Out with the Old...In with the New?

As 2008 fades away and the bright shiny New Year comes in tonight, I am knee deep in a project to clear out, clean up, and make better use of the space I have in my house.

I have a lot of TShirts. I come from a TShirt family. I enjoy picking up a shirt when I go somewhere. I like to think it commemorates the visit and helps the memory last a bit longer. Since I don't wear a lot of jewelry, TShirts are always appropriate souvenirs for my kind of travels. You know, the ones where swap meets are part of the itinerary.

Several months ago, I cut the fronts and backs out of my travel TShirts and set them aside for a TShirt quilt. This is my third one. I have a completely quilt of TShirts from high school plays, teams, and clubs. My mom made me one from TShirts from many years of Girls' Camp. So one more for my more recent travels and collections and mementos.

I guess this feels like the right thing to do as I tend to subscribe the "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without" philosophy. Maybe not to the extent of my Grandma Bernice who literally saved EVERYthing. The quilt will end up on a winter bed around here and the backs that are blank make fantastic rags. So here is my effort this week to "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle".

I'll let you know how the project turns out when I get it done.

In the meantime, I am off to see Sister and Nephews with The Boy and The Girl for our indoor surfing activity. I plan to stop at the Gas 'nSip for a really big Diet Coke to try to help me hold my tongue, then Genius Golfer and I have a standing hot date with our last set of now married friends from our former singles ward for the early bird New Year's Eve dinner out. Then apparently, we are headed to SIL#1's place for games and treats with GG's family.

If you head out tonight, be sure to celebrate responsibly. I KNOW we will.

From East to West...Camp Ritchie is the Best!

Today on Facebook, I ran across a fan group for CAMP RITCHIE. This was the girls' camp I went to for 10 years in a row. Holy cow! When was this put up--and by whom?! I gotta leave a note.

Why, you may ask, in the middle of winter, Christmas vacation, and this week would I be thinking of Camp Ritchie? Good question. I am not sure of the answer.

A lot of good things happen at girls' camp. Any girls' camp. Good things happen when girls get together with the pure intent to strengthen their testimonies, develop skills, build friendships, and do all that in the beauties of nature. Add a lake and a you have a lot of good memories, and good things happening.

I first went to Camp Ritchie the week I turned 13. My mom had gone the year before as a leader. I didn't get to go then because my birthday was the week after camp. I was told I had to be 12 to go. So the following year, camp was the week of my birthday and I was a yearling.

We had probably 5 or 6 high schools in our stake at home and it was like fresh air any time the youth from the whole stake got to be together. Camp was no different. I loved the girls I knew from camp. It was always fun and a little unexpected when I ran across a camp friend at a speech tourney or a football game or something for school, outside of church.

While I know I had a basic testimony before I went to camp each year, I know that my testimony of Jesus Christ was deepened and strengthened at camp. There was a feeling of peace and love at that place that I have never felt in the same degree since. There was a lot of silliness and singing and pranking, but it was always done in love and when you were the "butt" of such a prank, you knew you were accepted and loved! It was an honor to fetch your bra or undies from the flagpole!

Rolling through the 200 plus people signed on the Facebook group as "Fans of Camp Ritchie" was like hearing voices from the past. Our stake wasn't the only one to feel that Camp Ritchie was "our camp"--every stake that used that lovely piece of land felt that way. And the fun part is, we still feel that way. The comments posted reflected the same sentiments. From oldies like myself to the very fresh, newbies that are still attending Camp Ritchie.

I am happy for the nostalgic feelings and the fondness I remember when I think of that place, those girls, our leaders, the fun. Not a bad feeling to recollect int he middle of the week, in the smack of winter and from under the snow.

The Qualities of Hope

Yeah, I know. Yesterday's post was pretty lame. I wasn't up to speed yet when I sat to write, and not even caffeinated at all. But as I listened to a discussion in my Relief Society class yesterday morning, I heard something that made me lean over to Dear Friend Micheale and say, "I should blog about that." So today's topic is a bit more thought out for you than yesterday's.

Our discussion focused on President Uchtdorf's talk in October Conference called "The Infinite Power of Hope". The entire message is amazing. Our lovely teacher, Marilyn, emphasized that hope is an active quality. You can just sit back "hoping". That is the same as wishing, and except for a few fairy tale princesses, that never came to fruition. Hope requires action. DF Micheale succinctly called it "fake it 'til you make it".

Marilyn kept us thinking toward the Hope we can have in Christ. (After all, that is why Christmas is such a jubilant celebration, right? We have hope in Christ.) She brought 10 of us to the front and handed us a little word strip. As someone in the class read the following quote from the article, she asked us to turn our word around for the group to read. The collection of words used in defining and describing hope was powerful.

President Uchtdorf said the following: "Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding TRUST that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is CONFIDENCE that if we live according to God's laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is BELIEVING and EXPECTING that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in CONFIDENCE, OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM, and PERSEVERANCE. In the language of the gospel, this hope is SURE, UNWAVERING, and ACTIVE."

As she read this, and the ladies in the front turned their word around for the group to see I thought, what a great time to give this lesson. Each of these qualities can be practiced and developed.

I thought they would be a great place to start with New Year's Resolutions. I'm not sure how to quantify them yet, but just to have a quality of hope to practice for say a month, may help along the personal improvement I am looking forward to making in 2009.

Dilemma of the Day

I was lucky enough to get an iTunes gift card for my Christmas gift from Grandmama. It is exactly what I wanted. Perfect color and size!

But here is the dilemma.

I thought of a very fun thing to do for next year's neighbor gifts already. Actually I read about it in the newspaper and thought, "Yes, that is what we will do." Is it lame to download some stuff for a neighbor gift a year away using the gift card gifted to me this year?

Maybe the problem is that I can't think of a pile of songs/books/etc that I am just DYING to download for myself at the moment. But the list for the gifts for next year may just be more immediate. Hmmmmm. Dilemma, indeed.

Any insights here would be great.

Between Celebrations: A Random Follow Up

Snowed in SIL and four kiddos popped in last night about 9 to trade cousins gifts and to visit for just a minute. It sounded like it was better for her to do this Christmas in two parts as well. We did miss them, but with her hubby overseas in the military this year, she is probably right. She is such a good example. Even if she wasn't thrilled to see the whole fam damily on Christmas day, she flipped it and last night was in fine spirits. This SIL is amazing!

I got Christmas down, boxed up and cleaned. I even got my kitchen and dining area swept and mopped--just a minute before The Boy and Genius Golfer came in with wet, dirty snow gear and tried to traipse through. Why did I want my house clean again? Can anyone tell me my reasoning for this?

