Reading Room

I had an idea a few months ago to change our front room into a reading room. The more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to do it. Our front room wasn't used all that often except for the computer, so it felt like a waste of space. Paul was on board for the change, so I called some companies out to do a bid for building custom built-in bookshelves. I chose one that I felt was really going to make what I was picturing in my head. Their price was far lower than the other bids too, so I was thrilled to get going. I had so much fun shopping for furniture and all the decorations for the shelves. I had very specific ideas of what I wanted, and I felt the thrill of the hunt when I would find just what I wanted. We moved our furniture out, sold or shared what we didn't need anymore, and were ready for the installation. When they came, they discovered they had the wrong measurements for everything though, and so I had to make some adjustments to the design in order to get it finished "much faster." Things didn't end up going "much faster," as one thing after another went wrong when they came back to install the new design. What was supposed to be a 1-day installation ended up being 5 days of me being stuck home either waiting for them to come, or just being here so they could work. The desktop was scratched and dented, so they have ordered a new one, but that will still be another week before it arrives. They took an almost-matching piece from someone else's order to hold us over until our piece comes. They had sick crew members, so that slowed them down considerably. The main guy walked into the sharp corner of a metal piece in their warehouse and ended up having surgery to save his vision in that eye. And once the guy who had been sick came back to work, it turns out he is a former student of Paul's, who hid his face all day so that Paul wouldn't recognize him because he caused a whole lot of trouble while at Timpanogos. It was such a relief when they finished (for now) and I had a day without them being in our house. We pushed all the furniture into our kitchen while they were working, and it sure feels good to have that out of our kitchen now. This is how the kids would do their homework for that week. :)

Now that the built-ins are installed and the workers are out of my house, I am so so so happy with the result!! I love the lighting throughout it, the colors, and all that space for books!

Here's a before and after of the room:

I think it's beautiful! The hassle was worth it, because it is just what I wanted in the end. I loved coming downstairs this morning and seeing Tessa there reading. :)

Everyday Adventures

Matt's birthday was the Friday we flew out to Antioch, so my parents took us to The Habit for dinner to celebrate.

My sisters, Matt, and I shared a hotel room. We made Matt a special birthday bed for him to sleep on.  Pretty sure it was totally uncomfortable, but everything seems so funny once it's past midnight. :)

Paul and the kids picked me up on Sunday and we went over to Grandma and Gramps' house for a birthday celebration and dinner. 

Emilie was so sweet and arranged to have all the kids bring their snow clothes. She and Matt took the kids out to play in the snow, which they loved! We got to celebrate Grandma's, Hayden's, and Tessa's birthdays.

Grandma and Gramps gave Tessa three beanie boos. She was so excited to get another Tabor, because now she has twins!

BYU Children's Theatre made a musical production of Liesl's book Rump. Paul and I took Rockwell and Tessa to see the play. 

Damon wasn't old enough to get a ticket, so Al and Keith had him over to play. Thanks guys! We all enjoyed the play. It was funny and the music was all acapella and very impressive. Liesl went up on stage after to answer audience questions with the cast.

It was fun to be able to visit with Marlene, Liesl (briefly, she was busy), Caitlyn, Patrick and Matt & Marissa. Rockwell and Tessa were so excited to meet Asher, and even get to hold him.

That night I went to Ataiya's play, Miracle on 34th Street. She did great! I always like to watch her do something she loves so much.

Damon wanted his own Christmas tree in his room so bad. He spent his own money and bought himself one. He absolutely loves it.

I usually decorate our kitchen table with Christmas plates, placemats, and a centerpiece this time of year. We have only half-decorated this year since we're working on remodeling our front room. Tessa found this baby Jesus that one of my students made for me my first year of teaching. She put it as the centerpiece of our table. I had been thinking I needed to get the usual decorations out, but after a few days of just baby Jesus on our table, I decided I like Him being the centerpiece this year. :)

I took the kids over to Al's house to play with their cousins one day. Jonah was working on his math homework, and I was able to help him with a few problems that he had missed. It was fun to do a little teaching again. :)

Al, Caitlyn, and I drove up to Amarie's dance recital. She did great! She had a couple solos in her group numbers, and they were so beautiful.

Jason's Funeral

My cousin Jason passed away on Saturday, November 23rd.

His grandma put a post on Facebook informing people of his passing, and shared the sad news in a beautiful way:
Our family is deeply grieving now for the death of one of our dear grandsons. After years of struggling with anorexia, treatment centers, counseling, hospitalizations, interventions, and anything that could be done, Jason Hawkins has succumbed. His body shut down at the age of 29, so very young!!. He was the most loving, kind, thoughtful person and has left a hole in our hearts. We are so grateful to know that he is free of the suffering he has endured for years and is in heaven, but we miss him so very very much!! It was hard for me to write this, as we feel so devastated, but I wanted to pay tribute to Jason for the wonderful life he lived and the struggles he lived with, still staying the kind person he was. "Is death the last sleep? No, it is the last and final awakening" (Sir Walter Scott)

I was thinking about the last time I got to really visit with Jason. We stayed and hung out with him and JJ after Grandma's funeral luncheon. We weren't planning on staying very long, but ended up being the last to leave the church, and I'm so glad we did.

