Christmas in Montana

Because we have a mixed family my dad and step mom have been very kind to celebrate Christmas on other days besides the actual 25th of December. So Ben, Becky, the girls and I had a small Christmas on the 25th and than it was off to Montana for New Years and a late Christmas. I think this might be our latest Christmas yet, as it was celebrated after New Years. Seems kind of strange, but really as the years come and go that day feels just as much like the real thing, you forget that it really wasn't.

New Years Eve was spent playing the craziest game ever, eating and enjoying each other. To ring in the New Year the kids held our tradition and celebrated in the hot tub, watching the ball drop on the TV. Normally Ben and Mike light off some sweet fire works right before midnight. But this year we held off since it was a bit windy and we wanted Lindsey and Courtney to see them. My younger siblings could have gone out to some parties, especially Mike since he was home from Minnesota and actually has friends in Montana, but they didn't. I love that my family loves spending so much time together, that when we are all in town we have to do practically everything together.

Christmas day was celebrated on New Years Day. All of us kids started out the day by playing out in the snow and building a small fort in the backyard. Must have been quite a sight for my parents as they finished wrapping presents to see all their "big" kids playing in the snow like "little" kids. We did have Lindsey with us to make it a little more legitimate. For dinner we had our traditional chili soup, my grandma Jessie made it for her big family every year. We taught Lindsey how to "cheers" with her party cup, which she wanted to do with every meal that followed. Then on to the presents. I won't go into all the details of the present opening, but it is a lot of fun and takes forever. I got some amazing gifts including a beautiful easel, so that I can keep painting. I'll have to post a picture of that later. I also was holding out for a panini maker, which my brother Mike gave me. He even wrapped it himself. It took him half an hour to do it, but it got done. He even put the bow on then took it off and rearranged it. He's an engineer so you would think it would have been a simple task, but than again that may have been the problem, as he analyzed the best way to go about covering the box and placing the bow.

The rest of the weekend was just more great family time, lots of Wii playing and a slay ride in the mountains for some hot chocolate. Oh, last but not least. My parent's Schnauzer had two little puppies that we gave real names to. Welcome to the family Ernesto Pablo (Ernie) and Elenore Rose (Ellie). Thanks everyone for a wonderful weekend it was so much fun!

Red or Blue, or Red & Blue

I must first explain what a sports fan I am. I love sports! I have watched sports at all levels for as long as I can remember. In this regard I am very much my dad's daughter, watching games with him when I was little is probably what started my love. He is a bit crazier than I am though, as he finds it necessary to have a TV everywhere possible on big game days not limiting himself to the usual one big screen. He's got the TV in the garage, the bathrooms, and for the sports fan that would like to watch the game from the hot tub, he has been known to pull out the projector for one's viewing pleasure (tub side cheese & crackers with frosty root beer optional). Anyway like my dad I take my sports watching very seriously when it comes to the teams I love.

For as long as I can remember I have been a die hard University Of Arizona basketball fan. I can't think of how many nights I have sat about 2 feet from the TV yelling at my boys to keep it together in the last few minutes of a game. If anyone knows Arizona basketball we tend to be a second half team, but lose control the last part of the 4th quarter. Sundays win against Gonzaga brought back fond memories of the NCAA tourni when UA won in double overtime in SLC. I had a really bad cold, with a fever to boot. I couldn't talk by the end of the game but it was worth every minute and every penny. I have also stuck with Wildcat football through a lot of hard years. That is as long as they are not playing BYU. When I went to school in Utah I came to love Brigham Young football. It helped getting to go to a lot of the games and having friends on the team.

So this brings me to my dilemma, BYU v UA in the Vegas Bowl. When I heard they would be playing each other again this year I immediately felt anxiety (seriously sports make me a little neurotic). After consulting with my best friend Matt, a fellow UA and BYU enthusiast, we have decided that we will probably go for BYU. I make no promises, but I think that is where I'm headed. Ben will be going for UA, so the game should be fun on Saturday. No matter how it turns out I just hope BSU gets destroyed by TSU. :)

On a more serious note, my cousin Curtis Klotthor passed away last week. He is a wonderful person with a wonderful spirit. He is loved and will be missed. My thoughts go out to the rest of my family. Wish Nebraska, in the middle of the winter, wasn't so far away.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can extend into the weekend right? Things I'm grateful for this year:

1. Family; near or far, extended or immediate, adopted or blood. Family is wonderful and I can't imagine life with out any of mine.

