Written Words of Cheer - AKA the Christmas Letter

I've sent out my Christmas cards, stamped, sealed and hopefully delivered, and I realized that I may have neglected the readers of this here blog.  And that is just plain RUDE...I mean, really!

So here here is my Christmas card to you in word form:

Salutations and Christmas Cheer!

We are writing to you a brief synopsis of our year…

In January to Vegas, Kevin did go

To visit his brothers and his dad, you know.

February brought Japan business a whole month Long

We sure did miss Kevin while he was gone.

In April Michael got married to Natalie,

Inside the beautiful LDS Temple here in Boise.

After 12 wonderful years we sold our home,

Moving is ‘Heck’ we sure did groan.

My brother and his family moved away

We were all sad and cried on that day.

Then Lisa’s parents moved to Oregon

We are beginning to think it is something we’ve done.

Tyler moved back in at twenty-three

But, he eats all our food because it is free.

He’s going to Rexburg in April, we hope,

With him gone, too…How will we cope?

Nicole is a senior and so smart

She’ll graduate High School with a college head start.

She’s been accepted to BYU – Idaho

Where she will be a Freshman-Sophomore, you know…

We are full of life changes this year and next

Why not write us, call us or text?

And with these words to you, I wish you a Merry Christmas!  Thank you for being a devoted reader.  I appreciate every one of you.  I know you come, I see my stats, but I'd love to hear from you, too, from time to time.  

Lisa Out

Dimming Light and Feeling Loved

 

I am sitting here in the dimming light on a Friday night alone in our house.  It is quiet all except the ticking of the big clock upstairs.  My house is noticeably empty, the boys have moved out and KT is in Japan and sweet Ladybug is at her first High school dance and my house is empty and I am so very, very lonely.  It wasn't so long ago that my house burst at the seams with energy and people and vitality and there were moments where I longed for silence.  And now I have it,  yet I find myself longing for those other moments.  The peace and solitude is not all I'd thought it would be...

But after I have written this and curled up with a blanket and Hallmark movies, there is a knock at the door.  TJ has stopped by to check on me...thought I might be lonely.  Isn't it interesting how Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need when we need it.  At this moment, I felt so very, very loved. 

 

When have you felt loved this week?

 

Broncos Love Fiestas

I saw that on a shirt, Broncos Love Fiestas, while sitting on my couch watching the Fiesta Bowl on TV whilst being in possession of 3 tickets to the Bowl Game in Arizona.  It's really a sad thing when weather interferes with your plans. I mean it's January, come on already.  Snow?  Seriously?

But just because we ate the cost of the tickets didn't mean we didn't have a dang fun tailgating party and tailgating parties are always the best when the team you love wins.  So, I sit on my couch wrapped in a furry blanket that makes me feel like a cat, feeling grateful, and all purry for my family and the safety they were afforded in staying home.

Go Orange

Go Big Blue

Fight, Fight BSU

See you Later 2014!  Happy New Year!

 

She said, "Yes!"

This picture doesn't require too much commentary.  In the time I have been absent from the blogging world, Miguel came home from Mission, Miguel met girl, Miguel fell in love with girl, and SHE SAID YES!  Meet my soon-to-be second daughter...and Ladybug is getting a sister!  She is over the top excited about it.


 

Living My Book

I used to want to be someone. I wanted to be a writer.  I even considered myself a writer for a while.  I wanted to leave my mark and be remembered in this life as somebody.  Isn't that at the crux of human existence?  In the end we want to be remembered?  Do something noteworthy?  Something of significance?

The past few months have been full.  I've experienced the highs and lows of life.  In a recap, in May Air Force man separated from the military and moved back home to continue schooling full time, we put our sweet dog to sleep after twelve years and only six days before Miguel came home from his mission.  In June, Miguel returned from his mission in Georgia and still wishes he could return.  In July we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with all our kids at the "Happiest Place on Earth".  Then two weeks later I was a camp counselor at a girls camp.  I returned home to a job that went from part time to full time.  Life is full, life is busy.

I've come to realize that my mark isn't set by the words I write, the creative ideas I come up with, the link ups I participate in or the guest posts...no my mark is made by the time I spend with my family.  The living I do within the walls of my home and outside of it.  I will write the words of my book in my actions.  Not everyone can be a Jane Austen or Emily Bronte.  But, I can be me.  I can live my book as Lisa.  And you know what?  I can't put it down.

Source

My joy is full (Miguel's Missionary Moment}

Two years ago 2014 sounded so far away.  

Sometimes I would struggle daily with the missing.  

Yesterday in the midst of that great hug,

 two years disappeared.  

My heart is complete and my joy is full.

Family History - What's the big deal?

One of the things I have immersed myself in this spring in some good old fashioned genealogy.  When I was a little girl, I was fascinated by the stories and pictures my grandma would tell about her childhood and my ancestors.  She would break out pictures and point out who they were and my relation to them.  As she got older, she began to repeat herself, which is okay I didn't mind hearing the stories again.  I only wish I had had the foresight to write down what she was saying.

I have been using a website called Family Search.  So far I haven't encountered any expenses.  You can input your known relatives and begin searching for more.  I find it addictive.  It's like I crave a connection to the past, that these people are crying out from the dust and want to be remembered.  I want to be remembered and matter, and that is why I think it is a big deal...Because, I bet these relatives wanted to be remembered and matter to someone, too.

