more december prep

sometimes when i read other peoples blogs about fantastic things, fancy finds, dinner parties and people going to live in exotic places, i want IN on that life. it is a bad, bad thing.

i am looking at my dining table piled with todays tasks. file 2010 files away, make new files for 2011, organize patterns, fold/organize fabric, pay bills, print and laminate eli's emergency contact list, order eli's school pictures, gather items for the advent calendar, vacuum the back hall/organize coat room, etc, etc.... i don't mind doing these things. i enjoy it and i imagine that these "fancy blog folks" also do these mundane things as well, but somehow they conjure up the exciting life that goes with it. OR DO THEY? ..... maybe they are run ragged with all the things they are doing. maybe their kids don't get enough of their attention. maybe their house is a mess. you can't do it all, right? something has to give....

SO. i'm feeling good about all these tasks i accomplished today. because i finished them, it will help us finish out december and ring in the new year smoothly, calmly and organized. i won't be madly filing on december 31st or shoving fabric in every nook and cranny for my space to be nice and clean. i have things ready for the advent calendar, BONUS. the gravel bought in from our boots is gone from the back hall and is not being dragged through the house. i won't be pulled in a million directions.

conclusion: i guess there is more to life than someone else's exciting life. i don't need perfect weather, a flat in paris or reservations at the hippest place in town.

i got my things done today and that is good enough for me.

prep work

santa!

advent calendar

ida and the back of the advent and her new sleepers

soooooooo. we are getting ready for christmas around here. why not, winter has come early and it's as cold as the north pole up here... FOR REAL.

a couple of weeks ago we all happened to be at the mall. SANTA WAS THERE?!?! already? yup, he was there, hanging out on his large throne {why are santas always sitting on a throney type chair??}, checking his iphone for new texts or the hockey game score..... there was no line so we thought, what the heck, get the kids in there. so we did. eli told santa of all the LEGO he wanted, ida squirmed and reached for the miniature candy canes. when told to "smile!", eli gave his overly happy squinty face and ida winked. it was pretty awesome. christmas 2010, you are off to a good start!

then we decided to buy a new christmas tree. c.j. wanted a traditional green tree this year instead of our white one. we ended up leaving with a 8 foot green and a 6 foot purple. that's right purple. i love it.

i decided we needed an advent calendar. i found a pattern on sew mama sew, got all excited about it, stayed up all night cutting out fabric, worked away for the next couple of days and VOILA! we have an advent calendar! IT IS ALIVE. it was fun to do. now i am looking for really good ideas to put in these little pockets. pass along all your good suggestions please and you can be involved in our count down to celebrating Christmas. yes!

today is american thanksgiving. we are doing up another fat meal and thinking about the things we are thankful for. over the last couple of weeks we have had root canals, car accidents and near death experiences. today i am just happy we are safe, healthy and alive.

now, pass me a piece of pumpkin pie.

robert falcon scott

our kids like to read. A LOT.

tonight i threw ida in her crib with half a dozen books and c.j. laid down with eli to read a chapter out of their "dangerous book for boys". the book is a collection of "boy" stuff: games, biographies of explorers, knots, survival skills. i am sure you have seen this book in stores. i heard c.j. reading about robert scott and his expedition to the antarctic. c.j. finished up and left eli to go to sleep. about 20 minutes later i went to check on the kids. i opened ida's door slightly, she was growling and jabbering while flipping the pages of her chunky animal book. i poked my head into eli's room, he was reading through the pages of the book c.j. was just reading to him. i came into the living room and gave the update to c.j. 10 minutes later, eli came out to go to the bathroom. then he walked into the living room and wanted to talk to me. "that story, about robert scott.... it was so sad. he froze to death. it's just so sad...." that's when he started to cry. crying like someone had died. like he knew robert scott. so tragic.

c.j. and i went back into his room with him. he had re-read the account and was terribly moved by the letters mr. scott had written to his family and friends. his journal entries and thoughts. such a shame he had made it to the south pole and died on the journey home.

an excerpt from the last letter to his wife where he mentioned their only son.

"I had looked forward to helping you to bring him up, but it is a satisfaction to know that he will be safe with you... Make the boy interested in natural history if you can. It is better than games. They encourage it in some schools. I know you will keep him in the open air. Try to make him believe in God, it is comforting... and guard him against indolence. Make him a strenuous man. I had to force myself into being strenuous, as you know--had always an inclination to be idle."

{no wonder he was boobing, i had a hard time getting through that myself...}

to make it all better, we talked about explorers and the risks they take. you win some, you lose some. then c.j. read him the story of the wright brothers. he was asleep within a couple of minutes.

5 chapters left...

this is what it looked like right before we finished off ether last night

inspecting his progress and feeling pretty good about it i think

eli has 5 chapters left in the book of mormon. when i say he is dedicated/anxious/excited/f o c u s e d/hell-bent on finishing this book before he turns 9 is an understatement. his deadline isn't for a month, so i think he'll make it. he reads late into the night and early in the morning. he reads out loud and silently to himself. every time he finishes a chapter he grabs his little chart that grandpa gave him and colours in another little box. the chart is ragged and worn.

yesterday he got his braces on. after they were glued in place, the orthodontist passed eli a mirror to inspect his mouth. she began to inform him of things he couldn't eat like gum and sticky food. hard things like apples and a reminder to chew his food in the back of his mouth so his brackets wouldn't pop off. he listened quietly and intently, thinking and looking back and forth from his mouth and the doctor. after hearing the instruction and with a concerned look on his face, the only thing he asked was, "can i still read my scriptures with these things on?".

one. track. mind.

we are going to finish this special book tonight. we gave him a set of scriptures for his baptism last year. i wanted to write something personal in the front, something like the note my dad lovingly wrote in my scriptures when they gave them to me {i read it often, thanks dad!}. over this year i kept thinking i need to write something, however, i'm so glad i didn't write anything until now.

way to go, e. thanks for letting me read the scriptures with you this year. special, special times.

things i'm doing

i'm makin' cookies.

i'm sewing an advent calendar. i cut fabric out last night until 4 am.

we put our christmas trees up this weekend. 2 of them. one purple and one green.

i rescheduled my green card appointment for early 2011.

i've got to stop eating bread. i'm getting f a t.

we are brain-storming christmas card ideas.

ida can say hallelujah.

eli gets braces on monday.

c.j. is getting a root canal this week. his mouth has been throbbing for 3 weeks.

i am planning, planning, planning for december. it's going to be awesome. right new york city and doug and emily?

now i am going to eat a cookie.

trip, trip, trip

halloween party at cubs with cousins {cole & spencer}

me & dee

halloween trunk or treat catered by "in & out"

cruising claremont

the kids & pumpkin

whaaaaat?

twins

me & em

backyard halloween party

eli & the cousins

the salmon/burton/saunders sandwich
aunt ruth in st. george

SLC temple

eli & i at the spoken word, third row

president monson came to listen too

megan & me & our kids

we're back. the votes are in.

enjoy the pics.