The True Essence of Christmas

"For each of you may this be a Merry Christmas. But more importantly, I wish for each of you a time, perhaps only an hour, spent in silent meditation and quiet reflection on the wonder and the majesty of this, the Son of God. Our joy at this season is because He came into the world. The peace that comes from Him, His infinite love which each of us may feel, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for that which He freely gave us at so great a cost to Himself—these are of the true essence of Christmas."-Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley

Handy Work

Jack loves to "draw."
Crayons, markers, and pens all make for great toys.
Paper not necessary.

Hands make a great canvas!

So does Mama's magazine!

In the mail

Yeah, the Christmas Cards are done and in the mail!
Man, that was a lot of work.
Start checking your mailboxes starting Friday.
Love to all,
Merry Christmas!

Sense of Humor

Friday morning I found myself, yet again,
staring up at these quotes.

***
(I'm glad to know I'm not the only one in
a cold sweat when stirrups are involved.)
***

Where was I? My OBGYN's office.
I'm so thankful my Doctor has a healthy
sense of humor...

Martha's Button Wreath Ornament

*

I fancy myself "crafty" without having
any real creativity. My secret-
I'm a big copy-cat!
I acquired this habit while teaching.
"Beg, barrow, or steal"
any true teacher's motto.
***
This evening my project: home made button ornaments.
Thank you Martha.
Who knew buttons
could look so chic?
*****
If you would like your buttons to be chic too
click here for directions.

I'm back

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted.

I promise we enjoyed Halloween, Thanksgiving, and
a million moments in between, I just haven't blogged.
Read the post below to formulate your own reasons why...

Slow leak...

Kent and I are bad at secrets.
For most of you this is not big news.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that this secret
has slowly been leaking out over the last couple of weeks:

We are PREGNANT!
Baby Howe is due to arrive May 27th, 2008.
That makes me 15 weeks prego and happy to be
entering into my second trimester.

The polls are open do you think this baby is-
blue or pink?
Cast your vote now.

Boy oh boy

You're Invited to relive the baby shower
I co hosted. RSVP-Not required.


Here's a peek at the invitations I made.

***

Here are the guests of honor.
Kim and Shari

***
Since they are both having their 3rd boy
we kept it informal and celebrated at:

Corner Bakery
(yum)

***

Here are the highlights

banana bread cupcakes

***


Beautiful Gifts
Diaper Cake created by Tori

***

Great friends


Thanks for co hosting the party with me Tori.
I had a blast, hope you did too!

***

Good luck ladies. We can't wait to meet your boys!

Nursery (at last)

Sunday was Jack's first official day of NURSERY!
Thank you Sister Johnson, Sister Merrill, and Sister Hafen.
I have never enjoyed Sunday School so much.
P.S.-Jack loved the star.

Happy 18 Months

A quick history:

April 18, 2006
Happy Birthday Jack!

October 18, 2007
6 months old!

April 18, 2007
One year old!

October 18(ish), 2007
18 months old!

Jack it's hard to believe that you
are 18 months old already!
We guess the old adage is true-
"Time flies when you're having fun."
Here's to a life time of fun big boy.
We love you, Mama & Dada

P is for Pumpkins

Last week we trekked out to Faulkner Farm

Pumpkin Patch for a new Howe family tradition-

"Pickin' Punkins!"

This patch has sentimental value since I can remember

coming here when I was tiny. We had a great time

checking out all the different kinds of

pumpkins, looking at barnyard animals, admiring an antique truck,

stopping to smell the (sun)flowers, and taking lots of photos.

Happy Fall!

Happiness is...

Playing at the park until I'm done.
(Priceless)

Mommy Intuition

You know it's bedtime when:

'Nough said!

The Big Show

Check out this crazy new shirt Jack has:



It totally reminded me of the "gun shows" one
sassy roommate used to flash around our house.

(You know I'm talking about you SMN!)

I tried to snap a picture of Jack
doing his muscle man pose, but
he wasn't havin' it...

A Little Perspective

I pulled this off a friend's blog. This story lifted me up. Read on...

The Builders of Great Cathedrals

I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order,"Right around 5:30 , please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going ... she's going... she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes ofGod saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add,"You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

ss

Book Of The Month

Today a fun package came in the
mail for Jack.

Inside was a note and a book!

According to the handmade note, Jack's
been selected to get a book in the mail each
month from Nana's Book of the
Month Club! How fun is that?

Thanks Nana and Pops! Jack loves this month's
selection. His favorite part is-

"Who says hee-haw?"
(turn the page)
"A donkey says hee-haw"


He laughs every time... .

Laundry

The one thing I hate about camping

is the post camping mountain of laundry.
This trip was no exception, except for the
fact that my dryer is temporarily out of order.
(It's a long story, I won't bore you with the details.)


Anyway, I'm feeling about-->


when I realized, I can "old school" this project and
make some poor mom's clothes lines in the back
patio. Tada, problem solved!


My backyard was 3rd world chic this
afternoon, but at least all my laundry's done!


Sending my love,
Laundry Girl

San Elijo

Camping: San Elijo State Beach
September 13- September 16th, 2007
Sun, Sand, and Surfing
Fun!

This year for our yearly camp out we went
to San Elijo in beautiful Cardiff, California.
I love this place. I have tons of happy memories
camping here as a kid. Plus the beach is beautiful.
When the tide goes out there is beach for miles...

The Campsite:

We bought a new tent this year (it's the red one)
and it's ridiculously big!This bad boy has
2 rooms, 2 doors, and too many instructions.



























The Beach:

Jack's big obsession on the beach was rock hunting.
He carried this little yellow pail up and down
the beach collection rocks. Here's some
pictures of Jack's rock adventures.
















Jack also enjoyed digging with the sand toys
and dumping pails of water over. I'd love to
say that he played well with Hannah,
but he didn't really play with her,
he more played beside her.






























Around Town:

Every time we ventured into town we saw
at least a couple of woodies. Did you know
woodies were never mass produced.Back in
the day, you could buy kits to convert your car
into a woody, hence all the different models.

We saw a lot of statues around town.
Here are our favorites!

"Man with Hose"


"Magic Carpet Ride"


I've seen these signs in magazines and shops for sale,
but I've never actually seen them posted along a street.















The Henkels:

This is our third year camping with those crazy Henkels.
Thanks for the memories...
















I'm so sad I forgot to snap a family photo, but you get the idea. Left to Right- Keely, Hannah, and Lorne Henkel







Past, Present, Future:

Take a trip down memory lane with us... .



Kent and Jodi 2005
(I had morning sickness on the beach)



Kent and Jodi and baby Jack 2006


Jodi, Kent, and Jack 2007

Time flies when you're Camping!

2008???