All is Calm and All is Bright

I used to think little girls were the cutest kind of little kid there was. Sweet little faces, bows in their hair, little mini pink clothes. But that was back when all I had were nieces. As soon as I had nephews, my point of view changed. Little boys are just as infinitely precious, if a little different, than little girls.

I am sitting on my couch enjoying a rare treat - a visit from my two nephews who live about a half hour away. I really don't have to do much entertaining - it is amazing what a box of colored bears plus a box of pattern blocks will do. And it helps that with two of them, they have a built-in play-mate. Aunt Nellie becomes merely a spectator to little boy genius.

The neat piles of colored bears lasted about 10 minutes.

The scattered piles of plastic which looked chaotic to me but apparently represented buildings, burned houses, firetrucks, etc., lasted about 15 minutes.

Then, upon discovering my roommate's various sets of hand weights near the t.v., they began hefting them to show off for me (in typical male fashion).

Now the weights have become wrecking balls and giant transformer feet, stomping all over the plastic pieces. (Good thing I don't have downstairs neighbors).

It is fun to just sit and listen to the high-pitched (even higher than their normal voices) play conversation (this is my secret to figuring out what all the toys represent - otherwise I would have no clue that the pile of blue bears in the middle of the living room equaled a building).

Here is a typical interchange that all of you who have interacted with boys will recognize the tenor of:

Me, noticing that Mr. Brown-eyes has a runny nose: "Do you need a tissue for your nose?"

Mr. Blue-eyes, older and wiser: "No, he likes his boogers."

Mr. Brown-eyes, who often repeats anything older brother says: "Yeah, I like my boogers."

I just laughed.

Yep. Gotta love boys.

After about 30 minutes, we have degenerated into everything in sight being destroyed. Mr. Brown-eyes has twice come to me showing me a finger that the "robot" (2 lb. weight) has "eaten".

I never thought this face in "Home Alone" was all that cute, but on my nephew, it is the best (and he did this all by himself):

Merry Christmas

I found the Christmas Spirit! (see the decorations?!)

It began on Sunday night. My roommate had been busily baking all weekend and had plates of treats lined up to take to the neighbors. A wave of remorse hit me (you'll remember I previously admitted that I have had "Scrooge" associations this season). I commented to her that I should take things to the neighbors, too, but didn't know when I'd find the time or inclination to bake. So my wonderful roommate convinced me to come with her to deliver the treats. It was fun! And I felt the happiness of the Christmas Season begin to seep into my cold, cold heart.

So I would like to post my "Christmas Card" for the year. Cards or letters were one more thing that didn't get done this year. But I am considering a "New Year's" Card. We'll see how it goes.

This has been a year of changes for me. And for someone who craves stability, that has been a little challenging.

At the beginning of February, a fire started in the basement of my parents' home in Spanish Fork Canyon. My sister and her family were also living there at the time, and so my nearby family lost much of their earthly belongings. I helped sort through a myriad of burned and destroyed items that were carried out of the blackened interior of the house, my heart breaking at the memories those things represented. But my family members were safe - I had to keep coming back to that. A difficult decision was made to tear down this house that I grew up in and has basically been my "home base" for 30 years, instead of rebuild it, and my parents now own a townhome in Spanish Fork City. My sister and her husband recently bought a home in Salem. Through all the grieving, we have been blessed.

On June 1 my sweet grandmother passed away. She was almost 89 years old. I miss her still, every day, though she lived in Arizona and I didn't get to see her often. She and I were always very close, as we were a lot a like. She was my never-failing cheerleader and confidante. But through it all, I have come to appreciate like never before the blessing of having her in my life.

Later in June, my immediate family gathered for a family reunion in the Smokey Mountain region of Tennessee. It was a glorious three days, getting to be with all of my brothers and sisters and in-laws and nieces and nephews. With family in Georgia and Indiana now, it was a nice "change" to be all together for awhile.

I gained a fabulous roommate over the summer, whom I have lived with before - 4 different times! I guess we keep coming back together because we are both easy to live with, right? At this time in my life, if I'm going to have a roommate, she needs to be amazing, and she is! It took some adjusting but it has been really nice to have someone to talk to when I get home from work and someone who even cares if I come home or not.

I began a new job (again!) in August as a first grade teacher in Orem. The commute to Salt Lake was just a little too stressful for me, and I was happy to find a teaching job near my home in a year where a hundred people were vying for each teaching position. I absolutely love my new school, the principal, other teachers, and especially my "team" (the other first grade teachers). My students are challenging at times, but I love them and they are wonderful kids.

