The Tree Of Life.

So  here's something that I've noticed:

my kids are a lot happier when I limit their use of social media.  Like, it was a night and day change in their attitude.

So basically, I'm fine with my kids not using social media ever again.  Or until they move out of my house.

I'm not sure why that is, but the evidence is plain to see with at least one of my children, so I'm going with it.

Last week for Young Women's we took the girls (and boys) to see the Tree of Life in Draper Park.  Have you heard of this yet?

It was awesome.

And it sparkled.  Which was even more awesome.

We started out at the church and did a thought on the Tree of Life.  Knowing that this a story that they should all be fairly familiar with, I just asked them to walk me through it while one of the young women drew it on the board.  (If this isn't a story you're familiar with you can read it in whole here.)

We started with the fountain, had the straight and narrow path with the iron rod.  There was the river of water, and the great and spacious building.  We covered part of the path with fog, and then at the end stood the Tree of Life.

Once we had our picture up, I asked them what does it all mean?  And they knew the general answers (you can read them in full here):
fountain is the word of Christ,
the straight and narrow path the way that we should go,
the iron rod is the word of God,
the dirty river is the word of Christ dirtied and muddied by the philosophies of men,
the great and spacious building are those who
the fog is temptations in our lives,
and finally, they said the tree of life is heaven.

Which is exactly the answer I was hoping they would give.

Because,  yes, it can be about the plan of salvation in that this is how we make it through this life to return to our Father in Heaven.

But it's more than that.  It's also about our daily lives.  The in and out pressures and temptations of school (for the youth) and work and just life are the fog that surround us.  Sometimes we feel like we're lost and can't quite figure out our way on our path.  So what do we need to do?  We need to hold on to the rod, which is the word of God, meaning pick up your scriptures.  Literally, hold on to the word of God.  And by so doing you will find the Tree of Life, which is the love of God.  Every day we can be doing this.  And what is the fruit that we can partake of from that love?  Peace, comfort, guidance, direction, tender mercies in our daily lives, answers to prayers.  The possibilities are endless, really.  And so, so personal.

So we talked about this.

And then we went to the Tree of Life.

Today: Riding Mass Transit And Freezing My Face Off. Don't Underestimate The Power Of A Kind Word. Youth Christmas Party.

I've taken to riding mass public transportation for my daily commute.

Mostly I think it's awesome.  I used to ride the bus a lot when I was a kid, so it's something that's familiar to me.  Saturday plans usually consisted of hopping onto the bus to go hang out at the local mall.

I'm not entirely sure how my parents were okay with this, but the said mall also held a dollar theater so I was pretty much set for the Saturday for less than five bucks.  I also rode the bus clear into downtown a few times when my mom worked there to meet her for a lunch date.

I was telling Brynn about this, and she thought it was pretty cool and started getting excited about the possibilities of trax/bus riding, but then I had to emphasize that this was before we had to worry so much about people kidnapping kids.  To which Brynn replied, "Kidnappers suck.  They ruin everything."

I would have to agree with that statement.

Normally if I catch a certain timed train, it arrives at my stop at the very time that the bus leaves.  So I hop off trax and get right onto the bus which takes me pretty much to the end of the street that my office building sits on.

Except today that bus decided to pull away right as the trax train came up to the station.

I watched it pull away through the window with a dropped jaw.

Over and over my co-workers have told me to call them and they'll come pick me up from the trax station.  But I don't feel like my decision to ride trax should become their problem.  Especially once I figured out that I can also take the bus and end up within a five minute walk from the office.

So I got of trax, pulled my coat close around me, and started walking.  It's only a 20-30 minute walk, and there's sidewalks the entire way so it's really not a big deal.  Except it was 30 degrees this morning.

Halfway through my walk my face lost all feeling.

I broke down and called a co-worker.  "Are you at work?"

"Yes..."

"Have you guys left on your morning drink run yet?"

"No.  Do you want one?"

"How about you leave right now for your drink run and pick me up while you're at it."

Done and done.

They chewed me out for not calling them earlier.  And then made fun of how red my ears were.

Stupid bus driver for not waiting a whole 3 minutes for the trax to stop so I could get on his bus.

Seriously.

I think this will be a smoother process in the summer when I won't mind if I end up walking, because it won't be cold enough to make my face fall off.

Also, today I sent out a round of cards and notes for the Snail Mail Society.

Honestly, I don't think we can ever underestimate the power of a kind word.

