Who's the Boss?

Last Friday was "Family Day" at Len's office, which meant all of the school-aged children were invited to spend a day at work with their mom &/or dad. Kaleb and Noe spent the whole day with Len, and Gavin & I joined them for the tour of the 4 departments and lunch at McDonald's. The above pictures are of them sitting in the "head honcho's" (head of mission) chair. Future Ambassadors in training! The kids wrote an article for "The Reil Gazette" about their adventures that I will add here once it gets formatted correctly.

Good Reads

I started an account with Good Reads, but I haven't been good about updating it. I have most of the books I read in 2008 on this blog, so I wanted to do a final one with the rest of the books I read last year. I will put the books I read in 2009 on my Creative Pursuits blog.


The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan and has a REALLY difficult scene to read. However, I really loved this book. Some people are just good no matter what their circumstances and that always inspires me (of course, some people are just evil no matter their circumstances and that terrifies me.)


The Peacegiver is a parable-type story that teaches ALL relationships can be strengthened if we strengthen our relationship with the Lord first.


The Alchemist is another parable-type story that teaches that we only have one life, so we MUST find out what our purpose is and then accomplish it.

The Wednesday Letters is a love story with an AMAZING example of Christ-like forgiveness.

Turn About- if you lived to be 100 and then could be young again, would you do it?

The Thief Lord is just a fun adventure set in the romantic Venice, Italy. Another example of the wide-range of humanity.

Candice Olson is possibly my favorite interior designer ever! I started watching her show "Divine Design" back in 2002 and I love every room she creates. I got her book Candice Olson On Design to help me decorate our new home when we move this summer.

I enjoy baking every now and then, but I don't really enjoy cooking. I want to get better though, so I had to pick up The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Essential Mormon Celebrations will not only help me become a better cook, but also help me establish more consistent traditions with my family.

Leonard's mother gave her (Len & Steve's) collection of Sweet Pickles books to my little brother Kristopher (who was 7) when Len & I got married. My mother has saved them all these years, and this summer I read them all to my kids. They're cute little stories to teach good manners.

Let Him Do It With Simplicity

I just wanted to wish you all a very happy and healthy 2009! I actually can't believe it's 2009 (pronounced two thousand and nine) and that next year it will be 2010 (pronounced twenty ten). Where has this decade gone? I remember getting an e-mail once that said, "Life is like toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes." I hope I am nowhere near the end of my life yet, I hope I'm not even to the middle yet, but man it seems like that calendar does flip fast these days.

With the new year, of course I have new goals too. In November I taught the Teachings for our Times lesson on the talk by Elder L. Tom Perry with the same name as this post. There were 4 main areas where Elder Perry encouraged us to simplify our lives. I've decided to base my goals this year on those 4 things.

First- Food
We all need food to survive. Feeding my family healthy, balanced meals has been challenging in Taiwan. I'm just not into having to shop at 4 different stores to find all the ingredients to cook meals like we're used to at home. Basically, if they don't have it at Costco we don't eat it. Yes, it's great that we have Costco here, but don't think for one second it's exactly like Costco back home. There are import items for us amongst the many Asian items that we don't eat. I can't complain though because my sweet husband does the majority of the cooking. I've made a goal once me move to Canada to take over that "job" for the family, but until then my goal is just to plan weekly menus again. My honey said that will help him a lot now, and I know it will help me once we move.

Second- Clothing
Laundry is actually one of my favorite chores, and I think our clothing is already pretty simple (I only iron if I absolutely have too). My goal here is to get warm maternity clothes (my friends Lori and Kay lent me some, and my mom is mailing me some more) and to get stocked up on baby clothes again. All of the places we've lived have not had adequate storage for me to keep the clothes my older children outgrow for the younger ones. I'm sad I don't have all of Gavin's baby stuff, but this new baby will be born in the opposite time of year, plus Gavin's old clothes did go to an orphanage so I feel good about that. I just need to get on the ball and go shopping.

