It's finished, it's finished!!

December Daily is done. I'm not going to feel even a little bit guilty that it turned out not to be a daily, but more of a mini looking back at December 2008. I love how it turned out and it is all done.





Title page - tree done with my Cricut



Day 1 - Putting the lights up on the house. Michael was just as excited as I was!



Day 2 - Didn't really happen on Dec. 2nd, but I wanted it in the album. Gingerbread house making with Giana and Macy.



Day 3 - Stealth shopping for Michael and a Secret Santa package for an ScrapShare friend.



Day 4 - Making cookies with a lot of little help. I love this acrylic. It looked like a cookie rack!



Day 5 - I took the boys to the Creche exhibit at the church. McKelle was playing in the pep band and Michael had a long day of surgery, so they missed it.



Day 6 - Micah's Rockin Rhythms group played at the Farmer's Market, plus all our outtakes from the Christmas photo shoot.





Day 7 - We gathered to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Yay for cable!!



Day 8 - Micah's Band and Rockin Rhythms Christmas concert program

Day 9-16

Day 9 - Picked out our tree. We wanted to cut a fresh one, but the only time we could go was at night. We decided not to tramp around the foothills in the dark and got a tree from Klickers instead.



Day 10 - The tree, all decorated. Mason fell asleep but covered his ears while Daddy pounded the tree into the holder.



Day 11 - Micah and Mitchell's school Christmas program. Abdsolutely the best I've ever been to!




Day 12 - A visit with Santa and an envelope for the letters to Santa. Which I saved. Somewhere. Probably hanging out with that gift I know I bought but couldn't find.




Day 13 - Just a few glimpses of our holiday house decor.



Day 14 - Sent out over 80 Christmas cards this year. Love that we have so many good friends to send them to.



Day 15 - McKelle's high school band Christmas concert program



Day 16 - We had a great time shopping for our Angel tree gifts, and we put together a basket for ding-dong-ditch as well.

Day 17-25

Day 17 - We could see a house up the hill from us that looked like it had a musical light program, so we took a drive to see it. Very cool!
Day 18 - First snow means snow cones, of course!



Day 19 - Michael's brother Josh and his family joined us to trek north to BC. We stopped at Miner's in Yakima for dinner.



Day 20 - Our first ferry ride and a picture of all 31 Wilwands!



Day 21 - We were so thrilled that Boppy felt well enough to bless baby Cassidy. The roads to church were pretty treacherous, so I think the Bishop was glad we came.



Day 22 - My children are polar bears.



Day 23 - My wonderful in-laws!
Day 24 - Christmas Eve at my mom's house. Prime rib and cheese fondue and a little concert by Macy.



Christmas Eve jammies, always wrapped in gold and opened the night before Christmas.






Day 25 - Christmas Day pictures. My dad spent the day with us, from stockings through breakfast, presents and Christmas dinner. Fabulous day!

One word for 2009

I have to admit that I forgot to put some thought into this, but when I read Ali's blog and all the comments about choosing a word for 2009, one popped into my head right away and seems to be just the right fit.

So, without further ado, my word for 2009 is:

LEARN


learn
Function:verb

Etymology:
Middle English lernen, from Old English leornian; akin to Old High German lernēn to learn, Old English last footprint, Latin lira furrow, track

1 a (1): to gain knowledge or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience (2): memorize b: to come to be able c: to come to realize
2 anonstandard : teach bobsolete : to inform of something
3: to come to know : hear
intransitive verb
: to acquire knowledge or skill or a behavioral tendency
synonyms see discover
— learn·able \ˈlər-nə-bəl\ adjective
— learn·er noun
usage Learn in the sense of “teach” dates from the 13th century and was standard until at least the early 19th . But by Mark Twain's time it was receding to a speech form associated chiefly with the less educated . The present-day status of learn has not risen. This use persists in speech, but in writing it appears mainly in the representation of such speech or its deliberate imitation for effect.




