An Innkeeper in the Night

The answer to my prayer stood on my porch and I closed the door on her. I kindly smiled and said, “Thanks but no thanks,” and shut the door.

It was the night before Christmas Eve and energy zipped through the house like an electrical current looking for an outlet. Like pulling untethered helium balloons from the ceiling at the same time, I gathered my family at the kitchen table for dinner. After the meal, with persuasion from their father, the children helped clean up dinner, making the kitchen feel like a bustling metropolitan of helpful elves. And they were happy to do it. They knew that for each service they performed, we would add a link on our paper service chain. The colorful chain now stretched across the kitchen and almost touched the Christmas tree in the adjoining room.

I rested on the couch, reading to my one-year-old, and admired that service chain. The children’s faces beamed with happiness during the past few weeks every time we added to the chain. I felt happy as well, knowing that this was my focus for this year’s holiday season, Service. I had been praying all month long for ways to serve those around us. Some days the opportunities naturally presented themselves and other times we had to work a little harder and search out ways to serve.

When the kitchen was clean, the family gathered around the Christmas tree to hear the traditional, nightly Christmas story. We turned the lights off, the room still warm and glowing with the lights of the tree and the reflection off shiny ornaments. Sterling started the story, lying on the carpet with a pillow under his head. Slowly, each of the children made their way to the floor next to him, nestling into his shoulder or laying their head on his stomach.

I caught my breath, wondering at the comfort and blessings we enjoy in our family, most of which were stolen moments like this when we were all together and getting along. In my heart I repeated the same prayer I’d been offering all season long. “Lord, please help me extend my blessings to those around me. Help me find ways for my family to serve.” Half way through the story, there was a knock at the door.  I motioned for Sterling to keep reading.

I shuddered at the cold air as I pulled the door open. Standing in the yellow porch light was a woman whom I immediately determined to be about my age. She wore a colorful knit hat, made of soft yarn and nondescript coat buttoned to the collar. A warm scarf was wrapped around her neck. In her gloved hands she held a cookie sheet full of plates of cookies and wrapped breads. For a simple cookie sheet, the offering was varied and well presented. The breads were full and moist, the cookies perfectly browned, topped with various chocolate treats.

I quickly scanned the tray and looked back at the woman. Her cheeks and nose were rosy pink with the cold, her eyes hopeful. Curls of brown hair escaped her hat and framed her face. “I wonder if she’s a mother?” I thought. I looked at the plate again, knowing that our counters were already filled with treats from neighbors and co-workers. We really had no need or room for what she was offering, so I looked into her eyes and kindly said, “Thank you but we really don’t need anything tonight.” She responded with a cheerful but subdued, “Merry Christmas,” and left. I quickly closed the door on the cold air that had seeped into the house and returned to my family.

I sat on the couch and went over what had just happened. It didn’t feel right. “Who was that woman?” I thought. “Why was she selling her goods door to door so late at night? Where was her family? Her children? Maybe she really needed help. Couldn’t I have purchased something? Actually, why didn’t I invite her in? She could have warmed up, had a cup of hot chocolate. I could have purchased her whole tray and sent her home to be with her family!” The thoughts piled on and on like a rolling avalanche until I couldn’t stand it. And then the realization came. THAT was the answer to my prayer. She was the answer. She was standing on my porch and I turned her away.

Without a word or even a glance at Sterling, I grabbed my jacket and raced out the door. I had to find the woman with the tray of cookies and bread. She had to be somewhere. When I saw that she wasn’t on my street, I started to run. It was cold and dark, lit only by the sparse streetlamps. I came to opening of my cul-de-sac and looked both ways. I pled to God, “Please let me know where to go!” I turned left and started walking at a brisk pace. I scanned each door step for her shadow, getting more discouraged with each empty street. All the things I wished I would have done or said raced through my mind. I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to make this up to her and to God.

Rounding a corner, I saw the tail lights of a truck ahead and hope rushed through me. Maybe she was getting a ride to the next cul-de-sac. The truck was several homes ahead of me when I started running. My sprint ended too quickly when the truck turned onto an empty street leading out of the neighborhood. I stopped to catch my breath and watched the tail lights fade until I was sure the truck would not be stopping again.