Third- Shelter
I have OCD tendencies and I love having a place for everything and everything in its place. I've struggled in this area for a while. Last year, I wanted to focus on keeping the front rooms tidied each day, but letting the bedrooms go to just once a week (I was tired of picking up after 5 people everyday). However, that just didn't work for me. I like EVERY room tidied EVERY day. My kids are good helpers when I'm consistent at encouraging them. The problem is I'm not always consistent and find it's sometimes easier just to do it myself. I know this isn't doing them any favors though, as they need to learn how to clean up after themselves and how to work. It's not doing me any favors either, so I'm going to try really hard at being consistent every day with the tidying and every week with the deep-down cleaning.

Fourth- Fuel
I actually have four areas that I need daily fuel in. First, prayer- I need to make sure I am saying my prayers at least every morning and every night. Second, spiritual nourishment- every day I need to read from either the Scriptures, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, or a General Conference talk. Third, reflection- I need to write in my journal to record my progress and to motivate me to keep going. Fourth, exercise- I started exercising again on Monday (after going on vacation, breaking my toe, having a rough first trimester, and with the Christmas holidays- it had been almost 7 months since I was exercising regularly). I hate doing it, but my body needs it, so I will exercise 4-5 times a week. I also need to encourage my family to fuel themselves daily.

This year will be exciting with our welcoming baby #4 to the family, saying goodbye to Asia our home for the past 4 years, moving half-way around the world again, hopefully buying our first home, and hopefully getting to spend lots of quality time with our extended family and friends. Sometimes life seems like a whirlwind, but I'm so grateful for it!

The Art of Gift-Giving

I've been thinking a lot about gift-giving this week, but before I get into that (and I really would like your opinions in my comments, please) here's some pictures of the kids in their new Christmas outfits. Costco is so wonderful and has such beautiful, inexpensive dresses for girls. However, they have nothing for boys- no fair! In Taiwan, I've yet to find the equivalent to Target or Zeller's. There's either the "seconds" stores where you hunt and peck through the surplus of export orders hoping to find your child's size and a matching outfit (yes, everything is made here, but that doesn't mean you can buy it here), or you go to the malls and pay crazy-expensive prices to get something nice. Let's just say the boys' sweaters cost over 3 times more than Noe's dress- each!

Christmas gift-giving some say began with the wisemen. Others say it was before that when Heavenly Father gave His son who would atone for the sins of the world. I am grateful for these gifts, and I love giving gifts too. I must admit that I don't mind receiving them either. However, I don't want to spoil my children or become too commercialized, I want our gifts to mean something. Through the years I've come across a few different strategies. I'll share those here if any of you are interested, but I'm really interested in your gift-giving strategies. With baby #4 on the way, I'd really like to get a "formula" down to stick with each year, that satisfies the children's joy of Christmas morning and my own joy of them having meaningful gifts.

*When we were in Canada I sometimes watched "The Shopping Bags." It was a show by 2 shopoholics who were great bargain hunters. I remember reading an article by them, that really focused on doing your homework before shopping. That way you got the best for your buck. In this Christmas article they recommended giving gifts of time, such as babysitting, cleaning house, or giving a charitable donation in someone's behalf. They also talked about "regifting." Not in the sense that you received a vase you didn't like, so you'd pass it on to someone else, but they gave the example that one of the girl's sisters really loved one of her sweaters. It was still in "new" condition so she decided she would give it to her for Christmas. They also gave a list of the top 5 gifts and top 10 stocking stuffers:

Gifts-

1. Sexy photos of yourself for your spouse.

2. A pashmina-style scarf for the ladies.

3. A photo-album, scrapbook, or calendar for family.

4. Grocery store gift cards for students or senior citizens.

5. Magazine subscriptions for anyone.

Stocking Stuffers-

1. Lottery tickets.

2. Toothbrush.

3. Chocolates.

4. Magazine.

5. Mandarin Oranges/Clementines.

6. Office supplies (notepads, pens).

7. Socks & Underwear.

8. Beauty & Hair products (travel-size might fit best).

9. Disposable camera.

10. Tylenol/Alka-Seltzer (for hang-overs).

We don't drink or gamble, so some of these don't apply to us- tee hee.