I love this definition. I love that the word learn has aspects of teaching - some of my thoughts for this year definitely revolve around being more a teacher to my children.

As far as my own learning, I have several things in mind. More will follow, I am sure, as the year pans out. I have committed to learning Photoshop and I signed up for some highly regarded on-line classes to do so. I am committed to learning to use my new digital SLR. I am scoping out some local photography classes and I'm also signed up for a photography challenge on my favorite scrapbook message board.

I have some cooking things planned, both for me and for my children, including a Cookie-of-the-week. Should be fun!

I have committed to reading one book a week. This used to be nothing for me to do, but I've fallen off the wagon a bit. Life seems to get in the way of the pleasure I get from reading a good book. I need to visit our library and see if we're even eligible for cards (we're not in city limits :( ) but I've got a few to start out with. My first choice is "The Shack," one Santa brought Michael for Christmas so as soon as he finishes the last 50 pages, I am set to start.

Definitely more to come on this topic.

Saying goodbye to the old year...

and looking forward to the new.

I can truly look back at the past year with peace and great joy. We had our downs, to be sure. The fire that started the year was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life. Michael's shoulder didn't heal properly and he had to have surgery, again. Leaving our beloved Minnesota was very, very hard. But we've had so many ups this year, far outweighing the downs. Great friends, finishing up Michael's education, moving close to home, spending lots of precious hours with family, good health and so much, much more.

I love to sit under the Christmas tree in a darkened room, with just the colored bulbs shimmering and reflect on the blessings of the past year. And I take a little time to look forward to the next year. A little planning, a few resolutions and intentions in mind. A great peace settles over me as I contemplate the next phase of our life, with a new job in a new place and so many opportunities.

A final thank you to Sherry for her challenge this month and last. Hopefully, a good habit has been formed and I can continue preserving some of my thoughts and precious memories and sharing with...well, whoever happens to stop by.

Happy New Year! Peace and joy to you in 2009.

I hate to admit it...

Because I hate to admit I'm wrong. And most likely, we would have been just fine without it. But video games, especially the Wii, do add an element of peace to our house. Really.

(Max likes the added challenge of playing on bicycle.)

Who knew?! Star Wars Monopoly = hours of (relative) peace

Our last word of the month. Peace. Well...it is not ever very peaceful in a house with six children, but there's peaceful and then there is peace. Peace can actually be a little raucous, a little loud, a whole lot of fun.

Which is exactly what was happening during the 5 hour Monopoly marathon going on in my dining room. There were more than a few upper decibel level moments. Even some dirty looks when landing on someone's property-loaded space, but overall, definitely a feeling of peace and joy as I watched my children play and laugh together.

My family, gathered in my home = JOY!

For far too long, there was not a family gathering at my home. One would fly out here and there to visit, but never the whole family. And I lived in several houses over the years that not one family member saw or visited.

I'm still getting used to Walla Walla. I'm trying to give it the benefit of the doubt. But one thing I know is that I LOVE being close enough to my family to have get-togethers in my own home. I love to invite them in and see them all sitting around my tables or my living room.

This is true JOY!

And she cried...

She might cry after seeing that I posted that first picture. I didn't get a good shot of her opening the gift, so this is it.

Have you ever found the PERFECT thing to give someone? Absolute perfection in every way? My sister-in-law is hard to shop for. She has impeccable taste and is so far beyond me with her fashion and design sense. I struggle a bit when I have her name for Christmas.

But this year. THIS year, I found the perfect thing. Actually, she pointed it out to me and my mind started whirling and twirling, and I soon came up with what I thought would be just the right thing. In the fall Pottery Barn catalog was a piece of art, unfortunately not for sale. Heather wanted it. Wanted it BAD. Badly enough to call Pottery Barn to see where she might buy such a thing. But it was an original. Something that was in the home where they did the photo shoot. Not available.

Heather showed it to me while we were perusing the catalog in search of ideas for my house. And I knew immediately, if I could find the right supplies, I could recreate it or something very much like it.

