December
The next week was good. Michelle and I went to the gym and did some shopping, I helped out at the book fair, I spent hours and hours planning our ward Christmas party (people were supposed to volunteer but most I needed to invite to participate), I went to the gym with Leisa, I made some ministering visits, and Curtis had his band concert. He played with all three bands to help out the 6th and 7th graders. It is fun that the Wiests and Fraziers are involved in STEM now and we could hang out at the concert together.
Then Josh and I spent all day Friday decorating the cultural hall. Leisa and Amber came and helped and I appreciated it. I had told Leisa I wanted a big star as the backdrop but I wasn't sure how to make it happen and she told me she would take care of it. She made this awesome Bethlehem star out of cardboard and then I bought a gold foil tablecloth that we taped around it. It looked awesome and I was so grateful for her help. We set up the stage and all the chairs and hung up lights and figured out the sound system. We moved the piano in and then set up the food tables and decorated everything. Leisa also helped me hang up a big wreath. We got Lily and her friends from dance and they came over and did a rehearsal because the stage is so small that they had to adapt their nutcracker dances. We finally left there about 5:30 and I was so nervous and anxious about how everything would go. It is a big responsibility and I enjoy party planning but more on the scale of 20-ish people. It is also tough that my committee is mostly youth. They had great ideas and I appreciated their help in planning but they have less ability to be helpful in the execution. They all participated though and helped clean up and that was great.
Saturday morning we went to Brandon's basketball game and then Curtis's. Brandon's team got beat badly but Curtis's team won and they both had fun so all is well. I really like their coaches this season and I think it is going to be a good one. The girls also had dress rehearsal for Nutcracker and it was a lot of running around that day. Then I made my food for the party and we got to church by 5:30 to finish setting up.
It looked as pretty as I could make it look and other than a few little mishaps, I think it went well. I didn't realize I was buying paper tablecloths but I did somehow and I will make sure not to do that again because they don't hold up. I also should have put someone in charge of watching the food/drinks because it got crazy with spilled brownie stuff all over the floor and the drinks emptied quickly and someone set up an extra table right in the middle of the line totally messing up the traffic so I had to move that; it was just a bit chaotic and it all made me very stressed. I was also sad that Jess didn't get to sing the song I wanted her to sing because she had an allergic reaction and had to leave. But the show I think went well. It was a good mix of talents and a lot of people were involved and I hope it helped bring our ward together. I organized the talents in such a way that the silly and fun were at the beginning and progressed towards the serious and more Christ-centered. It ended with the nativity, which was cute. Josh rapped The Grinch to his own looped beat boxing, Curtis played the trumpet, Lily danced and Emma and Brandon were in the nativity.
It was a very stressful evening for me for a lot of reasons so it was a huge relief to have it be done and I hope it was worth all of the work. I didn't mind doing it all but it does help when it feels appreciated. I love Christmas and bringing people together and just hope my efforts were good enough to be a blessing to my ward family.
Sunday was also busy with choir before church and then during church and I also played in primary and then we had choir after church. The women's choir sounded so beautiful though and I know that it was an answer to prayer. We didn't have much time to practice but the Lord I know blessed our efforts. We did the best we could and even though it wasn't much, it sounded really beautiful. Josh also left that day for the week so when the kids and I got home I was so tired. We got into our pjs and watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional that we had missed and then White Christmas. It was nice to relax and just be with my kids because we had another busy week ahead.
Monday I cleaned and then Tuesday I drove to the airport to pick up my parents. They have been here for two weeks and it has been nice to have their company and be a part of our fun. That night my mom and I went to the Relief Society activity and it was a nice dinner with a game I totally crushed. We didn't stay long because my mom and I were both tired and I wasn't sitting with any of my good friends but it was nice evening. Wednesday I went to the gym and then we ran a billion errands plus my kids were all over the place that night for activities. Josh was gone with our other car so even though I had helpful drivers I had no car for them to drive. It was a bit hectic but everyone got to where they needed to be. Thursday I wrapped presents all morning and that night Lily had a GIS Christmas party to go to and Curtis had basketball practice but we also went to dinner at Wendys and ran a few errands. I felt like I was constantly running to the store to get more food or another gift or taking my parents to do their stuff. Friday I went to the school to make copies and got caught up in the kindergarten concert traffic. Luckily there wasn't much to do because Nola had invited me over for brunch so mom and I went. It was for the ladies she ministers to and it was nice. We had good food and played two games (both of which I won but what does that matter?) and it was fun to be with my mom and also to have someone else be in charge for a change.
That night was the first night of The Nutcracker. Mom, Michelle and I went and it was pretty good, but not without a few mishaps. Aspen fell and Sarah almost lost her pointe shoe and Michelle's crown came clunking to the ground when it fell off of her head. It was their first time being on that stage and the lighting was off and they weren't used to the space. A dress rehearsal would have been very helpful. There were lots of tears after the performance but thankfully both of my girls danced beautifully. Lily was featured in Waltz of the Flowers and I just love watching her dance; I can tell it brings her a lot of joy. Josh was home by the time we got home and it was so wonderful to have him back.
