A December to Remember

December 2008 has been a very busy month for our Family.

That is probably the reason I have only 3 blog entries in December.
Just so I can remember what happened this month
I thought I might post about some of those events.

MUSIC
Gwen sang with the Longview Larks
(Second Row, Fifth from the right)
Gwen did a great job on her Solo!
Blake was part of the Beginning Band in the Christmas Concert
This was Blake's first Concert -- He is part of the Percussion Section
Brad played with the Concert Band
This is his third year playing Trumpet
Brandon is part of the Murray High Jazz Band
This is his 6th year playing the Trombone

DANCE
Gwen had her Dance Program
Her Dance was "Five More Days 'Til Christmas"
It was a fast moving Jazz Dance and
most my pictures were blurs like this!

WRESTLING
Brad started Wrestling at the High School as a Freshman.
He started wrestling J.V. at 152 lbs.
The other 152 lbs. wrestler got injured,
so Brad has been wrestling Varsity.
He has had some challenging matches and
although he works very hard, has not had too many victories.
This is Brad pinning the Varsity Senior from Alta!
The entire gym erupted in cheers when Brad won this match!!!

A BAD HEADACHE! ~ This is how I felt sometimes
trying to get everything done
and get to all these events.
Like I said ~ A December to Remember!

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good-Night!

This has been a wonderful Christmas. It has been so nice to have all of our children at home together as we celebrate the Birth of our Savior.
We enjoyed Christmas Eve at our home with everyone after Ben, Bryan and Brandon finished at work. I was scheduled to work 8 hours, but got called off. (That meant our house got cleaned for Christmas Day.)
We had a lovely dinner and our traditional program of acting out the Nativity.
Santa had lots of helpers this year and was not up too late, but the younger children were up at 6 a.m. They didn't come for the parents until nearly 7:30 a.m., then it took nearly an hour to get the sleeping young adults out of bed!
Santa found each child and everyone was happy with their gifts. And there are only a few things that have to be returned.

We enjoyed the afternoon with my extended family. We were glad that my mom felt well enough to have the party at her home. For the first time in my life we used paper plates! The clean up with 27 for dinner was a breeze with disposables, which I think will become our new Christmas tradition.
Our evening was spent playing new games and watching one of our new videos. Now I am just waiting up for the travelers who have braved the storm to get home for work.
I hope that Christmas was full of joy and happiness to all. It was for the Brockbanks.

Our 2008 Christmas Poem

One of my biggest traditions for Christmas is to send out cards to our many friends and family. It is always fun to connect with those we love that we don't get to see very often any more. These include friends from BYU, Seattle and other neighborhoods we have lived in.
When I was expecting Brandon, we started to include a poem with our Christmas Card each year. About Thanksgiving time I usually start working on "The Poem" which Harold edits and corrects. This year we wanted a family picture with Bryan, so I was late ordering the cards and kept putting off writing the poem. Finally last week we got our cards put in the mail. I thought I would include "The 2008 Poem" for everyone to enjoy:

Tis the holiday season
Of two thousand and eight
And life at the Brockbank’s
Is really quite great!

For the very first time
In over 3½ years,
Our family was all together–
Mom on the verge of tears.

It didn’t last long–
School and work got in the way.
We did get a family picture
To celebrate the day!

So along with the picture
Comes our annual rhyme.
We hope it’s not too sappy,
Like it is most of the time.

Ben is still at BYU
And turning 23.
He has a job in the Chemistry Lab
And still works at the MTC.

Between school and work
Ben has a busy life.
And we are all surprised
That he hasn’t found a wife!

Bryan finished up his mission
To Hungary, Budapest
Teaching and baptizing
Were the things that he loved best.

Bryan plans to go to the “Y”
For the first time at 21!
He’s uncertain what to study,
But plans on having fun.

Brandon is a senior
At good old Murray High
(Yes, he’s a friend of David Archuleta–
The one who makes girls sigh!)

Brandon’s training as a pharmacy tech
Is 17, if you please.
Until his gets his tech license,
He makes pizzas with extra cheese.

