At least it's not a week earlier

Okay, so I counted myself quite lucky that we had no sick children throughout the whole Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas folderol, and now I'll just say, "At least it's just the boys . . ." Yes, we finally got sick, but we caught it pretty early, because Isaac could have developed pneumonia from his lung infection, but we had him in to the dr. just hours after a fever popped up, and Adam really only has a cold, it's just exasperated by his asthma. It could be worse, and with all the medications, I think we're doing pretty well. So I really can't complain. Happy New Year!

Steedman family Christmas party 2007

Each year my first cousins once removed and their children, my second cousins, throw an awesome Christmas party. I've been attending as long as I can remember, and am happy that I'm still invited. Festivities include dinner, bingo, a nativity, and a visit from Santa. Here are

some of the pictures Nathan took. You will notice that Isaac was a wise man and Emily was Mary (Adam was supposed to be a shepherd, but he decided he'd rather just watch). The party provides some wonderful holiday memories each year.

A funny thing happened . . .

Okay, so my next blog was going to be about Emily's Christmas program she did with her theatre group, but you can see that it didn't happen, so here's the story. We purchased a live Christmas tree for our living room, as is customary, and brought it home, placed it in its stand, filled it with water, and I went to decorating. We placed it in the stand hastily, however, and did a rather poor job getting it centered. I would explain the intricacies of our tree stand, but you would be bored, and I really don't want to, but suffice it to say that not having it centered well would pose some problems that evening. Emily was at her performance, Nathan was at Young Women in Excellence, and the boys were in the tub. Eliza was sitting in her bouncy seat watching me put up the village and get everything plugged into the power strip. I heard a clicking sound which told me that the lock on the tree stand had come undone, and I knew what would happen next. Unfortunately I was on the backside of the tree, and the tree fell forward, towards Eliza. She was at least far enough away that it didn't land on her, but the water from the stand ended up all over. Only a few ornaments broke, and most even stayed on the tree, but I was stuck holding up the tree, and I wasn't sure how I would get help. I carefully balanced the tree upright and ran for the phone. Nathan was done with his meeting, so he agreed to come help. The end result is that everything got put back together, and dried, but since Nathan was helping me, he missed getting to Emily's performance in time to get pictures of her in the finale, thus there was no blog about said performance. See, I had a point. The show, which we saw the night before, was excellent and heartwarming, and you can rest assured that Emily was darling and did her part perfectly. Anyway, you can see the tree instead of Emily, because it was the tree's fault (okay not really) that we got no pictures of her.

Seven Random Things About Me

Okay Sean, I'll do it, but do I have to tag anyone else? You can see that I just don't know that many bloggers yet. If I do have to tag, I think I'll tag TAMMA!
Here goes . . .
1. I once held a little brown bat as it died while on a Mammalogy field trip.
2. I hate the word rural but love the word asymptote.
3. I often asked for a pony for Christmas as a little girl.
4. I was a flag twirler for my high school marching band.
5. I was on the cover of the St. Francis Medical Center's periodical (Lynwood, CA) when I was just 6 years old.
6. I can't stand anything to do with avocados.
7. I am much better at playing piano songs with flats than sharps.
Hope you enjoyed it!

Festival of Trees

Tonight we went to the Festival of Trees, an annual Christmas tradition for our Family.

The Festival of Trees is a fundraiser for Primary Childrens Medical Center to help those children less fortunate in paying their medical expenses.

Usually I pick out a tree that is my favorite and this year I couldn't decide between two, so I took pictures of both. The "upside down fairy tree" was really cool, and something unique that I hadn't ever seen before, and the "Darth Vader" tree was also a favorite for me and both of the boys!

Happy Holidays
(Posted by Nathan)

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

Here you can see that we had a great, dishes-free meal on Thanksgiving. We ate at Golden Corral, and I really enjoyed my steak and brownie. In honor of the day I did have some sweet potato pie, but there was no way I was waiting in line for the turkey. The kids loved the kaleidoscope of food available to them as well! It was a happy Thanksgiving.

7th Day of Thanks

I will conclude my posts of thanks with an extra helping of gratitude for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think because of that I have more to be thankful for on an everyday basis. I am grateful to know the eternal nature of families, because I want to spend forever with mine. I am grateful to know that choosing the right might sometimes be hard, but also well worth it. I am grateful to be able to worship it freely in this country. I am grateful that my home is a safe haven when we allow the spirit to dwell here. My testimony allows me so much confidence in the future, not just mine, but the future of my children.
I have so much to be grateful for, and for all of it I give thanks!

