Ghosts of Christmas Past

Please join me in a look back at some Christmases of my past.

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Here is Baby's First Christmas in 1954. My mom, Jane, was 17 years old and I was 3 1/2 months old. Yep, still totally bald.

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How many of us remember putting those silver icicles on the Christmas tree? My mom insisted we put on the tinsel one strand at a time so it was perfectly distributed among the branches. It was long, tedious labor, and I kind of miss it!

Still 1954: My dad, Myron, is relaxing by the Christmas tree. I think he worked the graveyard shift at North American Aviation in Los Angeles at that time. He was 20 years old. Apparently my mom was still hard at work on the tinsel!

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I see they put their little tree up on a table just like my children and I did this year. We are actually quite fond of this year's little tree. We'll hate having to take it down.

Color for Christmas 1958! My grandparents came from Fresno to visit, so all the family who lived in the L.A. area got together. That would be Uncle Johnny and Aunt LouDene, Uncle Ernie and Aunt Alma, and my parents, plus all their children at that time.

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My dad is at the back on the left, looking a lot like my nephew Josh! I'm in the white shirt in front, with my hand in my mouth. Some things never change! I was 4 years old then.

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Still 1958: Here's my mom with her in-laws. She was 21 and pregnant with my brother LeRoy, so it was my last Christmas as an only child.

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Grandpa Ed Butler, barely visible in the dark, was 66 and Grandma Myrtle Butler was 63 at this Christmas. Grandpa passed away about 10 years later, but Grandma lived to be 100!

* Christmas 1961: We moved to Fresno, CA in 1960 and our family was growing!
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Left to right:
Mary Jane (me) at age 7;
Karla at 20 months old;
Dad at age 27;
LeRoy (between parents) age 2 1/2;
Mom at age 24;
and Jeff almost 2 months old.
Christmas 1969: Here are Karla (age 9) and Jeff (age 8) with Mom. Every year we made red-and-green Christmas chains to hang on the wall and count down the days.

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I miss the old slotted-paper nativity scene we received in Primary, way back when (you can see it there on the piano). I used mine every year until it simply fell apart several years ago. I noticed they had a smaller one printed in this month's Friend for the children to paste on heavy paper and cut out.

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Here's the mess on Christmas morning 1969! Remember when aluminum trees were all the rage? Mom hung red ball ornaments all over it, then tucked in some purple garland for good measure. It was a very interesting look!

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I'm the one with the long blonde hair and my back to the camera (as I said, some things never change). I was 15 on this Christmas.

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Still 1969: Once the mess was cleaned up, Darryl (age 6) and LeRoy (age 10) got busy playing with their new toys.


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Christmas 1970: In December we spent some time in Santa Cruz (in the San Francisco Bay area) at the home of my Uncle Gene and Aunt Bertha. While there we decided to visit a Christmas tree farm in the area and cut our own Christmas tree.

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I'm the one in the white sweater and purple bell bottoms, age 16.

We found the perfect tree, cut it, and strapped it to the top of the brand new blue van we'd just bought from Uncle Gene's car dealership. On our way home, the tree slid off the roof and we ran over it. So much for perfection!

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After we moved here to the mountains in 1990, Mark and I went out in the forest a couple of times to find and cut our own Christmas tree. One of those times we were almost trampled by a large herd of elk stampeding through our clearing. Cutting your own tree can be dangerous!

Christmas 1971: This was our last Christmas in Fresno. The following June I graduated from high school and we moved to Yorba Linda, a small town near Anaheim in southern California.
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I'd been teaching the 3-year-old Moonbeams in Primary for 4 years (although nowadays they are called the Sunbeams) and this was my last year with them. Here I am at age 17 with my little Moonbeams, Tiffany, Emily, and Christian. They were angels in the big Primary Christmas program that year.

Although I was a high school senior and LeRoy was in 7th grade, our younger 3 siblings were young enough to still be in Primary.

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Here is 11-year-old Karla in the program. She's the 2nd from the right in the back row, behind the seated girl in pink. (I know these pictures aren't of the greatest quality.)

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Here is Darryl at age 8 as a shepherd. He's the 2nd from the left, the one in the plaid robe still trying to tie it shut.

