Work Hard.... Play Hard!

July 2008 Vacation: Yard Work, Bear Lake, More Yard Work & Moab

We all had the week of July 4-12th off and it seemed that we filled every second of it with something. For some reason we got the crazy idea that we should tear out all the rail road ties in our front park strip. So on Monday Adam, AJ & Mike (along with our wonderful neighbors) lifted and pulled about 15 ties and then helped the neighbors load them all in their trailers to take their houses. On Tuesday we left for Bear Lake. We enjoyed the ride up and took our time. When we got their we just relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the cool weather. That night we went into town and ate pizza, had shakes and then enjoyed the resorts swim pool. It was a quick trip but it reminded us how much we miss the summer tradition of going there each summer. On Wednesday we left before checkout and enjoyed the ride back home. Our entire day after that was consumed with the park strip project. We made 2-3 trips to Springville to get dirt & rocks. It was hard work and we were all very tired at the end of the day. I cant believe how much we were able accomplish! On Friday we left early for Moab. The highlights of that trip were shopping in downtown Moab, exploring some new trails, and a night boat ride down the Colorado River.

Schools out! our first week of summer...

Its hard to believe that school has only been out 1 week. Our summer has already been jam packed with activities.


Moab - White Rim Trail...

School got out of Friday, Ma y 30th and the next morning we woke up early and drove 3 hours to Moab. We had a campsite reserved several months in advance and had been looking forward to our first off road Jeep'n experience in Moab. As many of you know, we have had an unusually wet, cold and windy spring but we were very fourtunate to have perfect weather the entire trip. The pictures posted here dont do the actual landscape justice. You literally drive within feet of massive canyons that drop of thousands of feet below. Being the whimp that I am, there were a few scary spots that I dont really like to think about but the beauty and the amazment of what we got to see was well worth it by far! Our campsite was literally on top of the world and we could see for hundereds of miles it seemed. It was definatly a trip worth taking and am glad we had the opportunity to go!

Michael - Clear Creek Camp

The day after we got bac k from Moab, Michael left for 5 days to Clear Creek which is located in Scofield, Utah which is about 3 hours from home and an elevation of 8,400 feet! There were about 100 kids from all over Utah County that went. He had a great time and met lot of new kids. His favorite part of camp was on the ropes course where they had to do a team building excercise and were not allowed to talk at all. They had to make sure everyone crossed the rope to the other side without talking to each other. Michael was one of the tallest kids so he helped grab the rope for everyone. He met a kid whose nickname was "Scooby" and they became good friends while down there. Scooby nicknamed Mike "Lightning". Scooby and Mike shared the same cabin together and Scooby was voted Mr. Clear Creek. Due to our crazy spring weather, one morning it snowed on them and they had to spend most of their day inside due to cold and wet weather but they had fun anyway. While inside avoiding the bad weather, they showed the kids funny commercials and video clips which Mike really enjoyed. His favorite funny commercial was called the "ipod flea". He found the link when he got home and wanted to share it with everyone. Here it is... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBwM2U77F2c

AJ

AJ started early morning football practices last week from 5:45am-8am! He is getting into shape quickly and is already starting to lose his winter weight.

AJ learned what payback means the hard way. About a month ago AJ and a friend toilet papered a kids house who had just moved into the neighborhood. AJ spent one morning picking up toilet paper, forks & spoons off our wonderfully decorated house, trees, bushed and lawn. Payback is so sweet, especially when its your kids!

AJ made the "A" team!



Yesteday, AJ & 72 other boys completed tryouts for the 9th grade football team. AJ was one of 37 boys to make the "A" team. Even more impresssive, he advanced from last years "B" team to this years "A" team. From what we can tell from the rosters, he and only two other boys were able to accomplish an advancment from the "B" team to the "A" team. We are very proud of him and he is very excited. Workouts begin on Monday and will continue all summer long. Some of the training includes weight training, a road trip to snow college, participating in a 5k run and a three week team camp with the AF high school football team. Congratulations AJ, we're proud of you!

Celebrating 15 years of marriage...

"A good marriage is not something your find, its something you work for. It takes stuggle. You must crucify your selfishness. You must at times confront and at other times confess. The practice of forgivness is essential." Quote from Sacred Marriage

"One of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full length mirror called your spouse. Had there been a card attached, it would have said "Here's to helping you discover what you're really like!" Quote from Sacred Marriage

What we have learned...