*Another interesting article was written by a family who based their gift-giving on the food groups. They said it helped them give essential presents that were well-balanced to give the body and soul fulfillment.

1. Grains= Cuddly Clothes, such as robes, slippers, blankets, sweaters, hats/scarves/gloves, and even bath products and a comfy chair were in this category.

2. Dairy= Socks & Underwear. This category would also have housewares in it such as dishes. Basic items that everyone needs, and if they're given as a gift they don't have to buy them themselves.

3. Protein= Hobbies & Books. Whether they're interested in cooking, sewing, painting, gardening, or pets, everyone has their own personal interests. However, this can be tricky to make purchases for. Make sure to get a wish list so you can get exactly what is wanted/needed. Save gift cards only as a last resort, and if you give them include a catalog so the recipient has something to look at Christmas day. Books, special interest magazines, crossword puzzles are also in this category.

4. Fruit & Veggies= Personal Gifts. Here's where special surprises come in like, jewelry, perfume, plane tickets, etc. They warned about Men being from Mars and Women from Venus though. If a man wants something he says so. If a woman wants something, she'll point at it in the store and say,"that's nice." Usually, the men don't realize it and miss the boat. I guess good communication can help with this category.

5. Other foods= Yummy foods, such as chocolates, cookies, salami, yummy beverages, etc.

They said if you give from each category you're providing good nourishment, but make sure you don't overfeed!

*On a friend's blog I read that one family uses this formula with their children, "Something they want, Something they need, Something to wear, and Something to read." I like it.

*Len grew up getting 2 gifts for Christmas, 1 from Santa and 1 from their family exchange. I grew up spending odd years with my mom and even years with my dad. Neither of my parents had a formula- years when money was tight there were less gifts, and years when money was more plentiful so were the gifts. My mom always spent the same amount of money on each of her 5 kids though. I loved all of the dolls I received as a child, but I really appreciate all of the home-made gifts my mother made for me. I'm also grateful for the trips my father gave me across the country to see my extended family. One special gift I remember wasn't a Christmas gift, but it was from my step-dad shortly after he and my mom were married. They had gone out on a date, and when they returned home they had a gift for me. I felt so special because it was for no occasion. Plus, they had it gift-wrapped and I had never received a gift-wrapped present before (I still remember the paper was blue with rainbows on it). Anyway, it was a stuffed pink Poochie dog (remember those?) It was a simple thing, but it really made me feel special. I want to give that feeling to each of my children. My step-mom has given each of my children their baby blessing outfits. These are special gifts we will keep forever.

*Since we've become parents, the only thing we've made sure of is that each of our children have the same number of gifts under the tree. Of course, we try to spend the same amount, but since we had twins first we've learned that the kids are aware if one gets 3 gifts, while the other gets 5, but they aren't aware how much the items cost. Santa always brings new toys, so mom & dad usually give books and clothes. Stocking stuffer items are usually: toothbrushes & toothpaste, bubblebath, or other toiletry items; crayons & coloring books, or other art supplies; DVD's or CD's; and treats- always with an orange in the toe.

*It's also important to us to give charitable gifts. This year we were able to help 4 different organizations. If you're looking for a good place to donate to click on World Vision's Must Have Gifts. Our kids love giving Angel Tree gifts to orphans and other less fortunate children too.

*I know my posts have been LONG lately, but if you've made it to the bottom of this (Congratulations!) I'd really LOVE to hear about your gift-giving strategies. Please tell me what you do for your immediate family, your extended family, your friends, etc. I'm thinking next year maybe we'll just have each member of our family make a home-made gift for every other member of the family. Of course, Santa will bring some new toys too. I heard that the majority of people when asked, "What did you get for Christmas last year?" don't remember. I know I'm a sentimental sap, but I really want to give more meaningful gifts.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning we woke up to Kaleb tiptoeing into our room and saying, "Santa came! Let's go open presents!" We walked down the hall with him and noticed that Gavin was still sleeping, but Noe was already up and out in the living room.


