Living Life Deliberately

In November I was able to attend Time Out for Women with my Mom.  One of the people who spoke was a daughter of Linda Eyre (Linda, with her husband, created Joy School and they have written 9 books on parenting).  This daughter's name is Shawni and she mentioned that she liked the word deliberate (doing things on purpose).  She likes to think of parenting deliberately -- and living our lives in a deliberate fashion.  I have thought about this quite a lot.  What do I want my children to know?  Am I doing enough things deliberately to make sure they learn them?

The more I thought, the more I figured that there had to be some small changes that we could make that would make a big difference.  I was particularly focused on the Sabbath Day.  Derek and I talked about it and we decided to implement an idea that I heard first from Shawni and her Mom.  We adjusted the idea to fit our schedule and then added to it.  The idea is to have a family testimony meeting right after church on Fast Sundays (which for those belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is usually the first Sunday of the month).  We decided that since our church started later, we would have our meeting before church.  We have only done it once so far, and Derek spent a bit of time instructing us on what a testimony is and what things can or should be included.  Derek began and then we started with Dan and went up in age until I finished up.  I loved it.  I feel like this will give our children the opportunity to think about and share their testimonies 12 times this year when they may have only shared it once, if at all, during a regular year at church.

We wanted to make every Sunday a little better and so on other Sundays we have half hour meetings too.  These are our "half hour of service".  That is about as long as we can expect Dan to pay attention and there is plenty of time to write letters to missionaries, or encouraging notes to people who need them, or whatever it is that we come up with.  So far we have been able to think of something for every week without trouble and, for the most part, it has gone well.

When I was sharing these ideas with my visiting teachers one of them shared with me a way that she and her husband had decided to spend their evenings better.  They felt like, because they didn't plan them out, they were usually wasted.  They wanted to be more careful and choose how they spent their time.  They figured they had to plan in advance or it wouldn't happen because they would be too tired.  In other words, they decided to be more deliberate.  They negotiated different activities.  They still have one movie night when they can just sit and watch television.  They have a dance night and a game night.  He agreed to learn to dance at home with a dvd if she'd have a game night with him.  They also have a night they read together.  She feels like it has made a big difference to them.

There are a lot of good ideas, and a lot of ways to choose to spend our time.  Our Sunday ideas would not have worked for me when Derek was Bishop.  I would have felt too overwhelmed.  I did not want another thing to be in charge of on Sunday.  The ideas my friend uses in the evening work well for her because her kids go to bed by 8 every night.  That doesn't mean I couldn't use my evenings better but it might work better for me to choose different activities!

Other things that we've enjoyed are having each of the kids (except Dan) have a Sunday to cook.  All of the children also have a family home evening that they are in charge of.  Putting this on the calendar helps them know it is coming and having them in charge is great for me!  As I go through my days I am trying hard to live my life in a deliberately good and happy way.

Keeping a Promise

While I was reading my blogs from the past I realized that I had promised to post Tia's pictures from the prom, which was also her first date, almost two years ago.  Many of you will have seen them, but they never made it to the blog and so I'm going to put a few of Tia's dance pictures here and keep that long ago promise.

 The pictures above are Tia before the Prom.  Her dates name is Dalton.  Tia was disappointed that her curls didn't stay in as good as she hoped and Dalton's Mom didn't think she had proper "prom hair" but they had a good time.

 This was the next school year and was maybe the Sweethearts dance.  Tia went with Hunter who wore a matching tie.

 This is the group they went with and the boys who helped serve dinner.

This is Tia and Adam before homecoming.  Derek and I were out of town and so I think Grandma F. was the photographer.  Tia has gone to other less dressy dances but I don't have pictures for those. 

Tia went on a big group date on Saturday where they went rock climbing.  I think her fingers are still sore.  It all went well until she ran out of gas on the way home.  Thankfully they were not far from where we live and so I took a full gas can (It was really a blessing that it was full!) and put some gas in the truck and sent her to the gas station while I took the other two people where they needed to go.  She was embarrassed but she is really good at laughing at herself and we were both really thankful it didn't happen on the freeway.  Derek would have gone to the rescue but he was not feeling well.  Thankfully he is better now.

So now you've enjoyed pictures of beautiful Tia and I've finally kept my promise.  Happy day!

