The Indianola Ward Christmas Party

The Nativity at the party

That's an angel on the rooftop if you can't tell... my camera is not the best.

Well, little did we (the activities committee) know when we started to work on the Christmas Party for the Ward, that this would be our last activity. By now you've all heard that the activities commitees are being done away with in the Church- anyway- we started a couple of months ago preparing for ours.

As I was thinking about what to do, I thought of past Ward parties and what would be more effective. Our Ward is unique in that peple are really spread out- not the typical Utah Ward where one Ward is basically 4 square blocks in a neighborhood. And so it's nice to beable to get together and have time to visit.

We have ALOT of less actives, non-members, etc. that this is the only gathering they come to. I wanted something where the people could all socialize, have a chance to visit and get to know each other better. Also, another concern was the children. I feel like they don't have enough to do & feel involved with at most ward functions and so they just end up running through the halls.
With all this in mind, I researched other Ward Party ideas and let the creative juices flow...talked with the committee and made some suggestions... and wah-lah! Here's what we came up with:

We did a theme on "Christmas in the Olde Towne Square" We had 2 families dress up as carolers and welcome people by singing carols at the entrance to the building.

We handed out "money" as people came in- even the kids, to spend inside the cultural hall, which we turned into a town square with a Christmas "marketplace" where they could choose what traditional foods and treats they wanted to buy- there was even a "toy store" where their money could buy an old fashioned toy (a top, a spinner, wooden bead bracelet). Some of the different foods we offered were:

Tamales ( Mexican tradition), a cabbage & potato soup (German), Christmas Porridge (rice pudding from Denmark) Dutch treats (YM), sweeet breads (Ginger, pumpkin, & cranberry), pies (what ever the High Preists brought), cookies (Elder's), Wassail (the bishopric served), candies the young women made, and popcorn.

The gym was PACKED! We had people there I had never seen before- and lots of people that weren't even members! You can see the Primary's booth, decorated in the background with giant nutcrackers

The highlight of the evening was the Primary children's two songs, the YMYW did a line dance to Rockin' around the christmas Tree, and then, my personal favorite, the Bishopric sang Silent Night while the Bishop played his guitar. It was beautiful.Sorry my camera shoots dark with the lights down low- Tom's on the right of the Bishop.

I really want to thank my wonderful committee- they all worked so hard to make this happen and I think it was a huge success- the kids LOVED the night- so many parents told me their kids thought it was the best party. And it was so nice to have the kids involved, first "shopping" at all the booths, and then singing their songs. It was fun for the kids- we let them walk under the arch to come into the gym.

Here is a picture diary of the preparation for the evening.The YM/YW learned the line dance at a combined activity in November. Thanks Audrey for coming up with the dance and teaching it to them!The Relief Society ladies made tamales a few days before the party- that was fun to learn how to make them! And boy were they good.

Jerri & Ricky try to decide how to paint the arch.
Here's our "brick maker" a sponge and paint- After the first time I used gloves! Our shop at the center turned into a "construction zone" as we painted cardboard I had been collecting at the local Sears appliance center in Ephraim. They were so great to save it for me every week.Matt & Kami Walker from the committee were so great to help!

Committee members included: Matt & Kami Walker, Heather Pinegar, Dave & Janice Taylor, Jennifer Rigby, Jodi Taufer, Ricky Butrum, and myself- They all worked so hard to make this happen- I wish I had pictures of all of them to post!

Tom & I went up in the mountains and cut down 2 trees to use for the evening- we later sold them to ward members for angel tree money.

Making the soup the day of the party. Thanks to Liza, Tammy, Janice, & Georgia!

Starting to set up the town. Almost done...Tom checks out the entry way under our "clock tower" It was his idea to put the christmas tree in the window of the "building"- I think it looks great! We hung mistletoe at the arch and took pictures of families and couples at the party. Thanks again to all the organizations and committee members that helped make this year's party a great one!

One last note- all the painted cardboard will get used again as it's new home is our town's newly renovated theater with a huge basement for prop storage!

Thanksgiving-now the rest of the story...

So Tom went to the ranch huse after everyone left last night to feed/check on things. He had left the upstairs tub dripping so the pipe wouldn't freeze in these sub-zero temperatures. We had the heat in the house turned up to 40- last year we didn't have any problem when we weren't there with anything freezing at that temp. BUT- when he walked in the door, water was dripping throught the ceiling of the living room. He went upstairs to discover the DRAIN had frozen and the tub was overflowing! So he bucketed water out of the tub through the window to outside.

He turned the heat upto 70. When we got there this morning, even the pipes were froze! In a 70 degree house! So Tom also built a big fire in the insert.

