GIVING GIFTS

christmas is such a magical time of year.

i love the music.

i love the lights.

i love the decorations.

i love the traditions...

and as much fun as it is to receive

a desired gift

or a special surprise...

sometimes

the greatest is the one that you GIVE

and not just any kind of GIVE

but the GIVE you do with thought and heart.

this year

christmas magic came

in GIVING a GIFT

to 

bryan and helena.

these two individuals

are model parents

spiritual giants

well read in the classics

love the beauty of a garden

gourmet meals

and baking bread...

all of which i know nothing about.

as i ventured out in search of a particular GIFT,

nothing particular was left for the taking.

in my peripheal vision,

i saw the ol' dicken's classic

"scrooge"

i know bryan loves dicken's

and i was 100 % positive

he had this tale in his collection...

but my version

of

christmases past present future

was yet to be written.

and so this little gift unfolded...

i printed out famous quotes and linked them
together to form a chain
that shackle scrooge
 if unchanged
CHRISTMAS PACKAGE PAST

CHRISTMAS PACKAGE PRESENT
(a dialogue between rick and myself
was printed and pasted to the gift
in hopes of creating a feeling of being present
in delivering their gift)

CHRISTMAS PACKAGE FUTURE
 
bryan called
and we laughed.

CHRISTMAS EVE

so not the CHRISTMAS EVE

i envisioned.

i am a product of a splendid

CHRISTMAS EVE tradition...

a progressive dinner

beginning at the home of my upbringing.

an evening so memorable,

that many a personal essays have been written on the event.
a night so exciting that it almost
overshadowed
christmas day.

i have always hoped that i would pattern

(i am 100% sure that rick would hope so too)

my CHRISTMAS EVE

after that of my childhood.

i have the christmas dishes.

i have the recipes.
i even have an adorable apron with frills.

i have a love for celebrating the most magical event

in all the history of mankind...

the birth of my savior.

so what happened?

i happened.

i am just not the domestic goddesss i think i am.

i also learned a few things:

i do not recommend waiting until

 CHRISTMAS EVE

to do christmas shopping.

it may mean that your guests arrive before you do.

they did.

i do recommend proper planning

and then adhering to the plan.

as i reflect,

food items had been purchased previous to  

CHRISTMAS EVE.

serving pieces were ready and placed jus so.

mother knew just what needed to be marinated

and for how long...

which dish was placed in the oven

in order to be warm and on the table before

the welcome and blessing on the spread of
delicious, lip smacking

hors d' oeurves.

it was just as much science

orchestrated with a bit of magic

as it was an act of cooking prowess.

our

appetizers

became

aftertizers...

"pick it up on the way home

live by default" type of items.

i delivered gifts while rick unloaded bags of groceries.

my one true success

took affect before sleeping eyes

opened...

the table was beautiful

true to form,

 mom and dad

made me feel like what transpired

 was an  A+++ 

top of the notch job,

but i knew better.

did i need to pull out the old family photos

from scrapbook's past?

had they forgotten what it was supposed to look like?

there was no christmas story from the bible,

yet i remembered the reason for the season

in a childlike nativity

that featured the prominent characters

and noah's handmade woodbox

for a stable.

there was no

 "it's a wonderful life..."

movie with tinkling of bells

and angels receiving wings.

rather, noah given charge

 selected

"the lone ranger"

the only thing resembling 

CHRISTMAS EVE pasts

was a new pair of pj's for noah.

 though his grandparents

were CRIMSON RED 

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH graduates,

they rejoiced at noah

posing

in BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

 COUGAR BLUE

it was a humble, simple CHRISTMAS EVE

with the very people i love the most

and maybe,

  just maybe,
 it played out

according to how someone else 

envisioned it to be...

