Certified!

Well...almost. Brian and Em went up to the crater at the Homestead for Emilee's two days of open water certification. Day 1...not so successful, but after some sudafed and afrin Day 2 went much better.

A few years ago in church our friend, Justin gave a talk where he explained that he always tells his girls "you can do hard things!". His words have stuck with me all this time and it is something that I have found myself repeating to my own girls.

During the course of Emilee's dive certification we have had this conversation several times and I am so proud of her! She did it!

Expansion

You may think it looks harmless, but my seven year old would quickly correct that very mistaken impression.

If you had been hanging around our house this past week you might still think that the Middle Ages were in full swing, and that torturing small children was an acceptable practice. Every evening around bedtime the wailing would begin...echoing through the chambers of the house shrill screams of "not the crank" and "don't tighten it! " along with shouts of "NO, MOM, NO."

A friend once told me that she always used to tell her daughters "Beauty is Pain" as she combed out their snarls and got them ready for the day. That hasn't been quite the lesson I wanted Sadie to learn this week, and besides who wants the moral of the story when their teeth, their head and their tongue hurts?

Let's just say it's been a long couple of days. But I think we might be through the woods. Tonight as we finished the crank and the hysterics I looked down at Sadie and asked as I dried her tears "Does it even hurt anymore?" She stopped crying and looked up at me thinking. "You're just crying because you remember that it did hurt a few days ago, huh..." and then she started giggling.

I decided that's the moral of the story for this week: growing can be painful, whether it's reshaping your mouth, or your life. And that seems a lot better lesson to teach my girls...instead of "beauty is pain" how about "inner beauty often comes from painful lessons." But I still think I might wait a few days to pass on my little bit of mom wisdom...at least until all the aching subsides.

Traditions I

Just after Em was born I started our Christmas book tradition. Every year we add a Christmas book to our collection, and when I put away the Christmas stuff in January I write a little Christmas synopsis and attach it in the front of the book.

We have the classics...the Night Before Christmas, the Grinch, the Polar Express. We have the Tale of Three Trees and Christmas Oranges. We even have a Little Golden Book that I tracked down called the Animals Christmas Eve. It's a story that my Mom bought when I was three and we have read it every Christmas since.

This year's book is A Christmas Dress for Ellen by President Thomas S. Monson, and is the retelling of a 1927 Christmas in a little frozen Canadian town. As I read this story tonight to the girls I was reminded again of all that we have. Even in the middle of a recession our circumstances are so far removed from 80 years ago. I often think (with gratitude), that my kids live so far removed from want. Yet at the same time, I want them to recognize and be grateful for what they have.

How do you do that?

Artificial

Until last year we had a Christmas tree tradition. We would get a tree permit (an adventure of it's own) and then a couple weeks later go up into the Uintah's and cut down our Christmas tree with my family. We'd go sledding and tubing and hiking and hauling and finally Brian had enough. No more Charlie Brown Christmas trees for him!

So on Saturday night we set out on our Christmas tree quest. The girls were horrified when they realized we were not headed to a tree lot, but to a store. "A FAKE TREE!" they gasped. I was calmly reassuring, it's ok, the tree will look real and all the lights are already on it! Together we selected the perfect tree, a nine foot blue spruce with little pinecones on the tips.

The oh so professional "tree boys" assured us that it would be boxed and waiting for us up front in 20 minutes. We had dinner and then went to go make our purchase. Right in front of the register was a tree box with our last name in big letters. We handed the cashier our tag and they trucked the tree right out to the car.

After wrestling the tree box into the house we prepared to open and assemble. "This box looks new," I remarked to Brian. Because we had purchased the last remaining blue spruce (which was the floor model) I wasn't expecting a new box. We opened the box to find...someone else's tree.
"Did you tell them our last name?"
"No, did you?"
"Nope."

We loaded the wrong tree back in to the truck and Brian raced back to the store to get there before closing time. I made a frantic phone call to try and locate the right tree. After two phone calls and two people who obviously knew nothing the tree boy finally called back. "Yeah, we wondered where you went," he drawled. "We'll go ahead and get your tree ready up front," he added helpfully. I hung up and crossed my fingers hoping that the desire to leave the closing store would inspire him to actually get the tree up front this time.

So, we got the tree set up...and the lights didn't work on half of it. For the last three days Brian and I have tried everything, including unclipping the entire strand of lights, removing them from the tree and replacing every bulb. No luck. So today I removed all the strands of unlit lights and replaced them with new strands.

Tonight, I will go to bed with a lit and half decorated Christmas tree. Instead of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree adventure, we now have the National Lampoons Buy an Artificial Pre-Lit Christmas Tree and Have an Adventure. AUGH!

Shhh...

Don't tell...but I'm not quite finished with my Christmas shopping yet...ok to be completely honest I'm just barely started with my shopping.

But I have a little secret that I discovered many years ago. I am a list person (I'm turning into my mother, I know!!). If I'm feeling overwhelmed with to much to do I make a list, I take great pleasure in crossing things off, and somehow I get it all finished. So, the secret is a holiday planner that I download every year from familyfun.com. It is awesome, my favorite pages are the gift list, the fill in the blank calendar, and the recipes, menus and party pages. This year I'm committed to filling out the holiday memories page also. I keep everything in a binder in page protectors, and it keeps all the receipts, recipes, crafts, ideas etc. together. And I even keep my lists from years past...just ask what Santa brought Sadie three years ago!

The crazy thing is, it is so simple, an hour and you could create your own. But that's another Christmas secret...don't waste time on something that someone else has already done!

Karma

About a year ago one of our first blogs showed a picture of our neighbors laying their sod in the snow. Brian and I thought this was incredibly funny...who lays sod in the snow???

This is a picture of our backyard less than 24 hours after laying the sod:

Voting

Not:

-because I think my individual contribution will change the outcome.

-because my state is a battleground or swing state.

-because then I earn the right to complain (I get that anyway).

But:

-because I live in America, and going out this morning was one way that I can show gratitude for being an American.

-because it's a right that people have fought and died for. And voting shows my respect for their sacrifice.

-because it makes me feel a part of a greater community of citizens who know and care.

-because I care about my city and my state.

-because I know my legislator who's up for re-election.

- because I can.