Three More Days

Christmas is SO close! Three days. It's amazing that time can hurry itself up so incredibly fast. Every day I wake up and think of someone else I have to get a present for, or something I forgot to do. I realize that this is NOT the way I should be spending my Christmas season, you know??? My New Year's Resolution is to be more prepared for next year's Christmas. By, say, July.

Today I spoke with my Mom. She said she was having the worst day of her life. But you know, I went over to visit with her tonight but she refused to talk about it. Something to do with work, I guess, but she won't mention it. We got her flowers, but my goodness, what does that solve? The only thing keeping her going is that she gets three days off in a row. She is supposed to have Monday but there's too much work NOT to go in. I said I'd help her. It's difficult when someone you love so much is entirely frustrated and yet you can't really help fix the problem.

On the upside, I went to my sister's nursing home today to listen to the North Muskegon High School choir perform. They did a nice job and the residents loved seeing Helena. I asked Andrea how she could stand seeing these people whose bodies and minds are just wasting and they're so far gone. She said, "Well, I know I love them, and that's all that matters." It didn't strike me at the time how profound that is. Here's the thing: She really does love them. Sometimes they smell a little bit, and they don't talk, and there's no outward beauty. It doesn't make a difference to Andrea...she loves them all.

"Dear Baby Jesus, how tiny Thou art...I'll make a place for Thee in my heart."

Service for the Savior

I was really impressed with my Activity Day girls today. They are always SO thoughtful! They love to do service, so tonight, in honor of Christmas, the girls made no-sew fleece blankets. And not from a kit, either - they actually cut and tied the fabric themselves. Then they wrote letters to military servicemen and signed cards to accompany the blankets (they'll be donated to hospitals). They are such wonderful young ladies. And I'm blessed to work with them.

I also have to share a couple of experiences where something - some may call it Serendipity, I call it Providence - stepped in and made itself known to me. The first is from today. I'd been gone all morning as I had a commitment, and had lessons in the afternoon as well. I'd also committed to bring some things for our ward Christmas baskets and had to make a trip to the store and bake 3 dozen cookies! On top of my already full day, Helena was absolutely crazy - cranky, unwilling to sleep, crying, getting into everything (including things I forgot we had) - you moms know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I actually started to cry, I was so upset - Helena wouldn't go down for her nap and I had students coming in, like, 20 minutes, and I knew lessons were going to be SO HARD, plus she hadn't napped all day. My frustration level was at the MAX. Then my sister Andrea called. I pulled it together to answer the phone, but as soon as she said hello the tears started busting out all over the place. It turns out that her schedule today at work was very flexible, and she offered to come over and watch Helena during my lessons. Thank goodness! Helena loved seeing her and they had great fun...what a relief. My second worry of the day was that these kids were coming for their last lesson ever (I'm giving it up) and I didn't have their Christmas gift - a bag of cookies - ready. They were expecting it, but I hadn't had time to bake anything. So, out of the clear blue sky, my sister Caity showed up at the back door! She said she was making cookies anyway, so she'd bring a dozen over and I could divide them up for my students. Amazing. Heavenly Father knows my needs and he fills them through the service of my sisters.

Here's the other experience, from our trip to Florida this September. We drove down, and the first night we stopped at a hotel to spend the night. When we got there, and we were signing in, we discovered that we were given a discount of nearly $20 less than what we expected to spend! We were happy, but tired, so didn't think too much about it. The next day, we were in Georgia somewhere when we saw a man pulled off on the side of the exit ramp we were on. I said "Dan, pull over" (I have a soft spot for troubled motorists, as I so often am one) and we did. He was driving a dilapidated car and didn't look too healthy. Turns out he'd used up all his gas money on a car repair, but was trying to get home (I've forgotten where home was, I think Louisville?) and had no more gas in the car. Dan went over with him, checked out his story (there really wasn't any gas) and offered to go to a gas station and get him some gas. We left him with the car, bought a gas can and filled it, then gave him a $10 bill we had in cash and went on our way. That night we arrived in Florida at our hotel. While we were signing in, the man said "Sign here if the price and everything is okay." Dan, being more bold than I, said, "Well, can the price be any lower?" The concierge said "Let me check" and knocked the price down by another $25. As we were talking later that night, Dan and I concluded that we saved almost twice the amount on hotels that we gave that man on the exit ramp. Who knows if they were related at all, but you know, I think that the Lord wants to bless us for our good acts. I'm not bragging - we only helped that guy because we'd hope someone would help us if we needed it - and we saved some money in the process.