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And finally, below is Jeff at age 10 as one of the wise men. He's in the gold robe at far right.

There are a lot of years with no Christmas photos at all. That seems a little sad, although I think my parents were more focused on capturing Christmas on the movie camera. Someday I'll have to learn how to convert old home movies to digital so I can share them!

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Even without pictures, I have plenty of happy memories of magical Christmas moments and the joy of family togetherness.

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I wish you all the same!

Farewell, Rosebud

Our sweet Rosebud passed away tonight.

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Sarah had noticed a few days ago that she wasn't eating or drinking much, so she brought her inside to warm her up and hand-feed her some of her favorites, like carrots.

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I think Rosie knew, though, that her time was almost over. She didn't seem to be in pain, just weary. She was 5 1/2 years old, a good old age for a rabbit.

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We're blessed that she spent her last Christmas with us. In fact, on Christmas Eve our friend Gwen sat and cuddled her for a very long time, taking comfort in Rosebud's super-soft mini-rex fur. A true velveteen rabbit.

A little while ago Sarah brought her in, wrapped warmly in a soft towel. Jacob teared up a little and left the room. We all grieve in different ways.

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Sarah, Dylan, and I cried and hugged each other and talked about how Heavenly Father loves the animals of the earth. Dylan was especially distressed about how he will miss Rosie. I reminded him that animals have spirits, too, and right now Rosebud is in a place where her spirit is free and happy.

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I believe we'll be reunited one day with all the pets we loved so well. Those bonds of love will continue into the eternities. (I can't imagine my mom being happy in any form of heaven without her beloved dogs!)

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There is a risk in choosing to love, I told my son. Yet how empty and cold our lives are if we close our hearts against love because we fear the pain of loss.

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We are richer for having loved our sweet Rosebunny. Until we meet again, our memories of her soft nuzzles and gentle nature will warm our hearts. We will miss you, Rosie girl!

Our Christmas

Due to being snowed-in for 2 days, we had a very quiet Christmas.

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On Christmas Eve our friend Gwen joined us for another turkey dinner. Afterward we all watched a movie and made 2 pans of Christmas fudge together.

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At bedtime I filmed Sarah, Jacob, and Dylan hanging their stockings and singing Christmas songs in their silliest voices, our annual tradition.

After dinner a neighbor surprised us with the gift of a TV she no longer used! For 20 years I've insisted on being a one-TV family, so my boys are elated to suddenly have one in their bedroom.

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I admit I'll enjoy having the video games in another room. In our area there is no TV without cable or satellite, and since there's no cable in the boys' room the TV will only be good for video games.

Gwen was safely delivered home by midnight and the kids tucked snugly in their beds before Santa stuffed their stockings and left gifts under the tree.

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At promptly 7am Dylan called from his room: "Mom, can we get up now?" They know I won't open gifts before it's light outside!

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Wiping sleep from my eyes, I filmed them exploring their stockings and opening presents.

It snowed steadily all morning. The roads in our neighborhood became impassable. My dad and step-mom tried to visit us but their car couldn't get through.

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Jeff and Dana invited us to their traditional waffles-and-pear-sauce Christmas breakfast, but we couldn't get out of the driveway. We missed out on the company, the food, and the family snowball fight!

Instead, we had a peaceful day at home. We played with the new toys and watched the new DVDs and enjoyed being together. We worked together to prepare a nice ham dinner and clean up after the festivities. To my surprise, none of my children complained about being stuck at home.

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Each Christmas I take pictures of the kids with their gifts. I started doing it when I was a teen, and it's fun to look back over the years and remember.

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My kids were good to me this year. Sarah gave me the newest Indiana Jones DVD, Jacob got me a digital picture frame, and Dylan gave me a Disney story book because he knows I love to read.

Today it snowed the entire day, sometimes so heavily I couldn't see the houses across the street. I heard the highway was so bad that cars were sliding sideways. So we spent another day at home and got a lot of deep-cleaning done. Sometimes these days can be a blessing.

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There are still a few gifts under the tree, waiting for the family Christmas party on New Years Day. I can't wait to see everyone!

