A Little Bit Stuck In A Snow Bank

Miss Piggy The Fabulous
(Muppet designed by Bonnie Erickson and voiced by the late Frank Oz and now Eric Jacobson)

I always think of Miss Piggy when I think of being stuck in a snowbank because in our old Muppet's Christmas video she calls Kermit and explains that she's late because "I just got a little bit stuck in a snow bank".  So today, when I was trying to pick up my friend's daughter from school I got in too big of a hurry backing out and backed into the snow bank.  It was made up of snow pushed to the side of the driveway where I usually back out when it isn't snowy.  

I tried to call my friend but my phone wouldn't work until I restarted it and then she didn't answer.  I got Dan who came and tried to dig me out - but it was taking too long.  I finally called the school and told them I was running late and might not actually make it.  Then Kayli got home and she let me use her car.  I tried to call my friend again, or the school, but my phone wouldn't work again and I had to restart it again.  So, I got to the school a bit late, but I picked up my little friend and took her home and got my daughter's car back home safely.

In the mean time Dan worked really hard and dug the van out.  I left it there in the driveway, but Kayli went out later and put it in the garage.  All is well that ends well I guess!  It was a bit of excitement for the day and I at least got to say hello to my friend and give her a hug before heading back home.

The Blanket Fort

 

Dan and me inside our blanket fort.  We were reading our book
on the Wright brothers while we were in the fort.
Truthfully there are more comfortable places to read, but it was still fun.

This is the outside of the fort.  We haven't made one of these for years.
I still remember making blanket forts when I was little.
We made some pretty elaborate ones sometimes!

Something Just For Me -- or You

Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

While we were watching The Chosen today the character John the Baptizer asks Andrew to tell him what Jesus said during The Sermon on the Mount.  Then John told Andrew that when Jesus speaks, there is always something that is just for you, and he wants to know what Andrew heard that was for him.  It reminded me that Jesus speaks in the scriptures and through the scriptures and that if I will take the time to study them there will be some message that I "hear" that is just for me.  A message that I need now.  That is an encouraging and helpful thought!

And The Winner Is....

 Brigham!  It is really hard for anything else to win the best part of the day when Brigham comes over!  I love seeing Tia too, but look at the pictures.  Brigham's just little, cute, and fun.  He even managed to get Grandpa to share some of his pizza with him!  He goes around with his little pointy finger pointing at all of the things he wants.  I hope you had something or someone that gave you happy moments today!  

The kids wisely put the less breakable, more toy-like ornaments near the bottom.

Eating Grandpa's Pizza

I just think he is cute all of the time.

The Party with The Puppet Show

 

Obviously a screen shot. 
That's the best I have
and I didn't crop it so we get Trisa's happy face
and my beautiful white hair!

Today was the Christensen Christmas Party.  This is not a small party and Derek's Mom must spend hours planning it.  After the annual lasagna, french bread and salad dinner it was time for the program.  Every family does something, and everyone is clapped and cheered for (and since everyone is fabulous there is good reason to clap!) The puppet show was the last thing.  We had not practiced and Derek recruited a few of the players right before dinner.

It is funny being behind the puppet theater.  We have our hands out there with the puppets on them but we can't see what we are doing.  I kept wondering if my character "Holly" was moving her mouth okay.  Today we had no control of the puppet's hands and that was odd too.  I was holding the microphone that Connor and I used and he was turning pages on the script.  Most of the other players were sharing a microphone.  I got to watch the show this evening since Amanda (my awesome daughter-in-law) recorded it for us.  It was pretty impressive how well we did.  I did chuckle a lot that Ernie, who was playing a town person, was mostly talking into the side of my puppet while being hidden by another.  It was also quite funny when, in the "Hallmark" puppet show that Derek wrote, my character "danced" with another puppet.  Remember we had no control of the puppet's hands?  And we couldn't see?  Ha ha ha!  It was a bit on the PG-13 side!

During the activities after the program a ward came to get ready for their party.  They were probably super impressed at how fast a ginormous family can clean up activities, decorations, and the kitchen and leave it to them!  We went to the Homestead and finished off the games and dessert there.  It is a long party, but it is also a party full of people who love each other, and like each other too -- and that is a true blessing!

If you have to go to the dentist.....

Suzie always brings a bit of
sunshine into my day!
Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

then it is really a good thing to discover that Suzie is the one taking care of you.  She greeted me with a hug and a sincere "how are you?".  She told me how happy she was to see my name on her list and I think she told me she loved me four times!  She is one of those kind and loving people who I am always glad to see.  There was one time that I went for a regular cleaning and she was off in Japan seeing where her husband's family is from.  I was so disappointed not to see her!  Six months later she was back and just as happy to see me as ever.  Today I happened to be sitting by her mother-in-law in the waiting room and got to be introduced to her too.  Suzie took very good care of me and made sure I had what I needed to hopefully have my random swollen gum finally get better.  I love Suzie, probably because she does such a good job of loving me!

My Own Chef!

 

The Chef and Me

Today Tia brought Brigham over so I could play with him while she made his Christmas stocking. She also brought my Christmas present early and had me open it.  We're having a puppet show at the Christensen Christmas party on Saturday and the Giant Chef will get to be in it!  The coolest thing about him, besides his size, his mustache and his cool chef clothing, is that he belonged to Mike (my son-in-law) when he was younger.   Chef came home with Mike and Tia from Michigan after Thanksgiving.  I have piles of puppets, but none are as big as Chef!  He will be a fun addition to the puppet shows we tend to have at family gatherings!

