Our Year in Pictures 2008

We were having some quality issues, so here's the new and improved version!

Our Trip to Temple Square

Here is a picture with Brianna, Jeffrey, and my sisters Elizabeth and Deborah.

Here are the kids in front of the reflection pond on the Plaza.

Here is a family picture of us at the Temple Square

We had the oppurtunity to go up to Salt Lake City and see the lights at Temple Square. We have not been up to see the lights for years. It was definitely before the Plaza, so it's been awhile. It was so fun to see the lights and there was a really fun model of Jerusalem in the visitors center where we could see the different locations of where Jesus Christ walked and did miracles. We really enjoyed our visit.

A Bina Died a Prophet!!

Last night we attended Curtis's brother, Jerry's, Stake Musical. This was no roadshow. This was a full production complete with a wonderful stage and props that my nephew Kyle built for his Eagle Scout Project. Anyway, about 18 months ago, a member of the stake said that he had always wanted to do a musical about Abinadi and Alma. The Stake President thought that this was a great idea and he contacted Jerry and asked him if this was something that he could do. Jerry said that maybe he could.... and he proceeded to compose songs and create lyrics and script for this huge production. (I think music just runs in the Winters blood...). Jerry gives all the credit up above, though. He says he doesn't know if he could do it again. Everything just came to him. We saw it last night, on its last night of production and we were really touched and impressed. It was great complete with comedy, drama, fun music, and inspiring moments.

The musical was entitled Mighty Change Through Christ: The Story of Abinadi and Alma. The setting was a family in FHE who is learning of the story of Abinadi and the conversion of Alma, which comes to life on the stage. One of my favorite moments was where the wife of Alma, the wife of Limhi, and a girl who has not yet married pray for their husbands present and future, that they can resist the deceit and temptations of the world. Then the song ends with three little girls praying for their daddies. I thought that was so touching, especially considering the plague of pornography in our culture as well as a tendency to try to gain more and more status at work and forget about the needs of the family. Another great moment, that could have been "cheesy" but was done so well that it was emotional and inspirational was when Mark, the teenage son, comes to the post where Abinadi is burned, mourns his death, and proceeds to bury him. The ending song was the original FHE family, who sings a song entitled "I Want to Be". Mark, the teenage son, was played by my nephew Brandon. Jeffrey was so proud of Brandon when he started to sing. Jeffrey moved over by me and said, "you know how you have told me that sometimes you feel so happy that you feel like crying?" That song made me feel so happy inside that I felt like crying." I told him that that was the Holy Ghost telling him that if he made the right choices every day, that he would become great...spiritually. I promise, that is the moment that every LDS mother dreams of! Also, I am so grateful for nephews like Brandon who will be a great example to Jeffrey in going on a mission and living a pure life.

Anyway, here is the fun reason for the title. In the play, the family composes a verse about Abinadi to the tune of "Follow the Prophet". Sabrina was very affected by the death of Abinadi after he delivers his message about the coming and mission of Jesus Christ. So, all morning long, she has been talking about his death and singing to the tune of "Follow the Prophet" ...
A Bina Died a Prophet. So, his name was Bina, he died, and he was a prophet! Now that's a great way to remember the story!

A Jarring Reassessment of Life's Meaning and Priorities

We have had a week where you vastly reassess what your priorities are. On Tuesday, I went to
Enrichment and learned that a girl who had grown up in our ward and was going to Utah Valley University was killed in a tragic automobile accident when someone cut in front of her and she swerved in front of a semi-truck. Unfortunately, the person who was at fault never stopped.

Amanda was twenty years old. She was a wonderful musician and played the flute whenever it was needed for our ward choir as she was growing up. She wanted to be a music teacher and she was planning on going on a mission next June. She had an infectious smile that was so wide and sincere. She was just a kind person. I talked to her just a month ago about her life and her plans as she served me, my Mom, and my Aunt Janet at Mimi's Cafe. I can't believe that she is gone.

Amanda's dad wrote the sweetest tribute which her uncle read at her funeral. He talked about the fireflies and how sometimes when you caught them that they would get smooshed and then you would have the glow-stuff on your fingers. He said that hopefully those of us who had known Amanda could spread the glow-stuff of her spirit in the short time that she was on the Earth. That way Amanda's influence could be spread by all of us that knew her.

