The Last Day of 2022

 

Photo by Roven Images on Unsplash

Here are some things I enjoyed on the last day of 2022:  

• Sitting by Derek reading Marie Kondo's Spark Joy
• Sitting by the fire reading aloud some of the things from Spark Joy that I knew would make Derek laugh.
• Reorganizing my office
• Watching the turkey's come and go.
• Picking up groceries with Kayli in the rain (we were dry in the van)
• Getting stuck in the snow on the way home with the groceries (again)
• Having Jake come to the rescue (again)
• Looking out the windows as the big flakes of snow fell.
• Watching a Movie with Derek and Jake and Dan.
• Eating Nachos
• Working on a puzzle while the basketball Cougs won.
• Talking to Derek
• Seeing Brigham and Tia on the phone
• Texting Trisa

The God of Many Chances

I liked this picture.  Children can learn to love God and His word too!
Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

This year as we have studied the Old Testament, we have seen how God can use very flawed people to do His work.  We have seen Him allowing people to make their mistakes, and then repent, and then make their mistakes, and repent ....etc. etc. 

Today as I was reading from 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon I was struck again by how many chances we are given to repent.  Even if we fall away into pride and wickedness over and over again, God is willing to take us back if we will just turn to Him, repent, and follow Him to the very best of our ability.  He is a God of hope.  No matter how far down we think we have fallen, He is there waiting to lift us up and forgive us.  He is our Savior and Redeemer and He did hard things to save us.  He really wants us to receive that gift!  I am thankful that He finds me worth saving and that He loves it when I choose to be close to Him.  

...how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart. (3 Nephi 10:6)

 

Rest

 "Rest and be thankful."  William Wordsworth

Today I have not felt well at all and have spent most of the day in bed.  This seemed like an appropriate quote.  Sometimes we just need to rest and be thankful!

Photo by Gino Castillo on Unsplash
Our weather was snowy today and it was beautiful outside the windows!

Once Upon a Time

I couldn't find any pictures of Shannon, but on the right here is
her son Quinn who was Connor's friend!

I was a young mother who had just moved into a "new" house.  I had two little children and a good  husband who went to work Monday through Friday from 8ish until 5:30.  It was while I lived there that I met my friend Shannon.  What a blessing she has been!  We had so much fun!  We spent a lot of time on the phone, at each others houses, and off on adventures.  Us on adventures was a bit chaotic, but it was oh so much better than staying home all of the time!

Fast forward several years and Derek and I and our kids moved and I no longer could hop Shannon's fence to go and see her.  Still, I must have gone there enough that I sometimes found myself automatically pulling into her driveway instead of driving to Walmart, or Smith's or wherever I was supposed to go.

Fast forward more and we try to keep in touch but are busy with our families and so it is less frequent.  I no longer get to talk to her on the phone so much that my little kids say "Hi Shannon" when they use their pretend phones.  Then it is her turn to move - even farther away!  And then mine to move again!  Our families have mostly grown up.  She has quite a few more grandkids than I and is ever in demand because she is about the kindest person anywhere.

I still consider her one of my very best friends.  It is her that I called when Tia went into labor and I felt panicked because, having never actually had labor myself, I didn't know how afraid to be.  I needed her to talk me out of my panic, and she was very helpful.  She has been more like a sister than just a friend and people who knew us back when our kids are young are never surprised to find out that we are still friends.

Today is her birthday.  We will get around to going out to celebrate sometime.  Hopefully soon.  I am still extremely grateful to have Shannon as my friend.  I do not think my life would have looked nearly as good without her!  On a sad but funny note, I could not find one picture of her in my photos.  I would probably have to search old, old photo albums and then there still wouldn't be many.  I guess we are too busy visiting to ever snap any photos!  Maybe next time I see her I'll make that a priority!

Happy birthday to my friend.  I love her!

Friends

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

A friend was having a hard day since she couldn't make it to see her new grandbaby born.  She came back to work in the temple when she knew she couldn't go. If she had gone home she would have just cried all day and she knew she would feel better at the temple.  She would have friends who love her and who would make her smile and laugh, and she knew that is what she needed.  

