We spent this Christmas as a family with no house guests or friends over. Other than dinner with Kevin's parents, we celebrated as a family. While we love having family and friends join us, it was relaxing to just be together.
It is interesting to watch the kids as they grow and change in their participation and understanding of Christmas and its traditions. This year, I was impressed to watch Coral, India, and Niall as they planned and procured gifts for each other and for Kevin and me. They calculated their budgets and spent time finding gifts that would please each other. They were generous and thoughtful, and I was really proud of them.

Christmas Morning

Opening stockings! Niall found a Wii controller in his- he asked if he was dreaming?!?!

Bowling on the Wii

Niall Poses with some of his gifts

Leith totes his gifts into the living room

Breakfast in our matching 'Y' hats

We had a lovely Christmas and are grateful for the traditions we have as a family and for the time spent together.

Winter Solstice

This evening is the winter solstice-Dec 22 at 6:08 UT(universal time) which is at 11:08pm MST for us here in Utah. I am fascinated with pre-history and the evidence of the rituals and belief systems of ancient peoples. I love the way we incorporate the symbols of many ancient religions into our own religious customs. It is a witness to me that all truth works together to point to the reality of the Savior.

For a great primer on the winter solstice, check out 'Marking the Solstice' and related articles from 12-21-2007 at http://www.deseretmorningnews.com/ under the family&life tab.(an astute commentator pointed out that it may have been better in the religion section)

I recommend listening to Sissel's new album Northern Lights while observing the solstice and preparing for Christmas-especially the track 'Hymn to Winter'. Sarah McLachan's 2006 Christmas album, Wintersong would be a great choice, too.

I really love Christmas and relate personally to the passage from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens:

"...and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. My that truly be said of us, and all of us!"

I love to decorate the house, shop, bake, and eat. We try each year to participate in charitable giving or service above our ordinary contributions. I love Christmas music, concerts and events.

But, lest anyone think a picture perfect holiday is really possible or actually happening here, let me just review a few 'issues' we have going on:

Here is a photo of Coral with her trebuchet. It is assembled, but let's just say, we will not be knocking down any castle walls with it! Uncle Lloyd, we needed you-but, if you can see where we went wrong from this photo, don't call, don't write...it is too late.

Last weekend we attended the much anticipated MoTab Christmas Concert. We put some effort into acquiring the tickets-thanks, everyone, for letting me use your out of town addresses- and were very excited since last year's concert was pretty much life-changing. However, this time... we had horrible seats where the sound was totally coming through speakers-badly; we didn't connect with most of the musical selections and the style of the concert was not what we were expecting- a bit too 'jingle bells and happy holidays'. The guest artists were the King's Singers. I could tell they are really talented, but we will need to be exposed to them in a different setting to really appreciate their work. There were several impressive pieces on the program that I will look forward to watching on PBS next year-with the sound properly mixed- but after waiting for tickets, fighting traffic, and jostling with 21000 other people to get into the conference center on a bitterly cold night, we did not have quite the rewarding experience we were hoping for.

I have had trouble with altitude while baking my most treasured lemon cakes since we moved here, but this year they are inedible. I have spent time on www.baking911.com and have one more tweak to try. If it doesn't work, the neighbors will be getting boxes of chocolate covered cherries- JK- but we will need a plan B.

Niall has a friend at school whose parents are, apparently, opposed to organized religion. Niall has come home worried that Christmas is only about presents and that churches are bad because they make you pay to pray. I have reassured him that Christmas is really about 'vengeance'(a line from the Jim Carrey movie of 'the Grinch') and that tithing is voluntary.

We woke up yesterday, after a night of thawing and rain, to water dripping in the living room window. I seem to still be cross-wise with the Gods of Stucco and more sacrifices of time, money, and emotional energy will, I'm sure, be required.

And, last night, India walked in her dream-filled sleep, barefoot in jammies, out the door into the winter night, across and down the street to hide from Coral-who was trying to kill her-on a neighbor's porch. I heard the door open, but didn't get downstairs fast enough to see where she had gone. After looking around outside a bit and searching through the house, she saw me coming outside to look again and came home- not before knocking on the neighbors door to see if they would let her come in and get warm. I had PTSD for a good part of the rest of the night. We haven't heard from the neighbors yet. And, yes, she was really asleep. She didn't even remember it this morning until I reviewed it with her.

