Christmas Blessings

I feel a deep desire to give thanks this Christmas Day. My heart has been so full of love and joy this past week. I have so much to be thankful for.

As we celebrated our Christmas festivities last night and today, I felt so glad to be surrounded by so many people I love and that love my family. All of the activities leading up to Christmas cause me stress at times, and there has been plenty of that this year. But as I reflect now on the activities of the past month, it would be hard for me to choose to eliminate any of them. Each of them allows me to connect with friends, neighbors, family, coworkers and other loved ones and I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and in the lives of my husband and children.

I am thankful for Christmas stories. I've been reading Christmas stories to my children each night. I've also read a few on my own. They are fun and many help refocus my mind on the true reason for the season. I have felt my testimony strengthened as I've read and reread of the Savior's birth. I have been studying the New Testament for the past few weeks and I am so grateful for the Savior's birth, life and teachings. I have felt His love more this Christmas season than perhaps at any other Christmas season.

I am thankful for our abundance. We have sufficient food, clothing, shelter, plus much more. Because we have been so richly blessed, we were able to do a few things to help others this year. Today those who may be spending this day alone or far from home or who may be in dire circumstances or who may be grieving for a loved one have been on my mind. So many people face such difficult challenges, and my heart goes out to them and my prayers have lifted up to our Father for them to be comforted.

I am thankful for Christmas songs. I love Christmas music. I love the spirit they bring. Some of my favorites include Mary, Did You Know, Breath of Heaven, O Holy Night, Reason for the Season, and Carol of the Bells. But there are many other songs that I love as well.

I am thankful for my husband and children. I was listening to Breath of Heaven earlier, and was struck by these words:
"Holy Father, You have come
And chosen me now to carry Your Son
I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now, be with me now"

What a tremendous blessing and responsibility it was for Mary to be the mother of the Son of God! And what a tremendous blessing and responsibility it is for me to be a mother to my children. They are not the Savior, but they are still children of God and He loves them. He has entrusted them to me. What a great responsibility that is! I am trying hard to be a good mother, to teach them, to pray with them, to play with them, to comfort them. I am grateful that I know that I do not walk the path alone, that my Father and Savior are there with me to help me. They are turning into 3 beautiful young girls. I can't believe how big they are or how beautiful they are becoming, inside and out.

I feel grateful for Christmas decorations. For our Christmas tree, our lights, our candles, our wreath, and other decorations. My house feels more beautiful to me at Christmas than any other time of year. And tonight as I looked at the lights in our window, it caused me to reflect on the Light of the World, our Savior Jesus Christ. There is plenty of darkness in this world, plenty of sadness and strife. Yet there is so much beauty and goodness as well. And no matter what happens in the world, if we turn to our Savior, He will lighten our load, help us bear our burdens and guide us. I am so grateful for His birth...and even more for His life, His death and His resurrection. I have felt His love for me.

Isaiah 9:6. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Alma 7:10-12 "And behold, he shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which sanity he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

I am so blessed!

Christmas Books--Part 2

Little Porcupine's Christmas by Joseph Slate Little Porcupine really wants to be part of the Christmas play, but he can't be a shepherd or a wise man or an angel...his spines will poke the sheep or punch holes in the gift. He can only work behind the scenes. His mother always calls him "the light of my life". And at the end, Porcupine gets a very special role in the play.

I loved the warm relationship between porcupine and his mom. And I am glad that he found a role that was perfect for him. This would go well with a discussion about how we are all different and have different talents and gifts, but how each of us can let our own light shine.

**This might be a fun one to read on Christmas Eve right before we do our luminaries. We take paper bags, cut shapes in them and then place candles in them. We line our driveway and sidewalk with the bags with candles.
This year it snowed a lot on Christmas Eve, so we just did one bag each...only six luminaries. It was just too cold and windy to be outside for long. Here they are:

Ten Christmas Wishes by Claire Freedman Ten animals make Christmas wishes. Written in poetic form and counting up from 1 to 10. Cute illustrations of animals and them receiving their Christmas wish.

**This would be a perfect book to read when making a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas. On the fifth wish, the animals have a paper chain hanging up. My 9 year old made her own paper chain a few days ago, just for fun. She and her sisters would have loved to make a paper chain again this year to count down the days until Christmas.

