There is Something Immensely Satisfying About Having a Hibiscus Blooming in My Window When It Is Snowy Outside

And yes. We finally got some snow. It was 60 degrees on Christmas and when it started snowing last week, Nathan told me that it kind of made him want to do a Christmas do over. 😂

To Each Their Own

Today Nathan picked up the ceramics from the kids’ recent Color Me Mine trip. It is always fun to see the finished pieces the way the artist imagined them. And I’ve never had one come back and been disappointed. I don’t think my kids have either. There is just something about having the dull colors come out vivid and the matte turned to shine that leads to excitement about the result. Plus, the anticipation that comes with waiting for a week or two ramps up that pleasure when the finished results are finally seen.

I think the most interesting thing about this particular set of projects is that Daniel painted a stack of frogs, the same one that Malia selected on a trip a few years ago. Malia’s frogs are painted in a variety of greens. But Daniel went the poisonous tree frog route and made them a kaleidoscope of color. Each of them interpreted the art in their own way and both reflect their owners very well. Malia’s favorite color is green, and everything is better in green. She might do something more diverse now, but then again, maybe not. Because green. And Daniel is a hard-core painter of 3D printed fantasy miniatures and model airplanes in a variety of sizes and has a great eye for detail. He has spent years honing his painting skills. So ombre vs. multicolored. Both options are fun.

And as a random comment, the fancy speckled paints do in fact look super great!

Duck Update

Malia still has seven ducks that need finding. I found one this afternoon when I went downstairs to get a can of corn, so we sent her down after school to get a can of corn. But she missed the duck because she grabbed a can from the front of the case rather than the back, so we sent her down again. And then we sent her back again because we really didn’t need that extra can of corn. 😂

I suspect the remaining ducks will be found at other unexpected moments. And it might take a long time since Tawni doesn’t remember where she hid them all and we have only found one in the past week which means they are pretty well hidden. So, I guess this is one of those gifts that keeps on giving? 😜

I Still Love Frog and Toad

You may recall that over the past year, Nathan has had the opportunity to interpret for several stage productions. First, Elephant and Piggie, a children’s show based on a popular children’s book series. Then a high school level production of Les Miserable, also based on a book. Nathan has absolutely loved these opportunities as they are a blend of several things he loves-ASL and theater. Although we have seen videos and pictures of Nathan in this type of work, we had not seen him in action in person. So, when he told us that he would be interpreting for “A Year with Frog and Toad,” another children’s production based on another book series, we took the opportunity to drive up to Logan to see him. 

While the Elephant and Piggie books are fairly new in the sense that they were published when my kids were young, the Frog and Toad books were published when I was young. In fact, they are a book series that we owned, and I read them over and over. They were some of my childhood favorites. Some years ago, someone wrote a musical based on the characters from the Frog and Toad book series. The boys and I saw a production of the show many years back when my sister Patti was in a community theater production, and it was loads of fun. We bought the soundtrack and it is one they listened to a lot for a while and that I revisit from time to time. In fact, the “Cookies” song pops up in my head on a fairly regular basis. I mean, I do love cookies and it is a super catchy number. So, in addition to getting to see Nathan interpret, we had the chance to see a fun show!

Kevin, Malia and I drove up and picked up Nathan, and then Daniel and Tawni joined us for lunch and the show. There weren’t any Deaf youngsters at this performance, which is a shame, but Nathan worked and got paid regardless. And he is likely going to be interpreting for more shows over the coming months. The Utah Festival Opera is highly interested in continuing to provide opportunities to make theater accessible for the Deaf. And they have been so pleased with Nathan’s work. He is, of course, tickled pink that they want him to keep coming back.

