'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

What a great month December was for our family. We had so many wonderful opportunities to "feel" the Christmas Spirit and so many great events with family that kept my emotions close to the surface and my tear ducts occupied for most of the month.

At the very beginning of the month, Rachel's choir sang at the Festival of Trees they hold every year at the Stephens Performing Arts Center at ISU. We went early to look at all the beautiful trees and the boys got to  sit on Santa's lap. Then while Rachel was practicing, the boys and I worked on crafts they had out for the children to do. The concert was really nice (the Century Choir and Band performed) and the boys were really good. We've never done that before, but enjoyed it enough that I think we might have to make it an annual tradition to at least go to see the trees and Santa (and Rachel if she's performing, too).

That next weekend, we had our annual Brown Family Christmas party, which was far from traditional this year. Steve's parents bought us all tickets to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Centre Theatre in Salt Lake for Christmas. (I think there were over 50 that they paid for.) Oh, what a fun event. Bryson got to sit in the front row next to Grandpa, and Nathan was sitting on the edge of his chair the whole time. We all loved the performance so much! The theater is so fun with it's sunken stage and audience all around, that you feel like you're part of the story, too. Bryson said to Steve on the way out, "Dad, I think I would like to go to the theater more often." We wondered if he'd like more to be part of the play...he spent most of his day quoting Tiny Tim. Josh really loved it too. He actually hugged "Mr. Scrooge" on the way out. It was so fun, and such a wonderful treat for our whole (extended) family to share in the spirit of that classic tale together. Following the play, we went to a church building and had our very traditional lunch, game exchange, musical present game, collection for "Secret Santa", and family program. That also was very special with the sweet testimonies that were borne following the program. After we cleaned up the church, we went to a friend's of Steve's parents who works at the temple with them. They had a "ride on" model train with a mile or more of permanent track through their amazing property. We started in their heated garage/shop where we sat and watched "The Polar Express" until it was our turn. We had instructions and then got on the train. It rode through the property past more lights and yard decorations than I've ever seen in one place, to a place they called the "North Pole". There some cute little elves, took us into a room where Santa sat and the kids all got to sit on his lap and put in their requests and talk with him. He then showed the kids a candy cane and explained that it represents Jesus. We all sang "Silent Night" together, and then "reverently" left to return to the train. The second half of the train ride was through the rest of the property where we passed large "billboard" prints (mostly of paintings by Simon Dewey) with spotlights on them and listened to sacred Christmas hymns and songs. It was such a fun outing, and gave the kids an opportunity to think about the fun of the season, as well as the true meaning of Christmas. It was such a fun day with the Brown Family, a great time together, and a wonderful way to bring the Christmas spirit into our thoughts and hearts.

We spent an extra night in Utah so we could go visit and attend church Sunday morning with my Grandma Law (my dad's mom) in Provo. That was a special treat for her, and for us. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon with Steve's mom and dad and left in time to hit Salt Lake City in the dark. We drove around until we finally found a parking space in a lot, bundled up the kids, and walked a few blocks to Temple Square. The kids couldn't believe how beautiful all the lights were and loved the story and huge nativity on the lawn between the visitors center and the tabernacle. We wandered around for about an hour until we were tired, and then headed home. It was really the very best way we could have ended such a fun Christmas weekend together.

The following Friday, Steve and I took the three biggest kids (Sarah, Rachel and Bryson) to Salt Lake City for the Tabernacle Choir's Annual Christmas Concert. We were so grateful to my mom for volunteering to have the little boys spend the night with her, and to Steve's friend who works for the church's public affairs department was able to get us tickets. It was a miracle of sorts. David Archuleta and actor Michael York were the special guests. What a fun concert! There was something for everyone to enjoy. There were dancers, the Temple Square bell choir, an organ solo, a very touching story, and the conference center decorations were incredible. The music that the choir and David sang were everything from traditional carols to original compositions, sacred hymns to festive songs. It was such a fun concert, and something we would LOVE to do again! One of the best parts, though, was running into Steve's parents there. The concert was the culminating event of an interfaith conference that his dad had been asked to speak at. Their reserved seating was in the row right in front of us! It was fun to share the concert with them as well.