I have been acting as the "Single Adult Representative" for my ward for about a year and a half now, and have been enriched by the relationships I have formed with the singles in my ward. Although at first I balked at such a calling, it has been a blessing in helping me reach outside myself. But then, about 2 months ago, I was called as the "Assistant Nursery Leader". Now, this has been a challenging change for me. But I have enjoyed getting to know the small children and their parents. I come home from church exhausted, but happy, knowing I have been able to serve.

I am currently contemplating another huge change in my life. I know, I know - when will it ever stop, right? I have placed my lovely townhome up for rent and am planning to live in a basement apartment of my parents' for 6 months to a year. It will be different and take some adjustment, but I feel it is for the best.

You know, they say the only thing we can count on is that things will always change. That is so true! And I guess it is a good thing. This year I have grown in a lot of ways and realized what is truly important in life and who I can always count on. I have been blessed with an amazing family, wonderful friends, and a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. During this season I would like to add my testimony to that of many others, that He lives and that He loves each one of us. We may not understand the path our lives are taking or why things happen the way they do or when they do. But if we are patient and have faith, it will at sometime be clear that it is all in our best interest. I don't always have perfect faith, but I am striving for it.

Merry Christmas to all and may all of you have a New Year filled with blessings and....change.

Love,

Janelle

Merry Christmas from the two cutest boys in the state and me! Candy cane, anyone?

So This is Christmas...

I promised myself I wouldn't let another holiday season go by without enjoying it. Yet here it is, a week away from Christmas, and all I seem to have done the past few weeks is work, lay around sick in bed, and rush to get gifts bought and wrapped. I haven't even had time to put up my Christmas tree and outside lights yet. Never mind such a foreign idea as sending out Christmas cards. Shoot. It was really going to be different this year. I left an insanely crazy work day today (first graders a week before Christmas are on all kinds of "highs" and suck the energy right out of their teachers) with the most "Bah Humbug" feeling I can remember having. And who wants to end up like Scrooge?

I guess I have a few more days to get the "Christmas Spirit". And, there's always next year.

So, here's a picture of my Christmas tree - from last year.

It's a Small World After All

My bishop decided to have a "Break the Fast" meal after church today. I have spent years in singles wards where we had this kind of meal every fast Sunday. But I have never experienced it in a family ward. It was actually pretty cool. And you know what? I had a couple of "small world" experiences.

First of all, when I mentioned I'm from Spanish Fork, a man across the table from me said that he grew up in Spanish Fork. When he said he graduated in 1999, though, I thought he wouldn't know any of the same people I do. But he said he had a lot of brothers and sisters and he said his last name. I looked hard at his face and then it clicked - he is the younger brother of one of my best friends in Junior High and High School! I've since lost track of her. How strange that I have been in the same ward as her younger brother for 2 years and didn't make the connection before today!

Heady with my successful connection-making, I tried for a second "small world" connection - I know exactly 2 people who grew up in Alaska. And Alaska is a big state, right? But what the heck - when you've been around the LDS church as long as I have, you know that long-shots often uncover previously unknown connections. So I asked my friend if he knew the other guy I know from Alaska. And he does! Not from Alaska, though - from the MTC. Wow. I think it is cool - look what happens when you take the time to get to know the people around you!

My Home

A few months ago, I wrote a blog entry about how my family is my safety net. Well, they are coming through for me again big time. But I've had to swallow a lot of pride in the past few weeks.

Today I did something I never imagined myself doing - especially at this point in my life. I put my townhome up for rent. I love my home, and I love living here. I also love love love independence. But I also feel a very strong prompting to get financially stable with a good savings and no debt. Unfortunately, that will not happen if I have to keep up with a mortgage.

So, temporarily, I am going to utilize the new apartment my parents have built in their basement in Spanish Fork. That is, if I can get a renter for my place. I am trying to network as much as possible - it would be great to have someone in my home who is a friend or family member of someone I trust. So keep your ears open for me, OK? I have listed it on ksl.com if you care to look.

Here's to new seasons and new adventures.

This One's For the Girls...

I have the very best girl friends in the whole entire universe - seriously! I know you think you do, but you wouldn't be right unless you have the same friends I do (and, come to think of it, most of you reading this probably do).

