Enter Christmas Chaos

Justin and Amelia drove down to Utah Sunday after church to attend Uncle Gene's funeral. Phillip opted to stay home and hold down the couch instead of hanging out with his cousins. He is turning into a teenager! Phillip loves to sleep and keep the couch warm, grunt out answers, mumble, and move slower than molasses. I stayed home from church with Josie, we enjoyed an hour of snuggling on the couch while participating in Sacrament meeting via zoom. I worked almost 8 hours between Saturday and Sunday to finish my latest blog book, the 50% off incentive was worth the effort. It was not worth another 8 hours to make a second book, I keep forgetting that I am an entire book behind. One of the main frustrations was that the platform I use changed their book making software. Another frustration was over half of my photo collages were to small to even print as 2x2 inches! So that meant locating and remaking the collages between January and May. Thankfully, I caught on a month or so ago to the terrible photo quality, it is fixed as of posts after October. Josie was still running a fever of 102 all day, even the fever reducers and antibiotics were not helping much. She got a nice tepid bath to help bring down her fever. We heard from Justin reporting from Charity's home. Amelia enjoyed some time with Reagan and Charity. They spent the night in a hotel down in Payson. The kids and I enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes for dinner. After my book was uploaded and ordered I worked on ordering the chaos of Christmas decor. Before the night was over I had the navitivites set up, my tree collection set out, and my awesome gnome table spread on the newly painted hutch. The kids had a brain numbing day watching Disney plus shows. Josie commanded the TV when she was coherent. 

Josie and I stayed home all day, a literal girl pajama party. I quite enjoyed decorating the rest of the house while we binge watched Christmas movies. Amelia got to meet her cousin Emma, who looks very similar to Mia, the girls were nearly identical twins between birth and 18 months. Cathy (Emma's mom) lived near us when we lived on Braemar ct in West Valley City.  Justin said the funeral was very spiritual and uplifting. Most of the funeral was focused on how much Uncle Gene loved the Lord and tried his best to be a disciple. The funeral potatoes were very funeraly. Justin enjoyed visiting with his Crapo family. Uncle Gene was buried next to his son Shaun and near his other son David. They headed home shortly after the luncheon. That is a whirlwind trip! Josie finally started to perk up around 4 pm, her fever finally broke. 

Josie stayed home another day from school, she was absent a total of 4 school days but really over 10 days if you add in Thanksgiving. We are all glad to see her color back and acting more like her happy self. We were out of fresh food so I went grocery shopping. Josie was happy to sleep in then go watch movies and play with Sara until I got home. I had enough time to make a trip to Fred Meyers before heading home. I needed a cute wreath and a couple special items for Christmas. Once again our newest Nelf is gaining notoriety, he flubbed up and delivered Evelyn and Josie's Santa gifts to the doorstep in Walmart BAGS...during the day with JOSIE watching. I called Santa upset he ruined the Christmas surprises. I sent back the gifts and had the girls write a letter asking for different gifts.  

My piano students are gearing up for our recital on the 20th. I invested in a few new Christmas books since my students played most of what I had last year. I was thrilled Everett and Benson chose songs out of the piano duet book, a one piano four hands version. 

Josie was very sad the next three mornings to leave me for school. She decided it is way more fun to stay with mom. She chose to attend school because our rule is if you aren't sick you stay in your room for the entire day, I'll bring food and escort the child to the bathroom. She thought that sounded very boring. Everett is a great big brother, he hugged her all the way to her class line on the school grounds and gave her a kiss on the head. Josie fell asleep before 5 pm, she was exhausted. I got to Christmas shop for an entire morning through 1:30 pm at Kohls, Burlington, TJ Maxx, and Hobby Lobby. I ran into Fawn at TJ Maxx. It was a challenge to find certain bedtime clothes for a growing boy. I was thrilled to find a couple stars and a swag to finish off Christmas decor for this year. 

Choir on Thursday went extra long, Professor Stewart's last flight was cancelled so we had several weeks off. The kids made it though double practices with flying colors. I love how the Professors demand and expect perfection. They build achievable expectations so the kids can do their best. We worked extra hard at home to ensure the kids had their lyrics memorized and harmony parts perfect. Josie is not enthusiastic about choir but she does love the March of the Nutcracker with all its cute choreography. The family favorite is Go Tell it on the Mountain...and Mele Kalikimaka...and Betelehemu....and On Christmas Night. Ok, all the songs are really fun and spiritual. The kids often come home saying they felt the spirit while singing the songs. I worked hard to edit Erika's senior photos taken up in Elgin over Thanksgiving. 

