Christmas Tree

We sold our fake tree at a yard sale before leaving Tucson. Now I'm having major regrets. Nice, artificial trees are so expensive. We opted to get a real tree this year and so for FHE, we went to Home Depot and picked one out. We won't be home for Christmas so I didn't care about getting a really nice, expensive one. We picked out the cheapest one they carried. With a military discount, it came to a whole $12.50. Despite being so cheap, I think it actually is a pretty nice tree. We enjoyed decorating at as a family and Eric and Erin each took turns playing Christmas carols as we decorated.

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Florida

We've decided to escape the cold and go to Florida for Christmas.  We haven't been to Florida for Christmas in many years.  Mario and I are big on being at home for Christmas especially since we still have young kids.  But Mario's little brother, Alex, is getting married the week of Christmas and Mario planned to go.  I didn't think it was quite fair for him to escape the Nebraska winter without me.  So I talked him into taking the whole family.  The 3 younger kids and I will go for 2 weeks and Mario and Eric for 8 days.  We are all excited to see our extended family and to THAW out.

Thanksgiving

Grandpa came to visit this Thanksgiving.   On Wednesday, we all went to the Trail Center and took a shortened tour upstairs and then went to the basement where they have a huge gingerbread display.  The wards in the area ask members to decorate gingerbread houses so they can display them at the Trail Center.  Then they invite schools and families to come see all the houses.  It was quite an impressive display.  After visiting the Trail Center, we went to the zoo.

 After our big Thanksgiving dinner and nap on Thanksgiving, we taught Grandpa and the twins how to play Settlers of Catan.  The twins are hooked and want to play daily.  I am impressed with how fast they learned the game. It was a great visit with Grandpa.  We are all so glad he was able to come.

Trail Center

Made by Papillion YW and leaders

Houses twins made in Cub Scouts

Table full of houses made by Mario's co-worker

Zoo

Hanging Christmas Lights

Home Depot Gingerbread House with Grandpa

Game of Chess, they haven't played together in over 20 years

Jingle Bells

The boys started piano lessons a few months ago.  They take from our neighbor, Elaine Stoner.  They aren't super thrilled about taking lessons but today they both came home very excited to play Jingle Bells for the family.

Stake Conference

I think the adult session of Stake Conference is my favorite.  Last night, our stake was blessed to have Elder Snow visit.  Some favorite highlights from last night's talks:

The Stake Relief Society President spoke on the Atonement.  My favorite part was, "All that is unfair in life will be made right thru the Atonement."   She quoted Mosiah 24:15

And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

A member of the Stake Presidency talked about how sacrifice is an eternal principle but we are not to sacrifice our families or employment for our callings.  Our first calling is to our spouse and then to our children.  He said we need to focus more on our families and use the church to help support our families.

The mission president spoke about how the church has received 14,000 new applications for new missionaries since the age change just last month.  He urged members to consider allowing the missionaries to come live in their homes.  I am assuming that's not an option for our family since I have a teenage daughter.  But I'm sure Mario and I would be willing when our children are all grown.

The mission president's wife spoke about making sure others know that we have a testimony of Christ. Do our children know that we are certain by our countenance, by the things we say, etc?

Elder Snow was awesome.  He spoke for a few minutes and then opened the meeting up to questions.  He didn't put any stipulations on the questions.  Most people asked about the new missionary age.  One mother asked Elder Snow for advice on raising kids today.  I can't remember what prophet he quoted but he said if we will do these 4 things, we have a greater chance of having our children make good decisions.  But  every child has his/her free agency, these 4 things just help increase the chances.
1.  Family Prayer
2.  Family Home Evening
3.  Family Scripture Study
4.  Worthwhile Family Activities

Elder Snow shared in President Hinckley and President Monson's optimism for the future.  He said, "We already know who's team wins and the best is yet to come."  He reminded us of Good-Better-Best and to keep our lives in balance.

Mario and I wanted to go out for ice cream after the conference, but a thunderstorm was developing so we decided to head home instead.  Erin surprised us with a very clean house and Eric had played with the twins until bedtime.  What great big kids I have!  The younger ones aren't too bad either!

Now we get to enjoy Stake Conference today at 10.  But there's a small possibility of snow this morning so my boys are already outside enjoying using their sled on the deck that is covered in ice.  I may have a hard time getting them in church clothes in an hour if it really does start snowing.  Can you tell we just came from Arizona?  I am looking forward to spring already!  But yesterday was in the 70's and absolutely beautiful.

