Wishing you a ...

2010 has been a wonderful year full of ups and downs.
There were..

+ hard things.
+ happy things.
+ trips.
+ races.
+ concerts.
+ pigs.
+ puppies.
+ birthdays.
+ blueberries.
+ family.
+ friends.

I am looking forward to 2011, and all of the opportunities and growth it will bring for our family.

Happy New Year from our home to yours!

P.S. I will share some favorites of 2010 soon!

Letters.

Dear cousins in Spokane,

Your new restaurant, Rusty Roof's Burger & Shake Shack was the perfect excuse for us to head north to try out your fare. It was worth the 2 hours of driving each way. Your house made frozen custard shakes, and your crispy sweet potato fries were so yummmmy.

So good, in fact, that we ate lunch & dinner there. With details like local baked buns, Tillamook cheese, fresh fried donuts and the best sweet potato fries I've ever had, I hope you rock the Spokane area!


Dear C Jane,

Wow! I am honored and grateful to be among your favorite blogging moments of 2010. Thanks for inspiring me to dream bigger.


Dear Sarah Sample,

I am so excited to meet you, and to hear you perform live in our home. Last night, as my family all slept in the car, I drove home from Spokane while it poured a rainy/slushy mix. I listened to your new album, Someday, Someday, and it was the perfect soundtrack for that moment. I may have sung along too loudly on "Be My Middle Ground" and stirred my loved ones from their sleep :)


Dear readers,

Have you listened to Sarah's new album? Please go here and listen to each track in it's entirety, and then purchase the physical CD, and get the digital version immediately for download. Such a great deal. One version for your iPod + one CD for your car. Perfect!

P.S. Here is a video that Sarah made in the process of recording. Isn't she gorgeous?


Dear South Eastern Washingtonians,

Buy your tickets for the Sarah Sample show right here. It's going to be a lovely evening. Local musician, Charith Bagley will be opening for Sarah and we are looking forward to having you all in our home to hear some amazing music!



Dear Christmas,

I loved every minute of you. I loved remembering the reason for celebrating and stretching myself to serve those around me. I loved visiting the lonely and trying to think more about the Savior and how He would spend His time. I am thankful that we get a season each year to focus on the things that are truly important and to think more about giving and less about getting.

Now that you are over, I get to focus on the things I need to work on in 2011. I've got a word, and some goals, and I'll see you again next December.


With Love,
Marilyn


*image

Passionista Presents: Sarah Sample

I hope you will join us for a wonderful evening of music with Sarah Sample. Sarah's newest release, Someday, Someday is so beautiful and I've heard great things about Sarah's live performances. I know that this will be a special evening.

Sarah Sample, an evening house concert
Tuesday, January 18th, 8pm
at my home, in Burbank, WA.


Purchase tickets here.
Seating is very limited, so grab your tickets soon!

Please, help spread the word about the show.
Facebook, Twitter, Blogs!
I'd very much appreciate your help in sharing the news,
and please feel free to use this image.

Artwork by Mitchell Mathews, my brother.

Starlight.

In my husband's family, placing the star on the tree has always been a special tradition. Their family tree is always large and tall because they have an A-frame house and the ceilings are high; a small tree just doesn't look right in that kind of space.

Getting the star atop a very tall, fat tree, however, is not simple. Ladders don't work well, because while they give you the height you need, they don't get you close enough. We've tried human ladders, and well, that was just scary!

Several years ago, someone came up with the idea of rigging up a pulley/harness system to the large beams on the ceiling. Tada! The perfect experience to place the star on the tree. Every year, a different grandchild gets to harness up and fly through the air while we all watch in excitement as they place the star at the very top of the family tree. Each of my children have had their turn, and this year, it was my nephew Alec's turn. I love how in these pictures, you can see my neice Bella, looking on in wonder. In just a few years, it will be her turn.

After the star is on the tree, all of the grandchildren act out the Nativity. There are costumes, and angels, and singing, and a reminder to us all of why we celebrate this season.

This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions!
Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Card 2010.

Now that it's been a few days since I mailed our cards, I'm pretty sure it's safe to share them here.

A couple of months ago, I saw a manifesto on my favorite website, Pinterest, and I instantly knew that I wanted to create a Christmas manifesto for my family. A public declaration of all the things we believe in and love to do each Christmas season...

Our principles:
+ love one another
+ do good
+ be cheerful

Our policies:
+ give gifts
+ sing
+ celebrate

Our intentions:
+ play yahtzee
+ watch Christmas movies
+ build gingerbread houses

and SEND CARDS!

I've sent Christmas cards every year of our marriage [16 years] and handmade them for the last 11 years. It's one of my favorite traditions and I think of all the time and effort spent as a gift to those on my list.

