i got a tummy flu and had to leave during our New Moon date night to puke in those nasty movie theater potties.
uggghhhh....
(i was sick BEFORE we left, but didn't think i had anything left to throw up... i was wrong. the professor REALLY wanted to go see the movie since he has read ALL the twilight books. honestly, he practically dragged me from my sick bed and forced me to watch edward tearing off his shirt-- maybe it's because my edward looks better without a shirt... and, by the way, i still like JACOB better. yup i do.)
Saturday i had grand plans for garage clean-up and Christmas deco... and i was sick and crabby.
the professor pulled thru... majorly. he did the garage by himself with the boys AND got all the Christmas stuff down from the attic.
i felt better after spending some time in my bed, re-reading this AMAZING book, Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy by Richard G. Scott. This paragraph just kicked me back where i needed to be...
"Anyone who paints a picture of life as being easy, without challenge, is either dishonest or has not yet encountered the growing experiences that the Lord gives each of His children. They prepare us for happiness in this life and the blessing of dwelling in His presence eternally...I remembered that some days are hard and long, but LIFE IS GOOD.
"To clarify the purpose of growth experiences, Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote: 'No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven." [p190, Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy.]
A couple of the kids got sick too... but, gratefully, they all puked in their buckets and were happy-sick.
The professor went to church with two, i stayed home with four. most took naps. Anna and i spent time crafting... she made a cute nativity pillow and stitched the word REJOICE on the top, and i started a wall-hanging "jingle all the way". it was fun to spend time with her.
when the gang awoke and returned from church, we did the tree.
it was magical.
i surprise myself every year with my tree.
you see, part of me thinks i'm a 'pretty tree' type person.
but, i'm not.
and, i don't even look at my totally kid-decorated tree and cringe.
i LOVE it.
i love that half the lights don't work, even though the professor spent HOURS trying to fix them, and even added strings of lights, that later didn't work.
i love the paper colored ornaments the kids have made in school, the broken ornaments...
i love the 20 gingerbread men on the bottom of the tree-- because leah found the bag of gingerbread men that we made when the boys were younger... she spent an hour arranging them at her height all the while singing, "Run, run, you can't catch me!!"
maybe someday, when i'm grown.
when the professor is out of school and i feel like i have a real life...
maybe then i'll have a pretty christmas tree... i don't know.
maybe i'll surprise myself.
i have two pretty nativities. but, my favorite is the one i let the kids play with because i don't care that it's broken.
i love that they spend all night arranging... with baby Jesus in the center.
ps- i love that leah calls the bells on our tree "tinkerbells" she even sings "Tinker bells, Tinker bells..." funny girl.
pps- we roasted chestnuts... in our oven. just so we could sing about it.
12 comments:
your pictures are beautiful. Do you use a dslr and do you use manual settings or is it on auto?
By the way, I found your page from a friend, Heather Smith and when I saw your husband I realized that I worked with him at Ricks college in the printing press for a few months.
Thanks Jenni... Todd remembers you and says HI. yes, i have a dslr... i try to never use a flash but do shoot in auto most of the time. i've just started using the S or A auto-setting and changing only one thing. i like shooting around 150 or 200. really... i just play and don't know what i'm doing. i keep reading the pioneer woman's blog to learn more... it's slow.
ps- i have a Nikon D-80, love it.
That looked like so much fun. A very, very warm fuzzy sort of post. I felt it. Great pictures. I too, am jealous of your sweet camera. Someday...someday. Love you guys. Hope your doing better tommorow. I'll call and check in on you. XOXO.
I had to chuckle about New Moon and Todd. Casey & I went and saw it yesterday. Great memories & cute kids. Have some very wonderful holidays!
You are a better woman than I am, I would never have attempted tree decorating while feeling so ill. Love the photos. Hope all are merry and bright this holiday season. The kids' school had their Christmas bazaar on Friday, and Tolka keeps thinking Father Christmas is coming any moment now. This could get very old over the next month. Love from soggy England.
P.S. I cannot believe how big they are getting. They look so grown up.
This is so fun, Jen. I love that Todd dragged you out of bed to see New Moon. We haven't read the books but Matt got the first one from a RedBox so we could watch it and I'm actually interested in seeing the second one, though I know the books are always way better. I love how you throw in a little bit of inspiration to help get ME back on track. We've been sick, too, and I spent Thanksgiving at home with Sarah while Matt and the other two went to his parents' house. It all started with Hailey last Sunday- before church, mind you, and went through the whole family. Fun times indeed. The tree looks cute with all the gingerbread on the bottom- kinda looks like our tree- tons on the bottom half and not much on top because I am worried about adding the rest of the glass balls for fear of the kids pulling the tree over AGAIN. I think Sarah will leave it alone now, though, since there aren't any more candy canes to eat :) I hope you get feeling better quickly.
I love reading your blog! It seems like everytime I read it I get a peaceful happy feeling. Or maybe it was because you were talking about christmas...??? The chestnuts do look pretty disgusting!
I have another question for you, how do you get your pictures to post next to each other on your blog? I can't get mine to line up on the same row. Thanks for your help.
never mind, I think I figured it out. Your picture posts have inspired me to take more everyday pictures, thank you.
i don't do anything with the pictures, just keep them small and they line up... i think it's because i have the minima stretch template
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