In Bethlehem

Not far from Mount Moriah
where the Father of the Faithful
built an altar of native stone,
and binding Isaac, laid him
on the fire-ready wood
of sacrifice, before he saw
the thicket-caught ram,

Mary lays her firstborn son,
wrapped in swaddling bands,
on tinder-dry hay
in limestone
manger
of a stable-cave.

Fulfilled again are words
of Abraham—
God will provide Himself a lamb.

Sharon Price Anderson, “In Bethlehem,” Ensign, Feb 2008, 10

Christmas Everywhere

Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!

Christmas in lands of the fir tree and pine,
Christmas in lands of the palm tree and vine,
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white,
Christmas where corn-fields lie sunny and bright.

Christmas where children are hopeful and gay,
Christmas where old men are patient and gray,
Christmas where peace, like a dove in its flight,
Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight;
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!

For the Christ Child who comes is the Master of all,
No palace too great and no cottage too small.

Phillips Brooks

from One Hundred & One Famous Poems

Pink Eye

Cate woke up with a swollen right eye. She said, "Dad, I got glue all over my eye. But I didn't do it."

I took her into the Instacare in Hurricane and the Dr. said it could just be a hold-over from her recent cold, but prescribed eye drops anyway. He said that with a 4x a day regimen, she should no longer be contagious after a day or so. 

Also, I have a new appreciation for my wife. I don't know how many times she has taken all three kids to the Instacare without killing them, but I know she has done it several times. I felt like I barely survived the ordeal... especially when the older children kept interrupting with loud questions and declarations. The doctor was telling me that if anyone else in the family should need the drops he would write a refill for the prescription. To which the oldest said, in her characteristically loud voice: "What is a refill?" and then, (not responding to my whispered, "We'll talk about it later.") "I don't have an eye infection; why would you give me the drops?" and then Gwen says, "My kindergarten teacher told me to NEVER take someone else's medicine!" ... Then, just after the doctor finished explaining the need for thorough hand-washing before eating, Gwen decides that would be a good cue to reach into the bag full of coloring books that I brought in with us and grab a cold Chicken McNugget and pop it in her mouth.

Little Baby

Baby Please Come Home

Staring at that cat is making me have guilt. "Great! Now I have guilt!" Name the movie, win a $50 gift card to The Home Depot. Just kidding, but not about the guilt. The cold hard truth is that I only felt real concern for that cat during the last 15 minutes of his life. Rest in peace.

Here's a little Christmas cheer to get our minds off of the dead cat. (Which we haven't buried yet because there's a foot of snow on the frozen ground.) This song makes me happy, even though Bono's a little creepy. He sure can sing.

Jack: In Loving Memory

Jack died last night. We hadn't seen him since Sunday, which isn't unusual-- but it has been so cold the last few days that we were concerned. Emily set out blankets and food, but we just didn't see him. He finally came home yesterday afternoon, cold and sick. We brought him inside, put him on blanket and a heating pad and tried to love him back to health. The three girls were worried, but Cate was most concerned. She kept sneaking out to the laundry room and patting him on the head (which isn't good for a dying cat) and telling him to get better. He wasn't. At bedtime, Emily picked him up and held him for a few minutes while he died. We had a good cry and went to bed.

In the last few hours I've been trying to remember everything there is to remember about the little black cat. And-- with the aid of a heightened and finely-tuned selective memory-- I have. So, from now on, I'll only share the good parts version of Jack's story. (And in my memory, we were pretty good cat-owners too.)

I woke the Three Birds this morning to let them know what happened last night. The girls stumbled into our room, got cozy in the covers, and we told them. They cried hard-- especially Catherine. (Cate has always had an adversarial relationship with Jack; from her time as a bald toddler when he would stalk her, crawling with his belly low in the grass in order to pounce on top of her shiny head and scratch. Even when he got older, and stopped lunging and scratching, he was never soft with her... but she still loved him. Cate wasn't sad about Jack's death only because of a selective memory, she loved him because she is loving.)

