Christmas pict- 2011

Santa Lucia Day -2011

Another Santa Lucia Day has come and gone. I really like that we celebrate this tradition. Of course, we don't follow it exactly as they do in Sweden, but it has become a nice way for us to take treats to friends and neighbors.

It is celebrated not only in Sweden and Norway, but also Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovakia, and St. Lucia, West Indies.

It is a story of an Italian saint that when Christians were being persecuted and went into hiding in the middle ages, a young girl took them food. In order to have both hands free, she wore a crown of candles on her head. She was a martyr and died for her beliefs. The King of Sweden was looking for a way for his people to turn to Christianity, heard the story, and declared December 13 to be Santa Lucia Day and the official start of the Christmas season.

In Sweden, the oldest daughter gets up early in the morning, takes Lucia Buns and coffee to her family and neighbors. They have large processions and parades of Lucia and her Star boys. The star boys come collecting money for the poor.

We started celebrating this holiday when Madeline was 3 or 4. We decided we wanted to honor our ancestors by starting a tradition in our own family. We have changed a few things. We take treats to neighbors at night. This year, I made traditional Pepperkakor cookies, gingerbread cookies, and German Pretzels (prayer bread). The pretzel recipe is similar to Lucia buns, excluding saffron and raisins, and we love them. Besides, they are a nod to our German ancestors. Niko and Christopher are wearing Norwegian clothes (more ancestors) instead of the Swedish star boy outfits. Maybe next year, we'll add British crackers and a French pastry to include all our ancestors into our Christmas tradition...

Happy Santa Lucia Day! God Jul!

O Christmas Tree!

What is one of the cutest things? Listening to Niko sing "O Chihhmaaa Rree, oh Chihhmaa Rree."

Holidays are even more wonderful with children! They get so excited about the tiniest of details. They actually stop and smell the flowers, even when they are fake.:)

Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for:

Family

Friends

Gospel

Home

Cars

Jobs

Peace

a child's view of the world

& the beauty of nature to name a few

We celebrated at my brother's. I had to work Thanksgiving Day. Our celebration was short but sweet.

Halloween 2011

Niko loved Halloween. He loved to say trick or treat, he loved the candy, and he even went through the spook alley in the church hallway at our trunk-or-treat event. Madeline and Christopher enjoyed the holiday, too. You're never too old for candy and playing dress-up. Here in our town, everyone is out to enjoy the evening whether in costume or not. It helps that we usually have good weather. It is a great way to visit with neighbors whom we don't always get to see because of our busy schedules.

Happy 40th Birthday Rick!

Job Hunt 101

The last month has been full of choices. I have been deciding whether or not I should take early retirement and become a teacher.

As I was taught by my parents, I made a decision, prayed about it and then did everything I could do to make that decision work. If it was the right decision, they taught me that I would feel at peace and things would work for my good. If the decision was wrong, I would feel restless and confused. Since about the 15th of August, here's a list of what I've been doing:

• First, I put in for Certification in German from the state of Florida.
• I made up a simple Resume, and asked for referrals.
• I called my friend who happens to work in the district offices, and visited her to get advice from her and her friends at the office. They told me I needed to take a test to be certified in Elementary Education.
• I studied for 1 1/2 days, took the 4 1/2 hour test and passed -with definite help from the Lord on the math part. :)
• I called LDS Employment Services and re-worked my Resume and took notes about interviewing and ideas for job searching.
• I applied for Certification from FLDOE for Elementary K-6.
• I sent Resumes and filled out applications for Orange, Osecola, Polk and Lake counties.
• I faxed or emailed Resumes to schools that were hiring.
• I hand-delivered Resumes to certain schools I was interested in.
• I pulled up Google Maps and started sending my resume to schools, including private schools that were not hiring, and within close proximity to my house.
• I prayed.
• I told all my friends that are currently teachers to put in a good word for me and asked them for advice.
• When I still hadn't found a job two days before my deadline (September 16) for Continental, I fasted.

In the meantime, I have been teaching early morning Seminary, watching a two-year old, , dealing with teenage drama, working at my job at night, and trying to maintain some order in my house.

