December 18th

Today I sewed and finished all my projects for primary.  Then we had scouts and FHE and everything else in the world. BUSY.

December 15th

The office party consumed all of Friday.  It was lovely.

December 14th

I finally made my picture tree come true.  Photos of Jesus Christ as a child and past years' nativity scenes fill its boughs.

 Here is the before and after of my lunch prep.  Stir fry.

 Stir fry and brown rice paste.

 Which ever child took this picture should be shot.

 I made four different kids of cookies for the ladies at the office.  I think the jars are so pretty.

 These are my ever faithful followers.

December 13th

The afternoon snack was chex mix from the neighbor.  Eddie helped Ryan and Molly polish it off.

 Andy received four merit badges at the court of honor.  He lost his scout shirt. (I'm mad about that.)

December 12th

We do lots of dishes every morning.  Molly now climbs us and helps Ryan.

 I found this family tree with ten spaces -- no room for ancestry.

I harvested the greens from the garden this evening.  Meg was in charge of washing them and making the salad.  Maisie screamed in the middle of dinner, "AH! There is a caterpillar on my lettuce."  (That was after my blended salad puree was long gone.)  Meg made him her pet.

 Andy and I made a molecule project.  We used our origami skills and worked together.  His teacher said she would keep it forever.  I hope not -- we will turn in the exact same project six more times -- including next year.  So I hope she throws it away.  She can keep Molly's forever.

December 11th

Mrs. Claus had darling little elves helping her this morning at Home Depot, Walmart and Mount Hope.  Ryan shared his "treat" = beef jerky.

 Molly slept three full hours, so we had plenty of time to put puzzles together.

 Nick collected plenty of mistletoe -- Maisie cashed in.

 Brother Webb helped the boys make a flag stand.  They used the chop saw, router, drills and sanding blocks.

 FHE was a hit.  I used an article from both the Friend and New Era. We listened to the MOTAB sing "The Hallelujah Chorus" and then read President Eyring's testimony of feeling the spirit when he first heard that song.  Then I read about the ten symbols of Christmas while they illustrated each symbol.

I mean, it was a success.  I only yelled three times, and Austin made me laugh twice.  I assigned him both the lesson and the simultaneous task of making sure Molly doesn't fall off the table, and that Ryan and Eddie didn't beat the tar out of each other.  A win!

December 10th

I spoke in church today about Jesus Christ -- the miracle worker.  I simply testified of the ways Jesus works miracles in me.  After church I fed the missionaries ham hock and beans, pumpkin muffins, green salad, fresh pineapple and a bundt.  The entire time Andy and Meg were trying to convince the new missionary that Nick's name was Stephen.  

Then Austin and I had our annual Christmas gathering with the stake president and the bishops/wives.  That meeting is always so sweet because both the stake president and his wife remind us to put our families first before our callings.

December 9th

I awakened to my watching reminding me to wish my daddy a happy birthday.  He would have been 67 this year, and I miss him daily.  I thought about him throughout the day, and wished I could have sung to him and kissed him.

We did go to the neighbor's Christmas party where we played our piano duets and ukulele songs.  Then Austin and I went to a benefit with dinner and dancing (to a live country band).  I mean, we had a really nice time dancing and being fun.