D.C. al Fine

From the beginning to the end

What a year this has been! So many amazing things have happened. A quote from "Ally McBeal" (remember that old TV show?)

“If you think back and replay your year, if it doesn't bring you tears either of joy or sadness, consider it wasted.”

I've been thinking back over my year for the last couple of days, and I have to say, I've cried more than a couple of times, both in joy and sadness. But, that's okay. I love that my life if full of ups and downs. Everything in opposition...right?

Some memorable moments from this year:
Aunt Shirley passes away.
Annie Get Your Gun
Cheese Pizza vs. Nachos
Les Miserables
Mount Rushmore
Bye Bye Birdie
Ella used to have long hair
Gilmore Girls (with Rachael)
Drewser comes to my house
Ben is Cub of the Month
A 45 mile bike ride (and being willing to do it again next year!)
The Drowsy Chaperone
14, 13, 10, 9, 4 (14 years of marriage, Sarah turns 13, Ben turns 10, Josh turns 9, Ella turns 4)
Many, many tags
Sarah got a ballet solo
Two good friends move away from me
Three friends get engaged
Arrow of Light
Ben bDen
Harry Potter vs. Bobby Pendragon
Baseball games
Opera (especially Puccini)
Teaching Relief Society
Playing in the water at Gateway
Deciding to sell our home
Perfect Princess for Halloween
You stinkin' little rat!
Michael Phelps
Cow tipping
Sabrina
Joshua being bullied
Doctor Who, Eureka, other sci-fi shows
Pink hair, purple hair, red hair
Smart (alec) children

and now...
Almost 15 (Our 15th anniversary is in two weeks)

I leave you (after 430 posts this year of 365 in 365...stupid overachiever!) with all my best wishes for 2009. May you find joy in abundance and just enough sorrow to season it.

With love,
Patti

showing

We had our first showing yesterday. I never realized that I could be so frantic about cleaning my house. I remember feeling that way in college just before dorm inspection, but to be honest, I haven't felt that way since...until yesterday. I was running around like a mad woman with a rag in my hand cleaning as I went. I didn't even dare just put things into the closets, because maybe the buyers would want to look in the closets! I must have swept the kitchen floor half a dozen times, and I know I wiped down the bathrooms three times each. Sarah and I were scrubbing walls right up until the last minute, and poor Ella was hiding in her room (maybe she thought I'd clean her, too!)

In the end, it didn't matter all that much...the buyer hated my doors.

The doors? Oh well. I'll probably be doing it all again soon.

the beginning of the end

This year of blogging every day is nearly over, and I'm not certain how I feel about that. On the one hand, I used to write in my journal every day anyway, and this hasn't been that much different. On the other hand, there's a lot of things that I'm willing to put into a journal that I just won't put on a blog. Combine that with the pressure, and the tendency to blog stupid things in a pinch, and I think I'm glad it's almost finished.

As for the year itself, I think I'm glad it's almost over as well. It's been a good year (not a tire), full of some amazing experiences. I think I've learned a lot (one can never be certain), and know I've laughed a lot and cried a lot. My children have grown, my pocketbook has shrunk, but all in all, I think I came out ahead.

I'm looking forward to the new year.

abundance

"Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Happiness is...

I have to teach Relief Society on Sunday and the conference talks I've been assigned to teach from are Pres. Monson "Finding Joy in the Journey" and Pres. Uchtdorf "Happiness, Your Heritage". Well, it's got me thinking a lot about happiness and joy. Why wouldn't it?

As I was waking up this morning a song was running through my head (not an unusual occurrence...it's more unusual if there isn't one) and I realized that this song fits perfectly into my lesson.

HAPPINESS IS FINDING A PENCIL.
PIZZA WITH SAUSAGE
TELLING THE TIME.
HAPPINESS IS LEARNING TO WHISTLE.
TYING YOUR SHOE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
HAPPINESS IS PLAYING THE DRUM IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL BAND.
AND HAPPINESS IS WALKING HAND IN HAND.

HAPPINESS IS TWO KINDS OF ICE CREAM.
KNOWING A SECRET.
CLIMBING A TREE.
HAPPINESS IS FIVE DIFFERENT CRAYONS.
CATCHING A FIREFLY.
SETTING HIM FREE.
HAPPINESS IS BEING ALONE EVERY NOW AND THEN.
AND HAPPINESS IS COMING HOME AGAIN.
HAPPINESS IS MORNING AND EVENING,
DAY TIME AND NIGHT TIME TOO.
FOR HAPPINESS IS ANYONE AND ANYTHING AT ALL
THAT'S LOVED BY YOU.

HAPPINESS IS HAVING A SISTER.
SHARING A SANDWICH.
GETTING ALONG.
HAPPINESS IS SINGING TOGETHER WHEN DAY IS THROUGH,
AND HAPPINESS IS THOSE WHO SING WITH YOU.
HAPPINESS IS MORNING AND EVENING,
DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME TOO.
FOR HAPPINESS IS ANYONE AND ANYTHING AT ALL
THAT'S LOVED BY YOU.

