As we begin Christmas week, I am taking a few minutes to reflect on the past few days and some of the things I am most grateful for...
Last week was cloudy and cool. I love this picture of a big gray cloud with the sun peeking out, which I took Friday afternoon. It reminds me of the way life is....even when we have bad things happen, there is a light that can come through to lighten our way, if we just let it.
I enjoyed taking some time to read one evening last week. I sat down in a comfy chair, put my feet up, covered my self with my granny square afghan to take the chill off, and finished this book.
I love this beautiful Sunday morning sunrise.
I love Christmas decorations and packages under the tree - the excitement of Christmas. I got out a few more decorations this week because my youngest daughter and her husband and four of our grandchildren are coming for Christmas!
I especially love our Savior Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate this season. I sometimes feel so flawed and imperfect. I make so many mistakes - even when I mean well. Life does not always go as planned - in fact it rarely goes as planned, but my faith in Jesus Christ gives me hope and healing from life's hurts and pain.
Other favorites from this week (that I don't have pictures for)....
A nice, long, detailed positive letter from my son Josh. I understand that all the missionaries in his mission are having a big Christmas party tomorrow (Monday) and I know that he will love that. I found out that his Christmas box arrived in Mexico safely (at the mission home) and he will be getting it tomorrow at the party. We will be receiving an email from him on Tuesday, and then, if all goes as planned, we will be able to have a nice long SKYPE session with him on Christmas Day. I am sure looking forward to that!
Christmas cards - especially those that came from my blogging friends. Thanks Rita, Karen and Billie Jo!
The opportunity to spread some Christmas joy to others. My favorite thing about Christmas is giving to others - even in little ways and I am always happy when I get the opportunity to do that.
The opportunity to work with and hopefully help teenagers every single day. Despite the frustrations, I do love my job. I love it when I get to truly make a difference in a young person's life. This past week, I found out about a very real danger that one of my students was facing and I took action and was hopefully able to help her to avoid a potentially tragic and heartbreaking situation. Another student has a really tough situation at home and I was able to come up with a "work-around" to help him be successful in my class and stay on track for high school graduation. I am thankful for these times and just hope that I can always recognize and take the opportunity to make a positive difference.
Finals are finished and grades in! Charly and I are now on Christmas break from school for two weeks.
Lunch with two good friends on Friday. I have known the ladies I got together with for years and they are the best. Though we don't do it often, we always enjoy getting for lunch and a good chat three or four times a year. This week was an early birthday lunch for one of my friends and as well as a much belated birthday lunch for me. It was great to spend an hour relaxing and chatting with these lovely ladies who are almost like sisters to me.
Finally, there is this Christmas thought that really sums it all up and is my Christmas wish for each of you.
I did not get around to doing a blog post this weekend, but I want to start the week out right by catching up a bit on last week and weekend.
It was a gray, cloudy overcast weekend. Our temperatures only climbed into the 60s, which for us desert dwellers feels like freezing!
We had rain on Friday night and Saturday morning. Look at those big ominous clouds in the sky Saturday. (This is a great picture, but I did not take it).
This weekend I spent some time finishing up the last bit of shopping. I was so glad to find my favorite Christmas candy back for the holidays and this time, I found Cherry Sticks, as well as Orange Sticks. Last year, I found my favorite Orange Sticks at Walmart, but this year they are not at Walmart. I found these at Ross and bought several boxes. As I explained in one of my posts last Christmas, my mother used to work at the candy company that makes these delicious little Christmas treats, Sweets Candy in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sweets Candy has been around for a long time because my mom worked there just before World War II broke out. Even after my mom didn't work there, she still bought the Orange Sticks as a special treat every Christmas and they are a very pleasant memory from my childhood. I was excited to find them at Walmart last year and bring back sweet memories of my mom and Christmases past.
I was able to finish the shopping wrapping and mailing for the grand children and family who will not be with us at Christmas. We are excited that our daughter Tiffany, her husband and their four children will be with us this Christmas, so their gifts are all wrapped and under the tree. You can see that we have also received some packages in the mail from family far away that we are waiting until Christmas morning to open.
