I think she liked them...

So I went Christmas shopping for our dog Kali today and got some treats and small toys for her. I left the bag downstairs and left to go out with my sister soon afterwards. Kali doesn't go downstairs unless someone else is there so I told Nate about the bag (he and the kids weren't home at the time either) and didn't think about it, until I got home.

When I got home I walked into my room and found this....


That is what is left of the treat bag that I got Kali.

The plastic bag it was in with the rest of the toys was found in a similar shredded fashion on my bed. So while Kali has shown to be picky about her treats in the past apparently this one is a hit. There were no treats left anywhere and I am glad that I only got a small bag.

So if any of you dog owners are looking for treats that also keep your dogs teeth clean look for this brand- the Filet Mignon Flavor is a hit!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas- Mom Style

I was sent this by email and thought I would share it this way. It has a good message for us mom's who tend to get stressed out- which probably covers all moms at one time or another.

Twas the night before Christmas,
when all thru the abode
Only one creature was stirring,
and she was cleaning the commode.
The children were finally sleeping,
all snug in their beds,
while visions of N-64 & Barbie,
flipped through their heads.
The dad was snoring in front of the TV,
with a half-constructed bicycle propped on his knee.
So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh, "Now what is the matter?"
With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
She descended the stairs, & saw the old man.
He was covered with ashes & soot, which fell with a
shrug, "Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."
"Ho Ho Ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake."
"Your gift was especially difficult to make."
"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "So, I've made you a clone."
"A clone?" she muttered, "What good is that?"
"Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit chat."
Then out walked the clone - The mother's twin,
Same hair, same eyes, same double chin.
"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.
You'll relax, take it easy, watch The Young & The Restless."
"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream has come true!"
"I'll shop, I'll read, I'll sleep a night through!"
From the room above, the youngest did fret.
"Mommy?! Come quickly, I'm scared & I'm wet."
The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," the mom smiled, "She sure knows her part."
The clone changed the small one & hummed her tune,
as she bundled the child in a blanket cocoon.
"You're the best mommy ever. I really love you."
The clone smiled & sighed, "And I love you, too."
The mom frowned & said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal."
That's my child's LOVE she is trying to steal."
Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear,
Only one loving mother is needed here."
The mom kissed her child & tucked her in bed.
"Thank You, Santa, for clearing my head.
I sometimes forget, it won't be very long,
when they'll be too old for my cradle & song."
The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."
With the clone by his side Santa said "Goodnight.
Merry Christmas, dear Mom, You will be all right."

Sometimes we need reminding of what life is all about. Especially at times during the Holiday season, when all we seem to do is clean and bake and shop etc.... So stop for a moment and hug that little one so special, whether he/she is 2 months or 22 years, or even older than that.
For they are the Gift that God gave us in life...and what a gift to be treasured, far above any other!

The Pageant Review

Well, Spencer wants to be an actor. He loved the show and they talked about how they teach acting classes and he wanted to know all about it. If he wants to take classes we can find a place a little closer to home.

Jenna who still wasn't feeling well watched from Nate's lap and found some parts funny but didn't like when the Herdman's started fighting or being aggressive. But as we were leaving she did join in with Spencer to say what parts she did like.

Nate and I thought it was very well done and enjoyable. I brought my camera and asked the kids if they wanted to have their picture taken with any of the cast but they didn't so no photos.

I wondering if we should change our the angel's part in our Christmas pageant "Hey you! A child is born! He's over there! Get moving!" Gladys Herdman who played the angel was the most entertaining of the bunch.

And a bonus for the night- Nate was able to come home first (they told everyone to go home early). So Nate got home and moments later we all got into one car and left again.

Christmas Favorites

Okay Lisa, I have been meaning to do this for a while. Sorry it took me so long to answer to your tag. Here are some of my Christmas favorites or at least the ones that I remember right now.

Favorite Christmas song: I like Angels We Have Heard on High at Christmas but I like lots of them. I always tended to sing or hum Silent Night as a lullaby when putting kids to sleep.

What does your Christmas tree look like: it is a little sad this year. I like the tree- it bigger than our last one but the ornaments are scarce but we did make most of them that are on there. Perhaps I will take a picture later.

When do you start shopping for presents, on black Friday or the day before Christmas? I start shopping as soon as possible. I try to be done by Thanksgiving or the day after and I pretty much was this year but that doesn't always happen.

Favorite Christmas tradition: We now do the Christmas pageant and we have fun with that. It was a lot of fun last year because we were able to include several more actors. The best was Lindsay playing the star- I may need to upload the photo. Growing up we also used to have a night that we had unusual fruit- like star fruit. It was fun to try new things. I can't think of any others at the moment.

Best holiday memory: I remember that there is a church we always pass on the way to my grandma's house. It is in a small town and for Christmas they used to have candles lit all around the church. No need to worry about fire because the candles were set in ice holders that they would make in gallon ice cream buckets I think. It looked really cool. They don't do that anymore - perhaps because it hasn't been cold enough in December for the ice to stay solid. I also like just having fun chatting and playing games with family members.

