Brrrr! I said it's cold in here.

It is really cold. As I type this, it's 17 degrees, and we are about to get snowed on again. I can say that I'm officially adjusting to it! I still take an hour-long walk most days if it's not icy. I love being outside. 

The latest:

Gwen lost another tooth. My kids lose teeth really late. Most of their friends have lost all of their teeth, and we are about two years behind them. Doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that my kids don't believe in the tooth fairy and still expect tooth fairy money. Said Gwen, "Mom, you actually owe me two dollars because you never paid me for the last one." And I said, "Gwen, I'm not the tooth fairy. Take it up with her." And then she said I was supposed to be, and back and forth. 

It's not that my kids are really street smart and have figured out that these mythical things don't exist. It's that I always forget to do the thing I'm supposed to do in order to keep the legend alive, i.e. put money under a pillow, eat the cookies left out for Santa, etc.

We live in a rural area. Moving here from New Jersey two years ago was quite hard for me, but now I've acclimated. There are people and houses and buildings everywhere in NJ, and here in PA (only two hours away!), we drive by several farms every single day no matter where we are going. The first night we were here, we stayed in a hotel before the closing of our house. A bunch of other people in the hotel were in town for the PA farm show. At the continental breakfast, they asked if we were attending said farm show. They couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it. Well this year we went, and we had a lot of fun.

The first thing we attended was a farm comedy magic show. You read that right. I caught myself praying that my kids wouldn't get called on to volunteer. My kids always get picked to volunteer, and they always derail the agenda of the person who picked them. I was relieved they weren't picked.

We witnessed the birth of this calf. Yeah. In person! They have cows giving birth all day, and tons of people come and watch. I immediately felt for the mother, who just found out that the doctor has a crowd of dozens of students coming in to watch her do something rather private. Sorry, mama cow. I've been there. 

While there, I texted my sister about it, and we had the best text exchange.

We ate the FAMOUS PA farm show milkshakes. These are talked about a lot in these parts, so we had to try them out. It was interesting because there were signs everywhere talking about the virtues and health benefits of dairy, but I didn't feel so good after my shake. I'm old. I can't eat ice cream very often.

We went into the butterfly exhibit and held up cue tips dipped in gatorade and the butterflies flew all over and around us.

We milked a fake cow. This was not cool at all. No milk even came out of the fake cow, and then the lady working at the station said that the mother was pregnant so she wasn't producing milk right now. The fake cow was pregnant and not producing milk. Got it.

In other news, Dan has been working with June to strengthen her legs so that she can ride a bike better. She already goes to physical therapy, but Dan is helping her twice a week as well. 

Wall sits. Brutal.

I was gone yesterday morning grocery shopping, and when I came back, I was presented with a ticket to attend a show the kids had put together. Their own rendition of "The Tortoise and the Hare".

The ticket:

That's me:

June showing the costumes she designed because Harris refused to put the backpack back on when the show was over. Gwen was the hare, hence the bunny hoodie. Harris was the tortoise, and he wore a backpack with a green plate taped to it as his shell. You can also see Harris' medal he won. Slow and steady wins the race!

The two stars:

And church today:

The End.
 

December!!!

We had one of our best Decembers ever. I absolutely loved it. It must have been super duper amazing for me to say that because I have been battling an eye infection for several weeks (read: ugly glasses and no eye makeup) and have had a very minor case of shingles as well. And I'm pretty whiny when my eyes are acting up. Dan agrees that it was a wonderful Christmas, though he said just because it was great doesn't mean it was relaxing. I'm really bad at planning in time to relax.

We (read: Dan) have been working on making fake built-in bookshelves for the piano room. This involves using the Billy bookshelves from IKEA and putting trim around them to make them look built in. We aren't done yet, but it's starting to look really good!

Just bookshelves, before the trim was added:

One of the reasons it was the best Christmas ever is that Grandma Sandy surprised the kids! She flew in late Christmas Eve night, and she was there to greet the kids Christmas morning. We tried to be really sneaky sneak about this, but I can't tell you how many times I mentioned that she was coming right in front of the kids. Luckily they weren't paying attention. But it makes me curious about all of the things they don't hear that I think they should versus all of the things I don't want them to hear and they somehow do. It's a mystery, and I really lucked out this time.

Another thing that made Christmas so special this year was that the kids made each other tons of homemade presents. Actually they made too many, and it got pretty old watching them open their ninth homemade creation that no one could tell what it actually was, but it was really sweet that they took so much time to make things for each other. One of the reasons this came about was that we asked the kids if they would like to have their normal amount of presents this year or if they would rather have one big present--season passes to Hershey Park. They chose the park passes, but still wanted to have plenty of things to unwrap, hence the gifting of many homemade creations.

I, for one, was thrilled that they picked Hershey Park passes. I don't like stuff, I don't like toys, and so I felt like this was a major win for me. Easiest Christmas shopping ever.