The kids and I are headed to see Sister and her boys on the 31st for part of the day. For their Christmas gift, they want to take The Boy and The Girl to an indoor surf place. I haven't seen this before, and while I am sure it is fun, I am not looking forward to it. This is the first meeting in person since her court date a week or two ago where I found out she has been essentially lying to me about her motivations and personal plans. I think I dread the surf event, not because of the boys and their attitude (which is as up and down as a teeter totter, depending on their moods) but because I am afraid I will tell her what I am really thinking of her choices and behavior. That would ruin the fun for everyone. Luckily, it is just a couple of hours and we will be coming back home. But I am not sure I can filter my 'thoughts to words' gracefully enough to behave myself.

And one more thing. The Diet Coke fountain at my favorite Gas'n Sip was out of order yesterday. And it really upset me. I hope it is fixed today. Diet Dr. Pepper just doesn't cut it and Caffeine Free Diet Coke is really, rather useless.

Mom, Start Your Vacuum!

Let the clean up begin!

Funny how it always works out this way...Genius Golfer and The Boy went to Sundance to ski and snowboard again today. The Girl is sleeping way-in today (must be a teenager for sure!) and I get left with the clean up. Figures.

We celebrated and opened gifts here at the house in the morning yesterday, and the middle of the day was lazy and laid back. Then we joined some extended family at SIL's place in Provo. One SIL and her four kiddos couldn't make it as they were snowed in and were without power further north. We had fun, but missed the other cousins. The newlywed pairs showed up and ate with us, opened gifts and one set were off again. It was nice to be together.

So, my plan today is to begin to take down Christmas and maybe get my house cleaned up. This is a long term goal, however, and may take a full week to really get it done. Especially since it appears to be a solo job.

Merry Christmas!

"Mary Did You Know"

[Originally written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene]

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy

would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy

would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your Baby Boy

has come to make you new?

This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy

will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy

will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know that your Baby Boy

has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know?

The blind will see.

The deaf will hear.

The dead will live again.

The lame will leap.

The dumb will speak the praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

I think Mary knew...maybe not all the particulars, but she knew her Baby Boy was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, Savior and King. I haven't had angels come to tell me that, but I know it is true. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life in Judea, made an infinite and everlasting atonement for all mankind, was crucified and then resurrected. He lives today. Yes, Mary knew. And I know too.

12th Day of Christmas...12 Options, plus some

Throughout the scriptures we are told that there is just one prescribed method of returning to Heavenly Father..."and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God..." (2 Nephi 31:21).

I have a framed print hanging in my front room during Christmas that reminds me of this, yet provides many options to look for. This is what it says:

And His name shall be called:
Wonderful, Counsellor, Lord of Life, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Messiah, Governor, Jehovah, Christ, Redeemer, Word of Life, the Firstborn, the Good Shepherd, the Light and Morning Star, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Savior, the Lamb, Stone of Israel, Horn of Salvation, Eternal King, Emmanuel, Alpha and Omega, the Resurrection, Beloved Son, our Lord and God, JESUS.

No matter what you call Him, it is His birth we celebrate in the morning. It is His life we rejoice in knowing. It is His atoning sacrifice that causes us to kneel before Him and adore Him.

God bless us, everyone! Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

11th Day of Christmas...11 Dinner Guests, I Wish

Yesterday I randomly thought about who I would love to sit down with at dinner--having already died--and have the opportunity to to really pick their brains with all sorts of questions. I challenged myself by keeping this a Ladies Only Imaginary Dinner Party. Here are the invitees, if I had my way.

• Eve, as in the first woman on the earth. Boy, I bet she has some rare insight into the man-woman dynamic, huh? Plus she was a mom without a grandmother to call when she had questions, or when her kids were being ornery--and you know they were. I have lots of questions for Eve.
• Mary, and her sister,
  
• Martha--you know the sisters of Lazarus, who were friends of Jesus. First they "get" the sisterly connection that I don't always understand. They are the girls that showed us the difference between taking care of needful things and choosing the better part. I need some direction in this dichotomy, and who else would know better?
• Mary, the mother of Christ. She kept things and pondered them in her heart...I bet she knew better than to shoot her mouth off when she thought something that may not be completely appropriate. I would love to hear of her experiences as she raised and then followed the Savior.
• Whichever of the Mothers of the Stripling Warriors could make it. These unnamed ladies raised amazing sons. I just have one son, but I sure would like him to grow up like their boys. Faithful, prayerful, strong in stature and spirit, obedient...the list goes on and on. Who wouldn't like to pick the brains of the mothers who raised those kinds of boys?!
  
• The Wife of Nephi, daughter in law to Lehi and Sariah. Here's a girl that lived in some element of comfort in Jerusalem with her father Ishmael, but then married some studly dude she got set up with and trekked across the wilderness, then the ocean, and into a promised land where things were not always good. Plus her hubby was a prophet, and had some major dysfunction with his own brothers. Man! I know she has some ideas for dealing with family weirdness that I might be able to use.
• Just so you don't think this was a completely religious gathering, I would love to invite Abigail Adams too. Wife of John and mother to John Quincy, among other children, she was a very bright woman with a mind of her own. She ran the farm, dealt with separation from her husband by time and distance, had faith that what he was working for would bring a better nation, chose to inoculate her children with small pox when that was certainly not the standard choice. Oh, I have a lot of questions for her--plus much admiration that I would love to express.
• Mrs. Lincoln, mother to Abraham. Here is a lady who was very young when she died and yet made such an influence on her son that even as an adult he honored her as the prominent reason for his success in life. That is serious mothering, in a good way.
• Mrs. Samuel Clements (AKA Mrs. Mark Twain) would be a fun guest. She dealt with issues of poverty through part of their marriage, death of children, his traveling, the worry that he will make your family into the national laughing stock--or in the least, be the source of his comic fodder. I bet she was a pretty funny gal in her own right, just to keep pace with him.
• Miss Jane Austen, of course. She is perhaps my favorite literary heroine who created some of my very favorite characters--and that says a lot, as I have many favorites. How did she come up with this wicked sense of humor and everyday observation? Did she base any of her characters on real people in her life? Did she have an idea the influence her writing would have on a 21st century mother of two living on Celestial Circle? Wait, I am giving away my questions for Miss Austen. I'll fill you all in after this dinner party.
• My grandmother, Nettie. She was my last remaining grandparent. She lived until I was pregnant with The Girl. She lived with us as I grew up--from the time I was about 7 or 8 years old. She spent the last 18 years of her life in a nursing home. Now, I regret that I didn't spend more time with her. I could have asked her so many questions. I have many more for her now that I have children. I wish I would have appreciated her more when she was alive, when she lived with me, when I lived in the same town she did. She had stories to tell, but I didn't listen very often. She had lesson to teach me that I didn't want to hear. But I do now. I know she had wisdom to share with me. I miss her and would love to give her the guest of honor place at this imaginary dinner party. I'd ask her to forgive me for all the time I could have spent with her that I didn't, and all the things I should have asked her about, but didn't. I look forward to the day when I will see her again and have the time to sit with her and hold her hand and ask her everything I can think of about her life and her family. It will come. I hope she will have time for me then.
  