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Note to Karla and Lori: the weather report shows no snow for this coming week, so driving conditions should be good for your trip up the mountain. But there should still be enough snow on the ground for a snowman or two!

Christmas Snow

We're having a white Christmas! It started snowing heavily late Monday afternoon. I'd just finished up a nearly 3-hour marathon Christmas shopping spree (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) and when I came out of WalMart it was like the scene from the old TV show Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer when the storm of the century hit. A cloud had settled on the mountain and the wind was blowing the snow sideways, making visibility poor.

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I'm grateful that the shopping is now done, the packages are wrapped and placed under the tree, and we can enjoy the beautiful white landscape through the windows from the warm interior of our home.

The next morning we had about 10 inches of snow on the ground. Since I had a dermatologist appointment at 9am, I ventured forth to check the depth myself. The snow kept falling into the tops of my knee-high boots! Needless to say, I'll be rescheduling the appointment.

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Jacob and Dylan and their friends have had a good time sledding and having snowball fights.

There's no new snow today, but so far 3 trucks have gotten stuck in the drifts in front of our house.

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The forecast calls for more snow tomorrow and Friday, so a white Christmas it will be. The best part is, there should still be snow on the ground when Karla's and LeRoy's families join us for New Years Day. It's so much fun when the cousins play in the snow together.

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For all the fun and beauty of snowfall, I'm also grateful for the blessing it is to our area. Our winters have been mild for several years now, leading to drought conditions and increasing our risk for forest fires.

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This winter has brought the kind of moisture we used to enjoy. It reminds me that there are many, many things to give thanks for this Christmas season! May we all keep our eyes open to the bounteous blessings we enjoy every day!

New Blog Alert

Just a heads up that another of my siblings has started a blog. Be sure to drop by and visit

wakeupalive.blogspot.com

by my youngest brother, Darryl (or just click on his link below with the rest of my favorite blogs). Enjoy his slightly eccentric outlook on life, photos of his family in Missouri, and now even his drawings from his younger days.

Speaking of drawings, I have started a second blog where I plan to archive my own old art work from, oh, so very long ago! If you are interested in amateur art, please drop in at

sketchartbymary.blogspot.com

A link to my new art blog is also provided below. I have lots of art to scan into my computer, so I plan to add sketches every week or so.

Okay, let's review: I now have a blog (or two); LeRoy's wife Lori has a blog; Jeff's wife Dana has a blog; Darryl has a blog. Isn't there still a sibling missing? Oh yeah, Karla, that would be YOU! Why don't you just submit to the inevitable and jump on the band wagon with the rest of us? We miss you!

Better to Give

School is out and Christmas break has begun. Much as I love my time off, the past weeks of school have been amazing as I've seen the hearts of students open up and give freely to those in need.

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Many charitable agencies have reported a drop in donations as our economy has taken a nosedive, but our school decided to be proactive.

When our local police department stated that the Shop with a Cop program had insufficient funds to operate this year, our principal Mr. Ball issued a challenge to the district. Thanks to the generosity of students and staff, by 2:00 that same afternoon he was able to hand the police more than $1,400!

A week later we learned that the police department used that money to take 219 children from our district to shop for a Christmas present!

Next, the student body was invited to "can" the assistant principal in charge of discipline, Mr. Clark, by loading his office up with so many canned goods that he'd be unable to get to his desk! The kids with disciplinary issues loved the idea of an assistant principal who couldn't drag them into his office. They very nearly succeeded with 1,748 cans!

Let us not forget the Penny Wars! Each class is issued 2 large jars: a penny jar and a bombing jar. The goal is to be the class with the most pennies in your jar. Pennies only! However, other classes can "bomb" you by placing silver coins and bills in your bombing jar, forcing you to subtract that amount from your total pennies.
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In other words, even if you had $100 in pennies, if you were bombed with $90 in silver and green, you could only count $10 as your total! The bombing, of course, is where the big money comes from.

Many teachers become very competitive, adopting military names and plotting stealth bombing runs. Gloating emails to rival classes run rampant. Our class was Carter's Covert Commandoes and we did a pretty good job of flying under the radar. We only got bombed once! Our other troops (classes on our team) weren't so lucky.