One of those friends lives in California and planned to surprise me by driving into town Friday and showing up on my doorstep Friday night at midnight. Unfortunately, she called Friday afternoon and told me she'd only made it to the Sierra Nevadas, then hit a snowstorm, and would have to turn back for home. Nevertheless, I was unbelievably touched by this demonstration of her love for me and knowledge of what that would mean to me.

Some of the other amazing women I count as friends spent the day with me yesterday. They know how important birthdays are to me, and they started planning a couple of weeks in advance.

That is how we came to be sitting in the movie theater for the first showing of "New Moon" on my Saturday birthday. Now, granted, this is not the movie some of them would have chosen to spend two hours of their lives involved in. But I am a romantic sap at heart and this is what I wanted to see for my "special day". Time for checking out of reality and involving myself in some teenage angst and, let us admit it, enjoying the sight of a some beautiful young men. I know I'm old enough to be a mother to the actors, but, hey, I feel 18 inside!

After that, we ate out at Texas Roadhouse, mocking the movie we'd just seen, listening to country music, chatting and eating shelled peanuts and delicious rolls (calories don't count on your birthday, ya know?) It was an awesome girl's day out

.

Two of my friends stuck around while I treated myself to a manicure with birthday money - a rarity and true luxury for me.

I didn't have plans for the evening. It would be a real let down to just go sit at home by myself. But, luckily, one friend had "reserved the whole day" for me, and she and I went to The Purple Turtle for grilled cheese sandwiches and shakes, then went to see another movie: "The Blind Side". It was a great movie and perfect end to the day.

Many other friends called or sent notes online, which I also greatly appreciated.

We each get one day a year that is all our own. I sure enjoyed mine! Thanks, everyone!

Birthday Eve

I am a firm believer in "birthday eves". In fact, I will celebrate my birthday for as many days as I can get away with.

My own birthday celebrations began today with breakfast at the Joseph Smith Building with a friend (I took the morning off from work), hugs and homemade notes from first graders, and a family pizza party.

I realize there are a lot of pictures of these two cute boys on my blog entries. But, really, wouldn't you take as many pictures as possible of these cuties?

We sure enjoyed the chocolate frosting on the cake!

Speaking of chocolate frosting, you are about to see a picture of my cupcake from the PTA. It was the most amazing cupcake I've ever had! I am a fan of frosting. And this frosting was delectable - with the added bonus that there was almost as much frosting as cake. What is cake but a holder for the frosting, anyway?

The sky even gave me a gift tonight. Isn't this gorgeous?!

This is not a sales pitch

This is really not a sales pitch. But I have to say that I LOVE Salt City Candles. I am a believer. I used to buy the cheapest candles possible (when I actually bought candles), as I thought all candles were created equal. I have discovered I was wrong.

Last weekend I started working at the Salt City Candles kiosk in the South Towne mall (just Saturdays and during the holidays). It is really a fun job- I hardly feel like I am working (but I won't turn down the paychecks). It is fun to talk to people who have used the candles and loved them. And I have learned so much about how long they burn and how the fragrance is great at permeating a room.

As I straighten the shelves, I randomly take off candle lids to sniff the fabulous smells. There are so many! Vanilla Spice, Tuscan Christmas, Victorian Christmas, Fresh Linen, Sugar Cookie, Lemon Tree, Grapefruit Vanilla - just to name a few of my favorites. I am currently trying to decide which of the many to get for myself!

So, although this isn't a sales pitch, if you haven't tried a Salt City candle, you really should buy one! Preferably from my kiosk while I am working - then I get the credit. *wink*

I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason...

Tonight I re-watched a movie that I liked a few years ago but had forgotten about. It inspired bitter-sweet feelings in me for some reason. I began to think of all the people who have touched my life through the years. There are far too many to picture here.

In my favorite part of said movie, the heroine is missing a man that she fell in love with, who had made a great difference in her life, and feeling rather bereft. Her father asks her, "Did you love him?" And she says, "I loved who I got to be with him. Even though I didn't do anything amazing - for me it was. I felt like I knew myself for the first time."

I feel like my life is a constant discovering of myself. Parts of me are emphasized or even brought forth for the first time in my relationships with others. For me, the amazing things in my life would probably not be counted as amazing by anyone else. But for me they are.

I should add that I have many pictures of my students that I could share, but I won't because of privacy issues. And there are so many people who I will miss because it would take me about a week to upload all the pictures that I really want to. However, I will show just a few of the family and friends who have allowed me to be myself when I was with them.

