James' Cute Hat

James' new hat cracks me up. I love it!

 

I have the privilage of babysitting James each Sunday because his mom works.

 

I love every bit of watching James each week. He sure brings me joy! I love this little guy!

Brady Receives BYU Scholarship!!!

While Brady was here for Christmas Break we found out he was awarded a BYU Scholarship.

 

Brady originally applied for a scholarship when he applied for BYU. He didn't receive a scholarship his first term, but his grades were great for Fall session that they looked at his scholarship application and gave him a scholarship for $1,178.00. Very Exciting AND such a blessing!!!!

 

Here is the letter from BYU:

Brady,

A generous donor has provided some additional need-based scholarship funding for Winter Semester 2013. Based on information you provided on your 2012-13 scholarship application as well as information from the FAFSA, you have been selected to receive the following:

Semester /Scholarship / Amount / Required Hours
Winter 2013 / General Need-based Scholarship / $1,178 / 14.0

Please make a special effort to write a thoughtful thank you letter (as described below) and submit it to our office by the first week of school.

If you wish to defer or decline the award, please visit the Scholarship History page. To access this page, log in to myBYU and enter the word scholar in the quick URL box on the right side of the page.

Tithes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and offerings of generous friends of the university fund BYU scholarships. Following established procedures, we award these resources to encourage continued commitment to spiritual and intellectual growth. By claiming your award, you accept certain responsibilities. Specifically, you commit to:

Use this investment wisely to prepare for meaningful service to your family, community, and the world.

Express gratitude by writing a thoughtful letter of appreciation to those who fund your scholarship.

Comply with the policies that govern the use of your award.

Exemplify good citizenship within the university community by abiding the Honor Code, encouraging others to do likewise, and, whenever possible, attending the weekly campus devotionals and forums.

Provide a minimum of 15 hours of meaningful service, which you define and pursue on your own, for each semester of scholarship awarded.

Replenish the university's scholarship funds as circumstances in your life allow.

Scholarships provide financial assistance, but they also represent a vote of confidence in you. We celebrate the gifts and talents you contribute to our student body.

Sincerely,

Financial Aid Office
Brigham Young University

 

EXPECTATIONS OF BYU SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
We congratulate you again on your scholarship, and we hope you are excited to receive it. We believe this award will be a blessing to you, and for some, an answer to prayer. To fully appreciate this scholarship, you must understand its source and your responsibilities as a recipient.

USE THIS INVESTMENT WISELY

Your scholarship is funded by the tithes of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and/or offerings of generous friends of the university. We hope you will recognize the faith, sacrifice, and trust that make your award possible. Brigham Young University offers this scholarship as an investment in your education. You have the responsibility to use this gift wisely to prepare for meaningful service in your family, community, and the world.

EXPRESS APPRECIATION

We desire to assure scholarship donors that their contributions are appreciated and will make a difference in your life. To this end, please write a thoughtful letter of appreciation within the next two weeks to help donors and the Financial Aid Office become better acquainted with you, including your background, interests, goals, and commitment as a scholarship recipient. Please attach a recent photo of yourself to the letter. Address your letter to "Scholarship Donor", print the name of the scholarship in the upper right-hand corner.


On occasion, the university hosts luncheons and other events to bring donors and recipients together. We value our relationships with donors and want to assure them that their generous contributions make a difference in the lives of our students. Should the university schedule an event associated with your scholarship, we expect you to attend, making arrangements where necessary to be excused from other commitments, including classes and work assignments. We acknowledge that this expectation may require some sacrifice, but we believe the experience will be meaningful and worthwhile. The university will make every effort to notify you of these events at least two weeks in advance.

COMPLY WITH SCHOLARSHIP POLICIES

To assist you in your educational pursuits and to further the university's objectives, specific policies govern the use of your scholarship. You have the responsibility to understand and comply with the attached policies. Failure to meet the requirements will result in cancellation of this award and may jeopardize future eligibility. If you have questions or concerns about the policies, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

EXEMPLIFY GOOD CITIZENSHIP

Participating in campus life is an enriching endeavor; becoming a contributing citizen in the university community is even more fulfilling. As the recipient of a university scholarship, you have a responsibility to exemplify good citizenship. We expect you to abide by the Honor Code, encourage others to do likewise, and, whenever possible, attend the weekly campus devotionals and forums.

PROVIDE SERVICE

As the beneficiary of someone else's generosity, you are encouraged to perpetuate good will by blessing others in turn. As a scholarship recipient, you commit to provide a minimum of 15 hours of meaningful service, which you define and pursue on your own, for each semester awarded. You do not need to submit a proposal, receive approval, or report your service to the Financial Aid Office. We hope this experience and others at Brigham Young University will enhance your ability to render lifelong service as an educated, whole, and committed person.

REPLENISH FUNDS

In addition to the other expectations listed above, we invite you to embrace the principle of replenishment by making the commitment now to contribute financially to the university's scholarship funds as circumstances in your life allow. Your generosity will ensure that future generations of students enjoy the same opportunity to pursue a world-class education in an environment centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Brady had to send a written letter of gratitude for the scholarship and attached the picture above to the letter below - here it is:

 

Christmas 2012

Brady is home for Christmas for 3 whole weeks! Squeal!