The very next day, Saturday, we headed to Boise for the Dixon Family Christmas party on Sunday. Sarah had a double date that her cousin set up for her, so we had to be there by Saturday evening. They had a lot of fun together (went to see lights, eat pizza, slide down icy slides at the park and play games). She was really grateful for a cousin with good friends that went to all that trouble to make sure she'd have fun. The next morning, we went to church with my sister, Kristina, and the had the family part that evening. We always do our "Christmas soup" dinner and treats and then act out the Nativity. It was a tradition we did as children, that has survived the years and is now part of our children's Christmas memories as well. Instead of reading the Christmas story from the Bible or another book, we sang the verses of "The Nativity Song" in the Primary Songbook and had the kids enter the "scene" as we sang about them. It was a very nice, quick way to review the story and act it out without all the chaos we usually have. Nathan was Joseph this year and chose his older cousin, Macey to be Mary. The other kids just picked what they wanted to be. The funniest part of the program this year was when Mary and Joseph entered and Mary just dropped the baby (a doll, thank goodness) into the "manger". As part of the program this year, we added a story called "Mary's Treasure Box" that I read as my mom and Macey acted it out. It's a story about Mary as a grandmother, telling her granddaughter, Sarah, who is James' daughter, about Jesus and the events in his life. For each thing they pulled out of the treasure box (like gray wool, straw, a flute, cloth, gold, frankinsence and myrrh) they talked about where it came from what it represents or what we learn from it. It was such a wonderful story. (I had photocopies of it because we used it for our program at our Relief Society Christmas Breakfast.) I would love to add it to my collection, but it's pretty expensive (maybe out of print or something). Anyway, it was a great program and we had a really fun time together.

The next weekend was Christmas, and we loved sharing that week before it together with everybody home from school and work, finishing shopping and wrapping, watching movies, playing games, building puzzles, and just being together. Rachel's piano recital was that Monday, and of course, she did a beautiful job. My brother, Michael and his wife Krystal, came and spent a night with us and we had a wonderfully fun time together. With the exception of a head cold settling in on me and Krystal, it was such a fun visit and we were grateful that they spent part of their vacation time with us in our new house.

I think more than all the things we saw or did to celebrate before Christmas, I really loved all the new experiences we had, and that we were together enjoying them. We got pretty spoiled on our trip last summer and really liked having so much together time exploring and discovering new things. I think I loved all these events because they seemed kind of like an extension of those wonderful memories. It was a very busy month and lots of traveling, but these memories we made together made this a year we'll always remember.

New Year's Resolutions

What is it about the new year that makes us look back, look forward, and set new goals? Wouldn't it be just as proper to do it on our birthdays, or any old day... like June 22nd, for instance. Not likely. Starting fresh just seems to happen naturally when the new calendar goes up and the old one hits the trash. Like every year since I can remember, I have set new goals to go with the new year. UN-like every other year, I think they are realistic, necessary and reachable this year. Wanna know what I'm gonna do this year?

#1 - Maintain my new health habits (my new weight and my new exercise habits) and stay healthy and in control of the food part of my life this year.

#2 - Post on my blog (aka. write in my journal) at least once a week.

#3 - Study the scriptures at least 20 minutes a day, at lest 5 days a week.

Obviously, there are some other things that have to go with those goals, like being organized throughout the day to get myself to bed early enough to get up to study and exercise the next morning, spending my time on Sunday afternoons with my "journal" if I haven't yet that week, and thoroughly enjoying my "one" brownie at Family Home Evening, instead of gobbling up seven like I used to. It's going to be a great year...I can just feel it. I'm off to a good start. I've accomplished my new goals for three whole days! :)

2010: Our Year in Review

If I was into sending out Christmas letters with our postcards, I would have sent a letter that was way too long, bragged way too much about my wonderful family, and still wouldn't have even touched on the enormous amount of gratitude we feel  for all we've been blessed with this year.

I do know, however, how much I love reading about all of my treasured friends and loved ones' families, so for those who took the time to search out my blog to see what we've been up to, here's our year in review (and what you would have read, had I sent out a Christmas letter this year)....

The two most exciting things we can share from 2010 is our family vaction this summer and our move this fall. We spent the first half of the year saving our pennies and in June, we packed up our Suburban to the very top (not kidding) and drove to Alaska. We spent almost a month traveling through Canada and Alaska. We drove about 8,000 miles in our car, rode to the top of the Space Needle, hiked a glacier, saw the ocean and lots of wildlife, caught our “first fish”,  rode a ferry, dug up clams, played with cousins, swam in a hot spring, camped in the rain, and had many other grand adventures. We had a wonderful time together and have so many happy memories! In August, a wonderful opportunity and blessing was dropped in our lap, and we took it and moved forward with faith! We moved moved into a new pre-loved house that is just perfect for us! It has lots of room inside and out, and is absolutely beautiful! We really like our new ward, and love that we have so many new friends already. We've all adjusted pretty quickly, which helped our new house feel like "home" almost from the very first day. It's just where we're supposed to be!