MERRY CHRISTMAS PRIMARY CHILDREN

december lessons

focused on the savior

 we remembered him

and celebrated his birth.

the first sunday,

each child received a CANDY CANE

i held it up as the letter "J"

"J" is for jesus,

a name

i will hold dear.

jesus is the author of"JOY".

 in the word "JOY"

"J" stands for jesus

"O" for others

"Y" then yourself.

true "JOY"

is the outcome

as we put jesus first

and others before ourselves.

of course,

we turned the letter "J"

into the shepherd's staff.

jesus is our shepherd.

he will guide us back to  our

father in heaven

and gather us when we our lost.

the second sunday,

each child was given

JINGLE BELLS

and 

chocolate bells with this reminder:

that the shepherd knows his sheep

each, with a bell placed around the neck

is safely guided back to the fold

our shepherd,

the savior,

knows us by name.

the third sunday,

i brought CUPCAKES and a nice table cloth.

we had a birthday party for jesus.

we made presents for him

and sang happy birthday to him.

we looked at pictures and talked about

the life and miracles of

this special person in our life.

Make a free slideshow

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

oh christmas tree

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

where are you?

with thanksgiving at the tail end of november,

christmas happened upon us before

i could wrap my mind around it.

we talked of selecting a tree numerous times...

finally,

december 14, 2013

we forced ourselves to brave the bitter temperatures.

it would be rushed

as we hoped to make

the

country christmas that the ward was hosting.

Home Teach and Visit Teach Friends 

Primary Friends

three OH CHRISTMAS TREE lots later...

(they were sparse and picked over)

one had picked us.

in my home and childhood,

i remember my dad putting lights upon the tree,

a task i have never fancied !

rick lounged on the couch

"this is christmas magic right here"

of course it is magic for him

he is not tangled in pine needles and sap

the lights had almost reached completion,

when the top half of the lights

darkened

"UUUUgggghhhhh"

i start again.

alas

a beautiful OH CHRISTMAS TREE to behold.

tradition: rick places grandma t's picture on the branch

noah places the star atop the tree

ta duh !!!

ta dupe.

i will pick up a new star on monday.

oh christmas tree

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

BE STILL

i had placed a few decorations upon the mantle,

but we had yet to purchase a 

christmas tree.

noah handcrafted the wood box at scouts...perfect for a stable

christmas? 

really? christmas?

for some reason it came

awfully quick this year

i felt unprepared and frazzled.

my son deserved

a happy christmas

with the same kind of fun

and holiday cheer

i experienced as a child.

noah made the cheerful santa at school

"the gingerbread house !

we will decorate a gingerbread house."

as i was returning home,

my mind raced with all

i had hoped would be done...

in my search for jesus,

i found myself thinking of a christmas gift past

the painting of jesus

my husband surprised me with

BE STILL

i opened the door

there was a scent of soapy clean

and the sound of a newly purchased

carpet cleaner.

stains cleaned.

cushions and pillows in the process.

i could scarcely believe...

elves in the workshop??? 

noah and i decorated 

the gingerbread house.

excitement crept in little by little

as i passed by the front room

i noticed a beautiful painting upon my wall...

how could he possibly know my thoughts?

that was the first gift of christmas

i let out a scream

of delight.

it feels like home.

that night,

i felt to 

BE STILL

and be in the moment.

CHRISTMAS PARTY AT ELA

the theme

ELA'S GOT TALENT

i typically always plan on attending

i put together a 

white elephant

the day arrives

a grab a quick bite

and then as the 

white elephant exchange draws nigh

i bail

like noah

i have a bit of stage fright

the pressure

of how my

white elephant

will be received is more than

i can bear

and the topper

is how my reaction to 

another's

white elephant will be

okay, i get it

i am the party

WIMP

i responded to mr. g.

