Christmas 2014

Our family Christmas tradition is to have dinner at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. Then we usually have some kind of program followed by opening presents with those who won't be there

Christmas morning. My mom made most of the dinner and it was delicious, of course. Our whole family, minus Thomas, was there, plus my Grandma Shoaf and our family friend Laura Roman.

This was Grandma's first time at our dinner and it was so fun to have her there. It was also the first time we'd seen Laura in a while so that was fun, too!

Listen, you can't expect me to carve the ham and not take some bites, especially when I don't eat lunch...

Micah and I went to the store before dinner to get a few things and found this adorable Santa hat for Adelina. For some reason, Dominika wasn't very impressed but I think it's pretty obvious that it was the best idea we've ever had.

The whole group, minus Laura who was taking the picture. Dinner was delicious!

The kids' table

It's a family tradition.

My mom asked me to put together our little Christmas program this year, so we organized a live nativity involving the kids, then we all made a commitment to Share the Gift of Jesus Christ throughout the year. The nativity was adorable. Dad was the narrator, and he read excerpts from Luke chapter 2.

Everyone had a part when we stopped to sing a few Christmas hymns at various spots in the story.

Mary and Joseph getting turned away at the inn, then shown to the stable. When we were getting the costumes on, Cooper was refusing to be in the play at all, let alone be Joseph. Fortunately, as he saw everyone else getting into character, he came around. And what an adorable little couple they made!

Baby Jesus is born!

The Shepherds

The Angel

Dominika, Micah, Mom, and I sang a four-part, a capella rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High." It was so fun to harmonize!

Shoaf Grandchildren 2014

Present time! Over the last few years, we've followed a tradition where the youngest person opens all their presents then we move on to the next oldest and so on. Adelina started us out, and she loved all the crinkly paper!

 

 Baby got more stuff than she'll ever know what to do with!

Cooper was next and he got this plush lion from my mom - right off his wish list. He hugged and loved on it for so long - so sweet!

Campbell got this Frozen Elsa hat with a long braid that Grandma tried on and modeled for us. She was killin' it that night!

Nalon recently moved from my parents' house to live with Jacob full-time. My mom got him a blanket with a larger-than-life picture of the two of them on it so that he can get a hug from her anytime he misses her. 

Isaac and Holden surprised Dominika with a new violin. She was moved to tears, but I think Isaac's joy from surprising her was even sweeter.

I got to hold this sweet, sleeping baby the whole time, which was gift enough for me. Check out those lips! I did get some other gifts, too, though.

No picture of Isaac, since most of his gifts were joint gifts with Dominika.

The four older kids chipped in and got Dad a skeet thrower. He's notoriously good at guessing his gifts before opening them, but he had no idea on this one! We got Grandma some new clothes, and she was a fabulous model.

Thomas was so sweet and sent a box home with a small gift and note for everyone. Here's the crew with their gifts from Thomas.

 Traditional Sisters Picture

That night, Isaac and Dominika and their kids and I stayed the night at my parents' house, which meant I got some reindeer-jammied baby snuggles the next morning! I got her a couple of new books for Christmas, so it was fun to read those to her, too.

The missionaries came over and joined in our Christmas breakfast, then we all went to a local church to help with a Christmas lunch they do for special needs adults. It was a great way to spend Christmas day - serving others.

We then came home and video-chatted with Thomas! The internet wasn't cooperating very well, so it was a mix of facetiming on Micah's phone and video-chatting on Dad's computer. Thomas seems to be doing well, and it was fun to all talk to him at once.

Later that night, Isaac and Dominika came back over (they'd gone to her Grandpa's house for Christmas dinner), and we played games and then were able to video-chat with Thomas again so he could meet Adelina. He pulled out his ukelele that my parents got him for his birthday, and Adelina loved it! She was dancing on the table. And then they changed her into her pajamas, but not before we got to love those squishy little rolls! She made my Christmas, for sure. Love that babe.

