Farewell to Grandma Hessing

Yesterday, January 23rd, Grandma Hessing passed on and returned to the arms of Grandpa. I know she has been missing him for quite some time and I'm positive that the reunion was sweet. We, however, will miss her. I will miss her brilliant smile that she was always so willing to share with everyone. She appreciated all of the little things going on around her. I will miss her at the family parties, sitting quietly in the corner, watching all the comings and goings, happy to be there. She was a delight to have because she loved everything you made, especially dessert-- she would often have a little taste of each. (I'm glad to know that as you get older you don't have to worry about the waistline!) She was a great example of loving and serving. She was always concerned about everyone and would feel true grief when someone was suffering. I will remember the few visits I had to her home in Boise when James and I were first married. Grandma and Grandpa were always so happy to have us there. It was a real treat to have Grandma cook for you and we were always included in the morning scripture study. One of my favorite memories was when I found her copy of the book "The Robe." I had just finished reading the book so I commented on it. Grandma stopped what she was doing, came over and picked up the book, and with a tear in her eye, told me that was her very favorite book. We then talked about what makes that book so great. Hopefully, I can get James to share some thoughts but I know one phrase that Grandma said that will always stick with him. She would always remind James to be "a Jesus boy".

Luke says he will miss her greeting him with a "Hello Luke" everytime he saw her. Lindsey will miss her sweet smile. Heather says she will remember her voice and how it was so kind and made her feel happy. Savannah says she was always nice. I hope the kids will remember visiting her in the care center before Christmas and singing Christmas songs to her. I know that was a great experience for them.

I think of the hymn "Each Life that Touches Ours For Good" and I can honestly say that my life is better because Grandma Hessing touched it.

Myjobchart.com

I found this link on another person's blog and thought I would give it a try. I think this is a great idea and wanted to share it. Myjobchart.com let's you assign jobs to your kids on the computer. They get to login under their own name and picture, view their jobs, and check the job off when they are done. You assign each job a point value and you can decide what the points represent. It will also email or text the parent when the job is completed-- a little over the top, I know, but if you're into that kind of thing. The idea is that kids are so computer oriented nowadays, this is something that they will enjoy doing. My kids are real excited about it and I am too. I'll let you know how it goes but you may want to check it out. By the way, it's free!

Science

We had a week full of science. Luke and Lindsey both participated in the school science fair and Heather was "scientist of the week" in her class. I have heard many complaints from parents about the science fair but I am actually a big fan of the fair. I know it takes a lot of work and time but it is one activity that I think teaches the kids some valuable things. That being said, we were a little stressed trying to get two projects done. The projects themselves weren't bad, it's making the displays that seems to take so much time.

Luke's project was testing which spice emissions keep E. Coli from growing. If any of you were wondering, you can purchase E. Coli online. (I may be on the terror watch list now.) After ordering the E. Coli and petri dishes, Luke swabbed the petri dishes with the E. Coli. Then he put a teaspoon of spices in the lid of the petri dish, turned the petri dish upside down so the spice is at the bottom and not touching the agar. He sealed the petri dishes and let them grow for a few days. His results showed that cinnamon kept the E. Coli from growing. Runner up was lemon juice.

Lindsey examined what happens to the sugar bond as the temperature rises. She boiled a sugar solution and took out spoonfuls of the solution as the temperature rose 25 degrees. After letting the spoonfuls sit for a few minutes to reach room temperature, she analyzed the texture, taste and color of each spoonful. Lindsey, unfortunately, had to try a few different experiments to get one to work. She started out trying to grow bean plants with different color of filters and she also tried to find ways to keep erwinia caratova (a bacteria on carrots) from growing. Neither of these were successful or needed more time so we had to find one we knew would work. She ended up really enjoying what she did in the end and she learned a lot about the scientific process.

Luke got a first place and Lindsey got runner up to first place. It was explained to me that this is somewhere between first and second-- whatever that means.

