End of Year Letter

Dear Family & Friends

What a year that 2015 has been! We had very high expectations for the year and I believe 2015 delivered. Not in the way we expected, of course not, but in very big ways.

Daniel continues to work at - and loving working at - Cold Stone. His job is the perfect blend of desk work and people work. He is the boss but doesn't have to make the hardest decisions that go to the bigger boss. He loves working with his crew and helping customers have a great day. Daniel excels at his job and everyone loves him. Daniel is the Elder's Quorum President in our ward and thinks it is really hard. He loves all the people but doesn't like the meetings. Thankfully next year we will be changing church times and he will have later meetings so that should help. ;) Daniel starred in the Outlaw Trail Theater's production of 'Beauty and the Beast' as Lumiere this summer. People who come into Cold Stone are thrilled to meet the ice cream man who is Lumiere. He got more cheers than anyone at the end of the show. He was completely loveable and very French....in the best ways. Daniel also started teaching a group of boys how to sing and dance. He is the teacher of our boys class for TaVaci and has really enjoyed leading out and being a part of that class.

Nashelle loves her baby more than anything and loves being home with her every day. Not at all parts of the day would she say that (her baby is two years old, after all), but in general she is so grateful to be able to be home with her kid. Nashelle keeps busy during naptime with reading, blogging, teaching piano and voice lessons, and making big plans. This year she became a business owner and now is the director of the Vernal TaVaci performing arts group managing 3 teachers and about 70 students. Nashelle learned a lot about herself in her calling as Stake Primary Music person and through two miscarriages. She also learned a lot about banks, loans, businesses, and how to make a really great spreadsheet specifically for schedules. Nashelle loves organizing her home and keeps it as clean as possible with a two-year old and a husband in the house.

Hannalyn got taller and heavier this year. She kept her blue eyes with the key hole, her blonde hair, and her winning personality. Hannalyn started nursery and loves it. She doesn't love the bigger kids, but the younger kids have her undivided attention. She is a great eater and sleeper. She is patient and kind. She likes pretending to be a puppy or a lion. She loves to read and do puzzles. She also loves to help with the laundry - to the extent that she takes the clean clothes and blankets out of their places and drags them across the house to wherever her mom is. She has a very two-year old personality - stubborn and sweet, demanding and playful and all subject to change at the drop of a toy or the sound of a bell. She keeps her parents on their toes and is the most fun to have around.

We had a great year. It was full of twists and turns and surprises and new adventures. We got into shape, got out of shape, and everything in between. We went on great trips and to see great things. We also made great plans...for next year. :) We'll be telling you all about those plans soon. Thank you for reading and loving us. We appreciate the unending prayers ans support we've had all year and look forward to more adventures and happy times to come.

Love,
The Jacksons
Daniel, Nashelle, & Hannalyn

Christmas with a 2 year old

Christmas was Magical this year. I loved it. I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried. Firstly, Hannalyn slept in. Her parents did not. Daniel first woke me up at 5 and asked if I was ready. I think I growled at him and rolled over. Clearly, I was not. I got up at 7 and we spent the next hour and a half opening our presents for and from each other and just talking. We finally woke Hannalyn up at 8:30. She was excited and a little overwhelmed by everything. She loved opening presents but didn't want to be left alone with them when we went to go start breakfast thinking she'd stay and play. We ate then went to my parent's house about 10 to do a couple more presents and talk to my brother who is serving a mission in New Jersey. We also got to talk to my grandparents in Turkey! Hannalyn took a nap, Daniel went with some of my family to see Star Wars (again), and we did puzzles. Dinner was delicious and we just had a really great evening hanging out and playing. And trying on our pajamas - like my panda onesie. Obviously I'm the kung fu panda below...

Fun stuff.

Hannalyn being 2 was fabulous this year. She was full of wonder and miraculously she left everything alone until the appointed time to rip, tear, and destroy. This Christmas was perfect. So much fun and so much family and togetherness and happy feel-goods. We are so grateful for the people who love us and the blessings we have. We are grateful for the time of light and miracles that a baby brought to the world.

I hope your Christmas was spectacular.
xoxo,
me.

reason for the season

Our Savior Jesus Christ is the most important person in my life to me. Watch this video to find out why:

I hope your holiday was spectacular. :)

Merry Christmas to All

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

We are so grateful for the friends and family that we get to have near us all year round. We love our Savior, Jesus Christ, and love this season when we get to celebrate His birth. We love the letters and cards we've received this year - thank you for thinking of us and sending us pictures of your family! I wish I was more forward-thinking about those things. Just know that we do love you and your thoughtfulness means more to us than you know.

If you have three minutes, click to watch THIS VIDEO. It will give you a beautiful start to your day.