I also made some "care packages" for some young missionaries who have no or little family support and will not be receiving anything packages from home at Christmas. With my own son serving as a missionary far away, and feeling more than a little homesick right now, I really care about these young people giving two years of their lives in service to others. I cannot imagine being far from home and never getting a package or even a letter from home. If I can do just a little to bring happiness to a young missionary at Christmas, I'm going to do just that. Charly and I have made that the main part of our "Christmas service" this year.
Christmas cards are starting to come and that is something I always enjoy about Christmas. We always put them on the back of the front door and enjoy seeing pictures and cards from friends and family throughout the season. My parents always sent and received lots of Christmas cards and that is a tradition that I also love.
Tonight I have been getting these fun little Christmas gifts ready to give to some of the other teachers I work with. I have been feeling a little under the weather so decided to forgo a lot of baking just now, although I hope to make Christmas cookies with the grand kids when they come to visit.
The reason I have been feeling under the weather is that I have a slight concussion. A few days ago, I hit my head on a shelf in our garage. I didn't think much of it at the time, except, "Ouch, that really hurt." A few days later, I started experiencing symptoms of a slight concussion, headaches, dizziness, extreme tiredness and even some nausea. Of course, concussions do heal and since I'm not a professional football player, I'm not too worried, but I have been trying to follow the medical advice to rest and take it a bit more easy than usual. I was actually feeling much better today, but I did take a nap when I got home and will go to bed early tonight because rest is one of the prescribed treatments for concussions.
Hope you all have a great week. Here is a little Christmas thought to begin this week with...
I haven't been completely offline and out of blogland this past week, but most of my online time has been spent creating and updating a blog I am doing for my son Josh and his mission in Mexico. Since he has been gone almost two months now, and I am trying to do a post telling about each week, I have had a bit of catching up to do, but I am slowing getting there. At the end of his mission in October 2016, I plan to make his blog into a book (as I have my own blog) so he can have a nice book with all of his mission emails and pictures. (I have made his blog private - by invitation only, -but if you would like to follow it, just send me an email with your google account email address and I will add you as an invited reader). As I have been spending time working on his blog, I have neglected my own this past week, so I will take a bit of time this Sunday morning to catch up and remember some the good things that took place.
This is my seven (almost eight-year-old) grand daughter, Emily, She was the 2014 Youth Honoree for the Washington D. C. area Jingle Bell Run benefiting Arthritis research. Emily was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis when she was just five years old and has had a lot of health challenges due to this life long autoimmune condition. She is in the second grade now and doing much better. Part of being the Youth Honoree meant that Emily had to give a speech to everyone in attendance at this big fund raising event. She did a great job. We were not there to hear her in person, but her mom uploaded the speech to Facebook, so we did get to hear it. She certainly made her grandma proud!
The above pictures came from Josh in Mexico this week. The top picture is the inside of the house he and his missionary companion are living in. The bottom picture is the outside of the house.
We always look forward to hearing from Josh (Elder Jones) every week. Here is are excerpts from his last emails:
Hey Mom,
I´m in Mexico now its very different than the United States and I am very homesick. Its a big culture shock. The members of the ward I´m serving in seem pretty nice even though I can hardly understand them. People here talk really fast its difficult to understand and can be frustrating. Always remember me in your prayers. And never forget how much I love you.
Love, Josh
Hola Everybody,
It´s my first week in Mexico everything is going alright so far. My companions name is Elder Groll from Randolph, Utah. he´s been out 21 months so I think after training me he goes home. Its been an adjustment for me these past couple days. Mexico is very different than the United States I´ve seen some things that I´ve never really seen before so its a bit of a culture shock. The members of the San Rafael ward seem pretty nice even though I can hardly understand them. Yesterday all the missionaries in our ward had to give a talk on missionary work. There´s four in our ward that cover a different area: Elder Fullmer from Sandy, Utah and Elder Lugo from Mexico. I think I did pretty good because after wards everyone complimented me and everything and then an older woman came to me with tears in her eyes and told me that my talk was an answer to her prayers. She had to give a devotional that night and I inspired her and taught her how to be strong... Its still difficult to understand the people because of how fast they talk. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving because they don´t celebrate it in Mexico however they do at President Bird's house. I don´t have any pictures because I forgot to bring my camera but it was a nice time. He live in a nice house on the nicer part of town. What he...invited invited who have or have had leadership positions in the past and since Elder Groll was an assistant to the president (AP) we got to go. Remember that I love and am grateful for each and everyone of you and remembering you in my prayers. I hope all is well with everyone and that everythings okay at home. Anyone who wants to write or email me is very welcome to do so.