They spent many nights in this tent that Grandma Kristi and Papa bought them. 

Our house felt especially Christmas-y this year. Here are our french doors, decked out in the cards we received.

This was right after we cleaned the whole house for the big Christmas Eve dinner party we threw.

Adult table and kids table:

And here is where I made the kids eat lunch outside on the deck so that they wouldn't mess up the house we had just cleaned:

We also threw a party for the neighborhood kids. We cut out, baked, and decorated sugar and gingerbread cookies. We also made ornaments.

And of course we did our annual Christmas caroling. We found this lighted arch by one of the families we sang to, so naturally this event had to occur.

We completed our annual family puzzle, and I even got a little involved even though I don't like puzzles at all.

The girls performed in their children's choir at a Christmas concert.

And at said concert, their artwork from the art class they have been taking was on display.

I cried through the whole concert. The kids were amazing. The high school a cappella choir was out of this world. The orchestra was excellent and performed my favorite Trans-Siberian numbers. They also had a special percussion group perform, and they were excellent. One of the high school percussionists composed and conducted a piece. Bawl city for me.

And I took some new members of the church to do baptisms for the dead at the Philadelphia temple. It was their first time, and it was a wonderful experience.

A fantastic December.

The End.
 

Jolley Christmas Letter 2021

 

November 27, 2021

Friends, Romans, Countrymen:

Lend me your ear. Don’t be concerned. Lest you think this entire letter shall be written in iambic pentameter, be assured that it will be written in the same highbrow Mom-of-four-kids prose I have used in previous years, complete with half-complete thoughts, jumbled sentences, intermittent fits of yelling, and calling my children by the wrong name.

I think the youngest kid is named Beck. Beck is two and the two-iest two-year-old that ever two-ed.  Perhaps my favorite Beck memory this year was when we went on a family tour of an Amish village, and he would only stop screaming if he could lie down on the pavement and pull the double stroller on top of himself. It was a special moment for me to explain to passersby that “No, he’s fine; the feeling of a stroller rolling over his body soothes his disturbed soul.”

Harris is at that great age (4) where he loves to learn about the alphabet and adding and subtracting but just when you think he’s really getting into it, he abandons it for something much more important like running around the room at high speed or digging a hole in the backyard. He loves to go anywhere in the car with Mom or Dad, except for when church clothes are involved. He would stay in the same dirty clothes all the time if he could. One morning, I told him it was time to get dressed for the day, to which he responded, “Why, are we going somewhere?” which is just a little clue as to the tight ship we are running over here.

Gwen (7), like her dad, is what I term a “joiner”. She loves joining in on whatever is going on, trying a little bit of everything. Currently, she sings, draws, dances, and plays the piano. Her preferred kitchen chore is washing the dishes, which is fantastic news for me. If she gets joining from her dad, she gets sass from her mom. She often has a witty comeback and gets the last word in an argument, leaving me speechless. The student surpasses the master.  

One of many great June (9) moments this year took place during the children’s annual program at our church. June was assigned a lengthy part, which I pushed her to memorize and was swiftly met with resistance. Finally, I decided to back off and wouldn’t you know that that girl did a fabulous job? I felt myself realize that I need to just get out of June’s way, and she will do just fine. Of course, on the way home from the aforementioned program, June was playing with her seatbelt and got herself so tangled up in it that I thought we would have to call the jaws of life to get her out. So, you know, maybe get out of her way but be on standby.

Dan loves the Hershey Company and scoffs in disgust when the children so much as look at M&M’s. He loves giving a good lecture on the history of the company and its positive contributions to our town, state, country, and world. Dan has taken on many house projects this year. For some, he used the free labor of his children, and the half-stained deck in the backyard will tell you what free gets you. He still takes loving care of the lawn and knows each blade of grass by name but has welcomed a new love into his life—a meat smoker. In other words, Dan is dad-ing it up big time, all of the time.

And then there’s me (age not listed). We are on our second year of homeschooling, and I’m feeling about one math flashcard short of a full deck some days. However, most days are great, and we have really enjoyed the community we have found at our co-op and children’s choir. When those hard days come, I reward myself by throwing away the little legos I find in my sweeping pile instead of picking them out. What a rush!

This year, we have felt the love of our Savior Jesus Christ by reading and studying the scriptures as a family. I’m encouraged by the words of a living prophet, Russell M. Nelson, who encourages us to attend the temple, share the good news of the Gospel, serve others, and to “let God prevail”. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

The Jolleys

Thanksgiving.

We hosted 19 people at our house this week for Thanksgiving. I have zero pictures of the people, but I do have pictures of the set-up.

10 adults!

7 kids!

And two kids were in high chairs.

I made a gratitude wall:

(which no one really cared about).

I made a pumpkin chocolate bundt cake 

 which really just tasted like chocolate cake.

It was a chaotic and fun day! I issued a dessert challenge, and only one person accepted it. She ate one serving of all 7 desserts available and even lived to tell about it.

