White Christmas Wisdom

Grant and I discovered a great "new" classic holiday movie -- White Christmas with Bing Crosby. It's new to us only because we've never watched it before, which surprises me because it's one of Grant's mom's favorites. I have to admit, I was expecting a pretty stale "old" movie, but it's really very fun. The dialog was surprisingly witty and humorous, the storyline pretty interesting, and the music was a mixture of super cheesy and wonderful. But even that wasn't too much of a distraction, because with Bing Crosby singing, almost anything sounds fantastic.

My favorite part (so far, anyway -- we haven't quite finished it yet -- it's a long one!) was the song "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," which I've never heard before but just loved. It was a "warm fuzzy" moment for me as I listened to the words and wished I'd grown up knowing that song. I plan to add it to my lullaby repertoire and might even have a vinyl lettering board made up with some of the words to hang over my bed (seriously -- that good!). So here are the lyrics:

“Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” from White Christmas

When I'm worried and I can't sleep,
I count my blessings instead of sheep,
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.

When my bankroll is getting small,
I think of when I had none at all,
and I fall asleep counting my blessings.

I think about a nursery,
And I picture curly heads,
And one by one I count them
As they slumber in their beds.

If you're worried and you can’t sleep,
Just count your blessings instead of sheep,
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings.

If I'm worried and I can’t sleep,
I count my blessings instead of sheep,
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.

If you’re worried and you can't sleep,
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings.

Mother-Son Double Date!

As soon as I discovered that my little boy was a pasta lover, I knew that we had many mommy-son dates to Olive Garden ahead of us! We got to enjoy the first of many such dates today, and not only that, but we got to "double" with our good friends Mary and her son Morgen! Mary's due in just a little over a month and will soon have her hands full with two little boys, so Eliot and I squeezed a quick trip to Portland into our week of trip preparations. We're so glad we did! Mary and I were so proud of our handsome little "dates." They behaved well, ate everything on their plates (and then some!) -- the perfect gentlemen! We hope this will be the first of many such dates . . . even if we have to grab it "to go" and eat at one of our apartments (which we almost did today!).

Mary and her "date" Morgen, and me with my date Eliot,
who looks a little worn out from the big event!

Me and handsome Eliot after our wonderful meal -- a shared plate of
lasagna, yummy bread sticks, and salad
(thanks, Eliot, for eating Mommy's tomatoes!).

Our bibbed boys! I love this picture of Eliot admiring Morgen and his
chocolaty face (after eating both of the mommies' after-dinner Andes
mints!). That's okay, Morgen, I definitely understand that when it
comes to anything mint-chocolate, there's no such thing as enough!

Need something to make you smile?

Second only to my video of Eliot unloading the dryer, this is one of my favorites that can make me smile no matter how many times I watch it. Don't worry, be happy!

O Tannenbaum

I could see myself becoming a tree snob. Ever since we decided to come to Oregon for law school, I knew that at least once I wanted to get a fresh Christmas tree and preferably go cut one down ourselves. Well, my wish came true this last weekend when we went with my mom and dad and got a beautiful fresh tree, the first I've had in years. It's just perfect -- full and green, and the smell -- that smell!! -- is the best part of all. Except maybe the price -- $24 for a six-foot tree! I'm not a tree connoisseur, but my dad assured me that the same tree would cost well over $100 in Utah. And, they let us gather all the bows we wanted. So we decked our halls, set up our tree, and have a house that smells like Christmas! Even though we'll only have it for a couple weeks, it was worth every penny to have the scent, a gorgeous tree to gaze at, and to have the memory of picking out a live tree with our little family!

A view of the tree farm where we found our tree. The weather might not have felt Christmasy since it was sunny and gorgeous, but one whiff of those trees took my right back to every Christmas of my childhood!

My mom and dad were in town for Thanksgiving and got to join in the fun of picking out a fresh tree with us. Dad, who that very morning had tried to talk me out of my "impractical" idea, ended up being one of the most excited ones!

Our little family -- the proud owners of a beautiful six-foot Noble Fir.

Our hand-picked, wonderfully fragrant tree, all set to go with lights, ornaments, a brand new tree skirt (love Costco!).

The family photo in front of the tree. Only took 12 takes to get a good one.

Highly Recommended

It's always fun to try a new restaurant (Who am I kidding, it's just fun to go out to a restaurant these days!). But it's especially fun when you get to go somewhere really nice for a special occasion. Thanks to a good friend's recommendation, Grant and I stumbled upon an amazing place here in Salem where we were able to enjoy a very memorable anniversary dinner. The place is Amadeus Cafe, and I never would have found it on my own. It's on the main floor of an office building (different, huh), but is absolutely gorgeous, as you'll see in the pictures on their website. The food was also very, very good. A little more on the spendy side, but just right for a special occasion.

