Getting Her Wiggles Out

Emma has a lot of energy. She makes me tired. I love that little gal, but she is always on the go and wanting to know what we are doing next. I know that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor because he sent her to me last, when He very well knew that I would be worn out. I look forward to the day when I can sit down and have a chat with Him about this in the next life :)

In the meantime...we signed Emma up for indoor soccer to help get her Winter wiggles out. She is playing with a lot of the girls from her other soccer team and tonight was their first game. She was ON FIRE. The final score was 9-3 and she scored 8 of the 9 goals and the other one she had an assist on. Greg said it was because she had all that energy built up inside her from not playing for a couple of months - ha! Whatever it was, it was fun to watch. Hopefully I will remember to take my camera next time to capture some of her fierce moves. Then you can see what I am talking about.

Primary Moment - December 26, 2010

Okay...another post about Primary. Stop reading if you are sick of this :)

Moment #1 of the week: During Sharing Time we played a game of Jeopardy to help the kids review some of the things we have been talking about this year. One of the questions was "How will Jesus come again?" Little Jane from the Sunbeam class was very excited about this answer. She stood up, stretched out her arms and burst out "He will come in a beautiful cloud!!!" How cute is that?

Moment #2 of the week: During opening exercises we sang the song "I know that my Savior loves me". Why is it every time I hear those little angels sing this song that I get teary-eyed? It really touches me. I honestly think that the reason I feel this way is because they sing this song with such belief. It is their testimony. They have no doubt in their hearts that He lives. Such pure faith. This is why I love Primary :)

Merry Christmas

*All the kids...Jenni, Cordell, Tara, Austin, Emma, Josh, Christopher & Sam*

Christmas was good :) I loved the spirit of Christmas I felt this year. I honestly think that I was more in tune with feeling the true spirit of Christmas because I stayed out of the stores so much. One of the few times I actually went to the mall, I was wishing that I had been with Dayna like I had done in years past. Shopping just was not the same. I even let Josh order all his stuff online...I just handed over the card and told him to go for it (don't worry...he had a limit.) I just really had a hard time getting in the shopping mode. Crazy...I know.

Christmas day we went to Greg's brother's home with all of his side of the family. It was fun but honestly, I just want to stay home next year with our little family. I think I am just ready for something new. Greg and I have decided that from now on, Christmas day will be spent at home. It just simplifies things.

Below are some pictures that I took while at Steve's home. Enjoy!

*Emma & Abigail*

*Tara & Austin*

*Christoper, Sam, Cordell & Jenni*

*Jenni getting ready to blow out the candles on her "Key Lime Birthday Pie"*

*More of the gang*

*Emma making a silly face*

*Josh making a strange face...that kid is hard to get in front of a camera*

Christmas Kitties

For some strange reason my cats LOVE to sit under the Christmas tree. I am not sure what the deal is. Perhaps the lights? The sparkly ornaments? The pretty presents? Something has them captivated. You can pretty much find them anytime of day snoozing under the shelter of the boughs. Crazy cats...

***Notice how chunky Mr. Scribbles has become since my dad was here. My dad got him hooked on canned cat food and he fattened, oops, I mean "fluffed" up nicely***

A Primary Moment

Since I have had this new calling I have been trying to find something each week in Primary that either makes me smile or teaches me something. I made a promise to myself that I would record these moments so that someday I can look back on these memories and smile. This is one of those moments. So...if this kind of thing bores you, stop reading :)

Last Sunday cute little Brielle from the Sunbeam class had been asked to give the opening prayer. She bravely got up front all by herself and said the sweetest, most sincere little prayer. In her prayer she asked (and I quote) "...that the Holy Ghost be with us today..." Now how many 3-4 year old children would say that without a parent/adult prompting them? What amazing children we have coming to the earth and amazing parents that are teaching them the important things of life. Thanks Brielle for making me smile. You really touched me.

Good Will Toward Men

Today I had a lot to do. Last night it snowed, a lot. Not a good combination when one has a busy schedule.

When I got up and saw all the snow outside I knew that I would be digging out the car before I could leave. Not a fun way to start a busy day. However, I put on my boots, coat and grabbed the snow shovel and found my buried car. I then shoveled the snow away from the car so that I could actually leave the driveway. I guess I did not do a good enough job because I only got half way out of the driveway before becoming stuck. Really stuck. As I sent Emma into the house to wake up Josh to come help me, two kind young men came up to me and asked if I needed help. Did I ever. They spent the next 30 minutes or so digging me out. Not only did those men offer to help, but another gal from my ward drove by and stopped her car and came over to help also. Before long I was on my way and free from the snowy mess that had previously surrounded me.