Steve (our Daddy) still works for U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson. He loves his job, and also had an opportunity to help his boss get re-elected by working part-time at night and on weekends on the primary campaign. By June, he wasn't quite busy enough, so he accepted the Mayor's appointment to fill a vacant seat on the Pocatello City Council. It's been an eye-opening experience, and as much as he loves working with the other members of the board, he's really had to make some tough decisions and then stand behind what he feels is right and best for Pocatello. We're so proud of him. As entrepreneurs do, he's also found time to pad the family income with his direct mail business which helped out a lot during the campaign season (and our move) with 65,000 pieces of mail we designed, had printed, labeled, and sent out for several candidates. He has also been crazy busy this year getting our old house ready to rent, working out the little kinks in our new house, serving on a couple of other community and state boards, spending incredible quality time with his family, and tinkering in a couple of other business ventures. He was also recently called as the Cub Master in our new ward. He really likes having the opportunity to be the "funnest" 10 year-old in the ward!

Julia (Me, the Mommy) still loves being a stay-at-home mom. My kids are my life and I love that I have the opportunity to be totally involved in their activities and schools. This was also a year of change and growth for me as I discovered and learned much about myself and developed many new physical and spiritual strengths. I end the year much healthier and happier than I started it, and much more the person I want to be. I spent  a few months preparing for our trip and then a few more preparing to move. It's been a crazy year, but so many blessings have been thrown our way, I know that the Lord has watched over and blessed me to be able to keep up and be the kind of mother and wife I want to be. On our 3rd Sunday in our new ward, I was called to serve as the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. In the short time I have served there (almost 2 months now), my heart has been changed, and I've seen the Lord's plan for our family start to unfold. As you can guess, I haven't had a lot of spare time for hobbies this year, but I still love baking, blogging, and reading, and playing with my family the most.

Sarah (17) has had a pretty good year. It's been a healthy one (heart-wise) with relatively little action in that department. She found out this year that she has a pretty severe case of Scoliosis, which has caused much more heartache and many more challenges, but takes it all in stride and remains her sweet little self. She is a senior in High school, and is beginning the new year with college and scholarship applications dancing in her head. Besides our family trip and moving, the highlight of her year was attending EFY at BYU-Idaho. It was such an amazing experience for her and she came back a changed teenager! She loves to spend time with our family, and all of her extra time with friends (live or on Facebook).

Rachel (14) has become the best traveled member of our family. In March, she went on the American Heritage Tour with other 8th Graders in the community. Her favorite things were spending time in New York City, and seeing "Wicked" on Broadway, and making so many new friends! She earned all $3,000 herself (with help from her terrific parents) and had a wonderful experience. She also started high school this year and absolutely loves it! Being in a "real school" now, she can wear make-up, "real clothes" and make many new friends. She stays busy with piano lessons (taking and teaching) and friends, and thoroughly enjoys having her own room!

Bryson (11) is in 5th Grade now and still loves school. He was recently released from his occupational therapy and had grown and matured in such amazing ways. We hardly ever see evidence of his Asperger's anymore, and his confidence is apparent in his constant smile. His drawing talent has continued to blossom as he draws everything from the most detailed dragons you've ever seen to cartoon mice with goofy grins. He absolutely loves scouts, and earned his Arrow of Light just before we moved. His new scout leaders are amazing and he is looking forward to camping and many other adventures in the spring with his new troop. With our move came a whole handful of friends just down the street, a few he already knew from school. Having so many friends to play with all the time is a new thing in his life, but just one more blessing that came with our new house.

Joshua (7) is in 2nd grade and has discovered the joy of reading. He loves non-fiction the best, and any information he can gather about space, electricity and mysteries of the natural world are the best. He still loves to take apart and build things, but has discovered a new love for science experiments. He loves to draw, too, but his drawings are usually of mechanical or body systems, or data charts from his experiments. He also loves to play the wii, run around the yard, and play with his brothers and friends.

