The Best Mother's Day.

Yesterday, Randy treated me to a morning of pampering as my Mother's Day gift. He took Carter to work with him for the morning while I attended two appointments--one for a hot stone massage (PERFECTION) and one for a hot-towel facial (TO DIE FOR). That, combined with cards from Carter and Randy this morning, made me think my day was complete.

And then Carter said the blessing over breakfast this morning.

"Heavenly Father, I'm thankful for my mom and that she's so good to me. Bless Daddy's headache that it will feel better. We're thankful for our food and our house and our family. Bless them to be strong. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I helped raise that sweet, earnest, compassionate kid! And with all my mistakes and blunders and the trials of being a mom, in that moment I felt deeply and eternally honored and blessed.

May your Mother's Day be as wonderful as mine has been!

PS--I LOVE YOU, MOM!

Reveling

HAPPY NEW YEAR!



Tonight was a quiet celebration of the new year for us. Carter went to bed around 11:15, and Randy followed soon after. So it was just me...watching Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin on CNN (by the way, who thought they would make good co-hosts? She just says foul things while he giggles in self-conscious horror) and swilling the Martinelli's.

I have to say I had a calm, happy moment at the turn of the year. I could hear fireworks and noisemakers and cheers outside, so I stepped out onto my porch, robe and slippers and all. I found a surprising number of other people out, too, celebrating the hope of a better year to come. (Because let's be honest, people, 2009 SUCKED THE BIG ONE. Everyone is hoping for a better year.) It was snowy and strangely quiet and peaceful in between the random shouts and fireworks, with the full moon lighting up the neighborhood. It was beautiful. It made me feel confident that good things will happen in the year to come.

So happy New Year, one and all! May 2010 bring reparations for all the crap we've had to deal with in 2009!

(And thanks for the glasses, Renae! Glittering them was the highlight of Carter's evening...ok, that and playing Wii with Randy.)

Music, for me, is an essential part of Christmas. It distills all that is good in the season: the glory of Christ's birth and life, the good feelings that exist at Christmas (though they're sometimes hard to find the rest of the year), the yearning for peace and happiness, and the beauty and simplicity of truth and pure faith. Some people can listen to Christmas music all year, but for me it would cheapen the effect. So the day after Thanksgiving, I break out our Christmas music and listen pretty much non-stop for the entire month of December.

This year Carter has gotten into the spirit of the music. He has alternated singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Jingle Bells" at the top of his voice since mid-November...until I've wanted to rip my hair out and hide under a pillow. But one thing I am beyond pleased about is the fact that his new favorite song (i.e. his replacement for my Regina Spektor CD) is "Angels from the Realms of Glory" performed by MoTab and Sissel. We've been listening to it on repeat for about two weeks now. He likes the part about the shepherds.

Tonight we pulled into the garage and as I started to shut off the car, he said, "No, Mom. Let's finish the song." So we sat in the dark garage looking at the muffled calm of a fresh snowfall and listened to this gorgeous song. I know the words almost by heart now, but tonight in the car I really thought about them. What an amazing song of joy and praise and rejoicing! It really needs to be shared. So here is our favorite Christmas song this year, lyrics first and then the video of the performance. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a very merry Christmas!

"Angels, from the Realms of Glory"
Angels, from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang Creation's story
Now proclaim Messiah's birth!
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.

Shepherds in the field abiding
Watching o'er your flocks by night;
God with man is now residing,
Yonder shines the Infant Light.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.

Sages, leave your contemplations:
Brighter visions beam afar.
Seek the Great Desire of Nations:
Ye have seen His natal star.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear:
Suddenly the Lord descending,
In His temple shall appear.

Though an Infant now we view Him,
He shall fill His Father's throne,
Gather all the nations to Him;
Ev'ry knee shall then bow down.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.
Gloria! In excelsis Deo.
Gloria, Deo!

A Good Week.

We had a fun week this week (despite the fact that it was deadline week....and I missed it by two days).

It all started with a snowfall. I love the fact that Carter is old enough to start doing grown-up things, like helping Randy shovel the driveway.







What a manly man.

Then we ate this.



Yummmmmmmmy.

Today, Carter and I took the time to get some serious finger painting done.



We painted some other things, too.



I saw this today, and it made me smile.