We then headed down the road to where the pasture is I'm keeping a few horses in. A neighbor had pasture that needed to be eaten down and there is a ditch that runs through it for water- so the ponies and Frankie have been there since October. Anyway- we needed to break the ice in the ditch so they could drink. This time I took some buckets and bucketed some water out for the horses, to see how thirsty they were. They were thirsty- I don't think they had drank since the day before. We left them with 2 full buckets of water and a large hole they can drink out of at least until tonight when it freezes again.

Thanksgiving week and the "Storm"

Well, we were looking so forward to Thanksgiving and having a house full here. I had done TONS of food shopping (basically spent the month's food budget) and we got lots of work done at the office so we could actually relax for a few days. But, alas, it was not meant to be...

First, my parents call (Grandpa Don & Grandma Char). My Mom has had problems with vertigo- and naseau as a result, not to mention horrible headaches for the past several weeks- she has spent the last week in and out of doctors trying to figure out what's happening. Not feeling up to it, the car drive was out.

Then, the report of a HUGE storm coming made us all nervous- It really slammed Idaho- where Alex & Marie were coming from- closing down the interstate. We spent a few hours gathering lamps, securing the animals, etc. in preparation for the "storm of the century" on Tuesday.

I have to admit that, as a storm, it was basically a flop. I don't think it made it south of Salt Lake as even the kids in Utah County said they barely got anything. We got about 2". But boy is it COLD now!!

So, we were down to just our local kids- minus Kelli & Jason, who were spending it with Jason's family this year. Then the day before, Cari calls- her kids were up all night "loosing their cookies" - So our group of 17 is now 5. Oh well, the turkey and ham were already thawed, food bought, so we just decided to go ahead- but luckily...

Cari's kids bounced back really fast and woke up Thanksgiving morning ready to "par-te"- so they did come! What's Thanksgiving without some cute grandkids around to:

Play football with (in the center-too cold for outside)

Ryan was so good at tossing and catching the ball!

Play Uno with:

Kyle won all three games-sorry Ryan and Grandpa!

and take dress-up pictures of:

Kaylee found my leather Aussie hat and was so cute taking it off and putting it on. She then found my cowboy boots- that was pretty funny- but I didn't get a picture. But I did get one of her wearing my famous turkey apron-it was so long on her- Cari tied it up so she wouldn't trip on it.

Just before cleaning up started- I forgot to take a picture of the spread before we ate- I'm always so focused on getting everyone gathered and prayer said so we can eat before it get's cold.

Afterward- the fire burning, football on the TV-food digesting-

when do we get pie?

I got so busy i didn't finish my "Business" post...

Re-roofing the barn
Unscrewing the old rotten fiberboard- you can see the new roof on the cottage that Derek and Tyler came and helped with when Tom first broke his rib.

Tearing off remaining old shingles (after the wind took most of them), unscrewing the rotten wood, ripping it off/out and removing, screwing in new wood, laying tar paper, cutting metal roofing panels, cutting a hole in the old tin roof to tuck tar paper and flashing into it, laying metal roofing panels down, tucking under flashing, and finally, securing with screws!
Tom replacing the old rotten fiberboard with new fiberboard that will hold screws :-)

This has been our life for the past 2 weeks- trying to catch every minute of time after we get done with office work and on Saturdays- before the rain and snow comes.

This side we shingled...

Finished just in time!

Yesterday we worked from 7:30 AM until we finished, just before dark at 5:30 PM (Except for the 1 1/2 hour break Tom got when he conducted the Ward Baptism at 11 AM).

So we got all this free metal roofing- which was great, we just had to go pick it up 2 hours away- then cut it to the right lengths.

We have been so lucky to have GREAT friends like Jim Noorlander, who's profession is roofing. He got us a great deal on the shingles we used on the south side, lent us his nail gun, gave us some tar paper leftovers he had so we didn't have to buy a bunch, AND helped us lay the shingles!!! He also advised us on how to do the metal side- Thanks so much JIM! Also, Tom's other buddy Abe- without his help ripping off the old rotten fiberboard, I don't think we could have done it! And finally, yesterday when it got down to putting in hundreds of screws, Tom and I were so tired and trying to beat the sun going down, when our friends, (my chiropractor, Chip Howard, and his 2 teenage sons, Cache and Colin, whom I've taught to ride) showed up and took over putting the screws in! I was then able to go scrape/clean out the corrals, something I alwalys need to do before winter.

And, of course Derek and Tyler helped us a month a go when we started the project with roofing the cottage! THANKS EVERYONE!!!!

