Lucky

I truly don't know what I ever did to deserve the friends I have. I'm not going to question. I'm just going to bask in my good fortune.

We did a little "progressive lunch" one afternoon in December.


We started at Jana's with hot cocoa....

Karalyn, Debbie, Rebecca, and Jana

Debbie's baby was oh so delicious.



Then my house for bean dip. (And yes, they are still my friends) Then to Rebecca's for soup and bread...
Will...in his "monkeying around" t-shirt
...and his sidekick Henry...(Rebecca's youngest twin set)
(See..I'm not the only one..)
And then...I put the camera down....and then we went to Karalyn's for the most yummy paninis and then to Debbie's where her girls served us the best dessert tea party ever.

Unfortunately for my family wanting dinner at home, I didn't need to eat for days after.
I can't wait for next year.

Ho, Ho, Hope

It was a tender mercy. It started back in October when Jordan and I had the good fortune to be invited to dinner with friends. In the course of the evening our friends mentioned how much they enjoyed their ward Christmas party every year. As the activities committee chairmen, we(I) had been thinking hard about what were should do for our own ward Christmas party. A "good idea that had been successful in another ward" was just what I needed. We left that night with the phone number of Diane- the lady that had been organizing their party for years. I also left with a faint feeling of hope.

That's not to say that I knew that this idea was going to be a hard sale. Our own ward, filled with 'long-timers' had their own ideas of what our Christmas party should look like and I knew that this was not it.

We met with the committee. Diane came and gave us suggestions, encouragement and-yes-hope. We decided to go for it.

"We could spend a lot of money and energy to give ourselves another wonderful party,"we announced the next Sunday. "A great dinner. Fabulous entertainment. Or we could forget about serving ourselves and spend the money and energy on serving others."

The goal was to gather enough money through donations made by the ward to be able to shop for 10 kids and their families found through the Headstart Program. We told them the amount we would need to be able to make that happen. We asked for donations of non-perishable food items and toiletries. And for wrapping paper and tape. Diane came and told them about Headstart and the good they did for the community and the dire circumstances of the children in attendance.

And then we waited.

The sign up sheet for the food items, toiletries and wrapping paper donations was filled immediately. I wasn't surprised. Slowly, the cash donations to buy Christmas gifts for the children trickled in. I wondered if we would meet our goal. I worried that I was too ambitious with our numbers. I didn't want to have to tell the director at Headstart that we wouldn't be able to take on that many children. I knew I had to have...hope.

With three weeks to our deadline, the spirit of Christmas found it's way in to overflowing. The money kept coming. Families, couples and individuals asked to be "shoppers" for the gift lists, and busy moms volunteered to help with our breakfast preparation and the Primary Nativity program. The other couple on the committee did all of the decorations and all of the set up. If I didn't know better, I would say it was a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

First...there was the SET UP....
..and then the COOK UP (of waffles, fruit, sausage, and homemade syrup)...

...then came the EAT UP...
..the DRESS UP...
..the shopping and then back for the WRAP UP...
...finally culminating in the CLEAN UP!
In the end, we were able to shop for 28 kids and their families. It took several trips to deliver all of the gifts to the Headstart office. I would like to think that we were able to give a little bit of HOPE to those families, but as is always the case, the real gift is what the opportunity to serve gave to each of us.

Christmas with the Radmans

Gabe could hardly wait this year. He must have asked me a hundred times when the party was. Thank you Christmas season for giving us an excuse to get together.

Jordan's Mom is the guest of honor.


My nephew, Jake, and his fourth! daughter, Matilda. And speaking of my nephews...I had a thought this night as I looked around at this group of people...Man, my nephews married well. They are beautiful women-all of them- but even more impressive is what amazing wives and mothers they are. Way to go, boys.

Jordan's sister, JoAnne, hosts our crew every year. Her home is beautiful and immaculate, and warm and FUN...
JoAnne also shops, wraps, and distributes.
Andy (to me he's still Andrew) with my girls. This boy used to be a regular fixture at our house his senior year of High School. He has a special quality of drawing people together. He make you laugh. I miss him.
My favorite picture of the night. My nephew, Danen, with Jordan's mom. I cannot tell you how adored this woman is by her grandkids. She elicits such tenderness and compassion from all of them.
I wonder if Lillie can sense that this woman knows how to take exceptional care of the babies and that is why she brings them to Nana. Nana, of course, raised 6 babies of her own and has continued the nurture of 30 grandkids and oh so many great -grandkids. What a gift.


*to all of Jordan's family of fabulous photographers.....I sincerely apologize for the quality of these photos.

Mind the Gap...