They cried. We told them of our plan to have a funeral later in the day. They cried some more. We talked about Heaven. We hugged. We reminisced. We cried again.

Here are some quotes from the morning talk:

Dad: "Do you remember how Jack would attack his back legs?"

Mom: "Do you remember when Jack would catch birds? ...lizards? ...mice?"

Bethany: "Do you remember how Jack would jump up and grab a sock if I waved it at him?"

Gwen: "Do you remember how Jack would chase a string if I pulled it?"

Cate: "Do you remember how I would throw a stick to Jack... and he would just look at it?"

More Snow

Well, it looks like it's going to keep on snowing for a while. The weather man says it may snow all night and all day tomorrow. Perhaps we'll even get some on Wednesday. I just hope that they don't call a snow day for the schools tomorrow because I need my Spring vacation in March.

Tonight Emily is working but the Three Birds and I went out for an adventure at Papa and Grandma's house up the street. Here are some pictures.

Let it Snow! (a little)

After walking the big girls to the bus stop this morning, Catherine & I had to cut the rest of our walk short due to some white flutterings from the sky:

Yea! I love it when it snows in Southern Utah. It gets us in the holiday spirit, gets the girls excited about playing in real snow when we go up north for New Year's and the mountains look so pretty & Christmas-y. But we don't have to wear snow boots to church or shovel our driveway because it always melts by noon.

Noon:

Now:

Meanwhile, I was shoveling the driveway. And it's still coming down.

12 Days of Christmas

Check out the Mo Tab's Christmas Countdown. They are featuring video clips of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" from last year's Christmas concert with The King's Singers. Click where it says Click Here for Day Three (or Four or Five or whenever you read this.)

A Thankful Heart

Anyone else tired of staring at that recipe? How about this face for a change?

Better late than never, some pictures & commentary from our lovely Thanksgiving weekend "up north." I didn't take any pictures of the actual feast or even the actual day, but I did get some footage of the adorable baby Eve. I'm sorry if you're not as smitten with her as I am, but Maryann, I know that you are! Here is a video of Eve being mauled by her three cousins.

Theywerethisclosetohertheentiretime.

I love that video because Eve makes her scrunchy face, does her best to remain in control of all of her toys, looks up as soon as her dad says her name, waves, smiles, scowls. She is just the cutest thing ever and dripping with personality. I can’t get enough of her. I love being an aunt. Dennis & Katie, we loved hanging out with you too, even though I spent most of the time making a fool of myself talking to Eve in a high voice. You can see the disdain in her eyes can’t you? What is your problem woman? Speak like a normal human being. Of course, she wasn’t so disdainful when I was sharing my Fuzzy Peach with her now was she? (My dessert from Bistro 258 in downtown Ogden - yum!)

(Cate took that picture!)

We took the little girls this year on our annual day-after-Thanksgiving hike. Cate fell on her face after about minutes on the trail and got a bloody nose, a flowing, bilateral, crying & smearing all over her mom's sweater one. She made a full recovery within 15 minutes despite the fact that this picture looks like she has elaphantitis. It’s just because she’s wearing 2 coats & big gloves.
Gwen bonded with Ma and Bethany bonded with Ross on the hike. Ross told Beth that there was a castle in the rocks up the canyon & she was sure she could make out the ruins. Daron & Christina came too. I have developed a new appreciation for my little brother since he married that girl. I wish we lived closer, so we could hang out in downtown Ogden more often. You guys know the best places to eat! Mom & Dad, thanks for hosting & feeding our little tornado of a family. & brothers, thanks for making me laugh.

I am so thankful for the family I have, that we all get along, that we love each other & can laugh together. I am thankful for my sister that I feel so close to even though she lives so far away. I am thankful for my husband and our home and family. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and His plan.

