December 21, 2017

It's hard to put into words all that happened today.  But I will certainly try.

It is the first full day of Christmas Break.  The kids were all so wild, that it was quite a task keeping them from swinging on the rafters, so to speak.  The boys were climbing and jumping and wrestling each other at every turn.  It was loud.  And they were excited.

Somehow, I got them all to do some quick cleaning.  And I got everyone to the table for our annual graham-cracker-house decorating event.  This year, I used a hot glue gun for the main structures.  I also whipped up a big bowl of frosting, and I piled lots of candy on the table for the kids to use.  We had a great time, but I'm sure I mostly managed to get them all loaded up with more sugar!

Austin

Julia's castle

Owen

Miles 

Lance

But we did manage to come up with a plan to "Light The World" today.  So, after getting the names from Sunee of four very needy families, we piled into the Escalade and headed to the grocery store.  We loaded two carts full of food, with everyone helping and hanging on the carts and generally making it difficult to move.  Eventually we had it all loaded into our car and finally, we loaded it into the house.  

We have been absolutely loving Mom's 12 Days of Christmas!  We had missed the night she sent money to go out to dinner, and today was a whole day of secret service for each other.  So we decided to do both.

After lunch, we sat in the hot tub together.  "Sat" isn't quite the right word.  More like splashed around crazily.  Then it was inside for little boy haircuts and showers.  Since Lance had fallen asleep on the way home from the grocery store, I woke him up and took him alone back out to the hot tub.  We played around quietly in the still, cold air.  The neighborhood was quiet, the sky was pure blue, and the air was crisp.  He was very docile, unlike his usual wild swimmer self.  It was peaceful and sweet.  Eventually we wrapped up and headed inside.

While Emma went to volleyball practice, Julia arranged four boxes chuck full of food.  We wrote a cute Christmas card on each one saying, "You are SO loved."  And, "Merry Christmas!"  Then Julia and I hefted them out into the cold garage to wait for our nighttime delivery.

I finally showered and got ready for the evening.  While I was fixing my hair, I suddenly had the thought that I needed to visit a family around the corner.

Since becoming Relief Society President, I have wanted to at least meet all of the sisters in our ward/neighborhood.  But for some reason, there have been a couple of names that have filled me with major trepidation.  This one home just felt unapproachable.  I've woken up in the night multiple times worrying about this.  Each time I've lain awake, I've had a whole conversation play out in my mind, of all the things I should say if they answer the door.  But it involved asking boldly if I could come in, and then asking boldly if she would come back to church.  And then giving her my number and telling her how much I care about her even if she never comes back.  I would usually shudder to think of this in real life and try to go back to sleep.

Today while fixing my hair, I suddenly thought of this home.  I felt my heart speed up, and I knew that I should just go right this moment.  A while ago, I bought a couple packs of really cute Pioneer Woman dish towels for moments such as this.  I quickly grabbed one, rolled it up and tied it with a bow, then attached a card with my name and number and drove around the corner and pulled into their driveway.  I felt very nervous.  But after a deep breath, and a quick prayer, I went up to the door.  The doormat said something about beware, low on ammo, and there would be no warning shots.  I gulped and raised my hand to knock.  Suddenly there was a chorus of barking dogs slamming into the door.  I gulped again.  How would I have the courage to ask to come in?  Would they let me in?  Would the dogs bite me?  In the split second, I decided that getting bit by the dogs would be worth it if I could get inside this home. So, I set aside that fear.

To my utter surprise, the wife answered the door.  I was so relieved.  If it had been the husband, I'd have lost my nerve.  She was sort of peeking through the opening, trying to hold back the dogs.  I smiled my friendliest smile and announced who I was, and then heard the words coming out of my mouth, "Can I come in to visit for a minute?"

The shocked look on her face was priceless.  I'm sure she wondered how I could be so bold.  But before I knew it, I was sitting down in the living room, with two dogs growling right at my feet.

And somehow, the conversation went almost exactly the way I'd practiced it in my sleep.  I learned so much about her and her family, and when she told me that about a month ago she had been wondering if maybe she should come back to church, my heart soared.  I told her what time we will be meeting in the new year, and I asked to come, assuring her how much we needed her to come.  And then handing her my gift with my number, I assured her that we, as neighbors, would all be there for her family whether she came or not.  I told her that we just wanted to be friends with her.

It went so well!!  Our conversation was real and warm, and I left that house practically floating.  I was so thankful for the promptings and the courage that was given to me exactly when I needed it.

Mommy and Lance, waiting for a table!

I rushed back home and loaded everyone into the car to meet Greg at Olive Garden.  We had a wonderful, fun dinner together.  And once again, we ate too much!  I keep saying that I'll fix it in January.  But Greg and I are laughing that we are getting a lot "MORE" that needs fixing in January.

Julia, Lance, Austin, Miles, Emma, Owen

After dinner, Greg came home to work in his shop.  He is nearly finished with his massive projects.  The kids and I loaded the four boxes into the back of the car and set off to spread Christmas cheer.

Ready to deliver!

We struggled to find the right addresses and to find everyone home.  And it broke our back loading those boxes back and forth.  But we had such a special time making our deliveries.  At one house, no one came to the door.  We waiting in the road, watching the house.  Finally, we decided to take the box with us and try again later.  I crept up to the door and picked up the food.  Just as I was almost to the car, Emma saw a light flick on.  I froze, and the front door opened.  Caught in the act, I had no other choice but to go back to the door with the box.  I just put on a big smile and made my way to the door.

"Merry Christmas!" I told the small woman.  She kept saying, "Thank you! No English! Thank you!" So, I just wished her a Merry Christmas, and because I didn't want to kill her with a heavy box, I actually took the box all the way into her house.  I set it down and then looked into her eyes.  We didn't need to speak the same language.  I smiled down at her, touched her shoulder, and said, "Merry Christmas."

When I climbed back into the car, the kids were laughing and so surprised that I had been caught.  When I told them that she had said, "No English," they said, "Mom!  You know how to say Merry Christmas in Spanish!! You should have said, Feliz Navidad."  I just smiled at the thought.  And then I told the kids that everyone understands the words "Merry Christmas."

As we rode home, blasting our Christmas music, I certainly felt like we were beginning to understand, too.