Saturday we went to Bella's baptism (I played the piano and Lily conducted the music and Brandon was a witness). It was sweet; she is a cute girl and I'm glad we got to support the Porters. Josh and Curtis cleaned the building during the baptism since it was our week and that was the only time we could help out. Then Josh took the boys and my parents to Brandon's basketball game while I took the girls to meet up with Michelle who took them to the matinee performance. I went to Brandon's game and he played well; it was fun to watch him. Then we all went to Curtis's game and that was a bit of a nail biter but they pulled it out in the end. Michelle was super sweet and took care of Emma for me in between the matinee and show that night and Lily just hung out at the college and later I got there to scan tickets. Then my whole family came, including the Wiest kids. I had offered to watch them while Sam and Leisa went out for their anniversary and so we brought them along and it was fun. Lily said she danced the best in the afternoon but Saturday's evening performance was much better than Friday. Everything went smoothly and all the girls danced well. Emma was a bit of an emotional wreck when it was over and she had a headache and was so tired so we took a few pictures and headed home. Lily went to IHOP with the rest of studio company and had so much fun.
Sunday was a big day. I had to be there early to rehearse for the special number and then there was special prelude and then I was playing the organ and then we had our last choir rehearsal after church. We were there for four hours and only two of that was church. Then we spent the afternoon getting ready for my piano recital. We had an early dinner that Josh just barely made it home for and then we set up all the chairs and food. It was pretty low-key since I was very tired by that point but it was a nice event. My kids went early because Josh had to leave to do temple recommend interviews. All of my students played well and I was really proud of them. It is super fun to teach the Kinney kids and the Wiests and I enjoy how it connects me to some of my neighbors too. Afterwards we ate and mingled and it was a bit cozy in the house but festive and easier than dragging all of my stuff to church. It was also a relief to have another thing checked off of my list.
Josh and I left about 10pm that evening to go monitor for the WARMS program. I had never done it before but since mom and dad were in town, I went with Josh. We had to stay up from 10:30-2:30 and just hang out and make sure the people sleeping in the church building were following the rules. It was very quiet; just a few people getting up to go to the bathroom. I am pretty good about staying up late but at 1:30 I got very, very tired and it was a huge relief when Fred and Missy showed up to take over at 2:30 am. I left very grateful for my home and comfortable, private bedroom.
Thankfully winter break started then and we could relax. Josh and I slept until about 10am and had a pretty chill day. Lily went to volunteer at Annemarie Gardens and Emma had one last day of dance. Josh worked Tuesday and Wednesday while I grocery shopped and wrapped and played games with my parents and they did puzzles and the kids were playing. That night we took dinner to the WARMS program and it was a little crazy. Michelle and I were going to do it together but unfortunately her basement flooded and she couldn't do it. Tracie said she would fill in but she had never made chicken pillows before so I made all 48 chicken pillows and my mom made cakes and Tracie did the potatoes and corn. Mike also tried to make chicken pillows; they were good but very different from mine and we had enough so we didn't end up serving them. I thought we had to be there to serve dinner at 5pm so we worked hard all afternoon preparing and I had everything made and ready to go and we got there just before five only to discover I hadn't quite read the email and dinner isn't served until 6pm. I should have made them at home but baked them there or if I baked them at home, we could have gotten there later. I know it wasn't a big deal but my whole family just had to sit around for an hour and we had to keep the pillows warm and I just felt like a failure and had a bit of a meltdown in my car. Why couldn't I do anything right? Something had gone wrong with just about everything I was responsible for this month and I was tired and it suddenly just felt like too much. Josh and the big kids talked me through it though and the dinner went well. People were so kind and appreciative and some even told us it was good. I was relieved we had enough and they loved the cake and it wasn't too socially awkward. My kids all helped serve and my parents and it was an uplifting, good experience. It was a special opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters who are homeless right before Christmas and I'm glad we did it. However, I was also super relieved to have it off my to-do-list.
Wednesday I took the day off and didn't worry about my to-do list. I was emotionally and physically exhausted so I just hung out with my parents and kids and we watched a movie. That night Josh taught the teachers how to make pizza at our house so the rest of us went to Panda Express and then I dropped all four kids off at church for their activities while I ran the last of my errands with my parents. Thursday we baked all day and I am not exaggerating. I started at 9am and finally sat down about 4pm. We made snowballs, bon bons, fudge, toffee, chocolate nut roll, thumbprints and spritz. Lily volunteered again that night and I did some game prep for our party.
Friday was our annual Christmas party. Mom and the kids made cinnamon rolls and I did candy cane cookies and the cranberry walnut bread and then we cleaned up and got all the prep done. We had dinner and then it was go time and everyone helped. The party went well and was fun, as it has been every year except for one. We did a game called Confident and then Minute to Win it games that were a bit chaotic but fun. The gift exchange was high quality and the only disappointing thing was that neither Josh, Lily or I took the artichoke dip out of the oven until over an hour after it was supposed to come out. People didn't really eat much so I guess they just came less hungry than usual or they are getting tired of the same old food but the nice thing is we had lots of cookies leftover for Christmas Eve so I didn't have to make any more. I'm grateful for good friends and especially for Josh always being a good sport with my ideas.
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