blessings

How is it a new week already? I have three posts I started throughout the week and never got around to finishing. This week has been busy with holiday festivity. Cookie plates and Christmas cards are ready for delivery. The evenings ahead will be occupied with laundry and wrapping paper. And then we are off to Nevada. I've worked hard to not completely neglect Grace and Grant in the process of getting things done. We made sugar cookies (pictured above). We picnick lunched almost everyday. The crowning quote of the week came from Grace. We were laying on a blanket in the backyard grass. She had her head in my lap, string cheese in hand, and said, "Mom, this is the best." I agree, it was. This week I'm also grateful for:

• My time as a full time missionary. We went to the Mesa Temple tonight to see the lights. As we walked around the different nativity displays, we heard music and quotes from the Luke II video. I spent two Christmases as a missionary. Cori spent three. Hearing that video brought back vivid and warm memories and feelings for both of us.
• The brave people who have protected and continue to protect our freedom. Pearl Harbor has been on my mind this week. (Dec 7th, and all)
• The lovely mail that comes this time of year. Isn't it wonderful to open the mail box to something other than adds and bills?
• Our babysitting co-op. Though it is a bit crazy when it is our turn (13 kids ages 6 and under) we have a month of free babysitting. We keep Eden with us, and have really enjoyed our Friday nights as a threesome.

picnicking in december

a little reminder

Cori and I started collecting nativities the winter we got engaged. We have been gifted a few from my parents' travels as well as from Cori's mom's crafting excellence. Of course, they get set up around the house come this time of year. On Saturday we were busy cleaning. At one point I noticed that the nativities with multiple pieces (and that were in arms' reach) had all been rearranged by Gracie and Grant. When we first set them out, all the sheep, wise men, shepherds, etc. were spread out and arranged to show all the figures like a picture. But the kids found more appropriate placement. All the figures are circled around and focused on the Christ child. It made me smile, and then reflect. Amidst the craziness of trying to get a million things checked off my list this weekend it was a good reminder about what I should have my heart focused on.

blessings

Reading Christmas stories and eating snacks by the fire. Yes, it actually got chilly enough the other night to warrant turning the fireplace on. We even turned on the heater once. (It is a good thing we don't need it often though, because we discovered it isn't working properly.) Other nights, I get the fire going just because I want to. 'Tis the season! I'm so glad! This week, I'm also grateful for:

• Cori who is happy to sit and do stuff like this when he gets home from work.
• The First Presidency Christmas Devotional tonight. It is one of my favorite things about the holiday. I'm so glad we can watch it on our TV rather than hauling the kids back to church right around dinner time.
• More sleep these days. Eden has started occasionally sleeping through the night. (Is that a choir of angels I hear singing?) Though the exercise time I had just worked into our schedule needs adjusting again, I'm glad to be moving into this next developmental chapter with our baby.
• December! Music on. Decorations up. Travel planned. This time of year always feels the same kind of wonderful to me- even this year under the palm trees in Phoenix.

the grand canyon: south rim drive

Here are a few pictures from our drive of the Grand Canyon's south rim. It was a cold and blustery day. We hadn't been there more than an hour when the skies went completely gray. It was still breathtaking. Seriously. I was kind of surprised at how amazing this canyon is. Everyone knows it is a big deal. But when I reached the precipice of the first viewpoint I had one of those moments where the rest of the world goes still. And then I thought of Abraham considering the nothingness of man. And then Eden started fussing. The poignant moments of parenthood are so brief. :)

We spent a bit of time at the visitor center at the south rim's west side. Then we drove east stopping at viewpoints along the way. After a little while, we kept Eden in the car and took turns walking about with the older kids at the different stops. It was pretty cold and windy.


The last stop on the east side of the south rim is the historic Desert View Watchtower. It was built in the 1930's right on the edge of a cliff and offers some impressively acrophobic views.



We're looking forward to visiting again- perhaps on a clearer, warmer day. And we definitely plan to venture up to the north rim sometime. We're happy that the canyon is on our way to Utah!

thanksgiving

We traveled to snowy Utah County for Thanksgiving this year. It had been a few years since our last Thanksgiving with family and so we were excited to be close enough to make the trip.

The original plan was to make it a 4 day drive and get a few more stamps in the kids' National Parks passports. All the storms that blew through changed our plan pretty quickly. But we did get to drive the south rim of the Grand Canyon before the snow started falling.

Despite our foresight in pushing through our original itinerary to get straight to Grandma's house, we got snowed into Beaver. They closed the I-15 and traffic piled up quick. We got a room as fast as we could- the 'no vacancy' signs were flashing up all over- and had a smorgasbord of car snacks for dinner. The roads were clear come morning and the rest of our drive was quick.

Once at Grandma Sandy and Papa Ray's house the kids were perpetually entertained. The Tinkertoys and Marbleworks were very popular this year with all the grandkids. The snow too. I remembered to pack everyone's swimsuit for the hot tub, but did we bring any snow clothes? Phoenix has already skewed my sense of reality. Our kids would not be deterred, Grant especially. Coats from home and everything else from around Grandma's house were enough for snowmen and sledding.

Our dinner was amazing as always. Cori and I got let off the hook big time as all the food assignments had been made without us. We had fun helping out where we could around the kitchen and really enjoyed eating everyone's grub. The kids made table decorations with Grandma the night before.

We went over to BYU the day after to see the Karl Bloch exhibit at the Museum of Art. Such an experience! I hope to blog more about it.

At night we got the kids in bed and then we got the games out. The big kids (adults) stayed up so very late every night. It was loads of fun. The little kids had a great time too. We loved being all together. Thanks again Grandma Sandy and Papa Ray for hosting all 20 something of us!

grace at the beach: november 2006