What I Want Out of Life

One of my heroes is Sister Marjorie Hinckley, the late wife of former President Gordon B. Hinckley of the LDS Church, who also passed away this last year. From all that I observed and have read about Sister Hinckley, she was sincere, warm, humorous, didn't take herself too seriously, gentle, patient, and REAL. She was a dear friend of my mom's mom and is remembered in my family as someone who was thoughtful enough to call my Nana every time general conference rolled around, because she knew my Nana would be missing my Papa at that time (my Papa spent most of his life in service to five of the prophets of the Church as their personal secretary). Some of my favorite words to live by were penned by Sister Hinckley. If I can become the kind of person who does the things she mentions, I think I'll be in good shape (and hopefully in the company of good people like her) when all is said and done. See if these words don't light a desire in you to be a better person as they do for me. Enjoy:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenck's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

~Marjorie Pay Hinckley
November 23, 1911 - April 6, 2004

This Time 6 Years Ago . . .

Grant and I were just leaving the temple after being sealed. It was a beautiful day, and it's been a beautiful life since.

'Tis the Season to be Voting

Just because the official November 4th elections are over, don't think you're done voting yet! Probably one of the most important votes you'll cast this year: College Football Coach of the Year!


I was just looking over an e-mail sent to me by the BYU alumni association, and saw a link that will allow you to vote for Bronco Mendenhall (or whomever you choose...). Right now Bronco's ranked #4 in fan votes for Division 1A ball. Here's the link if you're interested in raising his stats. Before you click (sorry it I'm too late), I should tell you I had a little trouble seeing where to vote right off, so let me save you the trouble and tell you to click on the "Vote Now" link in the middle of the black section right under the leader board.

It's not my business to sway your vote, but I've gotta say I stand behind Bronco. I just really like his style. I think he's cool-headed, extremely effective (look at how well the Cougs are doing, after all!), and I like that he really encourages the team to "stand for something." Everything I read and hear about him, I like.

So it's a vote worth casting.

Oh, how I miss . . .

Our friends in Utah, including Benito and Gabriela, pictured here.
The good ol' Freedom First Ward, where we met Beno and Gabi.
The Blue Iguana restaurant in Salt Lake City, mostly for their amazing chips and salsa, their incredible steak taco salad, and definitely for the awesome live Mariachi on weekend nights.
My blond hair (too much to keep up on these days and I'm too far away from my stylist sis to keep up on the roots).
Being able to go out to dinner, both because we could afford it and didn't have to worry about a babysitter.

See what happens when you find random old pictures on the computer!?

Ingenious idea . . . that I can't take credit for

So I had the chance to host the most practical baby shower ever invented: a freezer meals shower! I definitely can't take credit for the idea -- I got it from one of my visiting teachees -- but with her idea and my borrowed, big kitchen, everything came together perfectly for my friend Mary's baby shower. I think the idea is PERFECT for any mom who's already had one or more babies, especially if they've already had a baby of the same gender. But since Mary's baby, her little Mighty Max, will need extra care when he gets here, this was definitely the right shower to throw in this instance!

Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera during the shower, but Mary's post on her blog is a perfect wrap-up anyway, so I'll let her post give you a visual play-by-play. Mostly I wanted to post the idea for anyone wanting to steer clear of the sometimes hokey shower games and do something a little more practical next time you host a shower for a mommy-to-be. It was a great and pretty feasible shower. Ask me about the logistics -- I'd love to share my new-found knowledge!

Dahlias

I was going through the pictures on our card and found these of some gorgeous flowers Grant surprised me with several weeks ago. I had meant to post them but (obviously!) forgot. Here they are -- brilliant orange dahlias, which are a pretty popular flower in Oregon. A month or so ago they even had a dahlia festival not too far from here, and I wish I would've gone to check it out (next year). There are some varieties that they call "dish plate" dahlias because that's literally how big they are, and they come in all different bright shades! These ones Grant found at a local farmer's market, which was our favorite thing at the end of summer/beginning of fall. Thought this would make a nice post for the stretch of gray/rainy days we've been having. Enjoy.

My Moment of Joy

In a general conference meeting last April, Elder M. Russell Ballard gave a talk in which he specifically addressed the challenges of young mothers. I was so grateful for that talk and grateful that even the highest leaders of the Church are aware of the personal needs and concerns of struggling moms with young children. In his talk, Elder Ballard said this: "Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."

I had such a shining moment of joy and satisfaction the other night. For I don't know how long, I've had the habit of kissing my hand and then putting my hand to Eliot's cheek when I put him down to sleep in his crib. The other night I was surprised and deeply touched when, once I had done that, Eliot put his hand to his mouth and then reached up wanting to touch my face. I leaned down, and sure enough, he put his tiny little hand on my cheek. My eyes welled with tears as the realization of what had just happened sunk in. I was amazed at how much my little boy understands, how he is growing in his capacity to express his feelings. Most importantly, I felt so grateful for that sincere expression of love, because that week had been challenging, exhausting, and frustrating. But all of those feelings vanished with that little small moment of joy.

These moments are the ones that I live for. They are what get me through the long nights when Eliot's teething and the long days of "single parenting" while Grant's fighting his own battles at school. They are what get me through the moments of frustration when Eliot gleefully dips his hand in the toilet when we're already running late to get out the door, the moments of exhaustion when I get to wipe up milk splatters from the sippy cup he's dropped (on purpose, I'm pretty sure) for the umpteenth time. Those smiles, those giggles, those kisses on my cheek make it all worth it.