I think when hard things happen we could all use good friends who will  love us, understand our situation, and help us to smile and laugh - or at least help us to feel less alone.  It was fun to watch the nice ladies in the office take time to talk to her.  One even had her daughter drive over a heart shaped rock she had found to give her.  My friend who was having a hard day left happier than when she came in.

I have friends like that who are good at listening, caring, loving, and making me smile and I am thankful!

Words Of Life or Death. Which Do You Speak?

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

 Words of Life:

   Empower

    Encourage

    Affirm

    Give Hope

    Are Confident

    Are full of hope for the future

Words of Death:

   Destroy

    Cause people to lose heart

    Tear Down

    Cause despair

    Are Powerless

    Replay the pain of the past.

Let us speak Life to ourselves and others!

This is from Live On Purpose by Sadie Robertson Huff page 183

I tend to speak a little too much "death" to myself!  The words of Life are the words that Jesus would speak to us.  He is "the way, and the truth, and the life."(John 14:6)  His words give us power to overcome, power to build up, power to have hope, and power to do what He would have us do.  I really am going to work on speaking only the words of Life to myself and others!

The Best Part of Christmas

 

I took zero pictures this
Christmas!
This one is of Brigham
taken by Tia

The part of this Christmas Day that I enjoyed the most was my two girls who still weren't feeling well somehow managing to find things to laugh about anyway.  They are so much fun!  I suspect that is one of my nephew Bryce's favorite things about coming here.  My girls can be pretty entertaining when they are together.  I suppose the whole family can be entertaining when we are together.

We also watched old recordings from our really old video camera.  It was funny to hear us all say awww so  many times as we watched a very little Jake walk, or a little Dan being a little disappointed when he didn't get any presents for Jake's birthday.  He had some good smiles and "moves"!

I enjoyed singing with a women's group and with the ward choir today too.  Singing on Christmas in praise of our Savior is one of my favorite things, even if church starts at 8:30 a.m. and I have practice before 8!

Another great part of Christmas was talking to Derek's Mom and mine, and talking to Tia and Brigham and Mike on video chat this evening.  They have stayed away due to sickness at our house, but eventually they will come and open their presents!

I hope you all have favorite things to remember as you reflect on your Christmas day!

Christmas Eve

 Sometimes the best of plans just don't work out, and so you just make the best of things.  This is Christmas Eve when Trisa has the flu and Kayli (after taking good care of Trisa for a couple of days) isn't feeling her best.  Unfortunately this meant that we didn't get Tia, Mike and Brigham.  We missed them!

Kayli and Trisa up in the game room.
Connor, Amanda, Bryce, Dan, Jake, Sherie, and Derek

Tia, Mike and Brigham played in the snow.
It looks like Brigham was enjoying himself!

Derek had us singing Christmas songs in the dark.

Kayli, Trisa and Chewy

Connor and Amanda with Kayli, Trisa and Chewy in the background.
Connor was our photographer.

Old Christmas Movies

 

Photo by Ricky Turner on Unsplash
It is nice that we can watch our old movies at home now!
It is less of an event, but much easier to do!!

Derek and I watched two old Christmas movies today.  The first was Christmas in Connecticut.  It is a black and white movie made in 1945 that is one of Derek's favorite Christmas movies.  It is funny to me that he likes it more than I do.  I mostly loved that he was laughing so much while I cleaned the kitchen.  It does have some funny things to laugh about!  The next one we watched was also in black and white.  It was called It Happened on 5th Avenue.  This movie was made in 1947 and it took us turning it off and back on at least three times before we got to finish it.  We liked it.  I think Derek described it as kind of predictable but a good Christmas movie.  It certainly was no more predictable than the Hallmark movies we sometimes watch.

It is fun to pull out old Christmas movies and have a bit of light hearted fun sometimes!

BYU Basketball Tradition

 

Some of my cute kiddos at the ball game.
Amanda, Connor, Tia, Trisa, and Kayli
Mike was out keeping Provo safe and Jake and Dan were with Brigham.

Here's all of us including Noelle, Isaac, and Megan
We also saw some friends from our old neighborhood.
Fun!

Sometimes You Want To Go

 Where Everybody Knows Your Name....

This is not Derek's car so I did not take it in for an oil change!