I looked around me at the brightly lit houses. Christmas lights sparkled, outlining the eaves of houses and trees glittered in the windows. Inside, families were together, warm and comfortable. It was a stark contrast to how I felt inside, hollow and empty. My mind settled as I walked the silent streets back home. The weight of my missed opportunity hung heavy on my shoulders and swirled around me with the mist of my cold breath. With each step, the reality of my identity became clearer. Tonight, I was the innkeeper. Tonight, I said, No.

I considered the innkeeper as I never had before. Why did he say no? Did he regret it like I did? Had he run after the couple like I had? If I had been in Bethlehem that night, would I have seen the innkeeper wandering the streets, looking for the couple he had turned away, full of remorse, hoping for contrition? I hope he found them and that it was he that led them back to a warm stable and piled warm sweet hay in the manger.

By the time I returned home, I was humbled and acutely aware of what had transpired that evening. I knew without doubt that I had been tested and the lesson had been hard learned. But my heart was warm in my chest as I considered that God loved me enough to send the woman to my door in the beginning. He knew me and loved me enough to allow me this journey of dark steps into higher understanding. I may be the innkeeper again and God’s grace allows for that inevitable occurrence in each of our lives. The birth of baby Jesus is part of the miracle of the living Christ. It it His love and grace that makes my offering, though meager and flawed, sufficient.

12 days of service

Last year I happened upon an article by Jason Wright about the 12 Days of Service he does with his family, leading up to Christmas. You can find the list on this blog post from last year.

This year we are doing the 12 days of service again, as well as our service chain. (More info on the chain HERE). Day 12 challenges us to do something nice for someone you don't know.

Knowing that two of my children had a white elephant party in their school class coming up, I loaded up the van with my children and headed to the dollar store in search of gifts. I had already predetermined that I would perform my service in the store.

The children wandered and hemmed and hawed over which plastic toy to pick for their party. The aisles were crowded with people making quick purchases. It was, after all, the week before Christmas and school, family and neighborhood parties were in full swing. I looked toward the check out line and sighed. It stretched 7 people long. When the children  finally made their selection, we filed over to take our place in line. As the line slowly moved forward, my children ran back and forth, exchanging gifts for something they deemed better until we were finally ready ring up the purchases.

As the toys passed the scanner, I told the clerk I would like to pay for the woman behind me in line. The line was long and noisy and I knew the woman hadn't heard me. She had 4 large, clear glasses in her cart. I turned to her and asked if it would be ok if I paid for her purchase. Immediately I felt my face flush red. I was keenly aware of not only the attention of the clerk and the woman I had spoken too, but all the other people waiting in line. I was more than warm and wished I had shed my jacket earlier, before the attention was on me. I was physically and socially uncomfortable in the highest order. I began to sweat in the nanoseconds of time it took for the surprised woman to respond.

"Well...I...uh...that's," she stammered. As if a decision had been made in her mind she nodded and said, "Actually, that would be nice."

I wondered at the wording of her response and turned to pay the clerk. I gathered my bags and waited for the clerk to wrap the woman's glasses before I turned back to her and wished her Merry Christmas. Her tear filled eyes took me by surprise. "Thank you so much," she said and reached for me. "These glasses are for my niece's funeral." We embraced for a short moment and then she left. I stood still amidst the bustle of the dollar store. The scanner beeped, bags rustled and my children clung close to me, knowing something special had transpired but not fully understanding.

And that's the magic of service, isn't it. The key is determing that we will serve. We must be willing to act in whatever capacity we are able. God will magnify our offering, large or small and work it into His grand design. He is the master weaver of good works. Sometimes we know our affect and sometimes we don't. Often, it may be uncomfortable for us in the moment. The important thing is that we are doing something.

This picture is of a sunSET last week. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was brilliant!

Book Review: The Getaway Car

 The full title is thus:
"The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life" by Ann Patchett

I cannot honestly remember where I heard about this book. I think it was on this blog by a bunch of guys, really funny guys. One of them had written a post about kindle singles that they liked. So I purchased three of them. Two of them had the "f" word, a lot. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was where I got the recommendation. I was disappointed in the first two and never read "The Getaway Car" until now. After writing my novel for NaNoWriMo, I decided it was time to read Patchett's short and sweet 'memoir."

