Christmas Lullaby

Sometimes I can see qualities in my kids that remind of myself or Dan. Ashlyn loves to read and write like I do and Corey loves computers and games like Dan. I love it when I am surprised by something my kids do that I wish I could do!

This was the case when Ashlyn sang a solo at our ward Christmas party on Friday night. She sang "Christmas Lullaby (I Will Lead You Home)" which was originally sung by Amy Grant. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs that you don't hear over-played on the radio and the words are perfect for a child. She was so brave and sounded like an angel to me. I said to Dan when she finished, "Is that really OUR daughter?" You'd never catch me singing a solo, except in the shower and Dan's whole family absolutely slaughters "Happy Birthday to You," so I'm not sure where she got her talent (or the nerve to sing solo in front of a crowd!) but I love that she did.

It all comes out in the wash!

I would've been a bad pioneer. I need a washer and dryer! We learned the hard way last month how true this is. 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, Dan & I were watching a movie and finishing up some laundry on a Saturday night. Dan walked into the kitchen to get us some drinks and stepped into about an inch of water on the wood floor! The hose to our washing machine had broken and water was spilling out onto the floor! We used every towel we have and got the water up right away and left 2 portable fans running all night to help dry the floors. We thought we'd avoided any complications until the next afternoon when the kids ran up from the basement to tell us that "the carpet in Daddy's office is wet." UGH! The water must've leaked down the floor vent and filled up the light fixture and spilled onto the carpet downstairs. NOT GOOD! We called a water restoration company to come the next morning and help.

Here's where it got complicated. The carpet wasn't really that wet, but they found black mold behind the baseboards in Dan's office that was from previous moisture. You couldn't see or smell mold, but it was there. Because we are renting, we wanted to take care of the damage from our washing machine, but didn't want to pay for anything we didn't cause. Long story short...the drywall, baseboards and carpet pad needed replacing and we finally have our basement back after a few weeks of repair. My dryer broke the same week, so my Mom and I spent some time at the Laundromat when she was visiting. The good news is that we got a sweet new washer and dryer out of this whole mess! They are Samsung high-efficiency with steam. I've never had front loaders before and I couldn't be happier (unless they came in RED). Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I am just happy to be able to do laundry again:-)

So much to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving to all! What a great holiday... We get together with family and eat the best meal of the year. What's not to love? 

I thought this cartoon was perfect, since we spent our Thanksgiving holiday in sunny Arizona with Dan's family! It was so great to go back to visit and see some of the people I've been so homesick for. Our kids had the whole week of Thanksgiving off of school, so we flew down a few days before Dan could join us. The weather was perfect and we loved being with Dan's family again. On Sunday we attended church at our Gilbert ward and felt right at home. It was very bittersweet! We made so many life-long friends in that ward. I told someone that after being back here, Dan might have to 
"drag me onto the plane, kicking and screaming" when we go back to Colorado.

Monday night, cute Jill arranged a casual bring-your-own-dinner at the park and it was great to sit and catch up with friends. Ashlyn and Corey wanted to stay all night with their friends. Still, there's never enough time to spend with everyone I wanted to and Claire was grumpy and tired that night.

Dan joined us the day before Thanksgiving. We stayed up playing Tri-Onimos with Linda & Allen, did a little shopping and took the kids to see the movies "A Christmas Carol" and "Planet 51."  Word to the wise..."A Christmas Carol" is way too scary for kids under 10, but we loved "Planet 51."
The big Thanksgiving feast was at Kari's and it was fabulous! I was asked to make cranberry sauce and yams & apples, which are my favorite! Here's the recipe, if you've never tried it:

We have so much to be thankful for, most of all our family, friends and knowledge

I ❤ my Mom!

I was so blessed to have my amazing Mom come visit for 4 days just before Thanksgiving! The last time she visited was 2 days after we moved here in June and we were still unpacking, so I was very excited to show her the finished result! The older 2 kids were in school each day, so it was just my Mom, Claire and me. We ran some errands for my brother C.J.'s upcoming wedding and we did some shopping, which is always fun! Ashlyn loved having "Nanny" sit and play piano with her after school. A year ago October, my Mom sat at her piano with Ashlyn and taught her to read music for about half an hour. The next morning, Ashlyn got up and played Primary music by sight and has continued progressing. Hearing her play piano with my Mom this week was heavenly!

Thanks to my Mom's insistence, Dan & I went on our first 2 dates since moving here (GASP...I know, it's crazy!) Dan & I got Japanese food and did some Christmas shopping for the kids. My Mom is such a calming influence on me and I find myself constantly taking mental notes when I'm around her. She is the personification of selflessness, creativity, energy, talent and generosity and I must've done something right to score a Mother like her!