What to Write?

I want to write. I like to write. I like keeping my blog.
But I am as stuck for ideas now as I was when Bruce first suggested that I start a blog and I ended up writing about the laundry.

If you were me, what would you write about?
If you were you, what would you want to hear from me?

2015 Christmas List

Every year, as the end of November approaches and I sit down to make up my wish list, I'll  try to remember the things I saw throughout the year that I "really, really wanted." Well, I guess I must not want them quite as much as I thought, because I always have a hard time remembering them when it's time to post the list. So this year I started in June. I decided that every time I thought of something I'd like to have, I would come to my blog and write it down.

I know, Kim—my Christmas timing has just dropped to a whole new level of impropriety in your book.  If it makes you feel better, know that my misdeeds stem from boredom—or from avoiding work. (Which might just put me on the "naughty" list.)

And since I am indulging in shameless behavior anyway, and since I happen to know that Bruce is trying to decide what to get for me, I'm going to post the list before Thanksgiving.  ;-)  Santa can do what he will with that declaration.

Well, first of all, there's still the Zenker Handle-It Springform With Glass Bottom. I've been wanting this pan for a while. (I think the first time it showed up on my list was in 2008––except I'd been asking for the Frieling pan. But on further examination I see the Frieling is only two inches deep, while the Zenker is 2.9-inches. Available at Amazon.)

A non-breakable, digital candy thermometer. (This seems like a good one.) I am just brutal on candy thermometers (which is surprising, because I don't make candy all that often). This would actually be nice to have before Christmas. Maybe just a few days after Thanksgiving.

Choosing Civility. (Amazon) An excellent book. I'd also like everyone to read it and take it to heart. ;-)



Other books. Just for fun reading.

Good, new, current Family Pictures. 

And clothes (for the whole family) to wear for the photo session.

In fact, just pretty clothes. Or, rather, clothes that make me feel pretty. :-)

I could use a decent serger.

I recently discovered that there all kinds of attachments for my Kitchenaid stand mixer. I'm particularly interested in the fruit and vegetable strainer, the juicer, the meat/nut grinder, and the pasta roller, but there are lots of really cool ones. (And you can get pretty good deals on them on ebay.) Or another flat mixer paddle, a dough hook, and a whisk for my mixer. Those would be cool too.  :-)

The Reader's Digest Family Songbook (1969).

I grew up playing the piano and singing out of this
book with my family; it's a little cheesy, maybe, but you know...
(Available used and new ( ! ) on Amazon.)

There are probably some movies I'd like. In fact, here's one: Around the World in 80 Days on dvd. Not the old David Niven one, and certainly not the one with Jackie Chan. I want the one that was made as a TV miniseries in the 80s. (You may now pass judgment on my taste, if you'd like. Available at Walmart.)



I'd also like Great Expectations (2012)

(the one with Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch).








I want some Tangerine Orange Saran Doll Hair (four short hanks of it). This is George, my all-time, very most favoritest doll who I played with almost daily from the time I was about six until I was ten or eleven or so:

As you can see, he was very well-loved and often played with. I've kept him all this time—I even remade his outfit when I was about thirteen or so (you can tell I didn't really know what I was doing if you look, but I can remake that now, too). And all this time I have wanted to give him a makeover—at least fix his hair and eyelashes. I thought I'd have to buy him a wig, but you can't find doll wigs in that bright, carrot orange, or in a simple little boy style for that matter. But recently I discovered DollyHair, where I can get the stuff I need to entirely re-root his hair (and instructions to do it). It would be so fun to make George look all better!

A roll of white bulletin-board paper (to use for pattern-making, and which teachers can get at a discount!).

Well, despite starting a list in June, I don't think it's a much longer list than I've made in other years. Mostly I just want to have fun with my family for Christmas. That is the best!

Opinions, Please. ASAP

I am determined to get a family photo before Brandon goes on a mission. I know, I know . . . I still have a few months.  But we didn't get one done before Jason left and I was sure that we'd never have our whole family together again for years, so I'm taking advantage of everyone being here now. Which makes Thanksgiving weekend the time to do the photos. Yay!

But it's coming up quick, and I'll need to come up with clothes for all of us. I was already planning to make this dress for Kaylie:

from "The Dagged Edge" collection, by Loralee

And since I'm making one of my own designs for Kaylie, I thought I'd also make this outfit for Lindsey:

The Dagged Edge collection

And I'm going to use these fabrics for Kaylie's and Lindsey's outfits (the top two swatches):

top left— embossed denim; top right—burnt orange ITY,
bottom left—tan oxford (cotton);
bottom right—navy stretch lace over cream

I was also already planning to make a dress for Rachel with the lace—fitted bodice, fullish skirt, elbow-length sleeves (the swatch on the bottom right).

