we managed to keep the performance going with only minor blupses as he knocked my arms here and there and we tried to sing as if nothing were going on.  as we felt like we were getting to a point of recovery and about to enter the final build-up chorus, caleb shows up behind me and belts the chorus....completely out of tune.  at this point i was just trying to hold it together and not die laughing.  with the song complete, we ushered out ENTIRE family off the stage.  

ahhh....what a night!  it was one of those things where you just throw your hands up and say, oh well...this is real life!  there was no voice enhancement, choreographed moves or anything fake.  and so it happened.  still laughing...

oh christmas tree

christmas is in full swing at our house.  the tree and decorations are up....except the stockings because i need to get the hanger thingy for them.  we are watching christmas movies like crazy (i LOVE christmas movies....CHEESY ones!...my favorite so far this year and every other year is white christmas.....classic!)! we have sugar coming out of our ears and christmas music blaring....projects for school christmas parties underway and several secret santa/service projects.  with a side of life as usual.

we trekked up in the mountain for the annual christmas tree hunt and chop down.  this is our first year doing it in colorado as last year we got ours in idaho while there for thanksgiving.  anyway, we have found there are a few differences....1. we arrived in the mountains dressed to take on a blizzard and it was a clear, fair, 54 degrees.  so we trekked around in our snowboots and hats and died in our jackets.  2. being on foot with three young kids is a little different than going on four-wheelers....they don't quite have the stamina...and so eric will tell you that we 'settled' for our charlie brown tree after trekking the woods for an hour and a half and the kids were finished!! but we had a fun time exploring the buffalo creek area a climbing rocks and boulders.  all in all a good day.  i will warn you that i look like a cancer patient with no hair...having short hair and no make-up under a hat will do that to you!

the man's job...

this week we are gearing up for christmas parties, getting my final print and card orders in (yay!), and eric and i are singing on friday night...and we still haven't settled on a song yet (yikes)!  hope that your holidays are feeling as wonderful as ours have so far!