We Do Talk About Phoebe

To ring in the New Year on Friday night, we watched the movie Encanto as a family on Disney+. It was our first time seeing it and we all enjoyed it. The kids have been singing We Don't Talk About Bruno for days.

Phoebe decided to try her hand at drawing one of the characters, Dolores. This is what Dolores looks like in the movie:

Photo credit

This is Phoebe's stylized version.

I think her shading turned out beautifully.

Moving Ahead

A new year means new advancements and classes for some of the kids at church. Topher has moved from Nursery to officially being a Sunbeam, the youngest class in Primary. Now, since we're still doing church at home, this isn't a huge change. We did talk to Topher about what it means to be a Sunbeam and he actually sat still for longer than usual during church on Sunday. Also, this means we have won't have Nursery kids in our family anymore since Topher is the youngest. That's kind of an odd thought.

Phoebe left Primary altogether. She is now part of the Young Women's program. She's completely excited about this. I'm also excited, but also scratching my head about how that happened so quickly. I'm pretty sure she's the only YW without her own phone (the main way the leaders communicate with the girls), and she's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

Cooper moved from being a Deacon to being a Teacher. In fact, on Sunday night Bryan ordained him to this new office of the priesthood. Both sets of grandparents joined us over Zoom, which was wonderful. An extra special part of the ordination? Because Peter is a Priest, he was able to help. This is the first time he's been able to do this. Watching him stand next to Bryan with his hands on Cooper's head made me realize just how close he is to going on a mission. Yes, it's still a few years away, but in that moment it felt close.

Add in Sophie's baptism from last Friday and it's been a big week for our family.

Yesterday morning I realized that I had failed to take a picture of Cooper after the ordination. I grabbed my phone, just to make sure. I discovered that although I hadn't taken any pictures, he had. So, to commemorate such an important step, I'm including one of the many, many selfies Cooper took on Sunday.

You're welcome.

The Biblio Files: 2021

2021 was an interesting year for reading. I read a total of 125 books, an increase of 25 from last year. Two of the months I only read 5 books each, though one of those was a 57 hour audiobook. During August I knocked out 20 books, 3 of those I listened to during our last night in our old townhouse when I stayed up packing until the sun came up. Of the 125, I read 8 from my Kindle, I listened to the other 117. Technically I read two more to Sophie during bedtime, but she read a few chapters on her own, so I'm going to go back and read what I missed and add it to my 2022 list, which I've already started working on.

The best books I read this year are underlined (I've recommended many of these to friends and family), book club picks are italicized. One of my book clubs fizzled out at about the same time a new Facebook book club was starting. And my favorite two-person book club is still going strong.

Do you have any book recommendations for me? I'm always looking for new titles to add to my holds list at the library.

January:

1. Across That Bridge by John Lewis
2. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman*
3. The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede
4. Channel of Peace by Kevin Tuerff
5. Persuasion by Jane Austen
6. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman*
7. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
8. The Unexpected Deliverer by David Butler and Emily Belle Freeman

February:

1. A Walk in My Shoes by Ben Schilaty
2. The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman*
3. The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman*
4. The Priesthood Power of Women by Barbara Morgan Gardner
5. Women and the Priesthood by Sheri Dew
6. The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
7. Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
8. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
9. Sarah by Orson Scott Card
10. Rebekah by Orson Scott Card
11. Rachel and Leah by Orson Scott Card

March:

1. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
2. Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
3. A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
4. She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmel
5. The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
6. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
7. A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
8. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
9. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
10. Reaching for the Savior by Reyna I. Aburto
11. ADHD and Me by Blake E. S. Taylor

April:

1. October 2020 General Conference
2. The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen
3. You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
4. The Mortal World by Genevieve Cogman*
5. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
6. Your Defiant Child by Christine M. Benton and Russell Barkley
7. The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
8. Be Not Troubled by Ronald A. Rasband
9. The Story Girl by L. M. Montgomery

May:

1. The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
2. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
3. The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
4. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo*
5. 1776 by David McCullough
6. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
7. Royal Target by Traci Hunter Abramson
8. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
9. The War That Saved My Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley
10. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

June:

1. Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (This one is 57 hours long, it took half the month to get through it, but it was excellent.)
2. What Happened to You? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
3. The War I Finally Won by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley
4. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (This was a reread, it's still wonderful!)
5. Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

July:

1. A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich
2. The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman*
3. Take Back the House by Karen Latimer
4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
5. The Giver by Lois Lowry
6. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
7. The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
8. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
10. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
11. The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
12. In the Heights: Finding Home by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alergria Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter
13. Embark! by John Bytheway
14. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

August:

1. As You Wish by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
2. The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
3. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
4. Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
5. The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
6. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
7. The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
8. The Bronze Key by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
9. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley
10. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
11. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley
12. The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
13. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
14. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
15. Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
16. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
17. The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
18. Your Patriarchal Blessing Booklet by Brad Wilcox
19. Focused by Noelle Pikus Pace
20. Give Them Pie by Ed J. Pinegar

September:

1. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
2. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
3. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
4. Atomic Habits by James Clear
5. Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
6. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
7. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
8. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
9. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
10. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
11. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
12. The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall
13. The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall
14. April 2021 General Conference

October:

1. The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell
2. The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby
3. All's Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
4. Raising Good Humans by Hunter Clarke Fields
5. Putting It Together by James Lapine
6. Restoration: God's Call to the 21st-Century by Patrick Q. Mason
7. The Matriarch by Susan Page
8. The Woman Who Smashed the Codes by Jason Fagone

November:

1. Legion by Brandon Sanderson
2. Don't Miss This in the Doctrine and Covenants by David Butler and Emily Belle Freeman
3. The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman*
4. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
5. Celebrating a Christ-Centered Christmas by Emily Belle Freeman

December:

1. The Magician by Michael Scott
2. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
3. The Doctrine and Covenants
4. The Sorceress by Michael Scott
5. The Necromancer by Michael Scott
6. When It Doesn't Make Sense by John Bytheway
7. The Warlock by Michael Scott
8. The Enchantress by Michael Scott
9. The Book of Mormon
10. Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Best Part of Turning Eight

Sophie turned eight recently, which means she's old enough to be baptized into our church. We had planned to wait until Topher was vaccinated to have her baptism, expecting that would happen in early January. But then the vaccine trial for Topher's age group failed. We don't know when kids his age will be able to be vaccinated. I resigned myself to the idea that Sophie would have to wait a long time to be baptized.

Then, after talking with Sophie one night at bedtime, I had the strong impression that we needed to find a way to have her baptism sooner than later. We talked with our Bishop last week and he pointed out that seminary (which usually meets each school morning in the same room as the baptismal font) was on break for the holiday and that the building wouldn't be used used through the end of the year. He suggested that maybe we could air out the one room we needed and use it for a quick baptism before seminary started again in January.

I ordered a few white dresses from Amazon for Sophie to choose from, just in case we could make it work. For the last week and a half we've been emailing back and forth with the one member of the Bishopric in town for Christmas to coordinate a time for Sophie's baptism. Then he got a cold, which ended up possibly being COVID. Since we needed him to be at the baptism, we thought perhaps all our planning was for naught.

That's when I remembered that we had attended a Zoom baptism last year where the Bishop wasn't there in person, only over Zoom. We asked if we could do the same thing. Yesterday evening we got the okay to proceed with only our immediate family at the baptism and everyone else on Zoom. Sophie had her baptismal interview right before bedtime, then she planned the program while I was tucking her in.

Last night and this morning I sent out a flurry of texts to friends and family members that might be available to join us virtually. This morning we made sure we were showered, dressed in church clothes and too-tight church shoes, wrote talks, headed to the church building, filled the font, and Sophie had a lovely baptism.

