JOY To The World...

Maybe we'll get better at this with practice! Too bad the Jingle Bells clip didn't record in a playable format! Drat!! It was really good! And then there was Christmas Day, complete with traps, presents, horseback riding. . . and driving up north to be with cousins, and FINALLY Brandon, Tannya and baby Nikki!

Christmas Eve PJ's

BEFORE. . .


and AFTER. . .

15th Annual SCHRAMUNT Dinner

So, this evening was our 15th year of having Christmas Eve dinner and entertainment with the Schrams. Wow! What a tradition!! Here are pics from this year's event!

WILD RIDE. . .

We sure have been blessed by our association with Don Whittaker, aka Grandpa Don. We have known him for the past seven years, but it seems like he has always been in our lives! Because of him, we our living some of our dreams of having horses in our lives. It all started out with Natalee wanting to ride, our selling bread on the corner when Grandpa Don drove by, and the rest is history! Four years ago Don had a stroke and heart attack and nearly died. We took over the care of his horses and leading the trail rides he loved to do. Two years ago he gave Natalee her favorite horse, Silverado, for her 16th birthday. That summer he sold all the horses except Silver and Zorro to Ken Anderson. We continued our care of the horses and doing rides for one more year, then Ken moved the horses and stopped riding them, only breeding them. It made us sad, but things have worked out. Natalee and I were still able to ride a lot.
Since then, Sheldon Wittwer (who has 4 horses)has let us have his four horses down at our corrals so we can keep his horses worked and trained, in exchange for his providing hay for all six horses. At first Sheldon didn't think he was getting such a good bargain. . .that is until he rode his horses last summer. He was very surprised at how good they were. That's what happens when you keep horses trained. I think it works well for both of us!

So, here are some of our pics from the last few days...

SHE'S HERE...and Brandon better send us LOTS more pictures!!

Our Baby Nikki finally arrived after a LOT of hard work by Tannya!! We are so pleased for this new little family, and can hardly wait for Christmas so we can trek north and hold this little sweetness!!

RECAP of the Week

Grandpa Don has always said it's a good idea to write on a calendar 3 things each day that you did, learned, etc. I'm going to do a modified version of that here:
THINGS WE'VE DONE THIS WEEK:

• We went to the Stake Christmas Fireside, that turned out really good, even though Dal didn't initially want to go.
  
• Found out Denzel and Anna got engaged! Congratulations!!
• Discovered the generic version of Valtrex is MUCH cheaper than the name brand! Paid $7 for 28 pills rather than $66 (and that's AFTER insurance!)
  
• Went horseback riding with Nat and Kristy out towards Elephant Arch in Washington.
• Went to part of the Heritage Choir Christmas program for FHE (minus Dallin), left partway through and got hot fudge sundaes at Denny's. YUM!!
• Went horseback riding with David (my hairdresser) and Laura (his friend) out to Washington.
  
• Learned an important lesson from the Holy Ghost.
  
• Dad and I went to the Faculty Christmas Party, held at Holiday Inn. It was fun visiting with Dave Matthews (shop teacher) who was interested in the updates on Brandon and Amelia.
• Nat finished her last day of "Nanny-ing."
  
• I slept for 11.5 hours Thursday night. Had to be awoken Friday morning to teach a piano lesson at 9:00 a.m.! Sheesh!!
• Nat and I rode out in Babylon! (by Leeds, not the Middle East!)
• Nat's room is a disaster as she is sorting through stuff, throwing away stuff, etc., before leaving for Idaho!
• We are all EXCITED for baby Nikki to arrive, hopefully sometime early today (Saturday)!
  

SNOW IN DIXIE. . . for a few hours!

What a beautiful Saturday morning! Snow covering everything except the roads, my Christmas shopping is done (at least what I can REMEMBER I need to get...), the Christmas cards are all mailed, and I don't have a HUGE PROJECT hanging over me! WOW!! This is great!

A piece of paper has been sitting on the kitchen counter for the past 10 days, and it has been extremely helpful to me, which is why it is STILL on the counter. There are two columns to it, but the title is what initially caught my eye... HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT? Then it lists 20 things in each column. I wonder if David Letterman would be interested in doing a "TOP 20" regarding this subject?? Well, I hope YOU enjoy/can use this. Remember - AWARENESS IS THE FIRST STEP TO CHANGE!! (And yes, you can quote me on that! ^_^) Love, Mom

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT?