I love the chance to get together as a family for Christmas, and I know so many things in our family are possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Like all families, we've had our share of problems but we have overcome and continue to overcome them thanks to the strength, forgiveness, and healing made possible through the Atonement. I'm so grateful that He came to Earth to atone for us so that I can have the blessing and joy of a family.

Resolutions 2015

It's my favorite time of year! Goal-setting! Setting specific, measurable goals has become one of my favorite New Year's traditions the last few years, and if you didn't know, it has made me quite famous. Check out my appearance in the Ensign if you need proof. Lest you think I'm an ungrateful, self-serving jerk, I told the editor to include the fact that I modeled my goal-setting process after my friend Carla's, but she left it out of the article anyway. Also, I did not learn this pattern of goal-setting as a missionary. Is there no fidelity in publication anymore? I feel so misrepresented.

I'm learning from my mistake last year (fifteen goals) and keeping things realistic this year (four goals). I've also changed my categories a bit, swapping social and mental for financial and personal. These are goals that will challenge me, but I feel confident that I can achieve them!

Physical
1. 30 Before 30...ish. I've gotten out of a lot of my healthy habits this year, and it shows. I don't feel good and I don't look good, and what better time to change that than before I turn 30? I decided that it was now or never to finally reach my goal weight, which I've never done before. When I made this goal, I had about 30 pounds to lose and half my motivation came from the catchy name - 30 before 30. But then the holidays happened. Now it's closer to 40 before 30, but that's not nearly as catchy. "All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings...shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge." D&C 89: 18-19

Financial
2. Get out of debt, other than my car. This was my goal this year, but it didn't happen. I've made myself much more of a budget than I ever have before, and I'm already on track for this. I'm hoping to be done with my credit card and student loan by summer time, then I'll start thinking about buying a house. I wanted to make buying a house a goal for this year, but I just can't confidently say I'm ready for that. It's definitely in the works, though. "...they should deliver themselves from bondage." Mosiah 22:1

Personal
3. Visit all 50 states. I've already visited 47 of the 50 states - I'm lacking North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Hawai'i. My current plan is to hit Wisconsin and North Dakota when I drive out to Utah this summer. Then Jaime and I are planning an epic trip to Hawai'i over Thanksgiving Break, which is right between our thirtieth birthdays. What better way to celebrate hitting my goal weight than chillin' in a bathing suit on the beach, right? "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31

Spiritual
4. Memorize 1 scripture each month, and review each of them every week. Over the past few years, Elder Richard G. Scott has talked about the power of having scriptures memorized, and I love the idea of having the Lord's words always at hand in my mind. I'm also hoping this will help my scripture study, as I look more intently for scriptures that touch me so much I want to have access to them all the time. "This is the covenant that I will make with them...saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." Hebrews 10:16

Here's to a productive 2015!

Resolutions Review: 2014

Setting resolutions each year has become one of my favorite things - I love self-evaluating and deciding on specific things I want to improve. The past couple of years, I've made a chart for my goals so that they're always visible and I can track my progress. This year, I got crazy with goals and made fifteen. While all well-intentioned, they just weren't realistic and I tanked on a few of them. I did make quite a bit of progress in others, though.