Also, the day was very busy for me, because while Tom was at the Baptism, I was giving horse instructions to Jigsaw's new owners. I have gone back and forth about whether to keep Jigsaw or not. I love having him around for the grandkids to ride and he's been a great lesson pony for the neighborhood kids, but when I decide to get the Welsh pony mares to breed, Tom was gently asking, "how many ponies do we need?" Making the point that I could train the mares to ride and they can also have the foals I want for my breeding program. So, with a very heavy heart, I placed an ad in KSL.com and got no calls.

Jigsaw's new famly, the Hoopes, from Burley Idaho.

Then, a few days ago the PERFECT family called from Burley Idaho! First the Grandpa called, he owns horses and knew what questions to ask. Then his daughter, Angela, called and we made the arrangements. Her and her husband left at 6 AM with their kids to get here in time for a couple of hours of lessons for their kids and to get acquainted with Jigsaw before they took him home. I suggested they get back home before the sun goes down so Jigsaw could see his new home in the light.

I have to say I feel so good about his new home. The kids are respectful, smart, and kind. The parents are very involved and the first thing the Mom said they would do on Monday is to go to the library and get some books on horses. I know Jigsaw will get a lot more use there. It was hard to load him in the trailer and say good-bye to him. All I could think of was the hundreds of rides he's given family, neighbors, and friends, and all the kids that had their first ride on a cute pony named Jigsaw!

I also sold the rest of the new baby goats to a really nice family with VERY excited kids (no pun intended)- 2 boys, ages 2 and 4! It's always nice to make some money to pay for the winter hay.

OCTOBER "BUSY-NESS"

It has been a while since I last posted- due in part to busy-ness and businss.

The past month has been crazy to say the least- and while I won't share all of the "details" here- someday you can read about it in my journal...
But here are some pictures to help explain...

Caught Kyle at his last soccer game of the season- he was very enthusiastic. That's him getting ready to kick the ball in.

Kaylee was not happy that Ryan had a game to play and she didn't. So I distracted her with an orange cone-hat, which, being a girl, she liked!

We had some returning guests at the Retreat Center over UEA- their little girl jumped out of the car and ran straight back to see Patches- who was already back at the ranch for the winter. She was so upset that Tom and I told her we'd go home and get her for the weekend so she could play with her. We got home and discovered a very good reason why Patches could not go back to the Center

Patches, not to be outdone by Bitzie, decided October was also a fine time to have babies...One blue-eyed buck and a brown eyed doe. Arn't they cute?

So we invited the family out to the ranch- which they enjoyed even more because all the kids got to pet the ponies as well as hold the new baby goats!

Bitzie's pair think they look good as garden ornaments...

With the threat of winter looming- I decided Ace was growing too fast and getting too big and if I didn't make some progress in his training this Fall, by Spring he may be that much bigger and harder to work with. So-

I introduced him to the saddle pad...

Which he thought was a great toy to chew on...
But I did get it on his back with no trouble- and dragged it over his head and shook it at him- just to make sure it wasn't a scary thing to him- which it wasn't :-) I also walked him down the road- cars ARE a scary thing for him- so we'll need to spend more time doing that before the snow flies.
Moved the ponies to new pasture.

October means gettin ready for winter-

Tom went up in the mountains and got a load of wood to cut and split.

He cuts and splits- I load up the tractor bucket and drive it over and dump it on the porch and then stack it.

More pictures next post...

More Bits...

Finishing up on a few more little things going on that make up our lives:

Our wild plum tree went crazy this year with fruit- I need to find my canner I guess and put up some plum jam. They should be ripe in another week or so.

Last Monday, Graciela, a friend from my Ward who also owns horses, and I went to Ephraim to an indoor arena where on Mondays between 4 and 6 there is a 4-H riding group that meets. The gals that run it are two really nice ladies (grandma types) that help out the kids in the area that want to learn how to ride and jump. They invited us to come check it out. We had a fun time- cute kids not bigger than 8 or 9 years jumping horses and loving it! I am going to help them out anyway I can- probably bring any of my students down to ride that want to jump, etc.

I took Annie and Frankie- Graciela rode one while I worked the other. Neither of her horses are rideable at this time. I was so pleased with Annie- to my knowledge she'd never jumped before and she offered no resistance at all when we did. She even seemed to enjoy it. I'm so excited about her foal next year by Providence- should be a good little jumping pony!

Bitsy surprised us with 2 babies- one doe and one buck! Usually they have babies in the spring.

We got 2 kittens for mousers. I just call them Blue Eyes and Green Eyes- They are sisters-even though they don't look like it.