Fourteen year old Bradley
Is now in the 9th Grade.
Continues to play piano and trumpet,
Wrestling and football teams he made.

In Scouts Brad earned his Eagle,
Was a pirate in the school play.
For football, he got a mohawk–
Mom was NOT happy that day!

Blake is 12 years old.
In Scouts he’s already a Star.
A 7th Grader in Jr. High,
Soccer and basketball, his favorites by far.

Blake is a very good student,
Getting A’s is his norm.
At the Utah Shakespearean Festival
This summer he did perform.

Gwen turned 10 in October,
She’s growing up way too fast.
She likes to help around the house,
We hope that this will last.

Gwen spends time with the Gunter Kids–
Winni, Grady and Trae
She’s also in the choir and dance
And the piano she loves to play.

A cruise to Baja Mexico
Was our vacation this year–
Included were stops at different ports,
Lots of food was always near!

The highlight for Harold and Lori–
Was when to Hungary we did fly.
Eastern Europe was amazing,
But the best was being with Bry.

Now if this holiday poem,
Did not bring enough Brockbank news,
At www.brockbankfff.blogspot.com
There are stories and pictures to amuse.

This year our card was not early.
We hope that did not cause you stress.
It comes now full of greetings
And wishes that 2009 is the best!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love, The Brockbank Family

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Our Annual Brockbank Family Picture with Santa Claus

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I think the reason that I like it is that it is full of traditions. Traditions stay the same and I have a hard time with change. Here are some of the traditions I love at Christmas:
1. I love to send and RECEIVE Christmas Cards. I usually send my cards with our annual poem on December 1st. This year the poem is only half written and the cards have not arrived from the photographer yet. Because of Bryan returning home we waited to order our cards until we could get our family picture. I hope the cards are out some time this week.
2. I always have 2 Christmas trees. One tree is for Santa to leave his gifts under. The ornaments are ones that I made while Harold was in school and I have lots of time on my hands. (I thought I was busy then, but I didn't know what busy was.) The other tree has ornaments from around the world that my mom or I have brought back as we have traveled. There are also a few sentimental ornaments on this tree. I love both trees because they are full of memories.
3. I love to go to the Creche Display in Midway each year. Gwen and I went last night and took Winni with us. It was wonderful to see the Nativity depicted in so many different ways. Each one was unique and beautiful, but the main focus is our Savior.
4. I put up lots of nativities around my house. Each one is special to me in a different way. I am looking for a new one to get this year to add to my collection.
5. I always bake for Christmas. Usually the main things are poppy seed bread and decorated sugar cookies.
6. Every Christmas Eve we have our annual nativity where we dress up and act out the first Christmas. It has become one of our most treasured activities.
7. I watch lots of Christmas movies at this time of the year. My favorites are "How the Grinch Stole Christmas (already watched that one), "Miracle on 34th Street," "Charlie Brown's Christmas" and "It's a Wonderful Life."
8. We have several Advent Calendars that help our family count down to Christmas. One I got from Current before Ben was born and we use it each year. I think it is everyone's favorite.
9. We started a new tradition last year by doing Christmas Around the World. We enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again this year. It is lots of fun and we love learning new things and tasting new foods.
10. Since Ben was a baby I have taken my children to get their picture taken with Santa Claus. Last year there were only four children in the picture, but this year there were all six! (It will probably be the last time that happens.)

These our some of the things I love about Christmas, but most of all I love my Savior and the chance to focus on him and doing things like he did. Merry Christmas.Two Little Angels at the Creche Display

Home Blessing

One of the things that Bryan brought home with him
from Hungary was this embroidered linen.
This is the Translation:
Where there is Faith, there is Love,
Where there is Love, there is Peace,
Where there is Peace, there is Blessing,
Where there is Blessing, there is God,
Where God is,
There is no Need.
At this time of the year I need to express
my gratitude for the many blessings I enjoy:

I have a wonderful husband who puts up with me.

