One Step Report #47

Well, here we are near the end of November, poised on the edge of the Christmas hustle and bustle.  We awoke this morning to several inches of snow.  It’s nice to get enough snow for a beautiful wintry scene although a bitter, driving wind has since scattered it from the trees.  My boys spent much of their day shoveling for neighbors, an elderly couple and some single women in our neighborhood.  It’s nice to have them out serving.


I thoroughly enjoyed the Thanksgiving weekend and am struggling with the idea of getting back in the swing of things tomorrow morning.  Can’t I just keep my kids home like this until January?   I have loved the slow pace and the freedom to do whatever we want.  I really want this Christmas season to be calm and nourishing to our hearts.  I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I’m certainly going to try.

This week’s report:  89 steps.
Highlights:

1.  I spent a great deal of time with this little cutie, helping her master the use of the bathroom.  I’m happy to say that in 8 days she has had only four accidents, day or night.  She’s sleeping in her cute little underwear and doing a great job.  I’m very proud of her.


2.  I got most of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving.  I am NOT a Black Friday shopper.

3.  Because we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I got a lot of little housekeeping things done.  You know, cleaning out this drawer, hanging that thing, etc.

4.  I chose the paint color I’m using to refinish my dining room chairs.  I hope they turn out how I want them to.

5.  Something happened today that tugged at my daughter’s heart.  As I watched, I remembered the same thing happening to me when I was her age.  I remembered how I felt.  It was good to relive those feelings and I hope it helped me respond well to her expression of disappointment.

6.  Still teething, my youngest has had a tough week.  She had a terrible night a day or two ago and I ended up holding her for almost 4 hours.  I feel sorry for her pain and hope that these molars will come in quickly so we can have our happy little girl back.


7.  Yesterday I got my Christmas cards designed.  Now I only need to make 150 of them, and convince my family to get our picture taken together.  Sound fun? (And yes, I know this should have been done a month ago.  Oh well.)

8.  On Friday night I attended a bridal shower for an amazing young woman.  It’s been such a pleasure to watch her grow up.  I came home with a heart full of memories and feelings about my own journey through the stage she’s now in.  Lots to think about.

9.  I figured out how to make something that I’m really excited about, and am hoping to steal a few minutes to complete it.

Tonight we enjoyed a feeling of calm and relaxation as a family, something we relish in this brief season without sports schedules eating up our time.  In fact, it’s a feeling we’ve had a lot over the past 4 days.  I’m trying not to think about the countless tasks that will hit this week.  They’ll still be there in the morning.

I hope that your Thanksgiving holiday was a fantastic one and wish you well in all your activities and plans for December.  I can hardly believe I have only one month left in this One Step journey of mine.   Doesn’t it seem like we just welcomed the year 2010?  It’s hard to believe it will soon belong to the past.

Have a great week!

Jennifer

Last Look: Thanksgiving 2010



Our Thanksgiving celebration this year was wonderful.  Amazingly, it was a bright sunny day in spite of below freezing temperatures.  We were blessed to have three other families join us for the great feast and it went well.  The children (21 in all) played well together and the adults (8 of us) enjoyed great conversation.  The fact that they stayed late into the evening was a good sign that everyone enjoyed themselves.  A successful day like this goes down as the last item on my gratitude list for November 2010.  In typing that, I can’t help but feel like the month began just a week ago!  The season is speeding by.


To accommodate the large group we set up three eating areas.  We used my kitchen table (above), the dining room, and we opened up my husband’s office for a third table just off the kitchen (below).  It worked out perfectly.  My teen-aged nieces and nephews had the honor of listening to my two year old chatter non-stop about anything she could think of.


The dining room was largely overtaken by the girls, with one little brother grabbing the last chair.


My sweet two year old with her gumdrop turkey.


I didn’t get a good picture of all the adults eating because I was busy talking with them, so this picture of several of them serving their food will have to suffice.


A delicious meal, served buffet style.


What a great  bunch!


My girls loved helping me set the tables, and I couldn’t have done it without them.


For the after-dinner entertainment we had the basement set up with the double shot, ping pong and a bucket full of balls to play with.  The upstairs toy room was also available, and we plugged in our Wii for the first time in several months.  The men congregated in the office for conversation and the women visited at the kitchen table.  There was a wonderful feeling in my home, and it felt good.

