Happy Valentine's Day!

It was a typical Valentine's Day. Dozens of cards for schoolmates, gifts for teachers, heart-shaped hairdos and lots of red and pink to wear. 

But before we get sucked in by all the mushiness of the holiday, let's check in with Sydney and see what she thinks about relationships with boys:

I believe Noah is a boy in her preschool who has a bit of a crush on her so he's being a boy- bugging her and irritating her and horror of horrors- knocking down the tower of blocks she worked so hard to build! There are more boys than girls in her class, by a lot and I guess the ever-cheerful Sydney finds them all a touch cranky for her taste.

But I love how Sydney presses those little hands to her chest and explains that Daddy isn't cranky... he's definitely the exception in her life. And he doesn't just have her heart, he "fixed" her heart. 

True to form, these lovelies arrived for me and the girls.

I don't think anyone in the world could love that little girl more than her father.

Pew Politics

I had a meeting before church on Sunday and rather than take Brent's aging sedan, we prepped the girls early and headed over as a family. While I was in my meeting, Brent did something rather shocking, and downright indecent.

He switched pews. 

See, we always sit in the very front, middle pew. As our family grew, we reasoned the closer we were to the speaker at the podium, the more likely we all were to listen. My years of business travel have scarred me for sitting in tight rows so the extra legroom is a bonus. Not to mention Brent likes to pack like he's hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro even when he's just walking a block away. It makes me cringe to see people tripping over his ginormous Land's End canvas bag (originally purchased for grocery shopping purposes only) as they scoot past us on tiptoe. The great secret about the front row is nobody wants to sit there, so we have it all to ourselves.

If we sat further back, the girls would likely see other children whose parents are a bit more generous with snacks and iPods during the 75 minute sacrament meeting. We didn't want our daughters getting ideas in their heads and while we are officially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brent and I must have come from strict Puritan stock. No snacks! No iPods! Sit up! Be quiet! We feel strongly our girls can make do with a handful of crayons, and a small notebook. Or rather, I feel strongly. Apparently Brent has changed his mind. 

Fed up with not getting anything out of church, Brent thought sliding us to the side would somehow improve the situation. It certainly did for him- he had the older 3 sitting in the pew behind us, allegedly so he could interact with them easier than when they are spread out down a long bench. Turns out this is right in front of Sister Stewart, who absolutely spoils the girls with Oreos and coloring books and yes- her iPod. They happily colored, ate and swiped away. Brent didn't seem to notice he had planted us right next to a door and a large window. I spent sacrament with a steady flow of cold air on my legs with only a layer of "ultra sheer" Hanes nylons protecting me from the frigid onslaught. Brent sat happily in his dress shirt and pants, tie, and cozy vest wondering what my problem was. 

Like a game of Jenga, Brent's move toppled so many other pieces in the church pew game. The Douglas' looked utterly lost and finally settled in behind the young men passing the sacrament. The head of the McMullin clan had decided to make a bold move similar to Brent's so the Martins (who sit behind us) had no choice but to take our place in the front row. Michelle Renzi who also sits behind us just looked sad, and lonely. Even Bishop commented about our move before he headed up to the stand. It was mayhem- utter bedlam, and afterward Brent and I engaged in a war of words not seen since the Clinton vs Trump debates. The whole thing was wrong, just wrong. 

In the aftermath of it all, I've been thinking about the churches around Boston. Various trips down the Freedom Trail with visiting friends and family, Easter concerts and Midnight Mass and my own occasional meandering during my lunch hour gave me many opportunities to tour many a place of worship. Lots of them have a little plaque outside the pew, like this one at the Old North Church:  

Brent and I are still divided on where we will sit this Sunday. I have to say I'm tempted to bring my label maker to firmly establish our pew and put an end to all this nonsense. No doubt our descendants will thank us for it.

And I'm certain our Puritan forbears will approve.

The Chocolate Challenge

Every New Year's marks the beginning and end of the Chocolate Challenge. For each month the girls go off of chocolate, they get $10. However, if they make it the entire year, both sets of grandparents match the $120 for a grand total of $360. If the girls can hold out, they essentially earn a dollar a day just for not eating chocolate. And there is a big chocolate party at the end where they can eat everything they denied themselves throughout the year. 

