Letters from Home – Page 157 – A blog by Angela Ross

What I learned at the Christmas devotional

My favorite lines from the First Presidency Christmas Devotional were spoken by President Henry B. Eyring. He spoke about Light. He began by talking about the angels who appeared to the shepherds who then visited the baby Jesus.

They were drawn on that sacred night to go to the Savior. What they saw with their physical eyes in the stable was a tiny baby. What they went to verify was visible only through spiritual feelings. We know that the Light of Christ is an influence we can recognize by its effects.

The Savior said, “For behold, it is I that speak. Behold, I am the light which shineth in darkness and by my power I give these words unto thee. Now verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good. Yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously. This is my Spirit. Verily, verily I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.” (D&C 11:11-13, emphasis added) (I transcribed this by hand because the text wasn’t available. Hopefully I got it right.)

This was a good message for me. Although I only have the symbols of the Savior around me, I can still see Him with spiritual eyes. I love the scripture President Eyring used to tell us how to accomplish this. I learned that if we want to have a spiritual experience at Christmas, the Spirit of Christmas leads us to act, not just in tangible ways, but in the way we think of others. It is a call to be gentle in our appraisal of others. It is this kind of giving that will bring us the joy we hope to have at Christmas.

I’m focusing on being generous in my thoughts. This means I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt in my mind and words. I’m avoiding criticism and negativity. It’s a simple formula to help me see beyond the well-intentioned busy-ness of Christmas.

What stood out to you in this quote? What are you doing to embrace the season?

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.

Creative Days

1-DSC_2390 — We had some snow last month. It melted quickly, but not before the two boys had made several snowmen and a “perfect snowball” that we considered storing in the freezer.

I had several really creative days this week. I raced through my housework and sat down to choose music, pictures, and movies for our annual Christmas video for the grandparents. Another day I painted gifts, cut fancy papers, and wrapped presents. I even finished all of the applique work on my Thanksgiving wall hanging. Now I have a year to finish the embroidery. Last week Mark and I covered every counter top and table to paint a dozen large papers we will cut into shapes to make Eric Carle style art projects.

I rarely plan ahead for a day of creative work, and I usually get swept into a project before I’ve combed my hair or gotten dressed for the day. Yesterday before I knew it, it was 2 pm. The school teaching and housework were done, but I hadn’t benefited from a trip to the mirror all day.

One reason for all of this creativity is that the truck was in the shop and I didn’t have transportation. I guess I needed to expand my world a little. My days of creative isolation left me with a shopping list that includes more tape, more paint, and more glue!

A good read

I saw the cover and read the premise and worried that it would be book about a savant child with uncanny wisdom about life. Nope! He is a character we can relate to. The first person narration from several characters is a moving way to tell this simple story of a boy with a facial abnormality who goes to school for the first time.

I read this quickly, breathlessly sometimes, and not without tears. Beautiful book.

What? No chevron prints and no cardigans?

It’s the morning after Thanksgiving break. I awoke at 4:45, signaling that all of those naps over the weekend were probably a little excessive.

It’s that time of year when I try to get a family photo for Christmas cards. I will never be the mom who coordinates the family in French grays (at least one person in a chevron print or a cardigan) and finds a striking place to take the perfect photo. We arrived at my parents’ place on Thanksgiving and I said, “Quick, take a picture before the hair gets messed up and Daniel is covered in dirt from one of Grandpa’s projects!” The minute the photos were taken, my dad drove Daniel off to the (dusty) storage unit to gather furniture so we would have a place to sit. I know what I’m doing even if we’re not color-coordinated.

I look like I’ve gained 20 pounds in this family picture. Actually, I am just wearing 4 layers to stay warm. I’m also wearing my grandmother’s pearls to inspire me as I do dishes and cook.

Our weekend was sparkly with Christmas lights, glittery with ornaments, rich with calories, and comfortable in traditions. Those pillars of family traditions can feel overly celebratory when times are difficult, but they help carry us along. I’ve reflected a lot about two of my siblings who are going through really difficult times. Despite all of that, there was a family gathering, a place at the table, and a viewing of White Christmas on Thanksgiving to steady us. Celebrating Thanksgiving is always in order. No matter our situation, we are blessed to have a Savior, blessed to have this earth, blessed to have family and friends, blessed to have another day to live, and an endless list of more.