Merry Christmas!
Love, the Jacksons

Christmas Jars

I searched and searched for the post that I thought I wrote two years ago about our miraculous Christmas Jar experience. I couldn't find it, so I am copying the email that I submitted to Jason Wright (creator? idea behind? sorta? Christmas Jar book-writer).

My husband and I had to take our baby girl to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah when she was only one week old. She spent several days in the ICU there as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with her. On one particularly trying day, we found out late in the evening that our now 10 day old baby would need throat surgery. We went to the cafeteria in the hospital to eat dinner feeling extremely discouraged and disheartened. We ate dinner in silence. Half-way through the meal, we were approached by a woman and her son. They asked if we had a child in the hospital and we told them yes. They pulled out a jar full of change and gently placed in on the table, saying, "This is to help your baby." My husband and I had been without a paycheck for five months and ran out of savings three months earlier. We had been in the hospital for four days and didn't know when we would be going home. When the jar was placed on the table, my husband and I both burst into tears as we felt the love of God instantly and heavily upon our hearts. The woman explained that her son had come up with the idea of saving his change all year and then bringing it to Primary Children's to give to a child in need. They had prayed before walking into the hospital that they would know who to give the jar to and when they walked in and saw us, they knew instantly that the jar was meant for us. We told them a little of our daughter's story and expressed for them our gratitude. We exchanged hugs, and then they silently walked away as my husband and I sat back down. We couldn't eat as we stared at each other and sobbed with the realization that we and our baby are known by God and we are being watched over and taken care of. If the giver of this jar is reading this - please know that you helped us pay some extremely hefty medical bills (our daughter is completely better now), but more importantly, you reminded us that we are loved and lifted our spirits at a time of need. Thank you.

Well, because of the amazing love we felt because of this experience, this year and last year Daniel & I have spent the year saving our change to take to Primary Children's Hospital. Last year it was a beautiful experience and the couple we gave the jar to was so kind and surprised. This year we were unable to make it out to Salt Lake City and asked my parents to take it with them when they went out for my sister's dance competition. They took it that night and they and my sisters had a very spiritual experience. I was grateful that we were able to share that love with them even though we didn't get to do it ourselves and we felt the love, too. We were praying for them the whole time. I know the jar made it to the right person and it makes me feel so so so so good.

Merry Christmas everyone. :)

Book Review: Under the Mistletoe Collection

I would have given this book 5 stars if I had loved all six stories. I loved four of them and really liked the other two. Not bad at all. :)
This book was perfect for this time of year. Reading about Christmas and traditions and hot chocolate and snow and romance put me in the mood for blankets and family. I got lost in the stories of love and redemption, forgiveness and joy. The authors are top-notch. It was great to read new writings by some of my authors as well as be introduced to a few new ones.

SUM UPS:

Forgotten Kisses by Cindy Roland Anderson
Caleb is a hot movie star who once dated Madison - a costume designer. Now they enter each other's circles again two years after their broken engagement.

The Last Christmas by Annette Lyon
Eric & Meredith - nice to read a story about mature people (parents) rekindling love and finding forgiveness when they come together for one last Christmas for their grown daughters.

Truth or Dare by Julie Coulter Bellon
Cami & Jonah were best friends in high school. Six years later find them both in very different circumstances than they had once imagined. He has a prosthetic leg and she is caring for her nephew. Dogs are cute.

Holiday Bucket List by Sarah M. Eden
Celeste and Mike have been neighbors for years. Both are finally empty nesters after being single parents the bulk of their lives. They are best friends. Will their bucket lists bring them together in a way they only imagined?

Christmas Every Day by Heather B Moore
Monica breaks up with her jerk boyfriend and is rescued by Jaxon the prodigal son of her employers. They are the Claus's together and he is someone genuine she feels comfortable relying on.

First (and last) Christmas Date by Jennifer Griffith
Ten years after their first disastrous date, Tag finally calls Juliet. Cute overall with a moral of being childlike and trusting and not being controlled by fear.

Find on Amazon and Goodreads

H's Stats

Remember this sweet girl? What a sweetie. She still is, really.

For those of you who are interested, at her two-year checkup, this girl is solidly in the 25th percentile for both height and weight. That's right. We have a tiny one, folks. A beautiful, rambunctious, tiny girl.

To be honest, it kind of freaks me out that she is so small because to me she is so big! That means that if she were a little bigger, say, in the 75th percentile, she wouldn't be almost reaching my counter tops - she would be reaching the counter tops! Scary. So so scary. I'm glad she's small-ish now.

Hannalyn is 27 pounds and 2 feet 8 inches tall. She is almost half of Daniel's 6 feet. Awesome.

What a wonderful life and girl-child this is.

growing pains

Hannalyn is at a delightful stage of life. She is full of personality and attitude - like always - but is finally at a stage where she enjoys interacting with me. And she chooses to! It is so much fun. She is always with me and talking to me (well, herself really) and bringing me books to read. I love this girl.