The first year we introduced it, Ireland went alone and made it a whopping 4 1/2 months. The next year Liesel decided to join her and they both held out 3 1/2 months. Easter was the undoing on that one. Turns out 2017 was THE year and both girls made it the entire year without eating chocolate. The biggest hurdles are Valentine's Day and Easter- big chocolate holidays. Then it's pretty smooth sailing until Halloween. By Christmas, they were so deeply in the habit of turning down chocolate, it was no longer a big deal. That's not to say they weren't eagerly looking forward to January 1 when they could once again eat chocolate. 

Here is their first taste of chocolate upon completing the challenge.

While a handful of chocolate chips is a sweet introduction back into chocolate, I really felt the girls deserved something more. The next day, I treated them to The Cheesecake Factory. Liesel opted for the decadent s'mores while Ireland went for the scrumptious Oreo cookie. Chocolate never tasted so good! I mean, look at those smiles. 

A core concept of the Chocolate Challenge is going without something you want now for something you want even more later. Some of the skills we hope the challenge develops are self-discipline, money-management, sacrifice, delayed gratification, patience, healthy eating habits, independence, big-picture thinking and honesty.

We've actually received a little criticism for the challenge. One person asked if I thought this was teaching the girls to diet at a young age. I reminded them that the challenge isn't to go entirely off of sweets, just chocolate. All year long we helped the girls find alternatives to chocolate and strawberry cupcakes became a huge favorite. Even though we adamantly asked everyone not to, some people felt pressured to create an alternative for the girls when they went to events like birthday parties. We told the girls from the get-go they would simply have to go without sometimes while everyone around them enjoyed a chocolaty treat. Even though the girls became accustomed to this, there were still people who felt it wasn't fair and voiced their frustration with us and this challenge.

Over Winter Break we visited the Museum of Science and Industry and the girls noticed a little corner we hadn't paid much attention to on previous trips. It was a display about how eliminating certain bad foods can save you calories in the long term. At one end was a can of soda and at the other was a chocolate candy bar.

The average person can lose 26 lbs in a year by not eating candy bars! You could lift up the candy bar and inside the box was the weight so you could see how that adds up. Liesel and Ireland had to lift it together because it was so heavy.

The display kept going blank right when I snapped the photo, but you get the idea.

 I loved seeing them marvel at what they had accomplished.

The Chocolate Party was pretty darn epic. Even though we put a fire in the fireplace and set out pretty much every chair we own in the family room, everyone congregated in the kitchen while kids played downstairs. The place was bursting and my intentions of getting pictures of all the different kinds of chocolate went out the window as I was caught up in so many wonderful conversations. We had friends from church, school, and the neighborhood. People commented that they could smell the chocolate as soon as they walked in the door!

I did manage to get a photo of all the shoes and some coats (even though we had a temporary coat closet just off camera)...

...and the chocolate fountain that was a gift to the girls from Julie. This is what it looked like by the end of the night- you can't even read the sign that says "NO DOUBLE DIPPING!" Pineapple turned out to be a favorite although we provided various fruits, pretzel sticks, potato chips, red vines and Swedish fish.

We had SO much chocolate!!! From the mini-candy bars to the exotic chocolates around the world, there was something for every chocolate lover. Liesel and Ireland loved talking about how they made it through the challenge and what they were going to do with their chocolate money. Liesel used it for more dance classes and Ireland is saving up for a trip to Ireland. 

The girls are taking a break for 2018 but they are determined to do the Chocolate Challenge again in 2019. I have to admit, I didn't think they'd make it and more than once, Brent and I forgot about it entirely until Liesel would sweetly refuse the hot chocolate Brent made her or Ireland would just smile at me as I handed her the last portion of the chocolate donut I didn't want. They deeply impressed us with their determination to finish this challenge and I'm so very, very proud of them!!!

Merry Christmas!

Our fancy meal on Christmas Eve was pretty darn fabulous with Mom and Dad supplying a hefty ham and Brent trying his hand at the Nielsen recipe of Aunt Bea's potatoes. Hands down the best we'd ever had. Mom made her savory rolls and there were plenty of leftovers to feast on Christmas Day. Mom and Dad went to bed early while Whitney stayed up with us to watch A Christmas Story as we stuffed the stockings.

