Christmas Letter 2013, a Year in Review

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We are in the final days of 2013 and winding down our first complete calendar year living in Washington.  I thought it might be fun to highlight each month, mostly for my own enjoyment.  Feel free to jump to the end for a Christmas message.

January:  January was rough, I'm not gonna lie.  We were paying folks for the completion of work on our home in Wisconsin.  Not a big deal, we had budgeted for that.  But then we had a string of bad luck that month.  Our car was broken into.  The window was smashed and $150 was stolen.  ($250 to replace the window)  Our oil tank was refilled.  This may seem like good luck, but it was the first time it was done and it caught us unawares.  They refilled and charged it to our bank account.  I had not expected them to come without warning and didn't realize they were set up for auto pay from our account.  $600.  I took the Mountaineer in for a brake job and was told that the tires were in dire need of replacement.  They wouldn't even let me leave with one of the tires still on the car.  They put on my spare and ordered new tires for me.  $750 tires, $200 brakes.  Lincoln's car kept dying and we didn't have time to keep jumping it one night and left it in the Ace Hardware parking lot.  For a long time.  It got towed to impound.  Getting the car out of impound, towed to a garage, and repaired: $500.  Lesson learned in January:  We are grateful that even when frustrating, unexpected things come up, Lincoln has a good job and we know another paycheck is coming at the end of the month.  Not everyone is so lucky.

February:  Jesse turned 6 and Devon turned 9.  We hosted our annual Valentine's party and burned significant calories laughing 'til we cried, with new friends and dear old friends (Joe and Anita Daines came for the party.)  Over midwinter break, the kids and I went on a few local adventures.  We spent a fun day at the Olympic Game Farm with friends.  The kids screamed and giggled and guffawed as the elk and bison ate bread out of their hands.  Lesson learned in February: Friends make the world a better place.

March:  In mid-March we traveled to Shaw Island, in the San Juan Islands, with other members of our ward, or congregation, to participate in a service project at Our Lady of the Rock monastery.  We helped with everything from cleaning out the chicken houses, to cleaning the chapel, to gathering beach rocks, to moving the Priest's belongings from one place to another.  Everyone worked hard and much work was accomplished for the nuns that day.  Lesson learned in March:  When you serve your fellow man, you serve God.

April:  I began digging around in the flower garden, getting my hands in the dirt once again.  The apple trees blossomed and we began to have some really warm days.  We even went to the beach a few times this month, including on my birthday.  Lesson learned in April: Life goes on, but we are truly living when we are connected with the earth.  I just wish my body would renew itself like the earth does in spring. ;)

May: We had some absolutely gorgeous weather early in May.  We spent some time at our local beaches and also made a trip to Portland to see the Daines family.  We spent a lovely day at Multnomah Falls.  Time seemed to fly by this month, as the last few weeks of the school year are always incredibly overscheduled.  Lesson learned in May:  When life gets crazy, don't forget to stop and soak up the sunshine.

June:  Kennedy attended 8th grade banquet and said goodbye to middle school.  I helped her register for high school and suddenly felt very old.  The kids finished up their final school projects and somehow we survived the school year.  After having an offer on our house since December, a new offer came through in May and we finally closed on our house in Wisconsin!  Despite it costing us money to sell our home, it was a huge stress relief to have closure on that part of our lives. Lesson learned in June:  Stay the course and this too shall pass. 

July: After months of planning, we made an epic trip east to spend time with our family.  The kids and I (and the annoying dog) drove to NY.  We stopped in WI to pick up Kennedy's friend Drew.  We spent a night in Buffalo, NY, visiting some dear friends from waaaaaay back, and went to Niagara Falls with them. We then continued on to my parents'.  We settled in at my brother Jonathan's house for the next few weeks, and got to work on preparations for the family reunion.  It was so fun to be at home, with family arriving from all over the country every few days.  We worked together and played together and my heart was full.  Lesson learned in July:  Life takes us many places on many adventures, but nothing beats the feeling of being home with loved ones.

