December 2020 Light The World

Russ, Faye Landham, Linda

December, the Most Wonderful Time of Year!  It has been a month of non-stop Joy and blessings as we have prepared our home, served others, and received so many cards from family and friends that connect us together.  We participated with the #LightTheWorld initiative this month and it truly helped us to focus on hope and brighter days ahead.  "When Jesus Christ was born, angels proclaimed, 'Peace on earth, good will to men.' This December, the promise remains the same.  As we serve others the way Jesus served, we can end 2020 on a hopeful note."  I will share a few of the highlights from this experience.

We started December with Giving Tuesday.  We donated to It's For Africa, a non-profit for friends who served a mission in Africa and have continued helping the people with water solutions.  It has helped so many people to have access to water - Not only is Jesus Christ the living water, but they are also helping the people with a necessity of life.

Signs of Christmas.  Lift others like Jesus did.  Decorate a neighbor's door with Christmas greetings.  This was a special activity to do.  We had fun deciding who we would select and how we would decorate the door,  One of our trees in our house is decorated with the different names of Christ.  We decided to create a paper tree and put paper ornaments on it with the names of Christ that are found in the scriptures.  I looked up all of the scripture references and then selected the ones I wanted to use.  On the back side of the ornament I put the scripture reference and then either some of the scripture or a brief description of the name.  We selected our neighbor whose husband passed away last year and we have not been able to see her very much with 

the current conditions.

I attached it to her front door and left.  I know it brightened her day and brought a little of the Christmas Spirit into her home.  I missed looking across the street and seeing her home lit up.  Her husband always waited until he saw Russ put up our lights and he would come out and put up his lights.  This year her house was dark and I hope we brought a little light into her life.

Treats times two was a fun day in the kitchen for me.  I was inspired to make some authentic German cookies by Sarah Penner, one of the Sister missionaries we served with. She sent me a recipe and it got me started and I just kept going.  I made shortbread cookies in a few varieties, Butterplatzchen and then Zimtsterne, a cinnamon cookie made from ground almonds, egg whites and cinnamon,  I rounded out the plate with one of our favorite Lebkuchen, a chocolate covered ginger cookie.  I got them at Aldi just like the ones I would get at Aldi in Germany.  It took a lot of thought and prayer to decide who to give them to.  That may sound funny, but we wanted to share with someone who would enjoy the cookies and also who would share the second plate with someone else.  We think we found the perfect family and we enjoyed making the delivery.

I was asked to participate in a Worldwide Virtual Nativity Display this year since many would not be able to have displays this year.  I submitted about 20 photos and about 10 of them made the Video.  It was beautifully done and DVD's were made and available for purchase.  I purchased some and then we delivered some of them to a local nursing home for their residents to be able to watch and enjoy.  

It is available on Youtube.com through Dec. 31

One of our Christmas traditions has been to go see or listen to The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean.  This year the play was made into a movie and was available to purchase.  If you have not watched it you need to take the time to view it.  It has many wonderful memories for me.  I love the music and the message.  He also wrote a Childrens Book version of the play.  It is a favorite of a few of my grandchildren.  They came to visit and we were able to read it together and sing the songs.  That was a special time with Will and Nora.

Another day was The Christ Child.  Jesus's birth brought hope.  Watch The Christ Child a Christmas message video on LDS.org. I had an amazing journey with this one.  My friend, Faye commented to me that she had received a new Nativity this year and she really liked it because it had a shepherd that was a girl.  I had studied a little about the Shepherds and had not followed that idea.  So I began a journey of a study of the Shepherds.  One of the sources was the video mentioned above.  I watched a video on the making of the video and it talked about the shepherdess that was in the movie and her connection with Mary when they arrived at the stable.  Now I was really interested to find out more.  A really good read is Why Shepherds Were Invited to Witness Christ's Birth - and Not Somebody Else.  LDS Living, Dec. 19, 2016 by Eric. D. Huntsman

