Happy Sparkling, Promising, Sunshiney, Brand-NEW YEAR!

As my daughter Gisele said, "Happy Two-Thousand and Seven!". Wow. You know life is flying by when 1997 seems like only yesterday, and it was really 10 years ago.
Obviously, I have taken a LONG break from blogging. Since I last posted in October, a lot has happened. My mom and dad flew out in my dad's Piper Cherokee plane to visit us at Halloween. We flew to Texas to surprise my mom for Thanksgiving, and we stayed for 11 days. Then, of course, when we returned, there was much preparation to be done for Christmas. It has all flown by in quite a whirlwhind. (The Holidays always do fly by, don't they?) Like all of you, I'm sure, I spent my pre-Christmas days baking and shopping and wrapping gifts. Unfortunately, writing Christmas letters did not make it onto my "to do" list. :-( I LOVE Christmas, but I am really very happy to have life settling back down into a routine.
January 1st is always a reflective time for me. I love the spirit of renewal that comes with a brand new year. First thing I did this year was organize my laundry room. I decided that I had to do SOMEthing to overcome the dread that I feel everytime I look at a pile of dirty clothes. And, guess what? Organizing my laundry room has helped a TON! I actually like to do my laundry now. Why? Because my laundry room is a pleasant place to be. Why did it take me so long to figure that out?
I am also reading every day to my kiddos from The Book of Mormon Reader from Seagull Book. It is a nice, easy way to teach them the basic stories and principles of the Book of Mormon. There are activities that go with each scripture story to reinforce what they have learned. I love it! Of course, this does not take the place of regular scripture study, but it does GREATLY enhance their understanding. I highly recommend it.
One more note: I have not had any new pics to post since Halloween because I lost our digital camera while we were out trick or treating. I went to Costco and bought a new one for Christmas and then.....of course.......I found our OLD one at Dave's grandma's house, where I had left it on Halloween. (Isn't that how it always works?). So, I'm grateful to have our camera back, and I'm grateful that Costco is so good about accepting returns :) I will post new pics ASAP (but not right now, cuz I have to go to the store for dinner stuff).