This reminds me that life is so precious and can be so short. I am having more patience with my children, hugging them more, and just loving and enjoying them. I am re-assessing how I can spread joy to those around me. Are there things that I can do to make others feel more accepted? Can I smile more and make sure that I say kind things that will build them up? I hope that I can do better at this. I am reserved outside my family and so sometimes that is outside of my comfort zone, but I need to work on this.

Pres. Beck, who was our former Stake President spoke at Amanda's funeral and he said quoting an apostle that said that a large measure of our spiritual progression can be measured in the way that we treat others. I hope that I can not only treat others nicely, but be an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands of helping others feel accepted and valued, both inside and outside of my family.
I resolve to become a better person and to spread around Amanda's glow-stuff for the rest of my life. I will be a better person for having known Amanda.

ABC's Quiz

A. Attached or single? Attached.

B. Best friend? Curtis is my best friend. My sisters and mom are all so great for different reasons and Rachel is the longest most loyal friend I've had outside my family.

C. Cake or pie? It depends on the kind.

D. Day of Choice? Saturday. Don't you love it when you forget that it's Saturday as you're waking up and then you remember? I love that.

E. Essential Item? Camera, the computer, and genealogy software.

F. Favorite color? Burgundy and Black to wear.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Definitely worms. They're bigger.

H. Hometown? Provo, Utah

I. Favorite indulgence? Going out to dinner alone with Curtis.

J. January or July? Both. Swimming pool and 4th of July in July. January for Jeffrey's bday and all the other 3 birthdays that we celebrate in our family: my Dad's, my niece Brielle, and my sis Elizabeth.

K. Kids? Jeffrey, Brianna, Sabrina, and Cameron

M. Marriage Date? April 24, 1998

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 4 sisters

O. Oranges or apples? Oranges when they're juicy. I especially love clementines.

P. Phobias? Snakes. I shudder just thinking about them

V. This one was empty. Maybe V stands for Vacant.

U. Unknown fact about me? I think I'm an open book. Hmmm...I'm the chief financial officer of our home and I should wear contacts but don't most of the time because my eyes are so dry. I finally bought the Acuvue Oasis contacts and need to pick them up at the store.....

W. Worst habit? Staying up too late at night.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound (At least it might be for something good...)

Y. Your favorite food? It changes depending how often I've eaten a particular food, but I do love a Norwegian dish called fortukal: cabbage, lamb, and potatoes

Z. Zodiac sign? Taurus

Here are the Pics of the New Floor!! I love it!!

Two nights of sleeping on air mattresses at my sisters' houses was definitely worth it!! Thank you so much Uncle David!!

Doesn't the floor look beautiful? I went back and forth on the sheen level that we should put on the floor but finally after talking to my uncle where he told me to go with what I really did want deep down, I was able to make the right choice and I am so thrilled!!

We are FINALLY Getting our Wood Floor Redone!!

When we moved into our house we were on a really tight budget. Anyway, we rented a sander and it wasn't heavy enough so it left skid marks in the wood floor. Also, there must have been bubbles in the finish, because a few months after we moved in the finish under the kitchen table started coming up. Needless to say, the wood floor looked TERRIBLE and I hated it. Anyway, we finally bit the bullet and decided to re-sand and refinish the wood floor. This is happening as I type and I am so exited!! Here are some pictures.

Some Pictures of the Project

I didn't get a true "before" picture of this area so you could appreciate that this looks absolutely gorgeous!!
Here is Robert "the wood guy" sanding the floor. My Uncle David says he does great work.
Here is the Family Room with the Refrigerator, Table etc. in it. The stove found a temporary place in the Living Room!!

A New Trade

My sweet friend Rachel has convinced me to learn a new trade! Yes, as I was running on the treadmill the thought came to me, that I really needed to do more for myself. I thought back on M. Russel Ballard's talk to young mothers where he encouraged us to have some things just for us that we enjoyed. Anyway, I have been blogging a little more and responding to blogs. I've become more politically active, hopefully, in a polite manner. I need to exercise more and I am working on that. Anyway, I wanted to learn more about photography. So, last night I pulled out the pamphlet on our camera that has some manual controls. Then I googled on the internet and found a great site with some wonderful tutorials. Voila. I am so excited. I know know how to take a picture with manual controls. This will be a way that I can be more creative, as Pres. Deiter Uchdorf counseled us to do to add more happiness and fulfillment to our lives. Also, when Jeana came, we played the piano and sang a lot and as a part of this I also commit to playing the piano and singing more. These are my new goals and I think that they also fit the mantra to "get as much education as you can". After all, we should never stop learning.