I searched locally and in the Tri-Cities for vintage furniture catalogs. No luck. I turned to eBay and there wasn't much, but I found the perfect thing. I really hoped it would have a Buy it Now option so I could just buy it and be done with it, but again, no luck. I watched the auction for 5 days and bid with about 1 minute left. Outbid! And I bid again. Outbid again. I bid. They bid and it's over. They win and dreams of a perfect gift fade. I guess I should have read up on sniping!

But, all is not lost and I found a couple of other options with Buy it Now options and place my order. The catalogs arrive, I purchase the canvas and the creation begins. I was so excited about this gift, I could hardly keep it to myself. When Heather was cutting my hair mid-December, I wanted to blurt out the whole surprise.

Heather and Trev went to Wenatchee for Christmas, so they were not there for Christmas Eve at Mom's. Instead, we had everyone over for a taco bar on Saturday and I could not wait for Heather to open the gift.

Well, she cried. And I cried, too, of course. I think it was an amazing surprise. I love it when things work out, when you pick just the right thing. I love to be the author of a little joy in someone else's life. I was blessed to be able to do that for Heather this year.

Christmas crackers

No, not Ritz or Triskets, lol.

One of Michael's family Christmas traditions is the very English Christmas crackers. A cracker is set at each place. Each person grabs his own and crosses his arms to grab the one next to him, forming a complete circle. Everybody pulls and the crackers...CRACK!

There are different versions and I ended up with a more adult version this year. The trinkets inside were not quite as kid-friendly as most we've had in the past. I'll have to do a better search next year. Each cracker has a paper or foil hat, a joke and a prize. The hats must be worn all through Christmas dinner, jokes are read in turn and prizes are tried out.

It is sometimes a bit difficult to find crackers in the US, but it is definitely a tradition we love in our family.

A humbug comes for Christmas

I recently posted about my dad being a bit of a humbug. Very much an understatement. I love my dad but Christmas seems to bring out the worst in him.

I understand some of it. Being alone during the holidays cannot be easy. But even when I was little, he was not even close to jolly. I wish he could understand the impact his mood has on the people around him.

So...I invited him to spend Christmas day with us. I figured the lure of grandkids would be too much and he would come and be good for their sakes. He gave me a lot of grief, though. I dropped by Christmas Eve with a few things I had helped him shop for and he said he wasn't coming. He knew I was headed to Mom's and that probably made it worse. I, of course, resorted to tears and a little drama and he finally promised to come. I was worried, though, that he would blame the weather, or his health and just not show up.

But he did! And I think he had a really good day. The kids brought him his stocking and he actually opened his gifts! If you know my father, you know that this is huge! When we were younger, as everyone else was opening presents, he would sit with his pile beside him and refuse to open until everyone begged him to do so. Grandkids work miracles! He spent the day playing with Mason, who thinks "Grampy" is the bomb. He put together his new big wheel, so he is definitely tops on Mason's list of favorite people.

I love my father dearly. He has his issues, but I experienced great joy watching him with my children this Christmas day. So very glad he decided to ditch the humbug...

Santa could have just brought a box...

Isn't it funny how we search and search for the perfect gift....and the child ends up playing with the box it came in?!

A couple of funnies from our Christmas break -

Max's Christmas list consisted of two items: a Spiderman skateboard and batteries. Yes, that's it. When asked if he would know how to use such a big present (the skateboard) he replied that he had learned how to ride one in his dreams.

A few days before Christmas, several presents appeared under the Christmas tree. The gold presents for Christmas Eve (jammies,) presents from Granny and Boppy and from Grandpa. Max discovered all the presents and went methodically through them to find his name. When he had them piled in front of them and realized he had three presents, he quipped "why are there three? I only asked for a skateboard and batteries?" A little later, quite perplexed, he came and said "I don't think any of those presents is the size of a skateboard."

