A Fond Farewell to 2007

It's hard to believe how quickly time can pass and it's only as you look back on all that has happened in the short space of a year do you truly realize how precious time can be. Our family has been so blessed this year and we are grateful for the time we've had. So, in honor of 2007...here's the Jones family top ten of the year!

1. LINDY TURNS FOUR! Lindy has always been the spice in our family. She continually keeps us on our toes around here. She is often too smart for her parents and provides endless anecdotes which we love to share with family and friends. Our home wouldn't be the same without her. We are grateful for her enthusiasm and her energy, even when we wish it were directed somewhere else at times!

2. AMY VISITS HAWAII! I was extremely fortunate to be able to go on a 15-day cruise with my sister, Jody, and my mom in March. While it was quite surreal a lot of the time, I was so grateful for the experience. We had a lot of fun and even though I missed my husband and my girls dreadfully it was totally worth it! Thanks Jody!

3. UNCLE JEFF FINALLY GRADUATES! It's been a long time coming, but we finally got Jeff, Erin, and the cousins to join us here on the western side of the country. It's hard to believe that he's old enough to be a doctor, but we are all so proud of him and so grateful to have him closer once again.

4. HENINGER FAMILY REUNION! What a blast. Even though we complain that the Heninger Olympics are rigged in favor of the sibling with the most children we still seem to enjoy one another's company enough to get together and do it all over again. The kids had a wonderful time getting acquainted with their cousins and the adults had a great time joking around and sometimes irritating each other. Dad was the only one knocked out of the raft during our white-water experience and in spite of losing his Cabela's hat (which I believe he's replaced already) and a pair of old-fogey blue-blockers I think he had as good a time as the rest of us. Thanks Ian for your expert river guiding and thanks family for the fun. See you in a couple years.

5. UNCLE STEVE VISITS UTAH! It's not often that we are able to pull uncle Steve away from his stint in the military, but we were lucky enough to be able to visit with him for a short while before he left home and country for a new opportunity in England. The girls were completely enamored (particularly Lindy) and it was nice to spend some time with him. We miss you, Steve!

6. FAMILY CAMPING TRIP! We had our first real family camping trip this summer. It was also the first time that I let my girls have free reign of the dirt in the area. No...it was not an easy feat to let my kids get uproariously dirty, but we all survived and had a great time!
7. ELLIE TURNS TWO! Our sweet little Ellie has been such a fun addition to our family. She has been the calm after the storm (yes, we mean Lindy). She rarely gets into trouble only because she seems to do things so innocently. Even when we do get after her for something she usually just says, "Alright, mommy" and stops whatever it is without a fuss. We are particularly grateful that the "terrible two's" haven't caught up to us yet!
8. BIKING IN MOAB! Every year Ian has taken some time away to go on some crazy bking/hiking/camping trip with the boys from the Heninger side. This year was no exception. And, in spite of some slight snoring issues suffered by all, they had a great time and, luckily, no one fell off of a cliff trying to take pictures. Yes, you're right...this was no 2-week cruise to a tropical island but Ian was able to do something he loved and I know that I'm still indebted to him for the Hawaii dealio!
9.UNCLE RICH COMES HOME! We were able to welcome Rich home form this 2-year mission in Denver, Colorado. It's amazing that it's already been two years. Thanks for being such a great example of service and testimony, Richard. We're glad you're back and look forward to seeing you more often!
10. IT'S A BOY! In November we were able to catch a glimpse of our upcoming March/April 2008 baby and find out that we can, in fact, produce a male child. I had some misgivings at first (my mind has been deeply entrenched in "pink" for the last 5 years) but after having a somewhat disturbing view of our future with a teenage Lindy (thanks to the movie "Dan in Real Life") I am back in the saddle and excited to have a less emotional member of the family. I hope. We are all looking forward to "baby brother" joining us this next spring.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year a great one. We are truly grateful for the relationships we share with our family and our friends. It's those connections that make our lives so much fun. We love you and can't wait to see what 2008 has to offer!

And To All a Good Night!

This is officially the first year ever that we've had Christmas with just our little family. I was a little wary at first (I'm a big believer in BIG family Christmases) but I have to say that I truly enjoyed our relaxed holiday. We had all our favorite Christmas traditions: Chinese food (started by the Heninger clan and a hard one to let go of), the reading of the Christmas story, and (my personal favorite) Christmas PJ's! Here we are Christmas Eve modeling our newly acquired bedtime wear:

After the girls went to bed Ian and I spent a nice evening watching a movie and preparing for the next day! The girls slept really well the entire night and we didn't hear from them until 8am the next morning. (Yes, we know that we are blessed and don't necessarily expect it to continue.) Both girls were SO EXCITED to see what Santa had brought for them. There's nothing like having little ones in the house to make an adult remember the excitement of Christmas mornings. 

It was so much fun to see them enjoy this fun holiday. We are so blessed to have such sweet girls in our home. It was a joy to hear Lindy praying (each prayer) to have Heavenly Father bless us to be grateful and express her own gratitude that baby Jesus was born. It sure put things into perspective for Ian and I. So while I was nervous about having such a "small" family Christmas, we were certainly able to fill our home up with a lot of laughter, fun, and love. Merry Christmas to all...!

Cracker Nut Ballet

Our sweet little Lindy has been anxiously looking forward to her "Cracker Nut Recital" (as she so innocently calls it). I literally thought she was going to pee her pants in anticipation. So, here is a snippet of the actual dance that her little class worked on for the parents, grandparents, and siblings alike. Enjoy!

Actually, I Feel Like Crap

I've often wondered...what would happen if we were all perfectly truthful when answering the question, "How are you?" I've been tempted to be sincere many times, but since my parents taught me to be polite I'm afraid I often lie.

