2020 Vision

There is an old adage that hindsight is 2020. As I reflect on this past year, that seems particularly true. When things shut down in March, we all thought it would be a few weeks, a month at most, until things got back to normal. Now we are creeping up on a year and things have not gone back to normal. And I don’t think they will ever completely return to what was normal a year ago. While things will move towards a greater sense of normalcy, I think the world will be indelibly changed in small and subtle ways.

And what about us? We have all been changed as well. As our lives return to what we hope is a greater degree of normalcy, will the small and subtle ways we’ve been changed become indelible or will we set them aside? The challenges we have faced this year have resulted in a variety of blessings for my family. We are closer to each other. Our relationships have been strengthened. We talk about the gospel more frequently. Our faith has been increased. We have a greater appreciation for what a blessing it is to have many temples so close to us. We have become a bit more resilient. We have a greater assurance that the Lord speaks to each and every one of us. We know that he has a plan for us and while we don’t know exactly what he has in store for us, we know he is preparing us “line upon line.”

In my mind, 2020 has been a turning point for my family in many ways. I don’t feel like we were fence sitters in terms of the gospel before, but I do think we have planted our feet more firmly on gospel soil. I think we are more determined to be numbered among the faithful. I think our perspective has been laser focused on the Savior and we see everything the world throws at us as a sign that his second coming is drawing ever nearer. I think we are better at listening to the Spirit and receiving the revelation that comes to each of us. I think we are all learning to “hear him” a little more clearly. I think we are more diligent in our scripture study and as a result, we are learning more than ever. I think our prayers are more sincere and heartfelt. I think we are more likely to look for and focus on the positive. Yes, there is a lot of bad out there. There are a lot of things that are hard. But there is so much good as well. Pres. Nelson has said we have every reason to be hopeful and I believe him.

I, for one, hope that I will be able to make the ways I’ve been changed indelible. As I reflect on the past year, I want to be able to remember the lessons it has taught me while looking forward to what is to come. I want my eyes to be focused on the future and not riveted on the past. I’ve told my family that this is the enduring well part. Yes, we are waiting for things to normalize and yes, we have regrets and sorrows about all we missed out on this past year, but at the same time, we shouldn’t be spiritually immobile. “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” (2 Nephi 31:20) Because that’s what we have to look forward to. Eternal life. And it will be glorious beyond our every imagining.

Good Hair Day

My mind has been so preoccupied with the pandemic and all the associated stresses and anxieties that it didn’t occur to me that Malia and I haven’t had a trim for nearly a year until I looked in the mirror last week and realized that my hair has gotten really long. Our usual hairstylist has had a rough year. She has had both knees replaced this year, had allergic reactions to several pain medications, and heart surgery. And the first heart surgery didn’t go just as it should have so she had another one this month. As a result, I didn’t feel like I should call her to try to set up an appointment with her right now. So Malia and I headed to a local salon to get our locks tidied up. My hair is totally straight so I honestly have no idea what to do with Malia’s waves, but our hair stylist took a few minutes to educate us a bit on how to deal with curly hair and the results were fantastic. Malia loves it and wants to do it again! I’m going to have to get some hair condiments and teach her how to style it herself when she’s a bit older. Right now she wants fast and easy, which usually means a ponytail, but I have a feeling that as she gets a bit older, she’s going to want to take advantage of her hair’s fabulous natural tendencies.

 

 

A Piano of His Very Own

One of the nice things about the “big boy” Lego sets the boys have grown to prefer is the fact that they have so many pieces that it takes multiple days of building to compete. And that stretches out the fun. It has taken Nathan four days to build his Lego piano. He has had several shifts at work so he hasn’t been building non-stop, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a Lego build last this long. But this particular one is very intricate. The thing is so cool! All the parts work and it has a power block so it plays music and the keys and hammers all move accordingly. Nathan has had a great time building it and is mighty pleased with the finished product. He doesn’t like it as much as he would a Steinway grand, but there is no way Santa can afford to give him one of those. 😉

 

And the Fun Continues

Matthew built his Lego yesterday and today he put together a wooden lock box. There are other builds still underway as well, Nathan’s piano in particular. That one is going to take him a while to complete. Matthew also got his bed made with his new BYU blanket and as you can tell by his pillowcase, he’s happy about it. 😁

 

 

Still, Still, Still

Most of my kids are old enough that they don’t feel a desperate need to get up at the crack of dawn on Christmas day. And while Malia is still young enough to have “visions of sugarplums,” she isn’t exactly a morning person and having a bit of a sleep in is always nice for her. As such, we didn’t get up at 5:00 this morning. Or even six. We rolled out of bed just before 7:00 which fit the excitement needs of the youngest and the sleep needs of the oldest. Then we took our time discovering what Santa had brought while our breakfast cooked.

There was Lego all around, of course, even a set for me. The Christmas Carol themed set was the very first Lego set I’ve had of my very own, which is pretty amazing considering there has not been a Christmas without Lego since Daniel was a tiny baby. Matthew got a cool car. Daniel had Star Wars Lego and Malia’s was Harry Potter. Nathan’s was probably the most amazing set. He got a Lego piano that when assembled, has all the working parts of a real piano. Other presents included some “How to Train Your Dragon” themed things for Malia as well as a copy of Black Beauty (which is currently one of her favorite books), some funny t-shirts for Nathan, waffle socks for Matthew since he is the reason waffles have become a weekly occurrence in our house, a twin-size BYU blanket (Matthew’s of course), and a stack of assemble it yourself kits from Esther as Christmas-Part 2. Matthew gave Daniel some strawberry flavored saxophone reeds, which caused great laughter, and Matthew received a gaming steering wheel that he can use when he plays his favorite driving video games.