I don't think the girls ever really went to sleep on Christmas Eve. Although they have separate bedrooms, we kept seeing flashes of them running up and down the hallway and heard them chattering away until at least 3AM. With all of that excitement, the girls were pretty groggy when they finally descended the stairs after Brent rang the bell. 

Ireland wanted her turn as Saint Lucia. We brought Mom and Dad a breakfast tray of hot chocolate and warmed up rolls with jam.

They leisurely ate breakfast in bed while the girls tore into their stockings. It always interests me what the girls get most excited about but everyone is so happy to get their can of Pringles.

 One of my favorite traditions is sharing Pringle pics with my siblings on Christmas day!

The Cranes had us for gift exchange this year and Katrina gave the girls these adorable skirts.

On the flip side, we just happened to have Whitney and Tim for gift exchange and it was fun to see Whitney's reaction when she opened her gift. It's one of the fancy schmancy aprons worn by the barista's at Starbucks Reserve Roastery. 

Whitney had been Jonesing for one for years.

Another favorite is the gift exchange between the girls. Sydney really wanted to wrap her gifts herself and aside from measuring out the wrapping paper and handing her strips of neon pink duct tape (she decided regular tape wasn't getting the job done), she really did do it all herself. I loved her lovingly, securely, imperfect wrapping job.

One of the heart-melting presents is one Brigitta requested I help her with for Brent. A few weeks earlier, she had accidentally broken a glass cup. Brent was pretty upset about the mess and after that Brigitta whispered to me that she wanted to get him a new one for Christmas. It was the sweetest thing. She was trying so hard to make her wrong right and as you can see, Brent was touched.

Brigitta also used duct tape on her wrapping job which made her gift to Sydney a little difficult to open. See all that effort on her face?

Attempting another angle...

With great effort, finally getting an end open.

Brent wore these antlers pretty much all day... with the tag still on them. Sydney just knew he'd love them!

Grandma Wuehler sent along these hand-knitted hats for the girls and they quickly became favorite winter wear.

Reagan flew in that evening and so we kept the party going by celebrating her birthday which was Christmas Eve.

She really wanted this robe, but they were sold out in the store near her so I checked ours and voila! It was available in her size. Even though she grew up here, the frigid midwest winters are always quite the shock to her system so that cozy robe was perfect for her. 

Having family around for Christmas was fun but getting even more family by the end of the day was even better. We all got to go shopping at the American Girl store and eat Lou Malnati's pizza and go see Pitch Perfect 3. It was so much fun, I never wanted it to end. 

It's all about family.

Our Christmas Card

Last year as we headed into the Christmas season, our SUV tire tread was worn down to dangerously low levels. Even in the rain, I'd felt the car slide a bit. Facing another infamous Chicago winter, I knew we were gambling the longer we drove on them. We had to replace them, and the timing couldn't have been worse. Brent and I agreed to forgo Christmas cards to help cushion the blow of this hefty expense. But I was bummed. REALLY bummed. Christmas cards are my favorite part of the season.

That year sans Christmas cards just made this year's card all the more exciting. With four daughters, I really wanted to find a pink card that would stand out among all the red and green cards. Initially, I intended to have a family photo taken at the same time as Sydney's birthday photos. Then Julie snapped this one of us when we all hiked Kirby Cove during our trip to San Francisco and I knew it just had to be on our Christmas card. We all fell in love with hiking last summer, and that reflects on our faces here. I love how the girls are leaning into each other but not in a terribly posed manner with fake smiles. I love how the tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background is closer to Brent than to me- especially since it is his hometown. It's natural and urban all at once. And the girls were wearing pink. Perfect.

It seems few people do the chatty family newsletters anymore and I, too, considered eschewing it. But with a two-year gap since our last card, I really did want to catch everyone up on what we were up to. I hope I made the right choice!

To Our Dear Friends and Family,

Before launching into our annual Christmas Newsletter, I’d like to address the photo of our family in front of San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Bridge. We are not sending this card to brag about the fact we took a big, expensive vacation to the West Coast. This simply happens to be the best photo we have of our family from the past year. With that said, let’s get down to business and talk about what the Wuehler Family has been up to in 2017. 