Michael thinks I should make these shirts for all the guys:

Aww. Aren't Michael and Jason cute?

If I did make the shirts I'd make the collars contrasting, but not the tops of the pockets. And I would make them of the light-colored fabric on the bottom left of the swatches, with the contrasting collars matching the girls' colors.

SO, Here are the big questions:
* What do you think of the colors together? (In particular, do you think the denim and the navy lace will look OK in a grouping together?)
* Do you think that if all the guys' shirts are the same color, the photos will be overwhelmed by that color? 
* Or do you think it will be OK since it will be mixed in with the colors the girls are wearing? 
* Do you even like that shirt design?
* And how on earth should I dress Jessica and myself? (I'm thinking that if there's any of the lace left after I finish Rachel's dress, then maybe I should pull it in again with Jessica's outfit. ?)

Let me know what you think. Really! :-)  And soon, because if I do the men's shirts I'll need to order the fabric NOW. So give me your opinion ASAP.  :-)

All's Well That Ends Well . . . or

. . .  Drama at the Airport

This week was an exciting one for our family! We are all together again for the first time in two years!  Yaaayy!!

Last Thursday (Oct. 15) was the beginning of Fall Break for everyone—even Lindsey, down at Snow College. So Bruce and I went down to pick her up and have her spend the week here with us. (Fall Break was only the 15th and 16th, but Lindsey had already made arrangements with all her teachers and her boss to take this whole week off so she could be with us to pick up Jason. Yay!)

You can't tell, because the photographer is short, but Lindsey is leaning on the top bunk which looks exactly like the bottom bunk that you can see. Bruce built all of what you see here on Saturday, Oct. 17.

There are Brandon and Ryan, modeling the new, triple bunk bed. (You still can't tell that the top bunk is a bed, but it really is.)

We spent the weekend building a new bunk bed that would let us fit another guy into the room, and also cleaning house and doing laundry. And on Tuesday evening we all drove down to Salt Lake and spent the night at Bruce's dad's house, which was very nice. He sprung for pizza when we arrived and bought us stuff to make breakfast the next day. So we all got to shower and relax in the morning; we even had time to visit the Family Discovery Center at Temple Square before we went to the airport. The Family Discovery Center was a lot of fun—too much fun because we stayed there about half an hour longer than I thought we should.

We didn't leave Temple Square until 2:00, and Jason's flight was scheduled to land at 2:24; I had a stressful twenty-minute drive to the airport. (I almost said, "we," but I think I was the only one stressed about the time.) When we got to the airport (at 2:20) the parking terrace was closed, so Bruce dropped us off at the terminal while he went to park in the economy lot, where he'd have to catch a shuttle to get back to us. I checked the Arrivals board as soon as the kids and I got in and saw that Jason's flight had arrived, so I was nervous that Bruce wouldn't get back in time to see him. But Bruce did get back with us before Jason showed up. In fact, looooonnng before Jason got to us.

Here we all are, happily waiting for our missionary to return. (Everyone else belongs to the ten million other waiting families.)

I'm pretty sure there were ten million missionary families waiting at the terminal for their kids to get back! All these missionaries were coming down the escalators, and people were cheering and screaming and hugging, and we were just waiting for our turn to come. No Elder North, but there were still a few million families waiting, so I wasn't worried yet. There was a lapse, and then it started all over again: cheering, screaming, hugging, picture-taking, and no Jason. And then again. Finally ALL the missionaries and their families had picked up their luggage and gone away, and still no Jason. I was pretty sure he should have been down with us by 3:00, but at 3:25 (an hour after his flight had arrived) he wasn't there. Something must have happened, but what?

So I was pacing the floor and wringing my hands (yes, I guess I really do this), and Lindsey asked the information desk if Jason had been on flight 354. They said they couldn't tell us, but to check with the baggage office; they should know. So Bruce went to talk to them, and they said they could not tell him whether Jason had been on his flight or not because that was personal information.

WHAT??!!

They said to grab some water bottles and just wait there for 45 minutes. Now, in hindsight, I see that this was a very
B  R  O  A  D hint, but at the time we were already stressed out so we wondered what on earth that was supposed to mean. Were they going to send someone searching for him? How was that answer even helpful at all?

