November Tidbits

Sydney: I had a cheeseburger with onions and everything and it didn't even bother me!
Ireland: *sarcastically* WOW!!!
Liesel: You're in a bad mood.
Gita: She's not in a bad mood- she's in a funny mood with lots of yelling.

 Liesel was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. The pledge was:
I pledge myself to uphold the high purposes of the National Junior Honor Society to which I have been selected; I will be true to the principles for which it stands; I will be loyal to my school; and will maintain and encourage high standards of scholarship, service, leadership, citizenship and character.

I was folding laundry on the floor while Gita sat on my bed and chatted with me. Out of nowhere she said, "There's probably been 5000 farts in this bed. Ya know, because of Dad?" Then quietly to herself, "And me."

When I got my job at Daxko I decided to celebrate with this kitschy item I've always wanted but is (surprisingly) expensive. I was so excited when it arrived! Especially with how it arrived!

Yes, we now have a leg lamp ala A Christmas Story- my favorite Christmas movie of all time.

At long last the girls are fully vaccinated! We have been anticipating this for so long!

Stronger than yesterday!

This may look like a careless girl didn't hang up her stuff but this is actually pretty dang clever. The bathroom floor is heated so Liesel put her coat there to warm up just before she headed out into the cold. Brilliant- eh?

Me: *thinking the obvious answer of a cave* What else could we call this? 
Sydney: A ROCK HOUSE!!!

We visited a part of the MOSI we don't see often which deals with patterns and portions. I was fascinated by this- the length of a string is tied to how pleasing a sound it makes. Mind. Blown.

This talks about symmetry and mirroring- a technique of Bach- and how that creates beautiful music. You can rearrange the notes to try out different sounds. I love that at the end of the day, God is a god of order. He's an organizer and I feel like I can relate to the beauty in that.

After Parent-Teacher Conferences we took each of the girls aside to talk to them about their progress in school. Sydney said, "There are only two naughty kids in class and one of them is NOT me!"

These signs are all over Chicago. This one is just outside a store that sells signs and stickers and I wanted to get Reagan one for her birthday. Every time I come across one, I kinda need the message!

Poor little Sydney is getting fed up with everyone brushing her off when she wants to play so now she writes up a contract. Being a chef in her toy restaurant is her favorite game. If you look carefully, she forged my signature. Should I be impressed? Or worried?

I took a walk with a friend and was blown away by the fall beauty in these parts. I love where I live!

Liesel received her Poms t-shirt and hoodie and had a devil of a time getting the package open! She struggled with that for a while.

For Thanksgiving Sydney's troop gifted all the girls a mini Light Bright. Then they were instructed to create something they were grateful for and post it to Facebook. Such a lovely idea! Sydney made our house.

A member of the bishopric asked Brent and I to send in our favorite scriptures demonstrating God's love for us so I sent this- specifically verse 34. When he calls us a little flock it's such a small detail (ha- PUN) but it's so warm and sentimental. It hints that we have had a looong relationship with our Savior- not just in this life which is all we can remember, but before this life too.

I recently discovered that in Toca World, Ireland keeps a knife under her bed. Not sure what to think about that- but I can assure you she doesn't do this in real life- I checked!

I started a new job! My dreams of a fully-remote, flexible job were realized when I started with Daxko as a customer success advocate. I received this on my first day and I have to say I think I'm gonna like working here! Everyone is so incredibly nice.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Home Alone

With everyone in town, we thought it would be fun to see the CSO play Home Alone. I mean is there a more perfect Christmas movie when you are visiting Chicago? The girls were so excited, they got all dressed up. Liesel and Sydney were ready first so they snapped some pics and I have to say I think they look sharp!

We left early to be on the safe side and we had ample time to get situated. There was a panel discussion with two of the actresses in the film that I honestly wasn't terribly interested but we happened to be there, so why not? Just taking in the beauty of Symphony Center was enough for me.

The panel was so interesting! They talked about how they got the job, how their scenes went, what it's been like since the movie came out. Both of them were just delightful and we all really enjoyed it. Here are the girls with Tracy J. Connor who played the check-out girl. She was talking to Macaulay Culkin (who was sick) just going back and forth asking him questions and the director noticed. When they ran the scene he asked her to do it just like that- fire away with a bunch of questions that he counters.

"Where do you live?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"

"Because you're a stranger."

Whitney knows I'm always packing a toothbrush, so she got a picture with Ann Whitney who played the drugstore clerk. She's wearing the same sweater she wore in the movie and she talked about how she was trying to find it in her closet and when she was about to give up it just fell out. She also mentioned that when the music comes in and you can't quite here her talking in the background she's telling the pharmacist that if he thinks she and her husband are going to cover for him giving another customer bad information, he's mistaken. He had told her to just tell the kid it was approved by the American Dental Association.

Someone asked the orchestra director why he became one and he mentioned playing violin as a kid and then had an intense urge to control other people's lives- something like that. Anyway, it was hilarious and everyone who went to the panel really enjoyed it. We had new insights to a movie we've seen many times and now it was fresh again. Everyone cheered for these actresses when these two scenes came up which also made it special to watch live.