Heather got to present a science project to her class. We had a bag of polymers. She demonstrated to her class what happens when you add water to the polymers. The polymers absorb the water completely. This is the same stuff that is in diapers and keeps them from leaking. She had the class guess what product the stuff was in. Being third graders, when they found out it was diapers, thought it was hilarious. I told the kids not to go home and pull diapers apart to find it but I was told at church today that at least one little boy went home and did just that!

Winter Wonderland

We have been experiencing quit a big of fog lately. Every night the fog rolls in and some days it doesn't roll out until afternoon. I actually really like it. The fog is mysterious, you never know what's lurking around the corner. One of the advantages of having fog is the residue of frost it leaves everywhere. I took my camera to Jensen Park (this is a park I like to jog at) and took some pictures as I made my way around the paths. This is what we are experiencing here right now.

2010

The new year has been rung in and we are starting down the path of 2010. We had a fun New Year's. It was pretty low key with the kids but it was nice and relaxing. I took the kids to the movies earlier in the day then that evening James and I went out with some friends for dinner and came back to watch a movie. Luke had some friends over for a small party. By midnight, James and half the kids were asleep. The other half ran outside to bang pots and pans and run around. Then I tucked everyone into bed.

New Year's Day we had a fun family day. We had our traditional chocolate breakfast. We decided a couple of years ago that chocolate always makes things better so why not start the year off with it. We have chocolate milk, chocolate cereal, chocolate pancakes, etc. Around the breakfast table we plan out the year as best we can. Later, I met with all the kids and helped them set goals for the year. My goal is to help them follow up on their goals!

Our first week of this new year has been good. The kids headed back to school for a couple of weeks. They go off track later in the month. Before that happens, they have the science fair and the spelling bee. We have been busy working on those projects.

James left for Las Vegas this week with his good friend. They have decided to make it a tradition to attend a convention down there. They went last year and went again this year. At the convention they get to see all the new and latest technology that will be released. I can tell how exciting it is for James as he calls me and tells me about all the interesting things he sees. I'm glad he and his friend are able to attend the convention together.

I have made it a goal to de-clutter!! I began my journey this week. It is amazing how much junk a family accumulates. We have been here for six years, and while you try to keep the clutter under control, things pile up when you don't move from one house to another. I have discovered that the more I de-junk, the more areas I find that need attention. This project is going to take some time but if I am persistent we should be junk-free before the year is up. I have actually been reading a book that points out what "junk" is. It is written with a lot of humor and I laugh at nearly every chapter because I realize they all apply to me/us. It has been an eye opener but also very freeing. This week I made two trips to Deseret Industries and one to the trash pile. We'll see what next week brings--or gets rid of.

Do Snores Live in Beaver?

When we were in Beaver, I asked Matthew if he would like to sleep with Dad or Heather. His first response was he would like to sleep with dad, then he said, "Actually, do Dad's snores come down here too?" I told him they did, then he said, "I'll sleep with Heather."

Christmas Day

Christmas day is always full of excitement. The kids were kind enough to let us sleep in until 7:00 am then they insisted we get up to open presents. Weeks of searching, buying, shipping, and wrapping come together and it's over in about an hour. Watching the people you love and care about react to the gifts you've chosen makes that hour priceless.

We had a good Christmas. We are very blessed. We were blessed this year to give our kids most of the things they wanted and to be able to help some others do the same for their kids. At Christmastime we become much more aware of the needs of those around us, in fact we seek out people to serve. I had a few people come knock on our door and ask if we knew who needed assistance. It's too bad we don't do that throughout the year--seek out those who might need help. I'm guilty of this and I hope to do better.

After all the gifts were opened, most of the mess was cleaned up, and James and I had had a nap, we had a nice Christmas dinner. We talked about the things we were thankful for and what our favorite gifts were.
It's funny that what I think will be their favorite gift isn't usually the case. Matthew, of course, was thrilled with everything but I think he liked his four-wheeler the best. Savannah's favorite gift was her twin dolls. Heather claims she liked them all the same. Lindsey chose her Ipod as her favorite and Luke's was the same. James favorite gift was the Star Trek Enterprise Collectible ship I got him. It's always nice when I can find something that he likes that is a complete surprise. I decided boys like toys no matter the age, they just get more expensive as the boy gets older. My favorite gift was the wedding DVD James did along with the many other gifts he and the kids got me.