So we paced around, and discussed, and wondered if Jason was upstairs throwing up in the bathroom, or if he was taking one last teaching opportunity, or what? . . . all the while watching up the escalators for him to come down, but there was nobody else coming. I thought to contact my brother who works for TSA to see if he could tell us what we could do, but I couldn't reach him. Michael and Brandon went outside to see if Jason just hadn't seen us and was there wondering why we hadn't bothered to come get him. Nope. Around 3:45 Bruce's dad decided to go look at the other terminal to see if Jason had taken a wrong turn and was there feeling like a sad, abandoned puppy. Nope. But Dad did come back with an airport police officer. When they saw that Jason still wasn't here, the policeman said he could go ask at the ticket desk if Jason had been on Delta flight 354 from Seattle. At 4:00 the nice policeman came back and told us that there had been some kind of problem with flight 354, and that Jason was actually on flight 2157 which had just barely landed. Whew!

So we went back to the waiting-place, where more missionary families had gathered and as I looked around I saw a family with lots of posters that said "Jaren Davis," which I recognized as the name of Jason's travelling companion. Deep breath. OK. We were all relieved, but my hour-and-a-half of stress came out as a burst of anger because, really, why could they not just say that he was on the next flight?!

But my mad was short-lived, and mellowed back into just a little anxiety until I saw Jason coming down the escalator. Then WE were all laughing and clapping and cheering, and I very naughtily stepped under the rope-thing and got the first hug.  :-)

There they are! Elder Jaren Davis on the left,
and Elder Jason North on the right!
Yaaaayyy!!

Mom makes sure she gets the first hug.

Now, as a funny side-note: A sister missionary got down to the terminal a few minutes before Jason did, and she started crying when she saw her family. A man (a relative, I assume) said, "Why is it that the sisters always cry when they get home, but the elders don't?" And I thought, you haven't seen my elder. And I was right, Jason cried more than I did (which was very sweet). 
:-) But it was all very exciting and happy and fun, and we took the worst pictures ever, I think.

And Mom grabs another hug.

Now, I know you are wondering just what happened to cause the stressful delay, so here's the scoop: Jason and his companion flew from Vancouver to Tacoma, and then to Salt Lake. But the flight crew in Vancouver was late, so they missed the second flight by "literally two minutes." The mission home called Elder Davis' family just as they were heading out the door to the airport, so the knew about the delay. But Bruce and I just got new phone numbers a couple weeks ago and didn't even think to give them to the mission home. I actually had thought to give Jason my new phone number, but not until it was too late to ever email him again. Duh! So we did not receive the enlightening, stress-relieving phone call. (I did get an email from the mission home, but I didn't see that until Thursday morning.) Still, all's well that ends well!

Elder North gives Elder Davis a hug. They were companions in the Missionary Training Center, at the very beginning of their missions, and companions for the flight home from Canada.

A North Family Outing wouldn't be complete without a picture of everyone in the van. (You can just see Rachel's hair just under Brandon's left ear.)

After the airport we went to my mom's house and had a nice visit (and pizza, which was super nice because we were all starved!). We could only visit for a little less than an hour, after the drama at the airport, because we had to have Jason back in Vernal by 9:00 to meet with our stake president. We didn't make it on time. But we called President McClellan when we were in Duchesne at 8:30 (an hour away from home) to let him know where we were, and he said to come over anyway. So we visited him at 9:30 and Jason was officially released as a missionary.

greeting Grandma . . .

. . . and Grandpa

visiting with family and enjoying a meal
Melanie and Rick and Emalee were there, too, but we somehow managed to not get them in any pictures. :-( 

I am proud of Jason for serving a mission, and pleased with the changes I see in him. And so happy to have him back! It's been an exciting week, and I am glad, glad, glad to have my whole family together again. :-)

Missionary Monday!

From Elder Jason North, today:

"I loved General Conference! I was very glad to hear from President Monson, I especially loved his Priesthood session talk. But to keep the commandments and to be an example of the believers is truly what we need to be doing! The Spirit was there even more strongly than the last time conference, or I feel that it was. Maybe my memory is dimmed be the six months or perhaps I'm just more spiritually attuned, but I loved this conference. They taught that we need to follow the Spirit, and seek His guidance in simplifying and perfecting our lives. I know that the Spirit speaks softly, and I know that it can be easy to miss. But if we just trust every good thought and act as though it IS the spirit, a few things will happen. First, we'll receive the blessings promised by our leaders this conference. Second, we'll be really happy. Third, we'll make some mistakes but that's okay because in Preach My Gospel we learn that it takes time to learn to recognize the Spirit and that making mistakes is part of that process, which leads to: Fourth, we will trust the Spirit to guide us always, which is really the first in part. But I love the gospel. And I love Jesus Christ, I'm learning more about him all the time. As often as I remember that all the commandments and counsel and things we talk about in the church are really just ideas to focus me on Christ, I feel His love. Remember President Uchtdorf's talk! I know I need to! It's really not that hard if you remember the Saviour.

I love you guys!
Jason"

Two weeks and two days before Jason gets home! (Almost to the hour!)