How blessed I am. It seems that whenever something goes wrong I always have little angels sent to help me out. Today these angels actually appeared out of no where...at least two of them did. And all they wanted was a "thank-you".

When I finally came home from my errands I noticed that not only was my driveway cleared, but the sidewalks all around the block had been cleared too. I walked in the door and found Josh and started talking to him. I quickly discovered that he had taken the snow blower out and not only cleared our walkways, but the entire block! I did not even have to suggest it...he just did it. Maybe he really has been listening and learning all this time. Makes a mom proud :)

'Tis The Season

Yesterday I had a crazy busy day. I spent my morning madly getting housework and Primary stuff complete and then went to Emma's Christmas Sing at her school. She did a great job! Another "last" to check off my list :(

Every year our elementary school has each class sing to their parents various Christmas songs. Emma did great, but my favorite moment has nothing to do with her. I had to attend by myself this time and as I was sitting there watching the little first grade class file in I spotted little Trevor C. from my old Primary class. As he looked out at all the people he looked like he was seriously going to hurl. This cute little boy is scared to get up in front a lots of people. Anyway...after a few moments I realized that his parents must have attended the morning performance because I could see he was looking ANYWHERE for a familiar face. I could tell he was scared to death. After a little bit he spotted me and suddenly a big smile crossed his face that melted my heart. For the rest of his class performance he was waving and smiling at me...cute stuff. Even after he was done and he was filing out of the room, he kept his eyes on me and was still waving. LOVE THAT KID. How grateful I am that I was able to teach that wonderful little class last year.

Here is a picture of Emma with her BFF, Casey Ann. We love her too :)
After the performance I had been asked to help with Emma's class Christmas party. We had a blast! We played the candy bar game with the gloves and the candy bar that was wrapped a million times that they had to unwrap. We also played our version of "Minute To Win It". Below are some of the pictures from that game. One game they had to move a Christmas ornament with air from waving a box lid.
Another game they had to get a cookie from the top of their forehead into their mouths without touching it. Funny.
The last game they had to blow Christmas cards across a table and try to get just one flap to hang over the edge. Not many succeeded in that one.
And finally one of the moms told a story where the kids where passing their gifts around left and right according to what the story told them. They loved it!
Here is Ty working his snow fairy hat and shades that he got as a gift. If you knew Ty, you would see how perfect this was for him.
Emma's friend, Ashley was sporting some pretty snazzy socks that I had to get a picture of. When I snapped it I realized her shoes were pretty neat too.
This picture is as we were all walking home. Maddie, Ashley, Casey Ann, Jaycee, Stormy, Ashley and Emma.
After the school party I had an hour before Greg and I had to run down to Provo for a wedding reception for one of my Laurels. We then drove back home and attended a neighborhood party that we go to every year. It is a White Elephant gift exchange and every year it gets better and better. Let's just say what happens at this party, stays at this party ;) We played another version of "Minute To Win It" there...that must be the game of the year or something. By the end of the evening, Greg and I both came home and dropped. Fun day but very tiring.

Love Notes...Williamson Style

The other day when I logged onto the computer to check my email, I had a quick note from Greg. This is what it said:

"Dawna, Heads up, cat crap in the front room—did not have time to deal with it this morning. Sorry. Love you, Greg"

Ahhhh.....isn't that the stuff that love notes are made of? I got a good laugh out of it and had already discovered and cleaned up the "present" left by Maddie during the night right by the front door. Poor thing...she tried to get out, but didn't quite make it.

Later that evening I told Greg I got a chuckle out of his email. He laughed too. I told him he missed his calling as a Hallmark card writer.

I guess when you have been married for almost 25 years there just isn't much fluff left. And you know what? I am okay with that.

Neat Little Quote

I read this quote today by James E Faust about Santa Claus. LOVE IT. When my children had their hearts broken and finally learned the truth about Santa, I always would tell them that he actually is real. That Santa is really the spirit of Christmas. This quote by President Faust says it so well. (Click on the image to make it bigger and easier to read).

Letters To Santa

This past week I finally have myself semi-put back together. I have been a bit frazzled since leaving to take my dad home and a few days ago I realized I needed to get down to business and focus on Christmas...shopping to be more exact. I asked Josh and Emma to please write me up their Christmas lists so I could get to work. This is what Emma came up with.

Dear Santa,

What I need for Christmas this year is $$$ for clothes and head bands (at least 4). Boots would be nice too, but not like the ones you got me last year, a little taller this time please and tan. Please make sure I also get some skinny jeans. Some kind of knee socks and some mascara and make up would be great too. Thanks!

Love, Emma (your fav :D )


Very practical, don't you think? I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe Christmas will be easy this year and we can focus more on what the season is really all about.