On a sidenote, I quite enjoy the concept of kindle singles. I just need to find a better way of finding stories I like before I fork out the 2 or 3 dollars for singles I later find I need to delete.

Well, it turns out that "The Getaway Car" was a great read. It's short, thus being a 'kindle single' and it was inspiring for an amateur novelist. Patchett briefly goes through her early life as a student of writing and the first time she sequesters herself to focus on writing. I loved reading about the feelings she had and her advice to new novelists.

I finished feeling optimistic and somewhat enlightened. If you want to write or enjoy reading about the creative process, this is an interesting book/single.

Book Review: Midnight in Austenland

I read this novel for bookclub during the summer. I know, it's the middle of winter but I just remembered I never review this book, so here goes. "Midnight in Austenland" by Shannon Hale is a great summer read. I have loved her other adolescent novels, particularly "Princess Academy" and "Book of a Thousand Days" so I had high hopes when I read "Austenland." I was disappointed. I wasn't prepared for the slightly edgier, more mature aspect of the book and the whole thing seemed a little shallow. So when "Midnight in Austenland", sequel to "Austenland", was suggested at bookclub, I tried to hide my lack of enthusiasm and agreed to the pick. Although my opinion was already slightly tainted before even opening the pages, I was pleasantly surprised.

The story is completely separate from "Austenland" allowing the reader to conveniently skip over that one if you choose. In "Midnight..." we are introduced to Charlotte Kinder, a divorced mother of two who desperatly needs a vacation. Soon enough she finds herself in the rolling hills of the English countryside at a resort where everyone takes on a Jane Austen era character. The 'hotel' per say is staffed with actors and romance is in the air.

As Charlotte enters this new world, she meets all sorts of interesting characters and entertains herself in trying to figure out what part of the character is real or not. It doesn't take long before there are situations that don't add up in her mind and she's soon hot on the trail of solving a suspicious disappearance and possible murder.

The story isn't deep and I had it figured out early. The bad guy really is the bad guy, although I had hoped until the very last pages that there would be a twist or red herring type of ending. Alas, it all played out according to the basic formula.

The redeeming part of the story that made the read worthwhile was the character of Charlotte. I really liked her. Shannon Hale does a great job opening up Charlotte to the reader in a way that immediately draws you to her side and you wouldn't think of leaving her before the final page is read.

So although I felt like the plot was lacking, I still recommend this book, especially if you need a quick summer read. In 5 or 6 months after we thaw from winter.

Merry Christmas Grandma

I have some friends who just happen to be musicians and just happen to put out a Christmas CD of their own making last year. So this year, I just happened to show them some of my Grandma's Christmas songs. Although Grandma will be most recognized for her hymn, "In Humility, Our Savior" and children's songs, "He Sent His Son" and "Baptism," few know that for many years, she and her good friend, Michael F. Moody wrote a Christmas song together every Christmas for nearly 20 years.

Well, guess what? The Comstocks just happened to graciously arrange to put one of them on their Christmas CD this year and invited me to sing it with them at our ward Christmas party. It was Grandma's first Christmas song, written in 1974. What an honor!

Comstocks, I love you. Thank you for this dream.



Info on the COMSTOCK Christmas album and their facebook page (be their friend, they're nice)

Info on my Grandma, Mabel Jones Gabbott, in wikipedia, list of works

NaNoWriMo 50,026

NaNoWriMo What?

I just posted about the Revival Recital HERE and HERE. This was a perfect motivation for my goal setting habits, allowing me to stretch myself and develop talents. In fact, I've already chosen my piano piece to master for 2013.

Nary you fear. My goal setting and self-improvement has not faltered. I've merely moved from the piano to another keyboard. The computer keyboard. My most recent goal of achievement is NaNoWriMo. What is the world does that mean? Nation Novel Writing Month. Get it? NaNoWriMo? The idea is this (from their 'about' page)

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
In 2011, we had 256,618 participants and 36,843 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists

Sounds fun, right? And so for the month of November, I have been writing a novel. A retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood." If you think you know who the victim is...think again! The goal is 50,000 words. The organization sends peptalks to my special NaNoMail box. And I've been typing about furiously. I started out slow, as in staying stagnant for days at a time. By the time I really got my rear in gear, it was day 13. I was at 4,223 and the target words if you wanted to finish on time was 21,666. That meant I was approximately 17,000 words behind.