10th Day of Christmas...10 Nativities

I didn't realize I collected nativities, but I guess I do. Here are the ten I have on display in our front room this year. I have a couple others that don't get to come out each year as I don't have enough shelf space. Maybe someday...

This is a porcelain set that Grandmama made for us. It is from the mold Genius Golfer's own grandmother used. They are lovely and oh, so breakable.

This is a "Little People" set that I love because, as opposed to the first, the kids could play with this one. The kids are too old to play much with it now, but I loved this when they were small.

Here is another kid-friendly nativity. It is a partial Avon Nativity given to me by a dear friend. Sadly, Avon apparently doesn't make or sell these anymore and consequently they are too expensive buy when you do find them on Ebay.

This was a super inexpensive set that I bought when The Girl was very small. They are made of resin, so they won't break, and this one was small enough that The Girl could put it in her room. She would always rearrange the figures to end up in a circle around Baby Jesus. Every time.

This one I bought a few years ago. It is a PlayMobile brand and is very much like Lego people. It makes me smile when I pass it and I see Joseph holding the lantern over the Baby.

This may be my favorite set. It is a hand painted wooden set from Germany. We were given this in 2003 as a company Christmas gift. I had never heard of these before, though they must be very famous as people travel to the town when these are made from all over the world. It is like a Christmas Village destination, year round. They are beautiful and very charming.

OK. This was homemade set: a la some Super Saturday when I was an Enrichment lady. They are three wooden balls sitting on 3 very tiny clay pots and a few bits of felt and paint. I still like them, as silly as they look as compared to the others, because they are so simple. I think Mary and Joseph in real life would have felt very accessible in their time, and Jesus still feels personally accessible to me.

I am pretty sure I was given this one. I just can't remember from whom. It is a wood carving, in one piece. It is just lovely and serene.

This one Sister gave me this year. It is very tiny but the Holy family still fits inside the little creche. Mary's face got washed out a bit by the flash, but this one is very sweet.

This set was certainly from when I had no money and just wanted something in my apartment. In college I would go home for the shortest time possible at Christmas, then hurry back to work between semesters. This must have been a Dollar Store item, so something equally cheap. Regardless of the price, it still represents a priceless gift to us all.

Maybe that is why I love these little Nativity Sets. They range in price and quality, to be sure. But they each depict a scene that is matchless in its meaning and application to all humankind. The one simple and humble birth in a town far away heralded by choirs of angels and the promised star makes all the difference to me, every day. Not just what that baby means, but more importantly WHO that baby was, makes every difference.

9th Day of Christmas...9 Random Thoughts

I don't have a good unified theme for NINE today. But I have a lot of random thoughts; so like Miss Bates in Jane Austen's Emma, I will try to limit myself...to just nine.

1--My feelings about The Boy's teacher this year are making my permanant transition to Junior High next year easier and easier. I worried that my heart will always be tied to the Elementary school--my kids went there, I served 9 years of PTA there, I have many many friends there. All that is still true, but I am looking forward to his shift to the Jr. High, without regrets.

2--John Denver and the Muppets' Christmas album is highly under-rated.

3--Cracking finger tips and cuticles are the bane of winter existence for me. I hope I get the time today to soak my hand in some tea and at least make them feel better. Gloves and band-aids only go so far.

4--I think I do better when I am baking Christmas treats for others than when I am receiving treats from neighbors and friends. When I bake them myself, I know they are going somewhere else and so I don't eat them but when they are given to me, I can inhale them like nobody's business. Dang it.

5--I don't watch enough "I Love Lucy" reruns. I stayed with my friend Tammy yesterday for a little while while her husband was finishing Christmas shopping with their girls (and we were doing some sneaky on-line Santa business) and she had a I Love Lucy marathon on. Lucy really was pretty funny. Silly, but funny.

6--As much as I love my little zippy, natural gas car, I really LOVE my Durango in the snow and slush and ice. The little car feels like I am driving a hockey puck on the winter streets. The Durango is more like a Zamboni.

7--Even something as easy to make as french toast always tastes better when someone else makes it.

8--You really can't please everyone. I think I will quit trying.

9--It is still very tempting to go shopping, even when you are really, really done with Christmas stuff, just because of the great deals. Great deals are very tantilizing.

8th Day of Christmas...8 Truths

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Jane Austen completely nailed the premise to her classic, Pride and Prejudice, with that opening line.

Today, I have my own 8 Truths that I feel I should share with you. I'm not sure they are universal, however. They may actually only apply at my house.

1. "Not Me" is always the one to blame for everything.
2. Being thrifty is not always the most popular option, at least for dinner choices.
3. Mom can do something repeatedly and only get noticed when something goes wrong; Dad can do it once and he is a superhero.
4. The more hurried you are, the more idiots will be in in front of you in the checkout line. This also applies to parking lots.
5. Friends can commiserate better with you than family, usually because it is family over which we are commiserating.
6. Just about the time you have given up on your spouse hearing what you are saying, and you go ahead and buy a DVD you had mentioned wanting, he will be angry because he just bought it for you for Christmas.
7. Every family is dysfunctional at some level.
8. Even with all the junk you have in your life, you would still generally choose your own junk, than anyone else's junk.

7th Day of Christmas...7 Are Deadly, Allegedly

Yesterday I tried to process my feelings about going to Sister's court hearing and the direction that was given to her by the commissioner regarding my nephews. As I worked through my feelings with a little more distance and a little less emotion, I somehow found myself trying to remember the names of the "Seven Deadly Sins". These, of course, are the human foibles that at some point society deemed dangerous enough to call them 'deadly'. Funny how our minds work, sometimes, isn't it?

Do these sound familiar? (The explanations, links and notes are from Wikipedia, not my own understanding.)

1) PRIDE--Vanity and narcissism are prime examples of this sin. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitent were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs in order to induce feelings of humility.

2) GREED--In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.

3) ENVY--In Dante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire, because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.

4) WRATH--Dante described vengeance as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite". In its original form, the sin of wrath also encompassed anger pointed internally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of wrath directed inwardly, a final rejection of God's gifts.

5) LUST--Dante's criterion was "excessive love of others," which therefore rendered love and devotion to God as secondary. In "Purgatorio", the penitent walks within flames to purge himself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings

6) GLUTTONY--Medieval church leaders (e.g., Thomas Aquinas) took a more expansive view of gluttony, arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicacies and excessively costly foods. Aquinas went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including: eating too soon, eating too expensively, eating too much, eating too eagerly, eating too daintily, and eating wildly.