15 years of marriage seems like the perfect time to reflect back on how much we have learned in the past 15 years together. I can't believe how fast 15 years has gone and how differently we view life now compared to 15 years ago. I would like to share a few things that we have learned along the way so far...

At a young age, Adam & I learned how to juggle full time jobs, marriage and being parents. We have learned (and are still learning) that blending different backgrounds, parenting styles, personalities and opinions is an often difficult process to master. Compromise, patience, forgivness and unconditional love is essential in all areas of parenting and marriage.

Being a parent has taught me that with each new phase that my kids enter, it seems like I have to relearn parenthood all over again. Kids are constantly changing and the techniques that worked great last month don't always work this month. I have learned that you have to be constantly learning and growing right along side your children. Getting ideas and advise from books has helped me immensly as both a parent and a wife over the years. I have learned that both Parenting & Marriage is an educational experience that you never get a diploma for. It's an education that will take a lifetime to accomplish and unfortunatly, trial & error is usually the only way to determine what works what does'nt. Sometimes I feel like we make more mistakes than we do progress but that's all part of the process that shapes and molds us into who we are and who we are becoming.

Adam & I have recently learned that our marriage is so much healthier & happier when rooted in a relationship with God. Prayer is an essential tool in marriage and is essential when raising children. Having an active realationship with our Savior has deepened our relationship with one another and has brought a peace into our home that only God can be given credit for. We have learned how to recognize and compensate for each others weaknesses and how to rely on each others strenghths. Although we have gone through difficult times, I would'nt trade them for anything. God has used each and every circumstance in our lives, both the good and the bad, to grow our faith. We have grown to trust Him and know that whatever our circumstances are, we can fully trust that God will use those circumstances to mature us and accomplish His plan for our lives.

Happy Anniversary Adam, I love you!

Disneyland!

For Spring Break AJ & Mike went to Disneyland with their grandparents. They had a lot of fun and the only catch was that both kids had to write a report about their trip for Grandma & Grandpa when they got home. To make this activity fun we all put our minds together and came up with the ABC's of their Disneyland trip....

A - Annaheim, California
B - Bad Food
C - Castle & California Adventure
D - Donald Duck
E - Eeyore (yes this is how its spelled. I googled it to make sure)
F - Fudge
G - Goofy, Golden Zephyr (another google spell check)
H - Hotel within walking distance
I - Indiana Jones
J - Jet Blue & Jungle Cruise
K - Ketsup (AJ got to much ketsup at McDonalds?)
L - Lots of laughs
M - Mickey Mouse, Matterhorn, Maliboomer
N - No School! & No room on the 6am flight
O - Orchards - Flew over orchards on the Soaring California Ride
P - Pluto & Parades
Q - Question? Was the perfect blue sky in toon town real or painted?
R - River Rapids
S - Splash Mountain, Space Mountain & Sreamin' California
T - Tea Cups, Tower of Terror & Tinkerbell
U - Up, Up & Away... Maliboomer
V - Very Crowded (It must have been crowded because nobody was in Utah the whole week)
W - Wet - Grandma got soaking wet on Splash Mountain
X - Xtremly Fun - Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!
Y - Yikes! Tower of Terror
Z - Zippity Doo Dah, Zippity Ay, My oh my, What a wonderful day - Splash Mountain. (another google spelling search)

Special thanks to google for help with my spelling issues!