Election

Well, I am extremely sad to see that there will be no Mormon in the White House this January.  We not only lost the presidential election, but the liberals were able to advance their social agendas this year.  Eric and Zachary have taken a keen interest in the election and have been following along.  Eric has always liked politics, economics, etc so that isn't surprising.  I enjoy watching election coverage with him.  He pretty much knows as much or maybe more than I do.    So he doesn't ask many questions.  Zach, on the other hand, is brand new to politics and so trying to explain the electoral college to an 8 year-old has been a challenge.  I had to run kids back and forth to activities last night and I was getting aggravated that I couldn't just sit down and watch the election coverage.  When I finally did sit down, I got irritated with Zach for asking a question about the election every two seconds.  Mario took notice and instead of telling me how wrong I was, (which is what I deserved) he took the boys aside and played a game with them.  Zach didn't want to go to bed last night without knowing who won.  But of course, we thought it would be a really long night and we wouldn't know until possibly the next day.  So I made him go to bed.  Mario, Eric, and I went to bed at 10 pm when it was looking pretty dismal for Romney.  Within 20 minutes of climbing into bed, I got texts from both my brothers telling me it was over.   First question from Zach this morning was, "Who won?"  He was so disappointed with my response. But a few minutes later he told me that he would be the first Mormon President.  Who knows...I have never met a kid that is a harder worker and gives more service to his family.  He'd make a great president one day....and he's Hispanic.  I'm thinking it's going to take a minority to win back the White House in the future.

As I reflect this morning on what this election means, it makes me really sad.  Not sad for me, but for my 4 children.  I already know where I stand with social and economic issues.  But for them, if they hold the same values as Mario and I, they will probably live most of their lives in the minority.  Our country has gone so far to the left, that I just don't see it ever turning around.  Maybe that's pessimistic of me, but I just don't see these social issues moving towards the right ever again.  I guess I really shouldn't be surprised with the election results.  I think our church leaders have been preparing us for these days for a long time.  When I reflect on statements they've made in the past (like Family Proclamation),  it just strengthens my testimony.  They really are inspired.  For me right now, I am grateful to live in a conservative state.  All 3 of the kids' schools voted for Romney and not by a slight margin, by a landslide.  So I know that there are kids out there that have the same values as my kids right now.  I also know that as long as my kids stay faithful in the church, they will always have friends with the same values.  So that brings me great comfort on this gloomy day.

Halloween, Teeth, Driving, and Showers

It's been a busy week. It started with a trip to orthodontist for Nate. He has a small mouth so we knew he'd need braces. Turns out he has cross bite, overbite, and crowding. They wanted to start treating him immediately. Fortunately his cub master is an ortho for the military and he assured us there is no rush to get him started. He's only 8. But we will have some baby teeth extracted to make some room for adult teeth to come in properly.

Saturday, we attended the ward Halloween party. It was a lot of fun and they even had a band made up of members of the ward that have been playing together like 20 years. They keep getting stationed together. I was handing out Halloween candy when a box of milk duds tempted me. I haven't had one in years. I don't normally eat sticky candy but they looked good. One bite down and I knew something was wrong. Pulled out the candy and thought saw what looked like a tooth. I freaked out until I realized it was a crown and not a whole tooth. So I had to go all weekend trying to keep the crown in temporarily until the dentist could cement it back in. While cementing that crown, he noticed I had a crack in a really old filling and said that I needed a crown for that tooth also. I feel like I get a crown a year.

Monday, Eric and I started officially volunteering at the hospital. I work 8-noon and Eric works 4-7 pm with the other teens. Probably the youngest volunteer in my shift, besides me, is about 70. Most seem to have lost their spouses and looking for a way to pass the time. I am only in training so I don't know where I will be permanently assigned yet. But I worked the desk out front of surgery. We are the liaison between the nurses and the patients' family. I sat in a chair for 4 hours. I can see why some elderly enjoy sitting for so long, but I need a more active job. The coordinator said she'll probably put me down at the welcome center. Eric liked it but said he will have to interact and visit with patients and that makes him a little uncomfortable. I guess it will prepare him for a mission.

In Erin news, she cracked me up last night. We all went to bed around 9. About 10:30, I heard her go in the bathroom. Then I heard her in the shower. I waited a long time for the shower to stop and then went and knocked on the door to see why she was up and showered. She told me she was getting ready for school. I told her the time and she thought I was losing my mind. But then she realized that it was true, she felt like she had only an hour's worth of sleep. Poor girl. This morning she apologized for waking me last night. She's not sure if she dreamt her alarm went off or she was sleepwalking.

Living in Nebraska has some benefits when you are 15. Eric was able to get a school permit which allows him to drive back and forth to school. Today he found out the permit allows him to drive to seminary too. So my life got a lot easier. Mario was driving the truck everyday to work but now Eric takes it to school. So Mario is on the lookout for another truck.

I'm trying desperately to think of a good Zach story since I mentioned the rest of the kids in this blog. But I'm having a hard time thinking up anything at the moment. All I can think of is how frustrated he gets with Nathan sometimes for worrying about him so much. Zach is a risk taker and Nate is not normally. So Zach petting a dog that he was once told bites, freaks Nate out. Now that I think about it, I guess it should freak me out too. I adore Zach. He has such a kind heart.

Looks like Mario will get a break from our Nebraska winter and head to Florida fora couple days after Christmas. His brother, Alex is getting married in the Orlando Temple. If its below freezing while he's gone, I will never let him live it down that he left us here in Nebraska to freeze. Seriously,that is exciting news for Alex.

Best news of the week, I ran 2.5 miles straight on my treadmill. I'm making progress. I love putting my headphones on and singing my heart out while running. My family only wishes I knew how to sing.