Ups and Downs of December. . ..

December was full of ups and downs for me.. . .thus not much blogging, and I am playing catch up all at once. . . sorry about three posts in one day!!

We had some hard times this month. ..

• My Mom and Dad having to return from their mission in Germany due to health issues. . . I hate Cancer. . . I HATE it!
• Our heat has given us a lot of issues. A LOT of cold days in December for us. . . .and our fireplace broke at the same time. .. NOT fun!!

But we have also enjoyed some great moments in the month.. . .

• Christmas in St George with my parents, and sister's family
• Party with David's family
• Some good basketball games for David's team
• Shopping with my Mom and Shareen in Las Vegas

We visited the Temple Grounds in St George. It was a little chilly (well, not compared to Spanish Fork. .. . but still a little cold), but beautiful! They have a nice manger scene to view and listen to.

Mia loves Grandma and Grandpa. . . even though she still won't talk to them!!

Gingerbread house decorating. Nothing fancy, but it was fun!

Christmas Eve pictures.

We had a great holiday week with Mike, Shareen, Camille, and Anya. I was a horrible photographer. I snapped this photo on our last night together while the girls were watching a show. They had a fun time.

We returned home to a freezing cold house with no heat on the 30th of December! We did finally get it fixed. .. . but it was a bit of a fiasco. We have radiant heat, and had to replace the pump. . .. long story. . .. but after an entire afternoon. .. .. digging up the water main in the yard in a snow storm. . . etc. . . . long story. . . Let's just say it is working now at least. Thank goodness!

Perks

Luke started a volunteer job up at the Scera Theatre in Orem the first part of December. It is a family theatre that has one movie theatre, as well as another theatre for other shows

and plays. We thought it would be a great experience for him as well as get some volunteer hours for scouts! So far he really likes it. He goes up on Saturday afternoons and works for about four hours. One of the "perks" to being a volunteer, is the family gets to go to movie screenings for free. So far we have gone to "The Princess and the Frog" and this morning we went to "The Chipmunks". The screenings are usually on a Saturday morning. Is 9:30 in the morning too early for soda and popcorn?? Of course not, when it is FREE!Thanks, Luke for all your volunteer hours!!

Top 3

• I was looking over my good reads account, and seeing what I read in 2009.
• I read almost 50 books last year.
• I only gave three books 5 stars (well, actually 4. . . I read two Anne of Green Gables books and gave them both 5 stars. Up until then I had only read the first book!. . . and obviously I enjoyed the next two in the series.)
• So I pick these three books as my top three of 2009! I will have to review all my four star books and pick my next 5. . . but that will take some time! So if you havn't read these yet, I recommend them! Happy reading!

Anne of the Island

These is My Words

The Road

why I have barely got anything done today. . . .

I been outside shoveling snow FOUR times today!! It just never stopped. David and Luke shoveled this morning at 7 before school, and when I went out at 8 I couldn't even tell they had shoveled. . . . after preschool, Mia came out to help on my 4th round of shoveling. . . .isn't she cute??

"Graduation"

I was able to attend my Aunt Diane's "graduation" from this life last Friday afternoon. Her "sweatheart" husband, my Uncle Mack didn't want to call it a funeral, but a graduation. . .. she is moving on to something better. She is an amazing woman and a great example of enduring to the end. I have great memories of visits at her home, learning my family history from her. . . . She helped me know who I am and the heritage I have. It was a great service, celebrating her life. It made me want to be a better person. . .

My Mom and Dad were not able to attend, due to being on their mission in Germany, so I was the only one there to represent my Mom for her sister. My Uncle Bob was there with my Aunt Corene. He gave a really nice talk about Diane's early years. His daughter, my cousin, Janet was also there with Corene's sweet little mom, Barbara. My Aunt Sherry and her husband, Uncle Jeff, are also out on a mission, so my cousing Stephenie was there for her mom, with her husband, Andy.

My Uncle Mack, spoke words of Graditude at the dedication of the grave. Very hearfelt and sweet. He also talked about when they picked out the casket a few years ag0, and how he felt it was just perfect for her.

I actually really enjoyed being at the funeral, reuniting with some family, visiting, and hearing a little about Diane's life. I couldn't help but think that if she was there in life,he would be walking around, introducing me to all her wonderful grandkids, children, and in-laws. I didn't know her kids very well, but I remember her talking about them, showing me pictures of them, and how much she loved them all and how proud she was of all of them. I could tell from each of them how much they love and will miss her. She is a great example to me.

Amazed

I am amazed at the things that Mia comes home from preschool knowing. I must be a lazy mom that I haven't worked on these things with her much at home. I do work on certain things with her, but recently she is taking it all in and remembering.

Today she came home reciting our home phone number! I know this is a good thing for the kids to know, but I actually never would have thought to teach my four year old. I guess they are capable of learning a lot more than I realized.

Some other things she is learning:

• She can recite all the days of the week. My other kids didn't learn this until Kindergarten
• She can count to 30+. She starts mixing up the 30's and 40's
• She knows many letters and sounds. Here is what she has learned at preschool so far.

Aa= "angry A"

Bb= "bubbly B"

Cc= "copycat C"

Dd= "dancing D"

Ee= "egghead E"

Ff= "funny f"

Gg= "giggly G"

Today she said they started to learn H. It is quite cute when I ask her a letter, she doesn't just say the letter, but says the little name with it as well. So "A" can't just be called A. .. it is "Angry A"!

I am so proud of her. She is doing so much better at preschool. She still doesn't talk really, but the crying stopped weeks ago, and her teacher said she is interacting with the girls durning play time (still not really talking, but she will make horse sounds etc. while they play horses), and she will mouth certain words to songs and sound of letters.

I just wanted to praise her for all of her progression! She has come a long way from almost getting kicked out of the class just a few weeks ago. ..I love you MIA!

halloween pt 2 +. . . a little extra

Elizabeth had a few different costumes throughout the week. She was a black cat, a bunny, etc. but on Halloween she decided to dress up as a cow girl. A pretty cute one if you ask me. Mia wanted to wear this same thing as last year. .. easy for me, but not very exciting. I couldn't convince her to wear anything else.

I decided it was time to head to the salon for some haircuts. The girls hair was looking a bit shaggy. Mia just got a trim, because I don't want to cut her hair yet. But Kennedy and Elizabeth both cut a bit off. Kennedy also added some bangs. It is soooo nice to fix their hair now.

After taking the girls to supercuts, I called up the lady that cuts my hair for a little trim up for me as well. This horrible picture of me is a self portrait. .. .you wouldn't believe how many shots I took before I got one that was even half decent. Who knew that taking a picture of yourself is so hard??

On another note. . . .Luke's first report card for Jr High came in the mail today. Straight A's! I know it isn't that hard to get a 4.0 at this stage, but I am still proud of him for getting it done!