Wrapping Up the Year

This morning, the last day of 2014, Nick and I woke up in some strange hotel bed to four kids who were already awake, dressed in swimsuits, and begging to head back over to the indoor water park.  No, we didn't up and skip town six days after Christmas; rather, we booked a hotel approximately 5 miles from our house, and took advantage of the kids being out of school so we could claim one more night of fun before the year wrapped itself up.  It was kind of a spur of the moment decision, but Madison begged for an extra special birthday outing since she was turning the "big" age of 10, and we decided to acquiesce to her request.  Though we don't do sleep-overs, the deal we struck with her and the other kids was to rent a hotel room for their tenth birthday outing, and to invite a few friends to eat, swim, and watch movies until late into the night.  Then we would take friends home and sleep in the hotel room with just the members of our family.  It turned out to be a pretty good evening, with Maddi, Kate, and Abbie all feeling pretty grown up.  

The rest of us had fun too, and the whole experience made me stop and think.  Last year on this day we were having a sleep-over in the construction zone that was soon to be our new house!  It was a crazy night, one that none of us will ever forget.  This year; however, we will be bringing in the New Year in the comfort of our newly bought and furnished "shelter from the storm."  Well, we'll be sleeping there at least.  We've got a New Year's Eve party at the Stake President's house, and then we're going to go and toast in the New Year at the hospital with Nick, but after that we'll all pile into my bed and dream the night and past year away into the archives of time.

 I know I say it often, but time just keeps on rolling on, faster and faster until I can hardly believe we're all so old and established.  I think I've finally reached the point that I no longer consider myself a newlywed, or even a young mom; but, I still don't really see myself as a grown-up.  It's nonsensical really, but it's true.  It's like I'm still playing house in someone else's space with someone else's money and someone else's children.  Maybe that is part of the secret of life: Though others might see you in certain ways, YOU never consider yourself as "arrived".  I haven't lived long enough to know if it is always this way, but I'm guessing it will be the status quo for at least a few more years.  Maybe in six years when I hit the "big" 4-0 I will feel more like an adult that a kid, but judging from past milestones, I doubt it.  In the meantime; however, life just keeps passing, whether we admit it to ourselves or not.  And so, we close out another crazy, busy, wonderful, blessed year of life and start tomorrow anew, looking forward to whatever the New Year will bring.  Hello 2015!  Good-night 2000-gone!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve...

Christmas morning...

(Santa was pretty good to us, even bringing gifts for Mom and Dad this year, as well as to our hamster, Kili.)

After checking out Santa's goods, it was time for a breakfast interlude and a movie/nap before continuing with the giving and getting.

Then it was back to opening gifts.  First, gifts from Mom and Dad.

Then from Grandparents.
 (The snowmobile the Hoskins brought the kids isn't pictures here)

Then from siblings.

Afterwards it was time to get Christmas dinner ready,

and then we finished off the day with an evening of entertaining great friends and neighbors.

It was a beautiful holiday!  And we are so incredibly blessed!

Merry Christmas everyone! And to all a good night!

Seminary in Review...

As I was going through pictures the other day, thinking about my seminary students and what a big part of my life seminary has been for the past few months, I realized that I hadn't really talked much about my calling on our family blog.  I mentioned it briefly after Halloween, and again in our Christmas letter, but I wanted to take a minute and spend a little more time to discussing this life-changing calling and what it has meant to me and my family.

As our Christmas letter detailed, the calling to be an early morning seminary teacher was basically issued to me first by my husband, and then after much prayer and pleading on my part, by the Stake Presidency.  Calling me to be the seminary teacher; however, proved to be a fairly tricky issue. As our Christmas letter stated, it was basically a logistical impossibility for me to teach.  Nick and I would essentially need to be leaving at the same time in the morning, and by law, my four sleeping children could not go unattended.  This problem was reconciled by deciding to simply hold seminary in my home, but, a home-bound seminary brought about problems of its own.  First of all, the class was too big to meet in one home, so the seminary class would have to be split and another teacher called. As this was an issue already on the Stake President's mind, it wasn't the end of the world to call another teacher, but when the other teacher happened to be another young mom with a husband who would also be gone, things started to spiral out of control.  You see, her class would need to meet in her home, and my class would need to come to mine.  This was in and of itself a logistical nightmare, and one that came to a head with many of the local parents.  In fact, things became so heated that the stake presidency ended up having to call a parents meeting two week before school started to sort everything out.