Josh, on the other hand, was a bit more out there. That boy loves to push the limits :) Gotta love him! He also had the opportunity to be a 'Santa's Elf" in his AP English class. I guess they had a bunch of letters from children who have written in to Santa expecting a response. The kids in the classroom write those responses. Josh had a ball with this assignment. He told me some of the letters are pretty funny. I guess a few even switched the letters around in Santa's name and mistakenly wrote "Dear Satan"...Funny. Josh named himself Tinsel and was able to respond to a number of letters. What a great experience :)

Dawna & Roy's Most Excellent Adventure

I survived. That about sums up the past week. My dad decided it was time to head back west to Astoria to take him home and I was the chosen one to drive him there. I am still not sure how that happened. I don't recall anyone asking me...I was just told I was taking him home. Oh well, it all turned out okay and I finally made it back home after a week of bad weather, bad roads and a missed flight. Crazy stuff.

About two weeks ago my dad decided that he was "better" and it was time to go home. I still have my doubts about his recovery, but am I to argue? We made the necessary arrangements and decided that Monday, November 29th was the day. I felt really good about it. However, on Sunday we were slammed with a horrible snow storm and my dad decided that we should wait until Tuesday to leave. Looking back, I wish I had stood my ground. I had had a great feeling about leaving on Monday and I should have stuck to it. I didn't. I caved and we (my dad, me and his two cats) left on Tuesday instead and by evening we found ourselves in (and I quote the news from Idaho) "The worst snow storm since 1894"...figures. Had we left on Monday, we would have been fine. What a hard lesson to learn about listening to the spirit.

We were stuck in Caldwell, Idaho in a hotel from Tuesday evening until Thursday early afternoon. The snow was so bad that I-84 was shut down between Caldwell and Baker City. We could not even leave if we wanted to. By Thursday afternoon I overheard some truckers talking in the lobby about how they had just driven through I-84 and that the roads were not too bad. I ran back to my room, packed up my dad, the cats and loaded all the luggage in the car and began to head west once again. I knew we would not make it over the Blue Mountains, but I wanted to at least make it to Baker City...which we did. That little trip usually takes about 2 hours. That day it took 3. The roads were awful and I said many prayers that we would somehow arrive safely. We did and set up camp once again to wait out the snow storm that arrived just as we pulled in to town.

I was discouraged. All I could see anywhere was snow. On the ground, in the sky on the roads...everywhere. I remember at one point leaving my dad and the cats in our room and going out for a walk. By now it was Thursday and I knew that I would not catching my flight home the next day. I cried. I was drained and although I was enjoying my time with my dad I just wanted this trip to be over and to be home with my family. I called my mom and cried some more. Thank goodness my mom has always been there for me to talk through things and help me out. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and she was great. Thanks mom :)

Before I went back to my room, I said a silent prayer that somehow we would be able to get home soon. I remember pleading with my Father in Heaven to please hear my prayer. I then began to think how selfish I was. I started to think about the pioneers and how they had crossed the plains in much harsher conditions. Who was I to murmur and think my journey was hard? Putting it into perspective helped tremendously. I had a warm room and bed to sleep in. I had plenty of food to eat and great company. I had a car to drive through the snow, not a handcart to pull. My Father taught me a great lesson that night.

The next morning I woke up and looked out the window expecting to see snow all around. What a surprise to look out and see the most beautiful blue sky and sunshine. No clouds anywhere. What a miracle :) When my dad saw this he said "Dawna, we are busting out of here!" Ha! And we did. We drove all the way to Astoria that day with only encountering about 1 mile of bad roads. An answered prayer.

I changed my flight and arrived home this evening all safe and sound. Looking back this week seems more like a month. This morning as I was talking to my mom she quoted me a scripture that I have thought about a lot today. It is:

"Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward...and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father, ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20)

This trip taught me many things. Patience being the biggest. It also taught me to always have hope. I can't tell you how discouraged I was becoming just sitting in a hotel room waiting for the weather to pass. My mom told me that we just need to have a "perfect hope" that all will be well and it was. Maybe not in the time period I desired, but in the Lord's time. It also taught me that people are more important than anything. Spending time with my dad was fun. Yes, at times I thought I would loose my mind and I am sure he felt the same way too, but I feel like I grew a little closer to him these past few months and especially these past few days.

As I sat on the plane on the way home tonight, I was filled with conflicting emotions. Tears because I was tired. Tears because I was happy to be going home to my family. Tears because I was leaving my dad all alone. Tears of gratitude for a Heavenly Father that loves me a watches over me...ALWAYS. And tears from knowing that this experience with my dad is far from over. Only the first chapter has closed.