What Christmas Means to Me

December is a month that is looked forward to by many. To most kids it means Santa Clause and gifts, to many in the world it means a hectic month of shopping and parties to attend, and to many Christians it means a celebration of the birth of Christ. To me Christmas means a variety of things. It means all of the above, but it also means so much more. To me it means family, friends, and memories in the making with them all. Every December since I can remember has been busy and full of people. And in all honesty, I like it that way. For you see, to me Christmas means spending time with those that I love. It means gathering together with friends and family doing a variety of different things. Some of the things we do are always the same. These would be the traditions. The decorating the tree, the listening to Nat King Cole, the Family Christmas parties with the same food that we have always had and that we always look forward to, the baking of treats, the Christmas movies that always get watched, and the stories that always get read. And every year along with all of these traditions there are always a few other things that I tend to do with others that add to the fun of the season. As you can tell, and as you probably know, December becomes a very busy month. And since I have been mia from posting I figured I would let you know what I have been up to. So here is my month of December in both words and pictures.

~ Festival of Trees

~ Craft Nights- Many nights, and some afternoons, were spent making gifts for some of those I love

~ Oyler Family Party
 

~ Messiah Christmas Concert - this was a new experience for me. I went with some friends to see the Messiah concert that is held at the Grand Theater. Scott had been many times before and said we had to join him. Melissa and I eagerly joined and had quite the time. The concert is a spin off of Handel's Messiah. I felt Like I was at a Baptist concert. The music was good and the atmosphere was fun. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the show.

~ Christmas Shopping with Mom

~ The Eclipse Christmas Concert - Every year since they started doing Christmas concerts I have attended their show. Each year the company has changed a little, but it is always great and we always love the show. This year was no different. Jenny, Mindy and I met up for dinner at the Training Table and then headed down the hill to the show. The show was great as always and we had a fabulous time singing along and dancing in our seats. This concert is definitely becoming a favorite tradition.

 

~ Fab 5 Christmas Party - I do not think words are needed to, or even would, describe this event. It is always full of laughter, love, and great memories by the time it is over. This year was no different with enchiladas, rice, beans, gingerbread houses, gifts, music, and everything that comes with hanging out with some of your best friends.

~ Zoo Lights - Over the last few years I have heard people talk about going to see the Zoo Lights at Hogel Zoo. I have wanted to go and see them for my self and this year I did. It was fun to walk around and see all of the displays. There were a few of animals chasing each other and some of them fighting where I was a little thrown off, but I guess that is what animals do. My favorite display was the under the sea one. It made me smile. Overall I enjoyed the night and liked the displays as well as the company of Melissa and Scott. I will probably have to go again sometime in the future. 

~ Tuesday Movie Nights - I love having a group of friends to get together with every Tuesday to make dinner and watch movies. It was especially fun this December when we watched a variety of Christmas shows. Some that were old favorites and some that were new.

~Stake Temple Night - I love going to the Temple anyway, but it was a great experience to go with members of my ward and stake. It was fun to have all the people there in the same age group and the people I knew working that night. I will definitely be going each month.

~ Dinner at the Roof and Temple Square- It turns out that I have a friend who just happens to work at the Roof. Melissa and I wanted to visit him so we called and he got us a reservation. That was the first time that I had actually eaten at the Roof. It was such a great atmosphere and sitting by the window where you could look out and see the temple and all of Temple Square was awesome. The food was delicious and it was nice to just sit and chill over dinner for 2 hours. Plus it was also fun to visit Jeff and see him at work. We will probably have to go and visit him again one day. After dinner we went and looked at the lights on Temple Square. This is something that I always love doing. I love looking at all of the displays and the peace that comes from just being on temple grounds.

~Whiting Family Christmas Party - This is a party that I look forward to every December. We always have the same food of egg sausage casserole, scones, and fruit with juice and hot chocolate to drink and we always play the same game of white elephant, and I love every minute of it. We are a pretty close family and it is always a great day when we can get together and laugh about old memories while making new ones.

~ Girls Lunch and Pedicures - Sometimes it is really nice being a girl :)

~ Christmas Eve Dinner - Stuffed steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed veggies, cheese sauce, homemade rolls, chili sauce, stuffing.... Yum

~ Christmas Day Adventures - Going from house to house, family, laughter, fun....and this year a glorious sacrament meeting with joyful and inspiring music of Christ. There is no other way I would have spent Christmas morning then sitting in church with my family and singing Silent Night with guitar accompaniment. It was simple and sweet and brought a joy and peace that only the spirit can bring. 

~ Whiting Family Photos - It has been many years since one of these was taken and I am glad that we took a new one. Especially since nine people have been added to this wonderful family. I will never forget however, the antics of the photographer and how weird we thought he was. Oh, what memories we have from this night. 