He tells that there is a tendency to romanticize the shepherds, making them in our imagination good, gentle, humble figures.  In actuality, shepherds at the time were often looked upon as unclean and outside the law, sometimes even as dishonest, because they often grazed their flocks on other people's lands.  These particular Shepherds that the Angels visited on the night of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:9) were the ones who tended the flocks that were intended for temple sacrifices in Jerusalem.  Jesus came as the LAMB OF GOD, to die for the sins of the world, and it was perhaps to the keepers of temple flocks that his birth was first announced.  It was the priests' job to make sure the lambs were without blemish and completely unharmed before being sacrificed.  The was an actual tower (Migdal Eder) just outside town and within the Temple priests' fields.,  It was a kind of lookout tower.  It was the priest's job to stay in the Migdal Eder all night.  So, with the tower being very tall, the shepherd was "watching over the flock by night" while the other shepherds were on the ground also keeping watch.   

A Shepherd is symbolically, a person who cares for the Lord's children.  The Bible has many references of women Shepherds or Shepherdess.  Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherd is found in Genesis 29:10. Moses' wife was also a Shepherdess.  I read that many shepherds were men who were not married.  Many families had one member that would be assigned to tend to the flock.  Many times there would be no sons and the daughters would have that responsibility.  It was not a glamorous job and was difficult.  As a mother (Shepherdess) we teach our children that He wants to be their personal Savior and Shepherd.  We watch over and take care of our flock.  

Nancy Campbell in Above Rubies states:  "It means befriending with an intimate relationship, binding and bandaging up the hurt and broken, bravely fighting off all enemies, bringing back the straying and wandering ones, carrying the lambs close to your heart, comforting, encouraging the weary, eliminating fear in the dark and anxious times, feeding, . . .protecting, providing, rescuing when they turn to by-paths, ...searching and seeking the lost ones, strengthening the weak and tenderly folding your flock.  My, what an amazing mission you have a s a shepherdess.  Embrace this beautiful role.  It is not insignificant. "

So then I watched The Christ Child video and was touched by the young shepherdess and her connection with Mary.  I had always understood the modern day application of being a "Shepherd" to someone, but just had not equated that with the Shepherd's in the fields.  I am so grateful for a dear friend who made a simple comment that led me on a journey of study and learning.  

A final experience from this month - Goodwill to Family.  Jesus cared for His loved ones.  Go around the dinner table tonight and tell each person why he or she is loved.  

We had Emily, Ian, Logan and Preslee with us for Christmas.  Our Night in Bethlehem is a tradition that everyone looks forward to.  It is a simple meal that we eat from a table that is only 6 inch off the floor and we sit on the floor in candlelight and enjoy the atmosphere all around.  We watch the Nativity Video to set the tone and then everyone is given chocolate money to pay their taxes.  It is always a favorite event for what child gets to be the tax collector.  Logan was excited to be chosen for that job this year.  The nice part is that the tax collector gives out the money instead of taking it from the people.  Then this year we went around the table and each person said why the person to their right was loved.  It was a highlight of the evening.  With kids you never know how it will go and it was very special.  It was no coincidence who we chose to sit by without knowing this activity was going to happen.  I was grateful to be able to tell Logan why he is loved.  We then ate an amazing meal of grilled chicken in pita bread.  One of the traditions is to go to the Middle Eastern Store in the afternoon and buy fresh pita hot out of the oven, olives, the best ever dates and Baklava for dessert.  We also have cheese cubes, olives, roasted potatoes, dried fruit, dates, nuts, grapes and oranges.  We end with fruit breads like pumpkin, zucchini, banana and the Baklava.  The kids even ate the food and enjoyed it because it was so festive.  We love bringing the simplicity of this tradition into our home and enjoying the spirit that it brings.  

Next stop is with Santa at the Johnson home.  We have been going to their home on Christmas Eve for over 30 years.  We love the annual pictures we have standing with Santa.  We just stop by to have our picture taken and leave a Christmas wish and then we are on our way to see the Christmas lights around the city.  