Friday was a crazy day. We had a chance to help out the ministering family Justin, Amelia, and I are assigned in our ward. They are a struggling couple trying to make ends meet with several grown children dealing with larger than life issues. Their truck needs a lot of repairs and is currently inoperable. Their other vehicle is an ancient sedan hobbling along. They spent a chunk of money trying to fix what the mechanic said was the issue (the starter). However, the alternator was the larger problem. Brother Salas had no way to get to work and earn the money needed for repairs. Justin and I got to help them during lunch break. Justin hooked up the car battery to a conditioner trying to save it before it was completely drained. We also brought over the truck for them to use until life gets better. Joy found a decently priced alternator part, which the Bishop agreed to purchase with fast offerings. We confirmed the family is actively working and making progress to meet financial wellness. Dusty, Justin, Phillip, and Everett installed the new part into the car on Saturday! I love participating in miracles that help bind our ward family together. I signed up to take cheesy potatoes, rolls, and a dessert to the ward Christmas party. I started prepping and bakin around 1 pm but still arrived late the party with partially burned and or undercooked rolls, the strangest cheesy potatoes, and left the cookies at home because they were flatter than flat and underbaked. I tried to use the roll dough left the freezer for Thanksgiving. The dough took a long time to thaw before I could shape it. Then it took for-ev-er to rise. I only had baby potatoes and didn't want to peel, cut, or shed those so I boiled the potatoes and made a sort of smashed potato casserole with lots of cheese, tasted good but looked very different from the other offerings. Don't know how to explain my flat cookies. I followed the recipe I've made like 20 times, so yeh, we ate the delicious morsels over the weekend.  The ward party was fun, mostly just dined and visited with each other. There was a Nativity display where folks brought their treasured Nativity sets to show off. I brought my Fontanini creche, Amelia and Justin went early to set it up while I madly made kitchen messes. I was thrilled to use the Christmas Caroling set Grandma Jean gave me a few months ago. We made some extra copies and had those on the tables. I was quite sad we never got to sing as a ward. No one was really in charge so things just went to chaos. In my opinion ward activity groups are necessary to ensure things happen, putting each organization in charge of one part leaves too many spaces unfilled. Santa made an appearance with an authentic beard. Evelyn asked if this was the Santa that smelled like beans and cheese sitting on a throne of lies! 

Saturday morning Justin and I were privileged to attend an endowment session. Once again we were asked to be the witness couple! Aunt Mary recently made a Crook ordinance group on Family Search, it was easy to get names we recognize. I am very happy to report that my medication is helping me to stay awake, even in the endowment sessions! Hip, hip, hooray. As I participated this session the added perspectives of recently studying about the Nauvoo Temple and the history of the temple covenants was quite thrilling. We found a creperie for a light lunch afterwards. I quite enjoyed my asparagus and prosciutto crepe, Justin had a ham, swiss, and pear crepe. I was a little miffed some ladies interrupted our lunch asking us to take a survey with a $5 movie voucher, course the $5 gift certificate was an incentive. We ended up getting $35 in movie vouchers because my email was not changed from the device one lady used. Sweet! Now we can take the kids to see Encanto for half the price. The girls all got much needed hair trims, I got a haircut. The lady had to keep cutting the left side shorter and shorter until it matched the right side. My hair is much shorter than anticipated but short hair is my preference. I edited for a chunk of the afternoon. After dinner Justin and I went Christmas shopping to Harbor Freight and Home Depot for wood and woodworking tools for Phillip and Everett's Christmas gifts. 

We started our 25 Days of Christ on a modified schedule, watching and remembering Christ's life on Tuesday and Thursday. We have a lot to learn about the vision of Joseph F Smith and the official declarations. Our family is in a golden place right now. We are all enjoying being together most of the time and learning about the gospel. I am really excited to study the Old Testament. Everett was excited too and listed off several Old Testament prophets: the one who buried golden plates, the one who crossed the Ocean in a ship, the prophet name Lehi who was in a cave with lions. Ha, ha, ha...what a kid. Everett was very keen on sharing his testimony like Joseph Smith's last testimony. He spent an hour Sunday morning writing down his testimony to share for testimony meeting. Everett sat down with tears in his eyes and a burning desire to follow Christ. He is a very tender hearted child.  