~ Fab 5 Sleepover - New Years is always an adventure and is especially fun when you get to spend it with friends doing the simple things that you all love. Granted, this year it was the night before New Years Eve, but still just as much fun.

~ My Savior - But my favorite part of December, even with all of this, is simply celebrating the birth and the life of  Jesus Christ. Everyday I am grateful for his birth, and even more grateful for his life. For if he was just born in a manger and did nothing else, then all he would have been was a baby in a manger. But he did so much more. He lived the life he was meant to live. He brought joy, peace, mercy, knowledge, hope, charity, lessons and words of a loving Heavenly Father, faith, baptism, repentance, and the Atonement. And he brought all of this with a humble and graceful spirit that has not been surpassed. He was everything that a man should aspire to be in all human characteristics.He was able to teach others lessons of forgiveness, lessons of love, lessons of good works, lessons of charity, lessons of God, lessons of repentance, and do it all with kindness and faith in those around him. So even though I am grateful for his birth and know that it is worth celebrating, I am even more grateful for the life that He lived. And that is something that is worth celebrating, because I know that it is because of him that I can find my way back home to my Father in Heaven. It is because of him and the infinite Atonement that he provided that I can grow and learn and fill peace and love and have all things restored unto me.It is because I know that he still lives today that I can live again.  (art by David Bowman and Greg Olsen)

My Child

 Innocence

 Joy

 Lost and Found

THE MASTER'S TOUCH

Discouraged and alone, we're not easily consoled
The school of life gets difficult, just as we were told.

Doubt shrinks us at the threshold of the darkened way,
Despair creeps in upon us and is hard to keep at bay.

Light now dims as the shadows grow in length
Heaviness engulfs us; we stop to pray for strength.

It seems we're going nowhere; life's a dead end street,
Relief is what we plead for, when it all feels like defeat!

The fun has disappeared; dropping out is on our mind,
The test has overwhelmed us, the answers hard to find.

In these trying moments we must stop and be so still
That we can feel His promptings and know that they are real.

Only then can we be ready to sense the Master's touch,
To know He's always there and that He loves us very much!

He knows just how we feel He's been this way before,
He's also climbed these steps He's walked this corridor.

He is our tender tutor sent here to be our guide,
All wisdom opens to us when He is by our side.

Earth's halls are not so dim when the Master lights the way,
He reveals a "world of wonder" that brings joy throughout our stay.

Hand in hand He'll lead us to a life that never ends,
To a brighter day in a world unseen, together eternal friends.

Greg Olsen - 2010

Uprooted

There are many things that can be uprooted in this world. I watched many of them come up this last week with the wind. Stop signs snapped in two and blown away. Fences destroyed and falling over, power lines broken and lying in the road. Power polls falling over. Trees split in two with branches broken off. And whole trees completely uprooted and on their sides.

While looking at these trees, I realized something about them. Most of them that had fallen over were pine trees. Trees that where tall, wide and fat with needles. Trees that had grown upward for years. But
I also realized that they were trees with very short root systems. They all had many roots but none of them were very long or went very deep into the ground. The root systems had been good for the threes and had kept them growing and standing upright through everyday life. But their systems had failed them when the true trial of the wind came. With the wind blowing strong each on of the trees could not stay standing. They were quickly uprooted and left alone on their sides. They had crumpled to the ground and were left to be chopped up and thrown away.

I realized in a way we are like these trees. We grown up in the world. A world filled with destruction and trials as much as it is filled with good. And as we grow up in this world we need to make sure that we are growing down as well. Each of us have our own root systems that need to be growing. And they need to be growing deep into spiritually solid ground. For it is our root system that will either keep us strong and standing tall or crumble when the wind comes.

I started thinking about my own root system and realized that currently I have not been doing much to strengthen it. In fact, I am pretty sure that some of the things I have been doing have probably weakened it. And I decided that some things were going to have to change.

Since that storm I have continued to think about uprooted trees. I have also continued to think about my own root system and what I want it to be like. Through all of this thinking, I realized along the way some of the things that help strengthen it and that help it grow. and I realized that it always seems to come back to the little things that I am realizing in fact are not so little. These would be the things of prayer, reading and studying the scriptures, attending all church meetings, fasting, temple attendance, faith, charity, and repentance.  It is all of these things and more that not only help to build and strengthen our foundation, but strengthen our root system as well. It is by doing these little things that give us the strength and power to put off, and one day overcome, the natural man that is within us all. These are the things that help us stand mighty and strong so that when the winds come we shall be able to remain upright and be even stronger for it. For it is only by growing deeper that we are then able to stand taller.

