Sickness, Service & Sacrifice

This week has been something of a rollercoaster health and wellness wise. Monday was a long day of Dentist visits, shopping, crafts and cleaning... fun fun fun.

Jared and I took Bridget for frozen yoghurt for our Family Home Evening treat and as usual after a number of samples, she chose a sour sorbet adorned with gummy worms!

We settled down on the couch to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional from 2011 (after I complained that the new format this year wasn't my favourite, Jared suggested that we revisit the years we really enjoyed).

You can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybo-M2RBgZM 

President Monson's talk from 2011 "Because He Came" is one of my favourite's of his talks, he begins by thanking all of the church employees who work with him and in the church offices throughout the world before turning attention to the celebration of Christmas.

 

"I, with you, have witnessed during the past few days and weeks what has become over the years the annual commercialization of Christmas. I am saddened to see Christmas becoming less and less about Christ and more and more about marketing and sales, parties and presents.

And yet, Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas."

"A wise Christian once urged, “Let us not spend Christmas … but let us keep Christmas in our hearts and in our lives.” ³

This is my plea tonight, because when we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ Spirit. ⁴ It will block out all the distractions around us which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning.

There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ.

Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example which, if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern for others.

Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence.

Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or distress, wherever they may be.

Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came.

Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life.

Because He came, we are gathered tonight to worship Him, in bonds of brotherhood and love.

May His precious Spirit be with us, and may He ever be the center of our celebrations and indeed of our very lives, I pray in His holy name, amen."

 

I've been thinking a lot about the 'why' of our Christmas traditions, some of them are very obvious to me - we watch The Muppet Christmas Carol each year due to the undeniable joy it brings to my soul watching Gonzo portray Charles Dickens! It always makes me think of Robert and I doing Gonzo & Rizzo impressions pretty much all of December each year! I love that in our later productions Robert was more frequently cast in the lead (Gonzo, Cat in the Hat etc... though obviously nothing to Joanna & Kathryn's Director's Cut of the Titanic):

Gonzo: My name is Charles Dickens.
Rizzo the Rat: And my name is Rizzo the Rat... wait a second! You're not Charles Dickens!
Gonzo: I am too!
Rizzo the Rat: No! A blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat?
Gonzo: Absolutely!
Rizzo the Rat: Charles Dickens was a 19th Century novelist! A genius!
Gonzo: Oh, you are too kind!
Rizzo the Rat: Why should I believe you?
Gonzo: Well, because I know the story of A Christmas Carol like the back of my hand!
Rizzo the Rat: Prove it!
Gonzo: All right! Um, there's a little mole on my thumb, and um, a scar on my wrist from when I fell off my bike...
Rizzo the Rat: No, no, no, don't tell us your *hand*, tell us the *story*!

Poor Bridget was sick again Tuesday, Wednesday and slept most of the day, we had thought we'd need to cancel our trip down to the bay area for the Hoag Christmas Celebration, but Thursday and Friday were better days. She's still not herself, grumpy, sleepy and less happy than usual, but she's not been sick again since the beginning of the week so that's good! Downside is, Snot. Snot is definitely the downside of sickness! We have literally gone through three whole boxes of tissues this week, and still have a couple of days to go! That said we made the trip and it went tolerably well - we're all still alive, a little tired and with a good amount to think about for next year! 

Bridget tried to play with her cousins, but it wasn't wholly successful, moments of fun like the ball machine below, but we also had vomiting children, grumpy children and a lot of trouble sharing!

All of this left Bridget feeling well... this picture says it all!

We did our best to keep Bridget amused... not sure the Rubik's Cube was our most successful attempt, but with a house, literally full of dangerous items, areas and opportunities for death, dismemberment and breakages at every turn, you get somewhat desperate!

She made a valiant effort!

Well, until someone took it from her... enough said on this issue!

Ebenezer Scrooge: Bob Cratchit, I've had my fill of this.
Miss Piggy: And I have had my fill of you, Mr. Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge: And therefore, Bob Cratchit...
Miss Piggy: And therefore, you can leave this house at once.
Ebenezer Scrooge: And therefore, I'm about to raise your salary!
Miss Piggy: Ooh, and I am about to raise you right off the pavement...! Pardon?

