The best way to travel 12 hours in a car, is to do it with extended family where the kids can hop around from car to car and cousin to cousin at every rest stop. There was maybe one "are we there yet" from our children happily playing and dancing in the back. Plus, it was super fun to text with the adults. We had a thread going during the entire trip, which kept us entertained and laughing the whole way. I think we may have to coordinate the Utah trips this way too. It was heavenly.
There was a dust of snow on the ground this morning. I thought it was ridiculous canceling school, but I didn't mind because it meant that we could enjoy Cameron's birthday together with donuts and milk.
We finished up with the last of our Christmas decorations by buying a real Christmas tree. We didn't cut it down ourselves this year because we didn't want to wait until after Disneyland to get one on a weekend. I love decorating this tree. It smells so fresh and the majority of ornaments are my mom's, so it brings back a lot of memories. The kids love looking through them and finding their favorite ones, as do I.
For a good neighbor Christmas gift that's simple, inexpensive, and doesn't require much baking, if at all. I saw this on Pinterest and created a little poem to go with it. I also had never heard about the game called farkle; we will have to bring to Disneyland.....in three days!!! Yay!
Mary's class left on a field trip to science works this morning when their bus broke down on the freeway. The crowded boisterous group waited on the side of the road until a new bus could arrive 40 minutes later. But it was still a good day and Mary enjoyed being in Matt Vranes' group since he could build a roller coaster using five household items. Mary had the best time with him and his daughter Addi.
For family night each week we have all the children get up, tell us their name, age, and the type of talent they will showcase. Sometimes they sing a song, play the piano, or share something they've memorized. But most nights they want to show us some new "trick" that they know. Usually the kids put their feet on the window sill and balance themselves with their hands on the floor. We call it the tunnel, for obvious reasons. And the kids take turns going under until they collapse. Tonight all the children made this tunnel and we sent "turtle" (Cameron's toy/night light) through.
Tonight was our tithing settlement. I thought the challenge given us, to look for and record significant but subtle blessings from paying our tithing, was inspired. I loved the ones shared from Elder Bednar's talk. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever realize all the blessings that come to us when we are obedient to God's laws. As I look at this list, I can quickly see that heaven's windows have been often opened for me.