An unexpected visit from my sister and her husband also brought these awesome cake pop turkeys.  I can hardly believe her creativity.  I love them!  I might also say that because she used a spice cake (I think, am I right Kris?) they were the first cake pops I’ve ever eaten that tasted good and weren’t so sweet that I felt sick to my stomach.  Don’t you love them?  What a treat!


The night got longer, the guests slowly left, a feeling of cozy quiet settled over the house.  We sat in our family room to play and talk with our children while they ate turkey on rolls for a late-night snack.  After having a full house for so many hours the feeling of just the ten of us gathered in one room was precious.


And then, as fast as it came, it was past.    I’m already looking forward to next year.
I love Thanksgiving.

Hopeful Homemaker And a post script for myself, my 2010 gratitude list for the record.

  • 2010 Gratitude List
  • ———————-
  • sunrise
  • color
  • fallen leaves
  • baby hugs
  • children laughing
  • truth
  • forgiveness
  • tree-lined streets
  • fresh baked bread
  • memory
  • friendship
  • light
  • promises kept
  • creativity
  • God’s handiwork
  • eyes to see
  • pumpkins
  • my sewing machine
  • baby clothes
  • history
  • good books
  • blue skies
  • families
  • parchment paper
  • polka dots
  • my baby’s passa
  • texture
  • pattern
  • candles
  • kind words
  • ribbon
  • answers to prayer
  • birthday parties
  • my baby’s smell
  • cell phones
  • sleep
  • a new week
  • art
  • sleeping children
  • learning something new
  • ———————–

Birthday Recap



Wow, is it fun to have a twelve year old daughter!   Just yesterday I was looking at a picture of her at three months, a big smile on her face.  The time has flown by and it’s been so much fun.  Here’s a quick look back at her birthday festivities.


This picture of the birthday girl hugging her two year old sister tugs at my heart.   These two have a special relationship which I hope they manage to keep over the years.  It’s sweet to watch the two year old idolize the older one, and the older one be so loving and patient with the little one.  The same goes for the baby, below.


We had a fun celebration at home and the birthday party for friends was the following day.  We baked sugar cookies in seven different shapes and had a cookie decorating party.  I taught them all how to outline and flood each cookie with royal icing and then we let them loose.




I’ll admit to mild feelings of dismay when our guests turned the decorating tips on each other.


I kept quiet, however, and they had a great time.






I failed to anticipate how much noise twelve year old girls make, even while decorating cookies.  In my mind I pictured a cookie decorating party for some moms a couple of years ago, remembering how quiet we were.  I planned the party for the evening so my husband could take the other 7 upstairs and put them to bed.  In reality it was so loud that even the baby couldn’t sleep and we had a very noisy house for several hours.

Still, the cookies were cute…





…the girls had fun…

…and the birthday girl was happy.


For the record, here are some favorites at age 12:
Favorite song:  You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift Favorite food:  spaghetti Favorite dessert:  apple pie Favorite color:  pink and blue Favorite sport:  soccer and gymnastics Favorite movie:  Man From Snowy River Favorite book she’s read:  Love Comes Softly Series Favorite book she hasn’t read:  Twilight (stole it from Mom and read half) Favorite Shakespeare play:  Twelfth Night Favorite outfit:  jeans and an Aeropostale t-shirt, with a hoodie when cold Favorite dressy outfit:  new green sweater (thanks Grandma!) with black skirt OR gray ruffle skirt, white shirt and silver gray cardigan Favorite piece of jewelry:  jingle bell necklace and bracelet (from a friend) Favorite store:  Aeropostale Favorite friends:  Riley, Jessie, Kelsey, Erica, Sydney (2nd cousin), Savannah, Samantha Favorite class at school:  Theater/Drama Favorite saying:  “Sweet lady, ho ho”  (see above favorite Shakespeare play) AND “Be not afraid of greatness, twas well written…. Some are born great, Some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”  (from same play) Favorite word:  antidisestablishmentarianism Favorite scripture:  1 Nephi 3:7 Favorite snack:  goldfish crackers Favorite candy bar:  3 Musketeers Favorite candy:  chocolate covered cinnamon bears (along with much of the family) Favorite way to do her hair:  pony tail Best thing about being twelve:  graduating from Primary to Young Womens

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