WHEN YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT
1. You feel happy, calm.
2. You feel full of light
3. You mind is clear
4. Your bosom burns with love for the Lord and others
5. You feel generous
6. No one offends you
7. You are forgiving and kind
8. You feel confident in what you do.
9. You don't mind anyone seeing what you're doing
10. You feel outgoing, anxious to be with others, especially family
11. You are glad when others succeed
12. You want to make others happy, even those who oppose you
13. You bring out the best in, and say the best about, others
14. You gladly, willingly perform church work
15. You feel like praying and reading the scriptures
16. You want to keep all the Lord's commandments
17. You feel you have control of your appetites and emotions: food and sleep in moderation; sexual restraint; recreation that is wholesome and moderate; you are calm and in control of your speech; you feel no anger.
18. You feel a deep desire to help others – usually in a way no one else will know about
19. You speak and think only good about other people
20. You feel sorrow when others have problems and sincerely desire to help them

YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS ARE OPEN TO GOD.


WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE SPIRIT
1. You feel unhappy, depressed, confused, frustrated
2. You feel heavy, full of darkness
3. Your mind is muddled
4. You feel empty, hollow, cold inside
5. You feel selfish, possessive, self-centered
6. Everything anyone does offends you
7. You are always on the defensive
8. You become easily discouraged
9. You become secretive, evasive
10. You want to be alone. You avoid others, especially family members
11. You are envious of what others do, and what they have
12. You want to get even and show others up
13. You are critical of others, especially family members and those in authority
14. You feel hesitant, unworthy, unwilling to perform church ordinances
15. You don't want to pray or read the scriptures
16. You find the commandments of God and rules of the family bothersome, restricting, or senseless
17. You become a slave to your appetites; your emotions become passionate; over-indulgence in food, sleep, sex, stimulating entertainment, loud music, strong anger, outspokenness all become part of your character.
18. You want to make sure that all the help you give others is duly noted by them and the world
19. You look for, and find, evil in others, and broadcast it
20. You question others' motives and secretly delight in their problems and say, "I'm glad I'm not that way."

YOU FEEL THAT WHAT YOU DO AND THINK IS ONLY YOUR BUSINESS AND NO ONE ELSE KNOWS OR CARES.

CLUSTER BEHAVIORS

I was reading Dallin's swim magazine recently and found something very interesting. Basically, it pointed out that behaviors are found in "clusters!" I hadn't thought about this too much, but now that my attention has been drawn to it, I see lots of correlations.

If you are careful with your diet (eating fruits and vegetables, eating less high fat/high sugar foods) you probably also exhibit other behaviors such as exercising, good hygiene, etc. You have "clusters" of healthy living.

The flip side: if you pick up a cigarette (or any other unhealthy substance) "just to try it," you increase your risk of taking on other detrimental habits due to the this same "clustering" effect.

What correlations do you see? What are your friend choices like? Do you tend to "cluster" in this department? Is this a GOOD thing?

As you know, I THINK a lot. This is one of those things I've been thinking about. I have found in my own life, even within the last couple of days, that what I focus on (or don't) tends to "cluster." This can be a GREAT thing if we're consciously working at improving ourselves. But it can be a bad thing if we aren't paying attention and are slowly "clustering" downward.

Hope this gives you a "shot in the arm" to help you find ways to improve yourself, AND bless the lives of those around you as you do!

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Mom

LAWS. . .

8 LAWS OF LIFE
(Summarized from 19 Rules...see January for all 19 Rules)

Law of Perpetual Transmutation - Circumstances and things are perpetually coming or going according to your thoughts.

Law of Relativity - Your situation is not fundamentally good or bad until you compare it to something else.

Law of Vibration - Your thoughts control your personal vibration. Change your thoughts, get emotional about them, and you'll change what is attracted to you.

Law of Polarity - Everything has an opposite. A bad situation is equally good. Look for the good, and more good will be on its way.

Law of Rhythm – When you feel down, be assured that an upswing is coming. Plan on endless progression upward.

Law of Cause and Effect – Action and reaction are equal, in opposite directions. Focus on what you can give, not what you will get.

Law of Gender – Plant your own idea seeds, and then be patient. Don't uproot your idea seed with doubt.


Vacuum Law of Prosperity – Nature abhors a vacuum. Make room for the thing you desire by giving away that which you do not like or use. Give it away, and let the Universe compensate you. God pays better than yard sale shoppers!