Am I frazzled? Yes. Tired? Yes. Confused? No. I feel like this is the right decision for my family and that something is going to happen.

Last Wednesday, I got an Email from the local Montessori school about a possible opening. I met with the director, and it all seemed like I would start working there today. I thought it was the perfect answer, because I could take Nikolas with me. I put in for early retirement Thursday.

Well, today she tells me that she is still unsure.

So the job hunt begins again, and I'm not sure what to tell Continental. I have yet to tell any of my friends at work about this decision and that has been challenging as well.

Continental extended the release date for retirement until September 2012-next year. My local Supervisors have decided that I can give them my final work date. So I still have many decisions to be made, but I feel like the Lord is mindful of me, and will help me whatever the outcome may or should be.

Btw- that Book of Mormon is in German that she's reading.:)

Lord of the Plants

A few days after scout camp, I went to wake up Christopher, and I found this kid in his place. Apparently, he is allergic to some plant at the camp in Georgia. It was strange, because it wasn't an instant reaction.

You know it's bad when the doctor calls after hours to tell you to make sure he's breathing. He had to go on some strong medicines to get the swelling down and take away the reaction. The rash lasted about a week and a half, and was extremely itchy and painful. Poor kid. Luckily, he didn't scar and is back to his normal self.

I already worry about sending him to camp, and now I have real reason to worry about next year. Can you say Epi- Pen?

This year, the camp was all mormon. All of the stakes from Georgia and our ward went at the same time and they had a general authority as well at their firesides. Did I hear anything about that? Nope- All I heard about was the white water rafting and snakes, and that is including from the boys who gave talks/testimonies in sacrament meeting after camp.

Some new friends

We've been seeing the sites, and here are some friends we've made along the way...

You say it's your birthday.

I can't believe you're 14! Happy birthday to my bright buddy!

A different world

It's pretty quiet around here. My daughter is in Europe, my older son is in boy heaven (a.k.a. scout camp), and my husband is somewhere in the midwest. Last week was a rough week trying to get everything arranged, but I feel much calmer now.

My niece flew out to babysit Nikolas while I go to work. Today we went to the beach before I went to work. We had a tropical storm sitting out in the Atlantic, so we had some great waves for boogie boarding.

Quebec

ok..so I love collages.

Mont Tremblant

Montreal botanical garden

Our new pets

Meet Finnegan ( Finn for short) the dog, and Oslo the hedgehog. Oslo is nocturnal, so we haven't seen much of his personality yet.

Finnegan loves us already. He is a rescue dog, part Terrier and Chihuahua, and so sweet. They think he is about six months to a year old. Niko likes to follow Finn, when Finn isn't following Niko.

Last night we woke up to Finnegan barking. He isn't much of a barker, so we were surprised. He had found Oslo running on his wheel in his cage in the art studio. ( The door had been left open.) I think the pets were not too keen on each other. :)

Seminary

"We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first.... When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.... We should give God, the Father of our spirits, an exclusive preeminence in our lives" Ezra Taft Benson

Today was the last day of Seminary for this school year and the temporary end of learning about Church history and the Doctrine and Covenants. I am grateful for this calling, even though it is definitely not an easy one. The hardest part of my calling this year has been trying to find the time to prepare lessons. But, I struggled through, and if the lesson didn't go just right, I taught it over again a different way the next day. Seminary is forgiving.

I have had students who didn't want to be in class and made sure to let everyone know it. But I have also had fun times with eager-to-learn students. I have had wonderful experiences of feeling the Holy Ghost guide my words and fill the classroom with truth and knowledge of what we were learning. I have had the chance to re-learn the challenges and strengths of the early saints. I am so grateful for their testimonies and examples of faith.

Thank you, Seminary, for teaching me!

Grandma Barbara's visit

We had a great time with grandma Barbara! We organized, went to the park, spent a few sweaty hours at Epcot looking at flowers, made projects, cooked, cleaned, and told stories.

