Happy Birthday to Aiden!!

My little grandson is one year old today!! I can't believe how quickly this past year has flown by!

I took a pic of him a couple of days ago and made into a wrapped canvas for his birthday. Shhhh! Don't tell him or his mommy and daddy. I'd hate to spoil the surprise.

But I'll give you a sneak peak of it:



He is such a cutie pie and I'm so glad that he is part of our family!
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P.S. Memo to me for New Year's Resolution: Paint this wall so that pictures taken along it are more flattering. I love taking pics here since it gets such great morning light, but I had never noticed that it is so... so...so putty colored until now. And since my whole family is putty colored, it simply *isn't* the best color for the backdrop. Hmmm.... now to try to figure out just what color it should be.

Traditions

It is almost a New Year! Yay!! Are you still trying to figure out your New Year's resolutions too? OH! and do you also get a new word for the year that you want to work toward? I do both, and I find my mind reflecting often on what I want to become this next year.

The other day when I was pondering on resolutions, this song came on the radio that made me think about things from a whole different perspective.



You know, things like: how would I behave differently if I new that this year would be my last? It sounds dark and depressing, but if I want to make changes that make a difference in my life, perhaps by putting things in that perspective would encourage changes that matter. Things like showing love without reservation or hesitation. Like taking more time to see beauty instead of hustling on by in a hurried fashion. Like taking more time to play with my kids. You know, taking time for LIVING. The most important things that often get overlooked in my head, while losing 10 pounds or painting the house gets written down instead. And while those things are important too, and will probably get put on my list this year, I want my main focus to be making sure that those I love *know* that I love them.

On to lighter things :) Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day? Any traditions that you look forward to all year?

I have to tell you that I lOvE New Year's! I love starting out with a blank slate! Five years ago I started a tradition that I look forward to every year: Steve & I go out to eat together, without the kids, maybe with another couple maybe not, and we make New Year's resolutions. It tends to be a quiet meal, without a whole lot of talking between us, but a whole lot of thoughts come out during it. When we feel like we have finished our lists, we talk over what we've written, and we share our goals, dreams, and aspirations for the next year. It is a great way for us to usher in a New Year.

A new family New Year's Eve tradition was started last year when Aiden was born. :) New Year's Eve will forever be a time for celebrating his coming into our lives, our family, and our world. What a great birthday for him!

Today my goal is to make treats for New Year's Eve and Day. Oh! And I can't forget to find a new book to read. Nothing has sounded appealing for a while. I go through these stages where nothing sounds good to read, BUT I know I am a happier, more well balanced person when I have something to read. So today, I need food for the body AND for the mind... have you got any recommendations?

And don't forget to let me know what your New Year's Eve and Day traditions are either, okay? Have a great day today!

Shiny and Bright & The Real Reason for the Season

I played with taking pics of the Christmas tree again. :) As I was viewing these pics for the first time, I noticed that this one, when cropped a bit, becomes a self-portrait. I don't know if you'll be able to see it as well as I can, since blogger does *not* like any pic over 400 pixels, but here it is:



You can see Jared and Matt in the background. I'm the one with the camera. :)

And is it just me, or do you love the "shiny" factor of the Christmas tree too? I love the lights and the reflection of the lights off of any surface. The garland and a shiny bulb does the job really well! :)




On another, much less cheerful note, a historical building in a nearby city caught fire last Friday. It had been a church building for many, many years, and then at some point became a community building that concerts, graduations, and many other events were held in.

When I heard about it, tears streamed down my face. It felt like I'd lost a close friend. I remember going to church there on special occassions, my daughter had a Christmas concert there once, and it has been a landmark for my entire life. It was built in the 1800's, took 15 years to build, and cost over $100,000 at the time. It was a gorgeous building, complete with towers and stained glass windows.

When the firefighters arrived on the scene Friday morning, it was already a four alarm fire and deemed too danger to fight on the inside of the building, so a defensive stance was taken and water was poured into the building to control and stop the flames. The roof collapsed about 4 hours after the fire started.

On Friday, a framed picture of Jesus Christ was seen from outside of the door, but it was not yet safe to enter to retrieve it. Yesterday when they went in for it, they found that the picture had smoldered, charring all of the angels around Jesus, but leaving only Jesus in the center of the charred, framed picture. It was transported to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's headquarters in Salt Lake City to try to stabilize the picture. Provo City Councilwoman Cynthia Dayton was quoted to have said,

"I was so awestruck (by the painting) that I don't have words for it. I'm so grateful for the men and women who are willing to do that (fight fires) for us, and I think it is perfectly fitting that they should be standing around that painting. What a better way to celebrate Christmas, to celebrate the birth of Christ, than to have that at the center."

