I Just Did A thing

I just hit "send" on an email to my Alma mater's alumni magazine. Each quarter they publish short first hand stories of former students on a particular theme.This edition requested submissions fro a theme of "students-ward stories".  Here's what I submitted:

Fall semester in the late 80s-early 90s was drawing to a close but before our ward broke up to go home for the Christmas break, we had one more Sunday to meet together. One more Sunday school lesson I had to prepare. But this was going to be the Christmas lesson. Everyone knew the Christmas story, so how could I make this very familiar story mean something more to my ward-mates?

Gathering inspiration from the likes of popular talk show divas of the day, Oprah and Sally Jessy Raphael, I went WAY out of my comfort zone and prepared a Christmas Lesson the likes of which this ward had never seen. I called on a dozen or so friends in the ward—family home evening brothers, roommates, and a few other good friends who probably just felt sorry for me and knew I needed some help. I asked each person to study the Christmas chapters in the scriptures and be prepared for questions posed as if to a specific participant in the story. I then prepared what I thought were thoughtfully angled questions to ask the Innkeeper, or a shepherd, or one of the angels, or Joseph or Mary.

I started our lesson with a question to each character that belonged in that story. What I imagined would be little lighthearted, fun, end-of-semester lesson turned sincere and spirit-filled series of testimonies of each of these ward members. Each took the assignment to heart.  Each bore testimony of Who Jesus is, how much He means to them, and their gratitude for Him. The Spirit bore powerful witness that Sunday to each of us there—participants and listeners alike-- of His birth, His life and His atoning sacrifice and what a wonder and blessing He is to us.

How We've Spent Our December

 

There has been a sharp increase in teasing between these two...including, but not limited to, "bean-dipping", titty twisting, comparative competitive farting, and lengthy burping.
 

The Boy was invited to our HS's Preference dance--he went with this cute girl Alex Riddle.

 

 Their group Preference dance photo ended up in the school paper this week.  Nice bonus, huh?

I "won" tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert.  Ticket are distributed randomly but you have to sign up.  Only 4 tickets per person, so they are a hot commodity when the concert is only performed three times.

 This year';s special guests were Santino Fontana--Prince Hans from the movie Frozen, and the Sesame Street Muppets!  Bert & Ernie, Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster, Emlo, Rosita, The Count, and Abby Cadabby.  Grover is my favorite.

 My two dates brought their electronic devices to keep them company.  They were not that excited to be there, at first.

 

 They put on a good front to make me think otherwise, once they realized that I had taken the previous photo.

 Our fourth ticket went to my darling friend Amy, who happens to also be The Boy's math teacher.  She told the class that she had a date with The Boy that evening, before amending her statement to mean The Boy's mom invited her to the concert with the family.  Things get pretty confusing with relationships in class expanding out of class for special events.

In addition to these things, we had a College Friend party that was in its 23rd year this month.

Genius Golfer's work party was at Snow Basin where we had a very long ride due to traffic, a lovely dinner and a fast ride home.

My work party was also this past week.  dinner was delicious and then I was in charge of games--a Christmas trivia game, and a White Elephant (left-right) story where GG came way with beautifully decorated rubber band ball and I brought home a man's Santa Thong.  Don't ask....

We all went to an opening day showing of the 3rd Hobbit movie. GG was thrilled, but I took a little nap--I'm embarrassed to say.  But the popcorn was good.  And New Zealand IS a beautiful place.

This weekend we are hosting a family dinner for Grandpa Herb on Sunday afternoon.

By then Christmas should be upon us.  I only have to work half a day on Christmas even and then pff of Christmas day.  Then back to work until the same thing happens for New Year's Eve and New Year's day.

In the middle we have a dear friend's mission farewell.  Then I think we are done celebrating. This month goes so fast, but the days go by so slowly.

Irreverent Traditions?

Each Christmas eve, at least when the kids were small, we would include a special dessert to help the kids remember that we were really celebrating the Savior's birth.  we'd have "birthday cake for Jesus".

I didn't realize that the kids noticed this "tradition" much less, as The Girl said, "It's my favortie thing we do."

Whether its because we love cake, or because she loves Jesus, I don't know but I'm glad she liked it enough to remind me to do it.

 She looks unsure of the whole idea here.

And here she looks more than normally awkward.

THERE we go.  That's a more normal girl. 

