Do It Right

I've been pondering the needs of our little family and possible goals for the coming year. I keep coming back to this scripture from Moroni 7:45, the last book of the Book of Mormon:

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

I think we need to display this prominently somewhere in our house.

The other quote that keeps coming to me is from Spencer W. Kimball:

Do it. Do it right. Do it right now.

I'm thinking these should be our new family scripture and family motto.

Expressionism

We had a little photo shoot today in an attempt to replace the out-dated picture of six-month-old Sophie on our wall with something more current. Bryan took many pictures and captured some classic Sophie expressions. Here are a few.

Christmas Pajamas

Our school district only gives us a week off for Christmas break, so we've been resting as much as we can the last few days. In fact, we all stayed in our pajamas yesterday and today. Last night at bedtime Sophie told me, with a bit of concern in her voice, that she hadn't gotten dressed all day. I told her that was fine on Christmas.

Then she looked at me and said, "It's okay, we just pretended our jammies were daytime clothes."

Yes we did, and we may just do the same tomorrow.

Fa La La La Llama

Merry Christmas from this authentic bunch of characters!

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

For many years Christmas Eve was a night without sleep. I'm not talking about the sleepless anticipation of a child, I mean the exhausted rush of a mom with too much to do at the last minute. The year that Sophie was born, that changed. Since she was due shortly before Christmas, I knew that I simply would not have the luxury of pulling an all nighter, at least not for wrapping gifts. And, with some planning, I pulled it off. It was lovely to be done with all of our Christmas morning preparations early.

I've worked to duplicate this each year since. I do not miss the frenzy of running out to the store on Christmas Eve or the zombie-like state I experience after staying up crazy late to wrap presents. I love seeing the presents wrapped and under the tree for several days. I love sitting peacefully in the evenings leading up to the big day without that stress.

I placed the last gift (for which I am responsible) under the tree today. The boys have two items to wrap tomorrow for the girls, then we're done. I've even divided the stocking contents into separate grocery sacks for easier distribution on Christmas Eve.

I love that now I can focus even more attention on much more important things. I can spend my time in contemplation about the birth of the Savior and the gift of His life and atonement. I can sit with my family and enjoy a Christmas movie, rather than put one on for them while I hide away wrapping gifts.

Now, if only I could achieve this level of calm preparedness in all aspects of my life...

Love Your Neighbor

Today our sweet next door neighbor brought us a Christmas gift of chocolates and a beautiful card. The best part? He and his family are Muslim and don't celebrate Christmas, but he knows that we do. He sets a wonderful example of kindness, I wish more people could be like him.

The Best Ever Christmas Wish

Sometimes Cooper writes poems and song lyrics. Here's a song he wrote about Christmas:

The Best Ever Christmas Wish

I've been thinking through the past five years

Thinking 'bout the Christmas holiday cheers.

The candles, the presents, and 10 foot pine trees

Feasting on dinner of turkey and peas.

Thinking of joy on cold winter nights.

It's a very big Christmas for me-

Chorus:

I think about the candy canes we give with love, 

and receiving is not what this is all about,

a good friend, it is the best ever Christmas wish.

Drawing and Photo by Sophie

The Third Strike, I'm Out

The cold now has me fully in its clutches. I stayed home from church yesterday and slept due to the germ assault on my sinuses. I think it's my sick state that led to a vivid and odd dream last night.

I dreamt that we were having a reunion for Bryan's family, when suddenly Lin-Manuel Miranda (the guy who wrote Hamilton and the music for Moana) showed up to hang out with us. He was happy to take pictures with everyone, but I couldn't get my camera to work. Then the reunion changed venues to a large mall and Bryan's sister told me that she and her family had decided yes, they would star in a reality TV show.

It was weird.

Semi Formal

This is what happens when two little girls discover their mom's old formal dresses.