Before we had the meeting, the stake presidency and the other teacher and I talked and figured out what seemed to be a reasonable solution to our problems.  It involved staggering start times and having one of the moms transport children between the two homes.  At the meeting; however, this solution didn't even enter the discussion.  Instead, everything broke down into chaos and mean-spirited-ness.  Members were throwing ridiculous charges at the stake presidency, suggesting that they were liars about the number of kids on the rolls, and ultimately somewhat incompetent in making this decision.  Then there were also several very personal attacks on myself and the other teacher.  No one could understand why we were so selfish in putting the needs of ourselves and our children above the needs of all of the other kids in the stake.  It was hurtful, and honestly, shocking.  We hadn't issued the call to ourselves.  We had accepted the call, at great personal sacrifice, and the attacks that night were uncalled for.

Eventually the stake presidency member present ushered me and the other teacher into the hall--both of us in tears.  He too was in shock, and simply sat in a primary classroom looking at us blankly for several minutes before he could decide what to say. A few of the moms had spoken up during the meeting and said they would come to our homes to babysit in the mornings, and after a few minutes of pondering, we all decided that this was the direction things were going to have to go.  Not that the Stake President wanted to give in to overbearing parents, or turn the matter of church callings over to a democratic vote, but simply because the stakes were too high if we did not.  Too many parents had said that their kids would not be attending seminary if this was the way things were going to go.  It was a hard decision, and honestly, a pretty rough way to kick off the year.  People kept commenting on opposition in all things, and how something really great must be going to happen in seminary this year, but by day one, I have to admit, I was nervous beyond belief.  What was I doing in this calling?  And had my impression that I was right to teach been simply wishful thinking on my part?

Within a month, the nervousness had passed away, and instead, sheer stress and fatigue had set in.  I was getting up at 5:00 in the morning, teaching til 7:10, arriving home around 7:30, spending the next two to three hours preparing another lesson, then getting my own children up and starting their school day.  Because of seminary, I was starting my kids school day around 10, and then not finishing up until 4:30 or 5:00 o'clock at night.  Then it was time for dinner, kids' activities, and a quick hello to my husband.  Then I would put my kids in bed and steal another quick (or sometimes not so quick) look over my lesson.  It was daily madness, and for weeks I wasn't making it into bed at night until midnight or later.  By General Conference Weekend, I honestly thought I was going to die.  I loved the calling, I loved the kids in my class with all of my heart, but in the end, I was sure it was going to kill me. Literally.  And in a crazy sort of way, I think I was really okay with that!  After all, hadn't the very saints and pioneers we were learning about given their lives for the cause of Christ?  They gave up everything and dedicated their whole lives to God.  If they could do it, I could do it.  Maybe it was the craziness of sleep deprivation creeping into my thoughts, but during this time, I honestly thought it would be a miracle if I lived until the end of the year!

During this time I often likened myself to the saints in the handcart companies.  Their lives became my strength and inspiration.  People would tell me I was crazy and needed to be released.  In my mind; however, I would think to myself, "you know, the hand cart companies had it pretty bad, but at the end of the day, their lives came down to one question: do I keep pulling this handcart, or do I lay down in the snow and die?"  That was the same question I felt like I had to answer everyday, on a somewhat smaller scale.  Did I give up on what I knew to be an inspired calling?  Or did I gird up my loins and give it my all, even if I was barely coping some days and in survival mode the rest.  Of course my answer was to pull my handcart, and so I did, with all of my might.

