Silent Night

I was looking out at my backyard this evening with the light snow falling and it seemed so calm and peacful. It made me think that is how our life is right now very silent and especially in the evening. Today we went to church came home had dinner and we both our on our laptop then I wander to go read and then Scott goes down stairs to rummage through the channels on the TV.

Life is very quiet here at the Nielson's. Yesterday it got down to -9. We stayed in all day cleaning, and working on projects. Checking every so often to see what the other one was doing. We decided to go get something to eat around 6:30 and all our favorite spots had a 30 to 40 min wait. Wound up at the Firehouse Grill and then over to Best Buy, looking at a laptop to maybe get for me at office, to a TV to replace in the exercise room, to a new cell phone. I won't let on which one we walked out of the store with. It seems every year we go shopping one day and pick out something for each other or something that the whole family would enjoy.

3 days before Christmas and the gifts are all wrapped, treats for neighbors and friends are ready. No I didn't do any baking, I bought see's candy through the office. I just need to get some groceries for the cabin. Make the crepes and some bread and thats it. Christmas eve we have about decided to go to a movie and out to eat.

Friday we celebrated our 39th Anniversary. I didn't remember it till noon and called Scott and reminded him. We had an office party at Mountain River Ranch. It was cold for a sleigh ride but was dressed warm. Last weekend we had two more nights at our timeshare so we went to Sun Valley. There was no snow until the day we left and the ski hill was all manmade and only a few runs opened. We decided not to spend the money so didn't ski. Walked around town, ate out saw the movie "Austrailia" and hung out at the condo. Scott did work and I started the "Twilight Series". Yep I liked the movie so I borrowed my nieces books. This is why I don't read as I will stay up all night to read. I started them on Friday and read the first three books by Tuesday at 6 am. I am going slower in the last book and am half way through.

I am looking forward to Christmas Day and 4 out of 6 kids will be here and were going up to a cabin in Island Park till Sunday. So snowmobiling, cross country skiing, sled riding, playing games and eating lots of food with the kids should fill my cup up for a few weeks.

Trying desperately to get into the spirit

Usually I am one who is so excited about Christmas. But this year I am struggling. I am not sure if its my age, no snow or maybe because no kids will be here. Oh let me rephrase that, 2/3 of my children will be here sometime on Christmas day. I have always made a big deal about Christmas Eve. So this will be the first year that we won't be doing anything. No basket, no last minute gift buying, no running treats to neighbors, no candy or cookie making, no hoagies, no movie. I knew that this tradition would come to end, but maybe I wasn't ready for it.

We did rent a cabin in Island Park for 3 nights from Thursday till Sunday morning. We will snowmobile, cross country ski, eat, play games and just enjoy each others company. I had to do something to keep them coming. I know they will all say move to Utah. I don't think so, I love Idaho.

So the debate was why decorate? I think maybe so my neighbors won't think I am scrouge. Oh yes we have Geoff still at home but he is leaving on the 9th till the 25th to visit Clint and besides he has other interests. Geoff did get the lights on the roof up before Thanksgiving. I did put a few things up outside, but haven't even pluged in the tree and snowman. The reindeers are not up and haven't decided if they are going to get put up. This is the first year the cheerleaders didn't come selling a fresh wreath.

Yesterday I thought I need to get in the spirit no matter what. So I put on Christmas music, lit Christmas candles to get the aroma and started wrapping gifts. Ok that got me to thinking how much harder it is to decide what to give. Money is sure easy but as my son in law Justin says thats no fun. I was thinking on how I have given everyone Christmas ornaments for years now, even the grandchildren. Do they really like what I choose and do they feel obligated to put it on their trees. Then I really got thinking about the grandchildren and their future spouses and maybe they want a theme tree or don't want to put those old ornaments on (if they even still have them). So I am going to throw it out to my kids and see if that tradition can be broken. I always buy them after Christmas for the next year at 75% off.

I am a sucker for those after Christmas sales on Christmas items. Save them all year and then forgot what I had bought. I have so much wrapping paper that I am good for at least 3 more years. I notice that I don't think about what paper I have and buy ribbon that doesn't even go with the paper that I have. Then there was paper I was using that was so cheap that it kept tearing. I then realized it was some of Grandma's that we found in her house. Sorry Jeralee, you might just have to rewrap. Growing up we would save the paper and ribbon and used it the next year if it didn't tear. So here I am skrimping and I think what for. So I threw out the cheap paper. This year I am not saving any ribbon. My kids can tell you how careful I am to save the ribbon.