“All that we hold dear, even our families, our friends, our joy, our knowledge, our testimonies would vanish were it not for our Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”(President Monson, Treasured Gifts, Ensign 2006 and John 3:16)

White Chili with Salsa Verde

What to do with your leftover turkey:

This is a recipe that Emily came home with from Relief Society that calls for ground turkey. Tonight she made it with chopped-up leftover turkey and it was much better than the original.

White Chili with Salsa Verde

Chopped onions (the recipe calls for 1/2 cup, we diced about 5 small ones.)
1 Cup diced turkey leftovers (or 12 oz. ground turkey)
1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups water
2 cans great northern beans
1 can diced chilies
2 teaspoons chicken bullion granules
Pepper
1/4 Cup water
2 Tbs. Flour

Cheese
Salsa Verde

In a soup pan, saute the onions until caramelized, add turkey and garlic. Stir in water, beans, chilies, bullion, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir together flour and water and add to thicken.

Serve with Salsa Verde and grated cheese on top.

Now check this out. Sarah Palin after pardoning a turkey in Alaska:

Hi Aunt Maryann!

More pictures, video, etc. coming. We miss you Hoosiers!

Butch and Sundance: Los dos amigos son malos y muy guapos.

We usually have a no TV policy from Sunday to Friday after school, but tonight (after a few stressful evenings and some hectic days at work this week) I decided to watch a movie: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Emily was at work so it was just me and the three birds. They were interested in watching a cowboy movie, having seen another great cowboy movie-- Three Amigos-- at Grandma and Papa's house last week.


Here are a few quotes from the girls as they watched with me:

At the beginning of the film--

Cate: "Yay! Three Amigos!"

Bethany: "Are those guys good or bad?" "Why are the good guys in this movie bad?"

Gwen: "I think that one is handsome... No, that one is handsomer."


Later in the movie--

Cate: Asleep. (This movie isn't as exciting as Three Amigos.)

Bethany: "So, are those guys still bad? Why? Don't they want to be good? I think they are going to become good at the end of the movie."

Gwen: (dressed in Bethany's cowgirl hat and boots.) "Is that girl (Sundance's girlfriend) a cowgirl princess, or just a cowgirl?"


Right before the final scene of the movie (Butch and Sundance are in Bolivia; they are bloodied, cornered, and about to run out to meet their fate.)--

Cate: Still asleep.

Bethany: "If they had become good, those people wouldn't want to kill them."

Gwen: "That one is handsome." (And later) "Well, they are both handsome." "They are bad, but they are handsome."

FHE

A Never-Ending Chain

Lyrics:

A family should be a never-ending chain,

linking fathers and mothers to daughters and sons,

but only in the temple of the Lord

can a never-ending chain be forged.

Beth has a new post...

It has been a while, but if you are a reader of Bethany's blog, she updated it last night.

Bethany came home from school last week telling me about a Veterinarian Assembly they had at school. They sang "You're a Grand Old Flag" and other patriotic songs. Veteran's Day Assembly maybe? Some kind of vet anyway! We love & appreciate all the vets in our family (Ed & Daron). Gwen & Bethany were both moved by the music and wanted to write their own tributes to America. Here are the lyrics, they tunes change a little bit every time they're sung. (I corrected their spelling.)

America, Home of the Free, by Bethany

America, America

is our home and our star

America-a-a

Oh, Our precious AMERICAAAAA!

Precious is our star (whisper) America.

Gwen's song :

Home is our precious

AMERICA!

America, America, America, America is

oooooooooooooour

heart!

I think America is one of those words that loses it's meaning if you say it over & over too many times or type it too many times, because now it doesn't look spelled right.

In other news, Catherine has proved beyond any shadow of doubt that she is a true blue Lowe girl by trimming her own bangs. Stop laughing. Especially all of you from Hemet. I trimmed them up cute just the day before yesterday & she thought they needed to be just a hair shorter. So she looks unkempt & homeless now. It's a stage all my girls go through.