Our little neighbors (twins, now 4 years old) saw Tom and I working in the field putting up the fencing and started yelling at us- "Hello Jerri!" "Hello Brother Fuhriman!" (Since he's the Bishopric member over Primary- they know him more from there) We hollered a "Hello, How are you?" back, which only fueled the flame and they kept saying "Hi", "How's your pony, We want to see your new kittens," etc. We were about done (more like done-in) with the fencing, so Tom yelled back to see if they wanted to come see the new baby goats. They started walking across the field (after finding their Mom) and came over to see the baby goats (just born) and the kittens. They asked what were the names for the goats- I said they had just been born and we didn't have names for them. Little Adelai and Julian decided this was no good and promptly named them Rose and Rocket Ship!

Thursday we went down to watch Kyle in his last soccer game of the year. Tom had to run an errand so he dropped me off at Cari's to help get kids ready (Cari's really feeling the difference of getting 4 kids ready to go some where vs 3!) Of course they all were happy to see me-it's been awhile. Kaylee ran to me and hugged me saying "Banma"- but after one hug she looked around and said, "Bampa" She looked and looked- while repeating several times, "Bampa." I told her he had to go somewhere but will be back in a minute- She frowned and called again "Bampa, Bampa!" All sad like. Later, when he returned, she ran to him and hugged him and wouldn't let go! Needless to say it made Tom's day to be so admired.

Kyle did great in his game- he has such unbridled enthusiasm for life-it's so fantastic to see, and so rare. He is always so quick to high five someone or say "good job!" to one of the other players. I really appreciate his wonderful attitude.

Ryan showed us how well he can bounce a ball and catch it in the air with one hand- he was so excited to show us his new tricks! And little baby Kynlee is growing! She is so adorable, cooing and smiling. And she has blue eyes and, dare I say, reddish hair? We'll have to see... I took the camera to get some pictures- but after a couple of shots the battery was dead- those were too far away to see anything- so I came home and plugged it in! Better luck (planning) next time!

BITS AND TIDBITS

Comings & goings,
Bits & tidbits
Our life, a puzzle,
And how it all fits...sometimes

This is mostly a catch up on the past few weeks-

Work:

• We've been working 12 hours in the office every day (usually 6am-6 pm) then going home and getting projects done around the farm...we are TIRED.
• The Center is empty- but we do have two groups coming in October- one in trade for some website work and we're donating a night for some Celtic dancers doing a benefit concert at Snow college.
• Tom's been putting his resume' out for any Knowledge management director positions- He made it to the final 2 for the walmart postition-but no dice.

Projects on the farm:

• We strung up some hotwire around the pasture's south and west side to enclose it so the horses could be turned out to eat all the pasture (and weeds) out there. This included post pounding, stringing wire, cleaning up junk in the way of the fence, and generally in the pasture- there were several piles of old wood something-er-others.
• We fixed the garage door on the barn
• We started putting up the rough-cut lumber planks to enclose the rest of the barn where ther was rotten fiber board
• Loaded the trailer with junk
• Scraped up the burn pile with the tractor and loaded it on trailer
• Tacked down tar paper and replaced rotten wood on cottage and barn roofs to get ready for metal roofing

Church:

• We had Stake conference 2 weekends ago- it was very good- and very nice for Tom to have a break from Sunday finances and Bishopric meetings... We invited several friends over after the sat. night session for ice cream sundaes and had a great time.
• Gospel Doctrine (what I currently teach) is now held in the Chapel- which is good and bad- everyone's more spread out, but more people attend- On the Stake level- I'm involved with the activities committe's production of a pageant of sorts in November on Christ, to sort of kick off the Christmas season on the right foot.

Personal:

• I'm just finishing my 2nd round of antibiotics for my UTI- I've had to watch my sun exposure while on the meds- last Saturday I was out in the sun giving pony rides to a neighbor's grandkids and got a bit of heat stroke- believe it or not-
• Oh- and wonderful menopause- I get hotflashes all night and all day- which makes it hard to sleep longer than 1/2 hour at a time before waking up either hot or cold. And at the office I can be seen suddenly ripping off my sweater and frantically fanning myself- so much fun! (sarcasm)
• Tom has been fighting off a cold and then, last night, Derek, Elli, and her Mom visiting from Mexico, came over for dinner. After which, Derek proceeded to show Tom some of his new Jujitsu moves- which resulted in a "crack" - which was the sound of Tom's rib breaking- Good move Derek! Tom- you're not as young as you used to be! Now we're wondering how we'll ever get the roofing done-
• Tyler is heading back to the MTC on Oct 13th! We're so proud of him for sticking to his commitment to serve a mission. He has the same call as before- Portland Oregon, Spanish Speaking. We will miss him a bunch!
• Cari is blessing Kynlee on Oct 10th- so the family is all invited for dinner and it will also be a last family dinner for Tyler.

We were planning to go to Boise this weekend but the car has over 200,000 miles and has been acting up-so we decided to not to go.

So anyway- there's an update