I have six great children whom I am very proud of.
I have two amazing parents who have always loved and supported me.
I have the best siblings and they all married people
who make having an extended family fun.
I live in a country where I am free
(and I appreciate it more every time I travel.)
I have one of the best jobs in the world where I can
care for women as their new babies come into the world and
I do it with some of the most outstanding women I have ever met.
I have good friends who can can turn to whether I am happy or sad.
And I have the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
with all the blessings and responsibilities that come with that.
I could go on and on, but no matter what I added
ALL these blessings and other blessings I enjoy
come from a Loving Father in Heaven
and like the Home Blessing says,
Because I have God in my life ~ there is no need.

Winter Piano Recital

While there are many things happening
all the time for my family and me,
there are a few things in my life that are fairly constant.
One of those things is that since 1995
we have had Piano Recitals in November and May.
Today was the Winter Recital and
Gwen, Blake and Bradley played.
Each one of them did an excellent job on their pieces.Gwen played "Lakeside Retreat"

Blake played "Warrior's Song"

And Brad played "All of Me"
which includes playing with your forearm!

MOHAWK HAIR!

To preface this post, I need to say that I love my all children ~ some times I love them more than other times! (Just kidding!) I think I have six great children who each have amazing talents and abilities that surpass their parents. In many ways they make parenting easy for Harold and I as they do their best in school, work hard at their jobs and are all very self motivated.
That is not to say my children are perfect. They are normal kids and many times do not do the things that I want them to do.
I also need to say that of all the stages from newborn to adult, I have found the most challenging stage for me not to be the "terrible twos," but the age from 14-16 years old. My fourth son is now that age and just like his three brothers before him, he is pushing his parents to the limit.
Bradley played football this fall for Murray High School. While we were in Hungary, the team had their last game. In the name of "Team Unity" the players decided to shave their heads into Mohawks! Bradley joined some the team members in this adventure. Lucky for him I was on the other side of the world! We were warned and I had calmed down some before we returned home. I was especially upset because we had a family portrait scheduled just 3 weeks after he cut his hair. Fortunate for Brad his hair grows fast.

It took me a while to get these pictures from my children, but here they are for your enjoyment!

(I think I need to teach Brandon a little bit about
photography and picking the right background!)
Okay it could have been worse!

All Together Again!

The Brockbank Family ~ November 2008

When Harold and I started having children, it always amazed me how complete our family felt at each stage. It was fun to have just Ben and enjoy the newness of being a parent. I couldn't imagine what it would be like with more than one child. Then Bryan came along and for many years it was my two boys! As Brandon, then Bradley and finally Blake arrived we welcomed each new son with love and excitement.

While each stage of family felt complete, I always knew that there were more children to join our family. I would go to the park with my boys and always be looking for one more child. When Blake was born by cesarean section the doctor encouraged me to be done with my family because of my age. But I knew there was at least one more child for me. When I was pregnant with Gwen I knew that this would be our last child -- boy or girl! (Lucky for me it was a GIRL!)

The same thing has happened in reverse as my boys have graduated from high school and gone on to college and missions. It feels right for them to move on with their lives and our family at home changes as each one has left.
That doesn't mean I don't enjoy having my family all together because I do. When I was in high school I read a story in the newspaper about a family with 17 children and they were all together for the first time. I couldn't imagine not being together with your entire family. My father then commented to me that he could only remember all of his siblings being together only 3 times (and two of those were at his parents' funerals.) There are 10 children in my dad's family and his oldest sister was married when he was born. Although the brothers and sisters had been with each other, there had not been many occasions when they had all been together.
Although I only have 6 children, I have come to realize how difficult it can be to all be together sometimes. It has been great over the past couple of weeks to have all of us together a couple of times. We have taken a few pictures and even had a professional one done. (I have a feeling this might be the last one with just the 8 of us -- no that does not mean Ben or Bry has found someone special!) Until that picture is ready, here is one of us when we were all together for the first time in over 3-1/2 years!