True Beauty

I just picked up the November issue of the New Era and there on the cover is "The Beauty of Women, pp. 2, 30." I sat down and immediately read both articles and had to come back here & ammend my blog to include a few insights from this article by Elder Lynn G. Robbins.

Happiness is the most attractive accessory a young woman can have...

If happiness is the most attractive accessory a young woman can have, then a smile would have to be the most charming cosmetic. Make-up, if applied tastefully and in moderation, can enhance appearance. But no amount of eye shadow, lipstick, or mascara could possibly compete with the natural attractiveness of a genuine smile. It brightens the room. It cheers others. It communicates friendship, love, and optimism so much more than any cosmetic ever could. It puts people at ease and is welcoming. Truly in the world of glamour, there is no close second to a genuine smile.

The virtuous smile is truly beautiful as it radiates in a totally natural way. This true beauty can’t be painted on but is a gift of the Spirit. It is literally letting your light shine before men. When virtue is combined with obedience to the Lord’s laws of health and respect for the human body, young people truly become temples in which the Holy Ghost dwells, giving them a beautiful aura. It is this beauty that is most becoming and enduring.

The kind of a man a virtuous woman wants to marry also “seeth not” as the natural man seeth. He will be drawn to the true beauty she radiates from a pure and cheerful heart.

That's what I meant! The Sanctity of Womanhood by Elder Richard G. Scott is also excellent, true and enlightening.

Natural Woman

I have three daughters and I am a (new!) young women leader in my ward, so I've been thinking about girl-stuff lately. Plus also (nod to Junie B.), I happen to be a girl. Here's what I think and I'd love to hear your opinions on the subject. -especially if they agree with mine! (Just kidding, although Matthew won't think I am.) I don't think that women should have to wear makeup or shave their legs. Now before you run screaming from my blog in horror, hear me out. Why do women shave their legs? It's not natural. You may say, because it's gross for women to have hairy legs. It wouldn't be gross if everyone was used to it. No one thinks it's gross for women to have hair on their arms. (Do they?) It's a conspiracy I tell you. Women should just dress modestly and throw away their razors. Who's with me? Anyone, anyone? This rant is brought to you by my sprained ankle, which makes it difficult for me to stand on one foot in the shower to shave my legs.

On to make-up. (Isn't this fun?) I happen to hate the stuff. Mostly because I don't know how to use it & always feel like a little girl playing with her mom's makeup & trying to look pretty & grown-up when I wear it. I also don't take thirty minutes to get my face ready every morning, so I have an irrational fear that if I ever start to wear more makeup (& I'm afraid I'm starting to need it now that I'm pushing thirty), I'll never be able to stop because if I don't wear it, I'll look like I just woke up. Know what I mean? Once you start, you can't stop. I've been told I look just fine without makeup and that I don't need it, but that is only because I never wear it. If I wore lots of make up every day & you saw me once without it, you would think I needed it. Girls, I think you're beautiful and you don't need to cover up any spots or blemishes or lengthen your lashes or darken your lips to be more beautiful. I look at my girls and it just breaks my heart to imagine them thinking that they had to make themselves look prettier, because they are not naturally pretty enough. Now, I don't really have a problem with make-up or think it's wrong for anyone to wear it, I just don't think that any female out there should feel like she has to wear it. I just wish women & girls appreciated their own natural beauty a little more. Don't get so used to a painted on face that when you look in the mirror without makeup, you don't like what you see. & please, when my girls start wanting to wear makeup (despite my example & warnings & feminist views), will one of my lovely sisters please teach them how? 'Cause I got nothin'.

So, do you think I'm a crazy Amazon jungle woman now? I'm not really. Just a wannabe.

On the Rocks

We spent the afternoon training our girls to rappel in Silver Reef, Utah, out by Leeds. (What, you've never heard of it?)


Oh, are you taking my picture?



The toothless wonder.


Bad to the bone.