 I was at the point where I had to decide if I was going to do this or not. If I was going to do it, I wanted to finish a winner at 50,000 words. If you look at the numbers, only 14% of the participants make it to 50,000, so I had my work cut out for me. I expressed my dilemma at the crossroads to Sterling and he insisted whole heartedly that I could do it, he believed in me and fully supported my efforts. That was all I needed to dig in and get it done.

I made daily word goals. I stayed up late. I stared at the computer. I read encouragement from the NaNoWriMo community. The peptalks they provided have been right on target with what I was struggling with and what my experiences were. It was all new to me. My first experience writing something so long and so intense. But these WriMos have been there before and their advice was always just what I needed to hear.

It's been a glorious trip of adventure and growth and surprises. I have learned so much about writing, simply by writing. I love that my kids will see me at the computer and ask how many words I am at. Camille will sit by me and read along as I type. Parker and Sterling were at a NBA Jazz basketball game in SLC. Parker asked how many people were in the arena. Sterling said about 20,000. Parker said, "I'll be Mom's written more words than that!" I think he might be proud of me. :)

(I wrote this blog post on Monday, the 26th so these numbers are now grossly outdated. :)
AND SO....I am now at 38,180 words. I have 11,820 words left to write in 5 days. And guess what? I'm gonna make it.

Finally a report on the Revival Recital

I am a big proponent of goal setting. I love it. The check lists, the progress, the hope for the future completion. It also offers me a grand diversion from my other obligations. Instead of mopping the floor, I tell myself I have an important goal to be working on. So you see, goals and I are good friends.

Last January, I made the goal to learn a Rachmoninoff piano prelude. I must admit, it was a superfluous goal, one way out of my league. But I started learning the song. It was a slow, arduous process. Note by note, chord by chord, count by count, I started to piece it together. By March I had learned 3 1/2 pages out of 8. By May, I had learned more but I was getting discouraged. I was so slow. Then some friends came up with an idea. A brilliant idea, concocted in a hotel room during the late hours of the evening. Or was it the early hours of the morning? Regardless, the idea was genius. One of them didn't know how to play the piano and wanted to learn. Another wanted to improve her piano skill. And on those two simple ideas - the Revival Recital was born. Here's a link to my first post about the recital.

It wasn't long before the word spread and we began recruiting other moms who wanted to polish up their musical skills, or shall we say, skillz, cuz we're cool like that. The Revival Recital was to be held the first Saturday in September. All summer long, women in the neighborhood were practicing the piano, flute, fiddle, trombone and voice. There were solos and duets, trills and vibrato.

At the appointed time, the recital hall began to fill with participants and their families. The children who had watched their mothers all summer, practice with diligence, making mistakes and fixing them, polishing phrasing and tone. The husbands who had supported and loved and commented on the progress and beauty of the music that filled their home. (Except for the following comment, "I'm not exactly sure what song you're playing.")

I stood on the stage with shaking knees in front of the beautiful, shiny black grand piano. I welcomed everyone and thanked them for making this a reality. I began the recital with this quote from Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

I started by playing "Prelude in G minor" by Rachmoninoff and I was NERVOUS. I made copies of my piece to lay out across the piano so I wouldn't have to pause to turn pages, only I never practiced with them. That was a mistake. The wiring in my brain was fixed to the music being directly in front of my eyes. Having to look across the piano (as the pages were spread out, remember) really threw me off and I messed up big time. Oh, the frustration that fired through my body. Why? Why didn't I just ask someone to turn pages for me?

But I finished. I played the song at half speed, but I played it the best I could and I finished. And everyone clapped and I felt good. (But I still can't watch the video, if truth be told. I'm working up to it. It's one of the reasons it has taken me so long to post about this event that was held in September) So I'd set the bar with my opening piece. Set at a very attainable level I might add. Other women and friends followed and they were wonderful.