ADAM'S ABC'S

A- ARGUE, LOVE TO-KEPT THE JURY DELIBERATING FOR OVER 4 HOURS
B- BOOKS, I READ A LITTLE
C- CARS, ON #25 (F-150) AND #26 (JEEP) AS WE SPEAK
D- DEBT! I’VE HAD 26 VEHICLES!
E- EYE, STUPIDTY TOOK IT AWAY-GOD GAVE IT BACK
F- FOOTSIE PAJAMAS
G- GOLF, LOVE TO PLAY OR WATCH
H- HAPPY VALLEY,USA-IF YOU CAN’T IGNORE REALITY YOU CAN’T LIVE HERE
I- IGNORANT,IMPOSSIBLE,IDIOT-NAME THREE WORDS YOUR SPOUSE USES TO DESCRIBE YOU
J- JEEP, LATEST FAMILY TOY
K- KIDS, TRAILMIX AND BONES
L- LUDLUM, ROBERT-FAVORITE AUTHOR (SORRY MR. KING)
M- MUSTANG-1969 MACH 1-MY DADDY GAVE IT TO ME
N- NEVER SATISFIED IN LIFE,LOVE OR THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
O- OCCUPATION: I SELL TOILETS!
P- PETS-RAMBO AND STANLEY
Q- QUARTERBACK-ALEX SMITH NO.1 PICK (AJ HAS A PICTURE WITH HIM)
R- RICE-ECCLES STADIUM-FAVORITE PLACE TO MEET FRIENDS
S- SHELLY, MY BESTEST FRIEND
T- TEXAS ROADHOUSE-MMMMMMMMM STEAK
U- UTAH UTES!
V- VEGAS, CEASAR’S PALACE,THE RIO,WAHOO
W- WOODS.ELDRICK-WORLDS GREATEST GOLFER AND MY PERSONAL FRIEND
X- X-MEN, COME ON WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN X
Y- I HATE THE Y-MAN DO I HATE THE Y!
Z- ZOO-I LOVE TO SEE CREATURES BIGGER THAN ME

Cat & Dog Diary...

I recently got this email "Cat & Dog Diary". I thought it described Rambo & Stanley so perfectly. I edidted it slightly just to personalize it. I thought it would be fun to share since they are a part of the family too...

RAMBO’S DIARY

8:00am -Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am – Playing with Stanley! My favorite thing!
10:30 am – Get rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm – Play in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm – Chase the mailman! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm – Treats! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm – Sleeping in my bed! My favorite thing!

STANLEY’S DIARY

Day 270 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the dog I are fed some sort of dry nuggets. I make my contempt for the dry nuggets perfectly clear, nevertheless I must eat them in order to maintain my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely make condescending comments about what a ‘good little hunter’ I am. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of ‘allergies.’ I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow--but at the top of the stairs next time. The dog is showing obvious signs of abuse. I think the prolonged captivity and the shock treatments have finally got to him. His bizarre behavior is getting worse – he barks at all the service vehicles that enter our neighborhood and runs wildly throughout the house and yard. I think it is his attempt to draw attention to our captivity and abuse. Occasionally he snaps and runs through the electric fence that surrounds the perimeter of these prison grounds. He is obviously retarded because the captors always lure him back with an opportunity to ride the family car. The cat across the street has got to be the informant. I observe him communicating with the captors regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have been feeding him MY dry nuggets in attempt to keep him from starving to death, this must be stopped! I will attempt to impress & befriend him tomorrow by showing off my tree climbing skills.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 33rd birthday! As much as I complain about my job (escpecially as the dreaded summer months approach) I really can't complain. I work with so many wonderful people and they always go out of their way to make me feel loved & appreciated. This morning I entered my office to find balloons, streamers, candy, toys and personalized signs wishing me a happy birthday! I want to publicly thank Brittany & Sarah for everything they do, you make me smile and I love you dearly!