My wish for today? To find the Happiness is all the little things. And maybe to help those around me find it, too.

Jungle

I was really hoping to blog about how wonderful Christmas was (it really was) or how brilliant Esther is (it's true) or how much fun we all had yesterday (we did). Or maybe even how much I enjoyed "The Dark Knight" (I did...finally!) But, Joshua came into my room late last night, sat on my bed, and cried for an hour. Why? We finally got it out of him that he has been unhappy since the middle of October and has been pretending all this time because he didn't want other people to worry.

As near as we can tell, sometime in the middle of October, Joshua became the victim of a bully.

Since that time, he's been teased mercilessly, and even physically assaulted (the bully body slammed him). He has not felt safe enough to tell anyone...not even David and I...until last night. He doesn't feel that his teacher can protect him. He is unhappy and afraid.

I am livid.

I got online last night and looked up the Granite School District policy about bullying. Among other very vague and confusing statements it says this:

A continuum of intervention strategies that emphasize education shall be made available
to assist students whose conduct falls short of reasonable expectations.

Isn't that saying that help will be provided for the bully? What about my child! What about the other poor children who are his victims? Isn't the teacher supposed to be disciplining this student? The picture we got was that on occasion she will reprimand him, but that's it! The entire document can we found at this link.

I've requested a parent/teacher/principal conference. In the email I was polite and non confrontational. David, the more threatening of the two of us, will not be attending the initial meeting. I will call the school first thing in the morning on January 5, 2009 to ensure that the meeting happens (hopefully in the afternoon of Jan. 5). We are having Joshua talk to a counselor (we asked, he thought that would be a good idea). We are praying that our home sells quickly so we can just remove him from this horrible situation.

Meanwhile we'll be spending some extra time with Joshua.

The mama lion is on the loose.

Merry Christmas!

A gratitude

Thank you to Aunt Sandy for having all four of my children sleep over at her house last night.

Thank you to Grandma R. for baking cookies with the children yesterday.

Thank you to Sarah for helping with the railing.

And early thanks:

To the Hutch family for our yearly traditional Christmas Eve morning breakfast.

To Grandma and Grandpa B. for having the kids help deliver Christmas goodies.

One More Sleep

countdown

2

Find your Joy

Luke 2:10-11

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

echo

If you want really good advice on how (and what) to listen to, listen to a teenager.

I love Genius!

brouhaha

more haha

haha

morning

There are some mornings when it isn't worth it to get out of bed.

So Close

(So close and yet so far)

Yes, I've been listening to Frankie Valli again.

Anyway, Christmas is right around the corner. Quite literally. And yet, I have not finished my chores. The painting is almost done, but my hands have rebelled (I couldn't play piano yesterday after I finished painting, which is a problem because, hello!, lessons!) so I won't be able to finish the painting...David will have to do it, which with our combined schedules means this weekend if I'm lucky. All of this adds up to my family room being torn apart for another week, and hopefully put together in time for Christmas.

My kitchen is a mess. Wouldn't you be a mess if there were extra shelves, storage boxes, and bags of garbage (the stupid carpet guys used my garbage can to throw away all their "scraps", which ended with my garbage can being completely full on Friday...collection is on Thursday...ARGH!). My poor kitchen has been whining at me to clean it, but I can't get up the energy to get in there and deal with the confined space.

The kids bathroom was beautiful and completely redone: new paint, new floor, new toilet. Now it's paint central...we clean all the paint stuff in there. It doesn't look so beautiful and redone anymore. And other than periodic surface clean to keep the stink away, it's not ready for showing either. One more thing to do, but I can't do that until the painting is finished (see family room).

On the other hand, I have finished my shopping, except for last minute candy and treats. I've got a good start on wrapping, and Ella and I will wrap some more today. My tree is finally up, which made the kids more than a little joyful, and Elvis' Christmas album has been ringing through the house...and Ella Fitzgerald, the Cambridge Singers, Bing Crosby, Harry, Amy Grant...bunches and bunches!

Walk like a man! (and have a great day!)

Family

I love the family Christmas party!

Thank you,

Michael, Joey, Sandy, Greg, Kathy, Gary, Terri, Mom, Dad, Anna, Jessie, Ellyse, Kathleen, Bryan, Brandon, Kyra, the seemingly hundreds of other family members...and especially...Cyndi, Amanda!

Our Family Rocks!

Kate

KICK SOME BUTT!!!!

Salvation

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Brian Stokes Mitchell

David and I went to the Tabernacle choir concert last night (yes! I was lucky enough to get tickets!) and it was absolutely amazing. Brian Stokes Mitchell is one of my favorite performers, yes, he has an amazing voice, but he always, always, acts while he is singing. Imagine that! Singing and acting at the same time.

I found a clip on Youtube that I just love, and no, he didn't sing "The Impossible Dream" last night, but while I was watching it tears were streaming down my cheeks and I, well, it's amazing to me that two years after the fact "Man of la Mancha" still affects me that way.

Normal

Kate called on Thursday and we talked for a little while (very little, we are both very busy right now). Cindy Johnson came by on Tuesday and Thursday and we worked on her song. Kate dropped by to pick up her music and stayed for about three minutes. I did talk to Crystal for a while on Thursday.