Our Trip to Hungary

Many of you might not know, but I got very sick on our trip to Hungary. I don't know if I got food poisoning or just a bug, but I ended up spending the last 3 days in the hotel room so I could be close to a bathroom. Once we got home, my samples showed I had a bacteria and I went on antibiotics. I am feeling much better, but I still am lacking in energy. My big project this week was preparing the house and food for Bryan's Homecoming. I had lots of help and appreciate all my family and friends and their support.

Needless to say, blogging our trip was not a priority when I wasn't feeling well. I took over 1600 pictures during our 15 day trip and wanted to share some of the highlights.

Picking up Bryan at the Mission Home

We were able to visit with President and Sister Gasser at their home.

Before we picked Bryan up, Harold and I tried the thermal baths
in Budapest. We opted not to take pictures in our swimsuits!
With Bryan we saw many of the sights in Budapest:
St. Stephen's Cathedral
The door to the Cathedral with reliefs of the 12 apostles.
Buda CastleFisherman's Bastion
Chain Bridge that connects Buda with Pest across the Danube River
Hungarian Parliament
The Hungarian Crown Jewels housed in ParliamentIn Parliament were many statues depicting different professions
so the representatives can remember who they work for.
This is the blacksmith who also would pull a bad tooth.
Jewish Synagogue in Budapest
Heroes Square
The Central Market where we purchased most of our souvenirs.
The Site where Elder Russell M. Nelson dedicated
the Land of Hungary to Missionary Work in 1987.

Church in Békéscsaba
Harold and I had the opportunity to speak
in Church and have Bryan translate for us.
It was hard to stop after each sentence to let Bryan do that.
McDonald's were everywhere,
but this one in Békéscsaba had a "Walk-Thru."
On our way to Freiberg we stopped in Prague
to drop off some things to the Robbins
(Kari and Michelle's parents) who are serving a mission there.
We got totally lost, but finally found the mission home!
We thought our drive to Frieberg was bad,
But the drive back was worse -- a two hour traffic jam
due to a semi-truck crashing and burning!
We arrived in Freiberg late at night and stayed at the Patron Housing.
What a wonderful experience to attend the temple
in this place that was once under Communist rule.
Bryan and his friend Gitta Néni who is 85 years old.
She traveled with us from Györ, Hungary to Freiberg, Germany.
We were able to spend a couple of days in Prague
in the Czech Republic. What a beautiful city to visit.
The Astronomical Clock in Prague
The St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague
Good King Wenceslas is from Prague
and here we are with his statue
He can be seen all over PragueHere King Wenceslas is depicted being stabbed by his brother.
This is the actual door where the event occurred.
We enjoyed lunch while looking out over the city.
This is the Observation Tower on Petrin Hill in Prague.
The funicular which takes you up the hill was not working,
but Bryan wanted to go there.
He made us hike almost an hour up the hill,
then we had to hike the 299 steps to the viewing platform!Here are the worn out parents at the top!
This was the amazing view from the top!

We also visited Vienna, Austria
St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna
This amazing altar is in the Cathedral.
We hiked to the top of one of its towers!

We toured the Imperial Palace of the Hapsburg Dynasty
and saw their amazing wealth and collections.
Center Piece and a Place Setting at the PalaceCheck out this napkin! Quite the folding job!
We visited Schönbrunn Palace ~ the Summer Palace
We attended the Opera in ViennaAnd we ate Wiener Schnitzel!
We laughed the whole trip because
Rick Steve's Book was our constant companion every where we went!
We visited some of the areas where Bryan has served in Hungary
This mural is in Szombathely and tells the city's history
While I was sick, Harold and Bryan visited Tatabanya, Esztergom, Visegrad and Tata
Turul Bird in Tatabanya
Harold in TataBryan in VisegradThe St. Stephen Cathedral and
Statue of his Coronation of in Esztergom
The Skull of St. Stephen is in the Cathedral.
We visited lots of people and families
that Bryan had met and taught while on his mission.
I think Feri and his family had the greatest impact on Bryan.
Feri was baptized in the Danube River on October 11th
right before we arrived.

Bryan on the morning we left Hungary!
And then back home in Murray, Utah!