When I told Max we were going to meet some new cousins in our travel to BC, I told him that Aunt Kim's boys' names were Zach and Cody. "My cousins are on TV?" asked Max. And Mason, after meeting Uncle Josh, started calling him DrakenJosh, kind of all run together. Clearly, despite stringent rules on how much the TV is on in our house, it is probably too much.

While climbing in the car after one of our pit stops in the trip, Mason jumped into my seat instead of getting into the back in his car seat. As I was moving him to his proper place, he looked at me and said "When you get little and I get bigger, can I sit in that seat?"

And finally, a funny on me. Obviously, the new year needs a recommitment to healthy eating and exercise. Mason commented that "you look like an apple" when I was wearing my pretty new red sweater. Max shook his head and said "Mom looks like a hippopotamus."

Christmas Eve jammies

Because they are my greatest joy (and pretty darn cute, too!)

Christmas Eve traditions

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. Roads were good again. Drove between two bad storms on mostly clear pavement. Definitely feeling blessed for our travel safety.

My mother traditionally hosts Christmas Eve. We have only made it one other time in our married life. I was very excited to be there this year. Nyla and Jed weren't coming up (due to their trip to the Philippines in February) and Trev and Heather went to Wenatchee, but Mom and Chick and Giana, AJ and Macy were all there to share the fun and joy.

Chick cooked prime rib on the Trager. OH MY GOSH!!! So very, very good. Best I've ever had. And of course, cheese fondue, which is the tradition from our childhood. Two of my favorites!

Presents from and to Grandma. The boys got Laser Tag, which has been a huge hit. Max and Mason received some Leap Frog paraphenalia and a doctor kit. Many shots and blood pressure readings later, I think that was a good choice. McKelle got some fuzzy slippers and a gorgeous sweater. And Michael and I got some Wusthof knives! Mom loved the photo book and the framed picture of the kids.

And the entertainment! Oh my. Check out my sweet niece Macy and her musical talent at only 4!

There was definitely joy in my heart sharing Christmas with my family once again.

(Bummer - the video won't upload. I'll have to try again later.)

All these cousins...

19 Wilwand cousins. Quite a full house. Full of fun, full of noise, full of joy. We met new cousins this trip - Ali and Brynlee, Cassidy and Taylor, Zach and Cody. And renewed relationships with the older cousins who we hadn't seen in awhile.

Lots of gaming for the boys, lots of baby loving for the girls. And Max! He loves baby Brynlee and his cousin Zach. He spent quite a lot of time entertaining them. Mason and Ali were darling doing the dishes together and sharing an M&M. What fun! Wish we were all closer so we could see each other more often.

I love my in-laws!!

My in-laws are awesome! I am always sad when I hear someone talk about the trouble they have with their in-laws. Mine have always been wonderful. From the day I met them in their hotel room in Provo, trying to get them to notice my engagement ring, they have welcomed me into their family and their lives.

It was a bit shocking to see Barry this trip. The illness and recent surgery took a huge toll on him and the post-surgical infection has caused him to shrink away. For the first time in his life, Michael is actually heavier than his dad. It is hard to see him like this, but I think his spirits were good and he enjoyed the visit with family.

Three whole rows at church!

The entire family went to church Sunday morning. Boppy was going to bless Lee's baby Cassidy and we were determined to get there despite snowy, icy roads. We all arrived safely and I think the Bishop was glad - attendance was pretty sparse.

It was truly a joy to be with the family for this special day. We have missed so many important events like this while living so far away. All of the Wilwands were there - I love this family!!

My first ferry ride!

After following some crazy directions off of Yahoo maps through residential neighborhoods, over a bridge and driving in what seemed like a very large circle, we made it to the BC Ferries docking point. Good - we made it in plenty of time to book passage. Bad - getting there in plenty of time meant we had a very long wait for the next ferry.

It was an interesting experience, but we were unable to make the most of it because of the weather. The lookout level (where I desperately wanted to go to take some photos) was closed due to ice, so I had to settle for some indoor pictures. It was exciting to begin with for the kids, but quickly got old. It was a pretty gray day. Too bad we didn't see any whales or something exciting. Mason and I did see a float plane fly by when we went down to the car to get diapers.