August: The family reunion was a lot of fun and a great success.  I think the highlight was the barn dance at Jonathan's.  The family reunion was a celebration of the life of my paternal grandmother, Esther, honoring what would have been her 100th birthday.  I have always felt very close to her, even since her passing when I was a teenager.  It was lovely to hear stories and memories of her from those who spent many more days on this earth with her than I did.  I also attended my 20 year high school reunion.  It was a delight to spend some time with my childhood friends.  I was in the middle of family reunion festivities, so my class reunion time was quite limited, but I was reminded how lucky I am to have shared my formative years with such awesome people.  Lincoln joined us in NY for all the reunion fun and other North Country adventures.  We dropped him off at the airport and then the kids and I began our journey home.  This included a stay of several days in WI, visiting friends there, and a quick tour of Glacier National Park.  My Facebook status upon reaching home; "1 month, 7300 miles, 1 driver, 12 states, 5 (sometimes 6) kids, 1 dog, 3 National parks, 1 National monument, 2 family reunions, 2 birthdays (Renie turned 8 in July, Julia turned 12 in August), 1 baptism in a swimming pool, 1 advancement to Young Women, hanging with all my siblings and numerous cousins, Niagara Falls, Adirondack park.  An amazing and fun vacation.  It feels good to be home."  That barely scrapes the surface.  Kennedy immediately started volleyball upon our reaching home and back to school preparations began with gusto.  Lesson learned in August:  Who we love and associate with in our formative years truly shapes who we become.  Also, see July's lesson.  It applies to our return to Washington as well.

September:  Kennedy turned 14 and started high school. Julia started middle school and Devon 4th grade, Renie 3rd, and Jesse 1st.  Suddenly all of my children were in school for the entire day. I was canning like crazy, jams and jellies, peaches, applesauce, tomato sauce, salsa, carrots, peppers, chicken.  We harvested a bag of apples from our little backyard tree.  Kennedy began putting in long days of seminary (starting at 6:30 every school day), school, volleyball.  Despite the craziness, it felt really good to feel our roots taking hold.  The school year was off to a much better start than the previous year, and everyone was happy to be returning to school with friends and familiar faces and places after the struggle of being new the year before.  Lesson learned in September:  It is possible, and fun, to bloom where you are planted, or transplanted. 

October:  We took a weekend trip to the tip of the Olympic peninsula, Cape Flattery.  We took in the beautiful mountains, lakes, the Pacific Ocean, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  We beachcombed and hiked, and watched whales from the overlook at the Cape.  Lesson learned in October:  We have been blessed to live in many beautiful places, and we are indeed blessed once again in our latest move. 

November:  Lincoln turned 40.  What the wha?  Yup, it's true.  He's still as handsome and funny as ever, so what's another year and a new decade?  We spent Thanksgiving running the turkey trot and then having dinner with Lincoln's Uncle Ron and Aunt Sherry, just like we did last year.  It has been so fun to get to know them and spend time with them.  That evening we made a quick stop to see the Daines family, then headed home.  Saturday we went with a group of friends to the mountains to cut our Christmas trees, just like we did last year.   Lesson learned in November:  It only takes one repeat of an event to make it a tradition, and new traditions are just as fun, and grounding, as old traditions. 

December:  December has been a month of reflection and contemplation.  We have sought out opportunities to serve and give as a family.  As always, I have enjoyed the opportunity to sing Christmas carols and reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Our ward put on a living nativity, and it was breathtaking and moving to walk through it.  As I sang with the ward choir in church yesterday, I felt the Spirit testify of Christ's holy birth.  I am so grateful for the hope and comfort this knowledge gives me.  Our lesson in relief society (our women's group at church) yesterday was Come Unto Me.  That is my goal and my hope for each of you.  I know many of you don't share my beliefs, but I hope that you will have love toward your fellow man, give selfless service, embrace those with differences, be compassionate, and be thoughtful in how you speak to one another, because, lesson learned in December: What is really meant by "Coming unto Christ", is doing those things.

