January always seems like this looming long month after the hussle and bussle of Decemeber and so it is hard for me to believe that Feb. is just a day away. For some reason this January has gone by much faster than most and I have so much to be thankful for. I feel like I would just like to freeze frame life for a while and keep my kids their ages for a while. I would however set us in a little warmer time of year!

My cute sister MaryAnn turned 40 this week. Me and Katy had a fun time creating a cake that represented some of her favorite things. The shape was supposed to be a thimble which she collects. Next time I think i would do a little more sculpting before the frosting goes on. It was 5 layers high. I gained a new appreciation for proffessional cake artists and realized I have a long way to go in fondant design before I could really feel good about charging anyone for a cake. It is fun to get to use my creative side for a few hours and fun to work with Katy on it.

I went from thinking and praying about where I could give some time and service in our communities and schools to having two business offers in a matter of days. I have been connected with an amazing opportunity to help start a non-profit center to tutor dyslexic kids. Right now we are formulating ideas and structuring things. It is overwhelming but exciting and something I know I should be involved in. I have offered to head up fundraising specifically a 5k run and then going through the training to become a tutor. I am needing lots of support from my family and I feel like I am learning so much everytime we meet as an unofficial board. I am excited to see this new adventure through and hope it will be a blessing to families with dyslexic kids.

The second fun opportunity is being able to do demos for my favorite GF company who have just made their way into Utah stores. A good friend in our ward is now their regional manager and asked if Katy and I would be interested in doing demos for the company. I am excited to give it a try and always happy to eat good GF food and share it with others. I feel like two challenges I have had (celiac and dyslexia) are coming full circle and now I finally get to do some real good in helping others.

Kids got report cards this week and I felt so grateful for children who try hard and make a possitive contribution in their classes. I am amazed at how far Jacob and Hunter have come with their Lang. arts and am so thankful for a teacher who is so aware of their needs and really helps them individually, which isn't easy in a class room of over 30 kids.

We have had a good week. The hightlight was Tuesday night when Jacob and Hunter received their arrow of Light. Their dad was able to come last minute along with Grandma Moon which made it even more special. They were recognized with one other boy and recieved their actual arrow that symbolizes their journey through boy scouts. They also were awarded the compass and three arrow points. They received all the pins except 4. It was quite an accomplishment and we were very proud of all their hard work. It is so hard to believe they are moving out of cub scouts. I will be honest, I will mish pack meeting. It is going to be a long time until Cannon is old enough to be in cub scouts. The crazy thing is when he is old enough Jacob and Hunter will be Juniors in High school.

Katy has had several babysitting jobs this week which is a great way for her to earn money. She helped pay for her student council sweatshirt which was nice. We had our ward conference today and Jonathan did a great job speaking. He spoke of covenants and the power they bring into our lives. He did a nice job of teaching from the scriptures but then that is what he does professionally.

The following pictures were from a little spontaious photo shoot I had with the younger 3 Friday after bath shop, clothes shop, and hair shop:

The Senator is in the House!

We have instigated a new VIP format in our home this month. Each of the 4 older children have one week a month where they are in charge of planning, shopping, and cooking the dinner meal as well as going on a date with Dad on Thursday and picking our family time activities for the week. I am loving the one on one cooking time with the kids and they are rising to the occasion. I think they feel a sense of accomplishment when they put the meal on the table. We have had quite the menu's the past two weeks. I am hoping we can stick with it and that we will see the dividends at the end of the year.

Alyssa is doing great with her mommy pre-school. Janey has now joined our group because her best friend Paige has moved away, very sad and she doesn't have her play group with her anymore. We had fun making paper pizza for the letter P and She came home as a queen this week with the letter Q. She made an amazing crown and has worn it proudly for 3 days.

The most exciting news of the week is that Katy made Student government. There were over 100 7th graders that applied and she was one of 7 chosen to represent the 7th grade as a senator for this second semester. She is on cloud 9. We are excited for the spring board this can be for her. She has a super fun semester ahead with Home Ec. , P.E. and now student gov. It will be a nice diversion from her honors English and history classes.

We are making it through the long month of January and happy to have tomorrow off of school to spend as a family. It is nice to have two Sat. in a weekend, one to get stuff done and one to play.

I actually found myself enjoying my new calling in nursery today. The kids sweet little faces are making a stamp on my heart. It is full filling to comfort and love a sad child and hear their little thoughts poor out in broken English. Cannon was sick today so went home with Jonathan after Sacrament meeting. Maybe that help me to focus on the other children in the nursery better. They are sweet and I look forward to growing and learning in this calling.

A New Year and another attempt at recording our Family memories. I decided this time it is for us and if others sneak a peak we welcome them.

