Merry Christmas Everyone!

Due to a very busy month, including some unforeseen circumstances, I did not get a Christmas card in the mail this year. Therefore I have decided to post our Christmas card online and hope that family and friends will see it and know that we are thinking of them….

Here it is!

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-Having a healthy Mary Kate once again after enduring a scary, rare illness and a long hospital stay.
(All of us)

-Yanking flags and blocking opponents to help your team win flag football games. Having your dad be your coach. (Jeffrey)

-Learning to master those tricky chords on the piano so you can accompany yourself while singing Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman. (Jonathan and Jeffrey)

-Making it to the top of Mount Timpanogos without dying! Making it back down again without dying! The view at the top was spectacular too. (Jill)

-Finding the perfect paint color for the master bedroom and installing a new toilet in the master bath that actually flushes! (Jill and Mike)

-When the home improvement projects are finally complete! (Jill and Mike, mostly Mike)

-Making it to the halfway mark of your first year of Jr. High and discovering that you actually like Jr. High. (Mary Kate)

-Sitting all alone in the wide open, on the top of Boulder Mountain, during a raucous and breathtaking thunderstorm while all the scared Scouts hide in their tents. (Mike)

-Gawking at the sights on the the streets of New York with some of your favorite people. (Jill)

-Finally learning the trick to a perfect back bend at Gymnastics class. (Jonathan)

-Making it to the halfway mark of your first year of 1st grade and discovering that you actually like 1st grade. (Jonathan and Jeffrey)

-Celebrating 15 years of marriage to your best friend. (Mike and Jill)

-Making it to the end of Pioneer Trek without dying. (Mike and Jill, mostly Jill)

-Having fun in the sun with family and friends at the lake. (All of us)

-Having friends and family as wonderful as all of you.

-Celebrating the season with thoughts of our Savior’s birth and His life lived for all of us.

It has been a wonderful year full of JOY! We hope your year was JOYFUL too.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Love,
The Dickey Family

Christmases Past

Today (inspired by my friend Nicole) I went searching for some old pictures of Christmases past. I hit the jackpot. As I thumbed through the pictures I got to thinking…

…It wasn’t all that long ago that I was a little one, enjoying the magic of Christmas, as only a child unencumbered by the responsibilities of making Christmas magical for others, can.

I’m in love with the photo above of me with my red stocking and my beautiful mom. She’s so young, and enjoying Christmas, as only a parent who is encumbered with the responsibility of making Christmas magical for another, can.

I love the smile on her face in the photo below. I know that smile.

I’ve been a mom long enough to know first hand how hard parents work to make Christmas magical, special and meaningful for their children. As I looked through my stack of photos, happy memories flooded back to me, and I know who I owe those memories to. My parents (and I expect especially my mother) did a wonderful job of making Christmas something I can look back on a remember fondly.

Examples…

This was taken at a Christmas party at our house, a party thrown just for the neighborhood kids, complete with a visit from Santa. My mom made that velvet dress and blouse for me, special, just for Christmas. I clearly remember feeling so beautiful in it, with my hair all curled and clipped up.

I love this picture of Andrew and I in front of the tree.

Mom always decorated our tree so perfectly with her handmade ornaments. I remember the felt Christmas characters on the flocked tree above, then later the styrofoam balls covered in Twelve Days of Christmas wrapping paper, dipped in hot wax and tied with a golden bow. I also remember the colorfully iced gingerbread men that Andrew and I had fun breaking the limbs off of and eating right off the tree, the little pom-pom panda bears in red and green yarn-stitched boxes, and the little wooly Christmas sheep with googly eyes glued on. I used to stare at each individual ornament of hours, every year.

Mom also sewed me new pajama’s every year i.e.the flannel, lace-trimmed beauties above. Love the Heidi braids too!

I remember this life size doll like it was yesterday. I played with that yarn hair for hours.

I love how happy we all are in this picture.