7) SLOTH--In Dante's "Purgatorio", the slothful penitents were made to run continuously at top speed.


Now, I don't share these with you to raise some judgement on anyone else. Almost all of these have raised their ugly head in this custody fight I have been watching from the sidelines. But I realized, as I felt angry and disappointed, and then asked the standard 'Why?' kinds of questions in my head, and followed it all with way too much Diet Coke than I should have, maybe I am the one with these problems.

My issues may not achieve a level worthy of Dante's criticism, or even Aquinas' notice, but I know I have many shortcomings and a few of those are readily available in a moment's thought. I think most of my bad thoughts, at someone else's expense. I indulge in Diet Coke or Burgers at the Barn with friends rather than get up and exercise to feel better. I wish things were better for people around me, but I can't change their situations. I just start to think I have it all together and it comes crashing down around me. I keep thinking just a little more would make "it" all better too. Then I just want to curl up in bed and let life happen around me with no personal participation. Sounds like just about all 7 for me.

Some smarty pants out there has a website that answers the 7 Deadly Sins with 7 Heavenly Virtues. They are listed as: Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance, and Prudence. I recognize that these are closer to the lines of what I would like to have in place in my life. But doesn't that go back to envy or greed? Isn't that what got me into trouble in the first place?

Perhaps, if I do make the switch, the things that are going on around me, which I have no control over yet have to endure, will upset me less and keep my own life in perspective better. Well, the 7 Virtues people say I can hope! Right?

6th Day of Christmas...6 of One; Half Dozen of the Other

One week from today is Christmas. How does that happen? Wasn't it just Easter? 4th of July? Halloween? Life just gets crazier all the time. But I digress...

Have you ever heard the colloquialism "Six of one, half dozen of the other"? This isn't something I grew up hearing, but now that I have heard it, and been using it on occasion even, the more I like it. To me, this means, it is the same. Not a big difference.

For example, if I ask, 'Which way is the fastest way to get there?' and you answer 'It's sixes', I will know that both suggested traveling plans are pretty equal and either way is good enough to get there.

Now my thoughts for today's post isn't about travel. But it is about equality, or rather, no difference in outcome.

Yesterday I spent the majority of my day in a courtroom in Ogden for yet another custody hearing for my sister and her kids. This is an on going, just over two year long, terrifically ugly, full blown fight for the custody of her two boys, ages 12 and 9.

In past court hearings I have always thought these boys need to be with their mom, full time. But after yesterday, I don't know that it matters. I think it might be "sixes".

I understand that these are my nephews--my only ones from my side of the family. But I also know that they are two very messed up kids, due to the misery they have lived with for the past few years. I also know that they will need a lot of professional help, of which they haven't even begun yet, to hope to recover someday.

For a while I thought maybe the court would suggest a Solomon like proposal--dad take one boy and mom take the other boy. That didn't happen. Any maybe that would not be fair to the boys themselves. But the constant fighting and bickering, selfishness and nastiness isn't any better for them.

Instead, the two parties agreed to abide by the custody evaluator's suggestions. Shared custody. 50%. Two days with mom and 2 days with dad and weekends alternated. Luckily mom and dad both live in the boundaries of the same schools.

But after two years of court and thousands of dollars of in legal fees and payments, essentially they are back to what they had originally, verbally agreed to when they divorced. And the kids are still the losers.

To me, it is 6 of One; Half Dozen of the Other. And it breaks my heart.

5th Day of Christmas...5 Surprising Tales

Last week I got my last Amazon order in the mail. And it wasn't a Christmas present. I had pre-ordered J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard months ago and had frankly forgotten I had it ordered.

For you who don't read and then reread and then relive the Harry Potter books, as I do, this little book may have passed under your radar. In the last book in the HP series, character Hermione Granger is bequeathed a book of magic fairy tales, or fables, by former Headmaster Dumbledore. She can't quite understand why until she and Harry head out to once and for all conquer evil Lord Voldemort. This little "Beedle the Bard" book is the collection for five stories Hermione has to figure out to help Harry and save the wizarding world.

Jo Rowling wrote and illustated by hand five of these books and auctioned them off (following the last full Harry Potter installment was published) to raise money for charity. Upon receiving (I would imagine many, many, many) ardent letters from fans, Ms. Rowling reportedly decided to recreate her little handmade book and have it published--also for charity.

I love it when uber-rich people realize they have more than enough and do their work for a better cause then to fill their own pockets.

This little collection of morality tales includes five stories: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump, and The Tale of the Three Brothers. To many muggles (that is, non-magical folk) like ourselves, these titles alone may sound too silly to spend your time with, but for those of us who like to imagine these fictional characters with on-going lives, it was like a little Christmas delight.

I haven't yet finished reading this little 100 page hardback booklet. I have been savoring each one, like a morsel of Christmas fudge at a party. To eat it all at once would be indulgent and tasty, but then your piece is gone, never to be tasted again.

So, here is my personal thank you to Jo Rowling. I feel like I know and love these characters she created and to offer one more piece of their world--at Christmas time, for charity--was a treat worth waiting for.

4th Day of Christmas...4 Seasons

I enjoy the four seasons we get to see and feel in Utah. It is beautiful to see the "circle of life" happen in such an organized, unhurried way. How one season helps the next and how the entire year is just segmented into portions that come and then go, leading the way for the next segment.

I love to see the changing foliage in the fall all along the mountains and even down in the valleys:

I love the heat of summer and the cool rush of water you feel as you dive into the swimming pool after having been out in the hot sun all afternoon:

And the promise of spring you can feel in the air as the snow has melted and the flowers begin to pop up and you can wear short sleeves with the car window open again:

We got some more snow last night. I like the snow under only certain and specific conditions. I always like to see it in the mountains. I like to know that the water shed is filling for our use in the coming months--like July and August. I like to see it falling at my house on Christmas eve after we are all home and are just scuttling around inside. This would be when I can read a book and sit in the rocking chair in the front bay window, watching the neighbor boys scrape their driveways and sidewalks. When I do not have to travel in it or venture out farther than my mailbox, that is how I like the snow.

(The photo illustrates it--but this photo is really from January 8th of this year; I'm not warm enough yet to go out and measure in the dark.)

Remind me again. This moisture is setting us all up for the summer months, right? We get it in the valley, again, why!? No one checked with me about today's forecast--I have places to go and people to see!

3rd Day of Christmas...3 Kinds of Treats

Saturday I got left home alone while The Girl was working at the Space Center and The Boy went with GG to go snowboarding. I had the morning to myself! It was trying to snow all day, so I turned on the Christmas music and began to bake.

