Mail by Post

For those of you who didn't get a Christmas card from us this year, I will have to blame the postman. It seems that I got more cards than usual returned in my mailbox. Some were funny. I got one back with a stamp saying it was the wrong address (I know it is the right address), I got a quarter of an envelope back stamped in SLC with no contents and a form letter saying sorry
. . . the machine ate your card, I got one back stamped "not enough postage"
(how one out of however many didn't have enough postage is beyond me) and a few other stragglers. So, for you out-of-towners who didn't get our Christmas card. Here it is in digital form. Maybe we will have better luck next year.

100 day

Basketball

Basketball games started last Saturday. I love watching the kids play basketball for the comedy. All three did a great job. As a family, we are currently 3-0. Here are a few points taken from Saturday.

* Zach's team is made up of giants
* Maggie needs to learn the difference between offense and defense
* It would never be fun to be a single mom and those who are deserve a break
* Sam is going to have to learn how to keep out of foul trouble so his team doesn't have to play with 4 at the end of the game
* Back to back to back games make for a cranky Jill
* Casey is a total trooper and keeps busy doing such unique things
* I feel so grateful for friends who take pity on me when I look about ready to go crazy, thanks!

So, back to a week of practices and, thanks to a double header, we get 4 games on Saturday. Hooray!

Too many familiar faces

Am I the only one making late night runs to Walgreens? I love Walgreens for many reasons. But, last night I had to have some candy hearts. I was disappointed in my last two bags of hearts because they were rock hard. My kids will eat them this way and Kat prefers them like that, but I just love a soft, sweet heart. Well, I found out last night I am not the only one who makes a late night run to Walgreens. As I took my single bag of Necco candy hearts to the check out, Sydney Nording walks up to be my cashier. At this point I am ok. I don't mind if Sydney knows I had to run to Walgreens to get my candy fix. I pull my money out of my pocket and realize I didn't bring enough into the store. I tell her I have the rest in the car, I'll be right back. As I am turning to walk out, in walks Carol Nixon. A conversation starts about her needing some starch and then she realizes I don't have enough money to buy my hearts. She plops down a dollar and buys my hearts for me. I tell her thanks so much, but she can't know how grateful I am to be holding a bag of fresh, soft, sweet hearts. I guess there can be some perks to seeing a familiar face or two.

1 to 2

It is so fun to watch all of my kids grow. But, one of my favorite stages is from age 1 to 2. By age 1, my kids are usually in a routine, sleeping better, and eating on their own. Age one is fun. Not yet old enough to have a complete mind of their own, and not yet in the terrific (or terrible) 2's. Every day is a new day full of new things to discover and learn. So, I love watching Jill find out just how fun it is to be 1.

Infidel

For book club this month, we read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. What a book. It is harsh and blunt and ugly. With very vivid description, I felt like I was taken into the Muslim world. The view is complex, unpleasant, and incomprehensible. It was very uncomfortable to get a glimpse of the ugliness that exists in the world today. I found myself squirming becuase of the pampered, easy life that is mine. For a week after I finished this book, I had a hard time feeling good about myself. I know that I could not even begin to endure what she was asked to endure. Yet, after all of the suffering, she still had a strength inside of her that caused her to flee the persecution and become who she wanted to be. Ayaan paints Islam as "brutal, bigoted, [and] fixated on controlling women." This is completely portrayed by events she shares in this book.

Religion is a central theme throughout the book. Because of her inner turmoil with an oppressive religion, my thoughts constantly were pondering my own religion and my belief in God. I do not know the God that Ayaan was taught to believe in. I do not know a God that wants one group to have it all and another to have nothing, a God that punishes truth and rewards opression, or a God who commands brutality to those who don't comform. In contrast, the God that I believe in is my Father in Heaven. He cares for me and He knows my name. He wants me to be happy, not only after my life is over, but here and now. He wants me to be educated and to seek for answers through study and prayer. He wants me to have my own testimony and urges me to ask and recieve. After finishing this book and thinking and thinking, I am more than ever grateful for the Gospel that I know. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves all of His children. He loved us all so much that He sent His only Son to live and die for us. How much I wish that all of us understood the depth of our Father's love. Ayaan's story is a sad one, it is one that I probably won't ever forget. But, I understand why it was chosen for book club and am glad for the time to reflect on my own beliefs and deepen the most important ones.

A Jillybutton

Jill LOVES her thumb and whenever she finds her thumb, she also finds her bellybutton. With one hand she sucks her thumb and with the other she pinches her bellybutton. For now, I think it is absolutely great.

Menacing

Vacation with Grandpa

Ron's dad came to visit for Zach's baptism and Christmas. We all had such a good time and the kids loved spending time with Grandpa. We will forever remember the past few weeks as vacation with Grandpa. He was such a fun Grandpa to have here. We went to the zoo, the dinosaur museum, lots of walks, had Christmas morning, and a ride on the light rail train. We are so grateful for his sacrifice in driving four days to be here with us and the great opportunity our kids had to get to know him better. He truly is a great man who has lived a wonderful life. I will always be thankful for the way he and Ron's mom taught, educated, worked hard, served, and loved.