This is far from breaking news.  I actually colored my hair over a month ago.  Well, BJ colored my hair.  Anyways, I have just been super slow in posting a picture.  Probably because I didn’t have a decent one.  I still don’t.  This is an out-of-focus picture taken by the Foof (who can barely heft my huge camera!).  Come to think of it…I think it is time I touched up my roots.  But, regardless.  Here I am.  With dark hair.

Then, for our FHE treat, we ate Oreo moons.  (More on this later…once I upload the pictures from my camera!)  So fun!

These changes have not always created organized bliss in our home though.  Just yesterday, during laundry time, Mae Mae was pestering the Foof.  It didn’t seem to matter how many times I reminded her to worry about herself only and to focus on the task, the pestering continued.  So, in an effort to encourage the girls to focus, I told them that since the Bub was too small to put his own clothes on hangers, whoever finished their laundry last would get to help me put his clothes on hangers.  Well…Mae Mae was the last one finished.  When I told her it was time to do the Bub’s laundry with me, she threw a fit.  Throwing hangers.  Yelling.  You get the picture.  So, I told her that it was not okay to treat me that way.  That she was now responsible for doing his laundry by herself.  Instead of submissively obeying me and accepting her consequence,  she clung to her determination and stormed off to her room.  We had previously made arrangements for her little friend to come over yesterday afternoon.  So, I poked my head into her room and told her how much longer she had before her friend would arrive and let her know that if she had not yet completed her laundry (and now the Bub’s laundry) that her friend would get to play with Missy and the Foof until she had finished her responsibility.  So, she knew the consequence.

What did she do?  She started packing her bags.  She decided to run away.  As she was leaving the house with her sleeping bag and MANY purses/bags filled with stuff, I told her how much I loved her and how much I was going to miss her.  I reminded her that her friend would be over in 15 minutes and then I watched her leave.  I closed the door and watched her walk away until she was just out of my sight, then I called my neighbor and asked her to peek out her window and watch to make sure Mae Mae was okay.  Well, she didn’t even get that far because two minutes later, I saw her walking back towards our house.  She stopped and set up camp in the front yard for awhile before she decided to pack back up and come inside.  I hugged her and told her how glad I was that she decided to come home.  A minute later, her friend arrived.  She knew her consequence.  She finished her laundry.  Then, we baked cookies together and the girls gave each other makeovers.  We had a wonderful afternoon.  I have now officially survived my first runaway child.  So, you see…it has not been all rainbows and roses.  It has been a struggle for our family to adjust.  There are days when I feel discouraged and overwhelmed (today), but I do feel in my heart that this is a good decision for our family.  That some of the best things we can learn right now are to love each other more deeply, to be respectful of everyone (even our family members) and to serve more diligently.

Today, Mae Mae and I unpacked the bags she had packed and put her stuff away.  She had packed: all of her favorite stuffed animals, her sticker collection, the cookbook she got from Grandma Kathy and her Justice Bag full of treasures from Grandma Char, clothes, socks, her coat, pajamas, her wallet (containing $6 and a Buy one-Get one free coupon to Discovery Gateway), ballet shoes, a framed picture of the Bub, her camera and her Book of Mormon.  (At least she was well equipped for her journey!)  I’m glad she decided to come back!

I remember running away as a child.  Only I was not smart enough to go anywhere cool.  I hid in my closet.  It was cramped and very un-fun, but I stayed in there for hours thinking how much everyone would miss me and feel sorry for how mean they had been to me…once they realized I was missing.  In retrospect, I can’t even remember if anyone even noticed I was gone or if I just got sick of sitting in my closet and came out.  But…I sure showed them!

Despite intense hardships and difficulties, the group did complete the trek and created a settlement.  Later, these same words were repeated at a wedding.  Speaking of himself, Bishop Nielson said, “I once hear a very vise ole man give…advice.  It vas given to a company of people travelink in de vilds of da desert, but it be goot advice for two people starting on da journey of life as well….  Remember dis.  ‘Even ven der is no way to go troo, you must go troo.’ ”

What an amazing heritage we have!  Though we are not called upon to pack only those belongings that can fit in a wagon and blast trails through perilous trails and desolate cliffs to settle an untamed wilderness, sometimes we are called upon to things that are difficult.  That are uncomfortable.  That are frustrating.  There are times when the path ahead seems impassable.  But, the Lord will provide a way for us as we go forward in faith even when, according to our understanding, there is no way through.  He knows all things.  We are His children and He loves us.  We must go through.  Even when there is no way.  He provides the way.