Love, Elder Jones
At our house, we truly love these sweet emails from Josh. The best part is to see how he is growing and maturing through his missionary service experiences.
The Christmas cards and family Christmas letter are finished and mailed. Christmas cards are part of our family Christmas tradition. We have sent them out every year of our marriage to keep in touch with family and friends far away. We used to send out over 100 cards each year. Over the years, the list has gotten a bit smaller, but we still send over 70 cards a year, and get many in return. I love displaying all of our cards on the the back of our front door. Hearing from friends and family is one of the things I love about this time of year.
Christmas gifts are coming along. I made this fun pillow cases for the grand kids this year.
I spent a lot of time working on them during the long Thanksgiving weekend. I am NOT a seamstress, but I can make these fun pillow cases. I made some for my own children years back and one daughter liked hers so much that she asked me to make some for her children, and I enjoyed doing it.
It has been a cool and cloudy week, which is a lovely change here in Arizona. We also got some rain - always much appreciated in the desert. You can see the gray skies in this picture of the Gilbert Temple that I took when I went there Saturday morning.
I also love this nativity at the Gilbert Temple. Some Mormon temples- like the Salt Lake and Mesa temples have beautiful Christmas light displays, but the Gilbert Temple has only this simple, but beautiful nativity.
I love the way the Holy Family is portrayed here with Joseph lovingly protecting Mary and baby Jesus.
At home, the Christmas decorations are up as well. This is the little tree and nativity on the table in our living room. We used to have a huge tree, but decided to downsize several years ago to smaller and more simple decorations. I am glad we did.
Here are the three small trees which are right in our entry way. We actually have four Christmas trees in our living room, but they are all small ones.
Another view of our main tree on the table at one end of our living room. It is a bit hard to see, but I have also put lights on the bookcases behind the tree. It looks very homey and festive at night in the dark when everything is lit up.
With all the busyness of the Christmas season, I keep reminding myself that the Savior Jesus Christ is the reason for this celebration. In our society today, most people do their best to keep Him out of Christmas and make this time of year more about shopping and spending than the first gift of Christmas. I love the above 3 minutes video that really puts things in perspective. He is the reason that we celebrate Christmas, but if our celebration removes Him from the center, the celebration becomes hallow and devoid of any real meaning, like so many things in our world today. Please take time every day this Christmas to remember Him, to love Him and to honor Him, because he is the first and eternal Gift of Christmas Day and every day.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."
--John 3:16
Joining (a couple of days late) with Susanne of Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five.
It will be a "Just the Two of Us" Thanksgiving for Charly and I this year. Our children and other family are all far away, so we are having a relaxing and "kick-back and enjoy the day" kind of Thanksgiving this year.
We slept in much later than what is normal for us, then I fixed cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
We decided not to cook a turkey this year, but we are having a favorite turkey casserole which Charly makes using a recipe his mother passed a long to him. It is really good "comfort food" and we will enjoy it a little later today.
Charly also made his delicious pumpkins pies which our family has been enjoying for years and which he and I will have all to ourselves this afternoon, after our turkey casserole.
I have a whole stack of fun movies set aside to watch today. I am sure that I won't get to most of them, but even watching one or two will be a real treat since I seldom have or take the time to sit down and watch a movie. Today, however, I plan to do some things that I enjoy but don't usually do.
Later this evening, we will get together for desert and a good visit with long time friends, so that will be the perfect end to our laid-back low key holiday. Tomorrow, we will do just a bit of shopping - but we are not planning to get up early and fight crowds for marginal bargains. Charly likes to go later in the day to get movies and books that are on "Black Friday" special.
Josh is now in Mexico. Last Monday, he left the Missionary Training Center where he had been learning Spanish. Here are some pictures of Josh and his group taken just before they left for Mexico.
They look like a fun group of guys who grew pretty close during their time of living and studying Spanish together. Lots for this group to be thankful for - an opportunity for growth and service like no other. We as the parents of a missionary are so grateful for the great decisions he has made that has brought him to this point in his life.