We made it to Chemainus about 3:30 and checked into our hotel. I definitely miss Barry and 'Neen living in the big house in Ontario where we all crowded in and stayed together. The island was beautiful, though, and you can see both mountain and ocean from Kim's front yard.

Headed to the True North...

I had some daily blogs set up to post...or so I thought...while we were gone, but it didn't happen so I'll share a little bit of our trip here.

We spent Friday waiting anxiously for Michael's brother Josh and his family to arrive. They left Rexburg around 5am and we prayed that the roads would not be terrible - the whole country seemed to be getting a huge dump of snow and there are some treacherous passes between here and Idaho. We were so glad when they arrived safely around 4pm...and then they got stuck in our driveway!

Ali was shy and baby Brynlee was adorable. After a little potty/nursing/get-the-wiggles-out break at our house, we set off on our trek north. We wanted to make it across Snoqualmie pass before we stopped for the night - it had been closed earlier and storms were threatening. Chains were required yesterday, so Michael picked some up and made sure Josh got some for his van.

We stopped at the famed Miner Burger in Yakima for dinner. I think every sports team in the state of Washington has stopped by here on their team bus at some time or another. The hamburgers were huge (and yummy!) and the fries came in copious amounts (the cashier warned us and even though we cut down our order, we had waaaaaaay too many fries.)

After dinner, we made it through the pass, and it actually wasn't too bad. We stayed in Issiquah for the night, ready to head out first thing in the morning.

Good intentions...

I had big plans. I always seem to have big plans. Things, however, don't always go according to said plans.

I started a December Daily album, a la Ali Edwards. I started late and had to order a couple of things that I wanted which didn't arrive until the first week of December. However, I was determined and put together my cover and pages, just knowing I could catch up.

Yeah, right. Life got in the way. That and the fact that I don't have a way to print pictures at home. So, I still have that cover (with all the sparkly bling!) and a bunch of empty pages, just waiting for my order of pictures from Costco. Guess it will just have to be a mini-album about December instead of a December daily. Having joy in anticipating the creative process.

Lighting up the night

One of my favorite memories from childhood Christmases was driving up to Carol Lane to see all the Christmas lights. Every house on the block was lit up, with scenes from various Christmas carols depicted. We always had to beg and plead with my dad to go (see my last entry) but I certainly remember being thrilled by it every year.

A few years ago, I was mesmerized by a Youtube video of a house decorated all out for the holidays. The lights were set on some kind of circuitry to go on and off to the beat of TSO's Wizards in Winter. I watched it over and over and over again. Now, I understand you can buy specialized sets of lights with all the equipment necessary to do this, but I think this original house was one of the first and he did it all on his own. Anyway, I pull it up every year and watch it with the kids.

Imagine our delight when we noticed a house not far from ours this year that had done something similar. We can see it from our front porch, all the lights blinking in time. After doing some Christmas ding-dong-ditch the other night, we drove by with the kids. The house had some kind of broadcaster and we tuned in. We sat and watched the light display for about 15 minutes and the kids thought it was very cool.

I haven't seen a Carol Lane in our little town, but hopefully, the kids will have some good memories of driving around to see Christmas lights.

The sparkle in his eye...

Ok, I'm stretching it a bit to come up with something glittery. Its probably bad camera work rather than a true sparkle, but I'm going with it...

They say (whoever they are) that a woman tends to marry someone like her father. Although Michael does have some qualities that are similar to my dad's, there are so many things that are different. And one that is very different and brings me great joy during this season is the fact that Michael loves the holidays.

My dad is a bit of a humbug. More than a bit. Michael is anything but. He loves Christmas. He loves to go out and get a tree (dad said his isn't even going up this year.) And this year, we were able to get some nice lights for the house. Michael (and I) were like kids in a candy store while shopping at Home Depot to trim the outside of our house.

I love that he loves Christmas just as much as I do.