Beneath the Wraps

          It was 13 years ago today when I first met Roland.  Oh, I had seen him before.  He was in my mom’s ward (church boundary) for a brief period of time.           He always sat with his arms stretched out on the pew and around each of his boys that were seated next to him on either side.  He also had a big ol’ smile plastered on his face.  There was something about him that appealed to me.  His smile perhaps.  The genuine love that he had for his boys.           On December 31, 2000, I saw him in the foyer of the church.  He was wearing a tie with a large picture of the Tasmanian devil printed on it.           “Nice tie,” I said.  I don’t know if I actually used the word “nice” – I’m really not that big of a Looney-Tune fan, but I did want to...

         Each Saturday this month we've gone to clean the Church. The primary and youth were assigned to clean last week.  Not a lot of participation – especially from the youth (Jenna was the only one from primary and only one youth leader) and the floor was in need of major vacuuming.           The mess I mention in this post was confined to just one room – while it appeared that either decorations had been dragged across each room and the halls in the Church or else a naughty elf went around pouring sparkling dust.            There are three wards which share the building.  One in particular seems to get blamed for any mess that may be left – though I did find evidence of their ward in March when I went in to vacuum all that popcorn.  They just seem to use more in the way of decorations, party more, and have the reput...

About four months ago I posted this about my hang-ups with facebook.  One commenter lovingly chastised me by sharing what she LIKES about facebook. I must admit, since then, I have checked it more often.  One reason is because of mom’s health and trying to keep all of those involved with her health care on the same page, one member created a private site for us to each update and view.  I notice we’re still not always on the same page however. Facebook also gives one the opportunity to find acquaintances from the past and possibly make a connection. Google can do that, too.  But not resources apply – or are personalized in the same way in which some face users allow.  And so the story unfolds: Erin, Fran, mom and Sally were friends in San Francisco.  The first three all ended up in Utah after they were married.  Recently I had lunch with Fran and my mom.  Fran asked mom if she still heard from Erin.  She used to send Chri...

We didn’t do our annual Christmas dinner last year (the one with mom and her children) – at least not with the same dishes we usually prepare.  We gathered at my one brother’s house and had soup and bread.  It was simple.  We played games and exchanged gifts. This year we didn’t even do a dinner. Each sib went his separate way.  We weren’t together for Christmas Eve or Christmas – not all four of us.  Corey had gone back to Las Vegas to be with his sweetheart and to register as a permanent residence of Las Vegas. Sunny and her youngest had run by mom’s house to drop off some gifts.  They were just in and out. Kayla and Bill had planned to visit with both families on Christmas Eve – but as we weren’t getting together as siblings, they chose to stop by mom’s on the way to spending Christmas Eve with his family.  And Roland, Jenna, Biff and I stayed with mom for four hours after everyone else had left.  Well, almost everyone. ...

                     I heard this song for the first time two weeks ago.  I thought it quite beautiful.                                          And I think this video is very fitting for today and tomorrow                                                                 (I may not post tomorrow)

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38 when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate. Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air. They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there. They were filled wit h such joy, they didn't know what to say. They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day. "Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse. "This is Heaven." declared a small boy. "We're spending Christmas at God's house." When what to their wondering eyes did appear, But Jesus, their Savior, the children gathered near. He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same. Then He opened His arms and He called them by name. And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring Those children all flew into the arms of their King And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace, One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face. And as if He cou...

          Jenna rarely ever produces a long list of desired gifts for Christmas.  Usually she has her heart set on just one thing – and nothing else seems to matter.           When Jenna was three the one and only thing she wanted was a Caillou doll.  Caillou is a cartoon character she really seemed into at the time.  I didn’t even know if any toy company made Caillou dolls.  I was guessing probably not.           I researched but came up empty-handed, but didn’t want to disappoint her.  It was the ONLY thing she had asked for. As a last resort I made two paper dolls and included three sets of clothes for each doll hoping that it would satisfy her.           Oh, I am so grateful to have captured as many memories on my camcorder (the old kind that ...