As I pulled; however, the Lord taught me an important lesson.  We are never alone.  And He will always provide a way for us to accomplish the work He gives us.  The lesson came as I sat listening to the October General Conference participating with my seminary kids in our M&M challenge.  We were all to "Make the Most" of general conference by picking a question and praying about it all week.  Then we were to listen to all of conference and listen for the answer the Lord had prepared for us.  My question was plain and simple: How am I going to survive this calling? And the answer burned itself into my heart and mind as the tabernacle choir sang the hymn "How Firm a Foundation."  The words they sang were like spiritual fuel pouring into my spirit: "I will strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand!"  That last phrase especially struck my heart.  There were days I didn't feel like I could get out of bed.  Days when my prayers were simply pleadings for help and strength.  Days I wondered and waited upon the Lord.  In that moment; however, I knew the Lord would not desert me.  And when I didn't have strength anymore on my own, he would cause me to stand.  Indeed, I would be literally upheld by his righteous, omnipotent hand.  Again the handcart companies came into my mind, and I realized, like they did, that there are times when the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Times when the flesh actually gives out, but the divine steps in.  Times when angels push us and our carts along the path.  From that moment on, I felt infused with spiritual strength to do this calling.  Is it still hard?  Definitely!  As I said before, its the hardest calling I have ever done in my life.  But it isn't "I'm going to die!" hard anymore.

In addition to learning these powerful lessons, there are blessings that have come to me and my family because of all of our sacrifice.  It's funny, because I was good friends with the previous seminary teacher, who happened to be the Stake President's wife.  We used to talk about how teaching seminary was my dream calling, but that I would never be able to have it because of Nick's job.  We tried to work it out that I could sub for her a few of the days that she had to miss, but we were never able to make it happen.  I don't know if it was because of these conversations, or just wishful thinking, but I used to have dreams about teaching seminary, and when I taught, it was always in my home.  Often times we would talk and laugh about these dreams.  Needless to say, this was the topic of many conversation again after the calling was issued.  And even though I didn't end up teaching in my home (at least not this time around) when I was set apart everyone was still under the impression that this would be the case.  Consequently, the blessing I was given largely focused on blessings that would come to my home as seminary was taught there, as well as blessings that would come to my family.  When the change got made to move us to the church, I felt the Lord's comforting whisper that those blessings would remain in force regardless of the location of seminary.  And indeed they have.  The seminary kids have become like an extension of my own family, and my four "natural" children are as obsessed with their new older siblings as I am.  We love them, spoil them, and want the very best for them.  Madison, Spencer, Emma, and Mason often come over to help me set up for class, they have each attended seminary once during the semester, and they have joined Nick several times in coming and making breakfast for my kids on days he was off of work.  It has been a wonderful adventure for all of us, and as Sister Cox always used to say, "Indeed, the hardest calling you will ever love!"

Well, now that this has turned into a novel, I guess I had better put a few photos of my kids on the blog and close this post up.  These photos include: Pictures from individual class periods--like the Great apostasy/ lego-building day and the day we journeyed from Kirtland to Independence to learn about the location of the Center Place of Zion, as well as pictures from our seminary parties--the Halloween breakfast and pumpkin-carving contest and the Christmas party/white elephant gift exchange/late night dance party. I wish I had some pictures of our Conference Game Show day, as well as a photo of our M&M challenge bags, but I did include our "He is the Gift" challenge photo.  The elders came and gave us the challenge to hand out as many He is the Gift cards in one week as we could.  I put up a prize and all of the kids gave it their all.  We had an amazing number of cards given out, but then, on the last day of class, those of us who thought we had this competition in-the-bag (yes, I was in on it too) were put to shame by one of the girls who came in with a surprise announcement.  She attended a local private school and had gotten permission to show it to the whole student body during Wednesday Chapel Time.  Awesome! Needless to say, she took the prize!

