We celebrated our 19th Wedding Anniversary yesterday! Although we were essentially children at the time, we have grown up together and our love has grown through the years. I am grateful that our marriage and family relationships are sealed for Eternity through our Temple covenants. As I look at my loving husband and my beautiful children, I am filled with wonder at the blessings of my life.

Happy Christmas!

We are not having a 'white' Christmas- we are having a WHITEOUT Christmas. I am glad we have no where to go and can stay inside and just be together!

Niall entertains cousin Dominik on Christmas Eve.

New pajamas!

Opening stockings...

Kevin reads a Christmas favorite at breakfast.

Leith was so excited about a gift that he tackled Niall to say thanks!
Kevin watches the kids in his new hat.

Grandma Allred sent a huge present!

The girls both made some of their presents-these are some of the many hats India made for family and friends. Once she started, everyone seemed to want one. She finished the last one just before midnight! Coral made me a CD of radio tunes that we enjoy while driving to school. She included 'Love Lockdown' by Kanye West. It sticks in my mind like 'Small World'. I am not sure if I like it or if I just can't get it out of my head. The whole CD is fun and has a photo of Coral and me at the beach on the front.

I LOVE my children on Christmas Day. They were all so anxious to pass out the presents they made or bought for each other. Only after that did we move on to their gifts. They were all so animated in their sincere excitement and gratitude for everything they received. It is really sweet to be with them on Christmas morning.

Last night, we went downtown to see the lights on Temple Square and the display of Polish Folk Art Nativities in the Church Museum of Art- amazing!

We were fascinated by the two creepy looking guys in masks included in this nativity. One has a tail and a pitchfork- could it be......Satan? I have never seen the adversary lurking in a Creche scene before!

I loved this one because baby Jesus is snuggled down on his tummy instead of lying on his back.

This was our favorite set- we loved the stylized figures and beautiful colors!

The Kasongos

The Kasongos are a large family from Congo who, after living for 15 years in a refugee camp in Zambia, arrived in the US in April. The father of the family died in a hospital in Zambia just before the family left Africa, leaving the mother pregnant with her 10th child- now a newborn with Down's Syndrome. The other children rage in age from 27-4. The children are all in school here and the young adults work to support the family while going to school to improve their English. The younger children speak Swahili and some French. The mother stays next to the baby at all times. I was told that she never leaves his side because they are all waiting to see if he will live.
Our family was invited to participate in a project to outfit their home with some basic household necessities and to provide the children with school supplies. The email request from a friend came while I was chatting with Kevin about the need we felt for our family to find something to do this holiday season that would turn our focus outside of ourselves and our own interests and concerns.
We visited the family Sunday night and delivered a few larger items. We had already sent school supplies with the group donation. Our plan was to bring in the furniture, visit briefly, and wish them a Merry Christmas.
When we arrived to be introduced, their rental house was freezing cold and there was a decided air of worry in the home. The older son was afraid to use the furnace and water heater because they made odd noises and because the family had been having terrible headaches when the heat was on. Wendy, our escort, became quite alarmed to hear this because she has been having headaches when she has spent time with them over the last few weeks. The family was keeping only the bedroom of the mother, newborn, and younger children warm with a space heater.
Kevin, Coral, & Steven brought the furniture in and then took our kids home. India stayed with me to check out the mechanical systems. It is a sad day when I am the most knowledgeable person around, but I was able to show Kitenge how to regulate the water heater and explained to him that all water heaters make funny noises. He thought it wasn't working because of the noise and the fact that they didn't have regular hot water. I was able to explain that it is a very small unit and not capable of providing hot water for so many people. The heater warmed the house when on, but of course there was no way for me to know if either appliance was emitting CO- a truly frightening thought.
I installed a CO detector in their home as Wendy and a neighbor tried to find a working contact number for the landlord, who is charging them $1000 per month -I hope this includes utilities. Wendy was inclined to call the fire dept, and I was interested in the help, but worried that they would evacuate the family on the suspicion of a problem. We discussed whether we could get everyone into our two vehicles.
The firemen really saved the evening. They were so kind. They did not detect CO or gas, but pointed out that we may have aired it all out before they came. They gave the family instructions on the use of the detector and gave them much needed reassurance. When we all left, the house was warm. I hope Kitenge left the heat on and that the events of the evening didn't make them all more afraid.
The Kasongos seemed friendly, patient, intelligent, and so, so foreign. I cannot even imagine what they must be thinking and feeling about all the experiences they are having- not to mention the daily snowfall!
There are several people in their neighborhood who seem to be consistently checking in on them. I was impressed with their spirit of service and genuine interest in the family. I would love to visit the Kasongos again, maybe speak a little French, and get to know them a bit. We would have been happy to participate in such a project at any time, but it was a great addition to our celebration of Christmas.
I returned to my own warm and festive home later in the evening. Diana O'Connor had stayed over part of the weekend to bake with me and visit some friends farther south. She had already left before I arrived at home. I went to bed with my tummy full of her delicious 'chocolate cluster' cookies and my mind full of the beautiful faces of the Kasongos.