Do you need a kind word?  Do you know of someone else who needs a kind word?  Are you willing to send a kind word to someone who needs it?  Send an email to hellosnailmailsociety @ gmail.com for how you can get involved on either side of that project.

The stories that come in for why people would like letters sent are heart touching.

And to round out the day we held our Christmas party with the youth of my church.  We played this game with them,  but we're mean leaders so we made them start our a few rounds with gloves on, which was hilarious, and then did a round of white elephant gifts.

We gave a $1 limit so the gifts are usually pretty funny.  I've learned, though, that I need to start aiming for Caitlyn's gift.  Two years in a row now she's simply wrapped up a dollar.  It's genius.  That's a McD's Coke just waiting to happen.

Next year.

Holiday Wishes: Idina Menzel

I remember sitting on my couch in my rented house in Vernal with my four young kids running here and there around me.  We had been relaxing to some PBS cartoon of some sort, I can't remember which one now, and at the end of the show the spell had been broken and my girls were running crazytown again.

I know you've been there.

But the TV had captured my attention.  After the cartoon finished a documentary of sorts came on, talking about a new Broadway musical coming out very soon about the Wicked Witch of the West.  I watched as they proceeded to tell a bit about the story line and introduced the singers who would be preforming in this new Broadway.

I was captivated.

It's not that I've ever really had a thing for Broadway, or even the Wizard of Oz, but of all things I always love a good villain (the wicked queen in Snow White, Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, and of course, the Wicked Witch of the West) and to see a spin on the Wicked Witch's side of the story caught my attention completely.

(I'll insert here that I was as equally excited about Maleficent when it came out)

Going to New York to see a new Broadway show wasn't in the books for me.  But I bought and read the book it was based on, and I bought the soundtrack and memorized every song, trying to fill in the missing details that might be played out on stage in between the clues I was receiving through song.

At my divorce Idina Menzel's "Defying Gravity" resonated in my soul with the lines:
"So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown!
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!"

I was able to see Wicked in Salt Lake City and it was every bit as magnificent as I had hoped it would be.  I was on the edge of my seat, hanging on every word, drawn into every song.  And though it wasn't Idina Menzel in the production, I loved her even more after watching that song come to life in front of me.

Idina Menzel's voice has become a favorite of mine.

Enter Frozen.

Need I say more?

Actually, yes, I do.

Because she now has a holiday album called Holiday Wishes.  It's my new favorite "go to" holiday CD.  Sorry, Collin Raye Christmas, we had a good run, but it's time for something new.

Holiday Wishes is out now on Warner Bros. Records.

The album was produced by Grammy Award-winner Walter Afanasieff (Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey) and features such classic favorites as “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” as well as Joni Mitchell’s Christmas-themed “River,” one of Menzel’s favorites.

Another highlight is a duet with international superstar Michael Bublé on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” An exclusive Target edition of Holiday Wishes features two bonus tracks, including “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”.

Can I just say that duet with Michael Bublé is on repeat in my car right now?

Spot on.



You can find the album on iTunes HERE or on Amazon HERE.

Also, Idina's official social media:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube

I participated in the Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own.

An Easy Way To Spice Up Your Christmas Tradition.

Today I'm posting as part of an online Christmas advent calender.  You can check out the other awesome posts as they unfold daily HERE.

Christmas has a way of testing one's resilience.

Especially in the eyes of my youngest daughter, Cali.

That girl is all spice.

And honestly, I get it.

I do.

I remember, as a kid, snooping around in my parent's room for my presents.  Sometimes I'd find them, but usually not.  We lived next door to my grandparents, and I found out as an adult that all of our Christmas presents were hidden in my grandparent's basement.

Obviously a wise choice on my parent's part.

But there's only so much a parent can do, and only so much anticipation I could handle.

As the presents began to show up under the tree, wrapped in pretty wrapping paper, and labeled with our names, I would sneak out to the tree in the middle of the night to look at them in all their Christmastime glory.

I would quietly find the packages with my name on them and careful peel back the tape on the end of the wrapping so I could unfold the end and see what was inside.  Then I would follow the folds of the paper, wrapping it back up just how it was, and replace the tape.

Guys, I know.

I was such a stinker. Horrible.  And my parents had no idea.

Honestly, I came to realize that Christmas morning really wasn't that much fun when I already knew what all my presents were.

I faced a similar situation a few years ago with my own children, Cali in particular.  Only, apparently, they're not as stealthy as I was as a child.