One friend played a simple piece, having learned the piano for the first time in her life. What an accomplishment!
Another friend played the fiddle while her husband held her newborn baby. What courage and strength!
Other friends played a high level piano duet with flair and vigor.
A dear friend and older neighbor closed our recital with a beautiful vocal solo. Her contribution is valued, on the stage and in the quiet thoughtful way she is a part of our lives.

We cheered and encouraged each other on. It was a grand celebration of accomplishment and the recognition of the gifts God has bestowed upon us. We followed up with a potluck BBQ at our house afterwards to bask in the glow of our achievements. Here is a photo of the performers. Lighting was bad on the stage but I think we still look great! Aren't we so proud of ourselves!

The remaining question is will we do it again? Of course, we will. When the event is just barely finished and you're already thinking about what you will do next time and you're ready to plan it again, you know you have a winner.

Only this time, maybe performing arts? Dance, storytelling, anyone? Here is my next personal creative experience - NaNoWriMo!

I'm not sure it is a good idea to put this video here. My 9 year old son was the videographer. The footage is very shakey and full of his commentary. View at your own risk and make sure your expectations are low. :)

November happenings

Here is a rag-tag assortment of things that have happened thus far around the Brown household.

This is a sight I LOVE to see.

We celebrated the November birthdays at Sarah's house where Sarah and Sydney blew out the candles on their cake (or cupcakes in this instance) together, which is tradition, to share a cake. And Dallin joined in too, after all, it is his birthday month as well. And their house is beautiful. Dallin is amazing at renovating and Sarah has done of beautiful job of decorating and making it her own. So kudos to you two!

Forgot to mention the Power of Moms published one of my essays.

What's Your Problem?

 

 

Sterling left on a short trip and this is the note he left us, hanging from the ceiling.

 

Bryce joined the girls in painting finger and toe nails. He went a little overboard but it sure was fun.

I sure love family life. It's crazy at times and glorious at others. The glory of family life far outweighs any other struggles we may have. I love my family, all crazy 5 of my kids and my husband who provides such a wonderful life for us.

Thanksgiving 2012

We had thanksgiving dinner at our house and boy, was it fun!

I started my day off with 1 1/2 hours of zumba while Sterling took the kids to a neighborhood turkey bowl football game at the park. As soon as I got home, the turkey went into the roaster and I whipped up the dough for butterhorn rolls. MMmmmm. Dinner was started.

By the time my parents came, it was time to start cranking up all the sides. Acorn squash, beans, stuffing, setting the table, etc. I loved seeing my girls have fun setting the table. The night before, we made hand turkeys, glue on extra fuzzy pipecleaners for feathers (because real feathers were all sold at the store by moms who plan ahead) and propped them up on clothing pins. They were cute name cards. I also LOVED being in the kitchen with my mom and my daughter, three generations!

Another favorite was the tradition we started last year. On our chalkboard, we had a running list of things for which we are thankful. Thanksgiving morning I typed them into the computer and printed them out. I cut them up and rolled them up in our butterhorn rolls. At dinner, as we opened our rolls, we found and read aloud all of these things and sometimes tried to guess who said what! (One note: make sure your pieces of paper are kind of large. 1/2 inch tall maybe. Also wrap them in tinfoil. It takes extra time but it is very worth it. We didn't find all our papers. I'm sure I ate mine.)

We moved an extra couch into our family room for comfortable visiting. The pies were delicious. We were so grateful that Sarah and Dallin were able to join us late. Love them! and Cheryl and John. And we missed Michael. Another fun tradition we started last year is to have a "Thanksgiving Book" which is just a fancy labeled sketch book from walmart. Each year, we start a new page which has a marked out spot in the middle for a picture. Around this spot everyone writes things for which they are thankful. Then we take a picture after dinner, before pies, of everyone who joined us and put it in the book. Hopefully it will become a treasure to look through at future Thanksgivings!