          Jenna had made a gumdrop ornament in preschool one year.  We’ve had it for four or five Christmases now.  The neighbor asked if he could eat it.           “The candy is really old.  It probably doesn’t taste good.  And it may make you sick either way.”           He had invited himself to decorate or tree.  I thought that was presumptuous of him.  But it was dark.  I couldn’t see well.  Roland had gone into the other room.  And so I left Jenna and Trume to decorate (they actually were better at spreading out the ornaments than Ooki had been with his first tree ).           Before he returned home, I gave him a small tree that we had put in Jenna’s room last year.            I had confiscated...

I have to post this because I am so major proud of my most recent accomplishment.  I just cooked my first turkey ever.  Almost 20 pounds!  And I wasn’t even chopped.  Roland gave me his seal of approval.  Roland is the one who normally cooks.  He was planning on doing it when he returned home.  But I figured he’d be hungry when he got home and wanted to surprise him – though it wasn’t actually done until about an hour and a half after his return.  But it is two and a half to three hours earlier than it would have been if he had cooked. Wow.  I cooked a turkey.  And it was good.  Thank you AsianCookingmadeEasy .  

          Family has grown.  We used to do a dinner on Christmas Eve. We would gather at the house where Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Ted live.  That was a tradition for years.  My grandma Helen and her three kids and their children - we started out with just three of us -  I was the eldest, then my cousin, Michelle, my brother Patrick and then Michelle’s brother came along.  It was another seven years before Edmund and Corey were born and then Rosa and then Kayla.            Daddy’s only sister, Chrissy got married to Kim.  Eventually they had four boys and the family continued to grow.  Both Patrick and Michelle found partners and married. And the family continued to grow.  It seemed like there were more people than room.  It got hard for Trudy to host not one, but two dinners each year.  Not that she was supplying all the food.  ...

          I always think it’s kind of odd that so many ornaments are made from porcelain or glass as they break so easily and not all of us are blessed with a quiet environment in which the tree will rest looking perfect and undisturbed.   (Jenna’s eight.  I think she still rearranges the ornaments on a daily basis) Several years ago my mom came home with a whole slew of ceramic ornaments that she had painted at a Relief Society activity.  I don’t know how many ornaments there were, but I believe I had at least four of them in my possession when Roland and I were married.  The fondest memories are of the Raggedy Anne and the gingerbread man Ornaments. Mom had wanted me to have Raggedy Anne and Patrick was to have Andy.  But we also got to choose among the remaining how many ever there were. The gingerbread man is the first one I chose.  It had been left on the tree one year when the tree was...

          When I asked Jenna what she wanted to get her dad for Christmas last year, she did not even hesitate with an answer.                  “A Bow Tie,” she announced proudly.           I visualized an elastic and paper doily all bunched up.              “What kind of a bow tie?” I asked.   “A Black one.”  And so it was.  We purchased a black bow tie for Roland – the only black bow tie that we found.           I was reminded about gifts – precious to the child’s mind, but very impractical.  For instance my wanting to buy my dad a pink Batman shirt for a gift.  I don’t remember it, but my mom said that it happened.           First off you need to understand that m...

          We hadn’t put up our outside lights for Christmas this year.  I meant to bring them out with all the other Christmas decorations.  I remember seeing them.  But they must have gotten lost in the shuffle.  Just as well.  There were a couple of days when the wind blew hard.  So hard that some actually lost their decorations – which is NOTHING compared to what was lost in Newtown Connecticut on December 14 th .           Sandy, for me, was a lot easier to deal with, as the disaster was a result of the elements – not some psycho on the loose with a gun.  If a gunman is going to just turn the gun on himself – why not just start there?  And it’s not like the world will ever KNOW what became of this individual who’d gone on a shooting spree to wipe out innocent children.  Whatever reasons are given will be speculation – and even if we are given reasons tha...

          Okay, to my knowledge, there really is no such thing as Zion’s Mall.  It had been the name for a Relief Society activity that was held during the holiday season in 2008.  A wonderful presentation and activity that I have never experienced before or since. I had signed up to take a relish tray – and as I was arranging the pickles and olives in an ordinary way, Roland (who is all about presentation) rearranged them so that the arrangement itself appeared  to be a huge sunflower The cultural hall had been set up with tables all around for booth display. There were ten “shops” surrounding the seven round tables located in the center of the room which represented the food court.           When we entered the “mall” each sister was presented with a “master-in-charge” card and a shopping bag to fill.  The object was to vis...