Here's the giant cliff they were rappelling:

I think they're ready for a slot canyon:

Nice technique:

Bethany gives me some pointers:

Halloween

Last night, because Dental Hygienists, Cowgirls and Cinderella need curly hair:


Gwenyth, Dental Hygienist:


No, she is not a doctor, nor a nurse, not even a dentist. She is a dental hygienist. She has wanted to be a dental hygienist for months, ever since one visited her kindergarten class and showed them how to brush and floss. A 15 minute visit from a complete stranger made more of an impression on her than her mother's profession. Whatever. She's the cutest little assistant I've ever seen though!


Bethany, Cowgirl:


She also constructed a stick horse all by herself out of -what else- a stick, a brown paper bag and some yarn. It's quite ingenious. Take it from me, I'm her mother & I think everything she does is ingenious. I finally found a Wrangler shirt on clearance for $5 at a country western store. Hooray! I spent more on the hat than I planned ($9.99 & worth every penny as soon as she put it on), so she didn't get cowboy boots.


(Matthew, Man we have cute kids! Does everyone think their kids are this cute? I am trying to be objective here, but I didn't see another little girl or boy come close to the cuteness of ours at the Halloween parade at the elementary school this morning. Really. We're pretty lucky. We also have the cutest nieces & nephews on the planet.)


Catherine, Cinderella:


After all my fruitless shopping, I finally decided to sew Cate's gloves. I made them out of the same light blue material as her bustle. They were long, reaching above her elbow, beautiful and elegant. (I didn't make all the fingers, they just came down to her wrist and a point on the back of her hand.) We forgot to wear them. Oh well!


The girls made a haul last night of course. After eating one piece of candy each, all they wanted to do was play with the Play-Dough they got at Mona's house. Isn't that a good idea? Better than toothbrushes or raisins!

Snippets

I spent all afternoon yesterday shopping for accessories for my girls' Halloween costumes. Catherine is going to be Cinderella; she has a dress, but needs long gloves. Gwen needs toothbrushes to put in the pocket of her scrubs so she can be a dental hygienist, and Bethany needs boots & a hat for her cowgirl costume. We came home with a few shirts that we didn't need, but they were on clearance, new ramekins, and an extra pumpkin bucket for trick-or-treating. I didn't find a single thing I needed for their costumes. We only had time to go to two stores because although I planned to go shopping all afternoon, that just means from noon (when Gwen gets home from kindergarten) to 3:30 (when Bethany gets home from school). By the time I fed my two littles lunch and drove 1/2 hour each way to St. George, my all afternoon shopping experience lasted only an hour. Sigh. I usually love living out in the sticks, but sometimes it is very inconvenient.

Bethany can ride her bike! This is huge. She rode to the bus stop this morning. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I had a seven-year-old who couldn't ride, because it was totally her parents' fault. We live on a narrow, quiet street with no curbs or sidewalks & hardly any traffic, except for our neighbors and us, so most of the time it would be safe for her to practice riding on our street, except when the two teenagers that live on each end of the road drive by. I don't know if they're too cool slow down for children at play, so I don't like my girls in the road unless I'm with them. Which is why Bethany just learned to ride her bike last week. Anyway, I'm so proud of her. She's pretty proud of herself too. When she got to the bus stop this morning she said, "I'm feeling pretty good!"

Now it's Gwen's turn. She learns in the opposite way of her sister. Bethany wanted to make sure she could steer, slow down, stop, etc., before she tried to ride by herself. Gwen can pedal down the road by herself, but she can't steer, slow down or stop. Hilarious. Such a good example of their personalities.

After walking home from the bus stop this morning Catherine said to me, "Mom, my heart is beeping!" I took some pictures of her last night as she helped me with the dishes. She really helps too!
(Our dishwasher doesn't work because our water is so hard that it ruined the new one we bought when we moved here, so we aren't getting another one until we get a water-softener, which will hopefully be before the girls move out & we don't need a dishwasher anymore.) (She's wearing her Cinderella dress, her sister's flower girl dress for Dedo & Jena's wedding.) (Have a nice day!)