Friday's Fabulous Finds

This post is long overdo. I have been thinking about it for weeks and have not gotten around to posting it yet. But here it goes. This post is dedicated to all of the Fabulous Friday Finds of November. I promise, I did do them....I just didn't find the time to write about them.

November 4
The first fabulous find on the month was one of my all time favorites. For you see, it happens to be the day that I went through the temple. It was an amazing experience and I have gone back often. My favorite part of the day was the peace and joy that I found by just being there. I know that it was the right course of action for me to take and that going back often is how I can feel that same peace and joy again. I also loved being in the celestial room and finding those I loved around me. It brought me great joy to know that we could all be there together and together through the eternities. There is no other place like that of the Temple.

November 11
This Friday find I owe to one of my best friends, Brett Brown. She is the one who introduced me to this place and I fell in love with it immediately. It is called Pizzaria Lemone. Now this is not your ordinary pizza place. This place is an Italian restaurant. The decor is pretty cool with the map of Italy on the wall and the wooden tables and low lighting. Plus their pizza and salads are divine and best of all, freshly made. You first walk in and pick your pizza from a variety of choices on the menu on the wall. Then they hand toss the dough and make your pizza right then. Freshly tossed and mixed salads are prepared as well. I got the Viola pizza. It has blackberries on it which I though was weird at first, but they totally made the pizza. It gave it this sweet tangy taste. I enjoyed the meal and the company and I will defiantly be going back again.

Pizzera Limone
Location: 1380 E Fort Union Blvd, Cottonwood Heights
Phone:(801) 733-9305
Website: www.pizzerialimone.net
Prices: Good
Food: Delicious

November 18
This Friday's find is dedicated to the simple joys of life. Things like clean laundry, fresh baked cookies, your favorite song on the radio, a message from a friend, and so many more. Todays simple joy and Friday find came from the candy jar at work. More specifically the bag to refill the candy jar. It was a bag of tootsie rolls, gum drops, and tootsie pops. The jar was pretty empty, as it is after every few days of kids taking candy, and I grabbed the bag to refill it. I was pulling treats out and happened to come across a color of tootsie pop that I had never had. I was looking at the package wondering what flavor it was and soon read that is was pomegranate. I sat for a moment wondering if I had ever come across a pomegranate tootsie pop before and knew that I hadn't. It made me smile to find something so simple and new to brighten the day. And of course I quickly ate it and enjoyed every moment it lasted. It was a small and simple joy and if you ever come across one, let me know. I would love to have another.

November 25
This Friday was full of all kinds of fabulous finds seeing as it was Black Friday and we had some shopping to do. Technically our finds started Thursday night as we headed over to Walmart for the deals that started at 10:00 pm. there we found a Wii game (which I almost died getting) and some other gifts. From there we headed to Target were we stood outside for over an hour for their deals that started at midnight. Wendi and I stood in line with some pretty fun girls and the time soon flew by. When it was our time to enter the store we went straight to the movies and got loads of good deals. We also left with a game for Chris, PJ's, and a cake mix for the next day. After Target we went and switched the car for the truck and then headed to Sears in Ogden. We waited again out is the cold and soon got inside for the gifts we were after. From sears we went back and dropped off the gifts and then headed to Beto's for breakfast since it was 6am at that point. The morning ended with a long hot shower and then crawling into bed at about 6:30. It was a great night full of laughter, fun, and memories to last a lifetime. And if you ever decide to go Black Friday shopping here are a few tips:
*Make a plan of what you want and what stores everything is at. This way you know what you are after and where you need to head.
*Go in a group. It is always better to be with a few people for varies reasons which include taking shifts in the cold and splitting up to get the gifts you want in a store.
*Take cell phones. You will need a way to contact the people in your group.
*Warm clothes are a must. Layers are the best.
*If you just want to hit one store I would suggest Target. They are very organized and have a great system set up.

All in all the Friday finds of November were pretty Fabulous. I enjoyed them every one and will start doing Fabulous Finds again in January. December is a bit busy and pretty full of events, family, and friends.

Thanksgiving

THE THANKSGIVING "SPECIAL" BOUQUET

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

"She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder.

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an air bag that saved her life but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, may I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I....I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving "Special?" asked the shop clerk. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi, Barbara...let me get your order."

She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses; Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

"Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest.

"Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uh....she just left with no flowers!"

"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!" exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk, "and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for good things in life and never to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

"Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement...twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems," laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?"

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special."

I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life," Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too...fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment.

"I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing; nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

It read:

"My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the life I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

Praise Him for your roses, thank him for your thorns. 