My point in writing this extraordinarily long email is twofold: One, so I can remember the spiritual experiences I have, and two, so that other people can see that the Lord blesses us in so many ways - but we have to be ready to see them for what they are. It's not just a coincidence that Andrea called when she did, or that Caity stopped by to borrow something when she did, or that we pulled off the road when we did. The Lord could do everything he wanted to by himself but he chooses to give us the opportunity to serve. I hope I can be better about looking for, then taking those opportunities.

The Aunts Go Marching

I have this really great aunt that I haven't known very well for most of my life, but since I've been assigned to be her visiting teacher I've gotten to know her so much better. Her name is Lita (short for Manuelita), and she's my maternal grandfather's sister. She's in a nursing home now, and her memory goes in and out, but she has a fantastic sense of humor. Tonight I went (with my other aunt, Christina, who's only 16 years older than me) and we were asking Lita what she wants for Christmas. She said it doesn't matter what we get her - no matter what it is, she'll have to say she likes it. We all just burst out laughing. You know, I'm glad that even at this late date I've had the opportunity to get to know Lita. She doesn't have any kids or siblings still living or other family, and if it weren't for VT I would never have known her at all. She's so easy to please - bring some pictures and magazines and she's satisfied. And she manages to have a great attitude despite the fact that she's going to be living at this home forever (although it's the nicest one I've ever been in - more of an assisted living deal). I'm grateful for my family.

Winter Wind

This is the title of a song by Jon Schmidt that I really like; it's also a pithy description of the walk that Caity and I took with the girls today. We were absolutely nuts. Just b/c the sun is out does NOT mean that it is warm, or that the winds are calm. We were freezing...let this be a lesson to us.

Dan was home today because tomorrow is our 6th anniversary. It seems like 6 years is very long...wait until 60, knock on wood! He had a job interview today at Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury. They have a graphic designer position open and, since Dan's sort of unsatisfied with his current employment, he thought he'd check it out. Can't hurt to try. I have no idea what they would pay him or what the benefits would be (although discounts on dining and hotel sound pretty good), but if he had more autonomy and less managerial pressure (a la Office Space) I think he'd be happier. Plus, the whole "back to nature" thing appeals to him. He's still gone, so I can't report how the interview went.

I'm so excited for my sisters, Andrea and Caity, who are both pregnant and expecting boys this April. It's unbelieveable, really, that they COULD have their babies so close together that I could visit them both at the same hospital. I remember when I was pregnant with Helena that I worried if there would be any kids for her to play with. Now there are so many...it gives me faith in the whole "multiply and replenish the earth" commandment. It really is the thing that brings more joy than any other - forever families.

For the past few days, for no reason in particular, I haven't been listening to much Christmas music, and it's really affected my holiday spirit. I seem to be so much more excited whilst singing "Silver Bells" and waltzing around the kitchen. Please, don't torture yourselves with a mental image of this. My new commitment is to GORGE on the wonderful music that I can only, with propriety, listen to once annually.

One last bit of bragging about Helena - she's recently learned how to do different animal noises, and she can imitate elephants, snakes, tigers, cats, owls...it's hilarious! We get the biggest kick out of it. The funny thing is, she only says a handful of words. I'm wondering if, by speaking animal first, she's just preparing for the language explosion that is to come. Seriously, can any child of mine NOT be wonderfully verbal?

"Long years ago, on a deep winter night...high in the heavens a star shone bright..."

White Christmas

This is one of my favorite movies - that is, "White Christmas." Sure, it's predictable in plot and characters but it has zip and charm that a lot of films don't have anymore. And of course, it's inextricably linked with Christmas in my mind, so I love it for tradition too. And you can't beat the music. I am an unabashed Irving Berlin fan.

Yesterday I was down in the dumps, but after a little Helena break (to do Christmas shopping this morning) I'm feeling back to my old self. I think that we homemakers just get a little lonely and are too prone to introspection because we aren't dealing with other adults so much. My cures for depression are work/action and good music...

Dan and I took Helena with us on a date today (no baby-sitters available!) and had a fantastic time. Our date included dinner at Chili's, sort of a splurge for us, and then (is this lame?) a visit to Valueland (a local thrift store.) While there we ran into our friend Pete from high school. We've all changed a lot but it was great to see him and catch up with him and his wife.

Tomorrow is a busy Sunday (they all are now) including the usual spate of callings and two choir rehearsals, then the Christmas broadcast from Salt Lake. Next weekend will be fun - it's our 6th anniversary - as Dan is taking off Friday and Monday. We haven't made any firm plans about what to do, but I'm excited just to have some time with Dan as this week has been busy.

I'm grateful for a wonderful best friend who always knows what to say to cheer me up. Like Moses and Aaron, kind of.

"If you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep." - Irving Berlin