Christmas Joys

My sweet husband left the Christmas holiday festivities off his holiday post so that I could write about our wonderful Hansen Holidays. (I can't believe it's MARCH! AHHH!) We spent the Christmas holidays in California with my family. My WHOLE family! We gathered, all 27 of us, at my parents home, and it was fabulous, fun, and festive. How we loved being with all of them and relishing those holiday traditions that we have loved through the years...along with lots of delicious food, games, outings, football, and just being together laughing and talking (including the Hansen foosball/ping pong/pool tournament). Here are some pictures to recap the joys of the week:

Santa came for a visit Christmas Eve with pj's for all:







Christmas morning:




A trip to GORGEOUS snowy Yosemite:

Playing in the snow at the Ahwhanee












Ice Skating in Yosemite




Christmas Sunday:





We are so very grateful for our families, and for the many ways in which they bless our lives.

Happy, happy, happy HOLIDAYS!!!!!!

I thought we deserved three "happys" since it has been so long since we posted anything on the blog. I noticed that Stacie hasn't made a blog post in awhile and realize it is correlated with her calling as the Young Womens President. Considering that November had 10+ night time extra commitments and December was equally full, I will give her a pass and update you all on our Holiday season.

Happy number one, HALLOWEEN!

Halloween was great this year, though fairly low key. Elli was Tinkerbell and Ashlan was Ariel. I was trying to steer them clear of the Disney propaganda...er Princess Halloween theme, but I lost. And with the expectation of a third darling girl coming our way (which I am very thrilled about, truly overjoyed) I suppose that Princesses will prevail for another 8-10 years. As it turns out, Elli was very sick for the better part of the week which was sad. She missed the party with friends and I had to leave the ward party early with her (surprise surprise, Stacie had a major role to play in that party as the youth were in charge of the games, which means the YW leaders were in charge of the games). But we did carry her trick or treating to a few homes in the neighborhood. Then Ashlan and I really pounded the pavement and came back with quite a stash of candy, which she didn't eat (as she doesn't really like candy) but she did like having control over it as she used the new found wealth to persuade Elli to do her bidding.

Heading out to beg for candy.



Elli trying to be a good sport



Ashlan checking out her haul



Happy number two, Giving Thanks...

This Thanksgiving was very special for me, my parents and sister Megan came the week before Thanksgiving and Stacie's brother and wife, Scott and Alisa, came for the Holiday too. I haven't been with my parents for a major holiday in years and it was really fun to be with them for a week. We had a fabulous time cooking, then we did some cooking, and after that we cooked for a while. Then we ate. It was FANTASTIC. Stacie acted as Head Chef (though she didn't force us to address her as chef) and pulled off an amazing meal with all the trimmings. She had some help from mom and Alisa, and of course I made the rolls. All in all it was great to have family celebrate with us and take a few days off for food, family, fun and football. We also ventured off into the wilderness to get that very important of Christmas symbols, "The Gruwell Family Christmas Tree." Other highlights for my family members were Niagara Falls, Movies, Wegmens (my mom went to this grocery store 4 or 5 times, and each experience was bliss) and the Dancing with the Stars live ending, torture for some, life changing for Megan. After the Holiday I made Scott risk life and limb by climbing the ladder and helping me hang Christmas lights. Good times were had by all.

Elli and Corduroy enjoy Pumpkin Pie




The Tree Cutting/Thanksgiving Crew



Here comes Christmas




Happy number three......DELAYED
(just like our attempts to get to California, I will delay the Chirstmas update. I hope it doesn't get canceled.)

This shot was taken after the first of three good storms that resulted in about 2 feet of snow and grounded us awhile when trying to get to California.

How great shall be your joy!

This week I had one of those very wonderful life experiences that I have hoped to have for 10 years now. So let me take you back to a sleepy little village in Northeast Thailand, early in 1997.

Even though it was February or March of that year, it was a sweltering day on my mission (they all were) and I was street contacting with my companion Elder Wengreen (this is Matt, if you hadn't already guessed). We were walking down a street talking to every man we saw and having no luck. It was nearly time for lunch and I decided that no matter what, I was going to get an appointment with the next male I saw. As we passed the next house I saw a young man inside and thought, "to young and it is illegal to knock doors in Thailand, so skip it." But an oath is an oath even to oneself, so I did what I should do, I walked right into the house (without knocking), approached Num, gave him a Book of Mormon, asked him to read 3 Nephi 11 and told him that I would return the next day.

The next day we returned and sat down to read 3 Nephi 11 with him, confident he hadn't read it. At the same time his sister was getting us water, so I asked her to join us an we would read it together. At this point she told me that she had already read the chapter and them some. So yeah, I got excited.