 

Madison's Birthday

Well, as I said a month ago, it's birthday season at our house, and Madison is next in line.  Madison is such a blessing in our family that it is truly a joy to celebrate her and her ten years of living.  As the oldest child, I sometimes feel like she gets the butt end of the deal.  More is expected of her, more is required of her, and everyone expects her to be willing to give up turns or what not because she is "the oldest."  Sometimes she gets a little frustrated by her position in the family, but most of the time she simply rises to the occasion and helps out wherever she can.  This year she has been an extra special helper, even taking on the role of helping to create worksheets and stories for the little kids' home school curriculum.  I would be lost without her and I love and appreciate her for all of her strength and goodness.

As the morning of her birthday arrived, I couldn't help but ponder on these things, as well as feel a little bit guilty that it seems the older one gets, the less magic and excitement there is in special occasions.  Everything is kind of old hat, and the presents become more practical--like clothes, and less spontaneous--they've asked for what they want and they pretty much know what all the boxes are.  Still, there's something in my psyche that won't let me give up on traditions.  So, here we are presenting her breakfast in bed,

And here we are having cake (cheesecake that is) and ice cream with the Andersons. 

Madison convinced me to let her have an extra special birthday outing this year, since ten seems so significant, but we couldn't make it work until a few days after Christmas. So, stay tuned for later word on the rest of her birthday celebration.  And, in the meantime, Happy Birthday Maddi love!  We love you!

"Root Deer"

With life as crazy as it has been lately, we simply ran out of time for making home-made treats to deliver to all of our friends this Christmas.  We did; however, find this cute idea on Pinterest that only took a few hours to pull together. 

 As the pictures clearly show, we bought a ton of IBC root beer and quickly transformed them into holiday "Root Deer."  Then we caroled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Root Deer to all of our friends and neighbors.  It was the height of cheesy, but what do you expect from the family that still wears matching outfits to church every Sunday!

2014 Christmas Letter

Season's Greetings Family and Friends!

               
As I have read over past Christmas letters, trying to get into the right frame of mind for writing this Christmas greeting, I am struck by the change in sentiments which I feel compelled to express this time around.  Usually our Christmas greeting begins with some phrase describing how "we can't believe it's that time of year again-- time to be writing yet another Christmas letter."  This phrase suggests, as we have felt in past years, that the previous year has simply flown by, and that we cannot believe that Christmas is here yet again.  This year; however, I can honestly say that I have not felt that way.  This year has been a uniquely busy year for our family.  In each passing year, I have thought that our schedule had finally reached its maximum capacity.  This year has taken the cake though.  Consequently, for the first time, I have reached a place where I feel like time has slowed back down and each week feels more like a month than a week.  It's funny how that works.  Perhaps that is why the scriptures teach that there will be no time in heaven.  Existing will simply be measured in thoughts and feelings rather than the ever-present ticking of the hallway clock.

                Anyhow, rather than musing any more about the philosophical, I suppose I should get to talking about the specifics of our year and what has made our family so busy.  At the first of the year, our busyness was largely related to closing on and moving into our new home.  After years of working and planning, the house was finally ready to move into.  It was everything we hoped it would be; however, moving into, furnishing, and finishing the house, as well as landscaping the yard, was its own part-time job.  (We also needed a part-time job just to pay for it all!)  Thankfully, that phase of our life has come to an end, and we now find ourselves simply enjoying the space and stability of having a new home.

                A close second in making our life crazy this year was our travel agenda.  We kicked off the year with a week-long trip to Texas, and then a Disney cruise to Mexico.  Next up was a week-long furniture shopping trip in Utah, followed up by another two-week trip to visit family and sight-see in Washington D.C.  Six weeks after we returned from D.C., it was off to the East Coast yet again.  This time we spent ten days RVing through the Northeast visiting many American and Church History sights.  Our trip culminated with Spencer's baptism in the Susquehanna River on the morning of the Fourth of July.  That evening, we  capped off the trip by watching the spectacular fireworks show over the Statue of Liberty and New York City from a ferry in the Hudson Bay.   This trip was supposed to wrap up our travel for a while, but after receiving a new calling that would keep me home-bound during the school year, we scheduled one more two-week trip to Mt. Rushmore, Utah, and Arizona only ten days after we arrived home from New York.  For a while there, we were gone more than we were home.