Merry Christmas,

The Tatro Family

December Highlights

Hey! Remember Christmas? Was it a whirlwind for you like it was for me? December is always pretty crazy, so why would this year be any different? So let's see what I can remember.

I posted over on my other blog about going to get the tree on the first Saturday in December. The weather was perfect and we had a lovely time.

We managed to miss the parade this year, but we didn't miss Santa's Secret Shop. The kids look forward to this every year. They have fun buying gifts for their siblings and Lincoln and I get an hour or so to go do a little team shopping of our own. This year, unfortunately, the kids were grouped together so they all saw what they were getting. Jesse kept asking us when he could open up his cars from Julia. This was the first time that Jesse was big enough to be in on it. He almost didn't stay, but curiosity got the best of him.

I didn't even bring my camera to the church Christmas party this year. I am happy to report that the highlight of the event was that ham was served instead of sloppy joes.

We spent an evening decorating Christmas cookies, as we do every year. You'll be shocked to learn that I didn't get any pictures of the kids with their cookie masterpieces, but at least I got some of them during the creative process.




You can't really tell from this picture, but Renie did an amazing job on her cookies. The were neat and had lovely details.



We went caroling in our neighborhood with the Howells, Thompsons, and Spencers. This has become one of our favorite traditions. The Howells kindly hosted the after caroling refreshment party.

Christmas Eve it was just our family, but, as per tradition, I prepared enough food to end world hunger.


We had our usual orange chicken, cheese, crackers, chips, dip, rice krispie treats, wassail, and homemade candy, and this year I added spicy bean dip, AKA baby poop dip. Despite its fecal appearance, this was a hit and I'm pretty sure it will make the list going forward.

While I prepared food, the kids decorated a gingerbread house. I had planned to make one this year, something from scratch and fabulous, but I just ran out of time. At the last minute I grabbed this kit from Walmart and it really was the perfect solution. The kids were totally independent as they worked on it, giving me a few moments to get stuff done without them fighting or getting into stuff or asking me repeatedly if it was time to eat yet.



We opened our Christmas Eve jammies and I forgot to get a picture of everyone in them.

What is my problem? This year I bought myself some Christmas Eve jammies too.
Even Graham got in on the festivities. You can see he's thrilled about it.


We read the story of Christ's birth from the scriptures, inserting Christmas carols where appropriate.
Before bed, the kids went outside to sprinkle reindeer food for our guests we were expecting.


Then we tucked the kiddos in bed and sat down to watch White Christmas while we waited for Santa to arrive. This year, Santa had not one, but TWO elves to help him stuff stockings, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if there was a new elf next year. How do they grow up so fast?

The kids held off Christmas morning until almost 7:00. I love that you can see the motion and excitement in this picture. (And Hey! The Christmas Eve jammies. We did get Jesse a matching set, but he had a little peepee accident.)



Christmas morning mayhem ensued.




The Knouses, Aunt Di, Uncle Al, and the Johansens came for dinner at 2:00. We had, once again, a ton of delicious food. Natalie brought two gigantic salads, Knouses brought a ham, a pumpkin pie, and a cheesecake. I made another ham, rosemary roasted potatoes, sesame garlic green beans, cabbage salad, different salad, crescent rolls, chocolate pie, and orange cranberry strudel.

After cleaning up the kitchen, we played a few games. Jesse, who had been complaining all day that he didn't fell good, finally threw up that evening. Around 1am, Renie started throwing up. She threw up many times in the night. Not a lot of sleeping went on.

She was still pretty yucky the next day. I went to church by myself and sang in the choir. At some point that day Devon threw up. Kennedy and Lincoln both felt yucky Sunday night. Neither of them threw up, and they both felt much better on Monday. Julia and I seemed to make it through the carnage without falling ourselves.

