Secret Garden and January ramblings

I figured that since I had a lot of blogger friends cheering me on in my Secret Garden experience, I ought to give a final report on the experience. (Warning: It's long. Read only if you care.)

I am so glad that I was able to participate in the Secret Garden. The performances all went really well. (Except one afternoon when I totally forgot one verse to my first song. I just blanked and completely stopped singing. The music director eventually fed me some words, and at least I finished the song. I hope none of my friends were at that performance . . .) I sooo appreciate all the support from all the friends and family that came to see me perform. It meant the world to me. I enjoyed getting to know the other people from the show. I loved performing again--I love making people laugh and I love the applause. (Not gonna lie.) I also loved how many people thought I was 10 years younger that I really am. (That was good for my self-esteem, since I'm coming up on my big 3-0 birthday this year.)

But here are the two things biggest things I got out of being in Secret Garden:

1. It was important for me to know that I could do it. There are a lot of times when I take the path of least resistance and my attitude tends to be, "If it's supposed to work out, it will." When I was disappointed with the part I was called back for, I almost decided to bag the whole thing. But Arthur encouraged me to go back to auditions and tell the director that I know I could do a great job, and ask for another shot. And my persistence paid off. I'm glad that I put myself out there and tried again instead of giving up.

2. But more than anything, being in this show helped clarify my perspective on what's important. As much as I love performing, I'm so glad that I didn't try to pursue that path in my life (because I did think about it sometimes.) I am so thankful to be a wife and mother. I've heard a million times that there's nothing more meaningful than those family relationships, but now what my head knew all along, my heart finally truly understands. I know more deeply than ever that what I do with my husband and children everyday, the small daily acts of service, the meals, the laundry, the conversations, encouragement, support and love that we share in our family is so much more far-reaching and meaningful and eternal than any other alternate path I could have chosen. The world makes it seem so mundane, (and some days it certainly feels like that,) but I am grateful to know in my head and my heart that there is not anything else I could be doing with my life that would be more fulfilling than what I already am.

I am so grateful for Arthur--he was so great to support me in this opportunity. Honestly, the last few months turned out to be really difficult for both of us. It was like the Bermuda Triangle for awhile there, with Secret Garden, and Christmas, and . . . (drumroll please) being in my first trimester of another pregnancy. They are all great things, but not so great as a combination. (I know, I know -- I am certifiably insane.) I was so drained of energy all the time, wasn't very good company, and didn't get anything done around the house. So Arthur was picking up far more slack than he bargained for. We were in full-fledged survival mode.

Well, all three sides of our "Bermuda Triangle" ended about the same time and so you can understand why I have never been so content to be in the month of January. I love that there is nothing big on the calendar this month, that I'm not sick and tired all the time, and that I am back as an active participant in my family. I just have a bunch of ordinary days to do ordinary things like folding laundry, organizing closets, and helping kids with homework. As the end of each day approaches and I don't have anywhere to go, I breathe a sigh of relief. I just get to be home with my family. And I get to tuck my children into bed again. I missed that.

Weak stomachs and body fluids

Last week I took my kids to the doctor to catch up on some shots and stuff. Daphne just had one shot, and poor Sean had 4. Last time we went, Daphne threw a royal fit about getting shots. It took two of us to hold her down while another nurse gave her the shots, so we talked a lot about being brave this time. She went first and made me proud by just flinching at her shot and not even making a sound. Sean was up next, and was very brave too. But even though I'd told Daphne to go sit down with Hayden, she stood and watched Sean get those four shots.

Well, while I was helping Sean get his pants back on, Daphne said, "Mom! My eyes are turning black and there's ringing in my ears! I can't hear you, Mom!" She was on the verge of passing out! We had her sit down and put her head between her knees and the nurse brought some juice and crackers for her. Poor Daphne. I think she got a double dose of weak stomach, because Arthur and I both are a little squeamish when it comes to stuff like that.