I am thankful for other things as well:
my faith - it sustains me through life's ups and downs
my family - even when they are far away
my husband - he has made all the difference in how my life has turned out and is my greatest blessing.
my friends - they have made a difference in my life and mean the world to me
my job - it sustains our family financially and give me a daily sense of purpose
my health - even with the aches and pains of aging - I am doing well
my home - which gives me a sense of place and security
my community - a safe decent town with many good neighbors
my upbringing - the parents who raised me have long since passed, but more and more I appreciate the things they did for me and the way I was raised. I am sure I did not express appreciation to them nearly enough when they were alive.
I have not found all the extra time to write blog posts that I thought I would have once Joshua had left for his mission. It seems that in the past six weeks, since he has been gone, I have spent most of my time online writing and emailing him. Then, there was also the family Christmas card and the family Christmas calendar to get done - both of which ended up being more time consuming than I expected. Both are finished now, with only the family Christmas letter left to write. I decided however, that a blog post was way over due, especially when I feel so over whelmed with blessings that I want to express gratitude for.
Josh (the one of the right - shown here with his buddy Elder Johnson) is doing well, and will be on his way to Mexico early tomorrow morning! He has been at the Missionary Training Center on the BYU campus learning Spanish for the last six weeks, and now the time has come for him to use what he has learned. Here is just a bit from his last email which we got on Thursday...
Hello Everybody,
This week has certainly been alot better. It's my last week here I have my flight plans and everything so the next email from me will be from Mexico. It turns out they're putting us all the way through Atlanta, GA so we have like a 5-6 hour flight there and then probably like a 4 hour flight to Monterrey. I'm going to start packing today. I've been here for like 6 weeks and I still don't know very much Spanish. I hope that when I get there and go to a baptismal service I don't accidentally say Donde es bautizado servisio? Cause then I'd be asking where the baptismal toilet is...Not much interesting happened this week just another week at the MTC. I think I'd just like to apologize my last email went a little over the edge. It just gets so stressful at the MTC. Once again I love all of you and will remember you in my prayers.
Love, Elder Jones
I am very thankful that I have an 18-year-old son who is making good choices in his life and is taking two years out of his life to serve the people in Mexico. This young man is certainly a blessing to his family, and, as our bishop told us last week, he is a blessing to our entire ward (church congregation) family.
I am also very thank for my son-in-law, Joseph, shown here with my grandson Miles (the picture was taken right before Joseph baptized Miles last summer). When Joshua had a challenging and discouraging week trying to learn Spanish at the MTC, Joseph stayed up late writing a heart felt letter of encouragement to Josh. This isn't the first time he has written to Josh, encouraging him in the right direction. His letters carry a lot of weight since he also served a mission and had to learn a foreign language (Joseph served in Brazil) so he really knows what Josh is going through. I know that his words of positive encouragement make a difference to Josh. Joey is a great husband and father too and we are truly blessed to have him as part of our family.
Speaking of missionaries, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to make a small difference for one young Sister Missionary (the one on the right in the striped sweater). Last Sunday was her birthday. Her mom (a total stranger to me, who lives in Maryland) put out a request, through a missionary moms Face Book group I belong to, for someone in Arizona to personally deliver birthday greetings and love to her daughter. Turns out her daughter's current address wasn't far from me, so I put together a small gift and set out to find Sister Bryant, and give him a vicarious birthday hug from her mom. It was such a small thing - it only took about an hour of my time, but it helped make a young missionary's birthday happy. Doing this very small act of kindness for a total stranger made me feel happy for the rest of the day. It also made me wonder why I don't take such opportunities to serve more often - something that I need to work on!
I am so grateful that I can read and that I enjoy reading. This is what I have been reading this past week. I finished Outliers and Three Steps to Success in parenting and In Life and just stared The James Miracle. I am also grateful that, as an English teacher, I am blessed with the opportunity to help others love reading and learning. This past week, I was heartened when a the students in two of my classes expressed to me that they are enjoying the books they are currently assigned to read. I will consider myself a successful teacher, at the end of my career, if there are a few more readers in the world who learned to love the printed word in my class.
I am thankful for my mother-in-law, Lois Perschon Jones. She is back in the hospital with late stage Parkinson's Disease and is not doing very well. This is a picture of my mother-in-law and my daughter, Tiffany taken last year after Tiffany finished Volume Two of her grandmother's memoir. Lois has always been kind and loving to me, and has treated me as if I was her own daughter. There have been many years in my life when I felt closer to her than I did to my own mother. I know that at 85 she has had a good long life, but she is my prayers as she enters, what could well be, the last stretch of her journey here on earth. I know that God will take good care of her on the other side and that she will one day soon have a joyous reunion with her husband and parents who have gone on before - truly something to be grateful for.