Mom made these Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls too. I remember snooping around in the fruit room under the stairs looking for Christmas presents and finding these two hidden in a bag all ready for Christmas morning. Somehow my mom found out that I had been snooping. Understandably she wasn’t very happy with me. Luckily she forgave me. I treasured Raggedy Ann and Andy for years. Still have them in the cedar chest for safe keeping.

I had to add this picture because it just shows that some things never change. Look how organized my presents are, all stacked in a neat little pile. I was OCD even way back then!  And…do you remember the good old-fashioned Spyrograph sets? I wish they still made those. I loved that set!

This picture was taken the year we went to my Grandma and Grandpa Stauffer’s house for Christmas. I love so many things about this picture, mostly that I’m wearing my Grandma’s old lady slippers, and that my dad (and all my brothers for that matter) are holding He-man toys. That was the year of He-man. I’m sure there was a Castle of Gray Skull somewhere in that room too. Mike clearly remembers having a He-man Christmas as well. My guess is that it was the same year, only a few miles away in Millville.

That year I also remember that my parents gave me my very own stereo and the Footloose soundtrack cassette tape to go with it. I remember loving that stereo so much and especially loving that my parents thought I was grown up enough to have my very own stereo and rock-n-roll tape. That was a happy Christmas.

I remember this Christmas as the Christmas of Denver Bronco mania. My brothers got everything Denver Broncos, check out Eric’s shiny jacket. (Looks like Andrew got a BB gun too. Maybe it was a Red Rider BB Gun?)

Coats with big shoulder pads and attached scarves were so in fashion that year. I remember wanting one so badly. Looks like mom and dad delivered again. I love how mom is looking me over to see if the coat fits right.

I wish I had a picture of the Christmas I got the Cabbage Patch doll that my mom made for me. I wanted one so desperately. I had opened all my presents. There was an Angel Face Barbie, but no Cabbage Patch doll. After all the presents were opened I remember trying so hard to be grateful, not to cry, and not to be disappointed that there was no Cabbage Patch doll. Then dad went to the coat closet and pulled out one last gift. Of course it was a beautiful Cabbage Patch doll that my mom had made for me by hand. I was in love! I still wonder how many hours my mom worked on that doll.

I just wanted to say thank you to my parents this Christmas, for all they did over the years to make Christmas magical and special for all of us. I have good, happy memories of Christmas because of you Mom and Dad. I know how hard you worked and how much you sacrificed to make it happen. Thank you!

*It wasn’t just all about the gifts, ornaments and PJs either. My parents taught us the true meaning of Christmas too. Mostly by the way they lived their lives. Thanks for that especially Mom and Dad. Merry Christmas! We miss you.

A Lovely Kiwi For Christmas

We’ve had a visitor from far, far away this Christmas season. Brodie Ridler, a close friend and student of my parent’s from New Zealand, has been in Utah on holiday and we’ve been lucky enough to have her with us for a few weeks of her stay. Jonathan gave her a big hug the other night before bed adding the comment, “I can give Brodie a big hug like that because she’s family!”

She truly is.

After spending time with Brodie and hearing her tell stories of my parents (all the Young Single Adults call my parents Mama and Papa Stauff) I’m starting to see how hard it’s going to be for my parents to leave New Zealand. They have family there now, family that will not be happy to see them go.

Brodie and I have been all over the place together. She will even go eat Sushi with me, something that no one else around here will do. Brodie claims that normally she hates to shop, but says she doesn’t mind it with me (I tend to have the affect on people, right Belinda!). It’s a good thing she likes shopping with me because I’ve dragged her to many a store as I’m trying to get ready for Christmas.

Costco was the most fun so far…

Brodie’s mind was blown!

When you stop to think about it and look at Costco from a foreign perspective, it really is an insane place and a pretty accurate representation of American culture (don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing, I mean who needs a box of 60 processed waffles?). In New Zealand there is nothing like Costo (or huge boxes of waffles) to be found.

(We did find this during one of our shopping sprees though. I true gift from heaven. I will never be the same again!)