Thursday we drove to Iowa to cabin we had rented with the Howells, Thompsons, Prowses, Lindners, and Rasmussons. The Thompsons couldn't come at the last minute and sent their kids with the Johansens in their place.



Lincoln and I stayed up until 3:30 playing games.



After going to bed, I didn't sleep well. I got up with the boys to go potty at about 6am, and once I was upright, I realized that I was incredibly nauseous. I crawled back into bed and waited for it to hit. At about 7:00 or so, it got me. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Let me just say here that I do not like throwing up. 'Nuf said. I spent the rest of the day in bed sleeping. Luckily I only threw up the one time. By about 4pm, I was able to get up and play a couple games. I was still weak and achy, but I hung in there to usher in the new year.
I was back in bed by 12:01. Meanwhile, Lincoln had gone to bed about 9pm. He spent New Years Day in bed. He just had the fever and aches, but no nausea.

I know that sounds like a crummy vacation, but it was actually kind of nice to be able to just lay in bed and be sick and not have any responsibilities pulling at me. Meals were already planned, with plenty of people to make sure they happened, Lincoln was there to take care of kids, nothing had to be cleaned, no laundry to be washed. I just slept. And it was bliss. I'm sure if I'd had to get up to deal with those things, I would have thrown up a few more times.

Of course, because I spent a day totally in a stupor, I didn't get a lot of pictures. But trust me, the cabin was beautiful, the views were gorgeous, the company was fantastic, and we had a lovely time.

And that brings us to January. Whew. That wasn't so hard. Now I feel like I can go forward with this blog and quit looking back. So here's to a new year.

It's Tree-Getting Time Again!

Unbelievable, but true. We went last Saturday to get not one, but two trees for our home. We debated when to go for the tree. We had gone back and forth and around and around. See, we really wanted to have snow for the outing. It just doesn't seem right to get a tree without trudging through snow. You would think after six years living in NC, this wouldn't be an issue for us anymore. However, it always bothered us then, though we accepted it and looked past it. But now that we live up north again, it just doesn't seem right. There is no snow here. I checked the extended forecast on Friday night and saw that there was a chance of snow the following Friday and Saturday. We decided to wait. Saturday morning, when other plans fell through, (I was supposed to go shopping with my cousin who at that point had been up barfing most of the night), we started thinking again about getting the tree. I checked the forecast again and already the chance of snow was gone. We determined there was certainly no guarantee there would be snow next weekend so we might as well go ahead and get it now.
In the early morning it had been quite chilly, temps in the low30s or upper 20s, so I put hats and gloves and big coats on everyone who would let me and we headed out. By the time we had arrived and started walking out into the trees, it was quite warm.


(Remember this?!)


Lincoln just had on a sweater and the kids had started stripping off layers. The sun was shining brightly- and warmly. We wandered around, inspecting trees, walking a circle around them, judging their size and fullness.


We decided on a lovely, thick tree for the family room, and a smaller, narrower tree for the living room.


Lincoln cut them down easily, this year laying in dirt and mud to do it instead of snow,











and we dragged them back to the barn for binding.


The kids and I went inside for free hot cocoa and Lincoln secured the trees to the top of the car.


As I was standing in line waiting to pay, I struck up a conversation with the lady next to me. We talked a bit about the weather and I expressed to her that we had thought about waiting until next weekend. She said, "Oh no! This weekend is perfect!" Obviously she missed my point that we LIKE to have snow for tree-getting. I will admit, however, that it was easy. No dragging a bundled up toddler through knee-high (to him) snow. No biting wind whipping across the hills. No frozen fingers. No mittens lost in the rows of trees. BUT, there also were no rosy cheeks, no snowball fights, no trail through the snow from the dragging tree, no marshmallow world, no mist of snow blown off the tree in the shaker, no sled rides, and honestly the hot cocoa just seemed superfluous.