I've sure missed him and it's great to have him home.

Jason and Sharon spent the night Christmas eve so that we could open presents Christmas morning.

I didn't take too many pictures of those spoiled kids!

 Brady received the following for Christmas:

iPod touch- 16 GB (he was really surprised because I told him I couldn't get him one)

Camera

Navy blue Pea Coat

iTunes gift cards

T-shirts

 Sharon was spoiled too!

Kindle Fire was her big gift

George Foreman Grill

A few games (oops I gave them scrabble for the 2nd time - oh well she can return it)

Sharon says: Best thing ever! Don't know how I lived without it. Thank you Sondra and Amazon.

Sharon says: Yay! Bestest mother-in-law EVER!

 Sharon opening presents - the big stack next to hers is Jason's who was missing in the morning and was the last one to open presents.

 Jason wanted arts supplies:

Expensive water color paper

Water color brushes

T-shirts

Pants

Coat

I also gave Jason and Sharon a Kitchen Island - but they received it at the beginning of November as an early Christmas gift. Their new apartment has a really small kitchen with hardly any storage space or counter space. They wanted to get an island and I told them I would get it for them for Christmas. It's great and they really like it - it doubled their counter space.

Jason and Sharon gave me Apple TV. I'm loving it! Woot!

We sure were spoiled for Christmas.

I also purchased a couple of items for myself as Christmas presents:

 A new dining room table. I've wanted a glass one for a long time and a round one to fit in my space better. It's still a tight squeeze, but I love it. I ruined my other wood dining room table by putting hot bread on it to cool. It totally ruined the wood and I've wanted to get rid of it for a while and my old chairs were falling apart. I love, love, love this new dining table and chairs.  Plus, on Black Friday it had an additional $100 off the sale price. I've been looking at this set for a while now - regular price $599, then it was on sale for $499. But on Black Friday it was only $399 - SOLD! I quickly ordered it and was delighted that I waited and got it on this great deal. Merry Christmas to me!

 I've also wanted this Simon Dewey pictures for the longest time. I love it! When I saw that Seagull book had it on sale for only $99 I had to go right out and buy it. It works out so well with my black cabinet that we put our piano music in. Again, I was very happy with the sweet deal on the picture I've been wanting for several years. Now it's mine... Merry Christmas to me again. I sure am spoiled!

Later Christmas day we went to see Les Miserables. The theater was packed and we had to sit in the seats in the front part of the theater. Brady didn't want to sit there and opted to sit by himself in a better seat.

I didn't like it much at all - neither did Jason and Sharon. It was disappointing because I had been really looking forward to the movie when it was announced a year ago. The singing was really lacking - seriously bad compared to Broadway. For me, Les Miserables is all about the music - the powerful music - not high profile actors.

The acting was powerful - but I needed better singing voices to like it better.

Brady liked it better then we did because he hasn't seen it on Broadway. It was probably made more contemporary for a broader audience and younger one too.

I read a review why the actors didn't sing powerful - it was because they performed it with a a piano playing in the background and added the orchestra later. This made them sing softer instead of powerful with an orchestra.

This definitely made me understand why the singing was so quiet and mostly spoken. Terrible!

I was hoping for powerful music like the Phantom of the Opera movie - but didn't get it. We wished Gerard Butler would have been Javert and gave it the passion of the Phantom.

I won't own it or the movie soundtrack. We were so sad about the powerful songs such as "Stars" with no passion in it.

It is a powerful story - that is why I've always loved it. Most of my family who aren't addicted to it like me have really liked it.

Here is a quote from one of my friends about Amanda Seigfried - exactly my thoughts:

"Amanda Seigfried - KILL ME NOW!!! I'm sorry when she opened her mouth it sounded like a high pitched snow white and I couldn't take it, it had me cringing Every ... Single ... Time!!!!

My thoughts exactly!!

It's a powerful story - that is why I've always loved it. Most of my family who aren't addicted to it like me really liked it.

Ginger Bread House - Deluxe Version

 Carla, my dear friend and my visiting teacher brought me this deluxe ginger bread house for Christmas!

 

The snowmen are darling! The jelly bean brick - such a great idea!

 It is seriously the coolest ginger bread house I've ever seen.

It even had a light at the bottom that you turned on and a light flickered out the windows of the ginger bread house a night.

 

See the Christmas tree in the window above? It really showed up when the light was flickering.

 I loved the flock of reindeer - classic!

She sure spoiled me and I loved enjoying this throughout the Christmas season!

Special Guest - Who is it?

Pretty soon a special guest might visit your home.

I'm going to give you some clues:

He sees you when your sleeping, He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad of good.

He has a beard and a kind face.

He spent his life giving to others. 

He is often pictured in red and/or white clothes.

He gives the very best gifts.

You can never see him, but you can feel him.

He gives us a wonderful, special warm feeling.

He can get into our homes even if the doors are locked.

He has special, wonderful powers.

We want to give gifts back to him, but he doesn't need anything we could buy; he just wants us to give to other people.

He encourages us to be good so we will be ready when he comes.

Who is it?

Many of you are thinking Santa, but the descriptions fit BOTH Santa and Christ.

Everything we love about Santa is really everything we love about Christ.