Nathan (5) is spending his last year at home with Mom. He is such a fun boy. He spent the first part of the year being a pirate, and the last part of it being a scarecrow. He often changes several times a day, and mom has to be careful to keep up. He also loves to draw and shows much promise of following in his big brother's footsteps. He started sounding out words this fall and has recently "published" his first book, "The Wizrd of Pos." He also loves running errands with Mommy, reading books, visiting Great-Grandma Mangum, and following his brothers around and playing legos with them.

Our family has been blessed beyond measure this year, and knowing that our Heavenly Father loves and watches over us is among our greatest treasures. We are so grateful for our forever family and all the amazing things that have happened this year to help seal our bonds of love and friendship. We pray that you, our family and friends near and far, have also felt the love and blessings of God rest upon you this year. We love you and hope you all have a merry Christmas and an amazing new year!

Christmas Blessings

I just tucked five of my most amazing blessings in bed on this beautiful Christmas night, and headed to bed with tears streaming down my face and a giant lump in my throat. I felt I just had to take a minute to record the gratitude I feel gushing from my heart. I am so blessed to have such amazing children. They are so eager to do what is right, so happy to serve, so thoughtful and kind (most of the time), and very forgiving (the rest of the time). They love to learn, thrive on love, and love to make me smile. They each have such different personalities, and I wouldn't change a single thing about them. Those individuals are so very extraordinary I am so thankful for each of them, and so grateful that they are mine - forever. I went back into their rooms and told each of them that tonight...that I was thankful that Heavenly Father gave them to me and that they were part of our family. That's when the tears and lump started forming. What a great way to end a wonderful Christmas day. Now I get to crawl into bed with their father - the love of my life, my best friend, and the other greatest blessing in my life -  and snuggle down in his arms and cry with gratitude some more. I can't believe how much my Heavenly Father must love me to give me the privilege of loving such choice people, and helping me realize it again tonight. I'm still sitting here wondering if it's the tiredness from getting up at 5:00 this morning, the lingering sweet Christmas spirit we started the day with, or the nyquil I took to help me sleep thorough my cold, but whatever helped prepare me for this experience tonight, I'm...well, ...grateful.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas...

Here's what our Christmas postcards would have looked like, had they arrived in any of our family and friends' mailboxes this year. We got them back from the printer a week or so before Christmas, but they had a problem with all the shadows around the pictures, and had to be reprinted. I'm hoping to send the new ones out next week (yes...a whole week after Christmas) just to make sure everyone knows we still love them and were thinking about them again this year!

Merry Christmas to Me!

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! Last night, I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers, and after 33 weeks of weigh-ins, I met my weight-loss goal! After only losing a total of about 7.5 pounds through our Dixon Girls' Biggest Loser contest, I realized that my my eating was still a little out of control, even when I was "trying". I had hit a brick wall, and it seemed that stubborn spot on the scale just wouldn't ever give way. My mom, after having come to the same conclusion about her weight-loss adventure, joined Weight Watchers and told me all about it and that she was really excited. It sounded like exactly what I needed, too. I decided that I needed someone to be accountable to on the scale besides myself, and a place where I could go that someone else would tell me what to do, and ask me how I did. Obviously, my methods weren't working. So, I joined Weight Watchers last April - at 154.6 lbs. I just wanted to lose 15, just to get past that brick wall, and closer the mid-point of the BMI scale. (I later changed my goal to include another 5, to put me right smack in the middle of it.) I love the Weight Watchers Program. It encompasses all aspects of how our bodies process the food we take in, healthy eating, healthy smart habits, exercise or increased activity, group support and encouragement - and most importantly - it includes slow, steady maintain-able weight loss. It took me a while, (with the trip to Alaska and the last 3 pounds I lost over and over again) but I DID IT! Through this process, I broke a few really bad eating habits I didn't even realize I had, gained some self-control, and got a whole lot healthier! Oh, and I went down another pants size and feel terrific about myself! Merry Christmas to ME!

Why is life so crazy?

I've thought about my blog a lot the last few weeks and really planned to spend some time at least every Sunday posting, but time never seems to slow down enough to get to it. I've got at least 5 major things to post, in addition to our Family Road Trip to Alaska, plus all the things I wanted to put in since we've moved. We had half of Steve's family here for Thanksgiving (which was wonderful), and now I'm working on Christmas projects, cards, decorating, and shopping... Stay tuned, maybe I'll have some time to catch up before the year ends! I think I've decided all I want for Christmas this year is a couple more hours a day...