Merry Christmas!

It seems that since I spend more time on the computer than necessary, I have not been very good about sending out Christmas cards each year. The year seems to have just flown by and I'm trying to remember what we have done. My kids are still growing up, going to school, have various activities that we try to keep up with. We have gone to clogging recitals, clogging competition at Lagoon, been to Smithfield to visit Perry and last winter we went to California to haul cows. This year we will probably do the same things. Justin has decided at this moment to major in English Literature and Art. Candace is trying to decide between Psychology and Sociology. Shelby is in the pep band at school and Mayli is the one doing the clogging.

I have been the choir director at church and as mentioned in my facebook just recently finished with the Christmas Program. I am grateful that it is done. It takes time to pick out the music you want to use. This year I asked someone in the choir to help put together the narration for it and I think it worked out great! Took one more thing off my shoulders. It is always difficult to organize time to practice with everyone's schedules with holidays, stake conference, general conferences, vacations, baby blessings, missionary reports, and other family events to attend to. In the the past I have been a nervous wreck and found that even the "little pills" that aid my sanity haven't helped and have needed to seek a priesthood blessing from my husband. This year, however, I was a little more calm.

Mark started building a corral behind our house. We built a corral years ago behind his brothers' house but because the family farm is being sold we feel the need now to build another set of pens to put cows in when they are home. This will include building a loading chute and we will have a place to brand cows at our house instead of Craigs house. This still is not done! He has gone to get poles four times and it is a very time consuming job! Justin's roommates have come to help build the corral and we are finding that some know how to swing a 2 lb sledge and others just don't know how! It's kind of funny.

We are grateful we were able to sell all of our hay this year. We were worried that we would not be able to but I listed it on Craigslist and soon we had someone calling to purchase it. Now, what else can I sell? :)

I am still learning alot every day about what I should say and what I shouldn't. Still learning that having children out of high school presents other new and challenging things. I try to give advice and sometimes they just don't want to hear it. Guess they'll have to figure things out on their own!

Merry Christmas to my friends, family and those I haven't seen for a very long time!