I began noticing that presents had ripped corners, exposing some of the present within.

Knowing how I was as a child, and knowing how I inevitably always ruined the magic for myself, I took this as a challenge.

How can I keep the magic of Christmas, but not have a strong temptation for my children to peak into wrapped presents?

Last year I heard about the perfect solution, so we tried it.

I wrapped all the presents as I normally would, but then labeled them with code names.

The kids still had fun poking around in the presents, and trying to guess what was in them, but I found as they didn't know which presents belonged to whom, that not of the presents were peaked into.

Though I did take the extra precaution of wrapping them in unidentifiable boxes as well.

It drove my kids crazy not knowing which presents were theirs.

On Christmas I had them pick one present with the code name that they thought was theirs.  One by one they would open the present they had chosen and then guess if they thought they were right, or if they thought that present belonged to a sibling.  After everyone had opened their present we told them if they were correct in their guesses, or not, and everyone got sorted out, and knew which code name belonged to them.

They loved this so much they asked if we could do it again this year.

And we are.

Maybe you have kids that are better behaved when faced with a pile of tempting presents than I have (or I was), regardless, this little trick added a layer of surprise that the kids really enjoyed.

If you're looking to try something new to spice up your Christmas traditions, this one is really easy to do.

With the holiday season up us, we wish you a Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

Here

Christmas Giveaway: $500 In Paypal Cash Or An Amazon Gift Card.

I have a few exciting posts coming up this week, first and foremost of which is an exciting announcement about a giveaway!

Yes, you read that right, I'm teaming up with nine other fabulous blogs to bring you a giveaway of $500 cold hard cash.

Well, cold hard cash in the form of paypal money or an amazon gift card, but let's get serious here, it's still money you can spend anywhere you want and with the looming holiday season, who doesn't want an extra $500?

Can you say only 72 days until Christmas?

I know, I panicked just typing that.

So let's tell the blogs who are behind this thank you,

The REAL Housewives of Riverton | Utah Sweet Savings | My Mommy Style | Feel Great In 8 | The Project Girl | Lionesses at the Gate | Two in the Kitchen | Everyday Southwest | My Daylights | The Circus

And get ready to enter.  The rafflecopter will open today, Monday October 13th at midnight and will end at 11:59 pm on Sunday, October 19th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Being a solid Halloween fan, you'll have to forgive me for the next sentence.

Happy Holiday's y'all.

Let's make it a happy one.

Jayme Has a Birthday Party. We Met Beyond 5. Christmas Eve Eve. A Catching Up Post.

On Friday (the 20th) Jayme had her birthday party.

She invited a few friends over to watch Harry Potter.  Along with her food requests (pizza, root beer, brownies, cake balls...) we threw in some jelly beans and called them Bertie Bott's every flavor beans.  The girls made up a chart with their own flavor names, which included earwax, vomit, and prune juice, among others.

Pictures to come, as soon as I can steal them off of The Man's phone.

On Saturday we got to go check out a new band called Beyond 5, which my girls instantly fell in love with.
We stopped and grabbed Panda Express via drive-thru and then hit the road for our 2 hour trip to the concert, which was up in Logan.  Yeah, you heard me, 2 hour trip, one way.

That right there makes me mother of the year.

Since they're a new band we hadn't yet heard much about them.  They've just released their first cd, and have just gotten back from touring Asia, so the girls didn't quite know what they were getting into (check out some videos on them on the post I did here).

But as soon as that first song started, my girls were smitten.  Completely, number one fans.

And that might even be an understatement.

I waited with the girls for an hour after the concert for a chance to meet the guys of Beyond 5 and get some autographs.  We bought a poster for each bedroom and while standing in line one of the crew from the band walked up and gave Tayler a cd.

We had both posters and the cd cover signed.

And the girls snuck some selfies with their favorites.

I was so impressed with these boys, watching them interact with everyone after the show.  They were polite and genuinely nice.  Their music was upbeat with a good vibe and none of their songs has anything that would make me uncomfortable having my daughters listen to it.

I'm behind this group of guys 100%.

We listened to Tayler's cd on the entire 2 hour drive home.

Obsessed.

On Monday we celebrated Christmas eve eve.

Since it wasn't our year for Christmas with The Circus and we needed to take them to their other parents the next morning.

I left work early and went home and made wassail, and put a ham, rolls, and funeral potatoes in the oven.

Papa Mike, Granny Suzann, Lindee, Sam, and Morgan came over and spent the evening with us.