We have pictures when our kids were young and now we have started collecting memories with our grandchildren.  These pictures really tell a story of their own as we look back on them over the years.  Grateful Max, who is 85 is still putting out his lights and letting us continue to make memories.

 

Another tradition is to make homemade Salsa and deliver to neighbors and other friends.  I thought this year would be a smaller list with Covid, but we still ended up delivering 16 containers of Salsa.  Our little street of 16 homes has changed in the past two years while we were gone.  We have had 2 neighbors pass away, 1 moved and a few were gone for the Holiday.  It is usually a really fun day as we walk the street and deliver chips and Salsa to each neighbor but this year we did not get to visit and catch up - just a quick delivery at their doors.  

Brain and Beth and their two kids came for a quick visit the week before Christmas.  We packed the days they were with us with lots of activities and fun times with the grandchildren.

We put a puzzle together - new challenge of a round puzzle.  We made gingerbread houses.  William is dreaming of all the candy he gets to eat in the picture!  

We did the Dinosaur drive through tour that was in Arlington.  The kids loved it and learned a lot as we listened to the audio tour and saw the different dinosaur statues.  I would have like it in a more parklike setting than in a parking lot but it was an enjoyable drive.

Emily and Ian arrived on Saturday night after a two day drive from Utah.  

They brought their dog, Chip and Brian has a new dog, Bailey.  So the Dog Cousins met for the first time.  It was so cute to see their reactions and after just a few minutes they were friends.  

We were grateful to have about 5 hours with both families together.  We went to Church for the Christmas service together.  I volunteered to play a piano solo and then I accompanied two sisters singing.  I choose to play an Austrian Christmas Hymn, Still, Still, Still.  It took our thoughts back to Christmas last year in Vienna.

We then had a Sunday Dinner together before Brian and family had to hit the road and return to Wichita, Kansas.  So glad to have the cousins see each other after two years and to be able to get a few pictures.  

Brian, Beth, Emily, Ian, Will, Nora and Preslee

Monday, December 21 was an historic night.  I hope all of you were able to see the planets align for the Christmas Star event.  

We went out to Lake Arlington to view the event.  It was the most beautiful evening and a majestic sunset over the water.  It was a perfect place.  Preslee learned how to skip rocks while we were waiting.  As the sun began to set, we walked out on the pier and watched as the night sky appeared.  We did not have a telescope or a very good camera, but it was still an amazing experience.  It was fun to see so many people that were there watching and listening to their excitement of the view.  

We knew we could have had a better view of the planets at home watching it on TV, but there was nothing better than being out seeing the sunset and the night sky appear.  The picture below is from a professional telescope and you can see how it truly resembled a Christmas Star.  Light is so interesting and I have enjoyed my spiritual journey this year experiencing "Light" in many ways.  I am so grateful for the Light of Christ that leads and guides me every day of my life.  I am grateful for that guiding Star in my life.

Preslee's favorite activity with Grandma is making cinnamon rolls.  She was so happy when she got to help make the dough and roll it out.  She is a great helper and is learning how to bake.  We then delivered them to a few friends.  She helped me deliver them to the doors and she had so much fun dressed as a little elf.

Logan took a few minutes away from his games and made a ginger bread collection - it never made it into a house.  He was just glad to frost it, top it with candy and eat it!  

He was ready for Christmas and his face tells it all.  

After a very long day of preparations and wonderful family time it was time to settle in for a Hallmark Christmas movie and a delicious cup of Hot Chocolate.  The Best Chocolate Ever!

Lindt Truffle Hot Chocolate

1 cup of Hot Milk

3 Lindt Truffles - Chocolate with Peppermint are a favorite

Stir until melted.  Can top with Cream and grated Chocolate

I just want to end this month with my experience of serving my dear friend Faye Landham in Granbury, Texas at the AWAY IN A MANGER NATIVITY DISPLAY.  Russ and I have made this a big part of our Christmas experience for the past 26 years.  We were not sure about this year with so many reasons not to gather.  The Mayor asked Faye to still have the event as everything else had been cancelled.  We took a lot of precautions and took three days to set out her 1300 Nativity Sets.

It is amazing to see so many different depictions of The Nativity from so many different countries.  We asked the young Missionaries from Granbury to come and help us set up.  They came and helped for a few hours and it was so good to serve with them.  They loved it and took lots of pictures.  They came back when it was open to the public and brought people with them.  They then came back when we took down and did all of the loading of the truck with the bins of Nativities.  I am go grateful for their help and service.  

I enjoy this Cowboy scene as it depicts the family on the farm in the scene.

Top picture is a Willow Tree design.  

A large Mexico set.  Notice the variety of animals and the colors.

Beautiful Belgium Lace

The Bears are always one of the favorites of the visitors.  She has penguins, dogs, cats, snowmen and just about anything you can imagine depicting the Nativity.

PERU

PHILIPPINES from 
Drift Wood

Jemez Indian from New Mexico

Alaska

Cypress Knees from Louisiana

Chili - made from marbles

Israel and Jerusalem Olive Wood

Oh, what an amazing gift to the community that Faye has given.  She had about 700 people visit the display over the 10 days that it was open.  It was a very different year for us as we had very few people helping - most of the time just 5 of us - social distancing and not eating at our favorite places in Granbury.  We took most of our food and ate at our Hotel.  Part of the fun every year is the food, visiting with the other helpers and enjoying all that Granbury has to offer.  This year, it was all about The Nativity and that was special in its own way.  This year has given us a lot to ponder on and reflect more on Jesus Christ.

As we end this year of 2020 and this wonderful Christmas Season, I would like to share a scripture that brings hope, peace, light and Joy:

". . .I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12

Four years ago my son, Josh made a Nativity for me.  You cannot tell what it is in the daylight.  When it is dark, the light inside comes on and illuminates the picture and then you can see what it is.  It has had significant meaning to me this year as I look at what the light within each one of us can do for not only ourselves but others.  

The Light Within

I have been blessed with peace, hope and love as I have invited this Light of Jesus Christ into my life this year.  I truly "Stand All Amazed at the Love Jesus offers me."  

We are so grateful to all of the people in our lives - YOU - who bring light into our lives.  

We know the future is bright we just need to have patience, hope and a resolve to learn from this time in our lives.  2020 will definitely go down in the history books.  We look forward to 2021 with the hope that we will get to see our friends and family, gather at Church, and enjoy whatever is in store for us on this great journey of life.

The Grimmett's

November 2020, The Healing Power of Gratitude

 November is usually the time of family gatherings and the beginning of the festive Holiday Season.  As this year has been, there is a new normal and way we do many things.  We have 4 family members who have birthdays in November and we were planning to celebrate with most of them.  Those plans were changed and we decided to not travel and to stay home and use the wonderful blessing of technology to stay connected.  

We spent 4 days in Wichita Kansas with our son and his family.  We celebrated Williams 8th Birthday.  We had a great time enjoying the Fall weather and taking our daily walks in the neighborhood.  We made lots of good food, played lots of board games and completed the hardest puzzle I have every put together.  It was a 3D picture from the Harry Potter series.  They read the whole series this year as a family and it was fun to see this picture come to life.

William has so much expression in all that he does.  He loved that the candles came to life and become sparklers.  Fitting for this active boy.  He is kind, gentle and loves his 6 year old Sister.  He is a gifted student and enjoys learning - things like coding and relativity.  He is also very boy and loves sports, skateboards and his bike.  He only has so much patience and then - an explosion!  He works really hard to harness his energy in good ways.

Building puzzles is a great time to visit with family and be constructive at the same time.  When my mother-in-law would come to visit when my children were young, I would have a quilt on the frame that needed to be quilted.  She loved that and we could visit and quilt and catch up on life.  We enjoy building puzzles when we visit Wichita.