Star of Wonder by Leena Lane and Elena Baboni This is a retelling of the Christmas story. Each page tells about one part of the story such as the shepherds tending their flocks, the angels singing hosannas, etc. It is a bit long and needed to be read over two days not one. The illustrations are a little strange, in our opinion. The people all have strange expressions and they just weren't my favorite. I had checked this out from the library, and it probably won't be one we reread or check out again.

Come and See: A Christmas Story by Monica Mayper A beautiful story of the Nativity. Great illustrations.
**I would let kids act out the nativity with a nativity set after reading this book.

The Legend of the Poinsettia retold by Tomie de Paola Lucida and her mother were making a blanket for the Christmas procession, but her mother fell ill and Lucida couldn't finish it on her own. On Christmas Eve, she feels sad because she has no gift to give the Baby Jesus. She hides and then an old woman talks to her and says her mother will be fine and her father will come home from the hospital soon. She should go to the church to celebrate. The old woman shares some wise words telling her that any gift will be good enough as long as it comes from the heart.

Contains a nice author's note about the history of this Mexican legend and some background about the poinsettia plant.

** After reading this book, have your children make poinsettias out of paper.

Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas by Julia Rawlinson
I got my copy from Scholastic and it has been renamed Fox and the Snowflake Christmas. As far as I know that is the only change though I am not certain.

Fletcher the fox is afraid that Santa won't be able to find the rabbits' new home. So he and his friends make a trail of arrows pointing the way to the rabbits' new home. But it snows on Christmas Eve and the trail is covered. Will Santa find the rabbits?

I thought this was a sweet story of friendship. Fletcher and the other animals care deeply about their friends the rabbits. They each bring gifts for the rabbits in case Santa was unable to find them. It is a story of unselfishness, caring, and love. This would be a good lead in to a discussion of how your children can show kindness to others at Christmastime (and all year long). Perhaps you could do a Secret Santa or a 12 Days of Christmas for someone who is lonely. You could participate in an Angel Tree or Sub for Santa or other such activity. Your children could help you prepare and deliver gifts to neighbors as well.

The illustrations are really beautiful as well. As I read it, I wanted to grab paints and paint a winter scene. I can imagine painting a wintery tree like the one on this illustration:

Or you could paint a blue background with big, beautiful snowflakes like on this amazing illustration:

Or of course, you could make paper snowflakes.

School Ski Trip

On Friday, December 14, Michelle was able to go on a school ski trip. She was so excited. She had never skied before. Neither Alfredo or I were able to go, but her school counselor took pictures and emailed them to me.

Michelle really liked her helper and really enjoyed the opportunity to ski. She really wants us to go as a family sometime. Since Alfredo and I aren't skiers, I don't know that this will happen. But I'm so glad that she went and had such a good time.

Book Club

I have belonged to a book club for 5 years now. Currently, I am the book club president. We meet monthly, rotating to each house. I guard my time with my children pretty closely since I work full time, but I really look forward to book club. I enjoy discussing the books we read and getting the opportunity to read books that I might not read otherwise. I enjoy seeing what many of them are reading on Goodreads and adding their favorites to my "to read" shelf. But most importantly, I have become friends with these wonderful ladies. We've laughed together and prayed for one another and learned from one another.

Last Thursday was book club. I arrived a little late, because it was the same night as my daughters' piano recital. We had it at Hires and Becky was hosting. We'd read a series of books and she planned games to go along with them. We dressed in costumes...either what we had worn in high school or dressed like one of the characters in the book. We laughed and talked and ate and gave thanks. You see, in November, we discovered that one of the members of our book club has breast cancer. But they caught it early. She had a mastectomy at the beginning of last week. Her lymph nodes were clear. It appears she is cancer free and she may not even need radiation. Such wonderful news! Prayers were answered.

It was such a fun evening, and I am thankful that I have such good friends.

Tragedy at Sandy Hook

Friday tragedy struck an elementary school in Connecticut. A troubled young adult murdered his mother and then drove to Sandy Hook, Elementary and killed 20 children and 6 adults. Teachers bravely did all they could to protect their students, and some were able to save children's lives.

This tragedy, of course, raises many questions and brings a great deal of sorrow. No one ever wants to hear about the brutal murder of so many, especially of young ones. No one wants to feel like their children are unsafe at school. It is hard to comprehend how someone, anyone, could be so troubled that they would slay innocent young children. My heart grieves for those who lost loved ones and for those who witnessed or were in any way part of this terrible event and for the anguish they must be feeling. I feel blessed to have the knowledge of the gospel to comfort me and to know that those children are in a better place. I hope they too can be comforted and know that they will see their loved ones again.