Granny made fancy hot coca.  Papa gave the kids his two cents worth.

We talked and laughed, and chilled.  And opened a few presents.

We thought about joining Lindee and Sam to go see the lights at Thanksgiving Point, but we didn't make it that far.  We stopped at a gas station for slurpees or hot chocolate, and then went home to let the kids open presents.  We wanted them to have some time in the morning to fiddle with their new stuff and check it out before we had to take them to their other parents.

This year I put code names on the presents. (I wrote a guest post on that here).

Tayler had some suspicions on a couple of presents and was hoping that she was reindeer.

When we sat down to open presents I told the kids to grab one present and make sure that they each had a different name.

The kids grabbed presents they had guessed could be something that belonged to them.

Cali grabbed reindeer before Tayler could and Tayler was not a happy camper about that.

I told them to open them and then we would see if they were right.

Cali happened to grab a present that could have been for her so she guessed that she was right.  And we went around the circle, the kids saying who they thought the present they had opened was for.  It finally came to a point where we told Cali she was wrong and the reindeer present was not for her, but the candycane presents were.

Tayler, misunderstanding what was said exclaimed, "She gets to be both reindeer and candycane?"  She was completely frustrated.  But then we told Tayler that no, Cali wasn't reindeer and Tayler's Christmas became perfect as she realized she really did get to be reindeer like she'd been hoping.

This was such a fun way to do the presents, especially as they unwrapped them and tried to figure out who had whose.  I'll definitely be doing this every year.

The rest of the week has been pretty quiet for us.  The Circus doesn't come home until after the New Year and I miss them so much.

I'm not used to them being gone for so long.

We usually do pretty good in how we handle the holidays that we don't have kids for, but we haven't quite found our groove with Christmas yet.  We visited with family on Christmas Day, but we'd already opened our presents with the kids so we kicked back with all our Christmas treats and the pile of new movies that I'd given The Man and enjoyed the holiday the best we could.

Next kidless Christmas, we're taking a cruise.  I'm pretty sure I might feel better about it if I'm sitting on a warm beach somewhere.

Casidee's Christmas Concerts

Playing a bit of catch up here with Casidee's Christmas concerts.

Somehow she ended up in choir as well as orchestra this year.  It's interesting since she didn't actually sign up for choir, but whatever.

Also, it's helpful that the orchestra teacher and the choir teacher are the same person.  So the concerts were all held on the same night, which I appreciated since having three nights of concerts the week before with Tayler and Cali.

It struck me how much better Casidee's orchestra is sounding since they started last year.  I'm really excited to have her grow in the talent.

A big thank you to Brynn who was willing to crawl up to the front and get the videos for me.

Thanksgiving. And the Jolly Old Elf Himself. As Well As Some Magic.

Thanksgiving came with a little bit of ceremony.  Mostly in the actual foods that were prepared and the setting up of tables, and finally the watching of "While You Were Sleeping" while the big stuff was in the oven and it wasn't quite time to start the little stuff yet.

That's a big part of Thanksgiving ceremony, "While You Were Sleeping."

Cali learned how to make a Dutch Apple Pie.  Cas learned what it was to make pumpkin pies with Grandpa Dick and why that's a treat.

Our house was full to the brink.

 I posted this picture of Casidee on my Instagram:

And then this happened:

The yelling didn't start until the playing cards came out.

Slapjack for the younger crowd and nertz for the older and slightly more violent crowd.

And we may have come out of the experience with a broken stair banister, but you can't have family holidays be all good, right?  If that's the worst then all is well.

And then it happened.

December is here and I hardly even had time to realize it.  It takes me by surprise every year.

We kicked December off last night with Cali and Tayler's choir singing at our City Hall for the lighting of the city's lights.

And a visit with the Jolly Old Elf himself.  Cali asked for Monster High dolls.  Tayler for earmuffs.  Blue ones.

And it struck me, with the growing of my Circus, how very little time I have left for Christmas to be full of magic.

It will be always be magical.

But it changes from magic and wonder to a more specific awareness of giving and love, which is not bad, it's really very good, but I realize how little time I have left with the added bonus of a child's magic and wonder at it all.

Though when it's all said and done I suppose it's the awareness of giving and love that creates the magic for children, and whether they realize it or not, that will always be there, so we'll lose nothing in the growing of our children, the reason for it all will just change.

And that, perhaps, might be even a little better.

To have the magic with a purpose instead.