It’s a Wonderful Life…..and a long post

Nothing helps me get things accomplished more quickly than hosting a party at my house does!

Jobs that can take weeks have to be finished on a deadline.  I need that motivation.  Maybe I’m a procrastinator or something, but a little pressure seems to start my “engines” better than anything else.

This Christmas season we have had some good memory making experiences already, and that makes me conclude that all the work and pressure is worth the effort.

(A week and a half ago I might not have been so positive!)

We had a fun party with some friends whose friendships go way back to when our children were babies.

When we were younger, we had the tradition of progressive dinner parties, where we could see each neighbor’s house with all the creative Christmas decorating touches, and then eat something wonderful before moving on to the next house.  All our children were included and it was always a fun evening.

Now that we are older and our children are grown and out of our homes we just go to one place for the evening.

(Maybe it’s all the stairs!)

The concept is the same, we all help with the food, but it is less physical and more relaxing.

This year it was our turn to host.

I wish I’d taken more pictures, but I was pretty busy.

We each brought a sweet treat to exchange-lots of delicious and fun gifts to have for the holidays.

Isn’t it wonderful to have friends?

We have had several family activities, too.  Yesterday we celebrated Liz’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Liz!

We also took some photos for a very late Christmas card.   
Since I usually take all the pictures, Ken and I were not in very many together and it is pretty difficult finding one that flatters both of us at the same time (ha ha).

I thought about pulling out one from years past, but even that was difficult.

Someone captured these three making some Christmas music!

And my favorite part of the holidays- playing with my grandchildren.

Wish we could have had Paul here from Portland, too.

It really is a wonderful life.

Merry Christmas!

JoAnn

Favorite Christmas Links….part 2

Last Christmas I did a post on some of my favorite Christmas links.  You can check it out

here. 

Here are a few more wonderful Christmas links to watch from this year.

The first one is a short movie about the reason for the season.  It is a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate Christmas.

#1.  He is The Gift

The second one is a wonderful version of  “Angels From the Realms of Glory”performed by The Piano Guys, David Archuleta, Peter Hollens, and 1,039 people dressed as wise men, shepherds, and angels.  It was filmed by Devin Graham.

(It broke the world record for number of people in a nativity scene.)

#2.  Go here to watch.

 

The third link is about the sacrifices of Jesus Christ and what we gain from his life of love, service, and sacrifice.

#3.  Because of Him

I will probably update this post and add more links as I have time and as I run across things I want to share.

Please pass on any good Christmas links you run across, too.

I love my sister Linda’s statue of Christ.

We took these pictures a few years ago when we were at Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake.  The reflecting pond adds to the beauty of the scene.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Well, have a great week!

JoAnn

P.S.  We made it!  The floors are in.  The dust is gone.  The house is almost back to normal…..

A peek at Linda’s festive Christmas decorations….

My husband and I are crazy!

Certified crazy.

What-were-we-thinking-crazy?

With our first holiday party less than a week away, we decided to do a home improvement project-one that involves moving furniture and a lot of dust.

We had this extra laminate flooring that had been temporarily living in boxes behind the sofa and decided it would be much better served by replacing some old, berber carpet in our basement family room.

(We bought it before we decided to use bamboo in our kitchen and dining room.   We were going to try selling it, but now I’m glad we didn’t.)

My husband is almost finished and the transformation is amazing. (At least I think it will be when everything is put back in place.)

The seams on our berber carpet were never very well hidden and after many years of big family living, it needed to be changed.

Since my house isn’t quite picture worthy right now, and since everyone  seems to be posting fun Christmas decorating posts, I’m putting pictures of my sister Linda’s house on here.

She and her husband David hosted our Thanksgiving this year and their home is so lovely.  She mixed up a little Thanksgiving with Christmas, but it all worked.

We had a wonderful time with all my sisters and their husbands getting together.  Some of our children were with their in-laws, so we had a smaller, mixed group this time.

Don’t you agree that their home is lovely?

I’ll bet our Thanksgiving entertainment was more unusual than most.

We made and launched paper rockets!

It was a blast!

(Sorry about the pun.)

Thanks, Linda and David for letting me share your home and for a memorable, fun holiday.

JoAnn

Thankful-but busy!

 

With Thanksgiving Day happening tomorrow, I’m sure everyone is busily working to get all the preparations ready.

We aren’t hosting this year, but we will be helping cook, having company, and hosting some upcoming holiday parties, so there is still a lot to do.

I have the day off from school (Yeah!) and want to get as much done as I can, but my “To-do” list keeps getting longer and longer.

(I think it is the effects of PROCRASTINATION!)

Why is it that we always want the house to be perfect at a time when we are the busiest?

And why do we not notice all those messy nooks and corners before a big event?

I KNOW, THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH TIME TO DO IT ALL!

These thankful pilgrims don’t realize it, but the Christmas decoration boxes are already being carried in to the room as I type this.  I’m not sure they won’t even  be replaced before their big day arrives.

Want to see one project that did get finished today?

Huge improvement, even if I do say so myself!

(Thanks, Ken!)

I had enough fabric left over to recover two pillows for my sofa, too. 

Well, my break is over. It’s time to get back to work.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

We have many blessings to be grateful for!

JoAnn

 

The comfort of a rainbow

 

It has been a rough week for our daughter Liz’s family.

 

Sweet Aubrey has been in the hospital having some tests, baby Zachary got the stomach flu, and the girls were very homesick for their mother, who stayed at the hospital with Aubrey.

Sometimes we get hammered with bad things all at the same time and life can look pretty dreary (sort of like it does right now with a storm due to arrive later today).

Fortunately, things have a way of healing, and nothing reminds us of that more than a beautiful rainbow after a storm.

I took the following photos when we were in Palmyra, New York recently, and thought they might work out with this post.

Don’t you often marvel at the beauty and comfort of nature?

 

Look at that smile on Aubrey’s face as she is reunited with her sisters!

(Photo from Liz)

“Today’s  trial

is  tomorrow’s  testimony!”

(unknown source)

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

Sunday dinner with Grandpa

 

We are fortunate enough to have Ken’s father still with us.  He is a sharp, amazing, ninety-six year old.

Every other Sunday we have him come to our house for dinner.

(We have to share him with Ken’s sister.)

Our house is hectic and noisy with all of us, our kids and their spouses, and the grandkids all laughing, talking, and playing, but he is a good sport!  He can even catch a short nap in all the chaos. 

Sometimes, we take dinner to his house (just my husband and I).  We have a quiet meal and he always enjoys the home cooking.

(He loves gravy and a hot roll or biscuit.)

We get to hear wonderful stories from the past-always with a good life lesson learned. 

We might take him for a short drive to the cemetery to check on his sweet companion’s grave.

It is a beautiful place high on the foothills of Salt Lake City.

 

The views of the valley below are often quite breathtaking.

We usually get to “ride off in to the sunset” as we return home.

It gets dark earlier now, so we drive through the downtown lights.

(This stop light has got to be the longest waiting light in the whole city!)

Sometimes, he thinks he is a burden,

but we are grateful that he is still a part of our lives.

We’re the lucky ones!

JoAnn

 

Number 8

I’m on my way out the door to a math conference (Yes, it is a Saturday!), but wanted to share our newest grandson.

Evan Charles

you have already won our hearts! 

Glad you and your mom are doing well.

Love you!

Grandma Jo

P.S.  Nice work Andrew and Irene!