The Temple and The Huntington Library with Mom and Dad

I was able to see Parker perform in his class' Reader's Theater! He played the part of Zeus. He was so excited and was super prepared with props and his costume for over a week! He did such a great job playing the King of the Gods! He is the tallest kid in his class! This was on December 1st- the first day of the Church's new initiative to Light the World. On this day, we were asked to do some service. Well, Courtney asked me to watch her girls after school but I didn't really want to. But then I realized this was a way I could serve! I told her that I wanted to see Parker's play if she wanted to do a trade (she watch the babies and I'll watch her girls later on) But what we ended up doing was both just using Audrey. Thank goodness for awesome babysitters who home school! I love that she can come over any time of day! But then that left me with service to perform. What was I to do? 

The idea came to me to send a pizza to Kari. She is struggling so much lately, mostly financially. She is majorly strapped and cries constantly about how desperate her situation is. Since I'm too far away to bring her dinner I thought I could just order her a pizza and have it delivered secretly. Well, when the pizza guy arrived she was all confused and sent him away. She didn't order a pizza and she certainly didn't want to take what wasn't hers or something she didn't pay for. She watched sadly as the pizza guy drove away. "Buy, pizza man." She thought about chasing him down and begging for mercy. "Are you just going to throw that pizza away because I'm a struggling single mother and I sure would deeply appreciate it." As he drove off he gave me a call and was obviously confused. After I explained to him that I was trying to send the pizza to her in secret as a good deed his heart was softened and he went back to her house to deliver it once again. This time I'd called her and told her it was ME who sent the pizza. Oh how joyful she was to hear this! She was sooooo thankful and sobs choked her words as she poured out such sweet compliments and happy remarks! When the pizza guy knocked on this door, this time she opened it with glee and beamed with gladness and I'm sure gave that pizza guy a hug. Hopefully that cute little pizza guy's heart was touched. It was a good deed he performed as well, going back to deliver the pizza. She was so happy and this tiny act of service was so simple. I can tell it's going to be a glorious month of Lighting the World!

Friday was December 2nd- a day to honor our parents. Tanner called his mom. Jon called my mom too, and said, "Has Chan called yet?" to which she replied, "Well yes, and we are going to the temple together tonight." "Oh! She's one upped me again!" :-) 

Over the summer at Tanner's Peterson Family Reunion we were given a stack of names to take to the temple. All of our names are children to be sealed to their parents. So we picked out a few and invited my parents to be "the parents" and off to Newport we went. It was such a sacred privileged to join these families together for eternity. The spirit was sweet and calm. After the temple we took them to my friend's restaurant, Seabird Kitchen at The LAB. It was a chilly night but we all enjoyed the yummy food and great company! I'm once again thankful for an extraordinary babysitter. Audrey wouldn't accept one single dollar even though she babysat for over 6 hours. She said she wouldn't take money from us while we were serving in the temple. She is a gem! 

Tanner has had a very rough few weeks at work and morale has been low (even though performances have been extremely high) So he came to work in this ridiculous light up sweater and Santa hat and sang Christmas Carols, for we all know the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. He's amazing.

The next day was Saturday December 3rd- a day to remember how Jesus helped the blind to see. We tried to point out positive attributes we saw in each other that we might not see in ourselves. Truly, this is a practice that can be put to good use daily. I try and give compliments out freely on social media. If I see a picture or read a caption that stirs my heart, I write a response. And I love the way I feel when I do. We spent the afternoon at the Huntington Library with my parents. Tanner made a delicious crepe breakfast for us all before we left. We did a lot of walking around the perfectly manicured gardens and it was a beautiful day! It was so warm that I had to take off my sweater and sadly, I lost it. But it was a wonderful day spent in the fresh air!

Here is Rayleigh blowing on a wishie. She loved to play in the pebbles, water, and flowers!

She did NOT, however, like taking pictures. This was her saying. "No cheese!" when I asked her to say "cheese!" ha ha

So dramatic

Jack on the other hand will run to me exclaiming, "CHEEEEEESE!" He still doesn't understand that cheese means to smile.

Don't take it personally, Nanny. We were all a little pooped by the end of the day!

I love these pictures of us as a family. It's so true of how we function- Living on a prayer. I know that these days are hard, long, and we sacrifice so much for naps and picky eaters and bathroom breaks. It's comforting to look to the future at what my children can become. But I also don't want to miss these special days when love is poured out without measure and unconditionally. Where life is simple and affection is limitless. 

It's hard to look beyond our currently flawed state but as we gain an eternal perspective, our horizons can become so enlightening. Jesus helped the blind to see, and you can too.

That night we had our ward Christmas party. It was fabulous. The food was great, the gym was packed, and the children performed the most beautiful Christmas pageant. Their sweet spirits embody what Christmas is all about. Paul Duncan was having a hard time singing into the microphone as we were getting ready for Santa to appear so I grabbed it from him and started belting, "You better watch out! You better not cry!" It was awesome. Totally living the dream. ha ha And Santa heard us! We were first in line (we learned from last year) and once again Ray was thrilled to see the Big Guy but Jack was horrified. But I love that! Sad Santa pictures are kind of the best. Parker was hiding in the Relief Society room chowing down a full plate of desserts! That little stinker!

Rayleigh's little friend, Mable who is Audrey's little sister.

The next day was Sunday. I rushed to get the kids and myself all ready for church and was loading everyone into the car (assuming that Tanner was already there for meetings) when he emerged from the guest room rubbing his eyes. He'd fallen back asleep and was now late for church! So I gave him the babies and Parker and I were able to enjoy a nice, reverent church service. I loved singing the Christmas hymns and hearing all of the sweet testimonies of Christ. Our Sunday School lesson covered some of the end of the Book of Mormon which is hard for me. I don't like hearing about all of the heart ache and destruction. But Courtney gave the lesson in Relief Society on Christmas and it was fantastic. Day 4 we were asked to go to church. But we also went back for the Bishop's son's baptism. We then we all sat in the hot tub and enjoyed some relaxing time together before the babies went to bed. That evening, Parker, Tanner and I watched the First Presidency Christmas message. I look forward to watching this program, and hearing the choir sing, all year! It's a marvelous way to invite the true meaning of Christmas into our home.

I'm glad I have our shopping done so I really can focus on serving others this Christmas season. I'm looking forward to the memories we will create!