Noe didn't look well and I asked her if she was feeling sick. She said she was. I asked if she was going to throw up, and again she answered in the affirmative. Before I could get her to the bathroom the poor girl lost it all over the chair, rug, and herself. Poor little thing! There should be a law that no children are sick on Christmas day. The sad thing with Noe too is that once she starts, she doesn't stop! She took several naps during the day, and when she was awake she always had her "bowl" with her. She still remained to be in good spirits though. What a little sweetheart!


Poor Kaleb had to wait 2 hours for Gavin to wake up and Noe to wake back up after she got sick before we could open presents. He was a trooper too! We started with family prayer, then began with our stockings...

Kaleb helped play Santa and passed all of the gifts out as well. He didn't get a cupcake maker, nor did Noe get a dollhouse, but they were still happy with the toys Santa brought them.

We called Kaleb the game master as Santa brought him several games. His favorite was his Bingo Cage.

Noe loved her Magic of the Rainbow Fairies, with her favorite being Elina.

Gavin liked all of his Little People Holiday Sets, and played with his Thanksgiving one first. The big kids are excited to play with these too throughout the year.

Leonard's favorites were his Chinese Bronze pieces. I like them too, just where are we going to put them though?

My favorite was my beautiful pearl ring. I have to mention my funniest gift though too. Last week I got an e-mail from my Aunt Tina that said "What every man wants for Christmas." It showed a picture of a "remote control-a-woman," with all of the buttons labeled accordingly. I forwarded it to Leonard with a note that I was sorry he wouldn't be receiving that this year. He wrote me back and said, "That's what you think. I've already ordered it and it's on its way." Christmas Eve after the kids opened their pajamas and were all tucked in bed, he tells me he has a surprise gift for me too. He then hands me a remote. He had printed out the picture from the e-mail and wrapped our remote inside of it. I laughed so hard! Yes, my husband has a great sense of humor!

*The rest of the day was spent in our pajamas. We talked to our Lee and Pittl families on the phone (Len is going to call his brothers on Boxing Day.) We also watched The Santa Clause Trilogy and just relaxed. We had a nice day together just "being" and didn't have to worry about "doing."

For dinner we had a small little feast of Chicken Cordon Bleu, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and stuffing. We had mini-cheesecakes for dessert and more Martinelli's to drink. We went around the table saying what birthday present we wanted to give Jesus this year. Len wants to give Him more patience with our children. I want to give Him my temper and not yell at our kids. Kaleb is going to give Him happiness and try not to let the little things upset him. Noe is going to give Him kindness to others. Gavin just laughed when we asked him, so I think he's going to give Him the gift of having fun and enjoying this wonderful life we've all been given!

Christmas Eve

Len had to go back to work today, but he did get off a little bit early. We finished reading from our 24 Days of Christmas book, and watched "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "The King is Born." We then went to another fun party at the Robinson's along with the Grimley, Hedquist, Lee, Park, and Urquivez families.


We had a yummy potluck dinner, then the kids acted out the Nativity. Noe was Mary and we put the baby doll Jesus under her shirt at the beginning (she whispered in my ear, "Mom, I'm so embarrassing!" I think she meant "embarrassed" but I thought it was cute!) Kaleb was a shepherd, and Gavin was supposed to be a wise man, but even though he liked the crown he didn't feel like cooperating much when it was time for the show.


The closest group shot we got. Evan as Joseph, Noe as Mary, Baby Doll as Jesus (James would have been a perfect baby Jesus, but I can see why he wasn't cast- tee hee), Kaleb and Andy as Shepherds, Lucas and Ashton as Wisemen, Sophie and Lizzy as Angels, and Gavin and Mason as themselves.


We had yummy dessert, then played the always fun White Elephant game (thanks Kay for letting both of my big kids pick!). Kaleb and Noe really got into it. Kaleb "stole" his gift when it was his turn. He got a pair of cute reindeer candle holders, and a beautiful ornament as big as his head (he wanted to hang it on our tree, but we hung it under our dining room light). Noe chose a wrapped gift and got the book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I was excited to have a larger copy of it, but since we already have a smaller version, she wasn't shy and she tried to get people to "steal" it from her. It worked, and she got to pick again. She chose another wrapped gift and this time got a Hello Kitty stocking. They were both so happy with what they got. (Gavin was happy running up and down the hallway pushing the doll's stroller during all of this.)