Brodie is a fairly recent convert to the Church and she loves seeing the temples that dot this state. Her goal is to see all the temples in Utah while she’s here. She’s seen several so far, a few left to go. Her favorite is the Manti temple and she hasn’t seen that one yet, so there may be a road trip in the near future.

Yesterday morning Brodie and I went with Mary Kate (her first time) and Mike to the Timpanogos Temple to do baptisms. It was a neat experience for all of us. As we were driving home (just 4 minutes from the temple to our driveway) Brodie talked about how wonderful it would be to have a temple close enough that you could go to the temple in morning before work or school and then go on with your day, as we were doing. She shook her head and said, “You guys are so lucky!”

It was a much needed reminder for me not to take the close proximity of so many temples for granted. Brodie’s closest temple is a plane ride away.

Brodie has been a great sport as I’ve also dragged her along to Young Women’s activities, Relief Society Christmas dinners, 1st grade class parties and the like. She’s been so gracious as I’ve introduced her to all my friends. She even got to meet my neighbor, little baby Nila. They took to each other right away.

Everyone loves Brodie…her Kiwi accent, her personality, and her single status. I can’t tell you how many times someone has asked if they could set her up with a cousin, a brother or a friend, but I think Brodie’s heart is somewhere in Samoa. :-)

Last night Brodie and I had tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert (thanks to a very kind connection of my parent’s). We brought the family along with us to kill time before the concert began. It was a beautiful night at Temple Square, not too crowded, not too cold.

The boys were in rare form though, they made certain to put on a good show for Brodie providing her with the opportunity to seriously ponder over the question of whether on not she wants to have children in the future. After their behavior last night, I think she’s undecided about that at the moment. Can’t say that I blame her. Brodie is certainly patient!

The concert was peaceful though. Brodie confirmed that enjoying the concert was the highlight of her holiday so far. She was in heaven, as was I. Nothing brings the spirit of the true meaning of Christmas quite like music and stories about the Savior or Richard Elliot’s organ solos, WOW! The Mormon’s brought it again, along with Nathan Gunn and Jane Seymour who where fantastic!

We’ve loved having Brodie here, she will certainly be a friend for life.

Now I have another reason to wish that New Zealand wasn’t so far away.

A Little Christmas and Culture and Girl Time All Mixed Together

I got it into my head this year that I wanted to take Mary Kate on a little mother-daughter outing to see the Nutcracker performed by Ballet West. I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Christmas while exposing Mary Kate to the Arts; but mostly I just like hanging out with my MK. I remember going with my mom to see the Nutcracker when I was about Mary Kate’s age and it’s a happy memory for me. I wanted that same kind of memory for Mary Kate.

We picked the perfect afternoon to get away, just us girls. The twins were on one and totally out of control today! The peace and quiet enjoyed with only my mild mannered daughter by my side was so lovely.

The Ballet was lovely as well. Ballet West’s Nutcracker always gets great reviews and it’s easy to see why. Our favorite dances were the Danish Marzipan Shepherdesses (beautiful costumes), Waltz of the Flowers (beautiful, tiny little Asian ballerina), and of course the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. What little girl doesn’t secretly wish she could be the Sugar Plum Fairy? I know I did.

Aside from the girl constantly digging into her noisy cellophane bag of jelly beans to our right, and the older lady behind us with the oxygen tank that hissed loudly every three seconds causing us to beg the usher for new seats (which were granted thank goodness), it was a perfect performance. A much quieter second half to be sure. (Does anyone agree with me that Utah audiences tend to be a little rude and rowdy? Maybe it was just the matinee performance with lots of kids present, who knows?)

The Nutcracker is so very Christmas. Just hearing the music brings that Christmas spirit flowing in. Like I said though, mostly I just enjoyed spending the day with MK. I hope she now has a good memory to keep forever.

(There was even a giant PUPLE nutcracker right in the lobby. Of course she spotted that one right away)

I love you Mary Kate. Thanks for coming with me!

Holiday Rhythm

We’re into a holiday rhythm.