..words that seemed helpful-almost humorous- when we heard them repeated over and over again as Jordan and I waited with our two girls for the London public transportation system-The Tube. The year was 2005 and I had a firm grip on the whereabouts of all my children. Brittney was 15 and had just performed with her harp group at the World Harp Congress in Ireland. We had decided to use our opportunity to be in Europe to do a little traveling before we headed home. London was our last stop. The girls were eating it up. The sights, the sounds, the people, the food...ahhh...especially the food. And I was enjoying the naivety that comes from being a young mom and thinking that I would always have that firm grasp on the whereabouts of my children.


Fastforward to Tuesday, January 5th, 2011. Those same words of 6 years ago come back to me. Mind the Gap. Today those words don't seem nearly as helpful-or humorous. This time we're talking about a GAP of about 4,500 miles. Brittney leaves for a four month study abroad in London, England. I no longer have a firm grip on anything. Let alone the whereabouts of my children.

As it turned out, I was scheduled for an early morning experimental drug infusion for scleraderma and so while I was doing this..



















Jordan was sending me these:

























I lamented to an "empty nester" friend recently that our house was noticeably quieter with both of the girls away at college. "The more independence my children gain from me the less value I feel," I whined. "I'm not sure anymore what my real purpose is!"

His answer has been ringing in my ears ever since. "That is exactly your purpose," he said. "To raise your kids so they can leave."

Mother hearts beware: Mind the Gap.

Merry Christmas to Me

I know I've said it before (like once a month) but I will say it again for all of you who may have missed it the other bazillion times...I LOVE my Family Home Evening Group.
If you want to give yourself the "gift that keeps on giving" all you need to do is..

• Find a group of women that share similar values, priorities and interests.
• Meet together on a regular basis (we get together once a month).
• Share good food (we love having an opportunity to make and eat things that our husbands and children most likely would not appreciate).
• Trade off hosting each other in your homes.
• Create an environment where you can share opinions, thoughts, ideas, hopes, failures, and successes.
• Laugh. Cry. Eat. Laugh some more.
• Think...."I am the luckiest girl in the world!"

Rebecca hosted. I couldn't get enough of her beautiful, warm, cozy, Christmas home! I was almost on "sensory overload." I could hardly take it all in fast enough.

Lunch consisted of:

• (Not your mother's) Hot Chocolate
• Butternut Squash soup (the best I've ever had)
• Chipotle Lime Shrimp Salad
• Rosemary biscuits w/ honey butter
• Nordstrom's Bread Pudding (what is it called?) Hands down my favorite dessert of all time.

Needless to say..I was so busy eating..I didn't really think about my camera. Plus...seeing pictures would have just made you all really jealous and hungry.

These are some of the women that inspire me... (Not shown..Kristin and Andi)

"Out of small and simple things...

are great things brought to pass." That was the message accompanying a beautiful acorn necklace and given to me by a friend at the beginning of November. I thought a lot about that sentiment. I have always loved acorns-mostly I think because they are part of the beauty of the autumn season that I love so much-but I don't think I ever really gave a lot of thought to what they might represent. Suddenly I was noticing seemingly small (and simple) acts and could follow them through to their grand end. Seemingly small things like... a friend who makes it a point to rub lotion on my dry, hardened hands 3 times a week. Or busy moms who enthusiastically and willingly agree to help with a ward party during the craziest time of year. Or a ward that caught the vision of giving and service and donated generously of their means to help others in need. Or a clerk at Home Depot who went out of her way to brighten everyone's day who had the privilege of going through her check out line. Or attending a weekly scripture class with a teacher who, through her study and enthusiasm, has planted a seed of love and understanding of Isiahi's words. Small things really. And yet so big. But what is my contribution? I am guilty of often thinking that bigger is better. And in the case of Christian's ACT score or storage space, that may be true-but so little else really falls into that category. (And those two things are even debatable). Point is..I know I just need to make an effort. Regardless of how seemingly small it may seem at the time. Send the thank you note. Park at the end of the lot and walk. Have a water instead of a diet coke. Give sympathy when "someone" isn't feeling well. All tiny acorns of effort but possibly with giant oak results.

Jill is my favorite acorn. She make look tiny, but the love she gives is oh, so BIG!

• Hosted my family+Kelli's in-laws+Uncle Dick and Michelle for Thanksgiving. Loved it.
• Made two turkeys. Overcooked one and undercooked the other.
• Had apple spice cake and pumpkin streussel instead of pies for dessert. YUM!
• Saw Tangled. New favorite movie.
• Had a little "hostess neurosis" and set down my camera two minutes after everyone came and then never picked it up again. Hence..no pics.

Sure, Kelli's salad is beautiful but so are her biceps!

Cousin Kate the roommate, Hailee, Michelle

I guess it's no secret..turns out my 2 girls really do read my blog

(Sophie fills in Jill during the First Presidency Christmas Devotional)

Who knew? The very people I started blogging for in the first place really do check in on occasion. I have had several requests from them to update. So..I'm breaking down and blogging once more.The problem now is... where do I start?