Christmas 2010 Highlights

I was glad that in some measure we were able to squeeze in our tradition of making a candy house when our friends pulled out their gingerbread house kit.  Didi and Jasmin did the honors, and did a great job.

We can't go to our best friends' house without enjoying music!  Kendall and Jazz collaborated for some beautiful clarinet & piano duets (Jazz later went to piano and left the clarinet to Kendall), and I loved it when Lainie sang for me one of my favorite songs, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most", despite her cold. 

Cousins in spirit!  (Except for Goldie and Alyse, who are twin sisters in spirit.)

Our tree was probably a fire hazard as it blocked our back door, but oh well. Tootie had something against our garland and tried to remove it every chance he could; not sure what what up with that, but at least the ornaments stayed on the tree a lot better this year than last year.  The candy canes were just a Christmas Eve addition--thanks, Santa!

Stockings.

Essentials.

Goldie's favorites included her pillow pet and her new bedding (comforter and sheets), and a pretty fabric-covered glass plate.

Tootie had a Superman Toy Story Thomas the Tank Engine Christmas.

I got what I asked for!  A long-sleeved BYU shirt, and a brown purse (which Jazz did an awesome job of picking out himself!).  Jazz topped me off with some other thoughtful gifts, and also shown are the wonderful gifts from my mom & dad.  So nice!

Didi received the biggest gift in size--a new bike.  She was also really excited about the watch set, and the Woodstock stuffed animal from Goldie (which we had a hard time buying while she was in the store with us).

Jazz had a BYU shirt Christmas, and his favorite was the Beethoven records, nearly completing the big set he already enjoys.

Shark had a Ducks Christmas--including an autographed poster from Mikey the Duck himself!  (the football team's mascot is one of Jazz's students). 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

No doubt about it, Shark's most exciting toy of all wasn't a gift he had received, but the iPod he bought off of Craigslist on Christmas Eve.  He had saved his money for months and months for this.  I'm proud of him for saving and earning something he really wanted. 

Inside the tent box--the surprise Christmas gift which came in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Lovell. 

Look how big our kids are!  Next year will Shark be taller than Mom???!

We couldn't wait.  We wanted very much to spend Christmas in our own home as our own little family unit, but once all the presents were opened and we got the clutter cleared away, we hit the road and made it to Sacramento  by dinnertime.  On the road on Christmas Day wasn't what I had in mind, but in the end, I realized it was super fun to be in both places on that special day. 

Didi and Goldie love their new matching jammies with their cousin!

I loved my outing with one of my best friends.  We got to go to the Crocker Art Museum.  She's so great to treat me to such cultural enrichment!  I had never been to a museum like that before--it was amazing.  Thanks, Jazz, for letting me slip away for the 3+ hours to enjoy it!

"It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight..."  I think they rehearsed this song together about 50 bajillion times. 

Christmas cookies!  Because we all got the flu the week after we made about 5 batches of cookies (the week before Christmas), unfortunately we didn't get them all passed out to our friends.  But we enjoyed the baking time anyway, and eventually they mostly got all eaten.  Better luck next year : ).   Overall, we had a fabulous Christmas season!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Ada wins the award for cutest of the cute this year.  I can't get enough of her happy shiny personality.

Thanks, Stephanie.

From my journal today, Sunday, 11:40 a.m.

Feeling sorry for myself a little.  Goldie has a bad cold & needed to stay home from church.  Jazz's calling in the nursery needs him there for 2 hours, so I was elected to stay home.  After sacrament meeting Jazz brought Tootie home 'cause he won't go to Primary by himself yet (tough transition from nursery), and plus, he has a cold too.  I was really bummed about missing church--I always look forward to it so much.

So at home I sought to find something inspirational on the internet, and I came upon a beautiful gem that I believe will enrich me for a long time.  The story of Stephanie & Christian Nielson.  They're an LDS couple who, when parents of 4 children, were in a terrible plane crash--and they survived.  He, with burns on 40% of his body, and she, with burns on over 80% of her body.  Now she is back to mothering full-time, after recovering from her 3-month long coma while they repaired her body.  Now she is a stronger person--yet still the same person--yet a new person with a new life with so many new struggles and limitations.

She said in the "Conversations" interview on LDSradio.org that sometimes she wishes she could shake [people like me] and tell us to be grateful and not take the ease of life for granted.  --What a blessed, lucky, rich life I live.

She has a new life, and she is happy.  She remembers that while she was in her coma she was given the choice (!!) to either stay on earth and live through the challenges, or to stay in heaven where she could also be happy and have lots of important work to do.  She thought of her husband and children, and said the choice to stay with them was so easy.

And now she continues to inspire millions of people through her upbeat blog about her life as a wife and mother (for which she had a couple hundred thousand followers before the accident, but now it reaches a worldwide audience).

Two things that she said particularly struck me are:
"To me, beauty and motherhood are one.  They are the same thing."
and,
"I am Stephanie Nielson.  I am not my body."