In our Church, when a child turns eight, they are given the opportunity to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This was a big birthday for William.  He chose to be Baptized and so on Saturday, November 28 a small group of family gathered and witnessed that special ordinance and occasion.  We made the decision to not return to Wichita and to stay home,  We were able to participate over ZOOM and we are so grateful for technology.  Family from many states were able to tune in and participate.  Blessings.

We have had an ongoing project with our Son, Josh to help restore the original siding on his home.  We completed the second story with repairs made to damaged panels and primed and then painted two coats.  We are now working on the main level where there is more damage.  We tried scraping the paint - a very slow tedious job - but no worries, the labor is cheep.  You can see the progress we were making. He had purchased some original used panels from a refurbishing company, but bought all they had.  We found a lumber yard who cuts what you need and purchased about 30 additional new panels.  So the work is moving forward.  

He decided it was going a little slow and purchased a wood planer and in less than 5 minutes the old paint is gone and the wood is clean, ready to put back on the house.  We now have about 1/2 of this wall done and it will go much faster.  Grateful for nice Fall weather that we can still work a few days a week.  Our days are numbered until Spring.  It will really be nice when it is finished.

Russ continues to deal with Dupuytren's Contracture.  He has had two foot surgeries and 2 hand procedures.  While we were in Vienna, Austria we were able to find a physician who specialized in this and a new procedure that did not need surgery.  He had his right hand done last November in Austria.  It was successful and so much better recovery than with surgery.  His left hand developed the contracture earlier this year and so we found a hand specialist here and he had the procedure done this month.  Because he had never had surgery on this hand it was actually more successful.  This is a photo on day 1 of the procedure and the next photo is the complete process.

We are so grateful his fingers are flat and straight and no complications.  He wears a splint at night for about 3 months, but so far it has healed perfect.

Dupuytren's is most common in people whose families come from northern European countries.  Men are more likely to get this disease than women.  Seeing that 99 % of his genetics are from England, he fits the description.

We had a visit from my niece, Jessica from Arizona last weekend.  She came with a friend to run in a half marathon in Fort Worth, TX.  She visited our home when she was about 10 years old and had not been since.  It was nice to see her even if it was only for a short visit.  She said she preferred the dry, hot dessert of Arizona to the beautiful humid days of Fort Worth!  

We always enjoy feeding the Missionaries.  We had 4 Sisters to dinner and decided to serve them an Austrian dinner.  We had pork schnitzel with parsley potatoes, vegetables and ended with fresh baked apple strudel.  The fun part is opening up our drink bar and serving mineral water with an assortment of flavors.  The ginger and pumpkin were favorites.  We are getting pretty good at the schnitzel cooking.

One of the things I have enjoyed during this time of staying home is reading good books.  I have shared a few in the past and would recommend a few others.

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown takes place in the early 1900's in California.  It opened my eyes to some things that I was not aware of.  Slave Trade has been around for centuries and it is not limited to one race.  It is an amazing story of the efforts of one group of people who made a difference and continues to bless the lives of individuals through their service and efforts.  It is a story that details the long hard road to change and the amazing transformation that can come with hope, trust and love.

Russ has always been an avid reader.  He reads several novels a week.  I had purchased the Fire and Steel Series by Gerald Lund several years ago.  He wrote one a year for five years and I ordered most of them as E-books.  They take place in the late 1890's through WWII in Germany.  I wish I had read these books before I lived in Germany and Austria.  I grew up with watching John Wayne movies - either westerns or war movies.  Friday night Drive-In movies with the family.  Clearly, the stories I watched and learned in history classes was not the whole story.  I am only in volume two and cannot put it down.  I am learning not only about some of the history of the countries but about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the War years in Europe.  Having been in most of the cities it takes place in and meeting people from these places, it fills in a lot of history that helps me understand things better.  It is very easy reading and enjoyable as well.

As we complete the month, we were looking forward to flying to Minnesota to spend Thanksgiving and Birthdays with our family there.  As Covid-19 continued to spread, we decided it would be best if we did not travel.  Again, we were able to fill our days in ways that turned out to be great blessings.

