The Joy of Sharing the Holidays with Friends

This week I have taken time off my blog because I have been spending time with Jason, Becca, Jocelyn, and Meili who were visiting from Arizona. It was such a great visit. They got here on Tuesday at 2:00 pm and my house wasn't quite finished with the good cleaning I was trying to give it. It was so nice to have friends who understood and didn't care if I wasn't the perfect house keeper. Becca jumped in and helped me fold laundry so the house could be finished up. That night Kent made delicious Navajo tacos for dinner after Becca and I returned from shopping for Thanksgiving dinner supplies. Becca and Jason were far more generous with helping out with the groceries than I had planned and while I wanted to pay for more myself I was very grateful for their generosity.

Wednesday morning we went to Ikea to eat breakfast and it was fun (and fairly good breakfast at a good price). I hadn't taken the time to go before so Jason and Becca felt I needed to experience Ikea. It was all right. I have to say I am not as in love as Becca is, but they did have some great deals there. After Ikea we all came home and had naps as Becca and I stayed up way too late talking the night before. That evening we went out to dinner at Johnny Carino's. It was good food and our service was really good. I really enjoyed the evening out. After dinner we went and got some movies. At home we got kids to bed as best we could. We tried putting Braxton and Meili in the same room to sleep and Tuesday night Braxton went down first and Meili woke him up when she went down and cried. Wednesday night we thought we had wised up by putting Meili down first but then Braxton went in and turned the lights on and woke her up because apparently he wasn't tired. Anyway the rest of that night was spent with Jason and Kent enjoying the movie, Ocean's Thirteen while Becca and I got things ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Our pies had all kinds of issues and weren't going to win any beauty contests, but they sure did taste good.



Thursday morning after breakfast we cooked up a storm in the kitchen. That afternoon our good high school friend Josh came over to see Becca and we all visited while we cooked. The dinner was very nice and simple compared to previous Thanksgivings. Turkey, stuffing, yams, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, rolls, and cranberry sauce was about it for us. Of course there were the pies at dessert, but it was nice to have a simple dinner and not stuff ourselves as much as previous years with all the good additional salads everyone brings. I was grateful that everyone helped do something so that I wasn't left to do it all. After dinner Becca and I took the kids on a walk in the cold while Kent and Jason cleaned up. I really appreciated that. That evening we sat down and enjoyed watching the movie Shrek the Third. It was cute, but typical of a Shrek movie.


Friday we had talked about braving the early crowds for black Friday, but again Braxton and Meili had gotten to sleep late Thursday night and we didn't want to wake them. We ended up going to Shopko about 9:30-10:00 am and I got some great deals on clothes for Braxton. I got 3 pairs of pants, 4 pajamas, 3 long sleeved shirts, a light jacket, a pair of socks, 5 onsies, a winter hat and gloves and I spent $65. I felt really good about that. After that Becca got some cute clothes for Jocelyn at Old Navy. Once we were finished with shopping it was time for me to go to work. I worked six hours and had a difficult day at work because I really wanted to be at home spending time with my friends. Nothing too eventful happened after work since Jocelyn ended up sick that day.



Saturday was good. Becca and Jason had some family to visit and really enjoyed doing that. Kent and I went down to Leamington for his nephews baptism. It was nice to see his family, but I was sad that I felt less unity since Grandpa Kesler's death. We had a good dinner and enjoyed the surprise on every one's faces when we told them that Gordon and Holly would be able to make it. Even Kent's dad tried to correct us and tell us they weren't coming, but we knew different. HA! That night on the way home we stopped off at Cheryl's and Erik's and picked up some of our Christmas decorations from their basement. That evening culminated in a rousing game of Ticket to Ride. Jason and Becca have the American version and loved playing our German version. Even though the boys whopped on us. Sunday we had to play again with the group and then just Becca and I so we could play a little better.


Sunday was great. We had a wonderful lesson on service in Relief Society. Even the lesson in Sunday School on "pure religion" was done well. I was thankful for the scriptural reminder to be slow to anger. Sacrament meeting was great for me. I felt bad that Meili was crabby and Becca had to take her out because she would have loved the talks. The first talk was a brother in the stake who shared his testimony of the temple basically. He reminded me that I need to make it a higher priority in my life to make it to the temple weekly. The next speaker was a high counselor from our ward who spoke of an ancestor of his who traveled with the Willie and Martin handcart company to Utah. The high counselor went on trek with Kent and I and his story brought me to tears as I remembered the feelings I had there at trek. The meeting ended with the hymn, We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet. I could barely sing the words. Even they touched me. (The bold words below are the ones that really touched me.)


We thank thee, O God, for a prophet
To guide us in these latter days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.
We thank thee for every blessing
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee
And love to obey they command.


When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us
And threaten out peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliv'rance is nigh.
We doubt not the Lord or his goodness.
We've proved him in days that are past.
The wicked who fight against zion
Will surely be smitten at last.


We'll sing of his goodness and mercy.
We'll praise him by day and by night,
Rejoice in his glorious gospel,
And bask in its lifegiving light.

Thus on to eternal perfection
The honest and faithful will go,
While they who reject this glad message
Shall never such happiness know.

I have always sung that song and thought about how thankful I am for a prophet. This time I recognized that the song is not only saying we are thankful for a prophet, but also for the gospel to help us find peace amidst turmoil and so forth. I also recognized that it says we are thankful for every blessing and that hit me as I thought about my gratitude for Braxton. I was especially thankful because as the song began he hopped up on my lap, placed the hymn book in his lap and started singing with the congregation. I am so thankful that my son loves music. That is one talent I strongly desire to share with my children. I am thankful for the spirits of these children that surround us. They come with so much light from their Heavenly Father. I am thankful for this whole entire month of gratitude. Heavenly Father knew that I needed to focus on that and it has made me so happy amidst my trials. I know that being grateful in conjunction with upping my temple attendance will protect me from the dangers Satan has in mind for me. I am grateful to the Lord for my knowledge.



The trip was rounded off with a trip down to temple square last night. We were so excited to see all the beautiful lights and Becca and I enjoyed the many concerts that were going on there. We wished our husbands would have been more interested in staying and listening. It was good that they weren't since we rode trax and we only had two hours to travel down and back and also enjoy temple square. I really enjoyed this last week and hope that our Christmas season is as good and pray that yours is as well.

Poor Braxton looks stiff as a board with all the gear we gave him to keep him warm. He may look asleep, but he wasn't.