 

We are particularly thankful this year for eternal families and the blessings of temple sealings. Thanksgiving day we found out that one of Sterling's friends from work passed away leaving his wife and two children, one of which is currently serving a full-time LDS mission. We also learned that Sterling's cousin's baby girl passed away soon after birth. She was their first daughter. Such heart breaking losses during the holidays. We are grateful to know that our loving Father in Heaven has provided a way for us to be joined again in eternal life with our families. And our Savior's atonement extends to the heartache and loneliness that is a part of our mortal existence. We are thankful for this knowledge and our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

first snowfall

The kids were so excited to wake up on Nov. 9 to SNOW! They couldn't wait to dress in their snow gear and go make trails in the smooth, untouched snow. They spent most of the afternoon outside and came home with pink cheeks and fer-reezing fingers and toes.

 

Welcome Winter!!!

We're glad you came.

at least for a week, before you melted

Holiday music

I've really been looking forward to listening to Christmas music this year. I've been playing Christmas songs on the piano and pulling out my favorite CDs. I'm not so bugged when I hear Christmas music in stores or on the radio. The only problem I have with Christmas music before Thanksgiving is that I get tired of it before Christmas.

It seems like I hear the same old songs, year after year after year and some of them are getting old. They are great songs. I love them. But to listen to them for 45 days or so for XX years....I tire of even my favorites.

And so, my friends, to curb my appetite for holiday music, I have compiled a Thanksgiving playlist. I'm not sure I would want to listen to it all month long, but maybe. Regardless, these next few days are perfect to fill your holiday home with this Thanksgiving cheer.

Here it is and your welcome.

“All Creatures of Our God and King”  Cambridge Singers (Rutter choir rendition), Eclipse (contemporary acapella), Chris Rice (piano)

“Blessed” Martina McBride

“Celebrate Me Home” Kenny Loggins (I’m still not sure I want to add this one)

“Come Thou Fount” David Tolk

“Everything” Michael Buble

“For the Beauty of the Earth” John Rutter (choir), Chris Rice (piano), MoTab

“Home” Michael Buble

“How Sweet It Is” James Taylor

“It’s a Wonderful World” Louis Armstrong

“Kind and Generous” Natalie Merchant

“Lucky” Jason Mraz

“Prayer of Thanksgiving” David Tolk

“Simple Gifts” MoTab or others

“Take Me Home, Country Road” John Denver

“Thank You For Being a Friend” Golden Girls (don’t judge me)

“Thankful” Josh Groban

“Thanksgiving” Jim Brickman

“Thanksgiving” George Winston

“Thanksgiving Theme” from Charlie Brown

“When Fall Comes to New England” Cheryl Wheeler

This link might take you to my Grooveshark playlist where you can listen to all these songs.

P.S. - I am looking for new Christmas music. Any suggestions. New favorites? Old favorites? Any surprises out there? Like this one?

published on Segullah

Head over to Segullah and read my essay. Its been a while since I've been published, so here is the latest. You might have already read it on the blog and that's ok. Go over and re-read it and comment. It might be just the thing you need as you gear up for another Sunday.

Opening Services

Sydney's 12th birthday

Happy Birthday Sydney

12 Years Old

This is a major birthday. Sydney had been looking forward to this birthday for a long time. I think the biggest reason was being able to join the Young Women's group. Oh my goodness, was it time! One Sunday, she's up with the primary singing in the primary program. Torture for an almost 12 year old. The very next Sunday, she was welcomed into Young Women's She wishes she could have flip-flopped those Sundays and skipped the primary program altogether. But as her mother, I happen to think she looked beautiful and mature up on the stand during the woman and was a great leader and example for her sibling and other children on the stand.

 

 I only host 4 birthday parties for my children, in their entire lives. (ages 5,8,12,16) So we decided to put on quite the party. I took Sydney and 5 of her friends to play laser tag. They played two games, had pizza, pop and cake and goofed around like pre-teen girls do. It was awesome. And I think I know what I want to do for my next birthday now. (just kidding, sort of)

Sydney is AMAZING. I can't stress that enough. She is a born leader. She is compassionate. She loves her rabbits and takes such good care of them. (and can't wait to breed them again.) She is a good and loyal friend. She knows when I'm struggling and helps me pull it together. She is extremely forgiving and wise beyond her years. She mentors her younger sisters. Her smile and enthusiasm are contagious. She keeps me up to date on the latest popular songs and tv shows. She is an awesome babysitter and we have both agreed that I probably take advantage of her. She makes dinner, cleans up dinner, bathes the kids and puts them to bed. I think her dad may be her best friend. They joke and kid and tease and have a solid relationship, for which I am so grateful. I admire Sydney and am grateful that I can learn from her as she influences me to be a better person. I could go on but I know I'm rambling. I just love her. Love love love her~