Randomness

I feel like I should keep my blog a little more current because there are a few people who actually read it. Thanks, friends. It makes me feel a little closer to you. (: But, truthfully, when I get home from work at night the few brain cells that are still working don't seem to come up with very much creativity. So, tonight, here are just a few random snapshots from my life.

Some people haven't seen my new short hairdo. So here it is:

My darker side revealed

as I got ready to attend a single adult Halloween dance on Saturday night--

My sis reading to her boys in their new house:

My brother-in-law (above sister's hubby) playing the harp at UVU:

During "Red Ribbon Week"- this was "Be a red head, not a dead head" day.

I think I look a little like a biker. Don't mess with me, kids!

One Little Skeleton Hopping Up and Down....

OK, so the skeleton in question is not so little and at this moment is collapsed on the couch, with no energy to move, much less hop around.

How did I become a skeleton in such a state, you may ask? It all started with the other teachers on my team and I deciding to dress as typical "Halloween" things: a black cat, a vampire, a witch, a scarecrow and.... a skeleton, for the school Halloween parade today. Honestly, I didn't want to dress up like a skeleton. But all the good ideas were taken as everyone claimed something they already had a costume for. I didn't have a costume for anything in particular. So I was left with a skeleton or a pumpkin. The pumpkin sounded too boring, so I went with the skeleton, but after 3 hours of working on a costume, I began thinking longingly of an oversized orange t-shirt with a jack-0-lantern face painted on it.

I really didn't mean to wear a scary costume to school today and freak my kids out. My idea was to create a cute, friendly skeleton. I don't remember EVER being something scary for Halloween. Put all my Halloween costume pictures from past years together and you'll see an "impressive" collection of princesses, gypsies, friendly animals, witches, etc.

But then it all started to go awry when I got tired of creating foam board bones and tacking them to black clothes, and I had the great idea to wear an old, tattered dress to cover part of me so I wouldn't have to put bones there. I also thought makeup would work so much better than a mask for creating an all-day skull-like appearance. I added some winding vines to try to make my outfit "prettier" and more interesting.

This turned out to be more of a "crazy-scary-skeleton/zombie-woman-risen-from-the-grave" look - so NOT what I was going for. But by the time the makeup and all was put together this morning, I was a few minutes late to work and didn't have time to take the makeup off and redo it. At school, I had quite a few people staring, many kids commenting - and some teachers not recognizing me. It was fun but a little uncomfortable to have such a strong reaction to my appearance from everyone. I guess there's always next year to be a princess.

Just so you know, you will probably never see me looking like this EVER again. So enjoy it while it lasts.

If You Could Hie to Kolob

Here is the much-anticipated post from my awesome weekend in St. George area. Loved it! Needed it! Wish I could have stayed longer!

If you, like me, have sung "If You Could Hie to Kolob" a few hundred times in your lifetime, you probably have a good idea of what "hie" means, from the context. So here are some highlights from a couple of great friends and I "hie-ing" to Kolob (Canyon, that is) on Saturday.

One friend savored each moment of the experience, constantly commenting on the beauty and amazing nature around us along the way, stopping often to drink it in. The other friend was focused on the destination - we were going 5 miles, so she was determined to reach that destination, to accomplish the experience. I fall somewhere in between. I try to be in the moment and I love the amazing scenery - but my nature tends a little toward focusing on the end result, or whatever is coming next. We all decided to try to live more in the moment.

The colors of the leaves were absolutely brilliant! Unfortunately, pictures can't do them justice.

Gazing at the layers of rock, and the massive, majestic presence of the rock formations in the canyon (how firm a foundation, indeed), I couldn't help but compare them to the friends walking with me. Friendship is a powerful force in our lives. There are many layers to each of us and to the relationships we have. Time-tested and true, good friends remain a "majestic presence" in our lives.

We discussed many aspects of our lives along the journey. We teased and laughed a lot. We made goals. We uplifted and supported each other. And although it began to grow dark on the hike back to the car and it was difficult to see the path ahead, it was OK because we were together.

A few additional highlights:

$6 an hour

So I figured that's about how much I made this weekend at my yard sale. I added up all the hours I spent this week advertising the sale online, making signs, digging through all my closets and my garage to find anything I haven't used in a few years that someone else might like, putting price stickers on everything, loading down my car until driving over a pebble would make me bottom out, unloading and setting everything up, the actual sale, then taking down the leftovers and reloading my car, and finally getting home to unload and put everything away. The money I made at the sale came to about $6 an hour. If I'm being generous. But it was still exhilarating to be carrying all that cash in my purse. I felt like a rich woman. A lot of dollar bills and quarters will do that to a person.