Today I took Derek's car in for an oil change and tire rotation.  I have gone to the same place for years and so many of them know my name.  At the pharmacy maybe everybody knows my name.  I just really like being able to go to the same place year after year so that I can have my car fixing friends and my pharmacy friends and even my Walmart friends.  It makes everything more friendly!

Today when I walked into the car place a neighbor was there.  It was nice to get to talk to her since I know who she is but don't really know her well.  Time went by much faster when she was there.  She is from Payson and we both have gone to the same two car places for quite a few years and talked about how nice it is to find people to trust about things we don't know much about!

I am thankful today that we have lived in the same area for so long.  I'm sure there are good things about moving around too, but I really like the benefits of knowing people, or at least recognizing them because of the time we have lived here!

This is not my car either.  This is the 2022 car show from January.
It is a cool looking car though!

Clearing Christmas Clutter

I love things that remind me what Christmas is really about!
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Today I was dealing with the "problem" of too many unwrapped presents in the closet which made it cluttered and hard to  navigate.  This is truly a first  world problem!  The house was starting to feel crowded and so I was also going through things and trying to find things to give away.  I cleaned, straightened, and sent Christmas cards.  

I feel like, this year, I have let Christmas get a little more like a list of things to do instead of a celebration of the birth of our Savior!  That list is the Christmas clutter that really needs clearing so that celebrating Christ is the focus!  I am glad it is Christmas week and am looking forward to celebrating with my family!

A Moment In The Sun

 

This is last year but it has sunshine in the picture!

Today for a few minutes I got to lie in the sunshine.  I was warm and the sun was shining in the window.  It felt like Spring or Summer and I enjoyed it very much.  It was the most peaceful moment I had today and I am very grateful for it.  I hope you can find some peaceful moments in your day too.

Tie Dye Fun -- Early Birthday Celebration

 

Kayli, Trisa, Sherie (me), Brigham, and Tia

Kayli wanted to have a tie dye activity and so she invited us to join in.  For most of us it was our first attempt.  We had a good time!  We did have a good giggle over the picture.

We celebrated Kayli's birthday a little yesterday and some today.

Kayli is sweet, and wonderful, and fun.  We were happy to celebrate our Kayli!

Guilt for Sadness?

There is always hope!
Photo by Pinakeen Bhatt on Unsplash

Do you ever feel like this?
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

I have what we sometimes refer to as "the gift of guilt".  Not that the guilt itself is a gift, but that I am really good at feeling guilty for a LOT of things, and this is not the helpful kind of guilt.  So, today I was at The Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater in Orem with a few family members.  I absolutely love this play and have been a few times before.  Unfortunately, today I was super tired.  It had not been a stellar night for sleeping, and as I watched old Scrooge watch his younger happy self singing and dancing I started to feel really sad.  I was sad for myself!  I love to sing and dance!  I love having fun with people!  I suddenly felt so old.  I still sing, but not as much.  I rarely get to dance.  But once I was sad, I also felt guilt.  I have a really good life.  How dare I feel sad over it!  

It wasn't until I got home and was lying down for a rest that I realized that guilt was not helping.  There is no need to feel guilt over sadness!  Life changes and I can't, or don't, always do the things I used to.  It is okay to be sad over that sometimes! I then need to remember that I can find new things to enjoy, or find ways to bring the old things I enjoyed back into my life!  

Taking away the guilt from the sadness helped considerably.  I felt much less sad without the guilt!  I also felt considerably better after a nap.  Sometimes those are just necessary.  Now I do not feel "Bah Humbug".  I feel like there is a chance I can "keep Christmas" in the manner I like to keep it.  With hope, joy, love, music, celebration and service. 

My plan for the future is to ditch the unnecessary guilt in order to move forward with better humor, and more hope!

Winter Wonderland With Turkeys

 Hi.  The pictures show a fun moment for me this morning.  I still get excited about watching the turkeys trek by in a line!  Later I enjoyed wrapping Christmas gifts while watching a romantic Christmas movie.  Then -- Brigham came!  He's getting teeth and was having a sad day and so he came to visit Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Dan and Uncle Jake and Aunt Kayli and the barking Teddy.  Like many of us, he can be distracted from his pain and grumpiness by something happy that is at least a little out of the ordinary. His Grandpa is good at making him laugh when he is getting ready to cry. Probably my favorite part of his visit was having him sit on my lap and eat cold lasagna.  He ate all of his cold lasagna so we gave him some of the last lasagna left that was warm -- but he wasn't as happy to eat that.  Hopefully he will sleep well for his Mom and Dad tonight.  