Buenos Dias Amigos,

Adam & I had the great privelege of leaving the kids for 7 days to go on a Cruise for our 15th Anniversary (with many thanks to Adam's parents for watching the boys for us while we were gone). The weather was perfect, the food was great and we had a very relaxing time. Taking a cruise was so much different than any other vacation we have been on because you have no choice but to relax while on the ship. Your only options are to relax, read, people watch, go to a show or eat. You dont have to worry about traffic, finding a place to eat, cell phones, email, work, laundry, homework I could go on and on but I dont want to rub it in too much. We spent the first two days at sea. The third day we visited Puerto Vallarta. There we joined a jeep tour with about 15 other jeeps. We drove out of town into the mountains and was able to see how some of the local people lived. The children only go to school until they are 12 years old then they are put to work farming the land or working with their families in some regard. The people live off the land and its a very simple way of life. It made me consider what technology and modernization has done to this world and how many things we have and use in our everyday lives that we really dont need for our basic survival. It really made me realize how different their lives are from ours and realized that having more is not necessarily better or necessary. Blooming fruit trees were everywhere including Mangoe, avacado & bannana trees, fishing is also a common trade for the people that live there. From there, our next stop was Mazatlan. From the ship we took a water taxi to Stone Island where there is a small community and the land is filled acres and acres of coconut palms. It is a quiet village and also a very simple lifestyle. We took a bus through town on our way to the beach where we sat and relaxed by the ocean. It was so beautiful with the palms lining the beach and the waves crashing against the shore. Picture perfect! Our last stop was Cabo San Lucas. It was much more "Americanized" and very tourist driven with lots of resorts, hotels and shopping. We did an underwater excursion where we walked on the bottom of the ocean- well kind-of. It was a learning experience and we probably wouldnt do it again but the kids thought it sounded cool. When we got back to shore we only had about an hour before we had to get back on the ship so we quickly walked to the center of town where all the shopping was. We learned that everything was "Almost Free Amigo" & "No thank you" seemed to be all we said for the hour we were there visiting. We visited the Cabo Wabo Canteena, a famous resturaunt and bar - nothing really to brag about really but I guess we can see that we saw it. We then got some souvenirs and then went to dairy queen and got some ice cream for $90.00 (peso's of course) but it was still strange to see $90.00 on the register display. We found that eating ice cream was a useful tool in ignoring the street vendors on the way back to the ship port. From there, we were unfortunatly on our way back home. The last night was very windy and the ship hit rough water which apparantly is normal when you get near California according to some more experienced cruisers we met (this trip was their 38th cruise! That's how I want to spend retirement!) It's been hard to adjust to land again, at least for me. Today is Friday (almost one week later) and its the first day that I dont feel dizzy. It's a really weird sensation to feel that everything around you is still moving, its hard to explain and just thinking about it right now is bringing back the same sensation - weird! Regarless of the side affects, it was well worth it and we are looking forward to taking the kids with us next spring!

Trip to Moab & Delicate Arch

Our first Geocache!


Today was such a nice day - 50 degrees! A nice change from the cold wet weather we have had the past 4 months. Last fall I bought a GPS unit and I have spent the winter playing around with it learning how it works. I have been waiting for the first nice day to go out and try our first geocache and today was the perfect day! For those who may not be familiar with this hobby, its basically a treasure hunt using your GPS unit. I decided that we better do one close to home so we picked one called the "Caveman Cache" which is less than a mile from our house. It took us a few minutes to figure things out and then we used the hints and clues to start searching for it. It took us about 15 minutes of digging, moving leaves, tripping over branches and then Mike finally discovered it at the "base of a tree" (which was one of the clues we had to decode). Inside the box there was a notepad and a pencil to write something down about yourself. It also had little treasures that you could take and replace with something else. All we had with us was a magnetic business card for the Texas Roadhouse so we took a compass and replaced it with the business card (I think we will go back tomorrow and leave something better since we didnt have anything with us). We then re-buried it for the next geocachers to find. The second hunt was called "Dear Old AF High". It lead us to the high school near a picnic area but after looking for 10 minutes or so, we couldnt find it anywhere. I think I will see if there are any clues in finding it on the web. It was a lot of fun, we plan on doing many more now that the weather is warming up.

First signs of Spring!

Today my crocuses bloomed! It was such a nice suprise to see colors of purple and yellow blooms today, what at treat! Spring is my favorite time of year. Seeing all the bulbs emerge from the frozen ground in the late winter never ceases to amaze me. Its hard to believe that anything can survive the cold wet winters but they do and even better they start coming up regardless of the weather. My bulbs faithfully start budding every year in mid February. Every morning in February I study my front flower bed and wait for my bulbs to break through the ground. Its so fun to watch a flower bed that looks like nothing but dirt transform into living plants with every color you could imagine within just a couple months. Every week from February till the end of summer there is something new growing or blooming and I love it! Even though the winters are long and cold I am glad I live in an area that get winter weather because it makes me apprecitate and look forward to spring that much more. I cant hardly wait for the daffodils and tulips to bloom next!

Photos from our Jeep Run to Little Moab...

Scenic Photos

I have taken many photos over the years and I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites with you . (To view them you can click on the link to the right.)

