In the Eye of the Beholder

Not that anyone would know it by my site, but I am an Art History major and LOVE art! So I have decided that once a week I should put up some of my favorite pieces of art and architecture as to enlighten the minds of my fellows. :) LOL Basically I just want a better excuse to put up pretty pictures.This week's piece is called "Flamming June" by Fredrick Lord Leighton, done in 1895. I first saw this piece close to 13 years ago. My friend, Celeste, showed me a poster of it and I fell in love! I think it is where my "Lady" collection has its roots. She currently resides in the Ponce Museum of Art, in Puerto Rico. Do you love it, hate it, or could care less? Let me know what you think.

The Colors of Christmas

Sam and Alex had their Christmas concert at school the last two days. We went to the performance yesterday. They were really cute and did a great job. Here are a few pictures and one of the songs they did. My video taking abilities are not very good, so be kind. :) Their theme this year was the "Colors of Christmas". The whole program was trying to figure which was THE color of Christmas. Sammy is in Mrs. Bogdanoff's 2nd grade class. And Alex is in Mrs. Vines third grade.

They all came in waving and looking really cute. I was so proud of both of them, but Alex really impressed me because he was so involved in his performance.

This was their first song. Alex is on the third row up on the left side and Sam is on the same row to the right. So check them out. I actually got both of them at once, except when the lady would stand in front of Sam. :P Enjoy!

A Wintery Wonder Land

There is nothing like walking through the hush of a wintry day. When the snow is coming down, blanketing the world in white. I love the snow. Mostly it the quiet and the peace that it brings. Breathtaking. In my church ward, their are some wonderfully talented women who work very hard to make our Relief Society party just a beautiful as the world outside.

Tonight was our dinner. It was sooo pretty. Lights and trees. Good company and great food.

I even got to eat on china! This was what our tables looked like when we walked in. It was very lovely.

Then overhead they strung hundreds of glittery snowflakes! It was like a fairy land.

For dessert we had chocolate fountains with all sorts of goodies. This was the center piece for that table. We also had a wonderful little narrative about three trees. Doesn't sound very Christmas-ie but its message was one of sweet reminders. So take a minute or two and read a wonderful story. I hope it touches your heart, like it touched mine.

"The Three Trees"

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!" The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world."

Years passed and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" the first tree said. The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty ship was made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river. Instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..."

Many, many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him," her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and the sturdy wood. "This manger is beautiful," she said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the King of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

So the next time you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.

On the 6th Day of Christmas...

My true love gave me his heart. My heart has never been the same since. :)

Christmassing

We put up our Christmas Tree and most of our decorations last Monday, but my dinning room was looking despicably un-christmassy. So as a project I got some pine cones, glued the heck out of them and then encrusted them in glitter. Then I took some sting and some thumbtacks and hung them on the ceiling. Actually I pressed Hannah into service. She got up on the table to help me hang them. It was such a hardship for her. :D

Here you can see my dinning room looking very plain.

This is my station that I set up. I have been cleaning up glitter a lot since Thursday. lol Stuff gets everywhere.

This was my lot all glued and glittered. They were still drying, all the white is the glue.

Here's B dutifully hanging the pine cones for me. :) It is hard work sticking thumbtack's into the ceiling.

She seems to have survived.

Here they are all pretty and sparkly. They look really pretty with just the tree lights. Also if you look at the back of the table you will see a few of the larger houses. Hannah and Sam thought we should go find some more people to go with them. So off the the second hand store we went and made a great find!!

This is our big village now! We found a box with 5 large pieces and tons of people. There were only a few little people missing, but the houses were in fantastic shape! We even got a Temple (or so Sam calls the really pretty church). My dinning room is looking much more in the spirit. Nothing like making your home complete. The kids and I had a lot of fun and create a few memories for the road. :D

Fa La La LaHannah

There is nothing quite like supporting your children in 20 degree weather. :) Hannah had her first choir concert in front of city hall tonight. She did a great job! She was very excited to learn that she can be in choir for the next 6 years of her schooling. LOL She loves to sing! I am glad I got a couple of pictures before the concert started because my children have a knack for standing behind someone that is taller than they are. Thus making it nearly impossible to get a decent picture/movie of them in their concerts. *sigh* Such is my lot.

The choirs consists of the 5th and 6th graders. They have to really enjoy singing as they give up part of their lunch recess to practice.They did a great job, despite the cold. Hannah is forever singing and I am happy that she is. She serenads the boys to sleep at night, practicing for the next days songs.

It will be interesting to see where this wonderful talent of hers takes her in the future.

Unexpected

I was driving with Marc to the grocery store, something quiet ordinary, when I glanced up and saw the moon coming up over the mountains. Marc got three consecutive shots. What an amazing world we live in to be able to glance up an see something extraordinary that our Heavenly Father has given to us.We live in a beautiful world.
Make sure as we go through this season that we remember all of the gifts we take for granted each and every day.