Santa's Eye View

 Ever wonder what your city looks like when Santa and his reindeer fly over? Well this is what Kansas City looks like for him. We know, because right after Christmas we took his flight. We didn't actually get to see him, he of course has gone home for a nap. We also didn't get to use his sleigh. I am sure it is in for a tune up and oil change right about now.

 We did go by helicopter and it was so much fun!
It was a beautiful clear night and it made us all a little jealous that Santa gets to spend his whole night looking at these views!

Merry Christmas to all

...and to all a goodnight!

What happens in Branson .......

Well as you know it has been a tough year around here. To be specific it has been an extremely tough six months.


We have had a few major medical traumas that have left us on our knees grateful that our family is still all together on this earth. That's not even where it ends. In October we lost a cherished Cousin, and Nephew (Hunter Monson Glade) who had a contagious smile and knack for quiet funny comments that will forever be missed. Through this tragic six months of ours we also lost our beloved family pet. She was precious to the memories of our family growing and adventuring. Not to mention "Regular Life" you know how that can get in the way with you dealing with "real problems"

So it was December 21st. We had retrieved Tori (the only one not living at home) from the air port and had devoured the families favorite meal. (Beef stroganoph , on egg noodles, steamed broccoli, and chocolate pie) when from the front door we heard a "ding dong"
It was Paige that ran to see who it was.

It wasn't a who? it was a what....
a large envelope was on our door and in it contained a very special letter from the North Pole.

It was the elves. See we do not have one of those newer popular "elves on the shelf" but for years now each of our kids have known that there is an elf specifically assigned to watch over them and report back to Santa. The elves will bring a special gift for the kids on Christmas if they have not had to report badly to Santa.
Also there is an Elf who brings us a gift each year for decorating so nicely without bugging the "Bah- Hum- bug" Dad to help decorate. (I wonder what that's all about?)

So it seemed this year they all got together and recognized our tough times and brought us a 2 day, pre-Christmas vacation. "Pack your bags - you leave tomorrow!"



It was a Country Western Resort in Branson MO- what else did you expect from Missouri?

We had a great time eating out, enjoying a road trip, laughing and basically enjoying our family.

 There was an indoor water park tree house to include water slides and a lazy river also 2 giant hot tubs!

We ate at a country buffet and saw the country western Jamboree - We had not seen a "Jamboree" before so that was an adventure!

Black Light mini golf was fun for all- except Mom kept getting mad at Dad for cheating (he stuck a whole handful of balls in his pocket before we even started!)

A couple of rounds of Lazer Tag - (Tori won both rounds! ) and some fun game time in the arcade!
Man it was good to be a kid again!

My tree

If I were to run away to "never- never land" and play Indian games with Tiger Lilly and friends, I think the Indian name they would give me would be "Thinks Ahead"  Yes, I'm Arlena Thinks Ahead.

I do not know why, it is just how my brain works. Some people think I am a braggart when I explain this, some people think they wish they were like me. I find it frustrating a lot because I do not know why others do not prepare the way I do, because it is so natural to me.  

My Christmas tree is one example of this phenomenon. It was a few years ago I thought in my head that time had come to have a great tree, one that has a lot of memories (like our family tree) but with a little more class. At the time it was a year or so before my Logan was ready to leave home.

Now that two of my babies have left and taken their ornaments off our family tree and my family tree is getting more sparse, I hear friends with kids older than mine say how sad they are to decorate the family tree alone, and how the kids hand-made ornaments make them miss the years of having the kids all there.

I am so glad that  "Thinks Ahead" lives in my head. I have phased in this tree and it won't feel so absent when it's just me and Dan and we decorate alone (hopefully just because the kids will be coming in closer to Christmas)

So for a few years now we have two trees, not the worst thing in the world, and pretty festive!

Planning a head for  a Merry Christmas for years to come!

The re- birth of Cocoa

When tragedy strikes, some can get upset and wonder why them, and we could have done the same.
We could have lamented the loss of all the future cups of hot cocoa we intended on enjoying made so perfectly from our Cocoa- motion as we have for the last several years.

 We Could have teared up at the memory of when our good friends Rob and Angela bought it for us and all the Christmas parties it attended and was the star of the party. If we allowed our self we could tear up at the thought of it having died just before Christmas.

It made the best, perfectly heated cocoa for many years and it wore the marks of it's use. It could be easy to see why anyone who had had such a close relationship with cocoa would be upset about it's exit from our lives.


But... Being the understanding people we are we did not indulge ourselves in any of these over emotional thoughts. instead....

We got excited about the amazing years ahead with our new friend who has many more feature buttons, a larger capacity and a detachable pitcher.
It just goes to show it's all in your attitude and how you approach some of the tough challenges in life!

The day Thanksgiving was stuffed up my nose

It has taken me a year to be able to write about this, but Id like to tell you about the day Thanksgiving was shoved up my nose.

 It was a Wednesday when my Mema Jackie passed. She was in Hospice for a few days and in the hospital before that (that's another story it might take another year before I can put that into print)so we were not surprised that she had passed. Sad, but not surprised. My sister was due to have a baby soon and My mom was due to fly out and help. I was trying to help my mom get things in order at Mema's house so she could go help Katie in time. I had to run a few errands before heading over to the house to help clean etc. I stopped at my friend Angela's house and dropped off some paper work. Her house smelled like a roast chicken or something like that.  I asked what she was cooking, "It's 9 am.... nothing" Maybe it was dinner last night "Chilli" no, that's strange it smells like when you walk in the grocery store and the rotisserie chickens have just come out. Job done, moved on to a drive to the kids school. Oddly enough my car has the smell of buttery potatoes. (My favorite part of thanksgiving) I thought must be some kids old french fries stuck under the seat cooking in this warm Arizona October.