A few years ago I was involved in the Nations largest service project...the indexing of the 1940's census.  Indexing is transcribing old documents and digitizing them.  Documents like birth and death certificates, marriage certificates and enlistment forms are made available right at the tips of your fingers.  It's pretty cool, really.  Yesterday I indexed a bunch of birth certificates from 1923 in Chicago, Illinois.  My husband is from Chicago, and I thought it would be cool if I saw one of his family's birth certificate...but I didn't.  My daughter is interested in this family history work, and has listened to me and dabbled in it herself.   She even put in ten hours of indexing for a service project.

There are many different forms that family history takes:  

blogging, scrapbooking, journaling, genealogy, indexing.  

What do you do to connect to your past?

Things on my mind

Source

1.  Spring Break
2.  Fitness/wellness - exercise, healthy eating, sugar detox, gave up soda, weight loss.
3.  Trying to figure out what to do with everything in my craft room...we are getting a permanent house guest
4.  Air Force man is coming home in 23 days!
5.  Time with my four year old niece.
6.  Birthdays, late cards letters and gifts...I just can't get it together.
7.  Birthday, mine, today!  I'm getting SO old.
8.  Family history - tracing family lines...How fascinating!
9.  General Conference weekend - So uplifting!
10.  I've thought about you, truly I have...I've just been so busy in body, mind and spirit.

The things that matter most...

My parents who are blessed to live by all their children and grandchildren have decided to move twelve hours away to live near friends.  They have many other reasons for the move, but that's the only one I can hear.  It is like a spear to my heart...I'm not fun enough, I don't make them happy, I'm not good enough.  I was not enough to keep my parents in the same town as their children and grandchildren.  It's selfish of me, I know, but I'm angry, upset, confused...I long for the days of being emotionally constipated.




They don't understand why I'm upset.  They want to sit and talk about it....It's done and said, there is nothing they can say that will ever make me understand their why's.

My word of the year is Brave, how was I to know that I would need to be Brave so soon.  So soon after being selected as a leader of the youth, too.  There are blessings in these words of the year.  The inner, mental and emotional focus on being brave will help me get through these challenges...I'm grateful to Heavenly Father who impressed upon me the need to focus on being Brave.

Have you had to be Brave lately?  

A Christmas Kick Off

Right after Thanksgiving, we piled in the car, the three of us, and headed down to Salt Lake City.  We had a free hotel stay that would be expiring and the thought of a little get a way was just too enticing. You know how I mentioned "Make Christmas an Experience"?

I thought this was the perfect time to do something we had never done before.  We decided to go see all the beautiful Christmas lights at Temple Square.  Temple Square is sort of a tourist stop for people curious about the LDS church as well as a wonderful place for it's members to visit.  There were many, MANY people who had the same idea.  I joked that it was more crowded than Disneyland, and I suspect that it was...That's a good thing, don't you think?  People crowding in for the Savior instead of the Mouse?

What a fantastic way to kick off the Christmas season than with Lights, carols and nativities from around the world.  I was filled with the spirit of love for my family and the spirit of Christmas.  It was enough...

What have you done to jumpstart the Christmas Season?

Faith, Food and Shopping

With the afternoon sun overhead, we piled in the Honda, four of us on a journey of faith, food and shopping.  Faith, food and shopping.  A dichotomy, yes?  Yet, in the same weekend all were fulfilled.  We were fed both spiritually and temporally.  You see we were going to Salt Lake City, a Mecca of sorts for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Twice a year, leaders from our faith speak of Christ, his life and how we can embrace Him more fully in what is called General Conference.  We were lucky enough to be in possession of four tickets, otherwise, we would just sit at home and watch it on BYU-TV, which is totally okay with me, too.

Our first stop in reaching the outskirts of Salt Lake was

Because you just can't get them in Idaho.

The next day found us shopping and visiting a different kind of Mecca

Yeah, it was my birthday weekend.  Let me just say that I have never been to IKEA.  I was overwhelmed and in awe as I wandered around that maze of a store.  I could have gone through a second time once I took it all in, but I had two males in tow, and a good woman should know their limits.  

Sunday found us here

and here

How overwhelming it was to be amongst so many fellow Latter Day Saints all filled with the excitement and anticipation to hear the good words about Jesus Christ from these amazing and inspirational men.

Yes, our hearts were full, our belly's were sated 

and my checkbook a little bit lighter.  

24 Days of Christmas and a Gift for You

Since it is December 1st, it is time to start our Christmas countdown.  Everyone has a different way of counting down or advent prior to Christmas.  I shared with you yesterday my goal to read one chapter from St. Luke per day up until Christmas Eve.

Another tradition my family has had over the years, is our 24 Days of Christmas book.  This is a collection of Scripture, song and story to be read each day prior to Christmas.  This is something my kids looked forward to when they were younger.  We would gather around in the evenings and take turns reading from the book.

Recently, I retyped all the stories and songs and made a book for family to enjoy as a Christmas gift.  I got it laminated and bound.  I think it turned out quite nicely.  I have two versions of this book that I compiled.  I have the LDS version, which features some of the primary songs from our children's group and some scriptures from the Bible and Book of Mormon, and I have the non LDS version which features traditional Christmas songs and scriptures strictly from the Bible, since many of my family are not LDS.

I would like to offer as a gift to you, the PDF of my compilation so you can put together your own 24 Days of Christmas.  This is not something I can sell because I am not the author of the stories or songs.  (Well, I am the author of one of the Christmas stories).  If you are interested in a copy of the 24 Days of Christmas book, you can download them from the links to google drive.  

LDS Version,
Non LDS Version or both.

Let me know what you think of them here in the comments.

Happy December 1st!