6th Day of Thanks

Today I was thinking about how in a few days I will allow myself to listen to Christmas music, and I began anticipating which CD I'd pick first, second, etc. I am so thankful for music. Not just Christmas music, but all good music. And good music to me can range from church songs to a good dance song, instrumental or a'cappella. There is so much that stirs my soul where music is involved (just peruse our playlist). I am grateful for musical talent, both mine and those whose talents I can enjoy, and ears with which to hear glorious sound. (and in case you're wondering, Clay Aiken's CD will be the first I pick when Thanksgiving is done)

5th Day of Thanks

Okay, don't look at the date, but I haven't gone to bed yet for Tuesday, so it's still Tuesday for me. I'm not in bed yet because we were playing games with friends, which leads me to the next thing for which I wish to express gratitude. I have been blessed with wonderful friends my whole life, starting with elementary school, through high school and college, and continuing through the present time. I have been lucky in my acquaintances, and luckier still to make them my friends. Thank you all! (incidentally, I just noticed that Blogger must not know what time it is, or perhaps it's a west coast operation, because it still has me on Tuesday. Hooray!)

4th Day of Thanks

Now that I've expressed gratitude for the family I have a hand in raising, I must now give thanks for the parents that raised me to be the person I am. My parents each taught me traits which have helped me throughout my life, and in all areas of my life. They taught me through example. From my mom I learned to glean all the intelligence I can from life. I learned that I don't have to pretend to be stupid for anyone, and in fact anyone worth being friends with will admire my intelligence. From my dad I learned how to forgive. He may not know he taught me this, but I never saw him hold a grudge. Sure, he got mad sometimes, but once that initial explosion was done, so was the anger. I appreciate these lessons from these people who, most of all, have always loved me and encouraged me to make good choices. Thanks to mom and dad!

3rd Day of Thanks

I have already expressed thanks for my children, and I think we all know that I would have none of them without my awesome husband. I appreciate so much having a husband who encourages any decision I make, be it to stay at home and be a mom, or to put a child in this musical theater class or that pre-school. There's a decent amount of pressure involved with being the manager of household affairs, but Nathan trusts me with that responsibility, and offers his support whenever possible. I am thankful for the way he loves our children, and that he treats me well so that they can see how two people in love should treat each other. He takes his responsibility as head of household seriously, and I am grateful each day for such a man in my home and my life!

2nd Day of Thanks

So as not to seem ungrateful for my other wonderful children, my thanks today go out to them. Emily is everything I could ask for in a daughter. Her intelligence, musical talents, and kind heart make me love her more every day. Isaac is what I'd call a "Good Son." He is ever-mindful of others' feelings, and always wants to lend a hand. He's the one I can see taking care of us one day when we're old. Adam has so much joie de vivre, and gives his all to everything he does, be it throwing a tantrum or cleaning up his toys. He makes me laugh everyday. I am thankful for my kids!

7 Days of Thanksgiving

I thought it would be appropriate to express my gratitude for various things during this season of thanks, so starting today, through Thanksgiving, you can read about one thing a day for which I am particularly thankful. I'll start with someone I've been grateful for especially the last few days. Eliza has always been a great baby, so good that I often want to pinch myself to see if it's a dream, but less than a week ago Nathan set the crib up (finally) and I wasn't necessarily optimistic of the outcome, considering our track record of babies and kids sleeping where they should. To my astonishment, however, little angel baby has slept 8-9 hours 3 of the last 5 nights, and 6-7 hours the other 2. I know we could have some regression, but for now I am extremely thankful for such an extraordinary baby!

PLAYLIST!

We have a playlist finally! I knew if I got Nathan looking at this blog thing that he would find some fun things to do with it. We hope you enjoy our songs. I wonder if you can differentiate between my choices and Nathan's . . .

Hello Dolly Pictures

Here is evidence of Emily's involvement in Hello Dolly. I think you can tell from the photos what a serious little actress she is. She did 6 performances, and came home from each still singing. When her run was about over, I asked her if she would be sad when there was no more Hello Dolly, and her response was, "I know there will be more plays!" How right she is!

Coming soon--Hello, Dolly photos! Emily is currently performing in Orem High's production, and we'll share some pictures with you when we get them!

Pumpkins by day,

and Jack-o-lanterns by night!

Here are the kids on Halloween. They all chose relatively simple costumes (a tree-or Mother Nature, 2 ghosts, and Piglet!) You can imagine the ones that went trick-or-treating made quite a haul, and I'm sure we will all be nibbling on the booty for a number of months!

A Recent Getaway

This is a fun family photo we took recently at Arches National Park. We took the trailer to Moab and spent a few days admiring the natural wonders located therein. This arch was especially fun, and had it been a little warmer I would have taken off my shoes an buried my toes in the fine, soft, red sand/soil found here at Sand Dune Arch.

new to the blogging world. . .

We're new at this blogging thing, so be patient with us as we develop a routine. Someday our site might even be interesting . . .