Life in a Northern Town: FAMILY LETTER 12.30.18

Dear Loved Ones,

Well, there are about 30 hours left in 2018. It has been a marvelous year! Our holiday season has been busy but so sweet. Next year we won’t host EVERYTHING, but it was fun to just stay home this year.

Since I last wrote TWO weeks ago there have been major events, like Christmas Eve and Day, and ADELINE GOT HER DRIVERS LICENSE! I had no idea what a wonderful Christmas gift this would be to myself, but it really has been. It has been so great to have another driver in the house to better enable my hibernation. We bought her a little Outback last summer, which she has personalized with stickers and a box of mix cds and tapes to play, so she is off and running. Hooray! So that happened 12/17 (Monday). The next night (12/18) was James’ 7^th grade band concert, followed by a celebratory dinner at Fiesta en Jalisco. His was the very last concert of the season for us, hence the dinner. The rest of that week was a flurry of Christmas prep. The kids had drawn each other’s names and we took one or two of them on a shopping date each day, which included shopping and a meal, so that was a fun way to get some one-on-one time with them in this busy season (next year we will plan better so we can enjoy the kids individually). The week culminated with a surprise overnight date with Rich Friday-Saturday (12/21-22). He thought we were going out to dinner and wrapping presents at the office for the kids, but I had made arrangements for his mom to come stay over with the kids so we could go do whatever we wanted for 24 hours. Usually we’d go to Billings, but the temple is closed and the roads were icy, so we just went over to Bozeman. We had such a nice time together—that’s definitely a new tradition. We DID go to the office and wrap presents just before going home Saturday, and Rich took Addie and Kristina on a date to Bozeman for their dinner/shopping date. Meanwhile, I prepped some food for our Italian Christmas eve dinner and fed the kids who stayed here. We watched “Christmas Vacation” and “Arthur Christmas,” and earlier in the week, we watched “Home Alone” with the little boys for the first time, and they laughed and laughed. It is so fun to see joyful traditions passed on. I used to be kinda bummed about my kids being so spaced out, but it’s so cool to watch the big kids creating magic for the little kids.

Our “Christmas Adam” (12/23) Sacrament Meeting service was really special. We sang all the Christmas hymns as usual, and the Primary and choir sang lovely numbers. But this year, I gave 4 speakers a Luke 2 scripture and asked them to give a 5 minute talk about the principle/attributes of that scripture and they all did a totally amazing job. We were so very edified! We enjoyed getting home before noon and resting and finishing up our Christmas preparations. We made a few deliveries of treats with carols and Addie helped me stuff the chicken breasts for our “herb-stuffed capon” main dish Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve day (12/24), is, imho, the best day of the year (besides Easter) because anticipation is maxed out, and so is the joy. After some last-minute deliveries and visits and a bunch of food prep and decoration, our Melin Family gathered around 4pm to celebrate. The kids played for a while and made some little crafts, then we ate at 5pm. The dinner was delicious! We had a nice antipasti salad, shrimp linguine, stuffed capon (chicken) and bruschetta for dinner, followed by a bunch of yummy cookies. We gathered downstairs by the fire to read some Christmas stories and exchange cousin gifts. Afterward, we put out some cocoa and cheesecake and said goodbye to cousins around 7:30. Shortly thereafter, the elf brought our pajamas to the door and we all got cozy. We opened our ornaments from Nana and Papa Drews and sang some songs. Then we went back downstairs to watch “The Man Who Invented Christmas,” a story about Dickens writing A Christmas Carol. The kids all made beds in the living room by the fire and fell asleep there. We went upstairs and tidied up and stuffed stockings. Rich set an alarm for 3am (12/25) and snuck out to “check and see” what Santa brought. I slept right through that for the first time (!), and the kids facetimed us (hahahaha) at 6:30am to ask if they could come upstairs. So we jumped out of bed and met them at the stairs, cameras in hands, and watched them come up and discover what Santa brought them. Everyone seemed happy with their gifts, especially the boys, who got Lego sets and games that kept them busy all day long. Our Melin Family stopped by around 1pm to visit (after they attended the Community Christmas Dinner), and then the Joneses came over as it was getting dark. It had begun to snow and they didn’t knock, they just started singing “Let It Snow” at our door. It was the sweetest surprise! A whole fresh wave of joy swept over the house as everybody teamed up with their buddies and shared all the fun Christmas tales and treats (they brought divine orange rolls!) and some hearty, nourishing beef stew for dinner. Robyn and I just talked and talked for like 4 hours. The kids played games and had a nerf war, while the girls and their dads started their traditional Christmas break “Twilight” marathon. Neighbor Nick Feldtman, home from college (used to date oldest Jones sister, Eden, who is serving a mission right now) stopped in to say hello, and was mobbed with hugs. We finally all got drowsy and said goodnight to our Jonesies . Rich and I went to bed with the little guys, but since we have another driver, we let the girls go watch more Twilight with Jones girls. I’d wished for snow and there was a lovely blanket over everything and we sent them off and my heart almost burst from all the Christmas perfection. That particular moment brought these lyrics to mind: “In these frozen and silent nights/ sometimes in a dream/ you appear /outside under the purple skies/ diamonds in the snow sparkle/ our hearts were singing/ it felt like Christmas time…” Robyn and I had just been saying, these silent moments where your heart is bursting with gratitude—this is Christmas.