The First and The Last

 

Derek is a good person to be on The Path with!
Picture by Connor Summer 2021

Yesterday I listened to a talk Kayli sent me by Sadie Robertson.  Towards the end, Sadie gave a description of who God is.  She started with, "He is The First and The Last."  I have heard that many times but this time I thought of something different.  I thought of hiking!  

It seems like, when we hike, the trail is usually only one person wide - maybe two.  There is someone in the front, and someone in the back.  Because of my speed, or lack thereof, I am usually in the back.  The other reason I am there is that I have this fear of people getting lost, or hurting themselves and nobody noticing.  Equally important is the person leading.  This is true especially if we are on an uncertain trail where the leader knows the way, and others are less sure.

It struck me that being The First and The Last could easily mean that, as God, He is the leader.  He knows the path and the way back.  He leaves markers for us.  Scriptures, Prophets, Family, Mentors.  He is also The Last because He knows that people are always wandering off the trail and getting lost.  They are often alone and hurting.  He wants to, and is, there to help us get back on the path and to heal our hurts.

He is both the Leader and the Rescuer.  He is the Guide and the Help.  He is where we need Him to be and we would do well to look to our Leader, our Savior to guide us so that we can safely stay on the path home.  Not just any home, but the most joyful home available to us after this life if we just follow Him.

I love Jesus and am thankful for this Christmas season to remember how much He was willing to give up to come and live on Earth and to make the path home available to all.

A Little Bit Stuck In A Snow Bank

Miss Piggy The Fabulous
(Muppet designed by Bonnie Erickson and voiced by the late Frank Oz and now Eric Jacobson)

I always think of Miss Piggy when I think of being stuck in a snowbank because in our old Muppet's Christmas video she calls Kermit and explains that she's late because "I just got a little bit stuck in a snow bank".  So today, when I was trying to pick up my friend's daughter from school I got in too big of a hurry backing out and backed into the snow bank.  It was made up of snow pushed to the side of the driveway where I usually back out when it isn't snowy.  

I tried to call my friend but my phone wouldn't work until I restarted it and then she didn't answer.  I got Dan who came and tried to dig me out - but it was taking too long.  I finally called the school and told them I was running late and might not actually make it.  Then Kayli got home and she let me use her car.  I tried to call my friend again, or the school, but my phone wouldn't work again and I had to restart it again.  So, I got to the school a bit late, but I picked up my little friend and took her home and got my daughter's car back home safely.

In the mean time Dan worked really hard and dug the van out.  I left it there in the driveway, but Kayli went out later and put it in the garage.  All is well that ends well I guess!  It was a bit of excitement for the day and I at least got to say hello to my friend and give her a hug before heading back home.

The Blanket Fort

 

Dan and me inside our blanket fort.  We were reading our book
on the Wright brothers while we were in the fort.
Truthfully there are more comfortable places to read, but it was still fun.

This is the outside of the fort.  We haven't made one of these for years.
I still remember making blanket forts when I was little.
We made some pretty elaborate ones sometimes!

Something Just For Me -- or You

Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

While we were watching The Chosen today the character John the Baptizer asks Andrew to tell him what Jesus said during The Sermon on the Mount.  Then John told Andrew that when Jesus speaks, there is always something that is just for you, and he wants to know what Andrew heard that was for him.  It reminded me that Jesus speaks in the scriptures and through the scriptures and that if I will take the time to study them there will be some message that I "hear" that is just for me.  A message that I need now.  That is an encouraging and helpful thought!

And The Winner Is....

 Brigham!  It is really hard for anything else to win the best part of the day when Brigham comes over!  I love seeing Tia too, but look at the pictures.  Brigham's just little, cute, and fun.  He even managed to get Grandpa to share some of his pizza with him!  He goes around with his little pointy finger pointing at all of the things he wants.  I hope you had something or someone that gave you happy moments today!  