I made three kinds of baked treats Saturday: banana bread, butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, and Nanaimo (Canadian) Squares. It was a nice day to wear an apron and try not to lick my fingers.

When The Girl got home, she and her friend tried making cinnamon ornaments. I tried doing it from memory rather than checking my sister-in-law's recipe. Oooops. The girls just rolled with it (literally and figuratively) and seemed to have a good time. There are three pans of ornaments drying--and smelling lovely--in the kitchen.

The house smelled so good, it was worth the 5 or 6 sets of dishes I washed by hand since the dishwasher was already full and the child in charge of that didn't empty it yet! But that is another issue, isn't it.

2nd Day of Christmas...2 Cartoon Characters

Feel free to sing along with me now!

He's Mr. Heat Miser. He's Mr. Sun. He's Mr. Green Christmas; he's Mr. 101. Friends call him Heat Miser--whatever he touches, starts to melt in his clutch...He's too much.

He's Mr. White Christmas. He's Mr. Snow. He's Mr. Icicle; he's Mr. 10 below. Friends call him Snow Miser--whatever he touches, turns to snow in his clutch...He's too much.

What is Christmastime, really, without the Miser Brothers? From Rankin Bass's stop motion animation from long long ago, these guys make me laugh. This year, thanks to ABC Family channel's original sequel, there is now a "Miser Brothers' Christmas" show that tells a follow up story of these two constantly fighting brothers. I watched it last night. They still make me laugh.

On the 1st Day of Christmas...a Family Christmas Newsletter

After a suggestion from Dear Friend Taffy, I figured, as many of you are locals and thereby probably didn't get a letter in the mail from us this year, here is our family Christmas photo and newsletter for your holiday merriment. Merry Christmas from your friends on Celestial Circle!

(This would be Me as Professor Trelawney at a Cub Scout Pack meeting 'magically' handing out awards, The Boy in full FB gear,

The Girl after her soccer championship game, and The Boy with Genius Golfer on the chair lift!)

Merry Christmas 2008!

I know some people think the annual Christmas newsletter is passé or maybe over-the-top. But I have loved to read them since I was a girl and my mom would write letters to everyone she knew to wish them a very Merry Christmas. I am happy to have that Christmas Newsletter gene and I’m pleased to share our year in review with you, like it or not. So here goes this year’s:

Here are THE BOY'S Favorites for 2008:
1) Football and Swimming—Our Boy is super sporty but he tried Tackle Football this year right, after his swim season. He did great in swimming (qualifying for the Countywide SILVER meet) but the best part of swimming was how well conditioned he was for football. His 6th grade team was the city’s “B” team, but they eventually beat the #1 team to play in the Super Bowl game. They lost there, but he had a great time! He is looking forward to FB again.
2) The Boy gets to work/volunteer at our elementary school’s Space Center. Groups of kids come from all over for field trips or birthday parties to do Space Missions. He loves to work with his friends and has been able to work all sorts of positions in the variety of missions they run here. He is learning how to be dependable and responsible as well as having a fun time.
3) In his 6th grade, he qualified for the pre-algebra advanced math class. Mr. Williamson (who also runs the Space Center) is his math teacher. He has had to work really hard to earn Bs in math now, but it is the best part of 6th grade, according to The Boy. He’ll be even more ready for the hard stuff that he’ll get next year at Junior High. He knows he can work hard, and that is it worth it.

This is GENIUS GOLFER'S list:
1) You knew GG loves golf, but this year he finally tried out to qualify for the State Amateur golf tournament & the UT Mid-Am/Masters Tournament. The State Am is for anyone, while the Mid-Am is for 25+ years or older and the Masters is for 40+ group (so he could be in BOTH of these). He just missed the cut for the State Am by two strokes, and he did get a shot at the Mid-Am/Masters tourney. He learned a lot, even though he was no where near the leader board.
2) Quitting his job on the 1st of October was a planned surprise. We knew that a change was needed, and we could feel it coming, but he finally had had it and came home on the first of October and told me he quit his job. He has been more relaxed and instantly could sleep better. It also helped his golf game—which he played for a week straight right after quitting. He is planning to head back to work next month, but this taste of “retirement” was very tempting.
3) With so much free time on his hands—when the weather did not cooperate for golf—GG put together a fantastic Christmas lights display (a la Clark Griswold), synced to music on the low frequency radio station in our basement. He and The Boy worked on it together. They made light arches, ran lights all over the house, filled artificial trees with lights and placed them all over the yard. If we get a video made he is planning on uploading it to his new website: http://www.camdebuck.com/

News from THE GIRL:
1) This was the last year she can play Recreation League soccer and her team did really well. They made it to the North County Championship game, but lost. The 15 girls became good friends and got along so well they talked of moving their outdoor team to the indoor league for the winter. It sounded good then school started. Oh well.
2) Swimming is always fun, and this year’s city swim team was no different. At the County Finals Gold Meet, she took two second places and had a total blast. One of the team dads drew fish “tattoos” on the kids’ shoulders with a sharpie, to make them look tough in the water and The Girl was thrilled to have her fish-tat be a “Jillyfish”. She says, “It even had a bow.” So much for tough.
3) This summer, The Girl tried something totally new and out of our comfort zone—she tried Ballroom Dance Lessons. She learned a little of the Samba, Jive, Paso Doble, Cha Cha and Rhumba. She felt like she was getting pretty good. Now she gets to continue at school during their “flex time” activities. She is hoping to get good enough that she can try out for the HS Ballroom Dance team when she gets there.

And finally, from ME:
1) Twice a week I get to go visit and serve my friend Tammy who is slowly dying of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). I go to chat, and do some laundry or clean bathrooms, or load the dishwasher or whatever looks like it needs to be done. Her husband is her full time care giver and I feel like I can come in and do a little bit to ease his load while I can catch up with Tammy and give her a different face to look at—if nothing else. I know it may not change her day, but it does mine.
2) http://lifeoncelestialcircle.blogspot.com/ is my project this year. It is a blog where I write just about every day. I feel like a newspaper columnist. It is my place to vent, to be grateful, to laugh, to wonder, or express myself. It has been a lot of fun and I find myself thinking throughout my day about what I want to write about. It is a great exercise for me. Check it out anytime you want.
3) A new Honda GX is our little natural gas burning, super cheap to drive, sassy about town car. We bought it in June from the original owner just before gas went to near $5 a gallon. I felt very smug driving it when our natural gas is about 75 cents for a gas gallon equivalent. The smugness does wear off as the price of gasoline comes down, but I still feel sassy getting almost 40 miles to the “gallon”. It is the first “foreign” car I’ve ever owned. I got past the guilt of growing up Chrysler when I filled the car for less than $5.