Spiritual
1. Read the Sunday School lesson before church on Sunday and email Pres. Myers my thoughts. Halfway check! This one wasn't very hard for me, since I teach Gospel Doctrine, so I have to read the lesson each week. According to my chart, I missed 2 weeks, but I think maybe I just forgot to mark them off. I didn't, however, email my thoughts to President Myers ever I don't think. Maybe a few times in the beginning.
2. Go to the temple at least once every other month and study something about the temple the week before I go. Halfway check! Same thing here, I went to the temple once every other month - sometimes more - but I didn't always study beforehand. Truth be told, I forgot about the study beforehand part. Oops. But I did attend the temple 12 times this year, often doing more than one ordinance while there. I feel pretty good about that.
3. Work on family history at least 2 hours every month. Check plus! I was so nervous about this one. I had no idea how to do family history and I thought I was setting a lofty goal. I had no idea that once I got started, it'd be hard to stop at 2 hours every month. Family history has been my greatest surprise and blessing this year, as I've found over 300 ordinances to take to the temple for members of my family. I have so many that I have to share a lot of them with the temple system because I just can't do them all myself. It's a great problem to have!
4. Index 1000 names by the end of the year. Check! I just completed this one today. I neglected indexing for a while this year, but it's just so easy to get back into the swing of it, and as I search for my own family names, I'm so grateful for those who take the time to index, making records available for me to find.
5. Accompany the missionaries to a lesson once a month. Negative. I only accompanied the missionaries four times this year. In my defense, they have a chart they pass around each week where you specify when you're available and I always put my times on there and they very rarely called me. Still, I could've been more proactive about making this happen, and I just didn't.
6. Extend at least one missionary invitation each month—to meet with the missionaries, come to church, come to institute, come to an activity, read Book of Mormon, etc.  Check...ish. I extended at least fourteen invitations this year, but some months were doubled up. I missed two months. I really gained an appreciation for the invitation process this year, though, as I came to understand how easy it is to just invite people. Once you remove the pressure of them accepting the invitation - because that's not up to me anyway - it's easy to just extend it. As long as I extend it, I'm successful, regardless of their response.

7. Study with PMG each week. Almost. I did so well with this all year then fell off the wagon in November. I'm not even sure what happened. But I was 100% through October.

8. Study the General Conference edition of the Ensign at least once all the way through after each conference. Ish. I'm not even sure how to count this. I have listened to all the talks multiple times after Conference, but I haven't actually read them so...I should've been more specific about what "study" means. 

Physical

9. Work out twice a week. Check! From what I can tell from my chart, I missed 3 weeks this year, and only one of those was no workouts. I'm really grateful for this goal because it helped me stay on track for at least some kind of physical respect and attention to my body. My eating...not so much.

Financial

10. Pay off all my debt, except for a new car loan. Fail. I still have a balance on my credit card and my student loan and I have now added my car loan. I've got a budget worked out now, though, so these should be paid off by May at the latest.

Social

11. Write Thomas each week. Nope. I just really don't have much to say to Thomas every week, you know? And also...Monday comes really fast. I did better in the beginning of the year but lost steam by the end. Sorry about that, Little Bro.

12. Perform some kind of service every month. Meh. I got slightly better than 50% on this one. I really regret that, though. Service is something I need to improve upon; hence, the goal. Maybe I did service that I just forgot to count? Sure, I'll go with that.

13. 100% Visiting Teaching each month. Check! I missed one girl one month, but I got everyone else every other month! This goal has been very beneficial for me, because I've actually made three pretty good friends through visiting teaching. I'm grateful for the chance I had to get to know them!

Personal

14. Learn 4 new hymns on the piano. Umm....technically...I have four songs written down that I practiced and felt pretty good about. I haven't been reviewing them, though, so I doubt I'd be able to play them very well now. Shoot. Should've created a practice schedule.

15. Perform in church once per quarter and somewhere other than church at least once this year.  Check! I performed in church four times this year, and I was able to participate in a local concert in Columbus which raised money for cancer research. It was fun to be on stage again!

Overall, I succeeded with 7 of my 15 goals, partially succeeded with 4 of them, and failed with 4 of them. I think I spread myself too thin this year, and I'm choosing fewer, more focused goals this coming year.

The Week

Our last day of school was Thursday and last day for staff was Friday. I loved working without students because I didn't have any interruptions - no lunch duty, no kids asking for clothes, no Spanish speakers needing translation. I was able to finally get my office under control. I've been so busy the last few weeks moving from one thing to the next that I haven't really had time to finish up anything - piles of random stuff were all over my desk and my office and it was giving me anxiety. My desk is nice and clear again and my room...well, I'll have to get to that when I get back from break.

On our last staff day, our P.E. teacher organized a staff archery contest. I did really well on the practice round. Then I tanked. I had even done my hair in a braid to channel my inner-Katniss but apparently it didn't work out for me.

The kids have been gone all weekend so I wrapped presents. While watching HGTV. I did a lot of things while watching HGTV. I watched a lot of HGTV. It's really not healthy for me - it just makes me want to buy a house and renovate it and ain't nobody got money for that. At least I don't.