The kids wisely put the less breakable, more toy-like ornaments near the bottom.

Eating Grandpa's Pizza

I just think he is cute all of the time.

The Party with The Puppet Show

 

Obviously a screen shot. 
That's the best I have
and I didn't crop it so we get Trisa's happy face
and my beautiful white hair!

Today was the Christensen Christmas Party.  This is not a small party and Derek's Mom must spend hours planning it.  After the annual lasagna, french bread and salad dinner it was time for the program.  Every family does something, and everyone is clapped and cheered for (and since everyone is fabulous there is good reason to clap!) The puppet show was the last thing.  We had not practiced and Derek recruited a few of the players right before dinner.

It is funny being behind the puppet theater.  We have our hands out there with the puppets on them but we can't see what we are doing.  I kept wondering if my character "Holly" was moving her mouth okay.  Today we had no control of the puppet's hands and that was odd too.  I was holding the microphone that Connor and I used and he was turning pages on the script.  Most of the other players were sharing a microphone.  I got to watch the show this evening since Amanda (my awesome daughter-in-law) recorded it for us.  It was pretty impressive how well we did.  I did chuckle a lot that Ernie, who was playing a town person, was mostly talking into the side of my puppet while being hidden by another.  It was also quite funny when, in the "Hallmark" puppet show that Derek wrote, my character "danced" with another puppet.  Remember we had no control of the puppet's hands?  And we couldn't see?  Ha ha ha!  It was a bit on the PG-13 side!

During the activities after the program a ward came to get ready for their party.  They were probably super impressed at how fast a ginormous family can clean up activities, decorations, and the kitchen and leave it to them!  We went to the Homestead and finished off the games and dessert there.  It is a long party, but it is also a party full of people who love each other, and like each other too -- and that is a true blessing!

If you have to go to the dentist.....

Suzie always brings a bit of
sunshine into my day!
Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

then it is really a good thing to discover that Suzie is the one taking care of you.  She greeted me with a hug and a sincere "how are you?".  She told me how happy she was to see my name on her list and I think she told me she loved me four times!  She is one of those kind and loving people who I am always glad to see.  There was one time that I went for a regular cleaning and she was off in Japan seeing where her husband's family is from.  I was so disappointed not to see her!  Six months later she was back and just as happy to see me as ever.  Today I happened to be sitting by her mother-in-law in the waiting room and got to be introduced to her too.  Suzie took very good care of me and made sure I had what I needed to hopefully have my random swollen gum finally get better.  I love Suzie, probably because she does such a good job of loving me!

My Own Chef!

 

The Chef and Me

Today Tia brought Brigham over so I could play with him while she made his Christmas stocking. She also brought my Christmas present early and had me open it.  We're having a puppet show at the Christensen Christmas party on Saturday and the Giant Chef will get to be in it!  The coolest thing about him, besides his size, his mustache and his cool chef clothing, is that he belonged to Mike (my son-in-law) when he was younger.   Chef came home with Mike and Tia from Michigan after Thanksgiving.  I have piles of puppets, but none are as big as Chef!  He will be a fun addition to the puppet shows we tend to have at family gatherings!

Brigham at his Nana's house.
He loves animals!  He is probably
trying to boop the cat's nose.  He
does that to Teddy too.

Naturally I really enjoyed playing with Brigham even more than the chef.  I love Brigham SO much!  He likes to play with grandpa.  Brigham and I sit up in the room above the family room and Brigham throws balls down to Grandpa (or pushes them over the edge). Grandpa then, perhaps, puts them on his head, which makes Brigham giggle.  Then Grandpa throws them back up to Brigham.  It's a big gravity experiment with some added  entertainment.  What's not to like!

Brigham loves playing with Kayli too and gave his Uncle's some good smiles as well.  He really loves hugging stuffed animals, and he liked hugging Elmo puppet too.  It was really fun to have him here and Tia did a good job on his Christmas stocking.

Hooray For Good Friends!

