The Twelve Blessings of Christmas

We have been so blessed this Christmas season. I started pondering just how blessed we were and got to thinking that I could number the blessings, from 12 down to 1, just like in the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Part of the reason I wanted to post this is to publicly recognize how good and gracious the Lord is in our lives. Another reason is so that I will remember, when the winter is bleak, the trials are many and the blessings are scanty, that there are seasons of bounty and overabundance. This was one of those seasons. Here is my list of blessings:

12: The number of treats and notes delivered by our "Secret Elves."
We had a dear family (and we suspect we know who) who delivered a treat and a note each night. The note stated, "The words of the prophets help us know what to do, on this day of Christmas we leave for you..." then listed a prophet and a quote about Christmas or service. We had quotes from Thomas S. Monson down to Lorenzo Snow, then Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful reminder that Christmas is a time for reflecting on our spiritual gifts as well as temporal ones.

13: (11 + 2... I couldn't think of one just with 11) The number of people around my cousin's kitchen table when she invited us for a Christmas dinner.
We so enjoyed our visit to the Cross's house and their delicious dinner they made for us the Sunday before Christmas. Our kids got along famously, like they'd been friends for ages instead of just seeing each other a time or two at family functions. And we had a good laugh when James said, "Do you remember the year church was on a Sunday?" (He meant Christmas... but we laughed at the slip and teased him all night.) We will have to get together more often!

10: Different kinds of dishes prepared for our Christmas Eve feast.
Our family has a fun tradition: I cook an "all request" dinner for Christmas Eve. Everyone can request anything they want to eat. We have so much food that it spills over into Christmas day (which means less cooking that day). I love to cook and I'm glad the kids have a chance to enjoy their favorite treats. This year included hot dogs, bacon, tacos, angel food cake, etc.

9: Packages of new socks and underwear received for Christmas.
Hey, new socks! What could be better or more comfy!

8: New dinner plates. 
James was sweet and got me a beautiful set of plates that are pretty but not heavy, and will not warp like our current plastic ones. He is always good to listen to my wishes and try to fulfill them.

7: Number of family members, employers, and good people who gave us money for Christmas. 
I'm not bragging, but I'd like to mention this because it points to how generous and kind people truly are. We had our employers give us $100 bonuses, and family members (and one anonymous person) who gave us from $100 to much more. I think sometimes we don't deserve such good people in our lives! But I pray they will be blessed for their generosity as much as we were blessed by receiving it.

6: New board games received.
We love board games and with six new ones to try, we'll have hours of family time together! Plus we plan to invite friends over to enjoy the games with us, too.

5: New pajamas made by Mom.
I found some super-soft fleece and sewed up pajama pants. The coolest thing was each pajama top was a Lantern Corps shirt! We had a Yellow Lantern (Sinestro corps), Indigo Lantern, two Purple Lanterns (Star Sapphire), and an Orange Lantern.

4: Secret Santas!
I will admit, the first time that someone showed up on our doorstep and explained they wanted to help our Christmas by donating stuff to us, we were kind of upset. We aren't needy. We had plenty of gifts for each child. And some of the things dropped off were just not needed--we already had some or we had no room for it. But we acquiesced and accepted the gifts in the spirit they were given. And later more things were dropped off anonymously on our doorstep. Even on Christmas Eve, a new kick scooter with a ribbon and note attached appeared at the front door. Who does this? Who gives so abundantly without wanting the credit? And why were we picked to be receivers of such bounty?
     As I pondered on why we were "picked," I came to the conclusion that our Heavenly Father is like us, as parents, at Christmastime. We give our kids things because our love knows no bounds, and even if they have plenty, we still want to give them more. We shower with gifts because our love is not based on them deserving it or earning it... it is abundant just because of our relationship. Love isn't measured in gifts, but it can be one way of expressing it concretely. So this Christmas I got the message--my family is loved. :)

3: Sets of Grandparents who spoiled us. 
From "Grammy" who lives just blocks away, to my parents and James' parents who live in different states, each grandparent took special care this year to send their love, gifts cards, money, and more. We have the best in all of Grandparentdom!

2: Kids throwing up on Christmas.
Yeah, not exactly a blessing... especially at 3:30 a.m. But it did make Christmas day more quiet and toned down, leading us to simply enjoy many quiet hours together.

1. A very generous Great Aunt and Uncle.
James' Aunt Wally and Uncle Tim have taken special care of us for Christmas, and the kids are so blessed! They received new, stylish outfits, watches, books, candy and more. We just don't know what to say about their goodness to us!

This is far from a complete list of blessings. There were also three hams, a turkey, a loaf of bread, fudge, homemade candy, a restaurant gift card from our landlords... sheesh! As I said, the generosity was beyond what we ever expected or deserved. But I felt I needed to recognize those who gave to us, whether by saying a kind word, dropping off a treat or sending a card, or anonymously giving items. I can't believe Christmas has now come and gone, but the beauty of this season will remain a warm and glowing memory in my heart.

Highlights from this year

In looking back at this year, I realize that a lot of cool things have happened... none of which have appeared on my blog. How does time go by so quickly? I have put a lot of pictures on Facebook, so if you'd like more pictures, you can check out the links at the end of the post. Otherwise, I will give a very short synopsis of fun things our family has done.