I was able to teach Nok and Num for the next few weeks before moving back to Bangkok just prior to their baptism which was sad to miss, but here is a picture of them on that day.



Now fast forward 11 1/2 years to last week. I was trying to find an old friend and found that he had a facebook page. So I thought, maybe I am a bit old for this, but I will bite the bullet and join up on facebook so I can locate this friend. Once I signed up, I immediately had a request to be friends with a mission buddy (which took me by surprise I must say). This lead to an avalanche of friend requests among which was Mayura Seesarn aka Nok, who was still very strong in the church and doing her best to keep Khonkaen strong. Anyway, I came in contact with her again on a really hard day and it turned everything around for me. The icing on the cake was this picture below of Nok at the Hong Kong Temple (she is on the left). There is no greater reward for missionary service than temple attendance. Thanks for staying strong Nok.

The Five Most Beautiful Things (according to me)

I (Matt) was inspired to write this by a number of breathtaking things I have seen lately, (mostly in my own household) and just had the bug in me to go forward with it. So here goes.

5. Mountains. I recently posted my love for the Sierra Nevada, so here I will dream of mountains covered in trees of the Tropical Rain Forest. A few months ago, I traveled to Puerto Rico for a "work trip" and had a fantastic time spelunking and catching bats and bugs. I just love the rain forest! The first picture is where I would sit and eat meals at the field station in the morning and evening. The second is from a cave we climbed through, and to our surprise, we found an exit that was 200-300 feet high on a cliff overlooking one of the most amazing places I have been. Good times.


Ahh.... mealtime, this beats reading the box of cereal


A nice surprise in the dark cave


Playing with bats.


Did I mention? The beaches on there were pretty nice.




4. Fall in New England
For this I have to borrow from the words of Bill Bryson

"New England provides a setting that no other in America can rival. Its sunny, white churches, covered bridges, tidy farms, and clusted villages are an ideal complement to the rich, earthy colors of nature. Moreover, there is a variety in its trees that few other area achieve: oaks, beeches, aspens, sumacs, four varietes of maples and others almost beyond counting provide a contrast that dazzles the senses. Finally, and above all, there is a brief, perfect balance of its climate in fall, with crisp, chilly nights and warm, sunny days, which help to bring all the deciduous trees to a coordinated climax. So make no mistake. For a few glorious days each October, New England is unquestionably the loveliest place on earth."

Having now moved away from New England, we miss it terribly, however, we have found that Western New York has a great amount of charm and the leaves are very nice here as well.

Sunderland MA, pretty much exactly what Bryson described


The Coast in Maine, there is no rival to this area in Fall.


3. Southern Utah Canyon Country in the Winter.
I love the desert. One of the best books ever written is Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. Beautiful Prose. Well, I love the silence, solace, beauty, stillness and peace that I find best when sitting quietly overlooking something pleasing to the soul in the desert. Winter is even better because, the air is crisp and cool, there are never other people, you can hike for hours without over heating and there is something about having a small amount of snow dusting over the desert floor that enhances the landscape just that much more. So here are a few shots from the last time I got to go to the San Rafael Swell in the winter.







2. My Girls
As I eluded to above, this blog was inspired by something beautiful in my home. Well, it was my nightly ritual of checking on Ashlan and Elli as I go to bed. Each night my heart is full to bursting as I look at them so peacefully sleeping in the quiet dark of our house. Sometimes I want to sit and stare for a few minutes, other times I am overcome with the urge for a good cuddle or squeeze and on rare occasions I just want to wake them up and play with them. Now I think they are always beautiful, but there is something about them sleeping contently that is really amazing (I hope it isn't just because they aren't making noise). I don't have any shots of the sleeping so I will just post these from the first day of school, more pictures of them are below.

Ashlan


Elli


1. Stacie
I really don't know where to begin with this one. Stacie is the essence of beauty. Inside and out she is the most beautiful person, place or thing I have ever known. There are times (quite often actually) when I look at her and think, "I have no business being married to such an amazing person" but I am and she can't get out of it now, so... lucky me. I would love to go on, and I would, but I know that the more I say, the higher likelihood there is that she will "unpublish" this blog post. In fact if you are reading this, consider yourself lucky, I don't expect it to be up long. Anyway suffice it to say, I am madly in love with this woman, when I count my blessings she is the first, the last and every other in between, and I would be lost without her.


Isn't she gorgeous!



Between my family, my home town and my job, "there is beauty all around". So yeah, I think I am pretty lucky.

I want to see mountains again...

