Home and Holidays

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas a few days away, I have been thinking a lot about celebrations and traditions. I grew up in a family that enjoyed celebrating holidays. We have carried on the love of holidays with our own children and grandchildren. We had lots of traditions when I was a child; we still have lots of traditions. My mind fills with warm memories of  family and friends gathered for Thanksgiving feasts. I can clearly picture the beautiful bright decorations of Christmas reflecting off the glistening white snow. I love the scents of the holidays- The savory smell of the dressing, the sweet spicy smell of baking pumpkin pies or cooling Christmas cookies. I also love the sounds- Family members sharing stories and memories, children playing and giggling, Christmas music, and the sound of our favorite classic Christmas movies playing in the background. Holidays can strengthen family bonds. They can bring some color into our lives. They change the pace and focus for a short period of time. I associate holiday celebrations with home. Though we have traveled a great deal, we have spent nearly every Christmas in one of the two places I feel at home. Either Great Falls or Colorado Springs. I only recall  two Christmas's that I was in any other place. Once when I was a child we spent Christmas in Oklahoma with my grandparents. It was a wonderful trip and a memory I cherish. The other was in Provo Utah, in a motel. We were there to attend our youngest son's wedding in the Salt Lake Temple, the day after Christmas. I remember purchasing a dollar store Christmas tree and a few window clings for the mirror to decorate our motel room. The realization that our son and his beautiful fiancé were being married in the temple of God clarified the purpose for our celebrations. It was a wonderful holiday, one of my favorites.

Celebrating Christmas in Korea will be a unique experience. We sent all of our Christmas gifts home a couple of weeks ago, most have already arrived. We have decorated our cute apartment with traditional Christmas decorations given to us as gifts. I am truly enjoying those decorations. I love serving here, but truth be told... I really do not feel at home here. I feel more like I am on an extended visit. I guess that's true. A subtle longing for home lingers. It doesn't keep me from enjoying the people I meet, the places we go, or the work we do. I will have a wonderful Christmas here. I will not let the shadow of homesickness ruin all I have to celebrate here. This is the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior. He is the redeemer of all of the children of God. As I focus on this miracle of miracles, I realize I have great cause to celebrate. I am grateful for the traditions of my childhood that bring to me such warm and sweet memories. I am grateful for the teachings of my childhood which have built in me a firm belief in the miracle of Christmas.  I wish for each of you a Christmas filled with celebrations, traditions and most of all with the Spirit of our Lord and Redeemer, whose birth we honor.

The Christmas season begins....


We enjoyed the Christmas Devotional for Monday's FHE. The lights you see are in one of our outside windows. Our lights are the only ones in the windows of any of the apartments in our complex. A few of the bushes near our complex entrance have some white lights. There are also some beautiful lights downtown and many out at Camp Walker.


Every six weeks we fix breakfast for all the missionaries in our zone the week after transfers. They are always so appreciative and express their gratitude as they devour stacks of Fred's delicious hot pancakes. The most common response goes something like this, "Whoa!!! It's been __ (fill in the blank) months since I've had pancakes. This is awesome!" For December's transfer breakfast we added a little Christmas flair. We love those missionaries!

More to come!