When she got it out of the fridge, she mimicked in her best Nacho Libre accent "Dees are de Lord's Cheeeps."  Then added gher version, "Dees iz de Lord's cack."

It was funny, if you were there.  And if you'd seen Nacho Libre lately.

Playing Catch Up

Being sick most of December kept me from posting several things that we did while The Girl was home from college.  So I will attempt to catch up this week before the next BIG event happens here.  But you'll have to wait for that one.

Putting up the Christmas tree.

I already blogged briefly about the Viking Tree the kids did this year.  Or at least, they were the ones that encouraged that kind of holiday blaspheme.  But here is how that sad situation happened:

 Fluffing the pieces.

 Beginning the assembly.

Adding the height.

 Deer in the headlights moment for The Girl....that is just funny.

 The Boy avoiding a picture.  I thought we were past that stage with him, but I guess not.

 Ha ha, I got him.

Genius Golfer supervising the white plastic monstrosity and my camera flash giving me fits.

I Should Have Seen It Before Now

I read this article after seeing a link on Facebook.  I loved it so much, I have to share.  Originally found at www.normons.com:

16 Reasons Buddy the Elf is Probably Mormon

By: Danny Rasmussen //
You may have been shocked to learn that your favorite rock star (Brandon Flowers) or your favorite DJ (KASKADE) is Mormon. But what about your favorite Christmas elf??

***We hope you’ll forgive us for the levity of this post. We couldn’t help ourselves.

1. He’s known for being happy.

 A 2012 Gallup poll found that Mormons and Jews are the happiest religious groups in the United States.

2. He doesn’t know how to swear.

  No, really…

3. He LOVES sugar.

See: The Mormon Dessert Party.

4. He’s not afraid to talk to strangers.

 I wonder where he served his mission? 

5. He’s exceptionally good at arts and crafts.

 Just search “mormon” on Pinterest or Etsy and see for yourself.

6. Like early Mormon pioneers, Buddy walked long distances through freezing conditions to find a place where he belonged.

7. He spreads cheer wherever he goes.

Hey, so do these guys!

8. He loves singing.

9. He runs away from naked women to whom he’s not married.

Nice to know that someone was paying attention during the Sunday School lesson about Joseph in Egypt fleeing from Potiphar’s wife.

10. He owns his weirdness.

 That’s what we Normons are all about!

11. He’s surprisingly good at basketball.

Jimmer, Jabari and the #1-ranked Lone Peak High School basketball team are proof.

12. He doesn’t always fit in.

See: The Benefits of Having an Asterisk.

13. He wants everyone to be on the nice list.

Literally, everyone.

14. His charm inspired a musical.

 Elf: the Musical doesn’t have as many Tony awards as The Book of Mormon, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

15. He consistently goes out of his way to serve others.

Mormons have been found to be some of the most “pro-social” members of American society. We do our best to dedicate our time and talents to serving our families, our church members, and our communities.

16. People accuse him of being delusional but, as it turns out, he’s not.

 And neither are we Mormons.

That Makes So Much Sense

 

Need I say more?!?

Got It Set Up...At Least I Can Say That

While The Girl was home this weekend, we set up our Christmas tree.  Well, we set up A Christmas tree.  Usually we have the traditional green tree, albeit a fake one as we have now saved a lot of money over buying a fresh one each year.  But this year is a little different.

The Boy and Genius Golfer went out to the shed Saturday afternoon to get the tree-in-a-box along with any other Christmas tubs or ornaments and decor that were out there.  Apparently the regular green tree was shoved way int he back of the shed's loft so they opted to bring in something a little easier to access.

They brought in a white tree.  It is still about 6 feet tall, but it is plastic looking--really plastic looking.  I was not pleased, but they refused to dig out the "real" tree.  I told them, in no uncertain tones, then if we were having a white tree then I definitely wanted colored lights of it.  The Boy came back in with a ball of white wired lights with blue bulbs.

I tried to unwind them and discovered to my horror that these were the icicle type where there were strands that hung down in various lengths.  Niether The Boy nor GG would budge on this, insisting that this was what they used on the tree before.

Now this  I know is a lie.  But they were not to be dissuaded.  The three of these people I live with put the dumb tree together while I stewed about how ugly this was going to be.

Fine.  I plugged in the blue lights that looked like those that lined the runways at large international airports and I directed The Boy in wrapping them around this hideous plastic tree.