A Trip to My Night Stand

I was talking with a friend of mine recently and I realized that I was reading a larger than normal (for me) number of books simultaneously.  I thought it would be fun for me to occasionally take a "trip to my night stand" and put it on my blog since that will give me a record of some of the things I read and what I liked, or didn't like about them.  So here's a picture of my night stand:

 At the bottom of the pile (stacked by size) is Preach My Gospel which I study with my scriptures in the morning.  During the school year I have a few quiet moments between the older kids leaving and the younger ones needing to get up and this has been a blessing to me.  Dan sometimes wakes up early but his first question is almost always "Can I watch t.v.?" and so Dora keeps him entertained until Jake gets up and I can still study.

Next is I Sher 2008-2010 which is my blog put in book form.  I like reading this one.  I guess I must write to suit myself and therefore I enjoy reading what I write!

Bonds That Make Us Free:  Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves by C. Terry Warner has been sitting on my night stand for months.  This does NOT mean I don't love it.  On the contrary, this book has already been helpful to me.  I think about what the author says and do not feel the need to plow through it.  I really want to remember it because I find helpful truths in this book.

I purchased Yoga for Christians by Susan Bordenkircher from the Christian Book Club when I was a member.  It was a really good deal and came with a yoga DVD.  I like the DVD and started reading the book years ago.  I found it interesting but put it in my night stand and didn't pick it up again until a couple of weeks ago.  I like the author and have appreciated the things I have learned, or relearned from reading her words.  She talks of letting go of self and not expecting to be "the savior of your own problems" and not to "look to your accomplishments and acquisitions to bring happiness".  Instead she talks of recognizing that the only lasting joy and peace comes from God.  I read this one at night and try to breathe properly.

A few months ago I started Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.  I have not gotten far but, again, this isn't because I don't like it.  I think it's more because it is so thick.  I'm a little like Tia -- or she's like me -- and I find the size of this book overwhelming.  I enjoy it every time I read it though and I will eventually get to the end!

My mom asked me to read The Calcium Factor:  The Scientific Secret of Health and Youth by Robert R. Barefoot & Carl J. Reich, M.D.  I confess that mostly I've learned that my Mom is a genius and that this book feels like reading a really hard and rather dry textbook to me (sorry Mom). 

Mafia to Mormon:  My Conversion Story by Mario Facione is a really thin book loaned to me by my neighbor Janet.  I should really have been done with this by now -- and probably would be if I didn't keep picking up other books and magazines and newspapers.  I've been on a reading kick.  I'll move it to the top of the pile so I'll have one less on my list.

10 Minute Home Improvement:  Hundreds of Fast Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home.  I've read / skimmed half of this and I'm sure I've learned some great things.  I just can't remember them right now.

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison is not on the pile anymore -- but I just finished it the day before yesterday and so I thought I'd mention it.  It was creative.  I had a hard time following everything about "animal magic" but it was gripping enough during the last half that I neglected my duties and felt guilty.

Of course the question on your minds may be, "Does her night stand really look that neat?"  Well, only if I stage it.  Otherwise it looks like this:

So now you can all feel better about yourselves.  For fun I took a picture of Derek's night stand.  No staging involved.

Derek is reading a more reasonable number of books I think.  He has Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson on his nightstand and 65 Signs of the Times by David J. Ridges tucked neatly where you can't see it.  I believe he has also started Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose.

Apostle Watch

Did you know that every time I get to sit in Dad and Mom C.'s seats at a BYU game the first thing I do after sitting down is look across to where President Samuelson (BYU's President) sits to see if any apostles are visiting?  Since I love the apostles and who they represent -- I love to listen to them and I get a bit of a thrill out of being in the same room with them -- even a big room. 

So, last night I immediately noticed that Elder Perry was in attendance with his wife.  A couple of games ago (wouldn't it be nice if I remembered who we actually played against a couple of games ago?) Elder Christofferson was there with his wife.  I like to look up at them sometimes.  They never boo.  They don't yell.  They just look on in quiet interest.  It always reminds me of what a responsibility it would be to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Even people who did not believe you were really an apostle, if they knew who you claimed to be, would be watching you. 

This made me think about being a Christian.  I specifically thought of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because I am one.  As a member of His church I represent Christ too.  I suspect Apostles think of who they are representing a lot.  I know that I should think of it more.  You never know who might realize that I am a Christian and might be judging the merits of Christ's teachings by my actions.  This is a sobering thought -- and a good one -- all because an apostle attended a game.

