The Forgotten Carols

On Wednesday night, we went to see Micheal McLean's The Forgotten Carols near Seattle. (Our Seattle trip will be posted later after I have some time to create some fun scrapblog pages!)

Anyway, for those of you who have not heard of The Forgotten Carols, the story is about a nurse who's name is Constance Chamberlin and an elderly gentleman named Uncle John (played by Micheal McLean). Constance is assigned to visit and care for John in his home during the Christmas holidays. Constance, or Connie Lou, as Uncle John likes to call her, has reason to think that her patient John has deep psychological problems because he insists that he is over 2000 years old. But his constant cheerfulness and compassionate attitude makes him appealing to her. "The Forgotten Carols" are sung by those who played a small part in the Nativity when Jesus was born. John is reminded of them when he places ornaments from them on his Christmas tree. He received the ornaments from people like the innkeeper who turned away Joseph and Mary, a shepherd who followed the star and one from an a young angel who tried out for the heavenly chorus to sing on the day of Christ's birth. Of course in the end, John isn't what he seems, and Constance comes to understand his gift to her as he shares the real story of Christmas.

Scott and I saw this play when we were at Ricks College 16 years ago. We really enjoyed it and every year we enjoy listening to the Forgotten Carols CD. We have been wanting to see the show again but it was always too far away since most shows are in Idaho and Utah. When we found out that it was near Seattle, we took the kids out of school for a couple of days because we did not want to pass up the opportunity. This trip was a great way to start our 2008 Christmas season, and for us to keep in mind what Christmas is truly about, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

-Natalie

"When I Grow Up, I Want To Be An Artist"

Caleb has been telling us that he wants to be an artist for a long time. He loves to draw and make projects. His creative mind is constantly thinking of something to make or draw. A phrase we hear often is, "Can I use that for an art project?" He could be asking for a paper towel tube, plastic cups, foil, empty jars, pop bottles, and so forth. Unfortunately, he only receives about 1/4 of his requests and the rest goes in the recycling bin. We just don't have room for a bunch of extra art supplies around the house waiting to be used. If only we had a basement .... he could have an art corner all to himself!

Anyway, one day he came home from school very excited because there was a contest for all the students to draw a new school logo. It was going to be printed on sweatshirts and t-shirts. (I have to mention that Lindsay was excited too and drew an awesome drawing to submit). Caleb drew a flying eagle, the school mascot, with a circle of stars. A couple of weeks went by with them both patiently waiting for the winner to be announced, and .... Caleb won!! He was sooooooo excited and I was so proud of him. I was also proud of Lindsay for being a good sport and also for the fact that she was truly happy for her brother. An order was placed and the result is exciting. Way to go Caleb!!!!

Caleb With His Winning Design

A Happy Sister

-Natalie

Blog Class

The blog class is now over. It was a lot of fun and there was a nice turnout. I wanted to take a bunch of pictures so I could "blog" about the class., but with everything that was going on, I forgot!! I did, however, take a few pictures before everyone arrived. Thanks to Kris & Steve, we had a projector and a screen which made it nice for everyone to see. I appreciate everyone who came. It was fun seeing the changes you made on your blogs already!

-Natalie

Calling All Bloggers . . .

Kris asked me to teach an Enrichment class on blogging. Why me?, I wondered. There are a few sisters in our ward who have blogs but I have to admit, I LOVE spending time blogging. Here are a couple of reasons why.

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First, it is a great way for me to keep in touch with family whether they live here or elsewhere around the country. All of my family and some of Scott's family live out of state so it is a good way to let them know what is happening in our lives. I remember the days of getting pictures developed and sending them to my mom in Ohio to see. Now I can just put them on our website and write about what is happening. This works for good friends too. Who could forget Adrienne and her family. Even though they moved and now live in Minnesota, we can still see what fun things her, Steve, and their 3 girls are doing.

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The second reason I love to blog is because it is my way to record the events in our lives. Yes, it's sad to say that I don't write in my journal every night before I go to bed or even on a monthly basis. Blogging motivates me to document what is going on in our lives - even if it is just about something like the kid's fish! So even though I am keeping in touch with family and friends, I am also doing this for myself.

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Think of blogging like scrapbooking. This way, however, you don't have to have a lot of supplies all over your kitchen table and it can be instantly shared with those you love! You can personalize your blog by adding different colors, backgrounds, music and more. We are also going talk about safe ways to publish blogs since the Internet is an open invitation to everyone!

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In order to give me a good idea on how many people will be attending, please either let me know or for fun, use the RSVP poll on the sidebar. Of course I will have treats but if we have a really good turnout, I will just have to beg Kris to bring her Blondie Brownies, Serena to bring Peanut Butter bars, Alison to make the Bomb Cake, and Melanie to bring the Cinnamon Rolls that I have been hearing all about!

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Hope you can make it, Thursday, November 13th at 12:30, here at my house. If you have any specific things you would like to learn about, please leave a comment.

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-Natalie

Trick-Or-Treat!

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Halloween was a fun-filled day for us. Lindsay was a witch & Caleb was an OSU Beaver fan! It all started with a party at school. At the end of the school day, all the kids could put on their costumes and parade around school and then have a party in their classroom. Earlier that morning, Scott told me not to forget our camera so I could take pictures of Lindsay & Caleb with their friends. Well I remembered the camera but I left the memory card at home in the computer. So unfortunately, I did not take any pictures at school.

When we arrived home, it was time to carve pumpkins. We should have carved them earlier but since we were gone, it was put off until the last minute. Caleb picked out the biggest, thickest pumpkin possible. Luckily, Scott carved his and I helped Lindsay with hers.

Lindsay was not going to go trick-or-treating this year. She was excited to pass out candy. Can you believe that she does not like candy??!! It use to be that she liked plain chocolate like a Hershey bar but now she does not like those either. I wish I had that problem. But at the last minute she decided to go trick-or-treating with her friends. Not for the candy but for the company. So I took Caleb and we went with his friend Jake and his sister Rachael. It was so fun going with him because they run into everyone they know from school and the group of friends that you are going with is getting bigger and bigger. There were a few times that the boys needed a break. Running from house to house was exhausting for them. So occasionally they would sit on the curb to rest their feet and have a small treat.

Well, Halloween is now over, Caleb told me tonight that he is starting to think about what he is going to be next year. I am sure his mind will change many times before then but I guess it is fun to think ahead!

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The kids were really excited to help me design these pages below!

Carving Pumpkins

Caleb Dressed Up As A OSU Beaver Fan!

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Lindsay Dressed Up As A Witch!

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Caleb, Jake And Friends!

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-Natalie