A Clean House

As I mentioned in my previous blog, my sis-in-law Jeana is coming to visit with her family.  As a result we have been motivated to do a little deeper cleaning.  All the blinds and windows are now sparkling, and we're almost done with the baseboards.  The state of our carpets, especially the family room and the den, were atrocious so I called in the carpet cleaners.  He came and took one look at those two areas and asked if I wanted to pay a little more for restoration.  They were really bad, so I agreed.  Anyway, it took a little longer to dry but now we have beeootiful carpet again!!  My sisters came over and said it looked as good as new to them and I feel like I am living in a new house!!  Now if I dare to take on the grout in the master bathroom!!  Anyway, I told my Mom once that if you really want a new car, clean it out and wash it up and you'll probably be okay with what you have.  So, if you really want a new house, really, really clean it up, paint it if you really need to and you'll probably feel happier with it.  (By the way, I don't actually want a new house, just how clean it is when you move in!)

The Best Workout Ever

Curtis' parents are leaving on a mission to Germany in a week.  They are going to spend a little time right before they leave with the families in Utah, and Jeana, Curtis' sister who finally lives close to us (only 4 hours away) has Fall Break, so they are making the trip to Utah to see Grandma and Grandpa off and to hang out with our family for a few days.  My Mom has been bothered by the atrocious state of our blinds all summer, so with Jeana's impending visit, she suggested that we should clean the blinds....all of them and all the windows.  We started early Saturday morning and pulled down the blinds one by one where we would wipe them.  We made it a team effort with my Mom on one side and me on the other.  I just sat in indian style and would lean over to get my half of the blind over and over again.  Anyway, today I woke up sore, and figured out that the tedious cleaning of blinds is the best workout ever!!  So, if you want a 2 for 1 you can have sparkling clean windows and blinds and be in good shape too!

Rachel tagged me to go to my fourth folder and choose the fourth picture and tell about it...Well, my sister Rebecca was at my house and started taking pictures of her baby. Brianna decided to grab Cameron and do a little pose. I am so happy to see her happy with Cameron, because lately she has started to grumble a little bit about babies...Cameron is very active and is always getting into her stuff. He's on the table trying to eat erasers and throwing their pencils off when they are trying to work. He also likes trying to wrestle Brianna while she is watching movies. The more she screams, the more he goes after her. I can just see the teasing already! Anyway, this darling picture reminds me that Brianna really does love Cameron!

Six Quirks about Me

I was tagged by Rachel to write six quirks about myself, so here goes my attempt.

1) I'm not really a big sports fan, but when I was young I used to watch BYU Football with my Dad. As a result of that I am a huge BYU Football fan. A different side of my personality comes out when I watch BYU Football. I start yelling at the refs and about what Bronco Mendenhall should be doing. If the game is especially close, I have a hard time watching. I just want to turn off the t.v. and hear about the result later. Unfortunately, Curtis never lets me and I have to endure it!!

2) An extension to this side of my personality comes out in politics. I am a huge political junkie. "I should be the chief political advisor" I fume- especially during debates. "Of course, they were going to ask that question." I even come up with the answers that should have been given. I think that Barack Obama may have bugged our house, because I analyze and say that he if he was smart, he should say this, and the next day, week etc. he says exactly what I said he should say. Maybe I just know what people want to hear. If that's the qualification ....hmm...maybe that means I'm ready to be the next president!!

3) I get easily pulled in to whatever it is that I am doing. I'm so good at concentrating on whatever it may be-like talking to my sisters, that I literally don't hear my name if called. My poor husband might have to call my name several time before it registers. As a result, he will tell me things that I will have absolutely no recollection of when he mentions it again. Oops, sorry honey. I really do love you!!

4) I have a really hard time putting a book down. Think of me as an alcoholic with books. I have very little control. If I start a really great, fun book like the Harry Potter series, I will literally be compelled to finish the book from beginning to end without putting it down. As a result, I have to be very selective of the books that I do read since I have this compulsion!!

5) I am the oldest of five girls in my family and I am the oldest child to the nth degree. I feel the compulsion to make sure that everyone is being taken care of, including my parents. I have tutored every sister for the ACT and through high school math...thank goodness that's over! In this current economic crisis that we are going through, I start calculating how I can take care of everyone in the family...hmmm...maybe they can live in our basement!! I have a wonderful husband who helps me be the caretaker of the family.

