Christmas Morning

Christmas School Program

The lighting at the school is great for taking pictures. Not! At least I was there and watched my children perform.

Santa Comes to Visit

At a friend's Christmas party, Santa came to visit. Benjamin was upset when he showed up and we had to take him aside to find out why. He told us he was upset because he didn't think Santa was real (he figured it out a few years ago, but is still surprised on Christmas morning) and he really wanted to ask Santa to bring things for his brother and sister so they could have a good Christmas morning. I love how thoughtful he is becoming and what a generous attitude he expressed at this event. We had been experiencing some financial challenges last year and there was a time when we weren't sure if we could afford Christmas at all. Apparently, Benjamin had noticed and was trying to let us know he had noticed. Fortunately, by the time we attended this party things had turned around and were getting better. We were able to assure Benjamin that Santa would be able to bring presents for all of our children and we appreciated his attitude and expression of love towards his siblings.

Temple Square Lights

We love to go to Temple Square to see the lights. However, we do not enjoy the crowds that come with such visits so we went on a Sunday last year instead of Friday or Saturday. We had such a nice time! We were able to see everything without climbing over and around a ton of other people. The lights came on while we were there because we arrived just early enough for them to still be off when we starting walking around Temple Square. I think we will be going on Sunday from now on.

Journey Through Bethlehem

Parent Teacher Conferences

We had the first of our annual parent teacher conferences last night. The first of what I like to call our ''parenting reviews." For the last several years parent teach conferences have usually followed this pattern: "Your child is doing really well academically, but they are struggling with this behavior or social issue. Have you taught them how to cope with or correct this? Have you tried this technique or opportunity? Have you taught them why the behavior needs to change?" The answer is almost always, "Yes" which makes the situation more frustrating because we are trying the teach the correct things and provide opportunities for growth and learning without seeing evidence of the growth and learning happening. The teachers are usually very polite about it, but as a parent it is tough to hear someone else say what you already know to be true.

Last night, there was none of that. Both teachers told us how our children were using and developing coping strategies in their classrooms. Bekah, who loves to talk, asked her teacher if she could be moved away from her peers so she could focus better and be less inclined to talk. Benjamin's teacher told us that he was taking breaks away from others when he was starting to feel emotional or upset about something, and that he was communicating those feelings to her in an acceptable manner. School continues to be challenging, at least socially, for our children but they are doing well overall. And, I finally felt like I passed parent teach conferences as well.

Conversations with Heavenly Father

Ryan, who is nearly 4, has expanded is prayers as of late. Instead of the typical "thank you for the day, food, fun, etc." and "please bless us to....." Ryan has started thanking Heavenly Father for the day by telling Him about his favorite part of the day and then he asks for something that is important to him. It is really sweet to listen to and has been a good teaching opportunity for our family. His sweet example has taught us the importance of having conversations with our Heavenly Father instead of just listing things we are thankful for or stand in need of. I love listening to his prayers each day.

Football Sisters

We had quite the group of sisters at last year's championship (3rd grade) football game. These girls and several others cheered on their brothers every game of the season and even helped keep them watered and cool on many occasions. Love these girls!

General Conference

In view of the fact that General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is this coming Saturday and Sunday, I thought I would share the pictures from last October conference. Since we live in Utah, I want to take my children to a General Conference session as soon as they are old enough. Last year, Benjamin turned eight and had to wait until the October conference to go. We were fortunate to get tickets and so just the two of us went to the Sunday afternoon session of conference.