2. Life; no matter the challenges, the beautiful highs and the not so fun lows. I'm so grateful for all my experiences and the places life takes me.

3. Beauty in the world. I have gotten to see some very beautiful places this past year and I am so grateful for that experience and for who I got to experience them with.

4. The little things in life. Whether it's my new tires that make me feel safe or all of Heavenly Father's tender mercies, I'm so thankful for all of them.

5. Lastly but most importantly my Heavenly Father and the gospel. For his unending patience, love and guidance. I think I am either incredibly dense or stubborn, or both so it takes me a while to get it, but he keeps with me until I do. I can't imagine my life with out the combination of the two. No thanks.

Just a Thought

My friend sent me the entry below in an email. Rather than forward it on to the few people I have addresses for I decided to post it here.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crïeche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they
don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Where I've Been

I've been here and there this past month I guess it's time to report my where abouts. My cousin Ryan got married last month, so my whole family went down to Utah to celebrate with him. I grew up with all my cousins on my mom's side. In many cases it was more like we were siblings than cousins. Ryan and his new bride, Sarah were married in the Manti temple, such a beautiful place. It was so fun seeing all my cousins and all the new little babies that have blessed our family in the past two years. The special treat was I got to spend some quality time with my cousin Amanda. Amanda and I were in the same grade and hung out a lot in high school. For the last few months of my senior year I actually lived with my aunt Carol (Amanda's mom) and fam. I had moved to Arizona but really wanted to go back to Montana to graduate with my cousin. Anyway, Amanda and I laughed and laughed for two and half hours reminiscing about all our crazy times together. It was exactly what I needed that weekend. Thanks Amanda, love you!



After Utah my travels took me to Florida. It was supposed to be all business, but for those of you who know my bosses, rarely is anything all business. So I did get to enjoy Universal Studios, Sea World and my second jump in an indoor skydiving facility all under sunny skys and warm weather. I'm almost ready for an airplane and parachute. I did manage to find some time to work and I think I have done enough shmoozing to last me a few years.




Last and possibly least (I really haven't decided yet) on our way back to Boise we took a detour to Las Vegas for the Madonna concert. My boss, John a couple months ago impulsively bought tickets for Madonna and when no one would buy them we made the sacrifice. I liked some of Madonna's music in the 80's but haven't paid much attention to her since then. But she is Madonna and has been doing this long enough I think she knows what she is doing. What amazed me the most was her energy, she was non stop for two hours and her voice sounded so young. Anyway, for better or worse I can now mark off Madonna on my things to do in my life list. Although I'm not really sure I ever had her on there.



So now I'm back in Boise, back to work and back from the nice little vacation from life that I have enjoyed.

My Big Brother

I have the best big brother in the whole world. We have been as close as you can imagine since day one. When my parents brought me home from the hospital he wanted "his baby" in his room so he could watch her. Sometimes we fight with as much energy as we love each other, but we always know that we are there for each other.

I am so grateful that Ben is a worthy priesthood holder and honors his calling. He has such a huge heart (good thing because he is a big boy) and is always willing to help anyone. The little old ladies always loved him growing up. I love to see how much he loves his wife and adorable little girls. But most of all I love how much he loves me. I love how protective he has always been of me, I love that he will drive 30 minutes away at 10 at night to give me a hug when I'm sad, that he will get a little choked up (he's a big teddy bear) trying to make me feel better.

Ben you're the best and I'm the luckiest sister in the whole world.

Ben made me wear this shirt to go to the BSU game with him, Yuck! :)

Bike'n it!

So I went mountain biking last weekend and am happy to report I walked away with out any broken bones, huge gashes in my arms and legs, or losing my lunch (nobody really needs to know more details on that). My mom is probably the happiest about this news. She does not appreciate my battle wounds like I do. As much as I like downhill biking you would think I could handle the Boise foothills, but we do not get along very well and I had yet to finish a ride with out incident. I did however, leave the keys to my car at the top of the foothills in Brandon's car, oops. After a few calls and some truck shuttling it all worked out.