This is just a glimpse, but we had a great 2008. We feel blessed to have friends and family to share our news with this season, and most of all we are blessed to know that long ago, a baby was born that would change everything. We celebrate the birth of that Baby, our Savior Jesus Christ, with you this Christmas and wish you peace and love and joy as we begin 2009. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With Love from the Family!

Two Way Street

I had a nice chat with my sister last night. She was waiting for my parents to show up for her graduation ceremony--she finished her masters degree! She was calling with the standard "did they tell YOU what their plan was?" stress. It is funny if you think about it. They are grown adults, fully capable of getting themselves there. We still worry. Must be genetic.

Part of her call though has caused me to think. She is divorced, has been for two plus years now. She has tried some random dating, set ups, online dating. There is not a deep pool from which to draw, apparently. There are a lot of serious weirdos out there. (Can I get an AMEN from the single girls?!)

Since the divorce, she has been very good friends with a former family friend who knew her ex husband. He is a good guy who, I think, just wanted to make sure she was all right as she has been going through all the changes that come with a change in marital status. He likes her boys and enjoys being around them.

He was raised LDS in Ogden. In HS he make some choices that put him out of favor with his ward. He has felt ostracized, shunned, and left out due to a bad choice. He dealt with the choice the best way he could, though it wasn't something that seems to have made him happy in the long run. He has since married and had three kids and divorced as well. Still, he has not been interested in "church people" because he felt they were judging him. That was one of his attractions to my sister, allegedly, was that she took him as he was and saw him as a good person, though not active at church. (She seems to think there is more to his testimony than he recognizes, but that will have to wait. She has not added any pressure in that arena.)

Well, Sister was looking forward to our parents meeting Mr. Man at her graduation. As it has gotten closer, Mr. Man has gotten a little skittish. His reason? He basically told her "Your family might look down on me...judge me...presuppose who I am or what I am...think less of me...won't think I am 'worthy' to date, blah, blah, blah."

Now, is that fair? Really?

My parents are some of the most open, welcoming people I know. They have, for as long as I can remember, taken everyone at face value and began to develop friendships from there. They have friends in all sorts of walks of life. Some are religious, some are not. Some are more than a little rough around the edges, others are very smooth--sometimes too smooth for my taste. But with my folks, they take you as you are. Strangers are just friends they haven't met yet. They activate the benefit of the doubt most of the time.

While they, themselves, are quite religious now, they weren't always. Things in their lives have shown them this Gospel is vitally important. They know living it makes them happy. But that doesn't disqualify others from being their friends. If anything, they have a lot to share, if someone is interested.

They have never lived in Utah, so the wacky, sometimes judgemental, standoffish tendencies some LDS members here might have toward inactives or non-LDS folks, doesn't even faze them. They don't presume everyone is LDS in the first place, so there is no assumption made.

I hope Mr. Man shakes off his self-doubt and steps up to meet them today. Otherwise, this will be a relationship shipwreck before the storms even begin. Wanting something from others you are unwilling to give in equal measure back; isn't that the definition of hypocrite?

I'll keep you posted.

What, Did You Want CHEESE with that Whine?

I had an interesting little chat with my Dear Friend Chris last night. Her company, for Christmas, gave every employee a ham in a box. This is a big national corporation and well, ham is nice--unless you are Jewish or Muslim--but the thought can be appreciated even if you don't eat the ham. But she isn't either Jewish or Muslim at the moment, so ham, for her, was a very nice gift.

She said the ham handouts began at 2 PM on Tuesday.

By 2:10 she could hear people complaining, as she walked back to her cube, that "she got a 10 pounder. Why didn't I get the ten pounder? What kind of *&%#@ is going on here?" She said she didn't realize her ham in a box had a poundage sticker on the front as she carried hers back to her cube.

By 2:30 or so complaints were rampant about how lame the ham gifts were and why couldn't "they" (meaning of course the powers that be and those whom decide what gifts to give) give them something really good.

She mentioned that the very devout Muslim man she knows at work, simply thanked the ham hander-outers and asked that his ham be donated to the Food Bank. Gracious and Generous. Easy.

Last year, after having received turkeys in the past, people complained enough that the gift of choice was that year a lovely box of nuts. She told me it was great, full of pistachios and cashews and other good things. Still, people complained over that.

She said last night, that the Human Resources people yesterday were getting barked at by these perpetual complainers. Really? What is this symptomatic of here? Are we so prideful, jealous, ungrateful, and rude that this behavior is acceptable in the workplace? Or ANYWHERE for that matter? Didn't these people's mothers teach them to "Just say 'thank you', dear" when someone gives you a present.

If I was the "big boss" at her work, I think I would seriously consider issuing gift certificates to a local psychologist (on our insurance plan, of course) for these people who constantly complain every year about their corporate gift.

That is the point, right? It is a GIFT! For crying out loud, just say thanks and donate it to the Food Bank if you don't want/like/prefer ham. What a bunch of whiny babies. Glad I don't hang out with whiny babies. So people who complain. Or who want something completely different from what I give them. I mean, than what they get.

Makes you want to cancel Christmas.

Why, Oh, Why....?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?
Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
And my FAVORITE......The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Happy Wednesday!

God Blessed Us....Everyone.

For all the rotten things that you have to see or hear about every day, here is something that brings not only the Spirit to you, but that helps us put this crazy Christmas life in perspective again. And it will make you smile.

Check out the link http://www.joytoeveryone.com/ for more information on the performers and the story behind this song. It will just make you feel good today.

Family Respsonsibilities

Yesterday in our Sunday school class we had a lesson about family responsibilities. Of course, we talked about the duties of parents to their children and that of fathers and mothers and how, though different, were equal in value. We even brushed past the responsibilities children have to their family.

What we kept coming back to, though, was that all these are great, in an ideal world, but to reach "ideal" we have to each be accountable, take responsibility, basically grow up.

Here is where the theory seems to implode.

If humankind would do that, we'd all be looking for room on the Rapture Express--being translated and brought up into Heaven. The problem with it is there are so many who simply will not be accountable, take responsibility or just grow up. These are the few who make a lesson like this necessary in the first place.

I understand that everyone is raised differently and thereby has differing ideas about what might be their personal responsibility or accountability. But I think if we each took the initiative to be grown ups and look for the responsibility in our lives and our families, we could take on what it appropriate and make our families stronger and in turn, society as a whole.

But it is just so much easier to let someone else take care of it all. But then, guilt comes easy to me.

Let's Dance!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

Here on the Circle, we are always looking for ways to help you, our dear readers, with problems or issues at hand. Of course, this being the Christmas Party Season, there are issues dealing with eating at these parties. I was send this cordial list of rules by Dear Friend Doris today and thought I would pass them along to you.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact,if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving chocolate balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can - And quickly. It's rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it! Have one for me … Have two! It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards!
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.

