New Year's Eve Party 2018

This New Year's Eve my sister Melissa spent the day driving with her daughter half of the way to BYUI. With her out of town, I invited the rest of her family over for NYE thinking that they wouldn't have anything planned on their own. What ended up being beneficial for my brother-in-law John and his boys ended up being beneficial for us as well. I promised Boy Howdy that he could stay up until 10 which meant A LOT of time to fill with fun (of which he expected a lot). I came up with a few games, which the Jones boys found a way to improve upon to the joy and satisfaction of all. There was some crying but mostly fun and while it was fairly low-key it still ended up being way more fun than either family would have had on their own. We even had headbands! Thankfully Sydney, Australia was already done with their countdown extravaganza so we got to celebrate with their fireworks and excitement and still have everyone to bed before midnight.

The silly part was Chewkie's great disappointment that she didn't get to stay up after bedtime with her brother because it was so late. I mean, big tears that she had to go straight to bed. At 10:30pm, I am going to chalk that up to being super tired from all the fun.

I Followed the Prophet

Years ago one August, President Monson, or maybe it was President Hinckley asked the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. I was somewhere in the middle and rationalized that as long as I finished by New Year's I had done as I had been asked. I often regretted it that I hadn't started over as so many of my peers had.

Fast forward to this past October at General Conference when our Prophet, President Nelson, asked the females of the church age 8 and up to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. I once again, tried to rationalize not starting over but was told and knew in my heart that I would be flaking on the opportunity as I had years earlier.

I'm so glad I didn't flake. Along with the counsel to read the Book of Mormon was an instruction to highlight all the verses that mention Christ's name, in all its forms. Tonight I finished. And although I have LOVED the Book of Mormon for MANY years, I gained a renewed appreciation for it's statement that it truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Interwoven through beautiful and heart-rending stories of faith, rebellion and redemption emerges Jesus Christ as the central character of the entire book. He is Rock upon which the stories, the lessons, the prophecies, and the doctrine are founded.

I have a friend, a member of another Christian denomination who firmly believes that members of my Church aren't Christian, or if we are we don't worship her Christ. This makes me more sad than I can say. But as the famous quote that often gets attached to Mother Theresa says, in the end it is between me and God, it was never about them anyway.

So despite my friend's objections, I will continue to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ, that my children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins (2 Nephi 25:26).

I know my Savior lives. I know that He is intimately aware of me and is actively working through all means at His disposal to show me His love so that I will be better able to reflect that love to others. So often I don't recognize His efforts and I get down on myself, or His plan for my life. But when I stop to look, even on really hard days, His tender mercies are all around me. I am beyond grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the clarification of that gospel that comes through the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel as Peter did when Christ asked if the twelve would abandon Him.

67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

I love my Savior and I am thankful for the opportunity to grow closer to Him through the Book of Mormon.

The Christmas Sleepover

With Christmas break officially started the kids wanted to make a fort in the upstairs rec room that they could have slumber parties in. The picked a fort design that would enable them to each have their own wing that met in the middle. But of course they wanted to sleep in the same wing and leave the other one full of toys. Oh my sweet children. Boy Howdy kept waking his sister up forcing us to abandon the fun after a few days, but they LOVED it while it lasted. And as much as I didn't love having a cranky daughter, I can never get enough of the love these two have for each other.

Gingerbread Houses 2018

So often I feel like such a lazy mother which is why moving close to family is so wonderful. I get to leverage off my sibling's traditions when my own are lacking. Case in point, the annual Booren Family Gingerbread House making party. My older brother, Joshua, made cookie cutters for my sister to make her job of making upwards of 20 or 30 kits from scratch every year easier. I am amazed every year at her goodness and enthusiasm for undertaking such a herculean feat year after year.

What a great tradition we get to be a part of now that we live close. Thanks Melissa!!

Everyone's

Mine, Boy Howdy's and Chewkie's

The Girls' First Nutcracker

I may be 39 years old, but tonight was both Marler girls' first time to the Nutcracker. Girls' Night Out!! We were out until 9:30 on a school night. Oooh. Chewkie (because her mother wanted her to) has opted to tap instead of dance ballet, so her class performed the following week. But with friends of hers and mine performing we decided to attend. What a lovely evening. It wasn't super polished, that's hard when you have many of the dances performed by children under the age of 10 but Chewkie loved those dances the best. Since she was up way past her bedtime, her attention span and energy dwindled and near the end you could hear her audibly sigh that it wasn't over yet; but as soon as we got outside she immediately asked when we could go back. New Christmas tradition.

She begged for a souvenir to hang on her Christmas tree that she almost immediately gave to her brother when we got home because he felt sad that he didn't get to go. Oh how I love my sweet daughter and our night out.