Nathaniel's Recital

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I've decided to record some songs Nathaniel has been working on since I don't have enough students to justify a whole recital. I had him practice hard on these songs and I even had him dress up nice as if he were performing for a crowd.

I hope you enjoy the songs, he has worked really hard on them and I'm so proud of him for sticking with it even on days when he doesn't want to. Enjoy!





Thank you for coming everyone. I'd serve some light refreshments but...well, you know.

Fly Me to the Moon

Remember how I said I would like to take up astrophotography? Well, since the moon is just about full I decided to get to know my camera a little more intimately and take some pictures of it.
Well, after trying many different settings and a lot of time spent sitting on my cold porch I finally came up with this picture:


I'm pretty happy with it. I was starting to think that my camera wasn't capable of such a shot. Thankfully, I was wrong.

I'm thinking I'll try Mars next. It's really the only planet in the sky right now. But for that I'll need my telescope and I'm not sure how that will work out. I can't wait to give it a try though.

A Little Homemaking

So lately I've been trying to beautify and make improvements to our home. As some of you know, we have a large empty wall in the front room because of the vaulted ceiling. I had been debating in my mind what to put there since we moved in and I finally decided on shelves. So I found the ones I wanted and started working on getting them on the wall. It turns out that it was no easy task. The anchors for the screws that came with the shelves were difficult to work with and after trying a few options we ended up with some big holes in the wall. We let it sit for a while not sure how to proceed and with Christmas, it just got left behind. So I finally decided to do something about it. I patched up the small holes and had my dad help me with the bigger holes that required more sophisticated solutions. Finally, I thought I had it all wrapped up, I would be decorating my new shelves within a day. Not so, unfortunately. The original anchors were at it again and I found myself with four new holes in the wall. Once again, my dad came to help with some better anchors he had on hand. He patched up the new holes and helped me hang my final shelf. So much trouble for silly shelves! But look how beautiful they look!


I was quite pleased with how it turned out. I think I'd like to find something to put on top of the middle one. Something to the effect of "Live Laugh Love" or something about families. Also I need to find something small to fit in the upper right one. Oh, and the little star candle holder isn't my favorite but I had to put something there. All the things on the shelves might not match or anything, but they all mean something to me.

Another thing we did was actually a long time ago but it's such a wonderful improvement that I think about how wonderful it is every time I use it.


Our drawers are meant to be the kind that you just grab the edge to open it up. Unfortunately, they don't roll smoothly enough for that to really work. I'd broken so many nails trying to open those stupid drawers with one hand(how many times do you really have both hands available when you're in the kitchen) that I had Jaaromy put these handles on. I may put them on the rest of the drawers and things eventually but these are the drawers I use the most and I just couldn't abide it any longer.

I hope this post isn't too boring. I know it had been a while since my last post and now that Christmas is over, there isn't much to talk about. Luckily, American Idol is starting up and I'm sure it will give me something to talk about. For example? Ellen, really? I think she's funny and all, but a judge? I really wish they had gone with Kirsten Chenoweth, at least she actually has vocal training and could give them advice on how to do better. We'll see how it goes.

A Christmas Post before January, Woo Hoo!

So I thought I'd share some Christmas pictures. Christmas was wonderful this year. It went pretty smoothly with only a couple of glitches. First we had "Christmas Eve" at Chris and Sara's house the Sunday before Christmas. They just finished their basement and it looks great, I'm glad they were able to show it off to all of us. The food was tasty and Grandma Harding was able to come so that was great. Of course we did our infamous Nativity. Nathaniel was Joseph, Jonathan was a wise man, and Brigham was a shepherd...sort of.


I got him to put on the costume but he didn't really like it and he certainly didn't go with the other shepherds. Sorry for the picture quality, it's my phone and it doesn't do as well inside, especially when everything is moving so much!


Except for Maddy, everyone is holding relatively still, so this picture turned out okay. Brynna was baby Jesus and kept trying to climb out of the manger. I think my favorite part of the night was when we sang Christmas songs after the Nativity. When we sang the Primary version of Away in a Manger the women/girls sang the first "asleep" and the men/boys sang the second one, and the difference in sound made all the little kids laugh. It was priceless.