No word on the total yet, but last year the Penny Wars garnered over $1,500. I expect we topped that this year because the competition was so fierce. Keep in mind, our high school only has about 900 students.

To me, this is what Christmas is all about. I'm thrilled to see so many young people who are less focused on what they want for themselves and more involved in helping others have a nice Christmas. The joy they receive will be far more lasting than any other gifts they will find beneath their Christmas trees.

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Opening our hearts and extending our hands is the best way to honor our Savior, who is the greatest gift of all.

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Merry Christmas!

The Storm that Wasn't

All the weather channels predicted a big storm for our area that was supposed to last all week. We got a few inches of snow on Saturday night and Sunday. On Monday it started snowing at 9am and fell steadily all day, adding 4-5 inches of snow. At school we expected any moment to be dismissed early, but we made it to the end of the school day at 3:10. Everyone was urged to go home. Activities scheduled for the evening were cancelled.

Tuesday was supposed to be the BIG day of the storm. It snowed during the night and school was cancelled for the second Tuesday in a row.

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We spent the day at home, but a storm never materialized. A warm front moved in and turned the snow to rain, which melted much of the snow on the ground. Today we returned to school. No new snow, but now they say tomorrow will be the BIG storm. Yeah, right!

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Since final exams will be given over the next 2 days, hopefully we won't be cancelled again. The kids have already missed some of the parties traditionally held during the week before Christmas break.

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Besides, only 3 snow days are added to the school calendar. Once they're used up, we start losing spring holidays or we have to return for additional days of school the week after graduation. No one wants that!

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It's unusual to use snow days before Christmas. Our heavy snows usually come January through March. Having already used up 2 of those 3 days already, we could be in trouble next semester!

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These pictures were taken Monday night while it was still snowing. The boys and I headed to WalMart to stock up on supplies in case we were snowed in for a few days. Ha!

Better safe than sorry, though. In the past we have been snowed in, and you never want to be caught unprepared. We got 4 feet of snow in March 2006 and couldn't leave our house for 4 days (except on snowshoes, perhaps!). School was cancelled for 3 days.

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Jacob and Dylan are a big help with shopping--usually, at least. They help unload the basket, bag the groceries, carry them to the car, and put things away at home.

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I thought some WalMart pictures were appropriate. With no malls on our mountain, WalMart is the main shopping hangout. You can't walk in without meeting about a dozen people you know. We shop there so often, I should own stock in the company!

O Tannenbaum!

On Tuesday we got 3 inches of snow, which isn't much, but school was canceled due to icy roads. We spent the day at home cleaning house so we could buy a Christmas tree. Call me OCD, but I insist on a clean living room before the tree goes in!

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We've always had a 6 foot Christmas tree before. However, with a slim budget this year we settled for a 4-footer, which we placed on a small table. When Dylan found this one standing alone in a corner, we knew it was the tree for us!

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It was late evening when we bought it, and with so many activities sending us here and there all week, we had to wait to decorate our tree.

Tonight we dragged out the boxes of Christmas decorations and the kids sorted through their ornaments, deciding which ones they most wanted on the tree. With a smaller tree, we used about half as many as usual.

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We had to buy a new string of lights. Our 3 old strands finally gave up the ghost, and you just can't have a Christmas tree without twinkling lights!

While the kids hung ornaments, I put out my favorite decorations. My sister-in-law Dana crocheted the little angel dress to make this angelic visitor from an old-fashioned clothespin.
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Dana made the Nativity from actual peanuts. The little sign says "Christmas in a nutshell!" It's a sweet reminder of the quiet, simple but so very important event we celebrate at Christmas time.

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When I saw the items below in an Avon calalog several years ago, I instantly felt I was 10 years old again, enchanted by "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" on TV.

I knew I had to own Yukon Cornelius, Sam the Snowman, the Abominable Snowman (Bumble), and all the other characters for myself!

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Each year it's a reminder of how magical Christmas is for children and how the memories we make together linger with us always.

Outside, a fierce wind is howling around the eaves. A fairly heavy snow is blowing through the thrashing trees. Several days of snow are predicted, perhaps a few feet worth, and we wonder if we will miss the fun school parties and the final exams this week.