Just so you'll know, I did pay attention to the game, and we did win. 

Sweet Stephanie

This picture is of Stephanie and Brian.  Brian is my younger brother and Stephanie is the only girl he ever dated.  I think they met when he was 16.  I was already off to college and didn't meet her until later.  I think they were a bit insane and got married, if I remember right, about two weeks after he got home from his mission to the Dominican Republic.  The picture above was taken around that time.  I guess it worked for them!

Stephanie is one of those people that children take to immediately.  At least, it seems that way to me.  I think that children who have never seen her before would be happy to tell her all about what they have been doing and they recognize in her someone who cares about them.  She worked at Kinder Care for years and my sisters and I agreed at some point that she was the favorite aunt on our side of the family.  Our kids would always be excited to see Aunt Stephanie and she took the time to play with them.  She seems to find energy that we know she shouldn't have when it comes to dealing with children and people she loves.

I took this picture from my brothers album.  It's Stephanie with Noah on his baptism day.  Brian and Stephanie have four children.  Noah is third and the only boy. 

I admire quite a few things about Stephanie.  She has determination and manages to exercise most of the time, even when it is hard for her, because she knows that it will help her overall health.  She is very dedicated.  In spite of what I feel are daunting health challenges, she does what she needs to so she'll stay as healthy as she can.  She even makes herself drink smoothies with carrots in them.  Eww!

She is a great hostess.  Our kids still love to stay at their house and I don't think it is all because of the theater room.  I think a lot of it is that Aunt Stephanie comes up with fun activities for them to do and is willing to take them places sometimes.  She is easy to talk to and is a good listener.  She is so good at putting other people first that I think she sometimes has to quietly collapse for a couple of days after we leave because she has overdone it.  But she doesn't complain (to us anyhow) and she always invites us to come back.
Once Stephanie brought her kids to visit us.  I had a cold but didn't mention it because I usually don't get hit very hard by colds.  Unfortunately, this was the exception and Stephanie kindly kept sending me to bed and taking care of her children and mine and my house.  I am hoping that one day she will come when I am well and I can spoil her for a change.

Stephanie is going to college now.  She is studying to be a nurse and I would be a bit afraid to attempt the classes she is taking!  She's brave.  Stephanie is really busy, but I like that she always seems glad to hear from me if I call and she takes the time to talk to me if she can. 

I doubt Stephanie thinks of herself as "Sweet Stephanie", but she is sweet to our kids, and sweet to me and I am thankful for her.

Happy late birthday to Stephanie (whose birthday is the day after Megz -- on Jan. 2).

The Magnificent Moogie

When I was talking to my sister-in-law Mandy I got the idea of doing a blog about all of the wonderful things she does -- and then it expanded.  I have been blessed with 13 sisters / sisters-in-law who, in my opinion, are all wonderful, excellent people.  So, I have decided that I am going to tell you a little about each of them around their birthdays.  Megan is first because her birthday happens on the very first day of the year.

When I joined the C. family by marrying Derek, Megan was eleven years old.  I had to learn nick names for almost all of the brothers, but not one for Megan.  However, at some point Derek started affectionately referring to her as Moogie (said Moo-gee) here at our house.  So sometimes she is Meg, or Megz, sometimes Auntie Megan, and sometimes Auntie Moogie.  It is unusual if we call her the more usual Aunt Megan.

I thought that I should have some excellent, fun pictures of her when she was young -- but mostly she seems to have avoided being the direct subject of any picture in the albums I went through.  Here is one of her holding Trisa and standing by Doran.

Megan and her sisters took good care of my daughters.  They babysat for free and taught them letters and did art projects with them.  Before Trisa was born, when I was having to stay in bed, they would come over and play games with me.  I wish I could remember Megan as a girl better, but I do remember one story.

When Megan was about 12 she read an article on skin cancer.  So, for the family hike, in really hot weather, Megan wore long sleeves, long pants, and a hat that I think was actually tied on by a scarf.  She had sunglasses too and she was teased during the whole hike.  She took the teasing well and probably dished out a little in return.  Megan is a good sport and has a quick wit.  She was teased about this incident again years later when she was working on a fabulous tan. 

