The IKEA Experience

Joy recently visited IKEA (maker of worlds!) for the first time,

and she came home gushing about all of the example rooms

that have been stylishly decorated to showcase IKEA merchandise.

I had never been to an IKEA before, 

so I decided to go check it out with her and Daddy today.

Most of the rooms were a bit too minimalist for my taste,

but this one looked cozy and pleasant.

I like the round mirror, and the comfy chair in the corner.

I also liked this whimsical room, with its wrought-iron bed frame

and several hats hanging on the wall.

The room seems to say, "I belong to someone who likes to stroll along the beach."

After admiring the rooms, we ate dinner at the in-store cafe.

The food wasn't as pretty as the furniture, 

but I thought it was fun to eat Swedish meatballs in a Swedish store.

The After-Choir Choir

Anna's friend Charlotte sings in a youth choir up in New Hampshire,

and we were really impressed by their Christmas concert,

so Anna and Daniel decided to join up and give it a try this year.

So far, Daniel and Anna have found the music both challenging and fun!

Although the choir isn't officially connected with our church,

most of the singers are church members, 

and they meet in our old stake center up in Nashua.

On the drive home today, we decided to be an impromptu bird choir.

Daniel established a steady beat,

and the three of us chirped and tweeted in rhythm for about ten minutes.

Sometimes we harmonized really well, 

and other times the improvised racket we produced was a chaotic mishmash,

but either way it was fun!

The Slushy Slide

Most school districts in our area canceled school today because of snow,

but our town decided to just plow the roads and carry on.

I feel pretty comfortable driving in snow after four years in New England,

but occasionally Mother Nature reminds me not to underestimate her.

Today was one of those days.

After picking up the kids, I tried to drive up this hill near the school,

but halfway to the top our van stopped moving forward.

Every time I pressed the gas pedal, we just slid back down the hill a bit,

making zigzag tracks as we slowly rotating counterclockwise. 

Does it count as a three-point turn if you do it unintentionally,

while trying to drive in the opposite direction?

Beware the Shovel!

Our family home evening (er, afternoon?) activity today . . .

. . . was playing in the snow together.

The girls made snow creatures . . .

. . . (I think Joy's creation was a "dinosaur frog") . . .

. . . then we all had a snowball fight in the backyard!

I ended up with a rather soggy hat by the end . . .

. . . but at least I managed to evade Daddy's novel approach to snowball fighting.

When it started getting dark outside, we headed indoors for some hot cocoa.

Or in Todd's case, warm milk with caramel sauce.

He thought the result was surprisingly bland until he finished the milk,

and realized there was a puddle of caramel at the bottom of his mug.

Apparently, he poured it in then forgot to stir it.  Whoops!

Winter Sights

I don't like being cold at all, but I have to admit . . .

. . . I love the sights of snowy days.

It's fun to watch my kids catch snowflakes on their tongues . . .

. . . and see my neighborhood turned into a scene from a Christmas card.

On a recent drive to choir practice, Daniel called the snowy view "picturesque."

You know a landscape is beautiful when an 8th-grade boy

starts waxing poetic about it.

I doubt our boxwood bush is a fan of wet heavy snow

that weighs down its branches and makes it look like some giant stepped on it

(don't worry--it will bounce back after the snow melts in a few days) . . .

. . . but my rosemary plant seems pretty happy inside where it's warm.

In fact, it's so cozy that it recently started blooming.

Since the days are short but the temperature is mild in our kitchen, 

the plant probably thinks spring has arrived two months early.

Wintry Scenes

A few wintery scenes from New England this week:

I light dusting of snow on our burning bush

Canadian geese foraging in a snowy field near our home

Our bishop showing my daughters our chapel's broken heater

This morning we got an email warning us to bundle up before coming to church,

because the heater wasn't working and the whole building was very chilly.

When the message went out, Daniel was already at the church helping prepare the sacrament table.

He was so cold during the meeting that he had to borrow one of his sisters' coats.

Good thing we brought some cozy blankets too!

A Happy New Year

We're almost a week into 2023.

I hope your new year is off to a great start!

As we considered what to do for New Year's Eve,

the kids suggested that we have our traditional Christmas Eve program

(since we were out of town on December 24).

At first a Christmas/New Year mashup sounded a little odd to me,

but it was actually really lovely to carry the joy and inspiration of Christmas

right through to the end of the year.

New Year's Day was a Sunday, and the kids got 2023 off to a rousing start

playing "Fishy, Fishy, Cross My Ocean" with the missionaries after church.

I'm grateful for the truths we learn at church,

but also for the friends and fun we find there.

This year, Anna is finally old enough to participate in temple baptisms.

She was really excited to do temple work for our deceased relatives,

so I booked the first January baptism appointment I could schedule for our family.

Anna loved the peace and beauty she experienced in the temple tonight.