A Creative Gift

My brother-in-law Davey always gives thoughtful, often self-made, gifts. This year I got Davey for Christmas, and I wanted to do something meaningful. I wanted to give him his own kind of gift. After thinking through a few ideas, I decided to create a simple story book, much like the one I made for Ceci during our last General Conference. His wife Erica helped me brainstorm things he does regularly with the kids and I went to work. Here it is:

A Dad and Four Kids

For Davey, Kate, Eli, Emma & Hannah

There is a lot of LOVE in this book. See how many hearts you can find on each page.

Once upon a time there was a dad and four kids.

They liked to go on hikes and explore.

They liked to make music together.

They loved to swim and play in the pool.

They liked to look for shells on the beach.

They liked to look for birds.

They watched movies.

They really liked to be silly together.

The dad would hold them when they were sad.

Sometimes the dad would read chapter books out loud.

At night the dad pulled out his guitar and sang a song before the four kids went to sleep.

It didn't matter what they did, as long as they were together.

The End.

This was a really fun, creative project for me. I don't sit and create very much. And it was an easy project because Davey really is this great of a dad, and they are always reading books together. I wanted those kids to have images of the amazing father in their lives. But the best part was being thoughtful about what to give. This caused me to slow down and really think about the receiver. 

Geoff and I decided this year to give "favorite things" as gifts. His work colleagues got our favorite book of the year (Beneath the Scarlet Sky). Our family members are getting one of our favorite things that we use all the time. This at least causes us to be a little thoughtful. And when it works, I would love to be like Davey and create something unique and personal. I'm grateful this was one of those years.

Davis Family Christmas Party

On Saturday, Geoff's family gathered for a Christmas party. It was at Em's, as usual, and she has her mother's gift for creating a magical environment! Her home was so merry and bright! All pictures are from Britt, as I left my camera at home!

We made gingerbread houses.

We decorated boxes for the Food Bank (they give out meals in them) and then had an art work show-and-tell.

Santa came and passed out small gifts for the kids. (It was Erica, and she made a delightful Santa!)

We choose names every year, so whoever had a present from someone there opened it. I made a book for Davey (more on it later), and he read it to everyone.

We sang carols around the Christmas tree, holding hands in a large circle, a Davis family tradition. It was so fun being together.

Then we did the hard emotional work of dividing up Geoff's mom's Christmas decorations. These symbolize the magical Christmases Mesha hosted and a host of happy childhood memories. All of us have a little piece of her in our homes now, which is very special.

Merry Christmas to all!

Scrooge - 8th Grade

Last night Ceci's 8th grade class put on A Christmas Carol, and Ceci played Scrooge. The script was short, and the kid's nervousness sped up the lines, so the play was a total of 40 minutes, but it was a fantastic rendition of a great Christmas story. Ceci was a great Scrooge. I put my phone away before Scrooge's transformation, and I wish I had a couple pictures of Scrooge as a jolly old man. Giving Bob Cratchet a raise was my favorite scene.

Bailey was in the play too, of course, because she and Ceci are in the same class, so her family was there, and Nikki came too. And Tennie took the train from BYU to be there.

I love school plays. I love the story of A Christmas Carol. I love supportive family. And I love Ceci who played Mr. Scrooge.

November Wrap-Up

I kicked off November going to St. George to watch my two nephews while my sister-in-law ran the NYC Marathon and my brother joined my other brother in Denver for a Bronco game. Tag and "Dooz" are easy and fun. My mom hung out with us a lot too. And it was sunny and warm. I love St. George. Here are those cute boys cheering for their mom when she crossed the finish line (we tracked her via an app).

Tennie came home to drop her ballot off. It was her first time to VOTE! She cares about issues, so this was a big and exciting event!

While Adele and I were in Greece, Ceci broke her thumb playing basketball with Geoff.

A few days later Geoff, Ceci and Tennie went to Moab where Ceci rock climbed and mountain biked on Slick Rock without a thumb! Not mom approved.

The day after we returned from Greece my mom arrived for Thanksgiving. We spent the vacation Christmas shopping and wrapping, putting together puzzles, going to movies, going on walks and eating a delicious feast. It was a celebration of GRATITUDE for the abundance and goodness in our lives. Adele had bought a fun game at her favorite store in Greece to play after our Thanksgiving dinner.

It is hard to be good at that game!

Tennie got her braces off after three long years. No pictures, though.

Geoff and I celebrated our TWENTIETH wedding anniversary! We're scheming up an adventure to celebrate it, but want warmer months. Stay tuned. On our anniversary we went to the Christkindlmarkt at This is the Place Heritage Park. It is the closest thing to a European Christmas market around!

And aside from that we had a lot of random things fixed in our apartment, so people were coming and going for a few weeks, I worked on some Christmas surprises and preparations, getting mostly ready for the holiday season, and enjoyed the transition from Fall to Winter. It was a good month, a busy month, and it passed by in a wink.

Greece - Part 2

November isn't the best time to visit a Greek Island, but we were too close not to see one, so Santorini was our pick. It was cold and often raining, and most of the restaurants and shops were closed for the season. I should have trained before going because there is a LOT of climbing that goes on there. And it was still magical.

Adele and I flew into the small Santorini airport, got in the taxi our Airbnb host sent for us, and were met at the edge of Oia by a strong local who grabbed our carry-ons and took off. We could barely keep up and tried to take in the view of the dark Crete Sea and the white-washed dwellings that were beyond adorable, all while almost running up and down the narrow pathways that go this way and that in no organized manner to our Airbnb.

For reals. I attempted a panoramic to capture it.

We were really only there one full day, which was enough because there wasn't a lot of swimming or lounging poolside going on. Boat trips weren't going out due to the weather, and shopping was minimal.  Sami and Adele disappeared for a good while for a photo shoot, and Colete and I explored around. 

It is hard to capture the charm of this place, but here are a few feeble attempts. Again, any really good ones of the town (or of Adele) are from Sami. They had a fun time doing the photo shoot.

There were lots of cats in Oia too, only the tourists feed them, and there aren't many tourists this time of year. They followed us, hung around our Airbnb and even let themselves in to solicit our compassion.

These donkeys are how things come in and go out from Oia, even cement for the buildings. They looked like they work hard.

Colete and I ventured out on the hike to Fira, a trail along the ridge of the island through several towns. As we were leaving town a dog started to join us. He was friendly enough so we didn't think much about it. After about 10 minutes we realized we had maybe missed the trailhead. We backtracked and finally found the right place to get on the trail. As we climbed up the hill to get on the trail, who should be waiting for us but that dog! She led the way from then on. We didn't make it the whole way because we got a late start and it was getting dark, but when I looked at my phone that night it said I had walked 6.7 miles and climbed 127 flights of stairs. One day on Santorini!

We're so glad we went, off-season conditions and all. What a uniquely charming place!

NOTE: a delicious restaurant in Oia is Roka. Oh yum.

We had a travel day and stayed the night near the airport in Athens, then had a long flight with two very long layovers to get home. Oh how I love home.

Another amazing shared memory for the books.