Birthdays

Yes, part of the reason I have a blog is just so I can show what birthday cakes I decorate each year. I put a lot of work into those cakes! But this year there was an exception: Jimmy just wanted peach cobbler for his birthday. No decorating required... and the picture I took didn't look great, either, so I won't put it here. But here are a couple of other cakes:

Sam loves llamas... no one knows why. But I made him a llama cake anyway. 

He looks pretty happy about that llama! He turned 13 this year.

Abby loves My Little Pony. This cake shows a scene with a pony in a hot air balloon and a pony near a barn.

Abby turned 10 this year! My little girl is getting so grown up!

Jim loves to eat... and especially loves to eat rolls. So I got him two dozen of these huge rolls for his birthday. He ate one dozen all on his own. He is 15 this year. 

 Augie hasn't had his birthday yet... it's coming up in November. He will be baptized Nov. 30 so we are excited for that! It's a big milestone for him. 

Fun Stuff

In February Abby went on a special Daddy-Daughter Date at our local Chick-fil-a restaurant. She got all dressed up and they went and ate chicken, then they got to ride in a limo! It was a very cool event. Here are some pictures. 

Ready for her big night.

Daddy Daughter date night... all ready to go!

A fancy stretch Hummer limo... pretty cool!

Abby exits the limo. She was given a rose this evening as well. 

This was the year Sam turned into a thespian. He loves acting and he was in three plays this year: The Princess Bride (a reader's theater), Twelfth Night (performed by his 7th grade class), and Alice in Wonderland (a production of Idaho Falls Youth Arts Centre). 

In The Princess Bride, Sam had a narrator's role. He had to memorize nearly all the play and know when actors came in and out. He did a great job, and enjoyed working with Doyle Jenkins as the director and with the small cast. It was a fun night to watch. 

Westly and Princess Buttercup are in front, and Sam is in back as the narrator. He also played the part of the Archdean. You know, "Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us together today."

Sam got the role of Malvolio in Twelfth Night. If you're familiar with Shakespeare, this is a comedy play and Sam's role was pretty comedic. He's an uptight butler/servant who gets tricked into thinking his Lady is in love with him, and he shows up in crazy yellow socks and acts outside his rank, then gets put in prison. He was a good sport and loved the role he played. 

Malvolio speaks with Feste the fool and Olivia, his lady.

Malvolio reads a letter conveniently dropped in his path, making him think his lady is interested in raising him from his station and desires to love him.

And now he's  in jail. See the yellow stockings?

The cast gathers at the end of the play. The class painted their own set.

Sam was pleased to get a scholarship to participate in Alice in Wonderland. His try outs were in May, and the play was performed in a two-week crash course Summer Theater Camp in July. He was selected to play Cheshire Cat #1, which is a narrator-like role. But the play is a musical, too, so singing and dancing were a key part of his role. He learned about 15 different songs or reprises and was on stage the whole time. He had two counterpart Cats who also narrated. He was chosen for this role because of his great ability to memorize. He was so worn out at the end of two weeks! But the play was amazing, colorful, fun and well put together. We had a great time watching it.

Sam is the Cheshire cat's head, the girl in pink is the body, and the girl in yellow is the tail. 

One of the singing and dancing numbers, "Caucus Race."

The cat narrated and so had a bench to sit up on stage during the play. They did a great job!

School Highlights

The kids really enjoy going to Taylor's Crossing Charter School. They have some fun opportunities there. Here are a few of the things they did.

Abby did an "Idaho Hero" report on Beaver Dick. She dressed as his wife, Jenny, a Shoshone Indian. She wrote a book about his life and made a diorama, then read the book and explained facts about his life to an audience.

Sam was selected as Citizen of the Month in March. Here his 7th grade teacher and the principal congratulate him. It was a great honor for him and showed a lot of progress through the year. 

Jim performed his final dance routine at the end of the year. They aren't offering a dance class this year, so I'm glad he took the opportunity to learn dance while he could. He did a great job memorizing dance steps and working with the girls. This routine was called "Hit the Road Jack," and their dance class won an award at a local competition for Most Creative Routine. (Jim is, of course, the tall gangly one on the right.)

This is the first day of school for 2013-2014. Jim is in 10th grade, Sam in 8th, Abby in 5th, and Augie in second grade. 

Random Pictures

We saw a lot of the Johnson side of the family this year, between my dad's 75th birthday celebration in April, a family reunion in June and another reunion in August. Here is what the kids did after the birthday celebration for Grandpa. They convinced him to take them for a ride on the "mule." I think there were 7 people on the ride!

 Sam is holding Jace and they went for a ride with Grandpa.

 Augie is eating his favorite ice cream flavor, Playdough. :)

Here is Augie at the Museum of Idaho. They had a merry-go-round exhibit and he is on this special elephant seat from a classic carousel ride, almost 100 years old. 

This is a quick picture of Jimmy's Eagle Scout project. He coordinated a team of volunteers to come and shovel and wheelbarrow 4 semi truck loads of bark into the new swing set play area at the school. It was a lot of work! It was hot and tiring but he showed great skill and had wonderful volunteers.

And this is just a hilarious picture... Abby love mustaches! And rabbits! And she dressed up as... uh... something! She's a character.

For more pictures, here are some links to Facebook:
Summer fun: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201725345876058.1073741828.1252916618&type=1&l=ed613abe24

Anniversary trip: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201518447263722.1073741827.1252916618&type=1&l=17f9c944fc

Spring: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201518212657857.1073741825.1252916618&type=1&l=ec409cc9c3