Rachel also brought her puppies to sell show off to everyone. The boys in my family - including Jaaromy - all fell in love and wanted to take one home.




How can I say No to these cute faces? Pretty easily actually. Don't get me wrong, the puppies are exceedingly cute and they are more my type of dog, but I'm the one who would have to take care of it and I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment. So Rachel, if Chloe ever has puppies again and I'm done having kids, then maybe we can work something out.

So back to Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Penny's and visited with cousins and grandparents and ate delicious food. It was fun. When we got home we opened our presents from me and Jaaromy and read some Christmas stories. We also discussed the sign of the birth of Jesus in 3 Nephi chapter 1, and to illustrate it we left the Christmas lights on all night. I loved the idea but I don't know if the kids noticed because they went to bed so much earlier than we did. I think we'll still do it next year, it will be a great tradition.

Now for Christmas morning. The boys did as they were told and waited in their room for us to come get them. Aren't they great? Don't worry we didn't make them wait too long.


What did Santa bring?


A shapes puzzle, and a cool Doodle-pad.


A space puzzle, Lite-brite, and a neat volcano lamp.


Games, and books!

After we played with our new toys we went over to Grandma Bonnie's for Christmas breakfast. The best meal of the year. Since we spent so much time playing with our new toys at home we didn't see any cousins there, but it did make it less chaotic and easier on my parents. Later we went to Grandma Patti's for dinner. We got to see Kelly and Megan who were up visiting for Christmas. It was a great visit.

Thanks for sticking around for this long Christmas post. It was a great season for us and I hope it was for everyone reading this blog as well. Merry Christmas everyone!

Brigham's ABC's

Brigham is, as you may have noticed, the shy, silent type. But did you know that he loves to sing? It may sound like babbling, but really he is expressing himself through song. He sings several times a day, and he even sings when he is sad. Music is part of his very soul.

Many of you were able to witness Brigham absolutely angelic singing of the alphabet recently. But I'm not satisfied with just a few witnesses, I must share it with everyone.



Every time he sings it he says his letters a little clearer. He will also sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and also some of the Backyardigans greatest hits.

I. LOVE. IT!

Jonathan's Birthday

Last night we celebrated Jonathan's birthday. I had asked him that morning how old he was and he didn't seem to understand the question, he kept answering "No, I'm just Jonathan." I think he'll get it next year.

We started out the day with the school Christmas concert. Since Nathaniel is in the 4th grade, they learned the recorder.



Jonathan sang too, although he was a little distracted.


That night Jaaromy's parents came over to give Jonathan some birthday presents. First was some socks and a pair of jeans which were very much needed. Also they got him a Moon in my Room.


He absolutely loves it and carried it around all night and then when it was time for bed we hung it on the wall and he wouldn't let there be any other light except for the moon. Poor Nathaniel had to find a small reading lamp so he could see his books.


It cycles through all the phases of the moon. It's pretty cool, thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

After dinner it was time for Mom and Dad's present.


We could only ride it a little since it's cold and dark outside, but Jaaromy is going to help him ride outside today. He still likes the moon better, but when it's warmer outside I think he'll really like this one too.

And what would a birthday be without cookie-brownies!


All my birthday posts are looking exactly the same because we always have these for a treat. Try them yourself and I think you'll understand why it's a favorite at our house.


We love having Jonathan in our family. He's always so cheerful and happy to see us. He's always willing to share a hug. Happy Birthday, Jonanthan!

School Concert

Yesterday was a first of what I hope will be many more music concerts to come. Nathaniel played the cello in his first concert at school. He's been playing the cello for about two years now so everything they're learning is review for him, but I'm so excited for him to play with other kids. Even though they sound exactly like you'd expect 1st and 2nd year band and orchestra students to sound, I loved every minute of it. It was beautiful to me to see so many budding young musicians, even though I know most will probably drop out.
I didn't get any video because Brigham insisted he sit on my lap the whole time, but I did get some pictures. My dad also took video but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a copy and I didn't want to wait to post about it.


They had the celli in the very back sitting down and everyone else standing up so it was really hard to see him. I only got this one because the kids in front of him sat down for a bit.

I can't wait until the Spring concert!