Behunin Canyon

Saturday my hubby, my dad, my little brother & I went canyoneering in Zion again. Man, I love that place. This time, we went down Behunin Canyon, 8 and a half miles round trip, eight rappels. First, we had to get up there. The ascent begins with the Angels Landing trail, but turns left (north?) at Scout Lookout after Walt's Wiggles. That's 3.8 miles with 2000 feet of altitude gain. Whew! Gorgeous hike though. I love getting up & out of the crowds. It was a beautiful day. & so many colors! Red & white cliffs, red & yellow leaves, green pines, blue sky. This was a trickier canyon than we've done in the past. Lots of boulder-hopping & cliff-hugging to avoid getting wet as much as possible. Here's a close up of the water we were trying to avoid:

Doesn't it look refreshing? We stayed dry until the 3rd to last rappel. Matthew went first: rappelled down to the first pothole, walked around it & then down to the bottom, jumping over a second pothole. This is a pothole: I went next, rapped down to the first pothole (full of cold, stinky murky water), walked around it & NOPE! Didn't quite make it! Suddenly I slipped & slid back into the water! I pulled on my rope, the brake, and found myself hanging waist deep in a cold, dark, slippery pothole. It took a while, but I managed to climb out & finish the rappel. But not before dragging Matthew into the cold, slimy, stinky water in the 2nd pothole as he tried to help me hop over it. (In my defense, I twisted my ankle & couldn't hop very well.) Ross & Dad followed shortly after, they'd been at the top yelling "Are you OK?" a lot. We were all fine. Cold, wet & stinky, but fine. (Did I mention that the water was not clean?) The last rappel was 165 feet - mostly free. Awesome. Then a short hike down to Emerald Pools and the Zion shuttle bus & home. Where Mom had dinner waiting for us. & there was warm clean water to shower in. & hot chocolate. Mmmmm.

It was an awesome day. (I think a need a new adjective.) Incredible. Beautiful. Fun! Definitely want to do it again next year. All the pictures we took are here. Here's some video:

Me, then Matthew, then Ross, he's kindof a show-off. (Love you Ross!) My camera battery was dying, so I didn't get Matthew's full descent.

Talking and the Middlest Child

A few years ago I read a study that showed the developmental stages of humor. I don't remember all of the stages, but I do know that sarcasm was one of the later stages to develop and that it isn't until about age 10 that most kids even get sarcasm.

I've taught 3rd and 5th grades and I've seen it first hand. If you make a sarcastic comment to 3rd graders and they think you're mean. When you get sarcastic with a 5th grader he thinks you're the funniest guy ever.

I'm not saying that this five year old always gets sarcasm when it comes from others, but tonight I saw for myself that she is capable of creating it:

Bethany was talking and she kept referring to Ramona Quimby. "Oh, that's just like Ramona..." or "Oh, Dad! You're acting just like Ramona Quimby's dad!"

Gwen turned and asked, "Who's Ramona Quimby?"

"Oh, she's this girl in some of my books. She's hilarious!"

To which Gwen responds with her eyes rolling, "Waah! I'm Bethany and I'm sad because my best friend isn't even real."

***********

Gwen has always been advanced verbally.

When she was a baby, she was already using language to deflect trouble: I'm specifically thinking of a time before she was two, still in a crib, and speaking in complete sentences; She had been climbing in and out of her crib at night and I wanted to catch her in the act. So when I heard the sound of her playing with her Little People playground set, I sprung into action. On the way to her room I heard feet thumping, a mighty leap, and a scramble into the crib. I opened the door to find the Little People still swinging in the tiny playground and Gwen in bed-- cool as a cucumber-- with her hands crossed behind her head, legs crossed, and one toe making lazy circles in the air above her bent knee. She looked up at me and said, (do you remember her little John Wayne voice?) "Dad, I hungry. Gimme some nuts."

***********

With this history, I can't wait for the teenage years.