(this is my front seat - the back was packed to the ceiling, and the trunk was full)

My friend and I had a joint yard sale at her house, because, apparently, she lives in the "Yard Sale Capital" of Utah Valley. Who knew? Well, I guess a lot of people besides me did. We discovered that when there were several other yard sales going on in the same town, and when we had mobs of people (OK, maybe not mobs, but a lot) come to our yard sale all morning. Silly me, I thought it would be a slow morning (I even brought a book) because October is #1. NOT a summer month, and therefore NOT a month you would think to go "yard-sale-ing"#2 NOT warm enough to be out and about before the sun is even showing over the mountains. I thought I would need the enticement of free hot chocolate to get the people there. Oh, they liked the hot chocolate all right, but I didn't even need to go to the trouble, it turns out. If you build it....or set it up....they will come!

We learned a thing or two about yard sales that we have decided to put into good use when we have another sale next year. I will put them here for the rest of you to consider. But if you decide to have a yard sale, please do it on a different day than mine. I want all the glory and money for myself....

• If you advertise that the sale starts at 8:00 a.m., be ready for eager-beavers (who, I decided, must have insomnia and are a little crazy) to show up at 7:40.
• If you advertise that the sale ends at 12:00 p.m., be ready for people to still be driving by, then slowing down to take a look, at 2:00 p.m.
• Have everything marked with a price - most people seemed to not be comfortable "making an offer" or not having a beginning price to bargain down from. I know if someone said "make an offer" to me, I would be thinking in my head, "Free sounds good to me - how cheap can I possibly go and not offend you?"
• Sell things cheap. People come to a yard sale to get extreme bargains or unusual things.
• Have a lot of inexpensive items. Like a dollar or less.
• CD's go fast. At least they did at 50 cents apiece.
• DVD's and books go fast, too. If they are in good condition and cheap.
• Clothes sell better when they are not too wrinkled and old.
• Old dinosaur computer monitors don't sell.
• Wear pants with big pockets. That's where I stuffed all my money.
• A few people will try to bargain. Know how low you'll go on certain items. I was pretty much a pushover because I just wanted to get rid of stuff, ie: Customer: "Will you take all the change in my hand for these two shirts?" me: "Sure." I think it was about 35 cents.

Not that I am now a yard sale guru by any means. It is a whole separate culture that I prefer to benefit from, rather than join. But I am a little wiser. And just a little richer. Time to go on vacation!

How Firm a Foundation

I absolutely love General Conference! I was able to listen to or watch all of the sessions (except the priesthood session, of course). And you know that thing about writing down a question or two you have before Conference to see if you get your answers? It works. I feel incredibly blessed and humbled that almost every talk had something that I really needed to hear.

One of the hymns during Conference was "How Firm a Foundation". Interestingly, this hymn was also sung at the General Relief Society meeting last weekend and in my ward sacrament meeting last Sunday. So I have been pondering the words quite a bit. I don't think there is anything quite like the message of this incredible hymn - all 7 verses - and I can't get through it these days without the tears choking out my voice. I am reminded of the foundational principals of the gospel, of the reason for trials, of the faithfulness and steadfastness of my grandparents, and over all else, I have been reminded of the all-encompassing love that God has for me.

"How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!

What more can he say than to you he hath said,

Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

In every condition - in sickness, in health,

In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,

At home or abroad, on the land or the sea-

As they days may demand, so thy succor shall be.

Fear not, I am with the; oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,

For I will be with thee, they troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove

My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"

Here's the Dirt....

My nephew had his 2nd birthday a week ago. I believe I mentioned before how creative my sisters can be when it comes to birthdays? Well, this one was no exception!

Based on a favorite word to say and pastime of this cute little guy, the birthday had a "dirt" theme. He was very excited about his "dirt cake" and most especially about the worms he ate like candy... oh, yeah, they WERE candy.

Digging in black bean for prizes is a lot less messy than digging in actual dirt - and almost as much fun!

Given my nephew's budding vocabulary and extreme enjoyment of phones, I chose to feed the addiction and get him a life-like cell phone. Notice his ear is already glued to it - can't wait until he's a teenager!

It was another successful birthday celebration. And I got to hang out with the two cutest and most loving boys I know!