6) I have a split personality between being/appearing laid back and being opinionated. My sisters say that I'm extremely opinionated and that they don't know of something that I don't have an opinion on....okay, I argue that it's just because I'm a thinker and that mostly everyone will have an opinion if they think about it. Then they tease me that I'm even opinionated over whether I'm opinionated or not. That side of my personality only comes out with the nearest and dearest to me, though. Otherwise, I probably appear more reserved.

I tag Rebecca, Julie, and Johanna.

Our Dentistry Update

Well, we went to the dreaded six month dentist checkup and the news was mostly good. The two things that Brianna needed done last visit, but that we decided to wait on were the only two things she needed this time. That was a first, literally!! No new cavities. Jeffrey on the other hand needed some work on the back molars. He's been brushing himself and apparently not quite good enough back there, add that to the serious genetic propensity. Sabrina had one little cavity that the dentist was able to do without any numbing.

When we went back to get the work done, Sabrina was so good! I was a little worried because the nitrous has never had much effect on Brianna. Anyway, after a few minutes on that stuff, Sabrina was sooo relaxed. The pediatric dentist filled the little cavity and she was a gem. Brianna got through her work really well this time too. Jeffrey was so numb after getting both sides worked on that he was literally drooling out of control after it was all over. That was funny. He couldn't feel it at all, so I gave him a baby wipe, and told him to keep wiping his face. He couldn't talk either for a few minutes, just mumbling!!

Anyway, this was great for our family. We have a cocktail of different toothpastes that we use because we don't know which one works the best and elimination may hit the pocketbook pretty hard, but we suspect that the xylitol that we added as a last resort may be having this improved effect. We added the Koala Kids toothpaste from Melaleuca too since it contains fluoride and xylitol and we have another xylitol toothpaste and the traditional fluoride toothpaste. All I know is that I didn't have to pay $300 or more this time on the semi-annual dentist visit!! Yay.

Disneyland Picture Video

Here is a video Curtis put together to introduce himself at the beginning of the school year. It's mainly of our summer vacation.

Some Fun Pictures at Disneyland

Our Fun Time at Disneyland

One of the highlights for Jeffrey at Disneyland was Jedi Training Academy. He was one of the kids chosen to train. After they learned lightsaber dueling, Darth Vader and Darth Maul rise out on a stage and the "Younglings" got to fight them. At the end there was a little graduation ceremony where they became Padawans. Jeffrey LOVED it.

Jeffrey at the Jedi Training Academy.

Our two little princesses.

Meeting Mickey!

Sabrina got to meet Pooh Bear while Jeffrey and Brianna went on Splash Mountain.

Disneyland

Right before Curtis went back to meetings, we got to go on a family vacation to Disneyland. As soon as we came home from the family reunion, I packed a few more clothes and put it all back into the van. The next morning we left at 5 am in the morning to make the drive to California. Our hotel had a great pool with an 8 foot deep end and the kids loved learning how to dive. We bought 4 day passes to Disneyland and ran ourselves ragged having the time of our lives. Brianna even braved the Tower of Terror in California Adventure. She refused to go on Indiana Jones because she heard about the snake. We went with my parents and my two sisters and it was lots of fun. Many of the people that we met and talked to were from different countries. The most common international travelers that we met were from Australia. One family was from Great Britain, and Jeffrey met Dario from Italy at the Lego Store in Downtown Disney. The Australians were really friendly and fun to talk to. We talked to one couple that had been traveling the world after graduating from college. They said that Europe was insanely expensive, that there was no place in the world like Disneyland and that they were loving the U.S., both the people and the prices. We met them in the Finding Nemo ride when they offered us a water bottle as we figured out we had misplaced ours and were trying to figure out what to do.

We had one heart stopping moment when Sabrina got out of the stroller as we were talking to a Disney Cast Member about the new Finding Nemo Ride. We strolled the stroller into line, looked down, and Sabrina wasn't there. We immediately started frantically looking for her where we had been. Finally a crowd asked Curtis if he was Sabrina's dad. In typical Disneyland fashion, the Disney cast members had found her and a crowd of concerned people had gathered. It was so thick Curtis couldn't even see Sabrina until they parted. You have to love the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Family Reunion Pics

Cameron after the tubing.

Some good old-fashioned fun!