I'm a social person! What has happened to my life?

I haven't seen Cat or Tammy. I usually speak with Crystal, oh, every day! I haven't emailed, phoned or seen Lisa, Dawn or Rebecca since the last book club. I talked to Susan, but only because we were at church. I haven't even really talked to Rachael in about a month.

I think this fixing of my house has taken over my life (and given me gray hair to boot!).

Well, the house goes on the market on Monday, so for better or worse, we're nearly finished. I know that we can continue to fix things, make thing prettier, or more neutral, but most of it will be done today. It has to be...I want my life back.

I haven't had my breakfast yet

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Habitable?

The living spaces in my house are nearly bare, well, most of them. My kitchen is packed full of furniture, including my piano (on it's side!) and music shelf. Even the contents of my closet are on the couch in the kitchen. My computer/sewing room is packed with shelves and boxes, and the occasional bag.

The carpet guys are coming today.

Junior High School Choir Concert

...otherwise known as a lesson in deteriorating manners

The sopranos were out of tune, but hey, I sing with the Sterling Singers, so I'm rather accustomed to that. The men were barely audible, but it's Junior High School, so the fact that there were men at all is an accomplishment. The show choir was all show and very little talent...but, junior high, duh.

The part of the evening that drove me the most nuts was the audience. I could not believe the idiot children who sat behind me. Obviously junior high students, obviously there with a parent (no license yet!), had to sit by their idiot friends and talk the entire concert. And if they weren't talking, they were kicking the row of chairs. Stupid kids.

David had adult sitting behind him. Guess what? No better! They talked and laughed (loudly, I might add) the entire concert. And had a cell phone problem, too.

Sarah mentioned that her teacher was worried about having listed concert etiquette in the program. I wish she had stopped the concert, turned around, and spelled it out for the audience...oh wait! Idiot children can't spell!

Joy

The first Nowell the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay,
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heav'nly Lord
That hath made heav'n and earth of nought,
And with his blood mankind hath bought.

Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell
Born is the King of Israel.

The Light at the End

I'm beginning to think I might actually be able to finish everything to get my house ready to sell.

It won't be nearly as good as I originally wanted it to be, but it will be enough. It's funny how time alters our perceptions of what is possible. Sometimes I'll realize that I can accomplish more than I set out to, sometimes it's going to be less. Maybe the secret to living peacefully with yourself is the ability to adjust your goals as needed. I'm not saying that we should give up half way through a project, but perhaps small adjustments to the timeline or our expectations are somehow necessary, especially when there are circumstances out of our control that come into play. Maybe it's all about flexibility...

Stress

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I still don't want to be up, but there's too much to do, and too little time to get it done in.

Wish me luck.

distracted

My hair is wet, my clothes need to be ironed, I haven't even started makeup yet. We leave for church in less than one hour, and I just barely woke the kids up.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is playing in my bedroom.

Life is fine.

Train

Audition this morning, spark of creation...flickering, burning, boiling, kindling, flaming...why am I getting those words confused, should be obvious. I think I'm getting a headache. I want to debate the qualities of Coke vs. Pepsi. My house is completely torn apart. I will be getting new carpet next week. Stairs. That's where the installers earn all of their money. Stairs. I've got to call a piano mover. I'm glad we decided to get the family carpeted, too. The baptism today is at 4:00. My audition is supposed to end at 3:00. Oh well. I'll tell them I absolutely must leave on time. It should be okay, after all, it's Sandy and Eric. I wish my minus track sounded better, but it's my own fault, I made it. I prefer singing with a live accompanist, not a dead one. Red, blue, white, which shoes...flame, creation, vacation...rattlesnake, hockey puck, monkey, monkey, underpants.

This is the kind of week it's been

WhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhy


BecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecauseBecause

(go ahead and sing it, I am..."Because of the wonderful things he does")

Ow...Pain

We're nearly finished with the kids bathroom.

Ella's room is prepped and ready to prime.

The boy's room is nearly empty enough for me to start prepping.

The family room no longer looks like the staging area for "Madagascar"

11 days left...

Really?

Getting ready to move is hard work...

(my molecules have left the building!)

Book Tag

Rules:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, use the CLOSEST

Here's mine:

"Nevertheless, Einstein never accepted that the universe was governed by chance; his feelings were summed up in his famous statement "God does not play dice."

A Brief History of Time (from the big bang to black holes)
Stephen W. Hawking

Tag! You're it!

(Thank you, Kate, I was wondering what I was going to post this morning.)

Hope

Come, Thou long expected Savior,
Born to set Thy people free;
From out sins and fears release us,
let us find our rest in Thee.
Israels' strength and consolation,
Hope of all the world, Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
And unto Thy kingdom bring!
Come and reign in us forever,
Come and be our gracious King.
Hark! all heav'n above is ringing,
For 'tis love on earth that's born!
And our hearts in joy are singing,
"Welcome, welcome, happy morn!"

Born all people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley & A.T. Gurney