Eventually Megan grew up and went from being the girl aunt to the married woman with five children of her own.  We have a couple of kids who are the same ages and I'm glad that they don't live too far away.  Megan's sense of humor reminds me of Derek's and I always enjoy talking to her.  One of the things I admire about Megan is that I only ever hear her say nice things about Leon (Hub) and one of her favorite things is getting to talk to him every day when he's on his way home. 
She is talented, and fun, and a good organizer.  She does a good job of teaching her children a lot of things while still managing to organize in a little time for a favorite show or a book she's interested in.  She somehow keeps up on politics and I sometimes call her in the hopes she'll give me a few clues on who I should vote for.  She doesn't really go in for mushy blogs so I have tried to make this as non-mushy as possible.  I am thankful for Moogie.  She is intelligent, sympathetic, and fun.  She is truly magnificent!

Happy belated birthday!
*Really Megz, you need to jump in front of my camera a bit more often!

A Day at "Tia's" Salon

Today, much to our boys horror, we spent the morning at MATC where Tia is going to cosmetology school.  Here are the before and after shots of their hair.

 You can see that Dan was really not very excited to be there but he did a good job and I got lots of complements on all of my boys and their excellent behavior.  I explained to one nice lady that I used to have to put Dan in a headlock to get his hair cut but that he did eventually learn that it is easier to just sit still -- well relatively still.

Dan was obviously more happy to be done.

 Jake put a smile on at the beginning of his hair cut but I kept making it take longer by trying to get Tia to cut it shorter and so he was done before his haircut was.  He was good about it though.

 See!  I think in this picture he is dreaming of being at home and doing something he actually wants to do.

 Connor had the most miserable experience of all.  He is oldest and so I had him wait until last.  Somebody was doing nails nearby and it was super smelly.  Connor hated it.  I took Jake and Dan home while Connor was getting his hair cut and so he had to stay the longest.  He was there two hours and fifteen minutes -- but his haircut was only 45 of that and that included the instructor coming to check Tia's work.

 Look how happy he is after he has a great haircut and, hiding in his room, his consolation chocolate truffles.  Tia was happy when he was done too because for her tip I gave her two sandwiches and some barbeque chips.  She was really hungry. 

Finally, here I am.  I went back later and had my eyebrows done which you can't really see anyhow because of my glasses.  Tia did a fine job.  You can see that today is a Cookie Monster day.  I think I choose him when I am really hoping to stay at home and watch movies, or read a book, and eat cookies.  That didn't happen but it was a nice idea.

And REALLY finally I will tell you the latest thing Dan said to amuse me.

I said, "It's messy huh?"
He said, "Mom, you just have to jump over the stuff."
See?  No cleaning required -- you just think of a messy room as a really fun obstacle course.

Overthinking What to Wear

Yesterday was a great day.  I did a lot of good things and got to spend my time with a lot of really good people.  Unfortunately, by 8:00 p.m. I knew that I had used about 110 percent of my energy allotment for the day and I was having to seriously work hard not to be mean.  Fortunately, I got to go to bed eventually, but when I woke up this morning I was still feeling a little bit hammered.  So I thought to myself, "maybe this is an Oscar the Grouch shirt day".  But I realized quickly that I wasn't grouchy, just a little tired.  Is a Grouch shirt really the right shirt for such a day?  I looked in my closet and saw my Superwoman shirt.  I wanted to be Superwoman, but did I have that much energy?  Then I thought, not every Superwoman Day has to be one where I spend a lot of energy -- but maybe Cookie Monstor?  No.  I had just eaten breakfast and cookies sounded like an awful idea.  So, what did I decide?  After considering Oscar again, I decided on Elmo.  I decided that Elmo was the perfect shirt for a day when I'm tired, but not grouchy.  I liked the idea of handling my day by being sweet, and slightly silly and making up songs if I wanted to.  So that is what I'm trying to do.  I didn't even threaten to tape anyones mouth shut while I was helping give spelling tests at the school.  I was so proud of myself!  They all wished, like me, that I could imitate Elmo's voice really well and give the spelling tests in my best imitation of Elmo.  I opted for my normal voice.  I'm thinking now that it's maybe a good thing I don't have all character shirts.  I might spend every day standing in the closet trying to decide which  character represents my mood the best -- and that's silly -- like Elmo.

Picture by Dan

One of the things Dan says that makes me smile:
*Dan had me fold a picture he drew on Sunday.  I had to fold it really small because he wanted to put it in an inside pocket of his coat "for safe keeping".  He often puts things places for "safe keeping".  I wonder if he can find them later?  I know that putting things somewhere for "safe keeping" might be a little dangerous for me.  I might never remember where they are safely hidden.