On Friday, November 20, President Russell M. Nelson spoke to the world wide Church in a special 15 minute devotional.  He shared his feelings about the current state of affairs in the world and then shared that the greater need in the world was to overcome the spiritual plague that is affecting us.  He said the Healing Power is in Gratitude.  He asked each of us to spend the next 7 days expressing Gratitude and using Social Media as our Gratitude journal.  He asked us to share with #GiveThanks.  He then asked us to Pray daily.  He said, "Prayer brings forth miracles."  He asked us to pray to Heal our hearts, families, societies and the world at large. It has been a truly memorable week as we not only accepted that invitation and shared our thoughts of gratitude with others, we also were blessed as we spent hours reading the thoughts and feelings of our friends and family who participated.  Nothing else really mattered as we focused on Gratitude.  Even when a tornado hit less than a mile from our home, we felt the peace and calm of following the Prophet and his promised blessings.  He said, "Counting our blessings is better than recounting our problems."

I can truly say I have felt peace and calm and not fear as I have looked for all things in Gratitude.  

I am a "ministering Sister" to 3 ladies in my Ward (Church).  One of my Sisters has some special needs and I have been helping her for the past 7 months by taking her to Doctors appointments, scheduling appointments, helping with daily tasks, etc.  She has never cooked a Thanksgiving Dinner and struggles with food preparation in general.  I invited her to my home on Wednesday to learn how to cook a Turkey dinner.  We started with pies.  We made pumpkin and lemon meringue.  We made sweet potatoes in orange sauce, cranberries, stuffing and ended with stuffing the turkey and baking it.  We cleaned up and talked while the turkey was baking.  She was able to take home the whole turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy fixings, cranberries and pumpkin and lemon pies.  It was a great experience for her to actually get to make it and to watch and then help in making each of the items.  I am grateful I was able to help her learn a new skill that will hopefully help her in the future.  I met with her the week before and we made sloppy joes, meatloaf and chicken foil dinners and put them in her freezer so she has meals for this month already made.  I know she will start to feel better if she is getting better nutrition and eating more regularly.  

Last year we fed 80 YSA for Thanksgiving, so preparing two small Turkey dinners this year was great.

Russ and I worked really hard the past 6 weeks on a wellness challenge.  We invited our family to join us and we had a great time sharing recipes and challenges and success's along the way.  We just wanted to be in better shape as we came into the Holiday Season - so we could enjoy it without gaining too much weight.  We each lost 5 pounds and many inches.  I lost about 14 inches overall.  That is a great feeling! 

                    

Birthday Boys with Dad, Andrew

FIT4FALL WINNER!

Andrew just found out he was the grand prize winner in his age group for the Fitness challenge we participated in.  He had his choice of an Elliptical, Tread mill or Rower.  He chose the Elliptical.  
My Son-in-law lost 30 pounds and many inches.  He has about 120 pounds to go and he is doing so good. A granddaughter found some foods she had been eating that were causing her some inflammation problems and she has also lost several pounds and is feeling much better.  We are grateful for our bodies and the amazing creations they are.  We know we have been blessed with good health and pray we will continue to stay healthy during this crazy time.  

And so we close another month.  A perfect ending to a month of Gratitude as we decorated our home for Christmas.  We decorated the trees and put out about 40 Nativity sets.  Even with no visitors or parties, we delight in bringing the sights, sounds and smells of the season into our home.  There is no better feeling than the Spirit of Jesus Christ to be manifest in the lights and decorations and the spirit of service.   We look forward to December and all that it will bring.

Sunday was the first day of Advent.  We love this tradition we learned about in Germany.  We celebrate the remembrance of Jesus entering the world as a baby at Christmas and also the Advent to come, or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The candles on the wreath symbolize hope, love, joy and peace.  You light one candle on each Sunday before Christmas.  You spend time as a family together and reading Christmas stories.

#LightTheWorld

Cooked 10 mini pumpkins left over from Fall Decorating today - Pumpkin soup is calling - its Dinner time!

With much love,

The Grimmett's