Once it was lit, everyone scattered leaving me to decorate it the rest of the way.  Seeing as it was already the world's ugliest Christmas tree, I figured I would only add cherished memories and old-school charm by using only the handmade ornaments.  I left all the lovely collected-over-the-years Hallmark ornaments in the boxes and put up the decade old chocolate kisses angels, the hand-sewn patchwork stockings, the wire and glitter stars and all the ones the kids (or I) made over the years.  Then I added ones that had been given to us that I am guessing were handmade--or at the least zushed up from what started as a store-bought ornament.

Upon realizing that the angel topper we usually use is tucked into the "regular" tree box in the shed, I asked the kids what they thought we should use to top it.  Thinking that 'I'd show them' I was surprised when The Girl came up with an idea out of the blue.  The Viking Blue, that is.

Since our HS colors here are blue and white, and the mascot is a Viking, she ran downstairs and grabbed my plastic Viking helmet that was given to me after a year of PTA leadership service.

The Girl added the helmet to the top of the tree and called out in her best Tiny Tim-like voice, "Once a Vikings, always a Viking!"

It certainly didn't have the ring of "God bless us, every one" but looking at our hideous tree in the neon blue glow it gave off in the front room, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

The activity of putting the tree together before The Girl left for the end of her semester was worth the awful state of the non-traditional set up.  Across the room for this blue-lit plastic white tree is a piano top of nativity scenes.  The box next to the tree is filled with the books about the Christmas holiday I've collected over the years with and for the kids and which we read diligently every year together.

Perhaps, as the Ginch once said, "He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more!"

So, this year as I sit in the light of the airport runway-lining neon blue lights of our white plastic Viking tree, I will appreciate the joy it brought my kids to do something a little different this year, together.  And I'll count my blessing for a family who loves each other, even if we aren't the "normal" family on the block.  And I'll still know I am so very blessed.

Learning From History

This past week I heard the words to an old Christmas carol that rang suddenly more true to me this year than any other I could remember.  It is the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, set to music, called "I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day".

I know that the message has been true for all the years since it's inception, but this year it touched me more than I have felt before.  Do you remember the lyrics?

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.

Then ringing singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Thinking of the message this carol hymn sends, I looked up the story behind it.  I thought you might like to hear that peace and good will and hope were evident even from a wicked and distraught world when it was written--just as it does now.  I found this online, by Tom Stewart, taken from The Story Behind
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" and published on December 20, 2001.  I did remove the scripture quoted in the priginal article, but only to save the space.  

 

One of America's best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas season, when he composed the words to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on December 25th 1864.  

The carol was originally a poem, "Christmas Bells," containing seven stanzas. Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War, thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and the remaining five stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem, America was still months away from Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war's despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace.

As with any composition that touches the heart of the hearer, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" flowed from the experience of Longfellow-- involving the tragic death of his wife Fanny and the crippling injury of his son Charles from war wounds.  Henry married Frances Appleton on July 13th 1843, and they settled down in the historic Craigie House overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles, on June 9th 1844, and eventually, the Longfellow household numbered five children-- Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Allegra. Alice, the Longfellows' third child and first daughter, was delivered, while her mother was under the anesthetic influence of ether-- the first in North America.

Tragedy struck both the nation and the Longfellow family in 1861. Confederate Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard fired the opening salvos of the American Civil War on April 12th, and Fanny Longfellow was fatally burned in an accident in the library of Craigie House on July 10th. The day before the accident, Fanny Longfellow recorded in her journal: "We are all sighing for the good sea breeze instead of this stifling land one filled with dust. Poor Allegra is very droopy with heat, and Edie has to get her hair in a net to free her neck from the weight."  After trimming some of seven year old Edith's beautiful curls, Fanny decided to preserve the clippings in sealing wax. Melting a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops fell unnoticed upon her dress. The longed for sea breeze gusted through the window, igniting the light material of Fanny's dress-- immediately wrapping her in flames. In her attempt to protect Edith and Allegra, she ran to Henry's study in the next room, where Henry frantically attempted to extinguish the flames with a nearby, but undersized throw rug. Failing to stop the fire with the rug, he tried to smother the flames by throwing his arms around Frances-- severely burning his face, arms, and hands. Fanny Longfellow died the next morning. Too ill from his burns and grief, Henry did not attend her funeral. (Incidentally, the trademark full beard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow arose from his inability to shave after this tragedy.)

The first Christmas after Fanny's death, Longfellow wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year after the incident, he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace." Longfellow's journal entry for December 25th 1862 reads: "'A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."  

Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded with a bullet passing under his shoulder blades and taking off one of the spinal processes. The Christmas of 1863 was silent in Longfellow's journal.  

Finally, on Christmas Day of 1864, he wrote the words of the poem, "Christmas Bells." The reelection of Abraham Lincoln or the possible end of the terrible war may have been the occasion for the poem. Lt. Charles Longfellow did not die that Christmas, but lived. So, contrary to popular belief, the occasion of writing that much loved Christmas carol was not due to Charles' death.

Longfellow's Christmas bells loudly proclaimed, "God is not dead."  Even more, the bells announced, "Nor doth He sleep."  God's Truth, Power, and Justice are affirmed, when Longfellow wrote: "The wrong shall fail, the right prevail."  The message that the Living God is a God of Peace is proclaimed in the close of the carol: "Of peace on Earth, good will to men."

He IS the Greatest Gift, Still

Christmas Video

Do You Too?

Maybe this is good evidence of wisdom....do YOU still seek Him also?

Handel Had It Right!

I can't read this without hearing the Handel's melody...from The Messiah!  What a perfect gift from a loving Father in Heaven.

We Need a Little Christmas....

I wish the world would take a deep breath, and remember WHY we are celebrating this season, after all.

'Tis the Season

I have been crafting and baking and wrapping and preparing for Christmas.  This year being a "homemade gifts" year it has taken some time, but it has made me much more thoughtful as I spend the time to create something for the people I care about.

Yesterday I took packages of Christmas scene note cards--from the Festival of Trees in years past--to the front office and financial staff at the high school where I volunteer.  Last night I took a package to one of our visiting teaching ladies and had a great chat with her.  We go to the others tonight.  And I'll take them their little packages too.

Wednesday is our last day of school for the month, so I will bring little gifties to the counseling office where our PTSA store is located.  They are so great to work with us and put up with our little business and the volunteers that work there.  Plus, they take care of a lot of our school's kids, usually without much appreciation.  They deserve a little recognition.

Making Christmas this year has helped me put some of the stress the season usually brings out of my mind.  It has been a much calmed time of year.  And I really value the things I have bought to use to make these items for others--as the financial side of our lives is being closely monitored until Genius Golfer's business starts making some money for our family.  And I am more grateful for the skills, gifts, and talents I have been given that I can use to bless others.  I don't sing, dance or play an instrument, but I can sew and create and copy crafts I have seen elsewhere.  Plus, it is hard to wrap a dance performance.

So, here is a wish for a peaceful and calm week until the BIG day.  May all your craft projects work out to your best imagining and got faster than you would have thought!

Holiday Habits

Last week we decided where we wanted to set up the Christmas tree this year.  It seems to be an annual discussion that morphs into an argument.  The kids want it one place.  Genius Golfer thinks it ought to go somewhere else and I try to find where it will fit without moving much furniture.

It ended up in the family room downstairs.  We put it together and decorated it for Family Home Evening.  The kids are getting too old, apparently, to enjoy this project much anymore.  I told them that when they have kids, we are going to wait for the grandchildren to come set up our Christmas tree.

Gettin' Crafty With It

I think I have the photo problem fixed, at least for now.  Here is what I have been working on lately...Christmas crafts for gifts:

It is a Christmas caroler filled with candies up into his little stocking hat.  Not too bad...I bought 1/2 yard of red t-shirt knit and made 16 little caps.  Used 6 bags of candies that were on sale and the paper was all pretty scrap pieces of scrap booking stuff.  TP , paper towel and wrapping paper rolls were recycled trash.

The little fabric tissue holder (bottom left) and the keyring chapstick cozy were from leftover placemats I bought on clearance.  I paid 78 cetns for 4 D rings at WalMart and 99 cents for the snap clip (just for fun on this one) so the chapstick keeper clips to keyrings or purses or in the car.  The little moose is a wrapped package of minty gum.  See the details f that below.

I bought two packages of Eclipse gum at Costco and wrapped the individual gum sleeves in Christmas paper and then glued them into a scrap of cardstock and added stickers and a sticky back velro button to keep it closed.  Simple.  I did a bunch of these--in all different colors and design.  Easy-peasy.

Here is another fabric option on the tissue cover and the chaptsick keeper--without the clip.  Super easy and super inexpensive this year! 

This is what I have been making in my little Santa's workshop.  What are you up to?  I could use the good ideas for next year!