So if this is the year for change I thought how can I do my trees different with what I have. Yes I put both of them up. The one downstairs I put in a different location. The one upstairs I put ivy, pinecones and red berries on it. Downstairs who knows what I am going to do.

We are getting rid of all of our old VCR tapes except the disney movies. Just in case we have a grandchild come and visit us. I know we still have a VCR to the big screen. We don't watch them and I have alot of CD's and their only taking up space. I hope no one will be offended if I get rid of something you gave me in the past. I just hope you all are not hanging on to things I gave you that you don't like. I can assure you if I haven't forgotten that I gave it to you I really don't care.

My Baby is 22

On November 10 my youngest son Geoff turned 22. He can tell you that there is some good and bad being the youngest of 6 kids. Good is that you get spoiled. Bad no family living close to celebrate your birthday except mom and dad. Its been 3 years since Geoff has been home for a birthday. Well his birthday landed on a Monday and what better thing to do for FHE then to have a birthday party.

We had a FHE group come in and I made cupcakes and had hats, favors and a goodie bag for all 21 of them. We played a game and had a good time.








Can you pick out the girl Geoff is interested in?

Gratitude

This goes along with my last blog. Avry had a list of 20 things she was grateful for and tagged anyone who reads her blog to do it also. I thought hers was awesome and so it hard when you want to copy alot of hers. But here goes.

1. Christ and Heavenly Father

2. Prayers

3. Scott

4. Heated mattress pad and car seat

5. Blogs of my kids

6. Idaho Sunset and Sunrise

7. Walking anywhere

8. Laughter

9. Travel to new places

10. Smiling at everyone

11. Being a MOM

12. Debt Free

13. 3 roses

14. Holidays

15. A son out of Iraq

16. Learning new things

17. Family & Friends

18. Eating whatever I want

19. Serving Others

20. Home with a hot tub on cold winter nights.

Thankful

Love this time of year as we head into the holidays. With Thanksgiving in less then two weeks I am so thankful for so many things. First I have to say THANKS to Tiffany for updating the look of my blog. She said it was easy, but I know it would take some time for me to figure it out. It makes me more excited for the Holidays. I started boobing when I noticed the picture of all of us and she had put "Family is Everything". It is so true, my favorite saying to the kids when they were growing up is friends may come and go but family will always be there. I am eternal grateful for each one of my children and what they continually teach me. I just wish they lived closer. Wait, I still have Geoff when he is not running up to Rexburg to see a certain girl.

I have been trying to catch up on the conference talks in the November Ensign. This morning I read the one by David Bednar on "Pray Always". It was interesting that he said to just pray and thank HF and not ask for anything. So I tried it with my morning prayers and do you know how hard that is. I kept wanting to ask him to bless someone. I read two other talks also that were good. Jeffrey R. Holland "The Ministry of Angels" and he testified of both heavenly and mortal angels that minister to each one of us. The other one was by Joseph B. Wirthlin "Come What May and Love it" I had to laugh at this whatever comes our way in life we need to love it. I was thinking of my children who have had some things come their way and how much they are trying to LOVE IT. Just reading these made my day at home fantastic.

Veterans Day

Yesterday was Veterans Day and I was touched by several things. It was raining and so I didn't go to the HS track and walk but instead walked on the treadmill. When I exercise at home I wait till at least 8 so I can watch part of the today show. They had a segment on mothers who had lost sons in the Iraq/Afghanistan war in the last year and were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. It was so touching to learn of the hopes and dreams of these men through their moms eyes and how they met at the cemetery.

There are over 300,000 soldiers buried there. Go here for some interesting facts about Arlington.


Of course I was crying by the end and thinking of my own son who has been a solider in Iraq and has only one more day before he is reunited with his wife Lia and two girls Nadia and Bianca. How I wish I could be their to see that reunion and to know he is out of harms way.



