Dear Friends and Family,

Snow has melted and we are at sunny skies and 55 degrees.  To make up for the lack of white stuff (and I am soaking up every warm moment) the week was full of Christmas activites.

Allison had choir and more choir this week.  She had a school assembly Tuesday.  Wednesday their choir sang up in SLC at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  Since kids and I were already up there we made an evening of it.  We walked around to see the Temple Square lights, had dinner at the Nauvoo cafe, checked out the Family History library and saw the movie about Joseph Smith.  We had to leave 3/4 of the way through the movie because Allison was sobbing her little heart out.  Its one thing to read the stories but its another to see them portrayed especially on in IMAX screen.  Of course Spencer and Robyn didn't think anything was wrong at all!  It led to a bunch of good discussions though about Joseph Smith and the early church and what they went through.  Someday we will finish watching it - but probably on a smaller screen without as much emotion wrenching effects.  Then Thursday night was the choir concert at school.  Spencer after having seen the performance twice already elected to spend the evening home with Taylor watching cartoons.  Allison's voice has improved a lot with all this singing - she is on key most of the time now.  For awhile we worried she was taking after my tonally challenged dad.  She has started going to choir practice for church with me on Sundays along with a few of her friends.  It is fun to see them take it so seriously.

On Monday Meredith stayed with Taylor and the rest of us were able to go see a production of The Christmas Carol.  Robyn had this cough from a tickle in her throat that would not stop.  I felt like it echoed through the small theater despite all my candies and sips of water I was giving her.  But the message of the play really hit home to me.  Spencer and Allison have been reading the story in school so they knew all the lines.  Robyn still goes around saying "bah, humbug!".  And I just keep tearing up every time I think of Scrooge singing God Rest ye merry gentlemen at the end of the play.

Taylor went to school for a few hours Monday and then has been home sick all week.  He isn't too bad except for his snotty nose.  He is almost better, unless he sneezes - then watch out.  But he has started eating and drinking again, at least a little bit which is always a good sign.  I'm glad its the season for egg nog as its a great motivator.  On Friday we met with the neurologist.  We are raising one med, then if that works, lowering and getting rid of one, and then if that works, trying out adding in a new one.  Its always a long process of guess work when we do his medications.  What worries me is when the doctor asks for my opinion and tells me to go home and read up on the choices!  He goes in at the end of the month for an MRI to see if his loss of skills is from mini-strokes or brain damage from all the seizures.  So Taylor has been my shadow this week.  Going grocery shopping with him has reminded me of how grateful I am he goes to school.

This week Jeremy and I actually got two dates - it is the holiday season.  We had a ward council party at our Bishops house while our kids watched a movie at home.  They keep my phone so they can text Jeremy's.  When we get texts like "can we have a popsicle" we don't worry.  When we get texts like "what time are you coming home" its getting to be time to call it a night.  They love their little freedom even if we are only three houses away.  And then last night after a trip to the temple we went chair hunting.  We are trying to find a chair for our bedroom that looks good enough for me but that Jeremy can snooze in.  We tried out so many chairs and of course the ugliest one was also the most comfortable.  Jeremy did find his ultimate chair, except for the price tag.  It was a massage chair and he hasn't stopped raving about how it was the best massage he has gotten.  It was pretty amazing.  I think that furniture store will become a more regular stop for us.

Saturday the girls and I had a girls only outing.  We went to see The Nutcracker.  One of Allison's friends was dancing in it.  It was wonderful.  Robyn gasped when she saw the Nutcracker come out and wanted to know why the guy wasn't wearing any pants.  He only had tights on.  She was very concerned about it.  I explained that guys wear dance pants that look like tights.  She wasn't too convinced.  Then she wanted to know why he looked like a girl with all his make-up on.  She has definite ideas about boys and girls.  This week she was teaching her best friend Luke how to waltz.  Luke recently learned that he is supposed to open doors for all ladies and rushes to help Robyn out every time they go someplace.  I can't help but think of what Robyn and Luke will be like together when they are teenagers.  I hope they stay friends but probably they won't even talk to each other.

Jeremy has been busy getting his nail shield company going and gets his first real products this week to sell.  So he has been excited and working hard to get all of that going.  He took Spencer to brave the Christmas rush at Costco yesterday, to see a fellow photographer at her book signing.  He returned with a new phone system (our old phones had stopped working weeks ago) and a big bunch of flowers and enough bread that I don't need to return to Costco till sanity returns.  How did I get so lucky? This week is his birthday, his last one before he is officially middle aged.  This week he celebrated getting his weight down to 190 after three and a half months of amazing will power and persistence.  26 pounds gone!  I told him congratulations and then ate some of our Christmas candy...  Someday I will be as good as he is.

After all this week's worth of activities, we are enjoying a Sunday afternoon and evening of nothing happening.  Making fudge and playing is the extent of our agenda.  And I have high hopes of everyone crashing early.

Hope you are enjoying this Christmas season, Heather