Christmas Card (Courtesy of Sarah)

Well, I'm proud to announce that this year we almost got into the planning stages of our (supposedly) annual Christmas Card. Unfortunately by the time we had any sort of an idea it was already half way through December and we gave up. So of course, the duty of a remedial Holiday Letter fell to me, Sarah, the eldest child. Things have been doing pretty well for our little family,

Dad (Chad for the rest of you) has been working hard at his job at BYU.You might have seen some Facebook posts about his latest book, "Sex (as in gender) and World Peace". Shortly after it was published he was asked to give the Mother's Day talk in Sacrament Meeting and brought the house down with a watered-down version of his book.

Mom (Marie) recently applied for a new job as a teacher's aide at Brookside, the elementary school Joel and Will attend. The next day she got a call from the principal asking her when she could start. Confused Mom asked the principal "Don't you need an interview or something?" The principal's reply was "Hello! Harvard degree!". Mom has also been monitoring the progress of her sister Diane's new house up Provo Canyon.




Sarah (me) has been struggling through ninth grade, which in Springville is just one more year of Junior High. (oh, joy!) She participated in the school musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and played the role of Ethel Peas, the poor country girl who is stuffed into a laundry basket and sold into "White Slavery" in scene 3. In a spur of healthy living she also joined the cross country team and was extremely proud to say that she never walked or threw up in any of the race. (Both options were tempting.)



Joel is in sixth grade this year and has proved to be much more of a hit than his older sister by getting elected School President. His most noble duties include collecting recycling and announcing the assemblies. He also played soccer for the local club team HC Storm. They only won 5 games but Joel managed to score 4 hat-tricks and ended with a total of 21 goals.



Will continues to be Mr. Popularity of his second grade class and has been getting better at reading, but still does not enjoy it. His older brother and sister have been wondering if he inherited the wrong genes. Will has also been playing a lot of soccer. His team went undefeated this year and plans to do it again. We're also wondering about his genetics in the athletic area because he at the age of 8 he can already out do his brother and sister in pull-ups by a ratio of 5:0.



Well, sorry that this card couldn't come by mail, and we're also sorry that I (Sarah) wrote it. In addition to the musical I have also been developing my sense of sarcasm. Merry Christmas, and don't expect a card next year either, if there is anything we Emmett's are, it's consistent.

Away in a Manger

Will's first piano recital after three months of lessons.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

My first Christmas in Semarang, Indonesia was limited to a sparse selection of Christmas Music. All I had were the Christmas carols in the LDS hymnbook that I could play on a small pump organ and a single cassette of Christmas music entitled "I'll Have a Blue Christmas Without You." read more here: http://beitemmett.blogspot.com/2011/12/almost-blue-christmas-in-semarang.html

The next Christmas in Jakarta I hit the Christmas music bonanza when I found a "Best of Christmas" cassette tape for sell at a small cassette kiosk in Blok M. It was a collection of favorite Christmas songs--sacred and secular. The cassette is long since gone, but for years and years after my mission I played it and sang along with it every season as I drove to and fro. I don't remember the entire play list, but here are three renditions that I distinctly remember. They all bring back happy memories of my second Christmas in Indonesia and many Christmases since. If you are going to listen to just one, pick the last one. It is amazing.

A soulful rendition of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"from deep singing Mahalia Jackson.
Mahalia Jackson singing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"

A fun cheerful rendition of "Winter Wonderland" by husband and wife team Steve Lawrence and Eddie Gorme. My younger brother Jake would always request to listen to this song during the drives to and from December ski days Beaver Mountain
  Winter Wonderland Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme

And my all time favorite rendition of a Christmas Carol: "Oh Come All ye Faithful" featuring the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in an album entitled "The Joy of Christmas." I love the brass, the bells, the tempo, the enthusiasm, the meaning. The arrangement is by LeRoy Robertson. For many years it seemed like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir preferred more subdued, meditative renditions of Oh Come all ye Faithful. Happily this year the Choir has started singing it again, but not with the same sparkle as this 1963 recording--perhaps because the orchestral accompaniment of the Orchestra at Temple Square does not shine forth like Bernstein allows the NY Philharmonic to do.