Ah Buffalo, it really is a great town, but what is has in fun weather it lacks in mountains. Early in August, I got to spend a few glorious days in the Sierra Nevada range with Stacie's two brothers, backpacking in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Our destination was Twin Lakes which was rated as a "strenuous" hike, but we saw the mileage (just under 8) and thought, "easy, peasy, lemon squeezy".

We set out after Scott and I had gotten, literally no sleep, as we had both traveled from New York all night, arriving in Merced, CA just as the sun was rising, to an anxious Kevin, bursting with energy and a strong desire to hit the trail. In the first image below you can see our optimistic faces, 3 miles into the hike and just before the 2500 ft elevation climb that nearly put my system into shock.(As it turns out... living at sea level + flying all night with small children + hiking to 9500 ft + swimming in a cool crisp alpine lake = a few rough patches for Matt Gruwell. Scott handled himself much better.) The picture was taken in Cahoon Meadow and we joked about climbing the top of the peak seen above our heads. Silly fools, we camped a good 500-800 ft above that peak and in the end hiked to 1500 feet above it.

Once I had some hearty Lasagna with meat sauce (compliments of Kevin) it was time for some evening fly fishing. The fishing was fantastic (a strike on every well placed fly) and the fish were beautiful brook trout. We let them all live and I might have glimpsed heaven as I sat, fishing in this amazing lake as the sun went down.

During the night we had a fun visit from the deer shown in the third picture. I was sleeping under the stars and had a good fright (this was bear country) as the foot steps of this fine animal approached. Kevin was even more startled as he was caught with his pants down (not figuratively) when the deer came into camp. To our relief, it wasn't a hungry bear and while it stayed around for the next few hours, I found it comforting company because having her around meant that there were no bears.

The next day we set out for Silliman pass into Kings Canyon and saw a really good sized chunk of the world. I can't describe the feeling, but it was wonderful to behold the great western divide of the Sierra Nevada range in all its glory. It rekindled the East Coast/West Coast battle inside me as we will be seeking gainful employment over the next few years. I really miss mountains...

Childish optimism



Reelin them in, one at a time



The Night Watchman



Ahhhhh - Sierra



Overlooking our campsite on one of the twin lakes



Coming down the mountain

Dancing Through the Summer

Summer has begun and we are filling the days with FUN! We started the vacation dancing, with Ashlan and Elli's ballet recitals. Ashlan's was a dance with Winnie the Pooh and Elli twirled to princess music...very fun! (Ashlan's recital was on a Sunday, so we went to a dress rehearsal.)













































































Just two days after school got out Ashlan had surgery to remove her adenoids and tonsils. We recently found out both were enlarged and the large adenoids were blocking her sinus airflow. It has been so sad because she has not been able to breathe or smell or sleep well. The surgery went so well, and I feel deeply grateful for the blessings that come from prayer and priesthood blessings. Ashlan was such a trooper and had an amazing recovery. Her snoring no longer rocks the house! Below is a picture of the darling quilt they had for her on her bed at the surgery center. This little quilt was waiting for her when we arrived...they give one to each of the children, they get to keep it with them during their stay, and then take it home with them. It was so sweet to see it over her in the big, white hospital bed, and it made it all seem so much less sterile. She took that little quilt with her everywhere she went for days. So, message to Relief Society Women...the quilts you tie pay off!!




















That same weekend Matt and I snuck away for a night out with wonderful friends to see the play Wicked. It was fabulous, of course, and we continue to get the songs stuck in our heads. We followed the play with dessert at the Chocolate Bar- how can you go wrong! Thank you Amy & Ryan, and Eliza & Brad, for a super fun evening and your friendships that bless our lives.




































And as for Fourth of July festivities, we spent the holiday camping with 5 other families in Allegheny State Park. We are so grateful for good friends! It was beautiful and lush and green, and we loved escaping into nature, sitting at the campfire, exploring and hanging out at the lake. They had a fireworks show over the lake on July 3rd (we sat on top of the car for the show.) I LOVE fireworks! Matt and I joke that the only arguments we ever have are over me wanting him to drive faster to get to the fireworks! We came home on July 5th and, lucky for us, our little town of Clarence was having their Independence Day Celebration that day, so we had a traditional 4th of July BBQ and headed to the town park for fireworks, again. It was very fun, and we are reminded of our deep gratitude for this amazing free land in which we are blessed to live.








































































Tip of the Week:

I love entertaining and decorating, and all things party....so I thought I would add a "tip of the week" each time I make a post, just for fun! The tips may be something I've seen somewhere and tried, or an idea I've created.
This week's tip is a simple way to name that place at the table! You can do this with any color or font- here I made it more fun for a birthday party, a black and white cursive would add a formal touch.