Nathan was just full of enthusiasm and joy as he worked, and it was so fun to see that! He let his liaison at the theater know we were family, and they even gave us permission to take pictures of him, something that is generally a big no-no in the world of live theater. So, family time, theater time, ASL time…it was a great way to spend a day. Add to that revisiting a childhood favorite, and it’s a win all around. And now I’m not the only one who has the “Cookies” song stuck in my head. 😉

I’ll end with one funny anecdote from the show. At one point, one of the shrink-wrapped cookies they were using as props fell out of a pocket, rolled across the stage, and bopped Nathan right in the back of the head. The entire audience could see that cookie rolling, but Nathan had no idea why suddenly, all eyes were on him. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he felt that cookie tap his noggin, and even then, he didn’t know what it was until he had a chance to glance down at the floor and spotted the offending dessert. All the kids in the audience thought it was hilarious!

Merry (Last) Christmas

For Christmas of 2024, Nathan gave Kevin, Malia and I an experience gift consisting of a trip to Color Me Mine. Malia’s gift certificate also specified that lunch would be included. But after Christmas break, everyone went back to school. And as is common in college, balancing school, work, and church callings left Nathan with very little free time. Once school ended in May/June, we were up to our eyeballs in prepping Matthew to head to Arkansas and planning a wedding. The week after the wedding, everyone went back to school. So those experiences didn’t happen in the timely manner that we had all anticipated. We did head to Color Me Mine during Nathan’s fall break this year, but Malia ascertained that it did not count as her gift because 1) lunch was not included and 2) an outing where Kev and I were in on the fun was absolutely not the outing with her brother that she expected. I know we are old and boring, so I get where she is coming from. LAUGHING WITH TEARS SMILEY However, during our adventure in the fall, a plan was hatched in which Malia would be transported to Logan between Christmas and New Year’s to spend some time with her older siblings.

Nathan was home for a week and when he went back to Logan on Sunday evening, Malia went with them. She stayed with Daniel and Tawni, so some coordinating of schedules was necessary as they were in Orem with Tawni’s family all day on Sunday. Once they all made it back north, they gathered at Daniel and Tawni’s abode and played games. I love that playing games is such a beloved pastime for my kiddos. It is so much more interactive than just watching a movie. Not that they don’t do that too, and not that a movie viewing can’t be a fun social activity, especially when the film is accompanied by much joking and commentary, but in my opinion, playing games is a great way to enjoy the company of others and get to know them really well. I mean, a rousing round of any number of games can tell you a lot about a person. You learn who is super competitive, who is a poor loser, who takes things too seriously, who is a fantastic problem solver, who is willing to take a loss for the team, etc. And to throw in a real-life example of how game playing can help you get to know people, Daniel and Tawni met in a Dungeons and Dragons group. They played weekly for two years before they decided they wanted to give dating a try. So, they have proven that being an avid game player can lead to marital bliss. WINKY SMILY But editorializing aside, they gathered, they played, they stayed up late, they had lots of fun.

Yesterday was a full day of sibling time. Tawni had to work for a few hours in the morning, so Daniel, Nathan and Malia played more games while she was gone. Then they all headed to Raising Cane’s for lunch. This not only filled the obligatory “lunch” portion of the Christmas gift, but Cane’s is one of Malia’s most favorite meals ever. Nathan may be addicted to Chick-fil-a, but Malia is hooked on Cane’s. And in her defense, they do make one of the better versions of fast-food chicken fingers. The menu is not as varied as Chick-fil-a, but where food allergies are concerned, often that is beneficial. Anyway, it has been probably a month since the last time we hit Cane’s, so Malia was definitely ready for a dose of fingers and fries. 

After lunch, they went to Color Me Mine and exercised their creativity. Apparently, the location in Logan has fancier paint options than the one we visited, because Nathan sent us details on all the cool speckled paints they have. Several of the kids made use of said fancy paints, and I’m excited to see how everything turns out. That’s one of the fun things about painting ceramics. The color and luster of the paint are completely different once they are fired, so you make a plan based on your desired end result, but don’t really get to see how it will all work out until you pick up your pieces. It’s also fun to see what piece each person chooses. There are lots of options and I don’t think I’ve ever done an outing where more than one person selected the same item.

