Family Time – Page 41 – Letters from Home

Family Home Evening #9,000 or something

Sometimes I am guilty of giving my best to my students instead of my children. I am learning that I can give my best to both. When it is my turn to give a family home evening lesson, I share what I am learning in my personal study or preparations for lessons at church. This month I made some extra copies of the Plan of Salvation kits that I made for a young women lesson. Last night the kids cut them out and added them to their missionary/future family collections. We also prepared some for a missionary care package.

My mom told me that she would make Plan of Salvation visual aids with the missionaries all the time. She suggested that we include transparent “spirit bodies” which enter at birth, are separated at death, and reunited with the colorful physical bodies at the resurrection. I have to admit that this little detail is my favorite part of these laminated kits. Most of these elements come from The Friend Magazine, January 2008. If you want a copy I would be happy to send them to you. You can use my laminator if you’re close by, too.

#TBT: 2005

1-Texas good-bye-001 — Timothy is strapped into a car seat behind Richard. I lost this poncho a year later. I still miss it. At least I still have my trusty black Sienna!

In this picture we had just left our home in Austin for the last time and we were on our way to the airport to move to Arizona (Timothy is strapped into a car seat behind Richard). I had just tried to vacuum all the footprint marks from our carpet after everyone walked out. There was a hopeless thought that we would be forgotten as simply as those footprints disappeared beneath the vacuum. At least I had that fabulous poncho to wear that day. At least there was that. I’m totally not kidding about that poncho love.

I wrote a few more sad things about the day and just deleted them. I’m going to go cheer myself up now…write with some colored ink, read something, and make a few stitches in some fabric.

Life isn’t always rosy, folks, is it? Hold on, though. Everything will work out. Guaranteed.

MLK Weekend

Richard and the boys enjoyed another beautiful day on the slopes on Saturday. Mark has graduated to poles and the yellow skis.

Paige worked on school all weekend. Her life is not for the lazy or fearful.

While the boys were away I met my friend Julie Rose for lunch in Provo. We have been friends since early elementary school years and we were roommates in college. The conversation was long and satisfying. She is a journalist so I always come away from our chats feeling like I was able to tell my stories. I loved hearing her stories. She is on BYU radio in the afternoons.

Daniel played a piano solo in church, Abide with Me, ‘Tis Eventide. I liked the arrangement and his expression.

My parents spoke for my sister’s ward youth fireside on Sunday night. They talked about the miracles associated with missionary work. The meeting was held at their home in Spring Lake and the topic, speakers, and setting left me feeling inspired.

We spent our first night at the new Spring Lake home. My brother in law made everyone some breakfast the next morning. He took a picture of the waffles he made for the kids:

Richard and my dad built shelves at my parents’ place and I studied and sewed all day. Deer wandered near the windows; the kids made paper airplanes, built forts, and read books. It was a nice holiday.

I’m tempted to…

…turn on the Christmas lights on my wreaths that are still hanging outside. It’s so dark outside this morning. I’m not sure why I haven’t put away the wreaths. Putting away all of the other Christmas decorations on December 31st was disturbingly satisfying.

What happened during the first week of school during 2015? Someone’s parked car rolled into our parked van at the high school. We had to go to bed and get up on time. We opened our last carton of egg nog, which I stockpiled at the end of the year. I ran expectantly to the front windows whenever I heard a big truck pass by, hoping that the doll faces pattern book that I ordered had arrived, but it never did. Timothy ordered some Legos and they at least arrived in time for weekend fun. By the time the weekend came, I was ready to watch some movies and Richard was ready to take the boys skiing. We did both. Richard and I pretended we were teenagers and watched The Giver and The Fault in Our Stars.

We loved The Giver and recommend it. We did NOT enjoy The Fault in Our Stars, which is strange because I hated reading The Giver and I loved reading The Fault in Our Stars.

It’s also strange that I said we felt like teenagers by watching these teen flicks. Our teens were too busy over the weekend with homework and other obligations to watch anything.

A Book for the New Year

I never considered that reading the gospel of Mark would be a perfect way to bring in the New Year. It is so good at showing how to prioritize reflection and people despite being busy…even busy doing worthy things.

I read Mark 5 with the kids yesterday after school and asked them what they thought about a question I was pondering. Jesus told the man from whom he had cast out devils to go and tell his friends about it. Most of the time, Jesus tells people to keep the miracle of healing a private experience. (People can’t help telling, though.) Why was this man asked to share?

I didn’t expect an answer. In fact, I hadn’t found a satisfactory answer for myself. However, before we moved to the next verses, Timothy had a thought. He told us that Jesus knew that he would be surrounded by crowds of people asking him to heal them, but he was most willing to heal those with spiritual problems.

There you go. The Savior dealt with problems of crowd control, but he wanted it known that he was available to those who sought to be healed spiritually. That is what he was chosen to do from the beginning, and it’s still his work now. I believe it’s what he loves to do.