Thanks, Stephanie.  I am excited to start following your blog.

A few more thoughts:
-Every morning she wakes up and stretches, and showers, and scrubs her new scarred skin.  It's painful, and it takes about 2 hours.  I can pull it off in 5 minutes if I have to.  Something else not to take for granted.
-At first her children had a hard time looking at her.  It took months for them to do that.  :(
-There are so many things she can't do now that I can do every day.  HOLD HER CHILDREN. Wash her children in  a hot/warm bath.  Open ziplock bags easily.  Wear skirts without tights.  Little things!!  I'm so grateful!

Visit Stephanie Nielson's blog


Hear Stephanie Share Her Story on Mormon Messages

Eugene Creche Family Picture 2010 (1)

Favorites of 2010

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…those are some of Maria von Trapp’s favorite things.  What were a few of ours this year?

Jazz’s favorites this year included: completing his Jazz Arranging requirements with an awesome recital in June.  NY Jets football. Advancing to candidacy this month—becoming “ABD”—or in simpler terms, all he has left now for his doctoral degree is that little dissertation!  Milk chocolate. Watching 9 ½ seasons of Smallville in just a few months.

Jenna’s favorites: watching 9 ½ seasons of Smallville in just a few months with Jeff.  Singing the works of Beethoven with the local Symphony & Chorus.  Teaching Spanish part-time at the elementary school. Completing lots of Shutterfly photobooks. Seeing my parents begin a full-time LDS mission in Virginia.  Visitors to our family blog : ). Dark chocolate. 

Shark’s favorites: U of O Ducks & Arizona Cardinals football.  Playing on a tackle football team that remained undefeated until the championship game. Football games on the Wii.  Interviewing 3 Ducks football players for TV!  Harry Potter books, the Oak Ridge Boys music, and lots of audio books. Baby Ruth candy bars. 5^th grade.

Didi’s favorites: joining her first team sport--volleyball. Being in a Marimba band, impressing her friends with her piano skillz, singing with Mom in the church choir.  Drawing in a real art school.  Finger knitting. Math.  Learning to cook.  The Beatles’ music.  4th grade.

Goldie’s favorites: joining her first team sport—basketball.  Having her mom as her Spanish teacher.  Starting piano lessons.  Chewing gum.  Writing stories.  Having crushes on boys.  1^st grade. 

Tootie’s favorites: starting preschool, going 4 days a week (LOVES it! And so does Mom).  Taking the cushions off the couch for jumping time.  Watching movies.  Playing outside.  Drinking out of the milk jug.  Being 3.

A favorite for all of us is CHRISTMAS!  We wish you a very merry Christmas full of love and laughter, and blessings that you desire, from our Heavenly Father.  Please keep in touch!

Love,   the Lovells

Jazz's Year in Review

Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!  2010 came and went in a hurry. In fact, it seems as though each year blows by so quickly—perhaps we should measure time in five-year increments. However, the Lovell family certainly made the most of it. This fall, I started my fifth (and hopefully final) year of doctoral work in music theory. Year four academic highlights included some important milestones. I completed my two, yes two, comprehensive exams in theory (Fall 2009) and jazz studies (Spring 2010). I spent most of the school year preparing music for my jazz composition recital, which was presented June 5^th, 2010. I had some really great performers on the recital, including a former musician buddy from California, and a dear friend from my Ricks College and BYU days. I taught a fun month-long course over the summer on the music of Stevie Wonder. It was an analysis course that undergraduates could count toward their core curriculum requirements. Since a class like this had to be built from the ground up, I pretty much ate, slept, breathed all things Wonder-ful for a month. The students had a good time living with this music, and responded well to the challenges it presented. The class culminated in a two-day presentation of individual song projects and performances imitating Stevie’s style. I get to teach it again in a ten-week format next term. Good stuff. After the class ended, I took a much-needed month-long hiatus off of anything remotely academic. For the last 4 years, the pedal has been to the metal year round, and I thought it prudent to take a breather as I approached the final hurdle of my program….the dissertation (cue ominous music).

I began working on the dissertation in earnest this Fall. For my project, I examine the music of Stevie Wonder—a topic that I decided could easily hold my interest for the duration of dissertating! The faculty graciously gave me one additional year of the stipend I have been blessed with this past four years. They also reduced my teaching load so that I could have ample time to prepare my proposal, which took most of the term crafting, re-crafting and de-crafting. By my fifth draft, I finally had an acceptable document to submit, and officially advanced to candidacy at the beginning of December. Thank goodness! My goal for completion of this document is August…we’ll see. Finally, I have sent out around a half dozen job applications throughout the country. Most of the colleges are located in the east—my hope to one-day return to California seems futile given the current economic situation! Out of the sent applications, I have received one invitation for an in-person interview in Pennsylvania. We are excited and hopeful at the possibility of getting a full-time teaching gig after living on a shoestring the past four years! Wish us luck!