but mrs. price

got the best of me

and roped me into a performance

with other women 

the jr. high

rehearsals took place

in the theare room

at the noontime hour

with the candlestick

(TTBF)

actually, i was

"CLUE"less

our number

abba's

mamma mia

in scuba gear

i was already theatrically

challenged...and

now

put me in flippers

my nerves were warranted

as i had my

own personal

wardrobe malfunction

as i pulled down one

too many layers while changing

i have to admit

i had a grand time

and so,

i will be back next year

i made a little

thank you note

to present with

mr. g.'s gift

T’was the week before 

a long Christmas Break

every teacher was teaching

for goodness sake

All the students gone cra-cra

in every way-way

so Mr. Gla-Gla

thought an afternoon of play-play

would be okay-k

at ELA-A

So the staff were gathered

to the library with care

in hopes that ELA talent

soon would be there

Water and cokes 

on the table display

while delicious warm food

was on it’s way

When what should appear

to all of our eyes

a panel of judges 

to decide on first prize

One being Santa 

in his red and his white (ment)

not a soul could control

all of this excitement

Performers with talents 

one by one

shared in their gift

some serious, some fun

The judges perplexed 

oh mia mya

(or...wait a minute was it...

momma mia?”)

HO! HO! HO!

Vocals and instruments

Snowflakes and Kittens

and a trick from Santa

the guy with the mittens

Then there was one

no words no clatter

no one moved...

nothing the matter

For dear, Cyndie Lou 

so sweetly she sang

who knew? not I

but the melody rang  

The time had now come 

to decide on the prize

clearly “THE VOICE” that

brought tears to our eyes

We sprang from our seats

with a roaring applause

as Cyndie Lou 

got the jewel board from...

ol’ Santa  Claus

Then to us all

it came in to focus

the Givers of gifts

one real, one Hocus Pocus

The one in the red
and fur of white,

the other that made us

all Merry and Bright

That would be you

Mr. Glathar

Thank you for a wonderful 2013

and an afternoon of FUN!!!

You really are amazing

FINDING JESUS

mark mabry artwork

after my experience trying to find

anything resembling JESUS,

i thought i would keep my eyes peeled

to see if JESUS  truly was central

to the celebration of his birth.

i miss the days

when a large NATIVITY

was in the center of town

at the public library...

when bulletin boards

and CHRISTMAS

 programs at school

allowed songs like

“silent night”

“away in a manger”

and “joy to the world”

i miss the carefree days

of being able to

say MERRY CHRISTMAS

without the fear and worry of someone

being offended.

i heard that one school

was asked to cancel 

the “angel tree”

and “sub for santa”

because it was an

act of christianity.

too bad for the family

that may have been filled with joy

and hope

the belief in miracles

at a time of their misfortune.

too bad for the givers

that may have learned gratitiude

as well as 

been filled with the 

unmeasured happiness

and love

that comes as the rich rewards of 

true charity.


really.
being kind

compassionate

forgiving

loving

are all acts of christianity.

should we eliminate those traits

and qualities?

mmm.

where andwhat would that leave 

for humanity?

in complete and utter evil circumstances.

on friday the 13th day of december

another school shooting.

then
while watching 
FOX
i saw this
segment of a billboard
from atheist.org
which cut to my core

i need CHRIST
at 
CHRISTMAS
and every single moment
in between
and i am
SOMEBODY

i am not jewish,

but i do not mind

wishing 

HAPPY HANUKKAH

learning about the culture

and festive traditions

marveling in the menorah

singing “how many nights”

and playing dreidel.

in one of the language arts classes
students had the joys
of learning about 
festivities,
customs,
traditions,
of our brothers
and sisters
around the world.

we wouldn't dream of trying
to rewrite or cancel
the celebrations
dear to their
hearts

so please
i beg,
stop attacking
CHRISTmas.
without
CHRIST in my
CHRISTMAS,
it would be just plain old
MAS
and that would be
just plain old dumb
and 
plain old boring.

i do not expect

everyone to celebrate and believe

as i believe

i just wish that others

would be courteous enough

and allow me to acknowledge 

december 25, 

 CHRISTMAS on my calendar

and not just a winter holiday...

it is more 

oh so much more

it is CHRISTMAS

it is a celebration of JESUS Birth

i will rejoice and pay homage to Him

and i will declare

MERRY CHRISTMAS