Merry Christmas!

Once in a while, quite by accident, I take pictures I end up loving, probably not because they're great photos, but because of the memories and emotions behind them.

Last night was one of those nights.  It's our Christmas Eve tradition to wear our family pajamas and have an indoor picnic.  These pictures came from last night.

Like I said...probably not the pictures, but the memories.  I love those smiles and every one of those little not-so-little toes.  I love the minutes and hours and days we spend together.  We are blessed.

This Christmas season I challenged myself to read all the gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the month leading up to Christmas.  I've heard of doing this before, to really draw near to Jesus Christ during the season of his birth, but for whatever reason, this year it was in my heart to actually do it, and what a blessing that has been.  I needed an extra dose of Christmas in my heart this year.  (And for the record, I finished last night, and even went back today to re-read some chapters in Luke I slept through while trying to listen instead of read.)

This experience has made this Christmas remarkable.  Reading in detail about the Savior's life and his mission in such a short period of time has made it all seem more real to me.  I love the feeling of the Savior's love in my life, and even when life gets challenging (especially when it's challenging), that love carries me.   

Earlier this month I gave a Christmas message at Tim's family's Christmas party.  I talked about "joy" because I love that word.  To me it means living in lasting happiness, even when things aren't what we wanted them to be.  Not even a few days later, life got challenging again.  As much as I don't like challenges, I do love the feelings of peace and joy that are always ours when we seek it.  Over the past several weeks, I continue to be amazed at "joy" as a possibility, even during difficult days.  

Today in church, one of the speakers said, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.  All the kings horses, and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. But the King can, and the King will."

I love the Savior.  I love what He has done for us.  I love how the Son of God could find it in His heart to come down from heaven, to walk the earth, to teach, to heal, and to love, then to give up His own life for all of us, and to give eternal life to all who seek Him. 

Amazing if you think about it.

God bless us, everyone!

Early Christmas

I can't ever surprise Tim.  

Ok--maybe not "never" but at least rarely.

In the span of our years together, Tim has discovered almost ever gift I've ever intended for him, not because he's nosy...  In fact he doesn't even look for his presents.  He just happens to find them, no matter how or where I hide them.

This year the kids unanimously decided that Dad needed a new phone.  He has previously been the owner of the first generation of the Android phone.  In phone years that makes his phone really, really old, and he just hasn't upgraded yet...

So we decided to do it for him.  

This was the plan:  

1. Buy the phone two days before Christmas with instructions to activate on Christmas Day.  
2. Purchase the phone on the Verizon account so it wouldn't show up on the debit card.
3. Hide the phone at my office until Christmas Eve.  Tim was working a midnight shift on Christmas Eve and the day before Christmas Eve.  He would be sleeping a lot during the day.  Chances of him finding out about the phone...about .001%.

I was proud of us for concocting this plan.

This was the phone we selected...a much improved and updated version of his well-used loved Android phone.   

Jeran, who was with me, thought dad would like the iPhone.  I love mine, but explained to Jeran that dad, who I have known for 17.5 years doesn't usually go for huge changes.  I told Jeran about the time the person cutting Tim's hair suggested a new hairstyle.  The result?  He didn't go back to her.  Shirt style, pants, shoes...all 100% predictable.

Here's where the plan went wrong.  While Jeran and I were making the purchase, Tim was supposed to be catching a few hours of sleep before going to work.  Instead, he and the teen gang ended up at the mall...

And while Tim was waiting for the teen gang to shop, he saw the Verizon store at the mall and decided he would upgrade his phone while waiting.

Really?  

From what I'm told, here's how the conversation went:  

Verizon service representative:  How can I help you?

Tim:  I need to upgrade my phone.

Verizon service representative (checking the computer for the upgrade):  Ummm...I'm showing you're not due for an upgrade until 2013.

Really?  

About an hour later, with Tim's phone tucked securely away at my office, Tim started dropping hints that he knew about my purchase.

"I think I'll upgrade my phone in January."

I kept my poker face.  He'd be so surprised.

Then:  "I think I'll get an iPhone."

My poker face was slipping a little.

Finally, with a huge grin on his face he told me about his encounter with the friendly grinch Verizon service representative at the mall.  GRRRRRRRR!

The good news is, we got the right phone.

The better news (for Tim) is that he got an early Christmas present.

The bad news for me is that somehow, once again, Tim discovered a surprise.

I'm open to suggestions for next year.  Anyone?  Anyone?

Building a Palace

Last blog post:  November 30th.  I think I'm slacking.