Receiving Christmas cards in the mail is also a favorite of mine, and I save EVERY single card, and have quite a stack saved up from year to year. I love to look through them, and display some of my past favorites every year.

I am looking into commissioning this manifesto into a large, letter-pressed poster size, so that I can frame it and hang it in our home every Christmas.

+ Do you send Christmas cards?
+ Do you love to receive them?

Right now...

+ I am in heaven with the recent snow promising us a white Christmas.
+ We are grateful for this entire week of no school before Christmas. It's so relaxing and nice.
+ Ethan and Lily are inside getting warm after building this pretty snow lady. They gifted her a pink elephant for her Christmas gift, to match her pink hat, of course.
+ Nat King Cole is playing on the record player.
+ Madeline is suffering from a seriously horrible throat infection. It is YUCK-Y!!! Thank goodness for antibiotics.
+ Brandon is finishing up at the tree lot, and we are almost completely sold out of Christmas trees!
+ I have just a few small things left to shop for, but I haven't wrapped a single gift yet. Guess what I'll be doing every night this week?
+ Jocelyn is at basketball practice, and I am thankful that the coaches let us sleep in today.
+ I am thinking hard about what we can do as a family to bring our focus on the Savior these last few days before Christmas. Service is the key, I think.

Warm Wishes!

a little treat.

Last week on Conan, She & Him performed a somewhat crazy little rendition of "I Put A Spell On You." It kind of reminded me of driving by a horrific car accident and not being able to look away. It was a strange, yet interesting performance. Afterwards, She & Him joined Conan for a much more normal and lovely performance of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I thought my readers would enjoy it!

Christmas Chill Winner.

Thank you for sharing your traditions with me in the comments. I've loved reading them all, and wish I could make you each a mix! But there can only be one winner...

Random.org chose comment #38 - Noelle!
[While we were in Utah, we got to hang out with Noelle and I forgot how much fun she is! Plus she's gor-geous! Love you Noelle!]

I'll get your mix in the mail soon!

Christmas Chill.

Friends, this mix is packed with some of the most beautiful, contemporary Christmas tunes. It has a truly indie/singer/songwriter feel that I'm smitten with. I hope you enjoy it too!

I'm linking each of the songs to where they can be purchased, and a few of the songs can even be downloaded for free. Merry Christmas!

1. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Indigo Girls
2. Christmas Lights - Coldplay
3. Sounds Like Snow - Be Still
4. Merry Little Christmas - Sleeping At Last [entire album free in exchange for some info!]
5. Christmas When You Were Mine - Taylor Swift
6. The Heartache Can Wait - Brandi Carlile
7. Tracks In The Snow - The Civil Wars [free in exchange for your email address!]
8. Baby Come Find Me At Christmas - Rachael Yamagata
9. No Christmas For Me - Zee Avi
10. Cinnamon & Chocolate - Butterfly Boucher [free!]
11. Blue Christmas - Joshua James
12. Lonely This Christmas - KT Tunstall
13. All I Want For Christmas - Matt Costa
14. Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan
15. Someday At Christmas - Jack Johnson
16. It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Martina Sorbara
17. Winter Night - Little & Ashley [free!]
18. That's What I Want for Christmas - Jessie Baylin
19. Peace - Norah Jones
20. Silent Night - House of Heroes
21. Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel - Dave Barnes

How about a little giveaway?

Guidelines:
+ comment once with your email address
+ by 9am, Friday, December 10th
+ tell me your favorite Christmas tradition
+ winner will be announced on Friday
+ Good Luck!

Utah notes.

+ three lovely ladies I'm lucky to call friends.

+ late nights, laughing.

+ perfect Charlie.

+ Lindsay's generous family sharing their home with us.

+ Pretzel making me laugh and wish for a toddler again.

+ Communal. yum.

+ shopping, shopping, shopping, oh, and more shopping.

+ finding awesome deals at stores like Sundance, Anthro, Urban Outfitters. 

+ the Sweet Tooth Fairy and running into cousin Mark.

+ pizza at Slab with awe-some people.

+ meeting someone I admire for the first time.

+ crying when my friend Jen told me stories of her heartache,

+ feeling inspired when she shared how she gives back. blankets, hundreds of blankets.

+ the Beehive Bazaar and all that creativity.

+ the opportunity to spend extra time with cousin Jenn. priceless.

+ music video with Mindy. Crazy fun. Once in a lifetime.

+ a wonderful concert. Paul Jacobsen & The Madison Arm, Fictionist, Libbie Linton.

+ In-N-Out at midnight. Animal style.

+ Music & The Spoken Word in The Conference Center. historic + moving.

+++ Those mountains. I'm in love with them. I can't stop thinking about them. 

SLC and Provo, you are lucky to look at them everyday!

P.S. I'll be sharing a new Christmas mix tomorrow. Stay tuned.