Brigham at his Nana's house.
He loves animals!  He is probably
trying to boop the cat's nose.  He
does that to Teddy too.

Naturally I really enjoyed playing with Brigham even more than the chef.  I love Brigham SO much!  He likes to play with grandpa.  Brigham and I sit up in the room above the family room and Brigham throws balls down to Grandpa (or pushes them over the edge). Grandpa then, perhaps, puts them on his head, which makes Brigham giggle.  Then Grandpa throws them back up to Brigham.  It's a big gravity experiment with some added  entertainment.  What's not to like!

Brigham loves playing with Kayli too and gave his Uncle's some good smiles as well.  He really loves hugging stuffed animals, and he liked hugging Elmo puppet too.  It was really fun to have him here and Tia did a good job on his Christmas stocking.

Hooray For Good Friends!

A Sweet Friendship Refreshes the Soul

Proverbs 27:9

I didn't have friend pictures.  Consider this my bird friend!
Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

This evening, by the time I got done driving home on a snowy highway, I was hungry and had a headache. I was also supposed to hurry and go to a friend's house to watch a movie. I thought about making my excuses and not going but I knew that I was right when I told my friend earlier that I knew "I'll be really glad if I come" . So I walked over in the snow and watched The Man Who Invented Christmas about Charles Dickens. We own it. I had seen it before. But I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I did remember though that I like the chance to talk to friends. It would be lonely to go through life all alone! I got to see or talk to a few friends today, and that made it a good day. Hooray for good friends!

The Majesty of Mountains

 There was a lot of good in today, but I really appreciated waking up to the canyon view that has all of the trees looking nice and frosty white.  Mountains and clouds are both so spectacular! It is very beautiful.  I also counted 14 deer who wanted me to wait while they crossed the street when I was driving home after dropping Dan off at seminary.  They aren't bothered by car horns :-)  I really only had to wait for three or four.

I was trying to catch the valley view here but I couldn't see my screen and what
I was taking a picture of!

A Silly Dog, A Snow Angel, and A Rescue

 

Teddy obviously enjoys the snow!

Today was one of THOSE days.  I woke up sad and with a headache. I went out to discover that Derek was home from playing ball but his car wasn't.  A basketball buddy had driven him up the slippery hill.  Thankfully zoom meetings can be attended from home.  I ate breakfast, did Tai Chi warm ups and took Teddy out in the snow.  He really loves running, and putting his face in the snow to sniff.  I love making snow angels.  We got a bit snowy, but he was the only one with lots of snow stuck to him!  Even not feeling 100% I can appreciate a chance to make a snow angel and to watch a silly doggy have fun!

Later, while at an appointment, I got the chance to read the beginning of a mystery.  I don't know "who done it" yet.  Unfortunately it snowed quite a bit while we were gone and my van wasn't good at getting all of the way up the hill either.  Derek's car has been rescued but mine is parked at the city building awaiting a rescue.  I'm glad Jake got off work and was willing to skip his trip to the store and come get his stranded family members in the green truck (aka "The Beast).  I was hungry and my headache was back.  He got us home in no time!  Soon I was eating food, doing a puzzle, and feeling much better.

Christmas Choir and Musical Friends

 

Today my favorite thing was playing with Brigham.  He is just SO cute and SO fun to have around.  He seems to learn how to do something new every week!  Unfortunately my pictures turned out terrible.  Boo!

This evening I went to Christmas Choir at our church.  I love singing, and singing Christmas music is the best.  The other thing I like about singing in ward choirs is that I almost always end up having musical friends.  I can go from knowing nobody to at least having something in common with the people who show up.  That has been a true blessing in my life.  I have made a lot of friends through music!

Nothing Better Than Truth!

I went to bed with damp hair last night, so this morning my hair was exciting.  I took a picture and sent it to a friend who has been having a bit of a hair crisis and who was worried about how her haircut would end up.  I assured her that hers would look better than this.  I liked her words.  "There is nothing better than the truth!"

I look a little creepy here too!

A Country Christmas Date

The horses that pulled
our wagon.  You can't see it here
But they were steaming in the cold!

The highlight of my day was a date with Derek.  I wanted to do something different than usual and so when I saw Young Living's Country Christmas advertised I got us tickets.  Little did I know that I picked the day that was the coldest of any we've had so far!  When we left to come home, the car's thermometer said it was 10 degrees there!  It slowly "warmed up" until it was 21 degrees here at home.  So, it wasn't the longest date ever but we did everything there was to do.  We walked around and saw the lights.  Stood by the fires.  Saw the animals, and took a horse drawn wagon ride.  Finally, we went inside a building and had hot chocolate (me) or apple cider slush (Derek) and warm apple cider donuts.  After that we booked it back to the car and came home.

Derek kind of missed himself in this "selfie"

This innocent looking creature bit my elbow while we were taking the picture of us.
Luckily it only got slobber on my coat and it is being washed anyway
because it smells like smoke.

Me in front of the donkeys who were too far away to bite me.
But they did have a warning sign by them!

A goat picture for Kayli, who loves goats

For some reason or another I thought I ought to explain that I am on purpose posting the happy parts of my day.  Some days are really hard.  And today I really needed a nap (and actually took one!) But, when I stop and review every day at the end, there is always at least one thing to be thankful for!