I was told recently that there is no growth in your comfort zone and no comfort in your growth zone.

How true that is.

Sometimes life hurts, things are hard, and you don't know what is going to come. There are many times when I don't know how things will work out. Thankfully I know that God is real and that He is taking care of me and my family. I know that if I'm not in my comfort zone, I'm growing. Growth is good. Seeds aren't necessarily beautiful - but the flowers that come from them are. I'm just growing into a flower.

When I was a teenager, my legs would hurt and I could "feel" myself growing. I wanted to be tall and so I didn't mind the pain. Well. I want to be a flower, so I won't mind the pain. I will turn it to God because I know He knows how to grow beautiful flowers. I see them all the time. :)

Life is good, you guys. I love my family. I love this season.
It's going to be a wonderful Christmastime.

Book Review: 12 Days in December (Christmas Novella)

I read this charming novella in about two hours because I could not put it down. It was wonderful. Holmes has masterfully created a world surrounding the Thatcher family, so even though this book was not about the Thatchers, it fit in perfectly. The story was short and sweet, full of romance and excitement, and a wonderful Christmas tale. Even if you haven't read the other Hearthfire romance books in the series, you can read and enjoy this one. A truly fantastic book for the holiday.

Short, romantic, beautiful, charming, and just great. I really really loved this one. :)

Find it on AMAZON and GOODREADS.

Christmastime is here!

Happiness and cheer!

Joy for all that children call their favorite time of year!

Are those even the words to the song? I can't remember now.

Though I do love Charlie Brown... and advent calendars... and lights... and nativities... and villages...

I mean, Christmas is beautiful! (mostly)

Daniel did all the outside lights while I did all the inside decor. We both worked for about 4 hours last Saturday during Hannalyn's nap. It was SO worth it. I love love love it. And Daniel gained a testimony of lights. Just ask him. ;)

It's coming! I feel it - this will be a good Christmas.

sometimes a girl just needs a pair of overalls

Ignore my bangs. It is only the third time I've ever cut them myself. This time they are weird. But they are not too short which is the important part.

OVERALLS.

Guys. I forgot I had these hanging in my closet. I was so sad when I realized that they are covered in paint from when we painted our Provo home many eons ago. But I am still loving them. L o v i n g. I feel like I'm channeling my inner Natalie and I feel really cool.

It's the little things in life, you know?

I've also got this awesome crown braid that just happened to work out perfectly today, so... awesome!
AND we paid all our bills this month and have plenty left over for Christmas!

**unrelated side note: Hannalyn is watching a little bit of PBS kids while I get this online work done and they are showing the Kratt Brothers, which was new when I was a wee child of 8 or so. Zobomafoo anyone? it's a crazy weird blast from the past.

In other news, those pictures were taken with my flip phone. I had a pretend conversation with one of my students in my head (the one who told me my flip phone was "cool". that's right. someone knows where it is.) and it went something like this:
Her: "Wow! It flips AND takes pictures?"
Me: "Yup, with a double-sided camera so I can take a 'selfie' looking at the camera and a front-facing."
Her: "Amazing!"
Me: *chuckles* That's right.

It was a good conversation. Technology is amazing. And I'm grateful for a phone that neither I nor my 2-year old (that is still weird to say) can break.

Now that this completely random post is over, I just want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL (and someone please get me a new pair of overalls for Christmas? I'm so comfy and loving it.) AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY.

Nativity (otherwise known as - I made those costumes. oh yeah.)

This year I had the most amazing opportunity to be invited to put together a nativity for the local Holly Day's celebration. Holly Days takes place the day after Thanksgiving and is a day where local stores do specials all day (like discounts, a free movie matinee, etc.), and main street is converted into a happy place of Christmas magic with camel and train rides, free ice skating, performers, and a parade of lights. Lots of other fun stuff too.

Back in August, I went to the dentist (I promise this is related) and while I was sitting waiting, a guy who was in my ward when my dad was a bishop came in and sat down and we started chatting. He asked me if I was still involved with theater and I told him about my plans for the Vernal Theater. He then proceeded to tell me about an idea that he was working on for a nativity as part of Holly Days. Then he asked me if I'd be interested in heading it up. I was very surprised, but said I'd think about it and look into what we could do as far as set, costumes, etc.

A couple months later, I got back in touch and we decided to make it happen. The people who were in charge of the event were SO good and kind to me - they told me to tell them what I needed and they would make it happen for me. It was amazing. The only stress I had was making sure that the nativity was up to the standard that everyone was expecting. That was no little stress, to be sure. I felt the pressure. I was petrified up until the start of the first show that it would all go wrong and that everyone would hate it.

