Anyone need a Doctor?

It is always nice to bring in a New Year with a little laughter...

Sharing Christmas

My favorite part of Christmas Day is the gathering of families and my parents home and sharing the excitement of the morning and eating good food. I have been so blessed to have both sides of my extended family around me on these occasions.  Our newest niece Graycie was the hit of the day.

Merry Christmas

It happened again…

Evan had another “business” trip in Vegas.
(A coincidence? BYU had a business trip too.)

Without fail, Evan leaves and it snows. I was instructed today NOT to shovel the driveway, but after the truck slid down the driveway (unoccupied) I knew that it was only a matter of time before it was me sliding down the slope. So, I disobeyed my husband and Chester and I spent an hour playing in the snow.

Hobbies

Photography, Photoshop, Powerpoint, Sideshows.

My hobbies are less expensive than Evan’s, but can be just as time consuming… BUT they are much more rewarding and can be shared.

I have been putting together our annual 2009 in review show for Christmas Eve and took a break to put together a very little show of our visit to meet our new niece Graycie. Most of the photos here are a repeat from a previous post, but a little more entertaining…

Winding down… and realizing.

After a whirlwind of performances… December is finally winding down.

Taylor had her Christmas Concert at the High School last night and her last field trip performance today. Her recital on Saturday has been canceled.

I can’t believe Christmas is next week.

It has been different this year. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think it has a lot to do with the struggles of so many around us. Unemployment, divorce, addiction, depression… we are aware of some who are suffering, and unaware of (many) others. Knowing that those we know and love are struggling is what I think has changed my perspective.

We are blessed with good jobs. 
We are blessed with a bright outlook for the New Year.
We are blessed with obedient and faithful children.
We are blessed to be able to help those in need.
We are blessed with 4 temples within 20 minutes of our home.
We are blessed with a home full of love for the Savior.
We are blessed by His atoning sacrifice.

May your Christmas celebration this year be different too. May there be less focus on the “getting” and more focus on the “giving”.  May you realize the depth of your own blessings.

May there be more of the Savior in your CHRISTmas day!!!

Amazing Graycie

Today (finally) Evan and I were able to go meet our new niece. We picked up Connie this morning and headed down to Utah county.

She is a perfect little baby and she did not make a sound the whole time we were there. She got up only once last night for a feeding, which is a great blessing for Emily as she is recovering from a C-Section.

She is the perfect addition to a beautiful family!!

The weather outside is frightful

Today I had the opportunity to ditch work and help chaperone about 100 JHS Choir kids downtown. We left at 9:30 AM, jumped on Trax and ate lunch at Gateway. They later sang at The Church Office Building and then at the Joseph Smith Memorial.

One of Taylor’s friends recently had ACL Surgery on her knee and was hurting as she tried to hobble around on a crutch in the snow. I was worried about her slipping and impeding her recovery.  A quick call to Evan to see if he was downtown returned bad news. I then resorted to an associate from work, as we always have someone downtown during most of the day. This call produced door to door service for us. Jason picked us up at the food court and delivered us in front of the lobby at our first destination.

Two great performances by three awesome choirs, a quick train ride home and gratitude for light rail on such a cold, snowy day.

So far… the BEST event of the Christmas Season

Tonight, supporting our talented daughter, Evan and I attended the Christmas Oranges Benefit Concert at Olympus High – benefiting the Utah Food Bank.

The Christmas Oranges children's story was narrated along with musical performances by Marshall McDonald, Steve Nelson, Young Artist Chamber Players and Jordan High School Chamber choir.

I am in awe of the wonderful talent in our community and am so thankful for their willingness to share those talents with us.

Traditional Trujillo Tamales

I had the honor today of being included in the Trujillo family tradition of tamale making. Once a year, members of the family get together with a pot luck lunch and spend the day making tamales.

Bobby and Michelle Trujillo, Evan’s cousin and his wife, opened their home and shared their tradition with me. After Bobby retired from his job in California, they retired here in Utah to be closer to family. I have not met them before today, but fell in love with them immediately, just as I have with the rest of the Trujillo clan.

Thank You to Sip (another cousin of Evan’s) for hooking me up with great food and greater company today. It was nice seeing Sip again and seeing the reflections of his late father in his face. He reminds me so much of Uncle Eddie.

As I ponder family traditions and their significance in our lives, I find myself worrying that I have not kept up on some of our own. I have to remind myself that traditions don’t necessarily get lost, but instead, evolve with the changes that occur naturally within the family. I also have to remember traditions don’t have to be grand and major events, that even the small things that we do on a routine basis are in fact, traditions.

1. The day after Thanksgiving is dedicated to putting up the Christmas decorations in our home.
2. As a family, we to out to dinner and see “The Christmas Carol” at the Hale Centre Theater.
3. We have a traditional Christmas breakfast with Breakfast Casserole and Pull Aparts.
4. We have special dinners on Conference Sundays, usually Fondue in the Spring and Prime Rib in the Fall.
5. At the start of every school year, my children receive a Father’s Blessing.
6. We kick off the summer with a trip to Lake Powell.
   my list can go on...

So really, a tradition is something we look forward to doing or seeing – over and over again.

I can’t wait to see the evolution of these traditions as my daughters get older and start families of their own.

I can’t help myself

I took this afternoon off work since I worked overtime on my birthday due to a hearing I participated in. I told myself I would not do anything related to work for the rest of today.

I worked on my sharing time presentation for sunday, and this…

My apologies in advance.

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