The rest of the crew continues to plod along with various activities too, and seem to still be okay with referring to me as husband or Dad as the case may be. Jenna has excelled as the “game-manager” of the family, and does so much to keep things together. She has been such a strength and support to me as I finish this last stretch of schooling. With four kids, she has her hands full, running them around to football, basketball, volleyball, art classes, scouts, piano lessons and church activities. She still finds time to make a little money on the side with her stamp business and Spanish teaching at the elementary school. Did I mention that she also gets up at 5:30 six days a week to work out? I have learned over the years that I am not the REAL busy one in the family.

I am also very proud of my kids, who are growing like weeds. When asked about school, Shark gives me the running yearlong tally of touchdowns he has scored at recess, a number he puts at 50 and counting. He is a college football fan to the core, so much so that he gets weepy when his team is down by a few points (temporarily) to an opponent.  Didi has really developed a keen eye and steady hand for drawing—partly a natural talent she inherited from Jenna's mother. She is also becoming quite the pianist and recently performed the popular minuet in G major from the Anna Magdalena notebook. Goldie-girl is little miss chatterbox, a skill she’ll share whether others are present or not, and which occasionally gets her in trouble at school. She has a crush on three or four boys in her first grade class at the moment. I live for her bright smile-it regularly melts my heart. Tootie the terrorizer is playing up the 3-year old shtick, routinely creating messes, teasing and/or beating up his older siblings and then looking cute as a button when he wants to. It will be bittersweet when he grows out of this phase. He loves his part-time preschool experience and apparently is quite the angel for his teachers… 

Well, I hope all is well with you and yours. Please keep me informed of coming and goings. I would really love to hear about them.

All the best,

Jazz

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

This is where I am and how I am for four of my favorite hours of each week.   Try to imagine me swinging that stringed device at a hundred miles an hour with a little rubber sphere flying up and sideways and around and back (look out!) for much of those four hours.  "Does it hurt to get hit by a racquetball?" an innocent beginner once asked.  Well...better a racquetball than a racquet, BUT, let's just say, more than one of us have actually seen stars on these courts, ha ha!  All of these players are members of the church, and all but 4 of us are full-time missionaries, as this is the early morning gathering place on "preparation day" for the missionaries.  I get to play every Monday and Wednesday, with Wednesday being with a much smaller group--just 3 of us (me and two other friends who are not part of this group).  It's a great workout, and LOTS of fun--lots of jokes, kidding around, and laughing at our mistakes.  Can you tell I love it?

I love clouds.  And I like photography. Did you know?  I like to try to be a cool photographer of anything that makes me smile.  These clouds made me stop and stare for awhile, so I wanted to share.

My one solo gig this season : ).  Jazz is on the piano you can't see, and together we provided some background music at the community Créche event for about 30 minutes.  I like getting to show off my favorite Christmas songs.

Nature photographer me again...this time capturing a shot on my way home from racquetball (happened to have my camera with me that day) of the cutest tiny snail ever.  I had to put a leaf there so you could see how small it was.  Of course I wouldn't want to catch it and take it home for a pet (don't slime me!), but isn't this the cutest?

This picture has to go in my "Evidence" file.  One thing I love about living with children is finding unexpected evidence all over the house of their existence (aside from the miniature shoes, messes, diaper station, etc.).  This was a funny moment for me--I had just finished washing all the dishes by hand (no dishwasher here), and when I drained the sink, there it was--evidence of our children.  Who would ever expect to find a lion in the sink at the end of the day?  It made me laugh.

This was one of my favorite Christmas cards that we created at my stamp camp last month.  My own design.  I used a reverse-image technique for making the trees reflect in the snow, and a masking technique with a brayer to color the sky.  

I am so grateful for all of my favorite things that bless my life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Didi Darlin'

Didi got to choose any sport she wanted.  Since we haven't yet seen the practicality her choice of fencing, we agreed volleyball would be a great choice.  She loved her first season.  The audience cheered every time the ball made it over the (lowered) net, and Didi had some great serves for points.  Their young team even won a few games.

GO OREOS!

Didi is definitely an artist in the making.  She really enjoyed her drawing class at a real art school.  This was her favorite project.

Marimba!  Just as her brother Shark did last year, Didi got to participate in the 4th grade Marimba band.  Her piano skills made her one of the band's "most valuable players" and landed her a bass part, helping to keep the band's rhythm and tempo in check : ).

This is just a cute picture of Didi and something we thought was really funny--"Fresh picked Rainbows", being sold at the Holiday Market where she played in her Marimba concert. 

 Didi has had a very busy Fall, full of music (marimba, piano, and she sings in the ward choir now with her mom), a team sport for her first time (volleyball), honing her artistic abilities in a drawing class, and not to mention her being busy excelling at school--she was just selected to be in the TAG program ("Talented and Gifted") due to her reading skills being in the 98th percentile for her age group.  Go, Didi!  You're doing GREAT!