Re-read tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO!! What a ride!"

Ready or Not

I mailed our Christmas cards yesterday. Genius Golfer thinks I am one of a dwindling few. I send Christmas Family Newsletters with a card. That is my favorite part of Christmas time.

A lot of people in the past have dissed the Newsletter as a Christmas correspondence because they tend to be glowing, overly sweet, unrealistic representations of a family. You know what I mean, the child won the spelling bee, the tennis championship and the Nobel Prize. The family took a summer long vacation touring the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The father was promoted to chief wizard on the magical court and earned the title of Best Philanthropic Boss. The mom was delighted with a recognition by the Miss Universe organization for her work, at the grassroots level of course, to promote the literacy of Appalachian blondes. Even the puppy was top of his class at obedience school.

I am sure that we received crazy, unreal letters like that once in a while but the ones I remember were from people my parents knew. They would send a note telling about what their family was doing, how they spent their time, what they were proud of, and never--in all the years I lived at home and read my parents' Christmas cards--do I remember thinking "Well, that family is certainly full of itself!" I just loved hearing about them.

So, our family Christmas cards went out with a letter. I asked everyone here for their top 3 favorite or most memorable events from 2008 and wrote about them. Some I could have predicted--others, I was surprised myself.

And while I have this moment of your attention, may I respectfully request just a note of hello or a mention of how you and your family are doing if you send a card to us this year. I love to receive the photo cards, especially as I can then see how your little dearies are growing up and how tall they are, and how much they look like you as a child. But I would love them that much more with a note about all of you. It doesn't have to be a glowing two page report. But just as little memo.

OK. You are right. I really want the Family Christmas Newsletter from everyone I know. I read them. Every one. Not only that, I keep them. I have them in our family scrapbooks, along with the photos you send me and the cards sent to wish us joy in the new year. So, yeah. I want the letter.

I may be a dying breed on this one, but I'll die easier and, certainly, with more pleasure, having just read about your amazing and life changing family vacation to the Galapagos Islands, having won the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes and celebrating your 75 wedding anniversary with your twelve Harvard graduates and current Oxford or Rhodes scholar children and the 45 awesome, hieroglyphic interpreting grandchildren.

An Apple a Day...

I heard a fascinating story on the radio yesterday morning and it has made me think all day long. What a brilliant research study. Yet, I am amazed that no one told me they were studying my life. Well, see for yourselves:

Hourglass shape may not be ideal for women
By Mary Richards (KSL radio)

A new study challenges the belief that an hourglass figure is the ideal body type for women.

What do you mean, IDEAL? That hourglass shape is requisite on a corset, for sure.

Science says that a woman with larger hips is more fertile. But a woman with a larger waist may be more able to take care of her children.

Yes, I can take care of my own children...but not any one else's, as seen with my Primary substitutions of late.

Elizabeth Cashdan, an anthropologist at the University of Utah, says the hormones that make women physically stronger, more competitive and better able to deal with stress also tend to redistribute fat from the hips to the waist.

Stronger? I don't know about that, but, well, thanks. I'm not sure about competitive either. Stress? What stress!? Yeah. The fat part is right.

A new University of Utah study found that women with more of an apple shape had more strength, assertiveness, and ability to cope with stress. Those women were more of the breadwinner in the family, too.

Here might be the tipping point of this argument. Assertiveness? Really? Do you see me sitting behind my computer, or walking to school venting my frustrations, but never confronting them? That doesn't seem really assertive, now, does it? Oh, and the breadwinner thing? Well, Genius Golfer assures me he is headed back to work after the new year. Please don't put that one on me at the moment.

But the downsides are that having too thick a waist can mean health problems and lower fertility.

Health problems? Like, you mean, finding jean that fit and don't slide off? Or looking for a swim suit that doesn't conjure up Moby Dick images? And, really, I have two children because I thought I was going to be a mental case. Who knows? Maybe I already am. No one from this study asked me about that little detail when they put together their findings.

You know what they say: One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

We had or Relief Society Christmas program last night. It was very nice, and having been the one to put those things on in the past, I know how nerve wracking they can be. But the musical presentations were lovely and the narrators got through all the 6 pages of readings from the Bible.


I am always happy to be a narrator. Last night wasn't any different. I just felt too rushed when she asked me to do it and rather than being given the choice to do it or not, it was already assumed that I would, so I was handed the script and then invited to read it. I don't believe that was the way she meant to do that, but it is just her way. The fact that she, personally, may rub me wrong at times, doesn't take away from the effort she is making to do something nice.


The effect of the program was good one, despite my initial iciness. We read the Nativity story from the book of Luke (my part) and the prophesies of the coming of Christ from the other scriptures. How many times do you read "A decree went out from Caesar Augustus..." and you already feel better? Our reading was interspersed by musical numbers that filled the room with the Christmas spirit. The young women in our ward participated too, and did a fine job.


The Girl and her younger YW cohorts were running a nursery program for the wee ones that hard to come with their moms in order to help the moms of little ones get there. The girls did a great job too and really thought about what they could do to keep the Christmas spirit for little people they had charge of last night.



I suppose, like the Grinch, my "heart was growing two sizes" last night. I feel ready to hear the music of the season, and feel the spirit it brings. I had previewed 5 songs of Christmas--in previewing Genius Golfer's Light Show Extravaganza--but I wasn't ready for Christmas music yet. I wasn't really ready for Christmas time yet. I was finishing checking off my Christmas shopping list and getting things done, but without the proper perspective. I was simply going through the motions and checking it off. But now I am ready. I am ready to put my heart into Christmas and ready to feel it grow from too shriveled and tight and fussbudgety to a heart filled and light and open to what the Season means.

Reason Number 14

Did you hear this survey that was splashed all over the news last night? High school aged teens were surveyed on their own ETHICS. And their ideas of ethical behavior was messed up.

The Josephson Institute in LA published the 2008 Report Card of Ethics of American Youth. see:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5heO49If8cVynFgMZMsjn0jX52ywg Very disturbing. Almost 30, 000 kids were surveyed and while 93% claimed they were satisfied with their own personal ethics:

• 78% of public school kids (while 83% of private and parochial school kids) admitted to lying to their parents about "something significant".
• 64% admitted to cheating on a test at school and 38% said they'd done that more than once.
• 30% admitted to stealing something from a store in the last year, with boys slightly higher here with 35% copping to that while only 26% of girls did.

This got under my skin yesterday. Honesty used to be a hallmark of character. Apparently now, it is missing in action. How can these kids surveyed settle themselves with this type of admitted behavior and still think they are "satisfied with their personal ethics"??

What is wrong with us as parents? Is this what our behavior is teaching our kids? Are we modeling for them what we expect, or is it more along the lines of what we can get away with? I find it all very sad.