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But inside, all is calm. The twinkling Christmas tree is beautifully dressed, my children are all snuggled warm in their beds (although I can hear Sarah whistling a Christmas tune from her room), and all is peaceful in our little home.

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These are the feelings of Christmas spirit I'd like to carry in my heart all year through.

Thanksgiving, Revisited

It seems we got to December 1st and then the Christmas season hit us HARD! There has been some type of event nearly every day since.

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Tonight I've been blessed with an unexpectedly quiet evening. Sarah is babysitting and Jacob is off on a Scout campout and hike of historic Mormon Battalion Trail in the Phoenix area. Dylan and his friends Weston and Robert are engrossed in a video game, giving me time to reflect.

I never got to share our Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd do that now. The day began with a gentle snowfall, second of the season, which left us with about an inch of snow.

Here are Dylan (blue jacket) and his friend Eric tasting the snow on the fence. Didn't they pay attention to the flagpole scene in A Christmas Story?!

We invited our friend Gwen to join our feast. She had recently been diagnosed with pneumonia, so we decided to have a quiet meal at home to allow her to relax and to limit the number of potential germs she might come in contact with.

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Here she is modeling her lovely fuchsia nails, which Sarah painted for her soon after she arrived.

Jacob baked zucchini bread, pumpkin pies, and a lemon meringue pie. The lemon meringue gave him some fits. First, he didn't realize the pie crust had to be baked before the lemon mixture went into it, so he had to scrape the lemon out. Then the egg white wouldn't beat to a nice, stiff texture, which is why there's no merigue in this photo. Luckily, Gwen helped make another batch, which topped off his pie perfectly!

After a prayer of thanksgiving we shared our thoughts about our many blessings. For the most part, we echoed one another's appreciation for friends, family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen!

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Then we enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving dinner of turkey (carved by Jacob) and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, candied yams, rolls, and pink lemonade.
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I loved seeing the beautifully set tables and decorated dining rooms featured in other people's blogs, along with their cheerful, well-behaved guests. In return I want to share a picture of our fancy, classy feast.

Okay, so we weren't so classy, crowded around our tiny little farmhouse table! But we enjoyed the delicious meal and we especially enjoyed the wonderful company.

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We are so blessed to have each other, to experience love and kindness here in a land of peace and plenty. I am truly grateful for the abundance we enjoy each and every day!

'Tis the Season

December has arrived and the Christmas season has begun. (Although in stores it seems to have begun the day after Halloween!)

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I have typed up and printed a test copy of my annual Christmas newsletter and purchased this year's Christmas cards. My children have completed most of their Christmas shopping and I haven't even started. We hope to have a Christmas tree soon to place their gifts under.

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This scene featuring Joseph and Mary is found on the grounds of the Mesa AZ Temple at Christmas time. It looks so real to me.
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On Tuesday was the Relief Society Christmas Fiesta. They fed us a traditional Mexican dinner of enchiladas, tamales, beans and rice, horchata, and a sweet fruit dessert, after which we enjoyed a short program. Yummy!

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This is me with my friend Wyndie. Now you can see what she looks like without the gun, the computer, and the tacky dress. (tee hee)

Tonight was our ward Christmas party. More yummy stuff! They served more than a dozen homemade soups with homemade rolls, followed by musical entertainment, the Christmas story presented by the children, homemade cookies, and a visit from Santa.

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This is my friend Gwen, who is trying to recover from pneumonia. Gwen is a real southern belle, accent and all.

Here are my boys enjoying their meal with Gwen, whom they've adopted as their "Aunty Gwen." Sarah was unable to join us tonight because she was babysitting and doing her humanities homework.

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I truly love the spirit of Christmas. I cherish our family traditions, the good will of strangers sharing the joy of the season, the hustle and bustle of shopping and plotting surprises, and the desire to stretch a little to help and bless others.

Above all, I love remembering the humble beginning of the greatest life this world has ever known, the quiet birth of Jesus Christ, who came to do what no one else could--simply because He loves us.

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As we enjoy the fun of the holiday season, may we always keep in mind "the reason for the season" and hold His peace in our hearts.