We will have a wonderful Christmas in spite of any ongoing drama, and I think we are smart enough to be enormously grateful for our fortunate circumstances. As soon as I find some caffeine and headache medicine, I will return to the kitchen to try to make the lemon cakes happen!

India(middle row, second from the right)sang last night in her choir's Winter Concert. She participates in her school's audition-based Centennial Singers. Her director, Mr. Steadman, is a member of MoTab and really knows his stuff. They sounded beautiful. I hope she continues on with choral singing in High School and beyond.

Niall's 2nd grade class performed a choral reading of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Kevin, Leith, & I attended. It was one of the most charming and festive activities I have seen in elementary school. Mrs. Hanberg is a fabulous, Grandma-type teacher with lots of experience-it showed here. They sang the song, 'He's a mean one....' and then read the story in sections, divided into groups of 4-6 students. Soooooo darling!!

They also performed it for a school assembly, and I have heard from other parents that the kids in the audience were impressed and talking about it when they got home!

The Season is Upon Us...

The shopping is mostly done, packages sent, cards addressed, and the work room is filled with wrapping carnage. The boys are playing endlessly with the presents under the tree in between trips outside to play in the snow- at least 4 on Sat. The girls are planning parties and excursions with their friends. Tonight, we go to see a community theater production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever- a classic!
Kevin has been making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies-hello, Halloween is over!!!-, but the serious baking will begin tomorrow. Today we must complete that most traditional of holiday tasks- the building of a trebuchet for Coral's physics class-due Thurs. I'm off to Home Depot for materials for the project, and then to the fabric store for India. She is sewing a few gifts this year. I love handmade gifts and have let the busyness of life get in the way of making them for a number of years. Maybe India can help me return to the tradition.
The boys have been begging to make a gingerbread house. After dinner last night, we launched into it. They unwrapped all the candy, ate all the Sour-patch Kids, attached a few pieces of candy to the roof and walls and then abandoned my friend Diana and me to finish. We had a great time covering our hands in frosting and sugar and remembering the fabulous houses made by Lisa Gertch & her mother in CA. Ours is not on that level, but I think it's pretty.

My parents left today to fly home to Texas. They were here for 10 days to participate in Niall's Baptism and to visit my Dad's family in Idaho. I was nervous about my Dad traveling on a plane with his serious physical disabilities, but they arrived intact and we had a great visit.

I am thankful for the time they spent with my children. I wish we lived close enough that spending time with my parents was not a special occasion, but rather, a part of everyday life. Sadly, the size of the spiders in Texas makes it impossible for me to consider living there.

In the carpool on the way to school one morning, Leith announced to the kids in the car that his Grandma is better than their Grandma. He is probably right.

Niall is 8!!

Niall turned 8 years old today and attended his first Cub Scout meeting. He seems so big.

He thinks his new bike is "wicked!"

Interfaith Creche Exhibit, Midway, UT

Yesterday, Denna and I went on our annual excursion to see an expansive Creche exhibit in Midway, UT. I have loved these type of exhibits since the Ann Arbor Stake hosted one when we lived there. It is amazing to look at hundreds of Nativity sets from all over the world ranging from the homemade, to folk art, to expensive porcelain, & on, & on. I most attracted to the folk art, but the most beautiful set I've ever seen is a porcelain one from Ireland with green and gold highlights. They had a whole room devoted to depictions of Mary & Russian icons. Another room giant Fontanini collection that seemed to depict the entire ancient Holy Land and all its inhabitants, roads, bodies of water, etc. It reminded of the fabulous display of French Santons I loved to see in the Ann Arbor exhibit.

There were, of course, some low points in the exhibit. A 'smores' Nativity featured a mini-marshmallow Jesus laying on a graham cracker with a chocolate blanket. Someone had decorated a group of small, yellow, rubber ducks to represent the main characters associated with Christ's birth. I started singing to Denna, "Rubber Ducky, you're the One..." She didn't think that was funny. I thought the song was funny, but not the duck Nativity! There were several 'Eskimo' sets with penguins who, apparently, had traveled from the Antarctic to Alaska to visit the baby Jesus. (No photography was allowed in the exhibit, but this a photo of one of my own sets.)

We left the Salt Lake valley in light rain and were bit worried about the weather for driving. Sure enough, we drove into a beautiful, dangerous storm on the Wasatch Back. The driving was treacherous on the way and terrifying on the way back- but it was worth the trip.