Christmas, revisited

OK, so I mentioned my favorite gift was the ceramic bowl from my sister. But there were other items that really pleased me as well, and none of them were expensive.

For example, a $6 pair of dangley earrings from the local museum gift shop (which was from Glen...he actually was there with me when I picked them out!).

Then there's the uber-soft, dusty blue throw blanket my parents gave us. Pure luxury.

And I am absolutely loving my new book "Crepúsculo." It's the Spanish version of "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. I sometimes read my scriptures in Spanish and understand almost everything I read there, but I get to school and talk to the students or watch a Spanish TV show and I have a very hard time understanding what is being said. Part of the problem there is lack of vocabulary in certain areas...like any area other than religion. It's been 23 years since I got back from my mission in Uruguay and I don't get much practice. I have underlined a lot of words in the book so I can study the vocab...what I need now is practice in listening to native speakers. Anyway, it's fun.

And the greatest "gift" of all is being together...and the kids are actually getting along.... It's a wonderful time of the year.

Being Old, revisited

Went to write a check on the 20th. Turned out my driver's license had expired on the 7th. Glen had to drive me around the rest of the weekend.

Monday he took me to the DMV...where I FAILED the eye test and had to put on my glasses in order to pass it. I now have the "A" restriction on my license...I'm supposed to wear my glasses when I drive. Boy, do I feel old.

"The Nativity" by Alonzo L. Gaskill

I just finished reading a small book: "The Nativity" by Alonzo L. Gaskill. Bought it at BYU when I was there. It's published by Deseret Book. What a wonderful book. Brother Gaskill is a convert from the Greek Orthodox Church and has written books on gospel symbols.

The Christmas story from Matthew and Luke is meshed chronologically, so you can read the whole story (which is what we read on Christmas Eve). Then the scriptures are taken line by line and explained as far as biblical customs and other commentaries are concerned. Really insightful. I highly recommend it.

Merry Christmas

What a wonderful few days it's been! Andrew's home from college. Christmas is here and we are full of love, good cheer and too much good food.

Last night we read the Christmas story together...sad to say it hasn't been a family tradition to do that. Hopefully now, we won't let another year pass without sharing the story of the birth of our Savior.

Right now the snow is blowing outside...the first white Christmas I can remember for a long time. I want to say it's only the 3rd I remember since I first had Christmas here in 1988. I LOVE it. So glad to be able to stay inside, sip my warm lemonade, and listen to my kids happily playing together (Glen's napping, of course!).

Santa usually places the stockings at the foot of everyone's bed. Hannah, however, had locked her door (bolted from the inside, actually...that's what you get when you have 4 brothers and a regular lock doesn't stop them from entering if they -- well, he...there's only one brother that really wouldn't stay out of her room --want)!!! Santa had to leave Hannah and Alex's stockings in the hallway.

We mainly got games and books. So now there is plenty to keep us occupied. Cleaning out the game closet to make room for all the new ones is next on my chore list.

I think my favorite gift for this year came from my one and only and best sister...a ceramic bowl that she threw herself! My sister has never been into crafts, so it's just totally amazing! Thanks Deni.

As for what my loving husband gave me...I usually shop for myself (I don't know if it's because I'm a control freak and/or am afraid of being disappointed) but tell him I need one surprise under the tree from him. I have to laugh...guess what he gave me?

He thoughtfully gave me three packages of ball point pens (he knows I'm frustrated when I can't find pens and he knows I really like the kind with the spongy grip part, so it really was thoughtful of him).

He also gave me a new, non-burning cookie sheet (which is also thoughtful since Andrew took one of ours with him to college and sometimes we have a hard time dealing with only 2 cookie sheets...we make cookies a lot).

And he gave me a little vegetable steamer thing you put in the bottom of your pot to use. It makes me chuckle. Don't know why he gave me that...other than he knows we didn't already have one! Too funny.

Oops. Gotta go. My in-laws have arrived for our traditional Christmas Day visit. Merry Christmas everybody!

Galumpha

Last night our family went to see a performing group called Galumpha. Everyone had a great time (which is really amazing as it so rarely happens that everyone likes the same thing). The following link is to a piece they did for us called "Velcro" but I thought our experience was more fun than watching the video, so something might be lost by not being there live. But take a peek if you're interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K37LIk3i-9o


This link has a trailer and 2 other choices for them that you can click on...it shows the variety of pieces that they did. Our group didn't have the black man, but a woman instead. It really was fun.

http://www.galumpha.com/gallery.php

Happy Birthday to me

Well, I'm 47 today. Guess what I got myself? Lately I've been on a music kick and I discovered a pianist named Ludovico Einaudi. His song "Primavera" is on my playlist. I ordered one of his albums "La Scala" and it came on Tuesday. I've been playing it all week and I love almost every song on it. If you are interested in having a listen, the following link should take you to Amazon.com where you can listen to a bit of each song on the CDs.

http://www.amazon.com/Scala-Concert-03/dp/B00015TSMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1228693966&sr=1-1

I'm now debating if I'm going to order an album from another pianist that I've just learned of: Scott D. Davis. I would probably order his Christmas album (I buy myself a new Christmas CD every year and haven't done it yet), but the YouTube of his that I've been listening to is the same song "Nothing Else Matters" that I posted previously by the group Apocalyptica:

I downloaded the sheet music for this song and have been practicing it this week...it's 8 pages long and I can get through the first 1 1/2 pages without making too many mistakes...of course they are the easiest pages in the piece. Don't know if I'll ever get it down well enough for others to hear, but I'm sure enjoying playing it.

We decorated the house for Christmas this weekend. I decided to put the 2nd tree up in my bedroom...I'm so excited. I've never done that before, but that way I'll get to enjoy it more than if it was in the other room. We are off to a slow start. I've only done a little shopping and I haven't made my Christmas cards or written our Christmas letter yet this year. I need to get going. The weather's been so warm it hasn't seemed like Christmastime, but we only have 2 1/2 weeks left to go!

A Very Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

Andrew came home from college last Tuesday night. It was so good to have him home! It was like he'd never left. Of course he's back at school now, but he'll be home in less than 4 weeks for the holidays!

Thursday we went to my in-laws for dinner (it was not a good day for pie making for me...I burnt 2 pecan pies). We had a wonderful feast and a great time visiting. Teresa and her family were here, which made it extra nice. We usually only see her once a year, so this extra visit was fun.

On Friday, Alex had his baptism. We were waiting to have Andrew home...he gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. Adam, who just got his mission call to Michigan, gave the talk on baptism. It was really wonderful.

Hannah's birthday was on Monday, but we had a little birthday celebration for her on Saturday so Andrew could join in on it. She's a teenager now...though she keeps telling me she's still only 12. It makes me laugh since when I was her age I really wanted to be older, but she doesn't seem to want that yet.

So, where are the pictures you ask? Stuck on my camera 'cause I can't find the battery recharger for my camera, so I can't download the photos to my computer. :(

It was a great weekend and we have so much to be thankful for...the gospel and our family being the two biggest.