Here comes Santa Claus...

After the Nativity, things loosened up a bit.



We sang some Christmas carols.

And then this guy showed up!

Tony's smiling because he's been a good boy all year. Nothing for him to worry about.

Santa happened to be in the neighborhood and stopped to say hello to some of his favorite people.

"Well... I'd really like a puppy"

Santa very gently explained that he never brings dogs on the sleigh because they bark at his reindeer.



Santa was so charming that even though the puppy request was nixed, Emily still liked him very much.

You just know a girl who wears light up antlers is going to get along really well with Santa.

Sarah's thinking, "Oh man... its been a while since I sat on Santa's lap. This seems a little awkward"

Hey. If Tony can do it, so can you.



She was good all year and didn't ask for a single thing. Typical and awfully sweet.

Santa was so patient to let us get our pictures taken with him on his busiest night!



Santa loves Grandma and Grandpa. They're some of his best helpers.

What a fun Christmas Eve!!

"...shepherds abiding in the field,"

For as long as there have been grandchildren in our family, there has been a Christmas Eve Nativity performed in my parents' house. This year was no exception. The only difference this year was that we were missing our big boys (my nephews). Chase is in Chile and Clark was still in Logan. The show did go on without them and they were missed. Here are a few moments from the production.



Backstage.

Maddie cracking up over Emily's comments about 'Mary's' need for some support undergarments. We'll just leave it at that. 'Nuff said.

My brother Tony, reading the account of the Savior's birth from the scriptures. Perfect length, just the right amount of love and reverence. Great job Uncle Tony.

Sarah as one of the Herald Angels and the star in the East.

Em as a shepherd and cousin Hillary as a lamb.



Big Henry, Little Henry and Grandpa were wisemen. Grandpa was cast and paparazzi so he's not in this photo.

The Nativity is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. It is a special thing to be able to do this with my family every year. So important to remember what we're celebrating.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Norman Vincent Peale

Greensleeves... the performance.

On Saturday afternoon we attended what may have been my favorite piano recital ever. It was a Christmas recital made up entirely of Christmas carols, duet style. There were brother and sister combinations, brothers together... even cousins. Some students don't have a sibling and played with another student or with the piano teacher. The duet that tipped the balance toward best recital ever was this one...

... a sister act.

Finally. All the hardwork and practicing paid off. They did such a fine job. I'm the mom but really, it was fabulous!

This woman is amazing. She is one of the very best piano teachers in Utah. Her name is Susan and she has raised teaching piano to an artform. She is calm, patient, kind and expects much of her students. Our girls are very lucky to be learning from her.

Each student was asked to bring a dozen cookies to the recital for refreshments afterward. The night before, Emily made her first batch of cookies without any help from me. She counted them up, "I've got a baker's dozen here Mom. I'm ready"

This nine year old is hardworking, creative, independent and a good baker and I love her like crazy. Yummy gingerbread cookies sweetpea!

The other selling point of this recital was the attendance of both of my parents. Dad just retired two weeks ago and is now free to come to recitals and programs. We're so happy about that!

A fun afternoon for sure. Rich and I are very proud of Sarah and Emily. Keep up the good work!

Celebrating Connie

Almost every Sunday the whole family gets together at my parents' home for dinner. We usually help out and bring a side dish or dessert or rolls to add to the bounty. The food is always delicious. Better than all the good food is the time spent together. Its just plain fun.

Sometimes we get to celebrate a birthday! A few weeks ago we celebrated Connie's birthday. Connie is my brother's wonderful wife. That makes me a lucky girl because I get her as a sister.

Here's Mom bringing in the cake as we sing.

Make a wish!

Henry, Hona and Sarah waiting for some cake.

Check out Hillary's reflection in the mirror.

Sarah likes to perch on laps. She's a snuggler. She's also a little glassy eyed from the big dinner and lots of cake.

Henry, Maddie and Megan on the love seat watching the birthday girl open her presents.

"Aunt Connie... I picked this card just for you!"

I love my family.

Sleepover Sugar

This is my niece Hillary. She's one of my sister Tatiana's darling children.

Hillary slept over at our house Friday night. Yay!! Fun for us!

In honor of this auspicious event, we broke out the gingerbread house kit we got at Costco several weeks ago and had some fun.

There would have been even more colorful candy decorations on our masterpiece had there not been such rampant snacking of the building supplies.

Even on camera we're hard pressed to keep Hillbill's mitts off the gumdrop walkway ;)

Later that evening we had crepes suzette with fresh strawberries and real whipping cream. Mmmmm.

This is where the girls lapsed into their sugar coma/sleep.

The next morning we had cream cheese toaster streudel for breakfast. Nary a complex carbohydrate in sight for close to 18 hours.

Glad to see those college nutrition classes paying off.

Come back soon Hillary!

Sweet Baby James

I love Christmas music. I picked this up last year and have enjoyed it thoroughly. Of course I've liked James' music since the 70's, so it stands to reason I'd like this CD.

Here's one of my favorites from the album. Relax for a few minutes and enjoy.

Ivana

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' home. It was a wonderful time. Delicious food and all our family to enjoy it together. I love Thanksgiving.

After dinner, Emily and a few cousins retired to the basement to play. There are loads of dress up clothes down there and after a while, Emily came upstairs attired thusly.