We are very blessed to live in such a beautiful state and I enjoy visiting new places to photograph (even if its a little scary to get to sometimes, the pictures make it all worth it!) Adam is very patient with my persitance to stop and take pictures when I see the opportunity. I developed a love for photography at a young age from my Dad. One of my favorite memories was setting up a tripod on top of the plateau near the mouth of American Fork Canyon while a thunder storm approached from the West. We were trying to get a picture of the lightning. I dont know if we got a good picture that day but I loved being out with my Dad watching the storm come in. To this day I love thunderstorms - especially lightning.

Today we took a ride up American Fork Canyon and had the great privelege of seeing a MAMA MOOSE AND HER BABY! Wow! They moved very quickly and I was very lucky to be able to grab my camera in time to get these pictures before they disappeared into the trees. It is always exciting to see animals in the wild but to see a moose was especially exciting!

Yummy Christmas Fudge!

Well this is a picture of my yummy Christmas Fudge. In case you want the recipe here it is. Put chocolate chips, broken up hershey's candy bars and marshmallows in a bowl & set aside for later. (The kids can easily do this part while burn the sugar and evaporated milk on the stove.) When the sugar & milk starts to boil over PANIC! Burn & blister your fingers trying to frantically scrap the boiling, gooey substance off your brand new glass top stove. When the house starts to fill up with smoke and the reality of the damage starts to set in, stop everything your doing and.... pray, pray, pray that your new stove top is not ruined. Anxiously wait 30 minutes for it too cool then scrape, scrub & wipe over and over again for approx. 60-70 minutes to restore the glass. It was truly an answered prayer that my new stove top was not ruined! I considered taking a picture of the original damage but couldnt bring myself to do it. I really thought that I was going to have to look at it like that forever. Suprisingly, my fudge (more like chocolate trail mix) was a hit and it all got eaten within a couple of days! AJ & Mike even set it out for Santa on Christmas eve.

Our Christmas morning began at 6:30am with a loud wake up call from AJ. He yelled down the stairs as loud as he possibly could, informing us that it was Christmas morning. There is nothing like being woken up from a dead sleep with one of your kids yelling at the top of their lungs. My first reaction was that something was wrong (like the house was on fire or something terrible). It took me awhile to calm my heart rate down. Needless to say (very politly of course), I later told AJ to never do that again!

Funny Animal Videos!

Have you ever heard of a cat that likes to play in the snow? He likes to pounce in it and swat it around.

Watch how the dog gets the cat off the top of the table.

Jeep'n in th Snow
Today we got our first snow! Adam has been waiting for any sort of storm for months so we could take the jeep out and "cause some trouble" as he says. Luckily we didnt get stuck and I survived another Jeep'n experience (I am such a wimp, I dont know how much more I can take!)

Ankle Injury

On Thursday I got a call at work from AJ. He said that he had hurt is ankle in PE playing basketball. When I got to the school the teachers were very concerned and recommended that we go get an x-ray. The x-ray didnt show any breaks but he was in a lot of pain. They gave him crutches and a brace to wear. AJ says the best part is that he gets to miss PE for a couple weeks and he get to get out of class early so he can get to his next class on time.

Party in Provo
Last Saturday we went to the first ever "Party in Provo". The U of U rented the Provo high parking lot for Ute fans to tailgate before the game. It was cold but alot of fun. Afterwords we went home and ate hot wings and watched the game. Unfortunalty the Utes didnt win but it was an exciting game to watch regardless.

Football is Finally Over!
Well, football is finally over! Both kids had winning seasons. It will be nice to eat as a family again now that football season is over. We have lived on quick meals and fast food the past 2 months. Getting everyone back into a routine and eating together as a family will be a nice change.

AJ's team did really well this season. They made it into the playoffs which was a huge accomplishment for their team. AJ improved tremendeously and is looking forward to playing 9th grade football next year. He is currently 5'11" & 210 lbs!

Adam & Lee coached Michaels flag football team this year and Michael played very well. He wants to try tackle football next year so Adam is going to work with him over the winter to help get him ready. He is getting taller & taller everyday. He has grown 3 1/4 inches in 7 months and is finally eating everything on his plate plus some. It wont be long before he passes me up!

