Better Than Tetris

Cleaning up Christmas always makes me feel a little sad. This year is worse than usual. Usually I am relieved to have all the "stuff" gone and simplify my surroundings. This year I'm not ready to let go. Maybe it's because I never felt completely satisfied this year. Something was missing from Christmas and it will never be the same.

Yesterday on our walk, my sister and I rehashed everything that happened at the hospital with my mom. While I am grateful for the time I had with my mom, it was a nightmarish experience. Once it was over, I tried not to think about it much. One of the ways I banished these traumatic thoughts was by playing Tetris. Now, I really dislike video games and we don't own a gaming system. But for some reason, Tetris felt therapeutic to me. Honestly, I have "used" it before when I was going through a traumatic experience and my mind needed a break.

Today, I found out that there is scientific proof that playing Tetris helps! There is a reason that a few minutes on freetetris.org makes me feel better.

I found another online source of comfort today. This one makes me feel better without any guilt that I'm wasting time. You may want to check out the Atonement Blog. He has a daily post that is even better than Tetris.

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Luke 2:10

The Age of Wisdom

Aaron had all four wisdom teeth removed yesterday, but it felt like they extracted his pleasant, easy-going personality. After his surgery, the nurse and I helped him walk out to the car. On the way home he tried talking to me and was very frustrated that I couldn't understand him. He seemed to think I was really stupid or possibly deaf, but I patiently explained to him that his mouth was full of gauze and that made it difficult for him to talk.

At home, he sat down on the bed and then laid his head down with his feet still on the floor. He was annoyed that I wanted him to put his feet up on the bed. He couldn't understand why I wanted him to eat some yogurt and take a pain pill. He finally agreed, but insisted that he could take the pill lying flat on his back. After much coaxing, I finally got him to sit up a bit. When I put ice packs on his cheeks, he questioned my motives, but I assured him that I was just following the doctor's instructions. He kept saying, "Did the doctor tell you to do this?"

After several hours, he was still deathly pale and seemed groggy so I tried talking to him to see if the anesthesia was wearing off. He was clearheaded enough to grab his computer and type, "Will you stop asking me unnecessary questions?"

Hours later I asked him what he had been doing on his phone right after surgery. He explained that as soon as he woke up he took a picture of himself and posted it on Facebook. "Why did I do that?!" he wondered aloud.

Twelve hours after surgery, he finally seemed like himself and was able to eat and drink. I reminded him of the pre-op movie we had watched at the surgery center. The film explained that the third molars are commonly called "wisdom teeth"' because they usually come in around age 18. The narrator then explained that the age of 18 is often referred to as "the age of wisdom". I laughed out loud at that line and fortunately Aaron was wise enough to laugh too!

Homemade Christmas

The season of gift giving was in full force at our house. Many wonderful gifts were exchanged and my living room still hasn't recovered!

I loved choosing gifts for my family and I loved all that I received. Some of the most memorable gifts were ones homemade with love.

This jolly Santa and his cute sidekick were knitted by my 13 year old niece Emma.
I love 'em Em!

This gift made me cry. It shows 5 generations and was made by my sweet sister.
I hope she made one for herself too!


My sister-in-law Jean made this lovely family history photo book.
John hasn't put it down all weekend.
I love the hand colored photo of my father-in-law and his siblings.
The letter he wrote as a 12 year old is a real treasure!

I didn't make many gifts this year,
but I did put together a family calendar.
Here's the page showing the thumbnails of each month.

Most of my homemade creations this month were edible.
Special thanks to my sweet daughter who did tons of cooking, baking
decorating, wrapping and cleaning this month.
Her loving service was one of my favorite gifts!

But my favorite homemade gift is this little doll!

Hope you made lots of memories this Christmas!

Christmas Eve Eve

Today we got ready for Christmas with shopping, baking and wrapping

PLUS 4 bonus activities!

1. A visit to the cemetery

The placement of Mom's headstone was delayed because of the heavy rains,
but we hung one one her little apple ornaments on a tree branch near her grave.