Sophie chose to sing When I Am Baptized for the opening song. She did a beautiful job. Topher said the opening prayer, I gave a quick talk about baptism, then Bryan performed the baptism with Peter and Cooper acting as witnesses.

After the baptism, while I helped her change into dry clothes, Sophie said she felt perfect. She also said she now knows what it's like to take a bath in her clothes.

While she and Bryan were changing, the other kids chatted with people on the Zoom call. Then we all came back together and Phoebe gave a wonderful talk about the Holy Ghost. I asked her to share it with me:

Sophie, this is a special day for you, because you chose to get baptized and receive The Gift of the Holy ghost. The Holy Ghost will become an important part of your life as you seek to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Ghost is part of The Plan of Happiness. He is the third member of the godhead, and he is there to help us avoid temptations.

Moroni ten, verse five, says:

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

This is telling us that The Holy Ghost can help us discern right from wrong, he can guide you, and will help you stay on the covenant path. 

The Holy Ghost is also there to comfort us.  John fourteen, verses sixteen through eighteen say:

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

I have a testimony that The Holy Ghost is real, and that he can comfort you. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus gave us The Gift of The Holy Ghost so that The Holy Ghost can comfort us.

Sophie, I hope that someday you will have your own testimony of The Holy Ghost, and that you will know from experience that The Holy Ghost is real.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Then Bryan confirmed Sophie a member of the church and conferred the gift of the Holy Ghost on her. It was a sweet and spiritual meeting. Cooper ended it with a closing prayer.

Sophie's last minute, quickly planned baptism was a wonderful way to end 2021.

Warm Winter

As much as Topher enjoyed the snow last week, I loved that it was warm enough the day after Christmas that we could take a calm walk around the neighborhood.

Seasonally Appropriate

For weeks Topher had been telling us that when it snowed it would be Christmas. I tried to manage his expectations and let him know that Christmas doesn't always come with snow. On Christmas Eve we woke up to just a bit more than a dusting of snow. Topher looked outside and solemnly announced, "And now, it's Christmas."

I guess he was right.

The younger three bundled up and played as much as they could while the snow melted around them. Phoebe asked for my camera and returned it with some pretty great pictures.

Defying Gravity

Today I cut everyone's hair at our house except for Sophie and Bryan. I only took pictures of Cooper's hair. His hair defies gravity.

This last picture is a selfie. Of course.

The Magic of Christmas

On Christmas Eve, after reading Luke 2, we watched a beautiful portrayal of the Nativity. I felt spiritually ready for Christmas. Then we opened our annual Christmas pajamas and sat for a whole bunch of picture taking.

The rest of our Christmas Eve was fun because we watched movies as a family, but also late because we watched movies as a family. After we finally got the kids tucked in, Bryan and I jumped into making Christmas magic. This is what the Great Room looked like just before we went to bed in the wee hours of the morning.

One benefit of letting nearly everyone (Topher still had a proper bedtime) stay up late was that everyone slept in. That means Bryan and I got a little more sleep than we were expecting. Except for the part where Topher woke up at six in the morning because he was hungry. But after that we got more sleep.

Our family tradition is that the kids stay upstairs until they hear the Christmas music start to play, that's their cue to come downstairs.

Everyone enjoyed their stockings, then we paused the gifts to eat some cinnamon roles and smell the sausage egg casserole that was almost done baking. Then it was back to gifts!

The girls and Cooper all spent their own money and picked out thoughtful gifts for the whole family. Here we have Topher opening Sophie's gift and Peter opening Phoebe's.

"What is it Topher?"

"A tablecloth."

It's a shirt.

This is Sophie's reaction to receiving a pink sparkly dress.

Phoebe had similar feelings about her overalls and matching scrunchies.

Christmas this year was won by comfy socks and funny shirts.

There were other fun gifts as well.

After a wonderfully peaceful (no bickering, no complaining) morning, we set to work preparing delicious food. We ate so late that we saved the desserts for dinner the next day.

Merry Christmas!