Once they were done painting, they visited the Pepperidge Farm store at the factory up there. With all the goodies significantly cheaper than at normal retail stores, they loaded up on goldfish crackers and Milano cookies. Nathan even grabbed a couple of bags of the new white chocolate Milano cookies that I can eat sans headache. They are so good! And I appreciate that he thinks of me. Malia, who is hooked on hoodies, also came home with a Goldfish logoed sweatshirt.

In the evening, Daniel and Nathan got sent away since it was officially a girls’ night. Charlotte, one of Tawni’s sisters, joined them for pizza, nail painting, and a movie. With three brothers and no sisters, Malia hasn’t had the opportunity for a whole lot of girls’ nights. I mean, there have been some, especially with Kate, but those have been relatively few. So, Malia was pretty darn happy about the whole thing. She gets along really well with Tawni too. They text all the time and I could not be more pleased that Malia is getting a glimpse of what it is like to have a sister.

When Kev picked Malia up today, she was tired but happy. When the gift was given last Christmas, we did not yet know that there would be a sister-in-law to join in the fun. But having Tawni around has been such a blessing already. And as I’ve mentioned before, Malia misses her brothers so the chance to spend a few days with them was a fantastic thing for her. I just means that it was even quieter than usual around here…

Christmas-Part II

While we didn’t get to actually see Daniel and Tawni on Christmas, we did get to see them today. They had some presents to receive as well as some to give. In fact, they timed their arrival very carefully based on what they had selected for Malia. They gave her fifty-five rubber ducks, but they didn’t just give them to her in a box, they hid them all over the house. That meant that they needed someone to get Malia out of the house for a while. Nathan was their accomplice and he was funny about it. He put “crime” as an event on his calendar so that he would remember that he was taking Malia up to visit Kevin’s mom, thereby getting her out of the house long enough for Daniel and Tawni to arrive and hide half a hundred ducks. 😂 Upon her arrival home, Malia was less than thrilled but a good sport nonetheless when she discovered that she was going to have to hunt down her Christmas present. As of now, she has discovered forty-five and there are no others in obvious locations. This might take her a while. 😉

Daniel and Tawni got me a book I’ve been wanting. It’s basically a chemistry of cooking book so I’m excited to dig into that. Nathan got a plush microwaveable dumpling. Which he was thrilled about. And of course, he had to go pop it in the microwave right away. And Kevin received a set of decals for one of the models he is working on. In addition to the Doctor Who Little People for Daniel that I bought as an impulse purchase because it made me laugh, we had several humorous T-shirts for Tawni, some itty-bitty polyhedral dice and of course, the gift of cow for both of them. Which gave them both context for the comments and deleted video that happened on Christmas. 

We spent the evening playing games, which was fun. We love board and card games and got a new one for Christmas (The Bears and the Bees) that I think is already one of Malia’s new favorites. And after Kevin and I bowed out due to age and needing to work towards bed, the kids played some raucous rounds of Five Crowns. I’m so glad that all of them get along so well. The only missing piece this evening was Matthew, and in about a year and a half, he will be back in the thick of things.

So delayed Christmas was fun. And it made me feel a bit better about the quiet Christmas. With Tawni’s extended family living fairly close, delayed Christmas was an option and I’m very grateful. I know that the older set of kids could well end up living far away from here, and so I’m glad for any time that we get with them. And who knows? Maybe living far away will mean Kevin and I traveling for Christmas at some point in the future. 

Change for Christmas

Christmas was different for us this time around. This past year has brought some significant changes for our little family and that led to a very quiet Christmas day. Matthew was celebrating in Arkansas and since we enjoyed having Daniel and Tawni with us for Thanksgiving, they were with Tawni’s family last night and today. So, this morning, it was just Nathan, Malia, Kevin and me. We slept in just a bit and got breakfast started before we explored what was in the stockings or opened any presents. That was definitely different. And with only four of us on hand, Malia requested standard French toast for breakfast instead of the overnight versions we have done in past. We were able to cook enough slices on the griddle for all of us to eat at the same time which was a bit tricky when feeding six people and needing an allergen free version as well. So, while the past several years have been calmer due to having older children, things were extra quiet today. 