My in-laws usually join us for Christmas dinner but with a nod to COVID, we packed theirs up and they took it home to heat and eat. We had a quiet dinner and spent a good amount of time building Lego and playing games. We put together a couple of assorted wooden kits and watched movies. And napped, of course. At least the older portion of us. It was a lovely day.

I always love Christmas, but sometimes the season gets so jam packed with events on our calendar and long to-do lists that the entire month ends up feeling rushed and chaotic. Things have been much calmer this year. There have been fewer events on the calendar and I’ve made a conscious choice to simplify my plans and as a result, I’ve felt more at peace and more joyful this year. I guess that’s another blessing disguised as a pandemic. I do miss the family gatherings and the live music of all the concerts, but I’ve loved having more time to do simple things like play games with my family. As things eventually make their way back to some semblance of normalcy, I’m going to have to work to find the balance in my life that will let me enjoy the activity of the holidays and also be still long enough to feel the joy. I never thought a pandemic would be just what I needed to learn how to find joy, but the Lord works in wonderous and mysterious ways.

 

Quarantine Christmas

As with many things, our Christmas gatherings with extended family looked very different this year. Rather than gather with my family for Christmas Eve dinner and the traditional acting out if the nativity story, we did a masked and socially distanced gathering in my parents’ front yard this afternoon. I haven’t seen my brothers since February and I haven’t seen my sisters since cold weather set in and we couldn’t gather in my parents’ backyard anymore, so it was nice to see at least 40% of their faces and to chat for awhile. We exchanged gifts and while we didn’t read the nativity story right there in the yard, Esther had spearheaded an effort to put together a video that included the reading of the nativity, pictures and videos to accompany the reading, and some musical numbers and gifted it to my parents. One thing I learned just this year is that the tradition of acting out the nativity is one that has been passed down through my mom’s family. When she was small, her extended family (many of whom lived in the same place) gathered together on Christmas Eve and she, her sisters, and her cousins acted out the story. Knowing the history of the tradition helped me understand how important it is to her and the emotional toll paid being required to skip it due to COVID. So kudos to Esther for putting in so much work to make it happen in a non-traditional format.

Our Christmas Eve dinner was a low-key affair with just our little crew and a meal out of the freezer. We have fancy plans for our meals tomorrow, so we decided to do simple this evening. As always, we ended our evening with the religious gifts to our kids. Daniel received a book containing Henry B. Eyring’s published journals, Malia got a card game with words of the prophets, and Nathan and Matthew received their nativity pieces. Nathan actually received his last nativity piece and the Israeli toaster box the set was shipped in. So that’s another shock to my system. In the next year, I’ll have two children who are no longer full-time residents of my house.

Malia was the one who left the milk and cookies for Santa this year. She also left a note for him. I have to admit, I took a peek. In general, I believe in letting my kids have some privacy. I don’t go snooping in their rooms or read things they write unless given permission, but in this case, I couldn’t resist. Don’t judge me. You would have done it too. 😉

 
Even amidst a pandemic, the magic of Christmas is present in our home. Heads filled with excitement and anticipation are leaning towards slumber. Secrets encased in paper and bows wait beneath the tree. Joy has been found in our small gathering. And no matter what is raging in the world outside, the light of the Savior and the joy of celebrating his birth is evident in our lives.

This is Why Our Elf is Better Than Everyone Else’s Elves

   I think he has been greatly influenced by my favorite 13-year-old boy. 😉

Creating a Village Out of a Mountain

Today was gingerbread day and to completely honest, I was ridiculously excited. I think the kids were all excited as well. Even the “big boys” were anxious to get going. One of the things that has prevented me from committing to real gingerbread houses in the past is the fact that royal icing is not Matthew friendly. It’s that whole egg thing. And while buttercream is much tastier, it doesn’t have the holding power of royal icing. But I was determined to at least try to make a stable cookie house, so I searched Pinterest and found several egg-free varieties of royal icing. I selected one and figured if it didn’t work, we could fall back on the less stable buttercream and at least have an entertaining time attempting to make our houses stand. And if they fell down, we could just attribute it to a Christmas earthquake. And no matter what they looked like, they would taste good.

I have a weakness for cute sprinkles and candy eyes because they mesh well with my love of fun food, so we had a bunch of different options to work with. We also purchased several kinds of candy to use as décor and had some buttercream on hand just in case. Once I set the kids loose, the creativity (and the icing) began to flow. And guess what? The egg-less royal icing worked great! It set up hard, but not so hard you would crack a tooth attempting to eat it, which just happens to be one of my pet peeves about normal royal icing. I want my caloric delights to taste as amazing as they look. I mean, isn’t that the point of dessert? To taste good?

We had a wonderful time assembling our creations. And we made a lovely mess. And once we were done, the photoshoot started. During and after the decorating process, I took the requisite blogworthy pictures of each child with their creations, but Daniel went all out while I was cleaning up. We dug out a white sheet for a backdrop, Nathan helped him hold it up, and he went to town. There were pictures of every house from every angle. There were closeups and long shots. There were shots highlighting the wreaths, the Christmas trees, and the candy cane gardens. There were even a few shots of Lego Harry Potter and Lego Cho Chang taking a stroll through the snowy neighborhood. In short, he had a fantastic time making a pictorial record of our day’s work.

I loved today. It was amazingly fun. And being with my most important people in the world made it even better. We’ve all had a rough year but taking time for some whimsy and letting ourselves find joy in the simple things was yet another tender mercy. There is good to be found all around us. And even in an abnormal time, there is normalcy in gingerbread, frosting, and family.