Christmas Eve

" It's not Christmas Eve. It's Christmas Eve Day.. duh" Classic quote from my Dad I quoted to the kids about 50 times and they just looked at my like I was crazy. That's ok.. I AM!


We followed the Tennyson tradition for Christmas Eve this year. I cook all night and morning the day of. The menu this year was a huge turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing, corn, spiral pasta salad, monkey bread, 7 layer dip, fruit dip, veggie tray, cheese ball, yummy green salad with candied cashews, fruit salad.

The point of the meal on Christmas Eve is 1. To get everyone nice and full so they sleep well that night. 2. After I cook all this food- it is enough food for 3 days. We eat on paper plates and then I don't cook, or clean for a couple days.. SOOOO my favorite tradition ever!!!

Toby wanted me to go with him for our workout in the afternoon, while the ham and turkey were cooking. I still had to roll the monkey bread out. He said he would do it for me to make it faster. ( How hard could it be right?) Let's just say he didn't enjoy it very much. (MOM- he asked if this was how you did it? I think he thinks because you are wonder woman that monkey bread comes magically for you..LOL)



We made it to the gym that afternoon.. and it was good I did- because all this food was going to be eaten as well.

We invited some friends over who don't have family around. John Hill, a fantastic guy that works on one of the bases here.. ( not a soldier), and Page.. who we love to have over and he always brings some new electronic thing for us to be jealous over..:) We really enjoyed their company and hope they come to our Crazy place again.

Dinner ( if I could say) was amazing! I don't know the last time I had such an amazing ham. I made it in the crock pot, and just put some spices and then brown sugar and no water. It turned out sooo moist. The monkey bread was great.. had to do a second batch in the morning because the first batch did not rise. ugh!'

Here are some pictures after we ate.. there was still tons of food- YAY

Afterwards, the kids opened pajamas and got ready for bed.

These pictures are of Carmen putting carrots out for Rudolph, and some glitter oatmeal so he could see our house when he was flying.

I am so thankful for this season and the opportunity we have to be together as a family. Who knows if we will be in the coming years.. We read the Story from the scriptures and then the kids were fast asleep.

Toby and I obviously stayed up and fixed everything up for morning.. everything was pretty much done- it was nice for it to take all of 5 minutes to have everything out.

Toby and I watched a movie and (knowing the kids had set alarms for 6 am) headed to bed.

How blessed I am to live in this home, in a foreign country with family. How I wish sometimes to be closer to all the family at home.. that time will come again.

My First Marathon

Looks like I will run my first marathon in April. Finally found one here that is not on Sunday. Turns out there are 3 other ones in January or February. Yikes!

I will see how I am feeling for any of those ones.

The tough subjects

I just need to touch on this to let people into my heart, but also to show my gratitude for learning things through struggle and heartache.

Today, Toby came home from work and told me that our friend was going home to the states because his brother had died. I was surprised of course. I could tell Toby was kind of apprehensive to tell me the situation, but he did anyway.

His brother had apparently committed suicide. For those that do not know me very well, I too had a brother commit suicide. I have been very surprised at how much my heart has been aching today. The hurt and sorrow in these situations is sometimes harder to deal with.

I remember that day vividly. I remember the hurt the unanswered question. As I have continued on through life these last 12 years, I reflect back on what I have learned. How I could have reacted differently. How I could have judged everyone I know that has ever dealt with this type of situation. How much I have learned about free agency and choices.

This post was originally written in December and I put off publishing it. I just want people to know, there is a purpose for everyone. Sometimes we lose that focus and sometimes we may need help and not be sure how to ask for it. Whatever the situation is..
As I have been praying about the next step for our family. It has become clear that I cannot run from my purpose in life anymore. As I reflect to see if I have done everything here in Japan that the Lord has sent me to do.. I have to honestly answer NO.
There is a difference in being hard on yourself, and being honest with yourself. My prayers reaffirm that it is the latter and that I have been blessed with special gifts/talents to really be able to help people. The things my parents have taught me to not judge others, but be honest is showing up in every aspect around me.

I have been truly blessed in almost every endeavor I have tried to do. I have learned new skills and have found many new talents by trying new tasks and really asking more of myself.

Bottom line of this post is that I truly care for people. I want people to know their value and their purpose here. My testimony of the Love that our Heavenly Father has for his children is very full and I hope to pass that along to others. It still saddens me about my brother and I miss him, but not dwelling on the negative and going out and helping others who might feel the way he felt is something I must do.

New Furniture

I just wanted to post a picture of my new furniture. I went with leather this time. I had micro suede for the last couple of years. I loved the look of it, but man I hated cleaning it. I failed to cover them in plastic when I first got them. I have just been shampooing them every week. That gets time consuming.

We lost a couple inches in the table but it is still really big and I still love the counter height. I contemplated going down to a regular size. At the store I sat down, and felt like I was sitting on the floor. Counter height is just more US.

I am very thankful for all my blessings and the fact I know how to get a good deal and the salesman was willing to barter on these items.

The couch has a chaise that matches but I have not taken a picture of that yet.

Blogging

I know the picture is extreme.. but I wanted everyone to see how I look while I am blogging tonight.

Remember when Toby was gone for 2 years and I blogged almost everyday? Wasn't that awesome? Well, he is not home tonight, so I am going to blog and relax.. WELL, at least between painting coats for my boards.

This picture is from my Christmas present Toby got me and I am super stoked!

It of course, got here the day before my parents left the island, but we got some fun pictures at the park and then I have been having fun this last week as well.

The hair looks blue, but it is really purple in order to get it really white.. and these wrinkles need to GO.. so a weekly mask/facial was in order.