I just don't have blogging in me these days...

But I've been thinking a lot about this quote lately:

“Imagine yourself a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing, so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of; throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage, but He is building a palace.” — C. S. Lewis

I've said before that I'm not the world's most patient person, so construction projects that hurt a little aren't usually on my to-do list.  In fact, I'm fairly certain that I'd be content in a cottage.  Really.

I think of all those times I say, "I want to be more like the Savior," or "I know God's love is real."  I really do mean that.  I think...at least until the construction isn't going the way I imagined it would.  To be honest, I'm the type that imagines God standing by with his magic wand, gently waving it over me and transforming me into a Christ-like, compassionate, whole, perfect being.  You'd think I'd get by now it's not that way, but I still kind of stomp my foot and whine and say, "But this isn't what I had planned..."  

But I am thankful to He who knows better than I what I am becoming, even though I hate that familiar ache that comes with construction.

As far as not blogging a lot lately, I am going to use the "under construction" excuse.

But if I was blogging more, I would have shared how much joy has been in this Christmas just sharing it with Gabby (and I love how there can be joy in life, even when souls are under construction...God's gifts are good.)

This year we let Gabby choose decorations and she chose purple...all purple. 

(Dark pink is so 2010...see here.)

It actually turned out nice.

And it was a fun, incredible first to be with Gabby at a local festival when she sat on Santa's lap for the first time ever.

And the Nativity she set up this year was priceless...

She said everyone wanted to be as close to Baby Jesus as they could be.  

Love that girl.

And two days ago we celebrated one year with Gabby.  I posted this on facebook:  "A year ago today we walked into Prairie Winds Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska as a family of 6 and walked out a few minutes later with Gabby as a family of 7. I'll never forget that feeling of looking at all of us together after those months of waiting, and knowing the rest of our lives together started right then! Happy Gotcha Day to Gabby!"

And of course there was a celebration at a buffet-style restaurant where the only thing on Gabby's plate was french fries and Ranch dressing.  She did also eat some pizza and ice cream.  (And Gabby's favorite quote of the day, "I don't have to do chores today because it's my special day.")

So there you have it...  Life marching on, which apparently is possible, even when we're under construction.

November Wrap-Up...

I had huge ambitions about finishing the month with a great post about adoption.  It would have been wonderful.  Trust me.

But Tim is out of town (again) and between that, being sick, and Christmas quickly approaching, I'm sure blogging will be intermittent at best through December...

But I couldn't leave November without saying something more about Thanksgiving...and to be honest, there is nothing deep or earth shattering I have to share about gratitude...

And if you don't like looking at our vacation pictures, you don't have to read further.  Mostly, I had my parents on my mind when writing this post.  They were missed at Thanksgiving!

So for Mom and Dad (and anyone else who cares to read on)

It was an incredible weekend!  (Even spite of Joie's stomach flu...)  Isn't this a great picture?  Tim and Joie watching a DVD in the Durango while the rest of us hiked.

And now for the millions of pictures...and I'm sure Becky and Esther have more...

Nate...I believe near Delicate Arch

Megan has packed Sydney around for years...  Now I believe it's Sydney's turn!

Jeran

Joie--the day before the stomach flu

Gabby with the tween gang

Naptime!

The naptime pose was contageous...

And Gabby might have finally found a cousin that matches her energy...

Another breathtaking view

Bored of pictures yet?  Sorry...  There's more.  (I guarantee Grandpa and Grandma are loving it.)

We wanted to find a way to involve the kids in something that drew their attention to the gratitude part of Thanksgiving, and a few days earlier one of my sisters posted on facebook a handprint turkey tablecloth her own children had made over the years.

It actually wasn't difficult to find plastic tablecloths and markers in Moab, even on Thanksgiving day, and we ended up with two tablecloths... 

One for the table:

This was by Bingham...he worked so hard!

Gabby drew a ghost instead of a turkey...right season, wrong holiday.

Then the second tablecloth went on the wall...

We wrote "Gratitude Alphabet" across the top and left the rest to the mind (and wit) of anyone with a marker...  (Hint:  Mom, if you click on the picture, you can see it larger.)

Yes, I really did just post all those pictures.  

Gratitude is powerful, not just at Thanksgiving, but every day.  There is no room in our hearts for self-pity, pride, anger, boredom, etc. if give thanks.  It was impressive to overhear conversations among our children over the course of the month and with cousins during our Thanksgiving holiday about their own gratitude.  We can learn a lot from them!

Next stop...Christmas!