Having said that, we did still have fun. Malia’s gifts this year are largely experience gifts, so she didn’t have much to open. But she was fine with that since one of those gifts was the Benson Boone concert in October and the other is tickets to see Hades Town when the Broadway touring company is here in March. She was/is ridiculously excited about both of these events.

Nathan received a variety of small things with his big gift being the gift of food. For the past several years, we have purchased a quarter cow from Cory, Kevin’s brother. Cory buys a cow, feeds it through the year, and then sends it to the butcher each fall. When Kevin called to ask about cow this year, Cory asked if we wanted half a cow instead of a quarter. Half a cow is far more than we can eat with just three of us at home, but we talked about it and thought that Daniel and Nathan might be interested in having a bunch of really good beef as a Christmas present. They concurred, so a bunch of Cory cow (that’s what we call it around here to differentiate from the run of the mill beef we get at the store) and a small chest freezer for Daniel and Tawni (with the agreement that Nathan could keep some of his cow there as well) were their gifts for this year.

However, 140 pounds of beef is extremely difficult to wrap and put under the tree, so I went looking for a small toy cow of some sort so they would have something to open. What I found were small plush cows that moo and walk around when you push a button on their backs. I added in some Styrofoam meat trays leftover from Halloween raw meat Rice Krispy treats a few years ago, some saran wrap, a personalized Cory Cow nutrition sticker, and used grocery bags as wrapping. I thought it would be funny and was pleased when it made Nathan laugh. His first reaction was to take a video of the walking, mooing cow and send it to the fam in the Facebook Messenger app that we use to communicate with Matthew. However, that would have spoiled the fun for Daniel and Tawni who are scheduled to be here on Saturday, so once he knew they would also be the recipients of an identical package, he quickly deleted the message before they had a chance to see it. Matthew watched it before it was deleted though, so he got to see the barnyard antics. And Daniel didn’t see the video but knows there is something entertaining waiting for them. 

I got a fabulous bread cookbook from Nathan, one I’m excited to get into to learn some additional tips and tricks for breadmaking. And Kevin got me an authentic widow’s mite. Let me give a bit of explanation about that one. Malia has been really into coin collecting over the past few years. It is something that is interesting to her and a shared interest with Matthew which is fun for both of them. There is a coin shop that Kevin has been taking her to on occasion, which Malia loves, and I’m assuming the widow’s mite was purchased on one of their trips. It was meaningful because over the past several years, the number of things I’ve missed or been unable to do as a result of the headaches has risen significantly. And often it leaves me feeling like I’m failing in pretty much every aspect of my life. That widow’s mite, which is tiny, much smaller than I had imagined, was a reminder that I’m doing what I can. I’m giving what I can when I can. And the Lord knows exactly what I’m dealing with and accepts my offering, no matter how small it may be. So, it was a little something that was completely unexpected, but such a good reminder for me.

As for Kev, I have a gift for him, but it hasn’t arrived yet. It is due to get here sometime around my birthday…

With only four of us at home, not as many physical presents to open, and no small children bouncing around like maniacs or deeply focused on their new toys, we knew that we would have a good amount of free time this afternoon. Factor in some busy schedules, and it seemed like this afternoon would be a good time to decorate gingerbread. This year’s creation was a gingerbread train with each of us assembling and decorating one car. Nathan claimed the engine, Malia selected the caboose, and Kevin and I took the two middle cars. We had fewer ginger-dead type occurrences this year with Malia’s car being the only one with casualties. One of her gingerbread people was falling out of the car and the other was being run over. But the rest of our cars were G-rated. 😂