I have never been so thankful to be so wrong. :) It was beautiful. Everyone who talked to me told me it was their favorite part of the event. The actors that were kind enough to give me some of their time over the holiday told me they want to do it again next year because it was such a good experience.

The nativity itself was simple and beautiful. The costumes were made by me with an assist from a woman who I've known for years and who has helped with costumes since I was in middle school. She already had a pattern and helped me out through remembering what to do and just giving me confidence that I could do it and make them beautiful. She also went with me fabric shopping which would have been disastrous. As it was - the costumes fit a huge variety of people, and the colors were stunning alone and together.

There were no lines - a narration voiced over by my amazing dad and music to accompany but that was it. And of course a backdrop purchased for the event, a stable and manger built by someone locally, and lights loaned from and set up by friends of mine. We used a huge variety of people in age from 6 to 40. Lots of boys (of course) and a few Marys. I used Daniel many times, and I even got to Mary twice. My sister was involved and I love her dearly for it. Plus many friends who were so generous with their time over the holiday.

Even a live baby for the last two shows! He was darling.

I am so grateful for the birth of my Savior and for the miraculous and wonderful event that it was. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate this nativity. I feel so blessed for the trust that was placed in me and that so many people told me that they enjoyed it. We plan to give it another go next year and I am thrilled. :)

two years of Hannalyn

and now after surviving a full week with a two-year old here is a post all about her :)

Let's start with some pictures, shall we? This is Hannalyn when she wakes up in the morning. She hair all in her face, crazy and awesome, beautiful and feisty. She is really great. Hannalyn sleeps til 9am most days, after going to be at 9pm. I could change that and have her sleep 7 to 7, but really, I love that she sleeps in. It gives me time to get the rest I need and get myself ready for the day. She is really a huge blessing and an angel baby in this way.

For her birthday, Hannalyn needed some warmer clothes - hat, boots, and coat. When I put them on her, she really seemed to grow up right in front of my face. So big and so beautiful.

I caved to the pressures of birthday-ism and gave Hannalyn her very own cupcake for her birthday.

She loved it. :)

Family picture!!! Because we can. With Hannalyn squished between us because she was squirming so much. She isn't really one for pictures these days. I can't figure out why... but that's how it goes I guess.

What Hannalyn does love is reading. And singing. Brushing her teeth, pretending to be a dog, giving back rubs (they are the best!), and running around are also high on her favorite-activity list. Hannalyn has a real personality. I love watching her interact with those around her. She is shy and reserved for the most part, but get her at home and she is a fireball!

A typical day with Hannalyn starts with me waking her up at 9, eating breakfast (she refuses to eat the same thing twice in a row. crazy?),  getting dressed and going on errands all before lunch. We also play, read some books, and talk about the day. We have lunch about 12 before Hannalyn falls asleep in my arms - literally, and my favorite part of my day - and takes a 2-hr nap. Then she plays and runs around - chasing balls, reading books, swaddling dolls, and making a mess in general while I teach my lessons. We eat dinner and play, read more books, and do whatever until bedtime at 9. Then we do it all again. There isn't a lot of variety in our day, especially now that it is so cold! But we enjoy them. We talk a lot and read a lot and play a lot.

Hannalyn has amazing fine-motor skills. She can cap and uncap pens, turn individual pages of a book, pull apart individual wipes from her bag, and manage the lids on just about any canister. She walks backwards, makes faces when teasing, and drives me crazy with her ability to be perfectly silent and make a mess. Because it is her birthday, I feel like this post is really positive. And I do love my baby, but it definitely is not all peaches and cream. Let's focus on all the good, though. The world needs good.

Hannalyn is still a small child - 18 month clothes fit perfectly. But she has big feet, so I know she's got some growing inside of her. She hates hates having headbands or hats on, eats anything I put in front of her - except tuna sandwiches and bacon, and her absolute favorite person in the world is her uncle Taylor. When he is around, there is no taking her away from him for any reason. It's adorable...and hard at nighttime. Hannalyn is patient and a great errand-runner because she is enjoys her carseat and shopping carts.

We are scared and excited for Christmas this year. So far she has been really good about not touching the tree. I'm not sure that will last, though. It will get old hat and someone will forget to watch her and then there will be a huge mess. So it goes, though. Really, I'm mostly excited because SHE was actually excited to open her birthday presents this year so Christmas will be fun in that respect. We hope to go sledding (if we can ever get a weekend off) and go to Salt Lake at some point to visit grandparents and great-grandparents for the holiday. Meanwhile, we continue to love our favorite 2-year old. She is truly our greatest blessing and makes every day brighter and better. :)

The end. Time to go clean up the mess Hannalyn surely made while I was writing this post...
Oh the life and joys of a toddler!
Happy Monday