A Sweet Friendship Refreshes the Soul

Proverbs 27:9

I didn't have friend pictures.  Consider this my bird friend!
Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

This evening, by the time I got done driving home on a snowy highway, I was hungry and had a headache. I was also supposed to hurry and go to a friend's house to watch a movie. I thought about making my excuses and not going but I knew that I was right when I told my friend earlier that I knew "I'll be really glad if I come" . So I walked over in the snow and watched The Man Who Invented Christmas about Charles Dickens. We own it. I had seen it before. But I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I did remember though that I like the chance to talk to friends. It would be lonely to go through life all alone! I got to see or talk to a few friends today, and that made it a good day. Hooray for good friends!

The Majesty of Mountains

 There was a lot of good in today, but I really appreciated waking up to the canyon view that has all of the trees looking nice and frosty white.  Mountains and clouds are both so spectacular! It is very beautiful.  I also counted 14 deer who wanted me to wait while they crossed the street when I was driving home after dropping Dan off at seminary.  They aren't bothered by car horns :-)  I really only had to wait for three or four.

I was trying to catch the valley view here but I couldn't see my screen and what
I was taking a picture of!

A Silly Dog, A Snow Angel, and A Rescue

 

Teddy obviously enjoys the snow!

Today was one of THOSE days.  I woke up sad and with a headache. I went out to discover that Derek was home from playing ball but his car wasn't.  A basketball buddy had driven him up the slippery hill.  Thankfully zoom meetings can be attended from home.  I ate breakfast, did Tai Chi warm ups and took Teddy out in the snow.  He really loves running, and putting his face in the snow to sniff.  I love making snow angels.  We got a bit snowy, but he was the only one with lots of snow stuck to him!  Even not feeling 100% I can appreciate a chance to make a snow angel and to watch a silly doggy have fun!

Later, while at an appointment, I got the chance to read the beginning of a mystery.  I don't know "who done it" yet.  Unfortunately it snowed quite a bit while we were gone and my van wasn't good at getting all of the way up the hill either.  Derek's car has been rescued but mine is parked at the city building awaiting a rescue.  I'm glad Jake got off work and was willing to skip his trip to the store and come get his stranded family members in the green truck (aka "The Beast).  I was hungry and my headache was back.  He got us home in no time!  Soon I was eating food, doing a puzzle, and feeling much better.

Christmas Choir and Musical Friends

 

Today my favorite thing was playing with Brigham.  He is just SO cute and SO fun to have around.  He seems to learn how to do something new every week!  Unfortunately my pictures turned out terrible.  Boo!

This evening I went to Christmas Choir at our church.  I love singing, and singing Christmas music is the best.  The other thing I like about singing in ward choirs is that I almost always end up having musical friends.  I can go from knowing nobody to at least having something in common with the people who show up.  That has been a true blessing in my life.  I have made a lot of friends through music!

Nothing Better Than Truth!

I went to bed with damp hair last night, so this morning my hair was exciting.  I took a picture and sent it to a friend who has been having a bit of a hair crisis and who was worried about how her haircut would end up.  I assured her that hers would look better than this.  I liked her words.  "There is nothing better than the truth!"

I look a little creepy here too!

A Country Christmas Date

The horses that pulled
our wagon.  You can't see it here
But they were steaming in the cold!

The highlight of my day was a date with Derek.  I wanted to do something different than usual and so when I saw Young Living's Country Christmas advertised I got us tickets.  Little did I know that I picked the day that was the coldest of any we've had so far!  When we left to come home, the car's thermometer said it was 10 degrees there!  It slowly "warmed up" until it was 21 degrees here at home.  So, it wasn't the longest date ever but we did everything there was to do.  We walked around and saw the lights.  Stood by the fires.  Saw the animals, and took a horse drawn wagon ride.  Finally, we went inside a building and had hot chocolate (me) or apple cider slush (Derek) and warm apple cider donuts.  After that we booked it back to the car and came home.

Derek kind of missed himself in this "selfie"

This innocent looking creature bit my elbow while we were taking the picture of us.
Luckily it only got slobber on my coat and it is being washed anyway
because it smells like smoke.

Me in front of the donkeys who were too far away to bite me.
But they did have a warning sign by them!

A goat picture for Kayli, who loves goats

For some reason or another I thought I ought to explain that I am on purpose posting the happy parts of my day.  Some days are really hard.  And today I really needed a nap (and actually took one!) But, when I stop and review every day at the end, there is always at least one thing to be thankful for!