One of the blessings and the curses of
this life is that by the time you
figure out what a wonderful
experience this or that is…chances
are that that point of your life has
swept right through your fingers.
There are certainly times in my life
that I wouldn’t “do over” for
anything, but there are a few
experiences that I ache to re-live.
Not just because I would like to be
young again, but because I would
savor every thought, feeling, hug and
memory. I would take a thousand
more pictures and write a few more
thank you cards. I would like to
think that I would dress for my body
shape rather than for what I saw in
a magazine. I’d be kinder, more
courageous, more spiritual, more
brave…
Emily Dickinson wrote, “that it will
never come again is what makes life
so sweet.”
And this year, I’m thankful that I
finally understand that concept a
little bit better. Most things about
life are temporary. So when things
change, people move on…I’m more
grateful for the time we had with
them, the things we learned, the
memories that we’ll always have…
I'm so thankful for every horrible
and wonderful moment of this past
year. I'm grateful that these
experiences are meant to be
something infinite and
eternal...rather than just a fleeting
moment of time.
Jack will be four in two weeks. He can't wait for his big-boy bed and a volcano birthday cake. I can't believe it--where has the time gone. This was a random picture taken during our "12 Days of Christmas". Santa came almost every night and brought the kids a little present. Jack is wearing his new "monkey jammies". He was so excited that he ran around in a circle while Jeff sang Jingle Bells. Oh, and he will go to Primary for the first time this Sunday. He is so excited!
Our annual pilgrimage to Temple Square. We got great parking. Seriously, the parking downtown is horrendous lately and I was absolutely thrilled that we were only one block away. Jack kept saying, "oh, it is bweutiful!" "Mom, this is bweutiful!" Lachlan didn't care about anything except "getting to see the white Jesus and hearing his voice..." She loves--I mean LOVES the Christus. We went to see the Square this past summer and she was certain that "Jesus was talking to her" when the little message played in the background. It was so crowded in the rotunda that we didn't stay to "hear him talk to me" and she was seriously mad. She has reminded me every day since that "I need to take her back to Jesus so that she can hear his voice."
My favorite spot is this glowing orange tree over by the Tabernacle. Thank you. Thank you, 50mm lens for making this picture possible.
I cried almost every day for two weeks leading up to Christmas...not a lot, but just at various random moments when I would start to think about how blessed we have been this year. It seems as if there is heartbreak and tragedy all around us. I hate feeling like "when is the ball going to drop for us"--it's not really fear, just a recognition of how fragile life can be.
This was such a fun night for our family. Jeff took us all to Nielson's for Frozen Custard. Jack almost fell asleep in the booth, but he didn't want to leave until all of it was gone. I still get nervous when he is that tired because he can start bawling and then he'll puke to make a point. Lachlan sang Christmas songs in the backseat for a long time. She is really into making up original versions lately. This year she learned Silent Night and Away in a Manger. Jingle Bells is still her favorite. She sings "so much fun it is to ride" instead of "oh, what fun it is to ride"--she sang it so much over the holidays that when I went to sing along with her I actually had to think about what were the real words to the song.