We took a big, expensive vacation to the West Coast this summer!!! It's actually been quite a while since we've traveled so far and so extensively. As the girls grow older, it indubitably gets easier, but there are plenty of travel hacks we adhered to during our journey.

Packing: Utilize space thoughtfully. Roll the clothes, don’t fold!
This past year Liesel (9) has deftly fit in a number of activities including Girl Scouts, Activity Days, ASL Club, dance and swimming. She also joined Girls on the Run and ran her first 5K! Not to brag (OK, maybe a little), but she’s in her school’s gifted program for language arts. On top of all that, Liesel is suffering through braces as well. Her favorite part of vacation? Swimming with dolphins! 

Security: Slip-on shoes and a smile!
Ireland (7) continues to be the easy-going, happy girl she’s always been. Dozens of friends seemingly line up to hang out with her as she gets along with just about everyone. She is also enjoying Girl Scouts, ASL Club, dance and swimming. This summer Ireland mastered the monkey bars and now that her hands are good and calloused, she is intent on conquering the rope climb too. Not to brag (OK, maybe a little more), but she’s working with her school’s gifted teacher in language arts and math. Hiking to Corkscrew Tree in the Redwood National Park was Ireland’s most memorable moment from vacation.

Boarding: We are all going the same place, don’t be pushy!
A very eager Brigitta (5) started kindergarten this fall. She’s the one child we never have to remind regarding homework as she completes it the second she walks in the door. Ready to run with the big dogs, she threw herself into dance and swimming as well this year. After enjoying tap on her own, Liesel and Ireland joined her. Their number to Lollipop at the spring recital was adorable. Her favorite part of vacation was rolling in the sand at the beach of Cape Perpetua in Oregon.

Accommodations: A soft bed and a good breakfast are key!
Sydney (4) began preschool this fall and had swimming lessons sans Mom this past summer. She finally, FINALLY started dance along with her sisters! Participation in all the aforementioned activities required potty training and accomplishing that was quite the feat this year. Whoever wrote that children can be potty trained in a day was either very drunk or outright sadistic. Now that Sydney is past that hurdle, life is positively cushy. Sydney enjoyed all kinds of ice cream on vacation. From Salt N Straw in Portland to Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco, she was on a perpetual sugar high.

Adventure: Carpe Diem
Brent and I really enjoy team teaching our Primary class. After completing his duties with Boy Scouts, Brent has earned a reputation playing basketball as “White Shaq”. He has also taken up biking while Danika has a newfound love of CrossFit. Our travel highlights were hands down the hikes we took as a family: The Hobbit Trail in Oregon, Fern Canyon in the Redwood National Park, and Kirby Cove by the Golden Gate Bridge.

There's No Place Like Home: Don't take it for grantedNo matter your sojourn this year, we hope this newsletter finds you well, and looking forward to a New Year. While there is a lot of world to see out there, we found having roots to return to is equally as important. If you find yourself wandering this holiday season, may you return home to the assurance of the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. May his choicest blessing be upon you all. Merry Christmas!

My favorite thing about sending Christmas cards is the feeling that I'm sending a little love and cheer out into the world. My second favorite thing is getting cards in return!

Holiday Happenings

There was a lot of hustle and bustle around our house as the holidays kicked into high gear. First up was Brent's work holiday party. Actually, there was a cookie kick-off just before we headed out for the party and we volunteered to be "Cookie Parents" this year. The timing was so tight, we had to go to the kick-off dressed to the nines and I think the other parents thought we were taking the whole thing a touch too seriously.

As always, the party was fantastic! The food was insanely good and the bartender made us specialty non-alcoholic drinks. Mine was a "pink flamingo" while Brent had a "red dragon". The bartender told me he works at the Lincoln Park Zoo and so when he's tending bar on the side, he names all of his concoctions after animals.

I must be getting old because I usually find the music at these events too loud and I tire quickly of trying to yell over it. However, this year they had this incredibly violinist and I went crazy for her electric pink violin, electric pink shoes and fringed dress. I told her as much and she actually offered to give me the dress! 

These events are on the sophisticated side so no one is whipping out their phone for a selfie or taking videos, but I sneaked this one in because the violinist was just too fabulous. Unfortunately she took a bit of a break there in the middle, but you get the idea.