With almost all the nieces and nephews teenaged or older, last night’s Christmas Eve festivities were more mellow as well. We did dim sum for dinner at my parents’ house again to try to ease things for my mom. She still felt like she needed to be up and about prepping all kinds of things, but we tried to take care of it all. We had no plans for a program or anything, but my mom did want to sing some Christmas carols. However, I don’t know if that actually happened or not. We knew Matthew would be calling today, but he unexpectedly called last night as well. His mission president told them all to call home and that they could talk to their grandparents on occasion, so his timing was perfect. He talked to my parents for a few minutes and got to say hi to the cousins. Even Sam said hi to him, which is fantastic as Sam is usually pretty reticent in situations like this. And since we had already finished eating dinner and Matthew had the go-ahead to talk to grandparents, we booked it down the hill to Kevin’s parents’ house so he could talk to them as well. Before we took off though, Esther had a Christmas present for me with identical ones for my other sisters. She gave us a “Sisters” Christmas tree ornaments. As in the “Sisters” musical number from my favorite Christmas movie, “White Christmas.” The same song that I use a snippet of as my text tone for my sisters. It made me laugh out loud. It was perfect!

We got to talk to Matthew again today, which was nice because it meant that Daniel and Tawni jumped onto the video call as well. Matthew spent part of the day with some members and had the opportunity to play some board games, which was great. He appreciated the few presents we sent him and was wearing his microwaveable Snoopy stuffed animal as we spoke. I was able to find some chocolate candy bars that are safe for him and he likes those as well. He did say that the deck of playing cards Malia sent were the ugliest thing he had ever seen, but since they were the Benson Boone cards that feature a picture of his abs on the backs, it is a totally valid opinion. 😂

Tawni’s family decimated the bowl of Chinese pretzels they took, so apparently, they were a hit. And Daniel got to experience the mayhem that was Christmas with her extended family. They don’t open presents one at a time like we do, it’s a free for all with what Tawni describes as a mountain of wrapping paper in the middle of the room. And apparently, she was impressed enough with our Thanksgiving turkey to have a go at the brined, trussed, and herb roasted version for their Christmas dinner. The turkey cooked faster than expected and dinner ended up being later than expected so she reported that it ended up a little dry, but she also said that she got positive feedback from family members concerning the fabulous flavor.

This year has really been a transition year for us. This is the first year that we’ve had to share kids with in-laws and that is going to take some getting used to. With Daniel and Nathan both on track to graduate in the spring, things have the potential to change even more over the next year depending on where the work takes them. Both of them are applying for jobs all over, not just here in Utah, so no one knows where they will end up as of yet. Having my children be elsewhere has been a bit of an emotional adjustment and I know that it will take some time to wrap my head, and my heart, around it. But I also know that they are doing exactly what they should be doing. As parents, we spend years and years teaching our children to be capable, independent adults and now that they are, I’m not going to get all offended by that fact. I am going to miss the years when their focus and home were here, but it’s absolutely right that over time, their focus should shift as they establish their own homes and families. But it is all a bit bittersweet for my mama heart. Things will never be the same and while I know that change is inevitable and the changes we’ve had this year are good ones, I still have my sad moments.

But I also know there is still joy to be found, even in the changes. I have seen that as my kids have met challenges head on and been strengthened by them, becoming stronger and better people as they do so. I’ve seen that as they have accepted and fulfilled new callings with enthusiasm, becoming a little more Christlike in the process. I’ve seen that as all my children gain knowledge and skills and look forward with hope and optimism to what their lives may hold in the future. I’ve seen that as Tawni has become a part of our family, weaving her way into our lives and our hearts and making Daniel a better person. And I know I will see the joy in ways yet unknown in the days to come. 

Santa Claus is Coming Around…Again

Sometimes you just have to revisit a classic. And today’s Christmas themed pancakes were exactly that. Strawberries, whipped cream, a few blueberries and banana slices and our breakfast was transformed into the likeness of the jolly old elf himself. Delicious!