We ended the day by driving down to Beaver. It worked out great because the kids fell asleep and slept most of the way down there. Luke sat up front with me and we talked a lot of the way down. That in itself was a priceless gift.

Christmas Eve

I've decided that I enjoy Christmas Eve a tad bit more than Christmas Day. There is a feeling of anticipation and excitement in the kids which puts them on their best behavior. This year I had most things wrapped and ready to go so I was able to really enjoy the day.

James and I went shopping together in the day. We had a great time together and may start making a tradition of it. James took me to pick up some things that he had in mind for gifts for me and I gave him some input on if I'd like it or not. There was a time when I would be offended that he didn't know me well enough to get the right gift but after years of interesting gifts, I've decided this way is better. We had a great day together shopping and laughing. I think this might become a tradition for us.

As the sun started to set we began the festivities with the kids. We started with the hiding of the pajamas. My kids kept telling me to hide them in hard places but then they complained when they couldn't find them. Everyone seemed to like the pajamas they got. After pajamas we had dinner. I decided to borrow a tradition from Mark and Elizabeth and do soup and smoothies. We usually do a big, fancy dinner but after thinking it through, I decided I'd rather do the dinner on Christmas day when festivities were dying down. The soup and smoothies was a big hit and we'll do that from now on.

Our family gift exchange was next. The kids had drawn names and were supposed to give gifts from the heart--something they make for each other or put extra thought into. Luke gave Lindsey some boxes of Special K (her favorite cereal), and some earrings. Lindsey gave Luke a game that he had said was his favorite. Heather painted a tray for Matthew. The kids had all painted trays to carry food on a few years ago and Matthew didn't have one so Heather painted him one. Savannah picked out a toy for Heather and Matthew did the same for Savannah. James actually came up with the best gift from the heart. He found our Wedding video and had it put onto a DVD. I was really surprised, I thought we had lost that footage when we moved to Utah.

Our final activity was to watch slideshows of the kids throughout the year. James did a great job putting these together. Kids always like to watch themselves on the big screen. It was fun to relive some of the memories throughout the year. We ended with the movie of the nativity and the kids headed off to bed. James and I tried to get them to watch our wedding but they weren't nearly as interested in it as we were. James and I stayed and watched it together. My how people have changed over the years, including us.

Anderson Christmas Party

It was our turn this year to host the Anderson Christmas Party. The big night was held December 21st. We started off with a big Christmas dinner; turkey, ham, and all the trimmings. James and I borrowed a couple of tables from the Church making it possible to sit most of the kids together and putting all of the adults together. Dinner always leads into chatting for the adults and playing together for the cousins.
After hanging out for a while, we went down to the theatre room and watched a movie that I had put together about Anderson Christmas traditions. My goal was to get some information about Dan and Marcia and their memories and tie it in with traditions that have been passed down. It didn't come together as I imagined it but I think, in the end, the interviews of Dan and Marcia are fun and priceless.

When the movie was over we moved to the gift giving. We each had a family we had gotten gifts for. Davin and Mary had us. The girls loved the rings they got and the boys were very excited for the marshmallow shooters. Mary gave me a really cute apron and recipe holder. The apron is so cute I hate to wear it and get it dirty.

For dessert I set up the chocolate fountain. This seems to be a great hit with the kids. The girls especially loved it. They had fun congregating around the counter giggling and trying different combinations.

We ended the night with the traditional nativity. The kids dressed up in the costumes that have been passed down from the time their dads were kids. Taylor read the story from the bible as the kids acted it out. We all sang carols at the closing. Making memories with family is part of what makes Christmas so great.