 I got to the school and could tell they were having buttered corn for lunch in the cafeteria. It was only 10 am, but I am sure they are cooking it now. I am done and ready to go help my mom. I got there and could smell the sweet tangy cranberry sauce that she likes to get some times with an order from "Boston Market" I asked her if that's what she picked up for lunch. She said no, she hadn't eaten. In fact no one had cooked in that house in probably a week. "Ok- lets get to work" I helped pack things and sort through stuff and fold things. My mom said a few times "Is there something you would like?" I kept saying no. I move, military movers are not known for being very careful. I d hate to ruin all the nice things My mema, and her mom "Nana" took such good care of. Mema had at one point in time told me the dishes were for me. She always appreciated me having her for dinner and setting a nice table. She would call me days after and tell me how it was the best ever (Every time). I appreciated it, but its just not practical. I am nothing if not practical. I did enjoy the memories of My grandfather fixing a turkey and putting on my patent leather shoes for Nana ( who appreciate nice things and gifted me with polish for them) I remembered sitting at a full table of family and eating a nice Thanksgiving meal off these fancy dishes as I packed. This only happened when Nana was still alive, but Mema held the same refinement as taught by her mother.

 I left the house after helping my mom for a few hours to get my kids from school when I started to smell pumpkin pie. "Alright... this is getting nuts" You might be able to go back to my FB account last year and find the post where I complained after finally recognizing - "Why is Thanksgiving stuffed up my nose today"    I picked up the kids and got busy with after school things. When I lay down in bed several hours later I was over whelmed with all the smells. Cooked celery and onion for the stuffing, gravy and green beans. It was so strong that I went and checked  I had turned the oven off after dinner. I prayed for it to go away. I asked Heavenly Father to help me rest, to take this smell out of my nose so I could sleep. All of a sudden an image flashed in my mind of a thanksgiving table set so beautifully. My grandparents , Poppa, Nana, Grampy, & Mema,who have all passed. They were gathered and enjoying one another and smiling like they had when I wore those shiny black shoes and the excitement of fancy glasses and too many forks raced through my heart.

I knew in that instant, that they were all together. I knew that they were happy, I knew they had been trying to tell me that all day. The smell left my nose the moment I had that understanding. I was filled with a warm comforting peace and I fell right to sleep.

I woke in the morning and called my mom. "I will take the plates".
I set a beautiful table this Thanksgiving and I know they were all here and I know they enjoyed it as much as we did.




Did you read my other Thanksgiving post? Did you know none of those grandparents had known the gospel in this life? I'm glad I invited the missionaries!

Thanksgiving in honor of our missionary

One of our most favorite Thanksgivings was in Monterey when my brother and his family joined us. We had a really great time cooking together, the kids loved walks on the beach and we even did some great Black Friday shopping.  I have other great memories having Thanksgiving all together at my moms house and Mema Jackie (who passed last year) would bring her famous deviled eggs and Logan and Patrick would fight over sitting nearest them so they could eat them all. 

Appetizers -

 Thinking about all of these great Thanksgivings brought me to think of Patrick and how he is on a mission in Canada - Not celebrating Thanksgiving. While they do have Thanksgiving in Canada its not the same day and not celebrated quite the same way. I thought about how we have had a rough few months and how our letters and packages to him have been fewer and farther between.

 I am thankful for a lot of things this year, mostly that Logan and Dan are doing well and the health problems  have gotten more under control.  We do miss little Meg but are so grateful for the years we had with her. However I was thinking about Patrick a lot and lots of sweet memories came to mind. Id love to call and share with him, but that's not the nature of a mission. So I decided to dedicate our Thanksgiving celebration to him and to the work he is doing and to how Thankful we are to those like him who sacrifice their time because they want to share the peace, and love of the gospel. If it weren't  for people like him I may not have the blessings of the gospel in my life. I am So grateful as well for the example he sets for my kids! So much strength and faith. Seth wears the Tie Patrick gave him before he left for Canada - EVERY SUNDAY!

 So we invited the Sister Missionaries and the Elders over for Thanksgiving dinner. We made everything homemade and went all out to have a beautiful set meals with all the traditional fixings. We asked them to bring anyone with them that they were teaching that didn't have a place to go for the holiday.

 They didn't have anyone to bring, which is great that we have such a wonderful area that families all have each other. We enjoyed hearing about their families and the people they were teaching.

 They enjoyed all the little touches and loved my mashed potatoes!

 They also loved that I had prepared large plates for them to mound with leftovers to take home. They covered them and put their names on it and we saved it till they left. We sat around talking about the things we are thankful for.

 Elder Olsen, Elder Talbot, Sister K, Sister Lund - Seth went for a nap, Logan was taking the picture

 Seth came back, Paige took the picture!

 Fun note: Sister K- this was her first Thanksgiving. She is from the Cook Islands off the coast Australia.

I let the missionaries know how proud we are of Patrick and the things he is doing!
Happy Thanksgiving Elder Rodgerson we love and miss you!