Fake or real tree: This year it is fake. We tend to get a real one occasionally and then go back to the fake one for a few years.

Favorite Christmas movie: I do agree with Lisa and I like The Santa Clause, and who can deny a Charlie Brown special but the movie Elf has grown on me. I also love White Christmas.

What do you want for Christmas this year? (Imagine Bing Crosby) "I'm wishing for a white Christmas" That one may come true if the snow doesn't melt this weekend. And it would be great if we got a small dusting to make it look all nice and white again.
Can I also wish for a clean house? Ahh, I guess I need to put some elbow grease into that one if I want it to come true. Actually after having Jenna sick for a full week (she is still eating next to nothing and is coughing) I would really love for everyone to be healthy.

Favorite Christmas story: Luke 2, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Anyone else want to share their Christmas favorites?

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Growing up I loved reading this story every year. It just has a good message. This year I had Nate read it to our kids. I think they enjoyed it and tonight we are going to see a play that is based on the book. I think it will be a fun family outing although because of where it is located Nate has to meet us there since he will be coming straight from work. So it will be a family activity but we will be taking two cars. Oh well.

Twigs and Branches

I took the opportunity to finally start my genealogy blog. So now I have a space to share information with those that may want it. While I was the ward family history consultant I was amazed at the amount of information that I have managed to learn from others. At the time I was wanting to do a website to share some of the topics that I was discussing in the classes I was teaching. In fact I have wanted a genealogy website for a long time but was nervous to jump in.

So thanks to my Father-in-law who got the domain name that I wanted and through his and my brother-in-law Rick's help I have jumped in. So if you are interested in the site it is listed to the right or you can go right here.

Cool Web Site

So I was just surfing this morning and discovered the coolest website!

Of course my interest is mainly for genealogy but this is also a cool site for kids state reports.

The website allows you to color counties within the state and create a title and notes and then print them and it is FREE. How fun is that? Well, if you aren't researching your family you may not find too many uses for it but I am excited. Can you tell?

How cool is the internet!

With the internet I was able make shopping easier this year. I always use it to figure out directions. I use to find recipes or any other information.

But for researching genealogy it makes communication and information so much more accessible! The way that Family Search is allowing anyone to help index records is awesome! I have managed to index over 1000 names in just a couple of months- my gift back to the internet world.

This week I realized that a contact I made a few weeks ago was a gold mine of information! I am currently trying to read some German records that are in German script, so Nate can't read them, and is not in a table format and thus is near impossible for me to read.

The contact I made
1) has the same family name in common in the same village that I am researching
2) is from Germany and can read the German script
3) is currently living in Southern California as a German professor which means his English is very good also!

I am going to scan and email copies of the records I need help reading. How fast does the internet make this process! That is so cool. So that is my good news for the week.


The tough news is that I have been home nursing a sick little girl. Jenna has come down with the flu and has such a hard time recuperating. The rest of us have managed to stay functioning and hopefully that will continue. Ee have completed day 3 and she still isn't able to keep food down. But the fever has gone down and we have ruled out Ear infections, Strep and Pneumonia so it will just take time to get better. She has improved since yesterday but we just are not there yet - so she is getting another break from school before her two week break.

It is so hard when your kids are sick. She just isn't herself and she is so tired of being sick but unfortunately there isn't a whole lot anyone can do for her- just sit and wait.

I DO have a girl!

Jenna tends to be a tom-boy. Getting her to wear a dress to church has been a struggle. Forget about barrettes- just combing her hair has resulted in screams. She rarely plays with dolls but prefers cars or animals instead. But things are a-changing!

She started noticing shoes at first. She loves shoe-shopping! It is hard to get her moving once we have started the process of looking for shoes. She walks down the aisle- " I want to try those on, or how about those mom?"

She noticed that she only has one pair of shoes that she wears to school (because those are the ones with her expensive inserts in them). "Mom, the other kids get to wear more than one kind of shoes to school- I want more too!"

She has also started playing with dolls. Animals are still her favorite but she is beginning to collect Polly Pockets and she enjoys those! And at school she often chooses to "play house" with the other girls in her class during their free time.

She has been more willing to wear her dresses to church now too. She even picked out one of her nicer ones to wear last week! Of course, wearing dresses to school is out of the question for her and I don't worry about that (I didn't like to wear dresses to school either).

But the biggest event in her changing attitudes occurred last Wednesday before school when I found her in the bathroom trying to put a ponytail in her own hair! Of course it is a little short for a ponytail but she was willing to let me style her hair and pull part of it back so it stayed out of her face! AMAZING! and there was almost no complaints. She started to change her mind before school but with some minimal distraction she actually kept the binder in all day.

Bonus events have happened everyday since- she has not only had her hair combed and pulled back, but she has let me put in a small french braid and curl it too- also with no complaints. What a hurdle this has been and I am so glad that she has decided it is okay to act a little girlish.

But there will be no rushing out for big bows or ribbons for her hair- she isn't going for anything that fancy but at least the hair that is determined to grow forward into her face (which is most of it!) will be able to be tamed. I hope by writing this I won't jinx the trend.

Now I just need to improve her eating habits -that will take me a while!