Here's a small snapshot of the way we filled up the pool! Thank goodness we rented it!

Brianna and Ashlyn having a great time on the waves.

The Crazy and Fun Winters Reunion

At the end of the summer, we all - as in all I mean Curtis' seven brothers and sisters and their families, plus a foster sister and her family- made the trek to Craig, Colorado to have our family reunion at Jeana's new home. Her husband finally finished his medical residency in general surgery and they were finally settled down, so she was excited to host this mammoth crowd. We stayed there for four days -in which time I hardly saw Jeffrey and Brianna. They were so busy playing with their cousins- Brianna with Ashlyn, her only girl cousin that is close in age, and Jeffrey with Jacob, Mason, Jack, Dylan, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. There are a lot of boy cousins in that age group. Jeana said that the final head count was fifty-five. As you can imagine, food preparation was around the clock, every bed and every floor space was used, and we doubled the people in attendance at church. While we were there, we got to tube down the Yampa River for a mile or two. That was so fun that we decided to do it again the next day. We were quite the crowd! After we were at the take out point, Candice, Aleece, Jeanette, and I decided to just let the current take us down the river , get up, walk against the current, and do it again. It was lots of fun and quite a work out! We also went to a wave pool that we completely filled and went to a gymnastics place where the competitions common to the boy heavy Winters family took place. Of course we also talked, visited, and talked some more!

The Dentistry Regimen

Curtis was joking to me one night as we were going through the nightly dentistry regimen of brushing and flossing that this is probably the one huge tradition that the kids will remember. It all started when Jeffrey was almost three. I noticed some discoloration on one of his teeth and lo and behold he had tons of work that needed to be done. Apparently his two year old molars had not developed quite properly and there were other problems too. So eight root canals and four crowns later....Anyway, Jeffrey later had to have a tooth pulled due to reinfection of a root canal, but has been pretty good since then. Most of the work has been repair work. But poor Brianna.... We floss, we brush, we swish ACT fluoride and still we cannot escape the work every six months. Now that she has more crowns on those pesky molars, it seems like the amount of work is less, but still... Our dentistry history is so sordid I even got our insurance company to cover sealants on primary molars after I appealed to the dentist review. So, suffice it to say that this regimen is pretty set in stone each night. Now if only Brianna and Sabrina figured out how to be a little more cooperative. The silver lining to all the protesting is that the louder they scream the wider they open their mouths!

Global Warming: This Summer Has not Been so Hot

I am always amused by the long term forecasts for summer in the newspaper when they have nothing else to talk about. About a week ago the front page headline was about the forecasted dry and "hotter than normal" summer. Against all odds, and despite heavy carbon dioxide emissions, this spring and summer has been rather frigid. Of course, this local global cooling was probably caused by global warming! We were sick from February through May because it still felt like winter! O.K. I will be fair, maybe there were five days that were over 80, but the rest was more like 50. Today, we went to swimming lessons in the cold rain, outside. Thank goodness that they heated the pool more than usual. Brianna's lips were still blue about two hours after swimming lessons were over. Well, at this point we haven't hit 80 yet this June and it doesn't look like that will happen for the next week. Ahh, how I long for the heat waves of the late 90s when it was high 90s or low 100s at this point! Then we could spend some quality time at the pool!

We Have Finally Arrived to the 21st Century

I have been meaning to create a family blog for a while, but Cameron HATES the den. Apparently we spend too much time reading email, updating finances, editing pictures and video......Anyway, our computer finally crashed on Saturday after the dreaded Blue Screen of Death for a few weeks. We had backed everything up, so it wasn't so bad. But the question was "what to do?" We consulted with Jerry and decided to put in a new hard drive and if that wasn't the problem, well we'd just use the hard drive to build a new computer. We found a hard drive for a good deal, but then we found out that there is now a new hard drive version. Of course, our computer took the old hard drive version. We had talked of getting a laptop since Cameron goes ballistic when I am trying to update finances etc. So, we took the plunge. I am loving it since I do a lot of geneology with all the Norwegian Parish Records that are online. Then we got back home and later in the day, our desk top decided that it had not quite crashed yet! But, we still get the BSOD several times a day. Anyway, due to the greater freedom of the laptop, I figured I could try to create our family blog. Curtis said, "I'll never buy a new car, but the luxury of a new laptop is great!" This is because this is one of the first "new" computer purchases we have ever made. Anyway, we have finally arrived to the 21st Century!