Halloween was fun this year. AJ dressed up as a pimp, Mike as a zombie and I as a spider witch. I have to admit that I dont miss going out in the cold to take the kids trick or treating. The kids are old enough now that we just send them out with a cell phone and tell them not to stay out too late. I am enjoying the benefits of having older children. No more worrying all the time if they are going to run out in front of a car, no more bundling them up to the point of unrecognition, and I feel ok about letting them eat all the candy they want the next day because I know that they are old enough to know that they will probably get a stomach ache if they do (which by the way they did). We also carved pumpkins this year which we usually do but we have never used the stencils before. They turned out pretty good and they were fun to do!

Welcome to the Medina Family Blog!
Journaling is something that I wish I would have done when my kids were younger. Kids do the funniest things when they are litte and unless you write them down, I have found that the memories fade quickly. Although my kids are past the "cute" stage and have entered the notorious pre-teen and teenager stages, I thought it would still be fun to keep a record of what is going on in our lives. Every year we do new and exciting things and I dont want to look back on my life in 10 years from now and wish I would have recorded all the fun things that we did together as a family. So this starts the beginning of our Medina Family Blog. I am excited to begin posting notes & photos about what is going on in our lives and sharing them with our friends & family. Enjoy!

The Christmas Spirit
By Shelly Medina



What is this Christmas Spirit I have heard so much about?
Asks a stranger on the street to some people rushing about
It’s about finding the perfect gift for family, friends & tots
Replies a father in a panic to busy to stop & talk
No, No says a child, it’s about Christmas trees, presents & lights
It’s about Santa Clause, reindeer and all the elves hype
No, it’s about parties and functions says the mother with kids in tow
It’s about baking and cooking and hoping for Christmas snow

Occasionally the stranger would find the true spirit of Christmas
Like those who give of themselves by serving and feeding the homeless
They were charitable and joyful and required no special praise
They would give generously to others and accept only a thanks
But the stranger noticed that these people were few and far between
Most of the people he met were very stressed and sometimes mean

It’s unfortunate that this holiday season has become so involved
The true meaning is simple - good will & peace to all
So who was that stranger asking questions and walking around?
It was Jesus Christ our Savior, right here in our small town
How could we be to busy to not recognize Christ our Lord?
Yet we pass by him everyday on the way to the local store
He’s on the street corner, hungry and in need of a home
She’s the elderly woman next door, who is living completely alone
He’s the drug addict in prison, trying to turn his life around
She the child in the hospital, her parents praying for a medical rebound
Christ tells us in Matthew 25, an important message for you and me
Whatever you did for the least of these brothers, you indeed did for me
When I was hungry you fed me and gave me a place to sleep
I was lonely and in need of a friend and those memories I’ll always keep

Christ is rarely mentioned while shopping, for that perfect gift
And it’s unfortunate that when we give, all the credit goes to St. Nick
Christ lived his life unselfishly and modeled true and perfect love
He taught that we should be thankful and give all praise to God above

Next year we will attempt to reclaim Christmas and follow Christ’s example
We will not purchase gifts that are unnecessary and run ourselves frazzled
We will donate our Christmas money to a charity that supports a good cause
We don’t want to continue a tradition that gives to others “just because”
We want to simplify the holiday season and rediscover the true spirit of giving
And free up time to reflect about what the Christmas season really means
To us it’s about Jesus birth and being thankful for all we’ve been given
We need to become less commercial, give to charity and show compassion
We were built for silence and solitude that’s what each of us are craving
So next year let’s make it simple and just be thankful for our many blessings

Reclaiming the True Spirit of Christmas


This Christmas season I have spent a lot of time reflecting about what exactly Christmas is and how God would want us to be celebrating this holiday. I realize that the word “Christmas Spirit” means something different to everyone but I believe that the true spirit of Christmas (or rather the spirit of Christ) has been taken over by the commercial world and is difficult to experience while shopping, fighting traffic and running from party to party. This year I have tried to search within myself and try to discover what would give us the most joy when celebrating the Christmas season and honor our Savior in the process.