2. Singing "Happy Birthday" to Brother Joseph

3. Admiring the tiny nativity scene Evan made for me
Joseph is about 2 inches tall

4. A session at the temple

It was a lovely day to share with my family.
I hope the coming days bring you lots of family time and most importantly, time with our elder brother and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Perfect Gift

I have received some lovely responses to our family Christmas letter. For some of our friends, this was the first they had heard of my mom's passing. Several were thoughtful enough to send sympathy cards, and one friend even sent us a beautiful poinsettia. Today I got something in the mail that made me cry. It wasn't anything fancy. It was a letter. A handwritten 3 page letter.

That may not seems like much, but when was the last time someone wrote you a real letter? Letter writing has become a lost art.

The letter was from a high school friend. She offered her sympathy on the loss of my mom, congratulated me on becoming a grandma and told me I looked much too young to be one! I haven't seen or talked to this friend in quite awhile, so the rest of the letter told me about her life. She shared what was happening with her family and mentioned a few challenges was facing. I loved reading everything she shared, but it was more that the words. I was deeply touched that this very busy mom took the time to sit down and write me a real letter. It made me feel loved and I knew she truly cared about me.

A handwritten letter just might be the perfect gift.

I don't like my handwriting; I prefer using the computer where I can edit and perfect what I have to say. But a handwritten letter has sincerity and emotion that don't come thorough on the printed page no matter which font you choose!

Is there someone who needs a handwritten letter from you this Christmas? It is a real treasure and won't cost you anything other than a little time.

Don't Be Jealous

Guess what we got for the 6th day of Christmas? That's the day for "six geese a laying" and we actually received a flock of geese! Yes, real geese, but after reading this book last month, I'm grateful they weren't delivered to our house.


The geese will be delivered to a struggling family overseas. They were purchased by my brother and sister-in-law through Heifer International. Take a look at their gift catalog and see some of the cool gifts you can purchase. It would make a great last-minute gift!

We have really been spoiled this year with a gift every day for the 12 days of Christmas. All of them revolve around the theme of Christmas memories and remind us of our family and especially my Mom. One of my favorite gifts was this beautiful figurine called "The Real Meaning of Christmas." My mom has several of these Jim Shore figures appropriately adorned with quilt patterns.

May we all remember our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ at this Christmas season and always!

Sweet Sunday!

Let's face it. Some days are pretty rotten. So when a really good day comes along, I think it is important to notice and be thankful. Blogging about it helps me remember and have hope when I'm in the middle of a rotten day (or week or month.)

1:30 AM - Aaron is home from BYU! Before I went to bed around midnight, I decided to leave on all the Christmas lights: the tree, the garlands on our stairs and even the outside lights. I wake up when I hear Aaron downstairs and head down to see my boy. I give him a hug and he gives me a big smile saying, "It's Christmas!"

9:00 AM - Molly and Brianne join us for church. It is a special treat to have them at our ward!

9:30 AM - Evan and Marianne sing in the ward choir.

9:45 - Marianne accompanies the choir on her flute. It is lovely!

10:30 - Playing in the nursery. Is this really a calling?!

12:30 - At home with the family. Playing with cute Brianne.

1:30 - Realize we don't have dessert for our family party. Oops!

2:00 - A friend stops by with blond brownies and chocolate ganache. Yum!

2:30 - Our home teacher drops off a pumpkin roll. Double yum!

3:00 - I remember the chocolate covered cinnamon bears hidden in my closet.

4:00 - My dad and my sister and her family arrive.

5:00 - Dinner, (plenty of) dessert and visiting

6:30 - Ryan arrives after work! Our whole family is together.

7:00 - Carols, gifts and this Christmas story.

8:45 - Goodbyes, hugs and kisses

9:15 - Grab our umbrella and take a walk through the neighborhood to see Christmas lights.

10:00 - I blog while John & the kids watch Home Alone 2.

12:07 - It's now Monday morning and everyone is still awake. Must be Christmas vacation!