The Joy of Christmas, Leonard Bernstein and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Great to be Eight

 Eight years ago today, Will Emmett entered the world. He was the third child to be delivered by Caesarian Section, but the first to be delivered by plan and not emergency.
 

 







To celebrate, he invited five friends to come the night before for pizza, cake and swimming.

We drove to the Lehi Aquatic Center to swim. The six boys, plus Joel, loved getting dumped on by the tumbling bucket. They also loved the blackened tube slide which they all did a dozen or more times. Lehi residents Grandma and Grandpa Tueller dropped by to watch the swimming. I hope they feel like their tax contributions to such a fun pool are worth it. Sure wish Springville had a community recreation and aquatic center like this!

 

 

This morning Will woke up (earlier than usual) to gifts from the family.

Goalie/keeper gloves, practice cones and a mini soccer ball. 

 Plus a big boy bike. Tonight he will continue to celebrate at a geography department family Christmas party. Sure glad Will is part of our family. He is a keeper (in non-soccer usage).

Second Annual Sweat Lodge

Saturday evening I joined with three young men (we were hoping for more young men but some had good excuses for not coming while others did not) and four other adult Young Men leaders for the third annual Spring Creek 18th ward sweat lodge. This was my second time. For a report from last year please go to  http://beitemmett.blogspot.com/2011/11/volcanic-utah.html which tells of gathering volcanic rock for the sweat lodge and then to http://beitemmett.blogspot.com/2011/11/sweating-in-sweat-lodge.html which tells about my first sweat lodge experience. It rained on and off all day so we did consider postponing it, but in the end we decided to do it. It rained for the first hour while some put up the lodge--tarps tied over PVC pipes--in the mud, others stoked a fire to heat of the basalt rocks and others cooked two pizzas in dutch ovens.

After dinner we hauled a tub full of hot rocks down to the river side lodge.

Everyone but me (I opted to photograph the affair and tend the fire and reheat rocks) piled into the lodge. They sat on buckets and squirted water from water bottles on to the hot rocks which then filled the tent with hot thick steam.

Once everyone was sufficiently hot and sweaty, they all piled out of the tent and into the cold Diamond Fork stream to cool off.  Some waded, some laid down.. Mike Black (center) (I replaced him as bishop and now we both work with the Teachers Quorum) enjoys (?) the moment with his two sons.

The water is cold!

Back to the fire for more hot rocks and then do it all over again and then again. 

End the evening warming and drying around the fire while talking about what the new age for missionary service means for the boys in terms of getting ready to serve at age 18.

Grandma Tueller's Birthday

This evening the Wasatch Front Tuellers gathered at the Brick Oven Restaurant to celebrate Grandma Tueller's 83 birthday. Joel went to bed still stuffed from all of the pizza he ate.

Basketball Will

For the past few weeks Will (#25) has been enjoying playing basketball in a city league for first and second graders. They play in an old gym behind the Art Museum that was once the gym for Springville High. Will told the coach that he knew how to do lay ups, and he does. He still needs to work on his long shots, some he makes some he doesn't. He plays with great enthusiasm.
 

 

His main coach Todd Kirby, in the wheel chair.

The assistant coach is Joel (in blue) who was also Will's soccer coach. I am so glad there are talented parents who are willing to help as volunteer coaches. The boys practice for 30 minutes and then play a game for 30 minutes.

 Sorry about the blurry photos but they do show that Will is a man of motion. This lay-up was good for two points (but no score keeping at this level).

Pre-game warm up "gangnam" style. His good friend Trevin is looking on. Notice Will's new Adidas indoor soccer shoes. They are metallic blue with orange stripes. They were expensive, but he fell in love with them and his mom/biggest fan couldn't say no.