You can see the picture here, and read the original article here and an update here.

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend, that the preparations you make for Christmas this week can be simply perfect and make wonderfully lasting memories, and that while in the midst of it all that you are able to feel the Joy and Peace of the season.

Happy Blog-iversary to me! :)

Today marks the third year that I've been blogging. Here is my very first post explaining the name Merrie Melody:

Remember the Merrie Melodies from Warner Bros? If not take a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrie_Melodies

Somedays my life feels a bit cartoony; and sometimes I really am merry. So Merrie Melody fits!

Today I feel a lot like Tom on "Tom and Jerry". I just need the toothpicks to keep my eyes open!

Steve and I are in the middle of a mini-remodel in the bathroom, so guess what I am doing today? I'll maybe pick up some paint for the walls this afternoon, and later this evening finish caulking the new tub surround before Matt's birthday party.

I finished a Christmas collage for a friend's Christmas cards this morning. It turned out really cute.

Now the kids are all awake and it's time to start my day for real.

Have a good one!

And you know what? My eyelids still need to be held open with toothpicks and I am again in the middle of a mini-remodel for the bathroom. I tell you, I'm on a hampster wheel! LOL!

I also saw pics of my kids with Santa from a couple of days later from that same year:







Compared to this year's pics w/ Santa:





So much change. So much growth. I'm in such a different place now than I was then. Hopefully it is a better place, and hopefully I'm a better person for all that has happened in the past three years.

After starting my blog on December 17th, my friend April reminded me that she and my blog share the same birthday. So as I wish myself a Happy Blog-iversary, I also wish April a very Happy Birthday!

And for you, my friends, I want you to know that I find myself thinking of each of you individually so very often. I worry about you, pray for you, laugh with you, and wish all the best for you. You have come into my life and made it a brighter place. I appreciate so much the opportunity that I've had to get to know each of you and have you be part of my life happenings. Thanks so much for your friendship!

Remembering Childhood Christmases: 2

Remembering Childhood Christmases: I remember that Santa used to always bring me Hubba Bubba or Bubblicious bubble gum in my stocking, and how I could hardly wait to go to my grandma's house and share a piece with my cousins.

Remembering Childhood Christmases: 1

Remembering childhood Christmases: I LOVED my Baby Alive that ate and drank and peed and pooped!.... but I made my sister change the diapers! bwahahaha! :D (Sorry Deb... but it does make me giggle! I guess you got your revenge when I had 6 kids of my own and now have a grandbaby to change too, huh? :)

Angels we have heard on high

I came across this guy playing the broccoli on facebook and had to share. Very, very clever! :)

O Christmas Tree

I think I'm finally getting the hang of photographing the Christmas tree (Thanks, Steph! :)





Our tree has been up for a while, but every time I took a pic of it the color would be yellowish or reddish. When I was visiting Ordinary Life Magic, I asked Stephanie how she got such great pictures of her Christmas tree. She told me that she didn't use a flash and took pics in morning light. Well, I forgot to try taking pics until afternoon, but I think they turned out really good! :)

And on a very happy note, most of the presents are wrapped and under the tree! Ahhhh. I'm hoping to be more relaxed this year, and so far so good.

How is the Christmas preparations going at your house?

Amazing!!

Have you seen the "Carol of the Bells 2007 - Holdman Christmas Lights" yet? It is amazingly beautiful! Take a look! :)

A visit to see Santa

I took the boys to go see Santa today. Matt thought he was too old to sit on Santa's lap, but I got some great pics of him and Michael together before we saw Santa.

In fact, it is kind of a funny story, but we missed Santa by 5 minutes and had to wait an hour for him to get back from lunch. In the meantime, we took some pics with the props of the North Pole that were at the mall. I got some good ones, too!:





(love Michael's tongue! haha!)


Oh my! This one melts my heart! Michael's adoring look at Matt, and Matt's protective look at Michael just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

And this, my friends, is the *real* Santa:


He was so sweet to Michael. I told him that Michael had been looking forward all day to seeing him, and Santa said, "I've been looking forward to seeing you too." Aw!

We also visited Grandma at her nursing home. It was a perfect day for Michael. :)

I hope that you had a wonderfully magical day today too! :)