We took the girls to see Santa and again managed to double-book events! Ireland's Girl Scout troop was looking for volunteers to ring the bell for the Salvation Army bucket. I hadn't signed her up knowing this was the only Saturday we'd be able to slip in and see Santa. Turns out they were ringing right next to Santa's house! Rather than wait in line, Ireland rang the bell with her fellow scouts and encouraged donations. 

I thought instead of braids or pigtails, I would just flat-iron their hair so it would look beautifully smooth. It kind of ended up looking scraggly and boring but their bright smiles make up for it. 

Egads she's looking big on his lap!

This Santa is so sweet.

The line moves slowly because he really takes his time with each child.

Sydney's irritation with the cold melted away when her turn came.

 After seeing the Nutcracker with my mom last year, I wanted to take the girls to see it here in Chicago this year. Not only did Mom and Dad tag along, but Whitney and Tim as well. Beforehand we checked out Manny's Delicatessen which is THE premier deli in the Chicago area. All the cold weather had me craving a reuben with matzo ball soup. Mom and Dad fell in love with delis on their mission to New Jersey and Whitney had a hankering for a black and white cookie. We all walked out of Manny's VERY satisfied customers!

The Nutcracker is the very first performance the girls have been to. Liesel loved it, but Ireland had been struggling with asthma for a few days and it was really laid bare that night. She was coughing up a storm and after intermission she cuddled up next to Uncle Tim and fell asleep. I'm sad she missed it, but relieved she wasn't coughing anymore!

I really, really, really love this version of The Nutcracker. The original is about a wealthy girl at her parent's big party where she receives gifts from her generous uncle and then goes into a fantasy world. It's kind of a story of someone having it all and then getting more. Christopher Wheeldon's version is set here in Chicago, just before the World's Fair. It's the story of a poor immigrant family. Though they have little, they share what they have with their community. The Uncle Drosselmeyer character is the master of ceremonies who is creating buzz about the upcoming fair. The fantasy world is the World's Fair and all the numbers are various exhibits at the fair. It's just so brilliantly and beautifully done. If you'd like to see the PBS special on it, click here. It's so good!!!

I loved watching it with Whitney who took dance all growing up. She had so many thoughts and insights I had missed! She fell in love with this version as well.

The double-booking continued in the month when the girl's dress recital for dance was the same night as the 4th and 5th grade holiday concert. Needless to say, I'm much more comfortable with hair and makeup than Brent is, so we agreed I would take the younger 3 to the dress rehearsal while Brent supported Liesel at her concert. It gutted me to miss her concert and the morning of Liesel mentioned some parents were coming to the mid-day performance the kids were doing for the rest of the school. 

I'm so glad I got to see it! Watching the kids sitting criss-cross, apple sauce by class on the floor of the cafeteria brought sooo many memories back! My favorite number was This is My Wish and I teared up as these kids sang about raising a joyful noise, letting your light shine, and letting there be peace on earth. Great balls of fire, I'm tearing up right now just writing about it. 

I love the part where Liesel stops looking at the director to find me in the crowd. Oh yes, I'm glad I made it for this!

We miraculously had a Sunday where we were NOT double-booked. In fact, we had nothing at all on our schedule and we were looking forward to settling in for a long winter's nap. At the last minute, a sweet friend of mine invited us over to her house to sing carols. I'm not going to lie, I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to let her down when I didn't really have a good excuse either. Turns out that was just what we all needed.

While we were keeping up with the hustle and bustle, we weren't really feeling that elusive Christmas spirit. We were checking off To Do lists and running carpools and mailing packages and just trying to stay on top of everything. Our minds and hearts were occupied with managing all that double-booking.

Our hosts invited us all to give a brief testimony of Christ and then select a carol. Our hostess provided us with fun Christmas costumes for a photo op by the tree. That was the evening the Spirit of Christmas came into our hearts. As those testimonies washed over us and we sang those cherished songs, we finally felt the reason for the season. We were the only family with children there and not only was everyone so incredibly kind to them, they mentioned how much fun it was to have them around.

 It was Brent's first time dressing up as Santa!

We introduced the girls to Speak Out, one of our favorite games. 

Everyone was laughing and wiping away drool. Such a fun game!