Warm wishes to you and your family this holiday season!

This is my attempt at a Christmas letter.  I thought I would give a little update on what we are up to:

In April of this year, BJ earned his Masters of Technology degree.  He got a job working as a quality analyst in Salt Lake City.  He really enjoys his job.  He has also developed a new hobby: building custom computers.  Life got so busy that he didn’t even get a chance to go camping at all this past summer.  You can be sure that he will make up for it this coming summer….

As for me: I have been loving living in civilization!  I think it is safe to say that I am definitely a city girl.  I recently started my photography business up again.  It has been a big effort to get re-established in a new area, but I feel optimistic about the new year and have a lot of plans, including possibly opening a basement studio.  So, stay tuned for that.  Other than photography, I have been keeping busy cleaning, doing laundry, helping with homework, practicing the piano, etc.

Missy is still the responsible older sister.  She loves art and is often creating something amazing.  I think she got that creative gene that somehow skipped right over me.   The other day we were at JoAnn’s and everything I selected, she patiently reminded me that I don’t know what to do with it.  I added some yarn to my cart.  She said, “But Mom…you don’t know how to knit.  Or crochet.”  Then, I selected some fabric.  Very concerned, she said, “But Mom.  You don’t sew.”  When I was picking out buttons, she asked me what I was planning to do with them.  She was very confused.  Rightly so.  Luckily, I have no plans to actually do anything myself with the items I bought.  The yarn will be knitted into hats/wraps for newborn photography…but not by me.  I found someone to make them for me.   The fabric requires no sewing skills at all.  I will simply be stretching it to wrap around newborns during photo sessions.  HaHa.  Anyways, Missy loves having her own room and is very protective of her space.  She makes friends very quickly and is always instigating a fun game or activity.

Mae Mae is a happy and loves to have fun.  She got some ice skates at a yard sale this summer.  She has gone ice skating once so far this winter and cannot wait to go back!  She has endless amounts of energy and really loves to play outside.  Both older girls learned how to ride bikes this summer and spent hours  of every summer day out riding up and down the sidewalks in front of our house.  Mae Mae is a great reader, reading several grade levels above where she is “supposed” to be reading.  She likes to color, create little spaces (forts out of blankets) and is a great helper (when she is in the mood.)

The Foof is our family peacemaker.  She has also been attending speech lessons through the school district and has improved so much.  I still love the few words/sounds she mispronounces just because they are so her, but I am glad that she is doing so well and learning so much.  She looks forward to her weekly half-hour speech lessons all week.  Our Foof is calm and helpful.  She plays well by herself, but loves when she is lucky enough to have a friend over.  I love this little angel girl!

The Bub:  He is funny!  His favorite thing to do is make people laugh.  Dinnertime often turns into a laugh-fest.  He is laid back and happy.  He is great at sharing.  But he is especially good at being mischevious.  He really likes getting into things.  He is loving.  Whenever one of his sisters is sad, he hurries over to give hugs and love.  Though he still only says a handful of words, he understands everything we say and is really aware of what is going on around him.  He is still a big Mommy’s boy and I love it!  (most of the time).

So, that is our crazy family.

We love the Christmas season for what it symbolizes.  We are so thankful that Jesus Christ was born.  We love Him!

We hope you each have a very Merry Christmas!

*Thanks to my amazing sister Holly for the beautiful family portraits* (www.hollybrimhallphotography.com)

Photography – I get my fill of this activity as it is also my job!  But, I do have a lot of ideas in my head that I cannot wait to capture!

Eating – I am a bit of a food snob.  I love good food.  I don’t understand why people waste their calories eating blah food when there are so many yummy things to eat.  Of course, food is especially good if I don’t have to prepare it or clean up afterward

Sleeping – I don’t think I have always loved sleeping as much as I do now.  Maybe it started during college.  And if not college, then surely once I became a Mom.  I dream of going on a vacation where I can sleep as much as I want.  No interruptions.  No guilt. Just sleep until I am so sick of sleeping that I want to get out of bed.  Doesn’t that sound nice?