Also, I took the girls and a friend to see the Nutcracker the day after Thanksgiving. We've done it two years in a row, and the girls want it to be an annual tradition.

 It was a youth production, and it was decently good. There was one part where the prince almost dropped the Sugar Plum Fairy. The whole audience gasped at the same time, and I felt a real bond.

Earlier in the week, we decorated a friend's house while they were at the court house finalizing the adoption of two boys they have had for almost two years. What an exciting day!

The library sold graham cracker house kits for $5 a piece, and the kids were delighted to decorate them.

And today's Sunday photo. Yes, that is an extra stocking for June's favorite stuffed animal dog, Rescue.

This is the most boring post of all time.

The end.

Let's Do This. Primary Program.

Three months. It's been THREE months since I've updated. Sunday is my usual blogging day, and every Sunday for three months I've thought about updating but others things have seemed more important. I'm sure other things really are just more important but to me blogging is incredibly important. I'm a family history flunkie in many respects, so blogging is one of the only things I do to help my family in that area. June and I have a goal to do family history together in 2022 though, so hopefully that will change.

This photo is from last week. I have been getting over a little cold so June, Beck, and I stayed home from church today.

Last week was the primary program. I have this inherent belief that kids should memorize their parts for the primary program, so of course I started having the kids do this as soon as we received their parts three weeks before. Gwen's part was easy. "Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ help me when I don't know the way, like when I am lost." She had it down pat the first day and would say it to me any time I requested it.

Harris' part was "My own Sacred Grove is when I am outside. This is where I feel Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love for me." He took a little more prodding, but he slowly memorized it. But my heart told me that he would get up to the microphone, act like he didn't know it and wait for the nice primary lady standing beside him to whisper it in his ear, word by word. I was correct in this assumption.

June's part was gargantuan. It was:

Joseph was led by God to an ancient record of people who lived thousands of years ago. This record is filled with stories and testimonies of prophets all testifying that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. This record was translated into English by Joseph through the gift and power of God, into what we now know as the Book of Mormon. This book is another witness of Jesus Christ and it teaches us more about Christ’s gospel. It is used hand in hand with the Holy Bible. It was said that a person “would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” I love this book! The Book of Mormon has brought me closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father by helping me know His way.

Now June is a pretty good memorizer. We have memorized a lot of poems and other things for homeschool, but I knew that this would be tricky. Lots of complicated sentences, replete with details. Lots of sentences that started in a similar way but then diverged into another thought. But you know me, I'm a pusher. So I pushed. We worked on it and worked on it. I recorded myself saying different sections, and June would listen to the part on repeat. 

But really, it was too hard. Not a lot of progress was made. And because of this, June was discouraged and started to resist. Discouragement --> Resistance --> Contention

Finally, like so many great mothers before me, I gave up. I told her to just get up there and read it. Unfortunately, even this seemed too much to ask. She would barely even read it for me at this point.

Beck was his usual maniac self as the program went on, screaming that he wanted a turn at the microphone. Dan took him out, but managed to watch from the back of the room. Which begs the question--When was the last time Dan and I both sat through an entire Sacrament meeting? I think it might have been in 2015, right before Harris was born.

But anyway. As I predicted, Harris (wearing his new favorite train sweater) reluctantly ascended the steps of the rostrum and waited for the sweet primary lady to prompt him. The rest of the program he could be found in the front row, hanging over the partition while everyone sang, squirreling around until hitting his head on the piano behind him and then being soothed by the aforementioned sweet primary lady.

Gwen's turn. Sweet Gwen marched right to the front, dazzled the crowd with her smile, opened her mouth and confidently stated, "Heavenly Father . . ." and then forgot the rest of her over-rehearsed part. She said "Heavenly Father" a few more times until finally the sweet primary lady whispered the next word into her ear, at which point Gwen rallied and finished her part, the smile on her lips turning quickly to an expression of pain and agony until she could finally descend from the rostrum and slink back into her seat. That poor girl. She didn't deserve that. I was sure she was going to burst into tears, but she held strong and finished the program well.

Then came June's part. I knew she would read the part just fine. June had her part in her hand, but didn't look at it as she looked straight out into the audience and delivered her part, memorized and without missing a beat. I was shocked. She even had a presence about her, emphasizing thousands of years ago in a hushed tone to give a spooky ghost story effect. Which isn't really how I think of that story--but I do love some theatrics! Halfway through her part, she did need to look down to see the next sentence. I thought for sure this would mean a huge break so that she could find her place, but it was seamless. A few nearby friends reached their hands back and gave me a little squeeze because we all knew that we were witnessing major growth in June. I didn't tear up. I bawled. Sobbed. 

As I'm writing all of this, I'm thinking--it's the primary program, Heather!!! Why are you even writing about it? Why did you make such a big deal?!?

There's a very simple answer to that. It's because I'm ridiculous.

But then I'm guessing if you are my friend and reading this, you probably already knew that.