I think I have stressed INTEGRITY with my kids from the time they were little. We try to be very open with them, so that when mistakes are made--and they are by all of us--we can talk about it and make changes to improve. That is the whole point of the Gospel, isn't it? We learn, we try, we make mistakes, we change, we get better. And Christ allows us to improve.

Honesty is one of the Big 10 Commandments, right? So why does it sound so off the radar for these kids? It's too bad society has fallen so far from living the "Big 10" that the concepts are beginning be lost on our youth. There will be worse to come from these newbies with this kind of foundation.

My thought here is that this is just another reason to love the Gospel, to live the Gospel and to share the Gospel. I love that I can choose to live an ethically straight life and have no guilt about it--now or when I'll face God someday. I'll just have to focus of the benefits I have with the Gospel in my life and emphasize the values it teaches. And be grateful for that.

Flipping the Page

Are you surprised too when it comes time to flip the page of the calendar? My life's schedule is on my calendar--and if it doesn't get written down, I am bound to forget to do it--so I look at the calendar quite a lot.

Still, I am surprised when the month ends and I am found flipping the page for the new month again. It is like it sneaks up on me. Even though I know that the month is ending; it really shouldn't be a surprise.

This month snuck up faster than most. Perhaps it was the very long weekend for Thanksgiving that ended the month that makes it feel like that. Maybe, like my mom has always said, the time goes faster as you get older. I'm not happy with the inferred implication with that theory, but the time does seem to go faster.

I always feel bad for the folks with birthdays on my calendar that fall on the first of the month. I don't see them until I flip the page and then it is too late to send a card that will be on time. Today is newlywed nephew Travis' birthday. His birthday card went into the mail last night, about 9 PM at the post office, so it will not reach him on his birthday but probably the day after. I'm sure he will survive the oversight, but I'll think about it all day, and chastize myself.

When I do get to flip the page on the calendar, I enjoy the first moment of the clean slate feeling as I look and see almost nothing on it. Then as soon as I can enjoy that moment, things begin to fill in the boxes and the month is soon scheduled more crazily than the last. December is notorious for that. This week alone, already today, has only one empty square--and it is on Saturday, so even that won't last.

Not that everything on it is unenjoyable, or unrewarding; just busy. But "busy" on a calendar keeps me from being quite so "scattered" in person. So, I'll be mindful of the calendar and the commitments that I have there this week. I probably should calendar some "stop and smell the roses" time to get through this holiday month and still enjoy it. Well, that and not try to wander into any store parking lots. Good luck with that.

A Change in Guests....

Last week I professed to you all that I was looking forward to spending the long weekend with my friends the Bennett sisters, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, and a handful of other delightful British characters via DVD. Sadly, the list of visitors was altered slightly, as Genius Golfer and I spent many evenings with guests of his choosing. Namely Tommy Boy, the Wedding Singer and Fred Claus. We also spent our Saturday evening with a Mr. Gibson, in the form of The Patriot. Happily, I was able to catch up with my dear friend, Miss Emma Woodhouse and just as Mr. Darcy and his Elizabeth were set to spend the afternoon with me, it is now time to collect our children from their cousins camp at Grandmama's. Alas, my British friends will have to wait. Like Scarlett would say, "Tomorrow is another day."

Music, Lights, ACTION!

Guest poster, Genius Golfer, has a grand announcement:

With all of the time on my hands recently, I've been putting it to good use. Last year The Boy and I decided to hit the after Christmas sale at WalMart and a few other stores and purchase a bunch of lights and some Christmas trees. We finally got most of the lights up and have everything hooked up and sequenced to music. He did one of the songs (Amazing Grace -Techno) sequenced to lights and music and did a good job. Last night was the first night that the show was running. The light show runs continuously from 5:30 pm until 11:00 pm on Friday/Saturdays and 5:30pm until 10:00 pm on the other days of the week.

We did get a few donations to help out our friends Rick & Tammy. Tammy was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in March of 2007 and she was given 2 to 5 years to live. She has already lost all movement except for being able to hold her head up while laying in a bed 24/7. She has been amazing to watch and Rick has done a good job too being home most of the time to take care of her and their three daughters.

We would love for each of you and your families to come and see the show if you can. Please pass this on to your family and friends. We want to get as many people out to see the show.

You can visit our web site (http://www.camdebuck.com/) for more information. It's still a work in progress and there is more information that I would like to put on it. This whole project has taking a lot more time than I thought it would take (and anyone who knows me, knows that everything takes 5 minutes to complete). I'm hoping to launch a new website in the next few days, but we'll see how that goes.

We are located at the following address: 318 North 300 West (mapquest will return 318 Allenhurst which is correct as well), Pleasant Grove, UT 84062.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

I am not sure what the big deal is. Black Friday, I mean. I am the first one to get excited about a great deal, but not to the point of physically harming someone. Did you hear that a 34 year old WalMart employee in Long Island was KILLED by a trampling mob this morning?! What is the deal?! Is this what our society is coming to?

I didn't bother today. I did look at the ads, but nothing seemed worth dealing with people. So I slept in. It was great--I think I am fighting off a head cold and the sleep was just the ticket. I don't enjoy the big crowds of people anyway, and when they are whipped into a frenzy over a super cheap DVD player, they are even less appealing.

I hope your plans went well today--regardless of how you spent the morning. The way the economy is going, I think there may be good deals right up until Christmas Eve. I'll check those ones out while kids are in school and people are back to work. Otherwise, I'm with Maxine here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you find many additional blessings in your life today as you pause and appreciate all with which the Lord has blessed you.

Eat up!

Just a Thought...

I laughed and laughed when I got this from a friend. You have probably seen it, but it was still worth sharing. Happy Thanksgiving Preparation Day! We are dining with my aunt and cousin and her family today--preparatory for the whole FamDamily Event tomorrow with Genius Golfer's family. I'm delighted as that is 2 days wherein I only have to make minimal portions of dinner and I get to eat PIE!

The British Are Coming!

This long weekend--yes, I realize it is only Tuesday, but you KNOW it is out there--brings with it some of my favorite people. My British friends! Perhaps you know them too:

The Bennett Sisters....

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy....

Jane and Rochester...

And that woman who played Scarlett...ah, yes. Vivian.

I am looking forward to spending the weekend with these lovely people, listening to their lovely accents, and hearing the wonderful language that modern day has forgotten. With any luck, I will not have to leave the house after Thursday evening and can curl up with a really, really big Diet Coke and a vat of hot buttery popcorn and waste the hours away, with friends who appear on DVD. That is my idea of a great, lazy holiday weekend.

Maybe I shouldn't have so much time to think about it. It is making today and tomorrow and Thursday so much longer.