How can this month almost be gone?? In an effort to not have December fade away into oblivion and forget everything we enjoyed and were fortunate enough to be a part of, I am going to forego trying to get all these pictures in order and skip trying to be creative as I talk about the events of the month. Maybe next year I will do better. :)
We started out the month with a mystery fever and little sniffles. Fortunately it passed quickly and Buddy was very kind to keep Hudson company as he laid in his room until his fever subsided. He is a very intuitive little dog and has always been so good to the kids.
We were happy to try out our new tree that we purchased after Christmas last year. No more pulling out the mammoth tree anymore. Bailee was a bit disappointed to hear that the big tree has been retired but we were thrilled to not be hefting the tree and to not be balancing on ladders and using pulleys over the banister just to get it put together.
Brogan LOVED the decorating process. He was very particular as to where each ornament was placed and how close together or far apart they were.
At the beginning of the month Bailee requested a bookmark from each of us. Judith asked us to condense it to just one bookmark. We too Elena's and Reagan's and elaminated them back to back and sent them off. We all enjoyed creating our bookmarks and we will give her the rest of them when she comes home. :)
Brogan always enjoys his time drawing and creating with Elena.
He continued decorating all month long. I decided maybe we need some kind of advent collection of decorations for Brogan for next year. He tweaked the tree and the decorations in some way every day.
His favorite ornaments were the Bailee ornament and the cow ornament.
Every now and then I would see him give her a kiss or whisper something to her and it tugged its hardest on my heart strings.
We really enjoyed the Light the World campaign and I loved seeing the boys taking on the challenges and coming up with ideas to do together. Our neighbor Wally has always been so good to all these boys. When he was diagnosed with cancer it was good to see these boys really care. They all came together and decided to clean up the leaves in their yard and I loved watching them all whisper to each other and work so quickly and so hard.
I chuckled as they would whisper and then 2 seconds later they would turn on the blower. Then someone would want to say something so they would turn off the blower and whisper again. They wanted so badly for it to be a surprise and they were successful! Wally and Joanne were so touched and so surprised. :)
It was so fun to get to go on a field trip with Hudson this month. We went to the McCaw School of Mines. We rode on a bus to the mines and Hudson was so sweet to sit with me and talk to me the whole time.
On the way back to the school the bus broke down. We ended up on the corner of Eastern and Bonanza. The kids thought it was such a fun adventure! Reagan had her follow up appointment for her gum graft and I had the day planned out just right so I could do everything. Unfortunately I didn't plan for the bus to break down. I called Paul and he was able to come and get me so I could get to Reagan in time to get her to her appointment. By that time Hudson had had enough of me and didn't mind that I didn't finish out the day with him.
As Reagan recovered, we took advantage of that time and we finally got her book published. It has been years in the making and I could not be more in awe of her determination and talent.
I was able to finally get back to my weekly temple trips. What a difference it makes! I am so grateful for Paul and his job and the ability that I have to take this time during the week to recharge and spend time in the House of the Lord. Paul and I were also able to go work a shift in the kitchen and the laundry. I went feeling a bit disappointed that we wouldn't be working together or in a session together, but I left feeling grateful to have been able to spend that much time in the Lord's house and to see even more as to how it is undoubtedly a house of order.
We also got to enjoy some time in the temple with Loryn and Ryan as they were sealed together for time and all eternity. It was a beautiful weekend and we were grateful to be a part of it in our small way.
As much as I hate that Reagan had to have surgery, I am grateful for how she handled it and how well her recovery went. I feel a bit guilty saying that I really enjoyed her time home and I was sad to see her go back to school once she recovered.
These two continue to make me happy and bring a certain peace and calm to my days. Somehow, even though it is work, I enjoy my time in the pens cleaning and mucking out. Even though Apple doesn't seem to be as fond of me as she is of Paul, she really does have a tranquility about her. She and Shadow have become a bit inseparable even if Shadow still likes to get a nibble in here and there.
When they see Paul they always perk up just a little more. He likes to pretend that he doesn't really care, but I know he's got a soft spot for these ladies. We spent some time getting Apple's water lines all winterized and insulated for the cold and they were happy to see Paul a little more.
The primary kiddos were happy to see Paul a little more too. He won husband of the year as he was so willing to be my special guest in primary. The kids have worked so hard on their primary song for Christmas Eve that I promised a fun game if they really got it down. I found this awesome antler/Rudolph/ring toss game and I knew they would love it. Paul volunteered the night before to be the special guest for me and the kids (and teachers) absolutely loved it! I loved getting picture after picture sent to me from all the teachers who snuck out their phones and captured a picture. The kids got such a kick out of it so I know it will be requested in the future.