I just about managed to restrain myself, I stayed out of the kitchen with the shouting, huffing, puffing, complaining, criticizing and cussing. I stayed out of the fighting about Strawberry Dakaris and the crushing of ice, along with a number of other heated arguments about plates, chairs, seating arrangements, tires, names and many other contentious issues! Basically I stayed out of pretty much all the adult conversation and played with the kiddos and sat at the kids table. Now I have to mention that the kids table was made up of three under 4 years olds and two under 8 year olds, and the plan was to leave them in a separate room unsupervised! Yup = excellent idea, especially when I tell you that the table is located at the top of a staircase with no stair gate and between a glass china cabinet containing tea sets and that all of the children's chairs had wheels on them! YUP, that's not a recipe for disaster... nope nope nope. Long story short, I sat at the kids table and after hearing the rehearsed version of adult conversation am very grateful for it. Jared informed me that the subject matter included, brothels, pornos, adultery & airplanes and many other inspirational Christmas topics... beautiful.

Sam the Eagle: Tomorrow, you become a man of business!
Young Scrooge: I'm looking forward to it, Headmaster.
Sam the Eagle: Mm, you will love business. It is the AMERICAN WAY!
Gonzo: [whispers] Sam...
[whispers in Sam's ear]
Sam the Eagle: Oh... It is the BRITISH WAY!
Young Scrooge: Yes, headmaster.

Bridget wasn't too keen on sitting for pictures (Daddy's girl) and preferred to enjoy some messy presents over beside Mummy and Daddy - much to the chagrin of the adults! But, Jared and I have long accepted that if Bridget doesn't want to do it, your chances are small of coercing her, forcing her or coaxing even if you wanted to - which we didn't!

When it came to the opening of presents however - our little monkey was a pro! She carefully unwrapped each present before saying "ooooh" or "woooow" and playing for a little while with her gift before moving on to the next one!

She's an impressive little munchkin, and very enthusiastic about gifts! haha. She does say thank you, but I confess, only when she feels like it... which I'm ok with! So, it was mentioned at least three or four times an hour that Jared and I had to leave the celebration at chez Hoag to make it back to Redding for Jared's work do at 6:30pm... We were an hour and a half late leaving Concord and consequently arrived at the meal just after 7pm, but Bridget looked plenty gorgeous to get us off the hook! 
In the car on the way up to Redding which is a 3 1/2 hour drive Jared worked on his speech for the party and I couldn't help being reminded of the Muppets:
Fozziwig: My speech! Here's my Christmas speech. Ahem. "Thank you all, and Merry Christmas."
Jacob Marley: That was the speech?
Robert Marley: It was dumb!
Jacob Marley: It was obvious!
Robert Marley: It was pointless!
Jacob Marley: It was... short!
[turns to Robert]
Jacob Marley, Robert Marley: I loved it!

Jared gave a wonderful speech about the team he works with and the success they have enjoyed in the last year as a branch, presenting each employee with a gift card and some words of appreciation for the specific attributes and talents they bring to the company. It was really lovely! Jared even got a round of applause and several of the staff made their own little announcements of how appreciated Jared is and the differences they have seen in the store since he took it on, a little over 2 years ago now! So that was really lovely to be witness to, Jared works very hard and has had a lot of personnel and professional decisions to make which have been really challenging and at times unpleasant so it was so nice to see some success come from all of that!

SO!!! Christmas is just two sleeps away, and second to my excitement about Bridget opening her presents is the excitement of talking to Auntie Katty - Sister She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named! Can't wait to skype with her and hear her wild Canadian stories!!! Though after hearing some of Robert's after his mission I'm hoping she'll censor them a bit too as I though that Rizzo had it right:
Rizzo the Rat: Boy, that's scary stuff! Should we be worried about the kids in the audience?
Gonzo: Nah, it's all right. This is culture!

So as the Muppets have it "God Bless us everyone!"