                Speaking of new callings, our service in the church has probably been the greatest contributor to our demanding schedule as of late.   Nick has continued to serve as the Stake Executive Secretary, and we have both continued our service in the Bismarck Temple.  About mid-summer; however, I got the shock of my life when Nick pulled me aside in the temple and asked what I would think about being called as the Bismarck early morning seminary teacher.  The Stake President had given him permission to talk to me about the calling since my name just kept coming up, but since it seemed like an impossible fit for our family.  With four kids in our home school this year, and an extra-curricular activity roster to rival any blogger mom, it seemed like there was no way I could possibly put another thing on my plate.  Add that to the fact that Nick would need to leave for work about the same time that I would need to leave for seminary, and it was obvious why the Stake President was struggling with the decision.  He was struggling, and Nick was somewhat opposed, but after a few minutes of pondering, I knew the calling was right.   It would require a selfless volunteer to come into our home every morning and be there in case our children woke up, not to mention the ultimate balancing act to try to keep up with what is truly an impossible schedule, but the Lord has indeed made all things possible for our family.  As the well-known hymn "How Firm A Foundation" states, He has strengthened us, helped us, and caused us to stand.  He has sent His angels to push our handcarts when we could no longer pull them ourselves.  And He has poured out His blessings upon us as we have sacrificed to do His work.  Early on in the school year, as I prepared to teach Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the manual suggested I put this incomplete sentence on the board for my kids to respond to:  If we serve the Lord with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength, we...  As I prepared this lesson, the only answer I could come up with at the time was:  we are tired.  That is still my answer today.  Gratefully; however, section 4 teaches us a more profound truth.  It states that if we serve God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength, we will stand blameless before God at the last day.  That is our greatest desire, and our Christmas wish for each and every one of you this year.  May we each serve God to the best of our ability so that we can be prepared to stand blameless in His presence.  Merry Christmas!!  Happy Holidays!  And may God bless you all!!

Love,

The Hoskins Family

Birthday Bedding

Well, it only took us a year to settle on some bedding for our master bedroom, but the bedding I just got for my birthday was well worth the wait. After searching for months and months, with absolutely no success, I finally ended up falling in love with the ottoman our interior decorator helped us design for our living room, and just ordered enough of the fabric to have a duvet cover and three euro shams custom made.  Then I bought a quilt and two king shams from pottery barn that went perfectly with the duvet and euro shams.  To top it off, I had a few extra custom pillows made and presto--we finally have master bedding.  Yeah!  Happy Birthday to me!

Feliz Navidad!!

Since our home school Halloween party was such a hit, we decided to get together again and have a home school Christmas Celebration.  As we talked about different options for the party, a few of the home school moms (the two that served Spanish speaking missions) had a brilliant idea to make the party extra special--tie the Christmas party into our Spanish class.  In other words, hold a big Mexican Fiesta complete with a sampling of traditional Mexican fare.  The kids (and moms!) loved all of the taste-testing, and even more so the traditional Mexican Christmas activities.  We began our activities with a candle-lit Las Posadas processional through the house. 

 Then we met in the basement for the breaking of the Christmas pinata.  

Finally, we had all of the children write a Christmas wish on a small slip of paper and then we tied the wishes to balloons and released them into the heavens.

I don't know how many of these ideas that we researched are actually authentic Mexican traditions, but the kids enjoyed them nonetheless, and they added a fun twist to our Christmas party this time around.

Grandma's Outing with the Boys

Since the girls had two performances of the Nutcracker, we decided it would be a good idea for everyone to attend the first performance, and then the boys to get a special outing with their Grandmas during the second performance.  Their outing of choice was a trip to Space Aliens for pizza and games.  It's hard to say who had the most fun!