Shopping – Much to BJ’s dismay, this is one of my favorite activities!  Luckily, I am also pretty frugal by nature (thanks Mom!).  But, I am already anticipating the New Years Day Dillard’s sale and the January Target Toy Deal.  Oh,  and the Daybreak Yard Sale Day.  I have months worth of shopping fun to look forward to

Reading – I haven’t had much time to read lately and I have been missing it!  But, yesterday the girls and I went to the library where I scored and got the book “Undaunted” by Gerald Lund.  All of his books are amazing/inspiring and I am sure this will be no different.  The only problem is that whenever I sit down to read, I immediately fall asleep.  No matter how great the book is.  The same thing happens to me during home movie night.  Hmm….maybe I need to spend a little more time sleeping!

“What?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Sweet. Simple.  Love.  Moments like that make it all worthwhile, don’ they?

Anyways,  I have been thinking about homeschooling lately.  It started when Holly and Sarah decided to start homeschooling.  But since then, I have been reading, studying, discussing, considering, praying, etc.  I am still not totally sure how I feel about it yet.  But, I am thinking about it.  It is a possibility.  For now, I will share a quote I found:

“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail.  It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.  To the contrary, I believe that it would be possible to rob even a healthy beast of prey of its voraciousness, if it were possible, with the aid of a whip, to force the beast to devour continuously, even when not hungry, especially if the food, handed out under such coercion, were to be selected accordingly.”
-Albert Einstein

Interesting, right?  That makes sense to me.  Children are naturally curious.  They need freedom to learn what they want to know.  To study what interests them.  To move ahead when they have mastered a concept….

Anyways, for now I will share a picture from a few weeks ago.  This is BJ’s cute cousin and her husband.  They are expecting their first baby boy.  It makes me feel sentimental.  My baby boy turned 2 last week.  He is so fun and funny and snuggly and happy.  I love the stage he is in right now.  But, I do miss those precious newborn days.  Even though he was so sad.  I just wish I could go back and hold him again.  I remember my Mom telling me that heaven would be holding her babies again.  Now that I am a mother, I agree.  That would be heaven.

When I read her talk, I automatically thought of my children.  In a world that is increasingly more evil, I want them to be able to recognize the promptings of the Spirit in their lives.  Sister Matsumori gives three ideas that we can implement to help others recognize these promptings.

1.  Understanding the Doctrine

Teach the doctrine of the Holy Ghost.  Teach that “the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost comes as members are given that gift by the laying on of hands by those who have the proper authority.”  Further, we must live worthy of the Spirit.  President Eyring described the influence of the Holy Ghost as “peace, hope, and joy.”

2.  Share Personal Testimony

Share testimony regarding the influence of the Holy Ghost, sharing personal experiences.

3.  Provide and Environment Where the Spirit Can Be Felt

“The challenge for each of us is in providing an environment where the Spirit can be felt daily in our homes and weekly at church.  One reason we are encouraged to pray and read the scriptures every single day is that both of these activities invite the Spirit into our homes and into the lives of our family members.”  She then goes on to speak of the importance of quiet pondering.  She said, “Allow [the] still, small voice an opportunity to provide personal revelation and to whisper sweet guidance, reassurance, and comfort to us.”

“When we come to understand the whisperings of the Spirit we will be able to hear Him teach us ‘the peaceable things of the kindgom’ and ‘all things what we should do.’  We will recognize answers to our prayers and know how to live the gospel more fully each day.  We will be guided and protected.”

Today, we had a special stake meeting where Bishop H. David Burton, the presiding Bishop of the church addressed us.  I was home with sick kids, but BJ went and took notes to share with me when he got home.  He said that an appalling percentage of teens, ages 12-18, reported that their parents were the LEAST significant influence in their lives.  That is just scary!  My kids are growing up so fast!  Recently, I have been feeling the need to create stronger family bonds, to increase the influence of family.  There are so many important things we need to teach our children, but one of the most important things we can teach them is how to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit.