Friday, December 18, 2009
Happy Birthday Sweet Amy!
I am WAY behind when it comes to posting pictures and updates. Here's Amy's birthday from almost 3 months ago.
Amy is such a special part of our family. She is so funny, and has a quick smile almost all the time. We adore her hair; it matches her personality--wild and crazy and spontaneous. She loves to dance and sing, play dress-up, catch, and board games. She is incredibly intelligent, and has an amazing sense of humor for such a little girl. She'll be a Sunbeam in Primary in January, and I can't believe how fast these 3 years have gone. I'm glad we'll have many, many more.
Amy is such a special part of our family. She is so funny, and has a quick smile almost all the time. We adore her hair; it matches her personality--wild and crazy and spontaneous. She loves to dance and sing, play dress-up, catch, and board games. She is incredibly intelligent, and has an amazing sense of humor for such a little girl. She'll be a Sunbeam in Primary in January, and I can't believe how fast these 3 years have gone. I'm glad we'll have many, many more.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Christmas Traditions
One of my favorite things about Christmas is the tradition my mom started several years ago. The tradition is that we do something different every year. We've never done Chanukah or Kwanzaa, but every year we choose a different country and we decorate the house with the decorations of that country, we prepare native foods, and we find a couple of Christmas traditions from that country and participate in that. We've celebrated in several country's ways...probably the most memorable have been Sweden and Mexico.
This year, I am SUPER excited because my brother and his girlfriend chose this year's country: Italy. Italy is very special to our family. My maternal grandfather was born in Udine--way up in the northeastern part of the boot. We have many family recipes that were passed down, and we enjoy cooking and eating them on a regular basis. I think all of us would love to go and see where my grandfather grew up, and experience the culture there.
ANYWAY, my mom and I did a lot of research about decorations, food, and traditions, and I must say...the house looks BEAUTIFUL. There is meaning in each and every detail. The tree is decorated with silver and white ornaments that belonged to my grandmother.
The Tree
We put together a ceppo (pronounced: chep-po--the Italian version of a Christmas tree), and it turned out great! The bottom shelf is the nativity (which belonged to my grandparents), symbolizing the Gifts of God. The middle shelf is a bowl of fruits and vegetables, symbolizing the Gifts of the Earth. The top shelf has small wrapped gifts, symbolizing the Gifts of Man. And finally, the star on the very top represents the Star of Bethlehem.
Our Ceppo
We learned about La Befana, the old witch, who comes to the homes of Italy, instead of Santa Claus. The legend of La Befana says that the three wise men came to her home asking her where to find the Christ child. They invited her to go along with them to find Him, but she was too busy cleaning her home and did not go. Since then, she roams the Earth on Christmas Eve, in search of the Baby Jesus, and leaves gifts for the children.
Another fun tradition we are going to do this year is the "Urn of Fate". It's an urn filled with small, wrapped gifts that have meaning for the coming year. It's just for fun...there's no religious significance or seriousness to it at all.
And the food will be delicious. Trust me. With all of the great cooks that will be under one roof, none of us will go hungry or lose weight. More coming soon...especially pictures of my darling girls.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Miss Sadie is 1 Year Old Today!
It has been an amazing year.
8 lbs. 2 oz. & 20 3/4 in.
21 lbs. 8 oz. & 30 in.Happy Birthday, Beautiful Girl.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Big Sadie News!
Sadie's 1st birthday is coming up this week. I thought it would be a good time to write down all of the things she does already. (Walking isn't one of them!) So here's a list of all her mad skills:
- says "cat", "bath", and "dad" (not "mama", though)
- waves hello and good-bye
- is officially switched over to whole milk
- can drink from a straw (seriously!)
- LOVES meat--she's a big-time carnivore
- can stand independently and walk along the furniture
- knows what to do with Duplo blocks (and no, it's not eating them!)
- does not like to be put in the carseat
- is gentle with the cat and dog
- when mom and dad aren't available, her next favorite person is Uncle Ben
As I think of more, I'll add them to this list. She's an amazing 1 year old--full of smiles, mostly happy, and those big blue eyes get her lots of attention!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
I have gone to more performances this year than I ever have in the past, and I love it. It really makes Christmas a special time. I wanted to share where I (and others) have gone (so far):
Last Wednesday, I took the girls to the Holden Evening Prayer service. I love it, and I wanted Lucy to experience it as well since she is beginning to read. The melodies are so pretty; the words are so simple. It's an excellent piece, and I wish everyone had the opportunity to participate the Holden Prayer service. Here's a link to some audio samples. Samples 13-18 is the prayer service. Isn't it soothing and moving as well?
Then on Thursday night, my mom and I went to see the Seattle Men's Chorus' holiday concert. It was AWESOME! We loved it so much, we're going to see them again in the spring. They did a wide variety of music--there were a couple of Chanukah songs, a couple of songs featured a beatboxer, and there was even a Bollywood-style piece that was a lot of fun. They also dedicated the Kyrie from the mass Lux Aeterna to the four fallen Lakewood police officers. It was very moving. I especially loved the sign language interpreter for the show. That was a performance in and of itself. It was artistic, and emotional, and passionate. Simply BEAUTIFUL.
Last Saturday night, my parents and I went to see the Adelphian Chorus...they're the student choir at the University of Puget Sound. Their performance was phenomenal as well. I love to listen to college groups because they do a lot of stuff that you wouldn't normally hear from a professional group. The entire performance was about light...and they performed pieces from all over the world. I enjoyed the three Latvian carols, and the African piece. They did one piece that was called "Winter Solstice Ritual 1"...very contemporary, and featured a chantress. The choir's harmony and blend was really excellent, but I guess I didn't really get the part of the chantress. It made me giggle. My mom called their choice of music "ballsy", and I have to agree with her. It takes major cajones to put something like that on the program. But they did it, and they did it well. Kudos to them.
Monday night David and I took our three girls, and our niece to a free percussion concert. Lucy was creeped out by the noise, Sadie was a wiggle-worm, and Aiyanna never stopped talking, but Amy was enthralled. I think the driving rhythm, the dynamics, and the combination of instruments really spoke to her on a very deep level. It was amazing to see my ball of never-ending energy sit still for almost an hour for something other than the TV. We left at intermission, but I will definitely take the kids to the next free concert that comes up. I want to expose them to as much culture as possible when they're young so that they feel comfortable with all kinds of music and art and they want to go see events other than rock concerts.
Tonight, we were able to attend the "Singing Christmas Tree" performance at Life Center church. Someone we know had extra tickets, and offered them to us, and we decided to take her up on it. In years past, my brother has played French Horn in the orchestra, and he lovingly refers to this show as "Tacky Christ-fest!" I have to say that he is right. It's pretty cheesy. It's not sacreligious in any way, but they have this HUGE tree (a multi-level platform) that is filled with people, and they sing, and the lights on the tree are choreographed to the music, and there were a couple of hip-hop numbers (fortunately, they weren't sacred carols), and it was a mix of Praise The Lord sacred tunes and the commercialized Santa stuff. I'm not sorry I went, but I do have to contend that my brother is right. Any group that performs "O Holy Night" in the style of The Three Tenors and a drum beat in the background automatically gets the "Tacky Christ-fest!" award in my book. (That said, the three guys who sang had really nice blend and balance and I rather enjoyed it.) I was quite thrilled with the live animals on stage for the Nativity recreation, and the costumes and lighting and orchestra were extremely impressive. I have to give props to this church for putting this shindig together year after year, and for the high-end sound and light equipment they use, and the obvious amount of preparation that the cast and crew and musicians put in. There wasn't a single delay or mistake from anyone that I could tell. It really is an amazing show.
Well, that's it for now, but there's nothing like going to hear a Christmas concert (or five) to really get into the spirit of the holidays.
More soon...updates on the kiddies and pictures too!
Last Wednesday, I took the girls to the Holden Evening Prayer service. I love it, and I wanted Lucy to experience it as well since she is beginning to read. The melodies are so pretty; the words are so simple. It's an excellent piece, and I wish everyone had the opportunity to participate the Holden Prayer service. Here's a link to some audio samples. Samples 13-18 is the prayer service. Isn't it soothing and moving as well?
Then on Thursday night, my mom and I went to see the Seattle Men's Chorus' holiday concert. It was AWESOME! We loved it so much, we're going to see them again in the spring. They did a wide variety of music--there were a couple of Chanukah songs, a couple of songs featured a beatboxer, and there was even a Bollywood-style piece that was a lot of fun. They also dedicated the Kyrie from the mass Lux Aeterna to the four fallen Lakewood police officers. It was very moving. I especially loved the sign language interpreter for the show. That was a performance in and of itself. It was artistic, and emotional, and passionate. Simply BEAUTIFUL.
Last Saturday night, my parents and I went to see the Adelphian Chorus...they're the student choir at the University of Puget Sound. Their performance was phenomenal as well. I love to listen to college groups because they do a lot of stuff that you wouldn't normally hear from a professional group. The entire performance was about light...and they performed pieces from all over the world. I enjoyed the three Latvian carols, and the African piece. They did one piece that was called "Winter Solstice Ritual 1"...very contemporary, and featured a chantress. The choir's harmony and blend was really excellent, but I guess I didn't really get the part of the chantress. It made me giggle. My mom called their choice of music "ballsy", and I have to agree with her. It takes major cajones to put something like that on the program. But they did it, and they did it well. Kudos to them.
Monday night David and I took our three girls, and our niece to a free percussion concert. Lucy was creeped out by the noise, Sadie was a wiggle-worm, and Aiyanna never stopped talking, but Amy was enthralled. I think the driving rhythm, the dynamics, and the combination of instruments really spoke to her on a very deep level. It was amazing to see my ball of never-ending energy sit still for almost an hour for something other than the TV. We left at intermission, but I will definitely take the kids to the next free concert that comes up. I want to expose them to as much culture as possible when they're young so that they feel comfortable with all kinds of music and art and they want to go see events other than rock concerts.
Tonight, we were able to attend the "Singing Christmas Tree" performance at Life Center church. Someone we know had extra tickets, and offered them to us, and we decided to take her up on it. In years past, my brother has played French Horn in the orchestra, and he lovingly refers to this show as "Tacky Christ-fest!" I have to say that he is right. It's pretty cheesy. It's not sacreligious in any way, but they have this HUGE tree (a multi-level platform) that is filled with people, and they sing, and the lights on the tree are choreographed to the music, and there were a couple of hip-hop numbers (fortunately, they weren't sacred carols), and it was a mix of Praise The Lord sacred tunes and the commercialized Santa stuff. I'm not sorry I went, but I do have to contend that my brother is right. Any group that performs "O Holy Night" in the style of The Three Tenors and a drum beat in the background automatically gets the "Tacky Christ-fest!" award in my book. (That said, the three guys who sang had really nice blend and balance and I rather enjoyed it.) I was quite thrilled with the live animals on stage for the Nativity recreation, and the costumes and lighting and orchestra were extremely impressive. I have to give props to this church for putting this shindig together year after year, and for the high-end sound and light equipment they use, and the obvious amount of preparation that the cast and crew and musicians put in. There wasn't a single delay or mistake from anyone that I could tell. It really is an amazing show.
Well, that's it for now, but there's nothing like going to hear a Christmas concert (or five) to really get into the spirit of the holidays.
More soon...updates on the kiddies and pictures too!
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