I still haven't really gotten a picture of the trees put up. The big tree fell over yesterday and has yet to be properly redecorated.

Snow is in the forecast again for next week. I'm ready for it. I need a little boost to my Christmas Spirit.

Decorations, Celebrations

Despite my best intentions, I seem to have trouble finding time to keep up with blogging. I miss a day or two and suddenly I have so much I need to blog about that it seems overwhelming. What follows is a lame attempt at bringing you up to speed.

Monday night for Family Home Evening, we made ornaments. Kennedy had learned at school how to make the yarn wrapped popscicle sticks ornaments so we thought it would be fun for her to teach the rest of us how to make them. We also decided to try making peppermint candy ornaments. (Melt peppermint candies in the oven to form wreaths and other shapes.) The yarn ornaments were a big success.






We had a lot of fun making them and almost everyone was able to actively participate. (Renie did lots of grabbing the yarn and running off with it, but she did finally sit on my lap for a while "helping" me make one for her.) The peppermint candy ornaments did not work. They never melted. Maybe I'll try again with a different brand of candy. For refreshments we had yummy Chocolate Crinkle cookies and hot cocoa. (For the cookie recipe click here. They are divine.)

Tuesday we had our first snow day of the season. We got freezing rain and six inches of snow. We survived it OK. i got lots of housework done and the kids had fun playing indoors and out. That is, after the initial couple of hours when they haven't figured out how to use their time and they just fight with each other.

Wednesday I hosted a cookie exchange and book club at my home. I spent the morning baking my cookies, baking bread, making a vegetable beef soup, preparing hot cocoa in the crockpot, and baking cranberry bars. And finishing up the cleaning. Guests arrived at 10:00 and we had a lovely, though noisy (nine kids) time. For book club this week, everyone brought their favorite childrens Christmas book to share. It was such a great idea. I have added several of them to my Must-Have list. I shared, what else, Christmas Day In The Morning. Everyone brought delicious cookies. We packed a sampling of each up for each lady and still had some for dessert after our bread and soup.

Wednesday night we went to the school to see Julia's class perform 3 little plays. Julia was a monkey in The Lion and The Mouse.



After the plays we enjoyed a dinner of hot dogs, chips, carrots, apples, brownies, and lemonade.

Julia and her best friend Rachel

The boys doing what they do best- packing the food and drink away.

Gee..Can you tell they're sisters?!


Julia was very cute in the play- all the kids did a fantastic job remembering their lines and performing with expression.

I'm going to throw in a few pictures of some of our decorations. I love when the house is decorated for Christmas. Lincoln was commenting the other night on how pleasant it is to sit and prepare our lessons for church surrounded by glowing lights and the Christmas tree as Christmas music plays quietly in the background.

More about the weekend...

Friday night we went to free movie night at Lands' End. The schedule said, "Classic holiday cartoons." I thought we'd see How The Grinch Stole Christmas, or A Charlie Brown Christmas. Maybe Frosty the Snowman or perhaps the original Rudolph. What we got was Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Island Of Misfit Toys. Have you seen it? DON'T! Oh it was horrendous, in every sense of the word. Seriously, there was nothing redeeming about it. From the Black Lung snowman (oh I miss you Burl Ives!) to the misguided attempt to "hip it up"- a fabulous hippo- to the incessant whining of a certain proboscis-glowing reindeer, it was a train wreck from the creepy opening scene. But hey- we got free popcorn and lemonade.
Saturday after the tree-getting and trimming, we went to the Christmas parade in town. I've been joking that the Christmas parade is the best one they do in town, because although they all have just a few lame floats and lots of firetrucks, this one has CHRISTMAS LIGHTS on all of them! Seriously, though, we do really enjoy going to this event. Last year there were big soft snowflakes falling. We weren't as lucky this year, but it was still lots of fun.