~I had my song group ( Rejoice) practice one Friday night and our warm up song just happened to be the hymn "Carry On". My mom remembered that she had sung that with a YW choir in conference when David O. McKay was the prophet! So awesome!

~ My mom was talking about my great-grandparents, the Baers, and how she loved to visit them, even when they were both bed-ridden. She says they were just like the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grandparents. They were my dad's mom's parents. They were from Virginia, but lived in California at that time. She said they both had such a great sense of humor.

Sweet 16!

I am so grateful for such a sweet daughter with a strong testimony of the gospel!

easter

Nikolas is a chocolate snob .. He prefers European or good chocolate. He will take a bite, and then spit it out if it doesn't meet his high standards. I totally agree. Why have chocolate that doesn't taste good? .. He liked the bunny ( Hershey's milk chocolate) and loves Cadbury mini eggs. Don't we all?

March of Dimes

And the winner is... J. Tucker, Dallas, TX! Congratulations!

http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?pp=3228342&ct=4&w=4788208&u=beckatmco

Learning to talk

Nikolas is just learning to talk, but he definitely has a sense of humor. He has come up with three different names for his dad.

Dada- if he gets to play all day with him

Dadoo- if dad has to go to work or paint

and our favorite...

Doodoo- when dad is home, but leaves the room when Niko wants him to play with him

and who says babies don't understand us? :)

General Conference

I listened to Conference this weekend, and I loved it! I wasn't able to hear the last session Sunday, so I was listening to it on my way to work on my ipod. That may not be the best idea. I was listening to Elder Richard G Scott's talk while on the employee shuttle bus, and he started talking about his little boy who passed away, and the sweet moments he had shared with him. After tearing up, I had to regain my composure, and prepare myself for the work day ahead.

I loved Elder Uchtdorf's comment "you may be texting right now.. it's ten minutes into his talk and he hasn't used an aviation analogy yet. " And then his remark that we should use the technology we have, but for good.

I love hearing from our leaders who chasten and uplift us. I am glad to be part of such an amazing church- the church of Jesus Christ. As I have traveled around to different parts of the country or world, my testimony grows stronger of the gospel. We have the keys of the kingdom of god on earth. We have a living prophet to guide us through this world. Thanks for the messages. I needed them.

Viva la Roma!

Niko is 2!

Cupcakes with Nutella frosting and pony rides with his cousins!

Airline mergers

I've always heard that "change is good. " But the question is, is it for the good of all?

Goodbye, Continental, you will be missed.

Vacation-sort-of

Naples, FL:

Art-show- beautiful location- So/So show

Weather- perfect

Niko-sick again with a high fever

M& C - always hungry

I love this town

I took this picture after an early morning walk/bike ride last week with Niko. I really love where I live. It's beautiful!

Sorry

In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry. ~Margaret Laurence

This word comes in very handy with teenagers in the house both for me and for them. Luckily, we all know how to forgive. :)

Luck!

Give my regards to Broadway!

Spent an amazing day in NYC with my awesome daughter, Madeline last Saturday!

We saw Mary Poppins in box seats for student prices! And it didn't even snow until we were on our way home.

A New Year

I think it is good to have fresh starts and set goals. I have a friend who started a spiritual and physical journey this year. I am amazed by her internal strength and spiritual awareness.

Another friend posted this article:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700101459/Mormon-mommy-blogs-immensely-popular-beyond-LDS-sphere.html

What are we using our blogs/journals for? I started this blog to get me through a really hard time in my life- a pregnancy after a loss. In this article, it states that sometimes we sugar-coat our lives. Well, of course we do. There are some things that we don't want everyone to have access to, and other things we'd rather forget. And isn't attitude everything- so we write positive things instead of negative. But are we losing some honesty in the process? I remember after my dad died, we read his journals and discovered he was in almost constant pain. He did not speak of it, but in his journal he could write about his true feelings.

Happy New Year!

I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!

The kids and I spent the first day of 2011 at Bonita Springs Beach, while hubby was working at the Naples Art Show.

I love winter in Florida!

~New year's Resolution #1-Go to the West coast Florida beaches more often. (The sand does not stick to you and is powder soft.. love it!)