December got away from us and we had these gingerbread houses all month long just waiting to be done. We brought them to Paragonah with us and got them done just in time for Christmas.
The kids have always loved it and enjoyed doing it altogether but this year there just wasn't really the excitement that we have had in years past. Brogan noticed it almost immediately and looked at me and said, "I miss Bailee's voice." She was always the life of any activity and it just wasn't the same.
We turned on some music but we are all looking forward to next year and having her with us again.
Reagan was my sidekick in the kitchen and we enjoyed making Christmas Eve dinner together.
Buddy has been so pleasant this trip but his legs seem to be getting weaker and weaker. We are hoping it is just the cold weather and that Vegas will warm him back to normal!
We got to decorate when we got here and Brogan was on it once again. We didn't bring our Bailee ornament and he was really upset about that. When we got here the pipes were frozen even though we had turned off the water and flushed them. We have a small leak in the spigot on the back porch and we are thinking that is where the water got in the lines. It took about 4 hours for them to defrost. Normally we turn on the heat (up from 55 degrees) as we pass Cedar, but our wifi was down and had been down since December 1st so we weren't able to turn on the heat. When we got to the house it was 40 degrees inside.
We got busy unloading and decorating and trying to keep warm. Once everything was unloaded it was just a waiting game. Paul had never been here when the pipes were frozen so he was sure that it was something else. He couldn’t really explain what, but he was just shocked it was happening and in a lot of denial. Because I have now been through it 3 times, I kind of feel like I am kind of good at getting those pipes thawed quickly. AND we were all so glad that we had a lot of old water jugs full of water to use for toilet flushing until everything thawed. I knew those jugs would come in handy!! They are all now happily refilled just waiting for the next pipe freeze. We knew right where the freeze was so we set up the space heater in the laundry room and waited. With the house having been built in 1955, I’m pretty sure the insulation is seriously lacking. We keep saying we need to do something about it and then summer comes and life happens and insulation doesn’t happen. (I am so so glad we got Apple’s water line insulated!! The whole situation did make me stop to think a bit about Mary and that night in the stable. We sat down for a bit and talked about their journey to Bethlehem and the whole course of events. We talked about how scared, maybe frustrated, and exhausted Joseph (and probably Mary) must have been. They were so young! I just can’t even imagine the stress and anxiety but no doubt they were also blessed with peace and calm. I think about how frazzled I get in stressful situations. I like to think I am getting better at it, but when I was young and a new mother (or just becoming a new mother) I just can’t even fathom. We didn’t have running water for 4 hours (but we did have drinking water and spare jugs full of water) and I felt out of sorts a bit. It was a bit humbling (maybe very humbling) and it put a lot into perspective for me. I was just grateful for warm clothes, a dry house to snuggle up in, heaters to heat the house back up, and bottled water to tide us over in the meantime. It was neat to sit and talk together with Paul and Reagan and their thoughts, and hear the boys really think it out - what that night in Bethlehem must have been like. It was neat to hear Brogan say that he wanted to be a good person and learn a lot of things to make sure that he could give his wife, “All the comfortable things when she is pregnant so she can be happy and safe.” Hudson sat very quietly and became a tiny bit emotional thinking about it. He talked about how he felt like Joseph must have been so good to be Mary’s husband and that he hoped that one day he could find someone nice like Mary and be good like Jospeph. It turned out to be a blessing that those pipes froze and the house was chilly so we all sat around the space heater -- because of that, we had a great start to the Christmas weekend. I think learning the song, “When Joseph Went to Bethlehem” has really helped the boys think of the birth of the Savior in many different ways. It was nice to slow down a bit and just visit and settle in.
Sacrament was nice and was mostly music. The ward here in Paragonah only had sacrament meeting so we headed home right after. The boys decided to walk and enjoyed a little snowball fight along the way.
Reagan walked as far as the corner and decided that it was chilly enough that the car heater sounded nice. :)
Paul and I feel so incredibly blessed to have a temple in Cedar City and Vegas. Paul got to enjoy his Christmas present and try out his new temple clothes. :) The temple is so beautiful and all the workers were so nice and excited to see it so full. One of the women mentioned that it has been really slow for the last couple of weeks. The session we were on was completely full so hopefully that means things are picking back up. :)
It has been a beautiful break. We miss Bailee but we are grateful for the gift that she is giving us of getting better and doing what she needs to be doing right now. We have our dates set for our first visit and we could not be more excited to see her and hug her and just be with her again! It will be a great start to the new year!!