A Season of Performances

Coral after a performance of 'Oklahoma'. It was a very well done show, but no matter how good the performance, it was still the hokey musical it has always been. Kevin and I proved our love for our child by attending.

Coral was selected for the Tri-State Honor Band which convened at USU in Logan. After the initial audition, she was selected as the first chair bass clarinet and had a great musical weekend.

India, Leith and I joined Coral in Logan. We checked out some familiar sites from when we used to visit Polly here. We had lunch at the famous Bluebird Restaurant. The food was forgettable, but the ambiance was still good and we took some candy home to Kevin. While the kids napped in the car, I took a drive up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to the Hardware Ranch. There was no snow and no elk, but the canyon is incredibly beautiful. We also drove around the very romantic Logan Temple and checked out a local craft fair-more artsy that crafty- before attending the final concert performance by the Honor Band.

Coral with her fellow Alta students and the guest director for the weekend.

Coral in her Wind Ensemble concert at school. She also played with the Orchestra in their concert earlier. I was too sick to attend either:(

India(third from the right on the back row) and the Centennial Singers at Barnes & Noble.

India's choir concert at school.(She is third from the right, second row down) Her director sings with the MoTab Choir and has taught these students to sing beautifully. Several of their songs had really impressive harmonies.

Niall turns 9!!

Happy Birthday, Niall!


Niall has a small shadow wherever he goes!

Opening family gifts...

Friends come over to eat cake and go see 'Bolt'.

We celebrated Niall's birthday for 3 days. We started with treats for his class at school and family gifts on his actual birthday, moved on to a friend party after his basketball game the next day, and ended with more dessert and a visit from Grandma Denna & Grandpa Carl on Sunday. I think it's official- He's 9!!!

Thanksgiving Week

Kevin and the boys in Bell Canyon on 11/22

The Sobieralskis stopped by the day before Thanksgiving. It was great to see them and catch up a bit. Kevin and Wayne went to the Jazz/Kings game later in the week.

We participated in the charity 5K on Thanksgiving morning. Leith(hiding from the camera) ran almost the whole way.

After the race we were wet from the rain, but in good spirits.

A holiday classic...I think last year Niall ate the drumsticks.

Jack Marinello and Coral practice their clarinets.

On Sunday, the Larsens stopped to visit on their way home to CA. Niall was so excited to see Cade! The Astles(who got away without being photographed) joined us for dessert. We are blessed to have such good friends. I felt like it was an early Christmas gift to see so many friends over this weekend. (Yes, there are six young boys at this table!)

There is not much sleeping going on here!

We were sad to see the Larsens leave!

I knew it was Thanksgiving when the smoke alarm went off minutes before dinner was ready to serve. Every year, the butter from the baking rolls drips onto the bottom of the oven and causes the room to fill with smoke. We quickly air out the house, stop the alarm, and proceed to eat a nice dinner. Then, I promptly forget about the whole thing until it happens again on the next holiday. Is this the definition of insanity-doing the same ridiculous thing over and over again?

Other than that, we had a really nice week. I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings of life. It seems we will never be done 'counting our blessings'- the list continues to grow even as we count.