Finally, today, I am thankful for the kind and wonderful people I have met through blogging. Your blogs are creative, interesting, upbeat and positive. You have great stories and amazing ideas. Many of you have been wonderful role models and have helped me change my life for the better. Thank you all! Blogging is truly a blessing!
Have an awesome Thanksgiving Week!
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father..."
It seems like forever since I last participated in with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday, but I am glad to have a few minutes this evening to join in.
The weather outside is:
warm and lovely! Our high here in the Phoenix area was 82 today. This week's forecast is for temps in the 80s all week with lows at night in the high 50s. This is the time of year that I most love living in Arizona.
On our dinner table this evening:
leftovers! Josh was not a big fan of leftovers, but since he has been gone, Charly and I are perfectly content with the occasional mix and match dinner that uses up whatever is left in the refrigerator.
As I look outside my window:
I see a blue sky with some high thin white clouds and lots of sunshine. The lemon tree in the back yard is filled with fruit just starting to turn yellow. We'll have fresh lemonade for Christmast!
Right now I am:
writing this post, waiting for the washing machine to finish the laundry so I can hang up the clothes to dry.
As I look around the house:
several unfinished projects including a large basket of dry laundry that needs to be put away, our family Christmas cards that were ordered from Costco last week, but won't be addressed and mailed out until after Thanksgiving, and Josh's Christmas box wrapped addressed and waiting to go in the mail to Mexico.
Tonight's to-do list:
includes folding laundry, doing some laundry, continuing going through and organizing Josh's closet preparing for Christmas visitors that will be using his room. I also want to relax and do some reading.
Currently reading:
this social science non-fiction book recommended by my youngest daughter a couple of years ago. It is an interesting read.
On the TV:
Whatever I watch while doing some ironing tonight. I will probably try to watch American Ride - an interesting history show I have been trying to catch on Monday evenings.
What I recently created:
This cute "copy-cat" Missionary Christmas stocking to send to my son Josh in his Christmas box.
Favorites from the camera:
The contents of Josh's Christmas box. It has been a challenge to find fun, practical Christmas gifts that can all be packed into a small box weighing less than four pounds. This much stuff will cost about $50 to mail to Mexico. The cards are Christmas greetings from members of our church congregation. I know Josh will enjoy hearing from everyone.
The teenage girls at church made this poster for Josh. He will love this!
Josh's Christmas box wrapped and ready to go to Mexico. We were told (by a clerk at the post office as well as other "Mexico Missionary Moms") that putting Christian/Catholic stickers on the box might help insure that it would actually get to its destination, so we thought we'd give it a try. I am told that mail to Mexico is very "iffy" and that customs agents can open and "appropriate' items for their own use. We are praying that the box arrives safely to give our son a bit of home for Christmas.
This is my favorite place to be first thing every Saturday morning. I love the temple and that wonderful, blue cloudless sky.
This is a picture Josh emailed home last week. It is the missionary badge he wears every day now that he is a missionary. Since he will be serving in Mexico, the name of the church is in Spanish.
Another picture Josh emailed home last week. This is Josh with another missionary who he said was a great help and encouragement to him. This missionary was flying out to Mexico City today, so I am glad Josh at least has this rather blurry picture to remember him by.
Speaking of Josh, I will end this post with a quick excerpt from the last email we received from Josh. I must admit that it brought happy tears to my eyes...
"Everything is going alright. Today I got to go to the temple - every p-day, so it's a good opportunity for me. I know that Spanish will eventually come...it feels good to know that I'm almost there - only two more weeks left and I'm sure it'll go by fast cause it already has. I'll be in Mexico before I know it. The other day I had an interesting experience with my MTC [Missionary Training Center] Branch President [Pastor]. He told me that he's seen a change in me these past few weeks...he's a good inspired man. I can't say that the MTC is just a blast or that it's easy, but it requires putting your faith in Heavenly Father and relying on Him like never before...one of the other missionaries in my zone told me the Lord will stretch you but He won't let you fail...I love all of you and pray that God will watch over you."
Enjoy this week everyone. We all have so much to be grateful for!