There is danger in this world and we are never completely safe...harm could come from anywhere. And yet, this world is also filled with beauty and love and goodness. I love a quote from Mr. Rogers... "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

There are so many helpers and so many caring people in this world. I truly believe that if we look for the good in the world and the good in others that in most cases we will see it. I also believe that we can't live in fear of what may happen. We must go forward with faith, trusting the Lord that whatever happens we will be given the strength to endure and overcome.

I saw on Facebook a quote about how much teachers care for their students. It won't let me copy and it may be copyrighted so I won't quote it directly. But essentially it said that we appreciate parents loaning their children to us each day. We love them. We educate and discipline and laugh with and cry with your children. We are driven crazy by your children and have hope for your children. We would take a bullet for your children. It isn't in the handbook and it isn't part of our job description, but we love them that much. So today, hug your kids tight and tell them that you love them. Then on Monday, hug your child's teacher and tell them thank you. I believe this to be true for most teachers. I know it is true for me. I can tell it is true for my childrens' teachers. I am so thankful for the dedication they show and the hard work they put into educating my children. The actual quote is found here.


So send your children to school and trust that they will be okay. We will do everything in our power to protect them. Pray for us and pray for them and then trust us to keep them safe and to do our best to educate them.

The election

This is old news, but it was a big event this year, and I've been meaning to post about it since it happened. I think I needed a little time to get over being upset before I recorded it here.
In November, the election was held. It seemed a very big election...and a very divisive election. People I love and respect...as well as strangers... were saying some pretty ridiculous things about the election and about what would happen if President Obama won or if Mitt Romney won. It seemed to me that there was a lot of anger and vitriol and far too many people were no longer being rational. I posted about this a little bit on Facebook. This is what I said:

"I have kept my opinions to myself...but I am so frustrated with the current political climate. People have lost friendships over this election. So much mud slinging has occurred...by followers on both sides. My beautiful daughter was told by classmates that she is a horrible person because in a mock election she voted for Romney. I am disgusted by this...but not surprised. If we as adults can not agree civilly and respectfully, how will our children learn to disagree respectfully? I voted for Romney and have what I think are good reasons for my choice. But I think both candidates are decent human beings who both want to do what they believe is best for our country. Their ideas differ, but I don't think that makes them ...or their supporters... evil or stupid or even that people are voting against their own interests. I know good, intelligent people on both sides of the issues. We have different ideas on the purpose and responsibilities of government or on the direction we want our country to head...but I believe that truth, in most cases lies somewhere more in the middle...if we could stop being so divided along party lines and could compromise (that just happens to be a vocab word this week in my second grade class...wish I could show them some good examples of that happening)... Then I think our country would be in much better shape. I love my friends and family no matter who they vote for...and can see why they would make the choice they made. Obama has done some good and made some mistakes ...and the problems of this nation neither began nor will end while he is President. Let's keep things in perspective..."

I studied the issues. I, frankly, didn't think either candidate was a perfect candidate. (None of them ever are...they are only human). I didn't particularly care for either of their platforms when it comes to education. However, after studying the issues I decided to vote for Romney. I feel like I had good reasons. But I know and love people who voted for Obama, and many of them had good reasons as well. Some people said that anyone who voted for Obama is lazy and wants to be given handouts. That is not what I see. Most of the people I know who voted for Obama are hard working, talented, intelligent people who care about others and want to be certain that those who are less fortunate are taken care of. In addition, teachers and other government workers have legitimate concerns (in my opinion) about whether we will have a decent retirement. Historically, teachers have not received high pay (although it isn't as terrible as some make it out to be...but it isn't high either). but we have received good benefits and a good retirement. But our benefits, at least in my district, are not that great anymore. Insurance is ridiculously expensive...I don't take district insurance...it is more than double what we pay to get insurance through Alfredo's company and it covers about the same as his. And there have been many threats to our retirement programs. Personally, I was blessed to have parents and some other adults that taught me to plan for my own retirement. So I have been saving money in my own account for 12 years now (I began 3 years after I started teaching), separate from the 401K that the district contributes to. So I am going to be okay even if they mess around with my retirement. But 20-30 years ago, when many of my fellow teachers began teaching, the expectation was that if you taught for 30 years, you would have a good retirement. Few of them began saving until recently. And if you are just a few years from retirement, after giving 20 or more years to teaching, then it is unfair and scary that you could lose that retirement. On the other hand, our country is in a deficit that is becoming increasingly frightening and I do believe changes need to be made. And some of them may hurt. These issues and so many others are difficult. There isn't an easy answer. There is truth on both sides of the issue, and as I said, I think that we'd be more successful as a nation if we could listen respectfully to people with different opinions and learn from them and try to understand their point of view. But so often, our gut reaction as human beings is to blame, insult and ignore those who believe differently than us.