The kids wrote and mailed their Santa letters! Amelia asked for her own chunk of real Parmesan cheese. Phillip asked for a $200 dollar Lego, Bagulls with cheese, and a squishmallow. The rest of his letter was filled with the words "hank" and "foot" interspersed with exclamation marks. Everett asked for 2 boxes of his own party pizzas and a penguin squishmallow. Evelyn asked for a Minty Rainbow High doll, she reported being good, bad, and a bit of both. Josie asked for a Rainbow Peek-a-boo panda and makeup with a koala on top and lipstick with a cute, teeny koala topper. I was sweating. After school the girls found the mailbox stuffed with candy and a craft!  

Evelyn had another scare with the Nelf Nosnap at 7:45 am on Tuesday morning. She was in the loft when the bells started jangling, she screamed, Josie screamed because Evelyn screamed, and Everett was cluelessly sleeping. I think the Nelf was trying to help the lazy kids get moving but did not see Evelyn sneaking into the loft. The Nelf and Evelyn scared each other, the nelf scream sounded like loud bells. What a way to start the morning. The Nelf left Evelyn a candy as an apology for scaring her. Santa really needs to train that Nelf. 

Phillip started to get a sore throat on Tuesday. He stayed home to sleep and recuperate on Tuesday. I ended up taking him in on Wednesday after dropping the kids off at school. He slept in a couple mornings which seemed to help the most. Dr Aldous said he had adenovirus or some similar virus, that antibiotics would not help. No wonder the antibiotics did not help Josie out much, it did clear up her ear pressure.  Phillip got to rest a couple days, drink lots of "throat coat" herbal tea, and hot ramen. He was feeling much better by Thursday, not contagious because he did not have a fever at all. We did rule out COVID and strep. Amelia was starting to feel sick but she was amenable to trying out the baking soda and apple cider treatments. She did not get sick! I have also also stayed away from this virus (unless I was the one who introduced it with my cold a few weeks ago). 

Santa found a walrus squishmallow named HANK, I was over the moon that there is a squishmallow named Hank up at the North Pole. Santa also found a penguin dressed in a dragon costume for Everett, the other penguin squishmallows are extremely rare and cost over $80. Sheesh, Santa for the win. The hardest surprise was finding Koala makeup for Josie. Santa suggested a Koala makeup box with koala stuff inside. It was the best he could do. 

I wanted to find scrap wood for the boys to build stuff with. A guy from Facebook marketplace said his fencing company recycles a ton of wood each week as the fencing is delivered in frames made of 2x4 and 2x6 lengths of scrap wood! I was able to get a large pile of free decent wood. That was very exciting for me. The kids helped clean the loft and their bedrooms on Wednesday in anticipation of Grandpa and Grandma Lance coming for the weekend. 

I spent Thursday morning fetching the free wood and mopping the floors. I have to say my new floors are very easy to mop and sweep. Emeline Flake agreed to take the kids to the grand rehearsal Thursday from 4:15-10 pm at Middleton High School. She took all the kids there, then stayed with Josie until the children's chorus finished their practice at 8:30. Josie was done at 6 pm. I gave Josie a dollar spend at the dollar store with Emeline. It was quite stressful to hand off my kids and that burden to Sister Flake. Justin and I went on a super awesome date while the kids worked! We enjoyed a casual dinner at a fantastic Indian restaurant in Boise. It was to die for, that mango lassi was the best. Their naan was amazing, we tried garlic and butter, potato and lentil, and another with raisins. The show started at 7 pm. We arrived to find a line wrapped around the building, guess showing up 20 minutes early was not a great idea. We missed the first 20 minutes of the show standing outside in the cold or in the lobby waiting for the song to end. Tripping over 30 seated people was another fun experience. The rest was amazing! I tried very hard not to sing along. Justin gave props to support the Federalist Papers, he was glad another gentleman threw out props as well. My eyes were misting during "It's Quiet Uptown," a song about living with unimaginable pain and forgiveness. That last scene with Eliza is just stunning, that gasp thrills the soul. We made it home by 11:20 to a house full of sleeping Grandparents and children. 