We have all been taught from a very young age that giving is better than receiving but do we really practice it? The other day on the radio station, a woman called in and said that she had just unexpectedly lost her baby to a sudden illness. She heard that the radio station was raising money for a homeless shelter and she felt compelled to stop and give something to the cause. Despite her tragic loss, she thanked the radio station for the opportunity to give to someone less fortunate than herself. How many of us can truly say that we experience such joy and pleasure from giving during the Christmas season? There is something so satisfying in giving to someone that you know will benefit and not return anything to you in return. I think that we have gotten into such a habit of giving to people out of obligation & tradition that we really don’t really feel the joy that we are meant to feel when we give from the heart.

Another thing that I think helps us feel the Christmas spirit is listening to Christmas Music & Reading the Christmas Story. The Christmas story is such a miraculous event and too often we fail to appreciate what an amazing story it really is. During the Christmas season it’s easy to view Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the Shepherds and Wise men as nothing more than figurines in a nativity set placed out on our coffee table for show. We fail to relate to them as real people who endured many things in their lifetime. I think my favorite part of the Christmas story is the shepherds. The scriptures tell us that the shepherds were watching their flocks when “an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified…suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angels, praising God” What an amazing event to witness! I love trying to imagine what it must have been like to be there in a dark field with angels singing and praising God for the birth of our Lord. There are so many beautiful Christmas songs that capture the Christmas story so perfectly. If we would just allow ourselves to actually stop and listen to the words and meaning of the songs, we’d be surprised at how beautiful and how spiritually moving many of these songs really are.

As I have gotten older I have noticed that for most people the Christmas holiday has become something to endure rather than something to enjoy. When we shop during the Christmas season we fight crowds & wait in traffic in search for that “perfect gift” for everyone that we know. No matter how much careful thought and time goes into obtaining that “perfect gift” we wind up getting people things that eventually loose their appeal and hold little sentimental value. Technology has trained us to loose interest quickly in everything we purchase because it’s a know fact that there will always be something better to replace it in a few months.

I would like to invite my family and friends to join me & my family in reclaiming the true spirit of Christmas. Next year, rather than spending energy and money on that “perfect gift” for everyone in our family, we are going to limit our gift giving and invest our time, energy and money into giving to those who are less fortunate. We will attempt to quiet ourselves and reflect on the spiritual significance of this holiday. We will let go of traditions that have lost their meaning and replace them with traditions that express our appreciation for the blessings that we have been given. As we change our priorities and focus on celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and honor Him through genuine expression of love, our high expectations and stress will be replaced with love, joy, peace and kindness.

So, in the true spirit of Christmas, we propose a new tradition. This is open for discussion and by no means mandatory. This is just what I & my family will be doing next year to try to simplify this holiday season and celebrate it in a way that would please and glorify our Father in Heaven.

Around Thanksgiving time, each family who wants to participate will enter their name into a drawing. For example: the Medina Family, the Vega Family, the Phipps Family & the Egan Family. Each family will draw another families name and purchase a GAME, DVD or GIFT CARD for that family. The amount that will be spent on each gift can be decided upon as a group. As Christmas nears, we can all get together as a family and exchange gifts. This would also be a good time to collect needed items or money that can be given to a charity. We have decided ahead of time that our family will be donating the money that we save on family gifts to The Road Home located in Salt Lake City. We have decided to start a Christmas tradition of visiting the shelter and donating our items in person. I have included some information about this shelter if you would like to contribute or participate with us. As I mentioned earlier, this is just what our family will be doing next year. If you would like to purchase gifts for us, please consider donating money or items to this cause instead of purchasing gifts for us. It would be very meaningful to us knowing that the money that would have been spent on a gift will instead be going to a good cause and making a difference in the lives of people who are in need not only during the Christmas season but in need all year long.

Just to show the impact that our family alone will make next year, here is an example of what we spend vs. what we will be able to donate….

We currently purchase gifts for the following individuals…
Adam’s parents
Shelly’s parents
Lee & Kindra
Kolby & Alison
Lindsay
& other charity, extended family & misc. gifts given

By limiting our gift giving and redirecting our money to a charity, we will be able to donate $600 or more in supplies or money to the Road Home! It costs the Road Home $12.00 per night to provide shelter for one person. That’s 50 nights of shelter provided for 50 people just by limiting our gift giving during the Christmas season. That’s the true spirit of Christmas!

We hope you have felt the true spirit of Christmas this holiday season and will consider joining us in making a difference for those who are less fortunate next year.

Merry Christmas,
Adam, Shelly, AJ & Mike