So the day after our trip to the Doctor's office, the kids started experiencing some nasty side-effects. At first I thought maybe it was a result of their shots, but it spread. Now, I've heard it said that a large percentage of what a mother does involves cleaning up bodily fluids. Tears, runny noses, drool, spit-up, vomit, potty-training accidents, scraped knees--there are just a lot of body fluids to clean up. Well my kids must have caught some kind of diarrhea bug at the doctor and it just ran through the whole family. Let me just say I've been cleaning up a lot of body fluids lately. I won't go into detail, but you can speculate on how much fun we're having over here.

Paradise?

Yesterday, I saw a "Paradise Tours" bus driving down a street near my home. As I watched it driving down the road, I laughed right out loud. It just seemed oddly out of place. (Since we don't live in Hawaii, I'm not used to seeing busses with the word "Paradise" on them driving around town.) Now, I love a lot of things about living here in Albuquerque--I love the mountains and the sunsets, the roadrunners and the desert brush that turns golden in the afternoon. I love Balloon Fiesta, and green chili and the wonderful weather we enjoy. I can agree with "Land of Enchantment." But Paradise ? . . . Let's not get carried away.

Family Pics 2009

Don't feel bad if you didn't get a Christmas card from us this year. Nobody did, because they didn't happen. But we did manage to squeeze in a family picture before the year ended. My friend Erin was so kind to come out into the FREEZING COLD and take these family pics for us while we had everyone together. Thanks so much Erin!

The 8 Stone Cousins

( I can't believe we actually got one where everyone had pleasant expressions on their faces!)

All of us except Reed, of course.

We missed him, but know he's exactly where he's supposed to be.

Christmas Festivities 2009

For the first time since we've been married, Arthur and I had Christmas at our home. We couldn't travel since I had performances on the 26th and 27th. So my wonderful family all came out here! They all had long drives, coming from California, Idaho, Oregon, and Kentucky!

Sugar Cookies

Dancing

Hayden thought he'd died and gone to heaven with

all the goodies laying around for him to sneak into.

Our Christmas Eve tradition of reinacting the Nativity is one of my favorites. Our costumes were a little . . . different this year because I don't have real ones like my mom, so Melanie got creative with our dress-up bin.

really creative.

Thanks for directing the show, Mel. You are brilliant!

cousin Kyrie, the angel

(I'm having fun playing around with my new iphoto special effects. :)

I told Arthur that we need a bigger mantel to hang up the stockings. He said, "The mantel is fine, Sharee, we just have too many stockings." We had 22 stockings!

( I wish I had a better shot--this one is kind-of blurry.)

Christmas Morning:

Preparing the feast:

Hayden LOVED eating the pomegranates while Mom and I shelled them. He shoved fistful after fistful into his mouth like they were candy. Thanks for bringing those out, Mom.

They are such a treat!

Mom made these aprons for all of her girls. We loved them!

traditional fake laugh.

We just have too much fun when we get together.

Arthur, carving the turkey

mmm, the pomegranate salad and homemade rolls. so delicious.

Thanks so much for coming out guys. I know it was hundreds and hundreds of miles for you all to drive, but we are so grateful you all made the effort to be here. I especially appreciate all the help with meals, dishes, laundry, cleaning, etc. We loved having you all here at our home, and can't wait for the next party!

Fun with cousins this Christmas

All of my family came out to our house for Christmas this year, (except of course, my brother Reed, who is on his mission.) We had my parents, 7 of my 8 siblings, 3 spouses and 4 nieces and nephews for a grand total of 22 people in our house including us. It was a blast! We loved having everyone here and being all together. Our kids had so much fun with all the cousins & aunts and uncles.

Here are some of the cousin pictures, and I have many more of other festivities that I'll be posting soon as well.

Finger Painting

Bubble Bath

(Think we could squeeze anymore in there?)

Princess Photo Shoot-by Aunt Melanie

Totally amazing Tutus made by Aunt Jen

Dallin was very sad the night before the last of the family left. He said, "I can't even think of anything fun to do without them. And I can't even say their names because I start to cry." Daphne woke up early the morning they left because she didn't want to miss out on saying goodbye. She must have woken me up three times before we went downstairs to hug Nona & Papa and the last of the aunts and uncles and wave goodbye.

The house seems quiet and a little empty now with everyone gone home. When I said this to Arthur he said, "Are you kidding? We have four little crazys running around!"

I never thought four kids could feel seem so still.