Words to match the season

Richard and I were awake early Christmas morning when the snow began to fall. It was a perfect Christmas setting. More things than snow affected my heart this year. There were moments of deep spiritual peace, happiness, some melancholy, satisfaction, and searching. Memories had full expression as I nestled in blankets near the Christmas tree. Here are some of the words that have found meaning for me over this Christmas break.

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great desire of nations,
Ye have seen His natal star;
Come and worship,
Come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!

-James Montgomery, Angels From the Realms of Glory

With the end of the year comes a lot of introspection for me. I wonder if I am better than I was last year. I wonder if I have contributed enough of myself to others. I wonder if I CAN change my poor habits. It was during some of these thoughts that I really listened to the lyrics of the Christmas Hymn above. “Sages, leave your contemplations, Brighter visions beam afar; Seek the great desire of Nations…” I was being reminded to look beyond my plans and thinking and look to the Savior. “Brighter visions beam afar…” With him, all things, greater things than I can imagine, are possible.

…But [she] kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. -Luke 2:19

Timothy was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood just before Christmas. There were 3 generations of family represented in the room. A week later, Paige received her Patriarchal Blessing. This time, past, present, and future generations mingled in the words of her blessing. Each of these sacred experiences I will keep in my heart for a long time.

If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care. -Elder Marvin J Ashton, Ensign, May 1992.

I learned to love several more people in 2014. This required throwing away some of my hasty judgments about their motivations and choices. I was humbled several times as I learned about challenges that they face, mostly in silence. I learned again that loving people is less about merit (mine and theirs) and more about vision. We love who people really are, not the things that hold them down.

And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! -Charles Dickins, A Christmas Carol.

I was a little stretched and had some grumpy Scrooge moments as we were inundated with things to buy and things to bake and places to be. I heard the words of Dickens about the reformed Ebeneezer Scrooge, “And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well.” Had we kept Christmas well? I sat down and wrote the things that we did that really mattered. This winnowing of memories helped me to see that we had.

I have many hopes and dreams for 2015. At the close of the 2014, I am so thankful for music, lyrics, literature, family, and scripture that helps me keep the season in proper perspective.

That’s Christmas to Me

Timothy is Twelve

We love this boy.

The year-end photo swap

1-DSC_5419-001 — Photo by Matt Sanchez: Polar bear challenge at the Weber

I’m trying to compile pictures for 2014 and I’m relying on lots of sources to do it. There has been a big exchange of photos among my sisters, a brother, and friends. These are some of my favorite finds this month.

1-IMG_1888 — Photo by Susan Vaughn: Mark’s room

1-IMG_1080 — Photo by Dean Brockbank: This was the most harrowing event of the year (more than rappelling and Angel’s Landing). Boys are sprung at each other in this human rubber band contraption.

1-IMG_1120 — Photo by Dean Brockbank: Youth Conference

1-IMG_0599-001 — Tubing at youth conference

by an — photo by Andrea Donaldsen: Les Miserables at Jordan High (our kids are in the pit!)

1-Sarah 4 — Photo by Sarah Hainsworth: Thanksgiving at Spring Lake

1-sarah 3 — Photo by Sarah Hainsworth: Thanksgiving at Spring Lake

We’ve had some good times

Photo from K. Nelson from Girls Camp 2014 (Can you spot the trained ballerina? That’s Paige.)

We celebrate Paige today because she received her Young Womanhood Recognition award by the Bishop in church. It’s another milestone in the hastening end of her days of “growing up”. That little rubied medallion signifies hundreds of hours of service, study, development of talents, and faith. We are so very proud of her.

We gathered to celebrate my niece Kaitlyn’s baptism on Saturday. There are many sweet things about the baptism of a child. I watch the younger siblings and cousins who look forward to their own baptism days. They watch so intently. They are curious! Some press their faces against the glass to be as close as possible. I am touched by the witnesses, who are often the grandfathers. Their job is solemn, but it must feel like the job is icing on the cake. The grandmothers are shiny in their bright jackets and full smiles. They often share their wisdom in a message about baptism or the Holy Ghost and in whispered words during hugs. There is usually a stressed-out mother, thinking of details, to whom the major part of the child’s gospel learning has fallen. The importance of the day settles deeply in a mother’s heart. All of this surrounds two people dressed in white. The tender father helps the child step into the water, offers a prayer, and carefully lowers the child under the water. It’s simple. It’s sacred. Kaitlyn’s special day had all of these elements, but her little light made it unique and her own. I smile when I think how lovely Kaitlyn looked and behaved. Congratulations!

It still looks like Christmas time because the light of winter is unmistakable, but there is no sparkly snow. Timothy pines for some and worries that there won’t be snow to make forts on his birthday in a few weeks. A white Christmas IS the ideal now. Something I have learned from living in several different places is that you can love wherever you live, and it’s possible to love different climates. We have!

For some entertainment on Saturday night we pulled out the home movies of Christmases past. “We’ve had some good times,” Richard said.

Yes, my dear, we have.