Me, I like a good tradition. Traditions solidify, enhance, protect, move things along steadily. I like it, being the obsessive, compulsive kind of person that I am.

When December rolls around I can count on a few things always taking place, starting with the decorating of the Christmas tree while listening to our favorite Christmas tunes. Every year this is our first Family Home Evening after Thanksgiving; then we have Mary Kate’s piano recital on the first Saturday of the month (she was fantastic this year), then the ward Christmas party, then we throw the neighborhood bonfire on the first Monday. If I’m lucky I’ll see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert during the third weekend (somehow I’ve figured out a way to get there every year), then we see the lights at Temple Square as a family, we read all our Christmas books, I make Italian meat balls….you get the idea. I love it.

I most love the traditions that allow for association with friends, neighbors, and family. Along with being obsessive, compulsive, I’m also a social creature. Put me in a room (or a driveway) full of people I love and I’m in heaven. I love what ward parties and neighborhood gatherings do for the holiday season.

Ward Christmas parties (well, ward parties in general) are possibly the tackiest parties ever thrown, with their hap-hazard decorations, amateur entertainment and Jello salads, but I love them! (Let it be known that I probably wouldn’t say that if I was in charge. Way to go Elayne!)

Our Luau themed party this year was super fun. (Incidentally, our party here in Utah wasn’t much different from the one that my parents attended in New Zealand. We had Polynesian dancers and Kahlua pork, so did they; evidence that the church is the same no matter where you go in the world). 

Mary Kate with my beautiful friend Michelle

Look at this spread of typical ward party potluck fare (Martha Stewart would turn over in her grave if she was in one). Mormons definitely know how to bring Jello salads in large, plastic bowls. Apparently we know how to consume large amounts of margarine from huge plastic tubs too.

I got suckered into getting up on the stage with the ladies and learning the Hula. Turns out I’m a natural. I think this means I might need to move to Hawaii, at least for January, February and March. (It’s hard to see, but check out little Hailey up front with her Hula skirt and coconut shells bra. She wore it with pride).

Mike got suckered into going up on stage to learn a Maori war dance. A ward party is nothing if it isn’t subjecting various ward members to humiliation for the entertainment of all. Some of the guys were pretty good though.

The highlight of the night (next to the Jello salad selection) was the nativity put on by the Primary children. The boys were so excited to be the shepherds. They were pretty decent up there too, except when Jonathan almost dropped his staff on the baby Jesus…

All the kids were reverent and sweet. I’m not ashamed to admit that I got a little weepy eyed. Just look at that little Mary holding swaddled baby Jesus who was played by baby Aiden, a foster baby (his mom was on drugs her whole pregnancy) who is being loved and adored by a sweet young couple in our ward that want a baby more than anything in the world and just might get this one for real. Crossed fingers.

It was a good party.

And the rhythm continues…

That Monday (because it’s now tradition) we put on our 5th or 6th (I lose count) annual neighborhood bonfire…

It was FREEZING COLD so only the bravest and most dedicated showed up this year. Luckily, Boy Scout Mike got the fire a-blazing and we had gallons of piping hot chocolate.

Mary Kate is demonstrating with her nose and cheeks, just how cold it was.

I love our neighborhood. We got some good donations for the Food Bank, visited and enjoy each other’s company, and ate plenty of sugary foods. A great time was had by all, but I felt a few waves of sadness this year. We’ve had so many good friends move out of our neighborhood over the last few years and I couldn’t help but think of those people and miss them tremendously. We miss you all! It’s not the same without you here.

Anyway, we’re full swing into the Christmas grove and loving it. Hope you are too.

Now we just need some snow!

For Laughs

My cousin Stephen has a new blog. It’s very funny and makes me laugh so I thought I would share it with all of you so you can enjoy a few more laughs in your day. Who doesn’t need that? 

Apparently Emilie gave Stephen a gift (a little astronaut figurine) and Stephen has found a genius use for him. Tune in to: www.moonmandotcom.tumblr.com to see where Moon Man’s adventures take him next.

I love it!