When we got home the kids got to open one gift each. They had already spied which ones were labeled for Christmas Eve.

Of course, they were new pajamas and Kaleb finally made the connection. He said, "Every year our gift on Christmas Eve is pajamas. Oh I see, it's a pattern." Exactly, Bud!

The kids then wrote little notes for Santa.

Kaleb's: Dear Santa, Have a Merry Christmas. I want a cupcake maker. Heart, Kaleb

Noe's: Dear Santa, I hope you have a Happy New Year. dollhouse. Heart, Heart, Noe

(Mommy's): Dear Santa, We hope you have a great night. We have been good kids this year. We would like some new toys to play with. Heart, Kaleb, Noe, & Gavin

We then left out milk and cookies for the big man, and ...

... then tucked the kids in for a slumber party. Gavin didn't last long, but Kaleb & Noe slept through the whole night! (The poor kids were exhausted.)

Christmas Eve Eve

Leonard took the day off of work today- hooray! Unfortunately, we didn't get to do the fun things I had planned (decorating sugar cookies with our playgroup), because I had to wrap ALL of our presents and it took me ALL day. In the afternoon, I was finally finished and we watched our favorite Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life."

Today I am also 20 weeks along in my pregnancy. I'm half-way there now! Leonard reminded me that it's not "downhill" from here, but psychologically it's so nice to be on the other side of the hill.

The BEST part of the day was going over to our dear friends, the Ho family to spend the evening. They spoiled us with gifts for each of us. I felt really bad that I only brought them some Belgian Chocolates. I'll just have to make it up to them later!

We tried to get a shot of the kids, but Gavin was pouting and Noe was too busy snuggling the girls.

Noe had so much fun with her "borrowed" sisters. (Seriously, I would love to have either one of these girls as a future daughter-in-law.)

I finally caught Gavin smiling. He loved driving the car.

We had a delicous ham dinner with all of the trimmings. Lauren is a great cook!

We also had pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie, and mince-meat tarts for dessert. The kids' favorite was roasting marshmallows in the fireplace though- yum!

*We REALLY miss our extended families, especially during the holidays. But, we are SO very grateful for such wonderful friends to spend them with!

Christmas Cards

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards each year. We started sending them out the first year after we were married in 1997. After we became parents in 2002 we started sending pictures with them. After we moved to Taiwan in 2005 we started sending out e-newsletters. Last year I started this blog, and now send Christmas greetings out on it too. Hopefully, I've been able to reach all of our loved ones so they know we are thinking of them and hoping they all have a wonderful Christmas!
*I thought it would be fun to take a little walk down memory lane:


2008 (it was actually taken last January, but since our cards are blue & purple this year, I thought why re-invent the wheel? Sure they're almost a year old, but they were still taken in 2008. Gavin's grown taller, Noe's hair has grown longer, and my belly has grown bigger.)


2007 (Our first with sweet Gavin.)


2006 (Yes, Gavin is missing. He was due January 9th, and I already sent out our Christmas cards before he was born on December 17th. He was in the NICU for 9 days, and didn't come home until Christmas morning anyway.)

2005

2004

2003 (We actually couldn't afford 120 prints, so our cards were empty this year, but this was the picture we had wanted to send.)

2002 (Yes, my sweet husband wore pajamas for our picture- he is such a good sport!)

*I came across this Xerox site that will print Christmas cards for US Soldiers currently deployed for free. Visit Let's Say Thanks to send one today.

**I also came across this Christmas card site that employs Rwandan orphans. Visit Cards from Africa to learn more about the company and to order next year's Christmas cards. When I first saw the price of the cards, I thought they were way too expensive for what we normally spend on Christmas cards. However, I think I'm still going to order them for next year. I'm going to look at it as a charitable donation for orphans in Rwanda, and I get a bonus of Christmas cards!