I let the kids sleep in because they did not get to bed until after 10:30. We raced around getting ready for school in normal chaos. Dad accompanied me to drop off kids and make a short stop at the rec center. Dad showed me his weight room routine. I was interested to learn from him after his 40 years of gym routines. He suggested 30 minutes of cardio (10 minutes each on treadmill, elliptical, and bike) then focus on core first. If there is time then legs, lastly upper muscles. I was doing the opposite! I dropped off a knit bonnet pattern and yarn to a sister in my ward who could knit some bonnets for Josie. We ran home and picked up Mom then drove out to visit with Richard and Nancy for the day. Nancy fed us a lunch of clam chowder and Grandma Witt's rolls. Mom and I helped Nancy set up and decorate her Christmas tree. We visited about family and books while Dad and Richard were outside talking shop then off to a Doctor appointment. Nancy wanted some help making a book of Amelia Brittingham Murdock Witt's life history. We got the PDF and a few photos of her off of Family Search, I used Blurb to make a book for Nancy's gift to her kids. The original book was too long so I ended up remaking it back at home using my faster computer and internet connection. I was pleased to get the book down to $20.40 per copy. I am pleased Nancy asked for my help and that I could help her. Dad enjoyed seeing the Adams property and his visit. Justin and Phillip had a Deacon's activity doing baptisms for the dead at Boise temple. The boys were able to knock out many male baptism ordinances. Amelia will go next week and get female names completed. 

Saturday was "go-day!" Evelyn had a Christmas party with her friend Lincoln. The kids got to relax before the storm of performance day. Grandpa Lane helped the boys polish their church shoes, even used spit to polish! Everett was his usual enthusiastic self, Phillip barely coherent. I ironed the outfits, bathed the girls, and curled/styled hair. The last 15 minutes was a blur of water bottles, snack packing, book searching, etc. The kids got a special dinner treat of Jimmy John sandwiches for dinner. The kids arrived a little early to begin 6 hours of performance preparations. Josie got to stay home until 5 pm, we dropped her off early then headed to dinner. Grandpa and Grandma treated Justin and I to dinner at Sizzler...yum salad! We waited in the Brandt Center lobby for a good 30 minutes before we could sit down. The Ostlers, Lynes, and Baerwaldts were at the performance. I love that the kids could participate in music and accomplish such a feat. The kids were moved off and on stage several times. Everett sang and danced his heart out to Go Tell it on the Mountain. We swayed with the Concert choir version of Mele Kalikimaka. I loved the men singing Betelehemu, empowering those young boys with character and power. Josie looked so darling with the other littles performing Nutcracker. Stole my heart away. Justin said he was glad the kids worked so hard and that I convinced him to see this choir adventure through! Impressively, the organist was a 10th grade boy. Professor Stewart briefly spoke about how folks are searching for God and moving to places like Idaho in search of meaning. Dad and I were just talking about that earlier in the day. We have a chance to testify through music and word to find those searching. Phillip looked very handsome in his tux, Amelia graceful in her choir dress...the littles all polished wearing their uniforms. It was better than I anticipated. 

The kids were all dead tired the next day. The older kids had aching heels from standing so much. Evelyn had a sore throat from singing her best. We made it to church with a couple grouchy ladybugs in tow. I enjoyed hearing my Dad talk about his perspectives on the church, liberal movements, church trends, and parenting advice. Mom chipped in her two cents, I chipped in mine! We had many interesting conversations over the weekend. Very enlightening. I had dinner ready early because we needed time to have our Temple table and then enjoy Christmas Caroling with the Ostlers and Finches. The Come Follow Me topic this week is the Proclamation on the Family. We read it together then talked about it's history, gender, marriage, identity, and such. I could barely talk at one point, my emotions got the better of me. I was teaching about a woman's identity, using the Proctor's podcast. Maurine spoke about her experience at a convention where the "Family was cast as the oppressor, marriage as a kind of bondage. Children were seen as a relentless burden, and underlying it all was a sense that there was no objective reality, no truth, but only the subjective, expressive, authentic feelings of individuals that should be a guide. Today, we might call it “you do you.” Family relationships were an assault upon womens’ authentic identity and search for liberation." The "you do you" mentality really makes me upset, it is selfish and isolating. Our lesson was greatly enriched with our Grandparent's views and teachings. Epic level! Grandma Jean's caroling books got another workout! The kids carried jingle bells as we sang to various houses decorated with Christmas lights. We enjoyed fresh doughnuts and hot chocolate after singing. I loved that Mom and Dad were merrily singing along. Mom shared a slideshow presentation she made with Uncle Scott. We learned about the lineage and birth of Christ. Some of the photos were quite funny. Thank you for sharing mom. 

We were very sad to see the Lances go. We enjoyed a wonderful visit with them. It was very nice to get positive feedback on what we are trying to accomplish at home. I am so grateful for my parents. They work hard and provided their children with an example of faith, learning, and dedication. I hope my kids can see how important reading and life-long learning is to a full life. So many things to be grateful these past couple of weeks.