This election hurt me especially because it hurt Michelle. Her class held a mock election a few days before the election. It was supposed to be done in private, but someone saw that she voted for Romney. They told her she was a terrible person for voting for Romney. They said that Romney planned to ship all Mexicans back to Mexico and that if she voted for Romney, then she hated Mexicans. (Which, of course, is not true. But is a terrible accusation when you are in a dual immersion class and at least 50-70% of the students in your class are Mexican.) Michelle told the teacher, and the teacher talked to the student. But on the day of the election, at recess, a whole group of kids surrounded her and began telling her that she was evil and a terrible person for voting for Romney. Michelle found her teacher and told her teacher what had happened. Her teacher handled it beautifully. When they came in from recess, she grabbed the flag and talked about what the flag means/represents. She talked about the freedoms we enjoy and how this country is a land where we can have different opinions and we can vote for who we choose and that no one should ever be made fun of or insulted for expressing their opinion. She cried a bit. Then she had the class do a writing assignment. Michelle wrote about how she would forgive others even when they hurt her. (If I can find her writing assignment, I'll post her exact words). And her teacher wrote a nice response back. And things got better quickly. It's been over a month now, and Michelle occasionally mentions this event, but not often, and she is surrounded by friends now.

Here is what I also wrote on that day on Facebook:
"Right now, I'm so, so sick of this election and all of its arguing. And so sick about how my sweet Michelle has been treated. Today was a really, really bad day for her. Her teacher handled it beautifully, but she feels very isolated and picked on right now because she had the courage to vote for who she thought was best. It was a really, really bad day for her. And to tell a 9 year old that they are evil because of who they voted for just makes me sick on so many levels. Her teacher had a wonderful discussion with the class about the blessing of being able to vote, to enjoy the freedoms we have, and how important it is to be respectful of others views. I could not have handled it better ...and in fact had a similar discussion with my class yesterday and today. And the children are just repeating what they have heard adults say. There has been a lot of fear and hatred spread this election which makes me sad for us as individuals and as a nation."

I must say that despite the anger and so on that the election caused, so many people commented on my post to agree with me and to show love. And within a week or so of the election, most of the anger, fear and so on were gone. Life is back to normal. Michelle's hurt is healed, and so I can let this go. I did feel like it was an important event to share though.

Bethanie's Farewell

Last Sunday, one of the young women I served while in the Young Women's Presidency (4 years ago) gave her missionary farewell. She will be serving in the Peru Cuzco mission. She spoke so beautifully and she has such a strong testimony. I feel so blessed to know her and to see her faith. She has a light within her that shines for all to see and she is not afraid to share her light, her faith or her testimony with others.

She spoke about light. She talked about going to a cave and wandering around with her uncle and cousins. Then they turned off their flashlights and it was completely dark. Her uncle gave a little devotional about the light of Christ. Christ is the Son and provides light for all of us. She also talked about our eyes and how without light we would not be able to see... the light goes into our eyes and sends a message to our brain and then we are able to recognize what we are seeing, but without light our eyes would not work.

She also shared about some challenges she had experienced when a friend committed suicide and she felt guilty that she hadn't helped the friend. She then shared how the Atonement allowed her to forgive herself and helped her find peace and dispersed the darkness she was feeling.

It is Christ that provides our light and helps us know where to go and what to do. She shared this amazing quote by Marianne Williamson (that Nelson Mandela quoted in his inaugural address). I love this quote and always feel the spirit when I hear it:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson, Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

Thank you, Bethanie, for letting your light shine and for sharing your testimony so eloquently. You have taught me on more than one occasion and I will sincerely miss you. But I am so grateful that so many lives will be able to be changed through your service.