There were other events that need their own post and some, like Pajama Run for Ice Cream, where I didn't manage to snap any pictures. All in all it was an extremely busy holiday season, but a memorable one nonetheless.

There is a Santa for Everyone Who Believes in Him

I will always remember this Christmas as the one where we had girls in both worlds of wholeheartedly and innocently believing, and growing into an understanding of the bigger message when it comes to Christmas. Oddly enough, I enjoyed them both immensely. 

Let's start with Sydney. While this was her very first Christmas party at the preschool, thanks to Ireland and Brigitta, it was my fourth. 

The songs were all familiar and so I knew when Santa would be making his entrance and planned to catch Sydney's reaction:

Oh what a reaction! The joy is just bursting out of her little body as she wildly claps and bounces on her toes and wildly waves at St. Nick. I particularly love how she presses her hands together and puts them up by her face- as if he was an answer to her prayer. 

At the other end of the spectrum was Liesel, who's suspicions about Santa Claus have been around for a while. As her questions increased, I finally had a private sit down with her to set the record straight. Is Santa Claus real? Absolutely. There really was a Saint Nicholas who slipped coins into the stockings that were drying by the fire for poor children. It is that spirit of giving and kindness that keeps him alive today. Is a fat man in a red suit going to slide down the chimney tonight? No. But while we're on the subject, the Elf on the Shelf is just for fun to help maintain that magic... and Dad and I are sick of doing it. So now it is your responsibility to move the Elf on the Shelf every night! Doesn't that sound like FUN?!?!?

Actually, when Liesel found out it meant sneaking out of her room after everyone had gone to bed and doing something creative with Lucy, she was ecstatic. I have to say for the first time I really, really enjoyed the Elf on the Shelf this year. The twinkle in Liesel's eyes when her sisters woke her up to tell her what Lucy did last night was just precious. It felt like we had a comrade in arms. Regrettably, I didn't capture all that Lucy did this year but here are a couple:

 She hid in the silverware drawer.

She managed to anger the little army men in the house.

Lucy also made a snow angel out of sugar, tp'ed the Christmas tree, cuddled into a jar, pooped chocolate chips, wrote on the bathroom mirror with lipstick and built a house out of various Christmas books.

One evening Liesel came to me a little panicked- she overheard Ireland telling Dad that Lucy's handwriting looked an awful lot like Liesel's. How was she going to keep Ireland from finding out? I couldn't help but smile at the consternation that was once mine. Ah sweet Liesel, someday she will find out and you will see that it's not so bad.

With that, I'd like to include this lovely editorial originally printed in 1897 known as Yes, Virginia...

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.

We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Winter Dance Recital

The girls did a wonderful job at this year's recital! I'm so proud of each of them for their dedication to dance. I'm also breathing a sigh of relief that we get a break from ubiquitous pick-up and drop-off at the studio. 

Let's start with Sydney who was by far the most excited about finally getting to be in hair, makeup and costume and getting her turn on the big stage.

She has truly loved her dance class and was so eager to get on stage!

She loved getting roses from Dad and, let's be honest, really dances for him.

I can't believe that Brigitta is now a seasoned dancer with a couple of recitals under her belt already. She again danced with her friend Amelia and they were adorable.

She, too, dances mostly for Dad and her eyes just light up when he gushes.

Last year they moved Ireland up into Liesel's class and I had more than a bit of trepidation about that shift. I don't want my daughters to be compared to each other but her teachers insisted she was ready. This year, Liesel bumped up again and Ireland was in class with just one other girl.

Rather than feeling bad that she wasn't picking up the choreography as fast as her sister, Ireland was free to just enjoy dance on her own level.

Liesel is running with the big dogs- girls who have been in dance for years and now that I think of it, she's been in for quite a while now too. All the girls in her ballet class also take something else like jazz/hip-hop, lyrical or tap. Liesel doesn't let that intimidate her one bit.

Watching our girls dance is always fun, but there are so many families from our ward who have daughters enrolled at the same studio, there's hard a number in the program without someone to watch out for. Amelia positively brought down the house with a number to Katy Perry's "Firework" and I found myself tearing up watching her dance do confidently across the stage.

I'm so grateful these girls have so many positive friends around them. I love these bun heads!

I'm glad they have dance as part of their lives.

Even if it can get a little crazy!