Then on Jay Leno last night he had John McCain on. He was so funny and very gracious about his defeat and so supportive of Obama. He said no one wants to see a sore looser and that he had this incredible journey of seeing places and meeting people he would of never known. He is looking forward to going back to the senate and working for this country. The audience was mostly made up of military people and the last thing Jay asked he was what he would want to say to these people and veterans. He told the story which I have heard before of when he was in the prison camp. I have copied the full story that he gave last night.
Sen. John McCain: "Just about every day, but especially on Veterans Day, I think of a guy I was in prison with a long time ago. For a few years we were in Hanoi and prison camps in North Vietnam. They kept us in solitary confinement, two or three to a cell.

"They finally moved us into large cells, 20 or 25 prisoners in each cell. The guy that moved in with me was a guy named Mike Christian. Mike was from a small town near Selma, Ala.

"Very poor family. Enlisted in the Navy at age 17. Later became an A6 bombardier/navigator. Was shot down and captured.

"He loved this country. I moved in the same room with him. The uniform we wore in prison was blue, like, short-sleeved shirt, like, pajama trousers, and shoes -- sandals that were cut out of automobile tires.

"I recommend them highly. One pair lasted me five and a half years.

(Laughter.)

"Part of this change in treatment, they let us have some packages from home in which were small items -- some of us -- like a handkerchief or a scarf. He took his blue shirt, fashioned himself a bamboo needle, got a piece of white cloth, piece of red cloth, and sewed the American flag on the inside of his shirt.

"Every evening before we would have our bowl of soup, we would put his flag -- his shirt -- on the wall of the cell and pledge our allegiance to the country.

"It was an important part of our day.

"One day the Vietnamese came, searched the cell, found his shirt, removed it, came back that night -- and I'm telling it fast -- opened the door of the cell, called for him to come out, closed the door of the cell, and beat him very badly for a couple hours.

"Then they threw him back into the cell. The cell in which we slept had a concrete slab, light bulbs in all four corners, naked light bulbs. We cleaned Mike up as well as we could.

"I went over to lie down on the concrete and go to sleep. And I happened to look over in the corner of the cell, and underneath the lightbulb, with a piece of white cloth and a piece of red cloth and his bamboo needle, was Mike, with his eyes almost shut from the beating that he had received, sewing another American flag.

"He wasn't doing that for us. He was doing it for his country. He wasn't doing it for himself. He was doing it for his country and our ability to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

"I'll never forget Mike Christian."


Of course I was crying and realizing how blessed I am to live in this country and how I take my freedom for granted sometimes. I am grateful to all who serve and have served in the military to protect our freedom.

House Cleaning

I started out saying I had been home all day and then I realized that is not right. I drove to the high school and walked at 6:30 am and then this evening I walked down to Tamera's and got a costume for bowling tommorrow. My team wanted to do something really easy. So we are all going as graduates of Teton Lanes. Just a graduation gown with a sign on our backs. I am even using my 1967 tassle.

I had a girl from the college come and work for 4 hours cleaning out my cupboards in the kitchen. I was definately in the cleaning mood. I am good to help other people clean and dejunk but when it comes to my home I struggle deciding what to get rid of. I started thinking about my kids and the fun they will have going through everything and thinking why did she keep this.

I went through my receipe books and sent a few to DI as I never use them. I have one I don't like but it was a gift. So how long do you keep something you don't like but it was given to you as a gift and especially from a memeber of you family? It is interesting how many diet books I had. Fit or Fat System, Protein Power, The Carbohydrate addict's, Fat Burning Food, Body for Life. I tried to call my daughter to see which ones she would recommend to toss. Glancing through the Carbohydrate Adict's I had hylighted a lot. There were 11 things that said within two hours after eating a full meal do you have these signs. Well I thought in Hawaii I had almost all of them for reactive hypoglycemia.

My bedroom I had an extra curling iron I don't remember where I got it and haven't used for who knows how long. So into the DI box. Why do I save things that I have replaced.

Here it is Saturday a nice day. Continued the cleaning. Got all of Geoff's stuff out of boxes and organized it in his room. Have a huge box for DI. It feels so good to have empty spaces. It fact it is so nice to have some days at home to clean. Dad gave his shelves and bench on the west wall to Mark Cook. He is making a smaller one. He said when they took it over he had forgotten how much stuff we have given them. We are glad they can use it.