Happy Thanksgiving

We’re spending Thanksgiving with most of these kids.

I machine embroidered these names in time for Thanksgiving. We’re going to attach these to baskets in cubby holes at my parents’ new house in Spring Lake. I can’t wait to see each child’s basket in a special spot at Grandma’s. I think it’s a great idea to have a place for each child to keep their things when they visit.

Each name is done in the child’s favorite color. Now that I’m done with this big project I just want to play with these colorful little tags. I’ve spent 15 minutes laying them out in different configurations on the table. Do I have time to do this? No, no I do not.

November Patriot of the Month

Timothy was honored in a school assembly for his academic work, leadership, citizenship, and general awesomeness. Here is what was read to the audience to introduce him to the student body.

This young man plays a lot of baseball. He is most often chosen to be catcher, which means that he is dependable, quick, smart, and focused.

He is the third child of four in his family and was born in Austin, Texas.

He has played the piano for many years and he also plays the trombone.

He is interested in nature and animals. He was put in charge of his family’s tomato garden this year. He also took care of an neighbor’s lawn over the summer.

He has a great sense of humor and makes funny home movies. He loves to ski and read and can build amazing things with Legos.

His family is so proud of him for being diligent in school and being such a great son and brother.

A spotlight followed him as he emerged, surprised from the audience. How great is that? Good job, Timothy!

In the Pit

Tonight is closing night for Les Miserables. We’re so proud of these two.

Marriage

This week President Henry B. Eyring represented our Church at the Vatican at a colloquium discussing traditional families.

I took notes as I listened to his 13-minute address. Despite current trends of the breakdown of families, he explained how there is hope to make things better. It begins with individuals, living righteous principles, such as holding family prayer, and the tradition passes to the next generation and then the next, growing stronger with each generation. He spoke a great deal about his wife and how they met and how she has helped him in his life.

Here are some of the words he said about his marriage:

I realize now that we grew into one, slowly lifting and shaping each other year after year. As we absorbed strength from each other, it did not diminish our personal gifts. Our differences combined as if they were designed to create a better whole. Rather than dividing us, our differences bound us together. Above all, our unique abilities allowed us to become partners with God…

Now, for my own thoughts on this. What have I learned about family life this week? It can be explained with a little story.

I came home late one night this week. I had missed dinner and family time. It makes me sad when I need to be away during the precious hours that we can be home together. I felt alienated as I walked into the kitchen and saw that the dinner I had prepared was now eaten and everyone was engaged in homework and other activities. But I didn’t get far into the kitchen before Richard and Mark ran upstairs to me and welcomed me home and gave me big hugs. That made me so happy. I’m convinced that successful marriages and families are built on very simple but consistent things. In this case, it was a warm welcome home.

Carry-overs on the To Do List

1-DSC_2030 — This picture has nothing to do with the post, except maybe to indicate that I like to sit down more than I like to move.

I’m looking for someone to motivate me, or just come and do the following things, or be patient as you see these things at our house. I just keep moving them to the to do list for next week when I realize I haven’t done them. Again.

1. Hang pictures in the bathroom (3 months on the list)

2. Hang towel bar in the bathroom (3 months on the list)

3. Finish the Thanksgiving Wall Hanging (13 months on the list)

4. Pull Weeds in the front beds (6 months on the list)

5. Read more than 15 minutes a day (Impossible lately)

6. Prepare teacher kits for Young Women with chalk, eraser, magnets, pencils, etc. (15 months on the list)

7. Buy clear serger thread (18 months on the list) and learn to thread the serger without Susan’s help. (I’ll probably never do this.)

8. Frame Paige’s heritage painting (8 months on the list)

(etc.)

Most of of these things don’t really matter. I have learned that many, many things do not matter. I have learned that when I prioritize, I am less frustrated with things that are left undone. I can delegate some of these things to the kids, too… once some of the craziness is over this month.