Book Review: several short reviews

The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
I remember reading this book as a young girl and just loving it. The premise is a young girl who feels overlooked and underappreciated at home, so she decides to run away. She takes her younger brother with her because he has money. They run away to a museum and stay there, spending the nights behind the roped off areas, in a grandiose bed. It seemed like such an adventure to me, to spend the nights in a museum. Reading this as an adult, it is simple and obviously written for children although it wasn't as disappointing as "A Wrinkle in Time." I would recommend this for 4-6 graders, especially girls. And it is a Newberry Award Winner, which is saying something.

Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson. This is the memoir of Stephanie Nielson, a popular blogger who focuses on family and the joys of being a mother. In one frightening moment, she is involved in a horrific plane crash with her husband and a flight instructor. She was burned over 80% of her body and in a coma for 4 or 5 months. She is a devoted mother of 4, in the book. Her family has now grown to 5 children. She sets the story up by writing about her life before the crash. This part kind of dragged for me. It seemed too picture perfect and I've never been one for sappy lovestories. She then details the terrible crash and the difficulties in recovery. It is a really heart-wrenching story. I was touched, even by the Spirit, several times while reading the book. I didn't think I would like it but I really did. I came away feeling optimism and hope and renewed enthusiasm for family and being a mother. Its worth your time if you read it. Sterling just finished it and really enjoyed it as well.

The Beginning of Better Days by Sheri L. Dew and Virginia H Pearce
This book is subtitled, "Divine Instruction to Women from the Prophet Joseph Smith." That part of the book was a little dry for me. It is actually just the notes taken by Eliza R. Snow and are choppy and a little hard to follow. I'm sure I just wasn't in the right frame of mind and lacking focus because it seems really small minded of me to judge it as dry. Anyway, Snow's notes are preceeded by two essays, written by Sheri Dew and Viriginia Pearce. These are both very engaging and I enjoyed them very much.


Daughters in My Kingdom by Church Distribution
It is always nice to know where you come from. Its also nice to know the history of organizations you are involved in. So this short book is nicely organized and inspiring in the presentation of the history of the Relief Society. I enjoyed learning about the previous leaders of the Relief Society and the difficulties they faced in their time and place in history and how they rose up in strength and unity to meet those challenges. It inspires me to rise up and to take action and be a force for good within this great Relief Society organization.

Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
Sydney is reading this as a class. I don't know why. I can think of a lot better books with an actual message and greater discussion topics. As a school read, I have my doubts. As a fun read, this book was great. The story follows the typical confused hero blueprint. The protagonist, Matt, is a hero, who makes a poor decision and ends up in a situation where things are not as they seem and he has no one to trust. Those who he does trust end up dying. I was surprised at the speed that the body count added up. Myself, I was wondering what the author was thinking, killing off so many characters. And there is something strange, mystical and magically going on in the city. The writing keeps you at the edge of your seat as you try to figure out, with Matt, what is going on and how to get out of the sinister situation. It is clearly a set up for more books. It will be interesting to see where this book goes. I like it. But I'm still going to follow up on the classroom reading list.

Halloween 2012

Halloween activities began with carving pumpkins. This is the first year we allowed Syd and Park to carve their own pumpkin. Nobody held back, everyone got ooey-gooey and slimy.

Nobody held back. Everyone got ooey-gooey and slimey.

We ended up with quite the pile of seeds. I flavored and roasted them and we feasted on them the next day. They were quite tasty.

I had to include this picture because I love Sydney's new yellow pants.

The day before Halloween, preschool took a field trip to the Vineyard Pumpkin Patch, our favorite Halloween haunt.

The children always enjoy running through the simple cornmaze, lined with poster that have jokes on them and hidden scare crows.

 

At the end of the maze is an area with lots of farm animals and a huge playset. We had a picnic lunch and played to our heart's content. Beautiful Fall Day!

 

Halloween Night