Gold Star Wednesday

This week's gold star goes to the obvious.

It's Christmas Eve.  It's a sacred night.  As I sit here under the Christmas tree and type this, the house finally quiet, I have some time to reflect on this week's star.  

As I flew across the country this week, I started a book called Trusting Jesus. It's been a long, hard year.  That's no secret.  I've been really looking forward to this year's end, ready for a fresh start but I think part of me is afraid that next year won't be better.  Usually I'm an optimist, always hopeful, always believing.  But lately believing has required an increase in energy.  

Tonight, as we read the Christmas story, I thought about the birth of hope and redemption, an event to which the prophets looked for thousands of years.  And why?  Because without this birth, and subsequent life, the plan of God would have been frustrated and we would have been lost to Him.  What an exciting day it was, the day these prophecies were fulfilled!  We have lived our lives with the knowledge that Christ has come whereas they spent their lives looking forward to that event.  What a relief all must have felt!

I also thought a bit tonight about the faith required of the Nephites as they waited for the sign in the Americas.  Some waited, I'm sure wondering if, if not feeling almost sure, they were going to be disappointed.  Some waited, I'm sure knowing they would be delivered.  I wondered tonight where I am right now.  Am I on the side of believing?  It can sometimes be scary to believe, though I didn't used to feel that way.   In fact, it has always been just the opposite for me.  I think my new, fresh start needs to include the choice to be more believing, to take things as they come in faith, to trust that God will lift the burdens that feel too heavy to bear.  Because as I read back on the record of my life, the evidence that He cares is there, that he is not, as Elder Holland says, a divine referee waiting to tag us out on third.

Tonight's Gold Star definitely goes to the Star of Bethlehem, the signal of the dawn of redeeming grace, a sign that God keeps His promises, a sign of His infinite love for His children.  With evidence like that, how can we not believe?

Merry Christmas.

Why I had to get home by Monday night

The Monday before Christmas our family has a caroling party.  Part of the crisis in getting home through cancelled flights this year was making it home in time for this party.  I know that seems a little melodramatic, and it was a little bit, but the family caroling party is a big deal for me.  This is usually how it goes: First we sing to the neighbors.

Second, we all pile in the van.  Everyone who doesn't have a seat sits in the back of the van.  Then the swan biting/wrestling match begins in the back of the van.  Scott usually starts the fight. He's 38.  And a bishop.  I'm just sayin'...
Those in the back of the van do their very best to drag everyone who has a seat into the back of the van.  It can get a little brutal...
This is me avoiding getting dragged into the back of the van...

This is Brian getting worked by Tommy and our nephie Paul...
This is me getting worked while working Tommy...
This is Abby trying to protect her husband...  I love Tom's taunting face.
Utter chaos.
And me cowering in the corner.  At one point my face was pressed up against the glass and I prayed that the side door wouldn't come open...  Mom was afraid we were going to ruin our singing voices with all the screaming.  She has stopped worrying about the roughness.  She knows if it starts to get out of hand Dad will take care of it by hitting the brakes.

Of course the caroling has a destination.  We go sing to the widows in our ward.  

This is Betty.  She's like another grandmother to me.  

After we sing, we go home for goodies and games.  Christmas Basket is a Bradshaw Family favorite.  I just tried to explain it here but I just don't think I can.  It requires a sturdy whacking device, fast thinking, and a good sense of humor.    

Brian was the victim of a Christmas Basket secret combination.  He chose "Present"  as his Christmas Basket identity.... It was the most popular name of the night.  My brothers dubbed me Vixen, despite my requests to be "bow" instead.  Anytime my name was called I called out Comet...who wasn't in the game.  I kept meaning to say Candy Cane (which was Tommy's identity) but it never came out right before I got whacked.  There was no mercy last night.
Brian did an awful lot of jumping up and down and dodging. 
And Tommy was the victim of revenge... 

We had a great night as a family, singing to our friends, singing to our neighbors, playing as a family.  As we all stumbled into bed, I heaved a sigh of relief that I was home and had made it in time for the party.  When I was in Dallas, stuck, I wondered if it was worth it.  

It definitely was.

Today was the last bit of Christmas shopping, Santana's (finally - delicious), and a nice, long run down to the cliffs with my AWESOME GPS WATCH.  It's really good to be home.

Next year I'm paying the money to fly direct...

Take 1:

Pack Saturday, run errands like crazy, get to the airport in just enough time to catch my flight.  Check in, get to the gate, watch my flight time get pushed back further and further.  Realize I won't catch my connection in Dallas, discover it's the last flight out of the night.  Rebook my flight for the following day.  Go home and watch BYU football.  Buy a new toothbrush at CVS. Sleepover at Katie's.

Take 2:

Sunday: Get ready for church without any of my toiletries since they are all on their way to San Diego (quite the adventure).  Go to church.  Find a ride to the airport.  Move my luggage to driver's car.  Discover a voicemail on my phone.  Flight has been cancelled due to mechanical failure.  Awesome.  Reschedule flight for the following morning.

Take 3:

Still Sunday: Call Jay to get online and see if there were in fact no flights left for that night. Discover I've been hoodwinked by the airlines.  Katie calls the airline while I'm on the phone with Jay demanding they put me on one of those available flights.   I call my dad to tell him what's going on.  Shed my first tear of the saga.  Aaron offers his handkerchief and a shoulder.  After an hour, we get my flight changed to go out of BWI, leaving in just a couple of hours.  Move my luggage again to the new driver's car.  Have an uneventful drive up.  

Take 3 continued: Get to Dallas.  Have way too much time to think.  Discover when I get there that we will be delayed another 3 hours due to flight crew time-outs.  So tired and so frustrated, with a nearly-dead phone battery due to the rescheduling drama earlier in the day (and having stupidly checked my phone charger), I sit in the Dallas airport and try not to cry.  Miraculously there is a plug nearby that isn't being used, so I plug in my computer and watch a movie.  The moment I get on the plane (2 a.m. DC time) I immediately fall asleep and don't wake up until we are approaching San Diego.  I thank my lucky stars I decided to pack my neck pillow.

We land at 2:15 a.m., San Diego time.  I'm pretty much delirious at this point, stumble down to baggage claim, call my mom (who stayed up waiting for my phone call), get both my bags immediately (miracles of miracles) and get into the car.  Brian had come along (thanks little brother) to help with my bags, and no one asked that I be particularly chatty.  I step on Tom as I try to get ready for bed, which really just consists of me putting on my pajamas and falling into bed.  

The End: I'm sitting in my living room with a fuzzy mouth, smelling my dad making breakfast, listening to Tom play the spinning song and Brian running through the living room like a ballerina (sort of...I'd have to post video for you to really understand). Oh dear, now he's shimmying.  Okay, I have to go.  Time for showers, breakfast and then we're off to Fry's!