I find them at random times and in random designs all over the house. They're like crop circles....only they're made by a really cute four-year-old instead of creepy aliens who are trying to take over the earth.

I also got some Christmas shopping done today, and figured out what I'm doing for neighbor gifts. That alone puts me light years ahead of where I was this time last year. Yay me!

Brendan and Camryn are staying here this weekend, and Randy has the day off tomorrow, so Christmas decorating--here we come!

I love this time of year!

Pioneer Day, Mary Poppins style.

Here in Utah, we have a holiday which no one else has--Pioneer Day. Every 24th of July, we Utahns use Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers as an excuse to 1) not work, 2) get drunk (well, some of us anyway. Like the guy who was driving, i.e. swerving in forward motion, in front of me this afternoon), and 3) set off lots and lots of fireworks.

Since Randy and I don't get to Wyoming very often to buy the really good illegal fireworks like everyone else, we usually mooch off of the neighbors or the nearest partying municipality.

Today we had an idea so brilliant, it's a wonder we didn't think of it before. Fireworks are really pretty from the ground, right? Why not watch them from the ROOF OF OUR HOUSE?!

I don't have the pictures to prove it, since I was busy trying to rid my brain of the slow-motion image of my children tumbling off the roof and into our front garden. Pictures would have been especially funny, considering the fact that Randy had literally tied Camryn and Carter to him with a rope. But suffice it to say, the roof is hands-down the best place to watch fireworks. Period.

From our roof, we can see the ENTIRE Salt Lake Valley. So we enjoyed fireworks displays from all the pyros in our neighborhood, plus Cottonwood Heights, South Jordan, Kearns area, and the post-game blowouts from the Bees game and the Real Salt Lake game. Throw in some lightning, and we had a pretty darn good show. And luckily, no broken necks.

So Happy Pioneer Day everyone! And a big ol' "neener neener" to all you non-Utahns who had to deal with real life today--especially you kids in Missouri and Illinois. Just think of all the partying you guys have missed out on. What a shame.

Happy 4th to one and all.

At this time of pride and patriotism, enjoy the freedom to celebrate our independence.

But please don't celebrate like these people.



Have a great (and safe) holiday, everyone!

Just In Time For Easter

I found an article at Slate Magazine today that I totally loved. It brought back all the good times I had as an LDS missionary in Texas, where there's a different church on every corner and they have all perfected the craft of turning a phrase--and then posting those phrases on the signs outside their churches.

I loved reading all the church signs. Some of them were absolutely hilarious. Some were really really clever. And some of them were really profound. This one made me think of the youth in our church stake and their preparations for the upcoming cultural celebration in honor of the dedication of the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain temples here in Utah.

Then there are those crazy pentecostals. I LOVE those guys! This sign says, "Are you sick? Come in faith and the Lord Jesus will cure you." Not that I don't believe that's true, I just think the way pentecostal preachers go about doing the curing can be a little sketchy.

And finally, Easter is coming this Sunday. It's a time for us to reflect on the life of Christ and His atonement. We have hope only through Him, and I think He is what we should focus on most--even when we may not feel like we're worth it.


(You can see the entire article and slide show here)

Spring Break: Some choose debauchery, I choose decor

When we moved into our house, every single room and all the ceilings in the house were various (awful) shades of pink--no offense to the previous owners--as evidenced by the following photos.




We tried to paint everything before we moved in, but the task was so monumental it just couldn't be done. So, all of my spring and fall breaks from school since 2007 have been spent re-painting, remodeling, or redecorating some room in our house.

I spent my first break re-doing the boys' room which was (yes, you guessed it) pink for about six months before I got to it. Next I re-did the bathroom, which wasn't pink but was still ugly. Then I painted the pink stairwell leading to our unfinished basement. Next up was Camryn's room, because the various puppies in the too-precious-for-words wallpaper border started freaking her out at night.

This past spring break--the last one of my recent college career--I realized I had pretty much painted or re-decorated every room in my house...finally! But I still wasn't happy with our bedroom. I was on a work deadline the week of my break so I didn't have time for a major project. But I figured that with some changes in the wall decor and curtains, I could make my room a relaxing and tranquil place to be.

It's amazing what you can accomplish with $100 of tax-return money and a nearby Target.



(Yes, dears, I realize that the photo frame on the shelf needs a photo....I didn't say I was totally finished, you know.)