I enjoyed that time with Jason. He was always such a nice person, and always showed genuine interest in what was going on in my life. He was very talented in writing and producing music. He used to put his songs on youtube, and they would stay in my head for days after I listened to them. His family put a quote from one of the songs he wrote on the back of the funeral program.

My parents, Mel, Matt, Al and I flew to California on Friday and were able to go visit with the family at the church that night. Ron and Diane are really struggling with Jason's death (of course!), and the hug that Ron gave us all when we got there was heartbreaking. We just hugged and cried and talked quietly about how hard it is to lose a family member. I'm so glad we could all go to the funeral and give the Hawkins family our support at least. Gary flew in for the day, and thanks to a great Lyft driver, was able to make it to all the events.

I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures that were displayed of Jason's life. This one of Jason and Grandma was my favorite though. I'm sure that's what it looked like when they were reunited last Saturday.

Ron, Diane, JJ, and Haley all spoke at the funeral. I am so impressed that they could do that. I certainly could not have at Jen's funeral. I loved hearing what each of them had to say about Jason. It was story after story of what a thoughtful, funny, Christ-like person he is. Ron and Diane not only lost their son, they lost their best friend that they did so many fun things with and spent so much time with. Haley spoke on the plan of salvation, which was beautiful. We know that their family will all be reunited again someday, but it's sure hard for now. I keep thinking about the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that says, "Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die." Their family has certainly lived together in love, and will weep over this loss for a very long time.

Matt gave the family prayer over Jason's grave, and one of his best friends dedicated his grave. He shared more stories of what a great friend Jason was and how Jason had helped him come to know Christ. It was very beautiful.

His body is buried just down the hill from Grandma and Grandpa's graves.

It was good to have the family there to visit Grandma and Grandpa's graves too. We all miss them very much.

There was a luncheon at the church afterward.


We said our goodbyes to the family and then drove Gary out to the airport.

Jason's grandma put another post on Facebook after the funeral. She says things in a great way, and I want to share that one too: 

We just returned from his funeral, where we learned how he had blessed so many lives in his 29 years, and helped others to find hope and faith in their lives. Literally scores of people said he was "my best friend." He did more good in his 29 years than many people do in much longer lives. I came home determined to reach out more and try to find more ways to help others.  Jason Hawkins had a difficult path to trod, but he did it without complaint, with determination, with humor and love for others, and now that he has continued on his eternal journey, I hope to continue on my path with half the courage he had. 

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with the Ham Fam this year. Matt and Lori came into town, which is always so fun. We had a great dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

It was a nice day spent playing with family.

My mom played a Thankful Game with the little kids. When they said something they were thankful for, she would give them a candy corn. They liked that game!

We also celebrated Matt's and Tessa's birthdays.

Matt's holding the phone up so EJ can see. :) He was on FaceTime so we all got to say hello real quick.

Paul took the kids home for bed and I stayed to do some Black Friday shopping with my siblings. We went to Walmart, Target, and Kohl's and ended up with some good stuff. Al and Lori bought matching black coats for Caitlyn and Elena. I have the same coat, but in gray. I like to be twinning with my cute nieces!

I am very thankful for all the blessings that I have in my life. I'm so grateful for my husband. He works so hard for our family and provides an amazing life for us. He always listens when I talk, he appreciates what I do as a mother, and he supports me in the fun things that I like to do with my friends. I know I married a good one! I'm so grateful for my kids. They are sweet, capable, healthy, and smart. I know that is a blessing! I'm so grateful for when and where I was born and have lived my life. I have always felt safe and valued. I've had clean water, enough food to eat, got an education, and been able to work or stay home to raise a family. I'm so grateful that we are so blessed that we are able to help others. It's a good life that I have!

Life Lately

Damon and I went on his preschool field trip to the art museum at BYU. They discussed a few paintings with the guide, and then got to make an art project themselves.

We got out to our van at noon, and so the bell tower was playing a few songs. Damon wanted to hear them, so we hung out and listened to the music for a while.

We met Al at a park in Pleasant Grove one day when it was still warm outside. The kids had a great time.

Rockwell made a spoon in art club. He thought it was fun to use the spoon he made to eat dinner.

Damon and Rockwell had so much fun one night playing airplane on Rockwell's legs. I loved listening to them laughing together.

They thought it was so funny to make Damon look like he was Batman flying in the air.

We like to watch America's Funniest Videos on Sunday evenings. We pop popcorn and laugh for an hour. Paul snuck this picture last week. :)

We got quite a bit of snow the week of Thanksgiving. The kids had a blast playing in it. They loved building forts for snowball fights. Paul was so nice and spent a ton of time out in the cold with them.