My sweet visiting teacher took me out for sushi on Saturday. What is it about sushi that just begs to have its picture taken every time? It's delicious. And beautiful.

There's a house down the street from us that is all decked out in Christmas lights and they have it choreographed to music, which plays from a specific radio station. I've passed it several times but finally stopped and tuned in to watch the show. It's pretty impressive. I can't imagine what their electric bill is like, but I'm grateful they're willing to pay for it so we can all enjoy it!

Yesterday I picked up Nalon and he and I drove down to Columbus to get Holden then I brought them both back up to Indy. We went to Max & Erma's to eat on our way back up and I entertained them with stories of when I worked there with Nalon's mom. It was the first time I'd been in there since I worked there about eight (what?!?) years ago. They've spruced it up quite a bit, but it brought back quite a few memories, surprisingly good even though I hated working there.

This is what I paid for gas yesterday. I filled up my tank for about twenty bucks. What do you do when gas is less than two dollars? Go on a road trip, obviously. Next week, Jaime's flying in and we're off to Florida. I can't waste these gas prices!

Christmas Time is Here

The Christmas season is such a fun time of year because sugar abounds and everyone's ready to party.

I actually went to our YSA Christmas party this year. I'm trying to be all social and stuff. We decorated gingerbread houses, and I'm happy to report that my group's came in as runner-up, in large part due to our fabulous forest next door to the house, which I helped create. 

We also decorated Christmas cookies (my favorite kind of cookie) and I represented Argentina with my flag snowflake.

Last weekend, a large group of my family rode the Polar Bear Express up to the North Pole. There's a historic railway that goes through our town, Fishers, and they put on this North Pole ride where Santa comes to visit, you get a cookie (not even frosted) and hot chocolate, and you ride up to the North Pole (aka Noblesville). It was a fun ride, though I would've liked some kind of event or marker at the North Pole. We literally just stopped then started going back the direction we'd come. No "We've arrived!" announcement or anything. We had a great time on the ride, though!

Cooper said his favorite part was just riding the train.

 

 Our train conductor

Visiting with Santa. His "ho ho ho" was on point!

I think the kids all got nervous and they all sheepishly asked for "surprises" for Christmas.

 

On Sunday, Tessa made sugar cookies for us to decorate then played Clue with Emerson. That Christmas tree just makes everything look so darn cheery.

Also, this has nothing to do with Christmas but sometimes when I see the two of them next to each other, interacting in their cute little voices, it just kills me.

Because Kids Count Conference

The past few weeks have been insane. My job is usually pretty low-key, but I have been nonstop running since coming back from Thanksgiving Break, and I don't love it. The first week back, I had two field trips to plan and go on, a two-day conference to attend, and two parent meetings to plan and execute. The next week I had a training meeting, another parent event, and a Santa Shop to plan and run. Things are finally starting to slow down again, and I'm so glad.

The conference I went to was called Because Kids Count and it was put on by the Indiana Youth Institute. I'd never been to a professional conference before, so I felt pretty big-time. I had a plastic name tag and everything. There were several good sessions on getting parents involved, but I'll admit there were two highlights for me, neither of which directly impact my job.

1. I won a raffle. There was a resource center where dozens of exhibitors had booths set up that you could visit. There was a page of questions - a scavenger hunt of sorts - you could answer about various exhibitors and then you could enter one of the five raffles. My raffle was the first that they called, and they called my name! I rarely win anything, so it was such a pleasant surprise! I won 30 Pacers tickets for our school. My immediate thought was to break them up into small groups and use them as door prizes for parent events. My principal's first thought was to use them for a staff outing, specifically for certified staff (not me). Umm...no. We haven't made a decision yet. :)

2. Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mom in "The Blind Side" spoke. It was cool to see the woman that the movie was based on, and surprisingly, she was even feistier in person than she was portrayed in the movie. She repeatedly emphasized the point that their story started with them just turning their car around that one night to check on Michael. How powerful we can all be in the lives of others if we just turn around and take a minute to check on people.