That's Impressive!

On Friday evening I decided to make some pizza for dinner.  I was mixing up the pizza dough in the handy mixer when Dan wanted to see.  So, he got a stool, climbed up, looked in and said "That's impressive!".  I was a bit caught off guard and I started chuckling.  Dan said, "That's what they say on Lego Star Wars." Then, using a deeper voice he said, "That's Impressive!" So now you know, not only is my pizza dough impressive, but a four year old can learn something from Lego Star Wars besides the names of lots of random Star Wars characters and which ones they should kill off due to their evilness.

In other impressive news:
* Derek coached Jake's first boys basketball game.  He is Jake's coach and, while their team didn't win,  Jake made his first basket in his first real game AND the team seemed to enjoy themselves.
* Connor played his first city league basketball game of the year and he also made his first basket of the year.  Hooray for Connor!
* Tia is making Sunday dinner.  I love it!
* Kayli helped clean up the kitchen last night and I really, REALLY didn't want to do it myself and so that was extra nice.
*  I don't want to leave out Trisa.  She is handling lots of things on her own while she is at college.  It is sometimes hard for her but she does what she needs to and is a good example to her brothers and sisters.
*  And what impressive thing did I do this week?  I made pizza dough and "that's impressive!"

Museums and Amazing Talent

Here is a picture of me in Paris at the Louvre in 2010.  That tiny frame that everyone is packed around and taking pictures of is the Mona Lisa.  I got a better look at it as I walked through the door to its right -- but I didn't push my way up to the front to stand still in front of it.  Our trip to the Louvre found the museum absolutely packed with people. Trying to follow a group around and listen to a tour guide wasn't exactly our idea of fun.  We're more for wandering around on our own -- it's faster and easier to avoid the massive crowds.  Still, for Christmas Derek got me tickets to another museum. 

We had tickets to an exhibit of Carl Bloch's work.  Carl Bloch painted many pictures of Christ.  Five of them (the large alter pictures) usually hang in churches in Denmark and Sweden.  They are beautiful.  This museum was also pretty busy but not packed and we were thankful to be able to tour at our own speed.  We opted not to rent ipads and we just looked, and read the posted information.  We were only there for 45 minutes but I loved it.  It wasn't just the fact that there weren't so many people and we didn't have a tour guide to follow, it was the subject matter.  I was impressed with the talent shown in the work I saw at the Louvre too, but the spirit of Carl Bloch's work was impressive.  He gave credit to God for what he was able to do and I think that many people who witness his work will feel closer to God because of how beautifully he portrayed the scenes from the Saviors life.  I am thankful for those who have artistic talent and who choose to use it in a good way and share it with others.

A quick list of other things I've been thankful for lately -- for my benefit -- it helps me remember my many blessings.
1.  Kind words
2.  Communication from family and friends
3.  Good books
4.  Good ideas
5.  The library
6.  Things that help me laugh and smile.
7.  Good visiting teachers (ladies from church who are assigned to be my friend and who very faithfully prepare an uplifting message for me each month and even pray for me).
8.  Sunshine
9.  Hot showers
10.  Good movies

A New Year Brings New Ground

We have spent our vacation relaxing, and wearing our pajamas.

 However, we still did our hair even if we were really sleepy.

Then the new year came and it was time to get busy and so we changed our "green ground"

for "brown ground" (these are Dan's terms of course).

We started this project on Saturday.  Kayli and Connor helped rip out the green ground (carpet) and pull out the staples that held the carpet padding to the floor.  Unfortunately the picture of Connor was too blurry to keep.  Kayli probably wishes this one was the blurry one.

Sunday we took a break.  Derek had story time with Jake and Dan.

Obviously they were enjoying themselves. 

The second story tested the attention spans of everyone -- but they are all still on the couch!

Monday all of the children, except Dan and maybe Trisa, went back to school.  Derek had the day off and he spent it putting in the new brown ground with me.  I will admit that he did most of the floor laying.  I was busy switching laundry loads -- the washer seems awfully fast when you are busy -- and getting Dan more snacks, and putting in yet another movie when one got over.  I also had to break to eat.  That being said, I did learn how to put in laminate, how to measure, and how to use the compound miter saw.  The laminate floor was all in at Derek's lunch time of 12:30. 