One of Dad's old ties for a sash

Some leftover lace for a skirt

An old pink chiffon robe for a scarf/cape

A beaded clutch bag

Just the right amount of costume jewelry. Nothing gaudy.

She swept into the room and in her snootiest tone introduced herself as Ivana RichMann. Emily has some pretty large (and by large I mean big ticket) goals. World travel and owning and running a big ranch with lots of horses are at the top of the list. It would appear Em has determined that marrying into wealth is not a bad option.

She's nine... but she's got a plan.

She then invited any interested parties to join her in the basement to play Pictionary on her team.

I do love this girl. Go get 'em sister.

Chores can be fun!

If this fabulous music is playing in the background while I'm performing various household tasks...

doesn't it stand to reason that this gentleman

is helping me fold the laundry?

Works for me.

Technique

Last week, Emily gave me a foot massage. It was better than chocolate. Really. She ushered me into her room (She's calling it Emiliana's Spa. Tres European.) and had me lay down on her exceptionally soft and comfy bed. I got a washcloth to cover my eyes so I could be all relaxed and then the fun began. She did a fabulous job! She had a few different moves and as she transitioned into a new one that was making my whole being one with the universe she said, "This is a massage technique I learned from Sister Bell." (The girls age 8-11 in our church get together twice a month and have some fun activities. One of them was a mini class for yoga and then learning about massage. Thank you Sister Bell.) I rose from Em's bed a relaxed and happy camper. I told her all I wanted for Christmas was for her to give me some more foot massages.
Then Rich got the treatment. He fell asleep. He was happy too.

The day after our wondrous foot massages, Emily saw a commercial for a massage therapy school. It showed students giving massages. She watched transfixed for a minute and then hollered, "Sarah! Come here! I want to try a new massage technique on you!!"

I'm glad it was Sarah that got to play guinea pig.

Sarah's sense of self preservation kicked in and she assumed the fetal position.

Apparently, this massage technique needs some refinement.

Smiling

Doesn't Sarah look grown up?

This photo was taken at our church's Harvest Fair. A very nice girl from our ward was strolling around taking some candid shots. She gave us this one and I scanned it. Combine that with the gymnasium lighting and you get grainy. I don't care. It was a wonderful day and this will help me remember.
(Emily was off to one of the booths with her friend so she's not in the shot.)

I am extremely thankful to be a mother. It took a while... but oh, it was worth the wait. How I love my daughters! It is my great joy to watch them grow and learn. Life is so good.

A switch to non-fiction

A Thousand Acres is a 1991 novel by American author Jane Smiley. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The novel is a contemporary deconstruction of Shakespeare's King Lear and is set on a thousand acre farm in Iowa that is owned by a family of a father and his three daughters. It is told through the point of view of the oldest daughter, Ginny. (Wikipedia)

I finished this yesterday.

Very well written. Interesting trip into the world of agriculture. Unpleasant voyage into the realms of dysfunctional family. Sometimes there's a little fun in dys'fun'ctional. Not here.

This is my new read.

An early Christmas present from Rich! Yay!!

I've never had one of these machines and I'm very excited to crank it up and start cooking.

For the first 15 years of marriage, Rich would frequently remove the knife from my hand and offer to chop, dice, mince or julienne whatever might be on the cutting board in front of me. This typically resulted in an insulted and cheesed wife. I don't deny I may have nicked a finger in the past, but I'm not a danger to myself or others when wielding a knife.

Either I've become more competent with a knife or Rich determined it wasn't in his interest to insult my food prep skills when I was near the cold steel. Good man that he is, he hasn't stepped in for years. I love it when we cook together, just not when he tries to play through.

Now when he tries to butt in it'll be because he wants to play with the shiny new Cuisinart! Woohoo!!

Mug Shots

Emily brought home her school pictures today, and now that I have them from both of my girls I thought I'd share.

~4th Grade~

Emily wanted braid waves, so we braided her hair the night before. She's wearing her favorite t-shirt. Its got a funky, multicolored peace sign. She likes a little sparkle. Adorable.

~7th Grade~

Sarah opted for a simple updo. Darling.

I've yet to see Emily's class photo, but am fairly sure I'll know where to find her in the picture... back row, middle. For some insight into the tall girl experience go to my sister's blog here.

I'm so grateful this blue eyed girl got two brown eyed beauties.

Cold

Take a look at this picture and see if you can guess what we're doing at our house these days.

If you guessed nursing a cold, you were right. This is what Emily's room looks like in the morning. What you can't see in this pic is the garbage can Em is aiming for. Lots of blowing and honking occurs in the night and she tries really hard to lob the tissues into the garbage. My sweet girl is beginning to look as though she could audition for the part of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in a Christmas musical.



The cold weather is keeping us inside a little more. Emily turned to an oldie but goodie to keep herself entertained the other day. She set up shop booking cruises for all of her stuffed animals. Sarah very graciously played along. She is a darling big sister for her sweet Emmy.

This is Em in the 'ticket office'. When the specs are on the end of her nose, you know she means business. She may end up in the travel industry yet.

The shorter days and colder nights have helped the color along on this beautiful tree. This is what I see when I step out my front door.

I like this tree a lot. Eye candy.

Happy November people. It feels to me like it's finally here.