The orchestra began filling in but the first chair violinist wasn't there yet. I asked my two violin playing sisters if they thought it would be a man or a woman? They both grimaced and said it would be a man. I said it could be a woman and they both were certain it would be a man because that's just the way things are. I said I was holding out for a woman and Doug and Tim agreed with me. When a gorgeous, lithe woman with flowing black hair strode to her first chair seat Doug and Tim high fived me with Tim whispering, "Yeah girl power!" Made me laugh.

I've seen movies with surround sound on amazing speakers but there is just nothing like seeing one with a live orchestra. Even from the very beginning when they played the 20th Century Studios theme it just blows you away with anticipation for the film. I heard my dad let out a laugh and I just knew they were going to have a great time. Here's a snippet from the film:

Brent's Mom thought they were just going to play the music from the movie- she didn't realize we also get to watch the movie on a big screen. When we told them they do this throughout the year with different movies they were eager to return- rather apropos since this summer the CSO is doing Return of the Jedi. While watching the ending credits Ireland pointed out our next door neighbors were up in the balcony just to our left. What a crazy coincidence!

How can you not be filled to the brim with Christmas spirit after hearing that performance? While we drove home, Reagan and Doug arranged to have cheese pizzas delivered to the house and we watched the delivery guy drop them off on the Ring Doug installed. Oh man, those pizzas were perfect and everyone chowed down on them. It was such a perfect ending to the night!

Sydney's Baptism

Of course before we get to the main event, we have to back up a bit. Brent and I took Sydney out for the traditional 8 year old Sex and Santa talk. These have  been the all-time greatest conversations of life. I managed to capture a picture of the moment the penny dropped- such a furrowed brow!

Sydney bounced back lightning quick; eager to show off her French fry mustache.

Her sisters were eager to provide solace the moment we came home.

Katrina did an amazing job on the program. Here Liesel is looking for the hidden CTR ring.

We finished the Book of Mormon in ample time but left that very last chapter for riiiight before her baptism. Once everyone was together, we read took turns reading verses and it was awesome to finish the Book of Mormon with so many friends and family.

I'm getting ahead of myself though- before we started the program we had plenty of time to snap some photos. By our 4th child we finally had this down to an art and things were running so smoothly!

Sydney and Brent slipped into their baptism clothes.

We used to feel pressure to have some sort of buffet after the baptism and I'm grateful for how the pandemic has simplified things. An ice water and individually wrapped cookie feels just right. Sydney selected dark pink for her personal scriptures and she loves reading from them.

Ireland gave a great talk on baptism. She quoted from Harry Potter and talked about how the Savior has the answers. Even though he was perfect, he was baptized to show us the way. It was funny and touching and I was so dang proud of her.

Squeaky clean!

Doug spoke on the Holy Ghost. He had Sydney build a simple house out of blocks and then would tilt the tile to demonstrate what happens when we don't have a solid foundation. At one point Sydney was forcefully holding down the blocks so they wouldn't move and of course they slid out from under her hands. It was such a great talk!

Sydney bore her testimony to everyone standing behind her house which was finally on a firm foundation.

Another pandemic blessing- how many people could join us on Zoom! So much love out there for her.

Now for some extended family photos. Each of my girls has had both sets of grandparents attend their baptism and I am so grateful for that. Not everyone is able to make that happen.

The sister on the right is Sister Parsons and she taught Sydney the discussions to prepare her for baptism. We were waiting for Brent to finish changing and had a little time so I asked her to bear her testimony. She talked of Sydney's faith and what a joy it was to teach her. You can tell Sydney sure adores her!

Here's the whole clan. It was such a special day, I'm so grateful for all the love and support for this little girl!

As luck would have it, we were also scheduled to clean the building. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and in no time the church was immaculate and all ready for Sunday. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had quite the crowd for our Turkey Day. Even though we were borrowing folding tables and chairs from the church, we ate on fine china in an actual dining room. I'm counting this a success.

The company could not have been better. Both sets  of grandparents. Aunts and Uncles. Dakota and another golden to boot. Sure the house was bursting but I think the house is best when it's bursting. So much energy and so much love. 

Gita snatched Grandpa Wuehler's hat.

The fact that Doug came along for this crazy ride just made it all the better. He knocked out so many little projects we needed help with. He installed a Ring doorbell and a Nest thermostat. He fixed a crack in the kitchen ceiling and hid the wires on the flat screen tv. He was so kind to my girls, my parents and Brent's family. It was so great to have him here!

The food turned out really well. The turkey was a tad overcooked and the gravy just didn't happen in spite of my best efforts. Everyone contributed and we ate well!

We played lots of games and enjoyed one another's company. There was a particularly heated round of Spot It that made us all laugh. It's a simple game that can get seriously competitive!

We introduced Doug to Tim Tam Slams.

Naturally Liesel and Ireland had to figure out what kind of bun they were along with their aunt.

Reagan and Whitney kept me company while I put up Christmas decorations. Something about the two goldens sleeping in front of the tree makes it extra cozy.

And of course, Dakota!

We sure love Dakota.