Once the floor was in Derek taught me how to use the nail gun to put the baseboards back in.  We filled in the holes, caulked, painted trim, mopped, and put the furniture in. 

We also had dinner (made by Derek), family movie night, and Derek helped with homework.  I'm pretty sure I should have worn my Superwoman shirt and that Derek should have worn a Superman shirt.  It can't be the whole Superman outfit because Derek would draw the line at tights.

Happy New Year! 

A Thankful Happy New Year

Look what I found on my old camera!  Connor sat on Santa's lap too -- at the extended family Christmas party.

Today was a good day and I think this will be the last post of the year.  Don't be sad.  The new year is about to begin!

I'm thankful today that I felt well and got a few things done that usually don't sound like fun, but did today (I cleaned out half of the filing cabinet and the office closet ).  I'm happy that Derek got to come home early from work.  I'm thankful for nice neighbors.  I took one neighbor a thankyou note today because she brought me a gift and my family a treat for Christmas.  I hadn't done anything for her and thought she should know that I appreciated her thoughtfulness.  I was greeted with a "Come in!  I was just going through my books and thought you might want some."  So I came home with more presents for me!  How nice is that?

Kayli keeps cleaning and cleaning and I've given up on trying to convince her to relax and so I'll just enjoy her help.  And, just a minute ago I got to talk to a friend who lives on the other side of the country.  She gave me the Lion puppet that starred in "A Christmas Carol Puppet Show" at the family party.  It's good to have helpful, thoughtful friends.

I'm thankful for Angela because I got to talk to her a couple of times lately and it made my day.  Besides, cousins played and had a good time and happy kids help Mom be happy.

I'm thankful that Russell is around to help me troubleshoot my computer when my equally helpful brother Brian is a bit far away.

I'm thankful that I made dinner for a change because I was really hungry and those hamburgers hit the spot.  I'm really quite thankful for the idea of writing about what I'm thankful for.  It helps me to think every day about how many blessings I have. 

Thanks again to all of you.  You have helped me throughout the year in many ways.  May we all have a thankful, happy new year!

My Latest List

I thought I'd better write before you wondered if I was not finding anything at all to be thankful for -- which would be tragic.  So here are a few things that I have been thankful for lately.

 I'm thankful that we all look totally awesome in our new pajamas.  This is our traditional Christmas Eve pajama picture.

 I am really thankful for enthusiasm over gifts -- even pajamas.  Connor is great at showing enthusiasm.

 I'm thankful that Derek was willing to put his new puppet on his hand and make us all laugh.  Of course, he said I could give him a puppet but I couldn't choose its personality.  This "knight in shining armor" is a bit like Sir Lancelot.  He thinks he's very wonderful -- esecially for the ladies.

Jake took this picture of me so that I could show you my new Superwoman shirt.  I can wear this on days when I feel like Superwoman, or on days like yesterday when I want to feel like Superwoman.  Okay so I can wear it whenever I want. 

 Those of you who are observant will have noticed that Trisa was missing in the pajama picture.  If we are all wearing our pajamas on my blog then she should have to also -- right?  She came on Christmas morning (which we were VERY happy about) and we had her change into her new pajamas before opening gifts.

Tia got me a warm, fuzzy, cheerfully colored blanket and Kayli got me warm fuzzy slipper socks.  These are great gifts for me since I am perpetually cold.  The note from Trisa warmed my heart.

This is Derek's knight and my princess posing on the bed posts.  I did this one day to make Derek smile when he got home from work.  I forgot to be in my room when he saw it though and so I can only assume it worked.  What's not to like about being greeted by two slightly humorous smiling faces?

Other things I've been thankful for:

* Erin and Russell and family came over on Christmas and helped us have a happy day.

* Russell helped by fixing Trisa's computer.

* Derek and I got to sit in his parents fabulous seats for a basketball game.  Fourth row is awesome!

* Music -- to work up enthusiasm for today I played some favorite hymns "Onward Christian Soldiers", "Called to Serve", and other of the marching type of hymns.  It worked.  I also enjoyed "C'est Moi" from Camelot -- sung by Sir Lancelot.  Really, he is conceited and this song is kind of funny.

* I got to talk to my Mom.

* My presents included another game that can get me some exercise on the Wii.

* I really have the best family and friends around.