It's not as lavish as something you'd find in an Ethan Allen catalog, but I love my new room. Now, if we could just finish the basement so that I could move our office furniture out of our bedroom, I would be blissfully and perfectly happy. But until that time, I am totally content to relax in my room just the way it is.

Does my Tropical Passionfruit body spray count as a serving of fruit?

So, we're almost finished with the holiday season. SAD. Do you know what's even sadder? I've gained five pounds in the last 2 weeks from all the junk we've been eating. As the title of this post suggests, fruits and vegetables have been scarce in the Archibald diet lately. They have been replaced by large quantities of turkey and mashed potatoes, ham and cheese potatoes, frosted sugar cookies, nuts, chex mix, Hershey's kisses, Danish butter cookies, peppermint sticks, apple pie, more chocolate in various forms, BAMBINOS from La Pizzeria in Rigby, ID, pancakes and french toast, frosted gingersnaps, lemon cheesecake pie, more chex mix, and so on and so on.

That being said, we had a really fun Christmas this year. We stayed with ALL of Randy's family at his parents' house--that's right, all thirty-something of us stayed at my in-laws. One word: CHAOS. But the cousins had a blast and it was fun to see everyone, so it was worth it.

On Christmas Eve, we spent the afternoon at my family's old stake center (church house) in Rigby and had a huge dinner with Randy's extended family.

Christmas Day, everyone got up at seven to have breakfast and a short devotional by Lynn. (Notice the FEET of snow burying our cars outside the window.)

Then the kids lined up on the stairs for the annual Christmas photo. But the kids are getting so big and so numerous that not all of them fit in the picture. (Sorry, Garrett and who knows who else.)

After that--PRESENTS!


And then the grand finale--it gets more bizarre every year. I present to you: my father-in-law Lynn.

He really is a lot more professional on the other 364 days of the year.

Anyway, the kids were pleased with their presents, and we had a good time together with everyone. We welcomed our future sis-in-law Stefanie who is engaged to Trevor, and even experienced the birth of a new niece--Shelby Jane Archibald was born on Dec. 26 to Ben and Cheri. Congratulations!

Now, if I could just find someone to put away all of our Christmas decorations for free. I would do it, but I'm now too fat to move.

It just isn't Christmas without...

This is what I did today. I made dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies. The bad news: we are so sick of Christmas treats. This is the pile as of today, and it's still growing.



And that doesn't even count the two gallon-size plastic bags full of Christmas Mix in my pantry.

We will be travelling to spend Christmas with Randy's family, but it just doesn't seem like Christmas unless you make cookies. So I took one for the team. (Actually, I enjoyed it. So did Carter.) And we'll just pack them up and take them with us to Idaho and hope everyone else eats all the stuff we shouldn't be eating!

Tomorrow: Pies, laundry, and hopefully a couple of phone interviews. (Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. I HATE THEM!)

The Gift of Christmastime

It's Christmastime! I love this time of year, although this year it still feels more like autumn than Christmas. Last week, I put away the fall decorations and hauled out the boxes of Christmas decorations to spruce up the house. And my sweet husband Randy took time out of his busy schedule to help me put up Christmas lights last Friday. He didn't want to, but he did it for me. It's a good thing he loves me!

I love this time of year because we get to focus on all the good we have in our lives and the good things we can do for others. And we can also focus on the reason--Christ. He is the source of everything good.

So I want to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and I hope that all of us can enjoy this season to the fullest.

I'm thankful for family

This week, I got to spend time with all my brothers and sisters at once. This never happens in our family, but since Daegan and Amy moved a little closer to us, hopefully it will happen more often.

Thursday everyone contributed to an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at Cameron and Angelica's house. (Great job on the turkey, Ang.) All the little cousins had a chance to get reacquainted with each other while the adults gorged themselves on pie and played games. And ate more pie.

Friday we got together again for dinner at Kiirstin's house and exchanged gifts. (Great job on the enchiladas, Ang.)

Saturday, all of us climbed on the train and rode to temple square to see the lights. I have come to realize why my parents were never keen on taking us to places like Disneyland or the mall on Black Friday, because the older I get the more I hate crowds. But the lights were beautiful, and it was nice to have all of us together again. (Well, almost all of us. Randy had to work, and we really missed him.)