It's interesting to note that in other countries/cultures the use of "how are you" is not as indiscriminate as it is in our society. It's only said when the person asking actually cares about the answer. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that no one cares...or even that I actually care a great deal each and every time I ask the question...I'm just saying that sometimes I think I'd prefer the world in which "how are you?" is actually a question, and "actually, I feel like crap" is a valid response.

O Tannenbaum...How Sparse Are Your Branches

I know...it's absolutely insane that as of the 12th of December we still hadn't put up a Christmas tree. We had such grand plans for this year but they didn't come to fruition until Ian finally had a day off work so that we could take care of this vitally important Christmas task.

Thanks to a neighbor we were able to procur a permit to cut down our very own tree. So, Ian used his handy-dandy topo mapping software and GPS thingamabob to plan out the "perfect" route to acquire said tree. We packed up all the cold-weather gear we could muster and drove up Provo canyon, past Deer Creek, through Wallsburg, and then onto a single-lane, snow-covered, scary-as-heck road up into the wilds of the Utah wilderness. In the warmth of the truck it was breathtakingly beautiful. Every branch of every tree was coated in snow and I was thoroughly enjoying myself...until we stepped outside in search of our tree. YIKES! I know that I should be a bit tougher when it comes to cold weather due to my Canadian upbringing, but I'm not. Ian's satellite mapping showed that there were a lot of trees in the area...but they didn't, apparently, differentiate between the aspens and the pines so the pickings were slim. We saw several beauties on the opposite side of an icy creek but very few on our side of the water. While the girls trudged up and down the "road" Ian and I did our best to scout out a little pine tree. A few minutes after scaling a 5-foot embankment Ian shouts down, "I think this one's okay". Since this whale of a pregnant lady was not following anyone up any sort of an embankment and I was pretty sure we were all going to expire from hypothermia I replied, "Great! Let's go!" This is, by far, the least imput I've had on a Christmas tree in our entire married life. A couple minutes later Ian comes down the side of a mountain hauling our tree:

After a little adjusting (it wasn't until we got it home that we realized it was over 12 feet tall) and a little heat (to get rid of the ice stuck on each branch) we were able to set it up in our front room. The house smells oh-so-Christmasy and the girls had a fabulous time decorating it. I'm not sure we'll attempt this venture again until the kids are a little older...but for now we are simply enjoying feeling like we've entered the Christmas season in full swing once and for all!

Mind Like a Steel Trap

You might need the background story for this...
In January of 2006 (yes, nearly 2 years ago), we attempted to join the ranks of pet-owners worldwide. This grand adventure lasted only 4 days. (Keep that in mind: 4 days!)
Over the last 6 months or so Lindy has taken every opportunity to remind us that she misses Zoe and asks repeatedly if we could go visit her. Sometimes she even throws in tears and a little sniffling to add more melodrama to her requests.
So today: Lindy was assigned to give a talk in Primary next week. In the car on the way home I casually ask, "So, Lindy, what do you think you should talk about?" And, of course, she responds, "Why don't we talk about my dog we gave away?"
We're never going to live that one down. We miss you, Zoe!

Dear Santa

Tonight the Jones family celebrated another milestone. It was our first Santa Letter Writing Night. Ellie really didn't do anything but scribble a little on a piece of paper and then try to color my teeth (don't ask because I don't know why). But our little artist, Lindy, was able to produce a fine letter. As you can see, she was quite specific about her Christmas wishes. She's been planning on asking for some rootbeer lipstick for about 11 months now. She kept asking me to buy her some and I kept putting her off by telling her that she'd have to ask Santa at Christmas time. She has a great memory. She also wants a FurReal baby pig. And last, but certainly not least, she asked for a wiggle car. Grandpa and grandma set those wheels in motion over Thanksgiving and now here we are. Luckily Santa has hired some great elves this year who, I'm sure, will help fulfill our 4-year old's wishes. She was beside herself with excitement as we helped her address the envelope, put a stamp on it, and stick it in the mailbox. Isn't childhood grand?

Little Miss Attitude Strikes Again

We are sitting at the dinner table enjoying our time together as a family. The conversation eventually turns to the ever-present drama of our home. (The stage for each day's drama is usually ruled by our oldest daughter with the under-study role reserved for the second-born.) This evening's conversation goes as follows:

Ian: "Well, I think I can safely say I'm the least dramatic of all of us."
Amy: "I wouldn't necessarily say that."
Ian: "Have you seen yourself pregnant?"
Amy: (not one to let this slide) "Oh yeah...have you seen yourself tired or hungry?"
Lindy: (to Ian) "...or married?" (with the same tone as her mother)

So, I can't tell if that's a point for me or Ian. Hmmm...

Temptation

I recently read a story about Heber J. Grant that gave me reason to stop and think. One day Pres. Grant went to his meat cellar to pick a ham that was to be donated to his ward for some type of ward function. It was his policy to always give the best to the Lord. As he began to look over the hams to determine which he might give, he suddenly had the thought that he could give the smallest and poorest ham and no one would really know, or care, for that matter. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he immediately recognized it for what it was and said aloud, as if there was someone there with him, "Shut up Mr. Devil or I'll give 'em two hams!"

Each and every day of my life I'm faced with sometimes little, sometimes big, temptations that put me in the position of choosing sides. I think that most of the time I do okay. But some days it's hard to remember that I've already chosen the side I want to be on. I know that the sneaky jerk wants me to believe that I'm not worth the fight, but I do know better. I know whose daughter I am and I know whose side I'm choosing. All the same, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who wants to shout out loud, "Shut up!"