The week continued on in the blur that is the week between Christmas and New Year’s every year, staying in our jammies, playing all the games, eating the leftovers (or some cleansing smoothies), watching the movies, hanging out with the friends and family. On boxing day evening (12/26), we met up with Melin family to see “Mary Poppins Returns” and I could not have been more delighted or moved. I am always leery of remakes and sequels, especially of iconic classics, but Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda have all the talent and personality to create a worthy follow-up to Julie and Dick. It was just beautiful. And the song, “Where the Lost Things Go,” was particularly poignant, and frankly, wrecked me, as I recalled conversations with my dear friend Rhett as he faced widowerhood, and his sweet kids missing their awesome mother. Since I’m already running long on this letter, I include the sweet lyrics:

Do you ever lie awake at night
Just between the dark and the morning light
Searching for the things you used to know
Looking for the place Where the lost things go

Do you ever dream or reminisce
Wondering where to find what you truly miss
Well maybe all those things that you love so
Are waiting in the place Where the lost things go

Memories you've shed, gone for good you feared
They're all around you still though they've disappeared
Nothing's really left or lost without a trace
Nothing's gone forever, only out of place

So maybe now the dish and my best spoon
Are playing hide and seek just behind the moon
Waiting there until it's time to show
Spring is like that now, far beneath the snow
Hiding in the place Where the lost things go

Time to close your eyes so sleep can come around
For when you dream you'll find all that's lost is found
Maybe on the moon or maybe somewhere new
Maybe all you're missing lives inside of you

So when you need her touch and loving gaze
Gone but not forgotten is the perfect phrase
Smiling from a star that she makes glow
Trust she's always there watching as you grow
You’ll find her in the place where the lost things go

ALL THE TEARS. Oh, my heart. Every song has a gospel symbol theme. I’m really excited to own the movie and learn all the songs. We bought the soundtrack before we even left the theater, and we enjoyed a pizza dinner with all the Jellis, Grandma, and Uncle Mike afterward. Later that week we watched “Pele” on Netflix, and we highly recommend that, too.

The other big event of the week was our Girls’ Day In Book of Mormon Readathon from 9am-6pm Saturday 12/29. We tried to be obedient and read it by the first, but I won’t finish the BoM until the second or third. Nevertheless, I have experienced so many blessings and insights reading straight through this time. I will try to record them if I can find words, in a separate document. The Jones girls came over and we ate healthy snacks and had a wonderful cold day together reading and snacking and having outbursts like, “Can we all just agree that Fathers’ blessings are the best chapters in the BOM?” (I read from Alma 36 to Helaman 5, so you can guess that was MY outburst ;)). Rich went out to the ranch with the little guys and came home around 6pm with some yummy Chinese take-out. Thoroughly awesome day. And today (Sunday 12/30) was also wonderful. Primary is going great—we had a huge high five after our LAST SHARING TIME EVER today. We had naps and played our new meme game and all is right in the world. Looking forward to celebrating the New year tomorrow with our local loved ones, wishing you all were with us. We wish you a blessed week, a Happy New year, and send you lots of love!

Love, Jamie and Rich and Family