We had a wonderful Christmas and December for that matter. At the first of the month as our calendar filled with parties, socials, and service projects I just prayed we would all stay healthy to attend each one and thanks to the Lord's tender mercies we did stay healthy and enjoyed so many memorable events. A few of the highlights included our annual scone party here at the house for all our neighbors. About 27 families came and shared in warm scones and apple juice and we loved every minute. The air was thick and smokey and drove poor Katy to sit on the front porch most of the night because it was burning her eyes so bad. The weather was so mild and nice though she didn't mind talking to her friends out side. We even tried GF scones for the first time and the girls loved being able to eat a treat with the others.


We also loved our Moon Christmas party. We hosted this year and held an "Old Fashioned Christmas" party up at our church. We intended starting the day with sledding but no snow made that hard. We had a chili dinner with rolls and salad (rolls made out of left over scone dough), then we broke into age groups and made homespun edible manger scenes which were a great hit. We also had a fun time playing Christmas jeopardy and the always fun cousin gift exchange. Thanks to both the RS Christmas party and the ward Christmas party we had great free decorations and the night was a great success.

The kids had their friends over again this year to make gingerbread houses. We had plenty of candy from our Halloween stash and everyone got plenty messy. Katy opted to have her friends over for breakfast after doing baptisms for the dead at the Draper Temple. I love that she takes every opportunity to go to the temple and that her friends enjoy it as well.



We had a surprise visit from Santa one Sunday evening. The kids all thought it was fun to get a candy cane except for Cannon and Janey. They were terrified, especially Janey. She stayed in the corner of entry way the whole time.

The highlight of the month for Jonathan and I was finishing the temple work for a family on his mothers side from Sweden. It was a family of 9 so we felt an immediate connection. We took the parents Anna Stina and Johann and all 7 children through all the ordinances of the temple. Katy was even involved in some of the baptisms. It culminated in having them all sealed on Dec. 21st which was Anna Stina's birthday. It was the most powerful temple ordinance I have been involved in other than my own. The spirit was strong and sweet and we new that their eternal family joined us that day in the temple.

Because Jonathan's parents are on a mission in Hawaii it was our responsibility to carry on the Brinley family Christmas party and Santa Lucia celebration. It worked out great that Dave and Sandy were in from Canada on the day it was planned and were able to join us. We had warm soups and bread and enjoyed visiting and catching up with Darrin who returned from his mission to Japan just 2 weeks before. My kids would have felt very cheated on their Christmas traditions without acting out Santa Lucia so we borrowed the costumes from Mom Brinley's house and acted it out the best we could. We definitely missed Grandma and Grandpa Brinley. Of course the night wouldn't be complete without the white elephant game. All the kids got loaded up loved their gently used gifts.








Here is a look at Christmas Day and our St. George trip though the eyes of some of the kids:

Jacob:I had so much fun. I was a jul tomtom for Santa Lucia. At St. George I went swimming and hiking. The last two days were cold. I got cars for Christmas. I stayed up all night on new years.

Katy: I had so much fun in St. George. When we went hiking, it was the best weather of the week. We went hiking at the same spot that we went last year. One of the rocks form what we call the "crack of death." Last year all of us were to scared to try to shimey through it, but this year, the 4 oldest and Alyssa did it. We were all proud of accomplishing it. The swimming pool heater at the condo broke the second day we were there. We would get into the hot tub that still worked and then do a polar dive into the pool. The water was colder than lake water, it was freezing, but just another adventure to remember the trip by. For Christmas we all got one thing other than the trip. I got a camera! It was fun to record the whole trip with it. I love taking pictures and making videos! We got back on New Years Eve, unpacked in about an hour, and then hosted a new years eve party. It was a crazy day. We were tired from traveling all day but of coarse we stayed up till mid-night. We did fireworks in the cold and had sparkling cider. The next Monday school started and it was a hard transition, but it's not like that's not normal. The first week back has been great.(:

Hunter: For Christmas I got 5 racing cars and tracks. I also got Lego Ship, Battle Blades, and a receiver glove. The most valuable present I got was a football signed by some way cool players, including Lavell Edwards! Then we ate breakfast and left for St. George.

We gave the kids a week in St. George for Christmas. It was unanimous after last year's experience that the thing we all wanted most for Christmas was being together. We had a great 2 bedroom condo with a pool and hot tub. Unfortunately the heater went out the 2nd day but it didn't seem to bother the kids. We hiked the red rocks and snow canyon and kids all surprised us and themselves in the places and heights they were able to get to. Cannon even scaled a wall effortlessly and wouldn't stop until he was at the top. We spent the two rainy days shopping at the D.I. and finding great deals as well as enjoying samples at Costco. The kids had a little Christmas money and loved buying their dollar toy items. Thank goodness they are still easy to please. We splurged one night and went to Carl's Jr. where we fed the whole family for $24 thanks to coupons. In the evenings we played games and watched a couple of movies, our favorite one being Romona and Beezus. It was great to have our Dad full time and he even got in some good polly pocket play time with the little girls. We loved our Christmas trip but decided next year we have got to go further south to get a little more warmth!