The last few years have been somewhat difficult for me to get through. Yes, good things have happened in those years, but there have also been somethings that weren't very fun or easy to get through. Between family fights, looking for jobs, having a masters program canceled, wards changing, being told I couldn't move forward in the way I wanted, and just life overall it has been somewhat of a mess. I have definitely had my down days over the last few years. And I didn't realize that it was starting to show on my face until I met up with a friend and she gave me this concerned look and asked me what was wrong. I just looked at her and smiled saying I was just fine. She said "really, because you seem to have lost the sparkle that was always in your eyes." I don't remember what I said after that, but I that statement stuck with me and I knew it was true. I felt like I was stuck in a rut and had no way to get out. I had been trying to move forward and trying to become who I needed to be, but it just didn't seem to be working. So, I started to pray a little bit harder, took a good look at myself and decided that I could do better with a variety of things, and then got to work in making the changes that I needed to. IT took some months of heartache, tears, and frustration and it took a few months before I started to feel any different and to see the changes in my life. But they did happen. And they happened on the Lord's time. 

And now, looking back, I see how much I have grown, how much I have changed, and how much I have learned. I know that I am a better person now and I feel that happiness and peace in my life that I know went missing. I would never have chosen to go though all that I did. I wouldn't have picked any of it. But, if it is what I had to go through to get to where I am at now, then I wouldn't change any of it. I know my Father in Heaven knows me. I know he loves me. And I know that he has a plan for me. A better plan then I could ever have for myself. I know that that is what I had to go through to get here now and I am grateful for it. I am grateful for the thorns that help my stem grow. I am grateful for the thorns that help me bloom into the flower that I can and should be. And I will keep moving forward trying to remember to be grateful for the trials in my life.

He's Home

From: Christopher Merrill Walker [cmwalker@myldsmail.net]

Sent: Monday, November 21, 2011 3:43 AM

To: Aaron Cox; G & G Walker; Julie Oyler; Julie Oyler Home; Merrill Walker; Shannan Walker

Subject: THE LAST MISSIONARY KID NEWSLETTER

HOMEWARD BOUND

In the quiet misty morning, when the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing and the sky is clear and red,

When the summer's ceased its gleaming, when the corn is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning, I'll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture. Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling and I'll return to you somehow.

If you find it's me you're missing, if you're hoping I'll return,

To your thought I'll soon be list'ning; in the road I'll stop and turn.

Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end,

And the path I'll be retracing when I'm homeward bound again.

Bind me not to the pasture. Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling and I'll return to you somehow.

In the quiet misty morning when the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing, I'll be homeward bound again.

--

PS Remember that I love you

TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

This is the email that I read yesterday from my brother Chris. As many of you know, he left to serve a mission in Europe two years ago. He has been serving all over Belgium and France. He has worked hard, laughed lots, grown taller, and learned the most he ever has in two years. He has sent emails, cards and called, but today he has returned home and we couldn't be any happier to have him back with us.

The last few weeks at my house have been cleaning weeks. We have washed walls, carpets, clothes, cabinets, book shelves, beds, bathrooms, blinds, and everything else there was to wash in every room in the house. And let me tell you, the house is clean. We knew we would have a busy week and wanted to make sure we were prepared.

Today started with getting up and making posters to take to the airport. I kept having markers die on me, but in the end we got them complete. We also hung up a banner and balloons outside and were grateful that it was a sunny day. We cleaned last minute things, got ready for the day, checked flight details, and then were on our way to the airport. His plan was coming in at 2:00 and we wanted to be sure to be there.

We loaded up in the car with our posters and balloons and were on our way. Upon arriving at the airport we parked and went in to the baggage claim area. We quickly found the escalators where we knew he would come down and worked on staking out our area. There were families already around the bottom waiting for their missionaries to come. They soon came and we watched as they reunited knowing that it would soon be us. After the other families moved we closed in to stake out our spot. Our family members were arriving and we were all getting excited. We were taking photos and goofing off while we waited for his flight to arrive.

My dad then had the thought they we might be in the wrong place. We were in Terminal 2, but he realized that Chris was coming from Paris, France and that was an international flight. He went and talked to the guy at the information desk and we learned that we were in the wrong place. We quickly gathered our belongings and headed over to the international terminal, which was in the next building over. We all gathered over there and proceeded to take more photo's and wait for him to arrive. We were debating where the passengers came out of and noticed that his flight had landed.

We then staked out our ground and waited for him to walk around the gate. We soon realized that it could be awhile before he came out because he had to go and get his luggage before he could. So we continued to wait. And wait. And wait some more while we also continued to congratulate others on arriving in Utah (we all had to do something while we waited with anticipation). And then we we thought he would never come out, A guy hollered that he could see the missionaries and that they were coming. One mom saw her boy and started jumping and ran forward to meet him. And then, my mom started to jump and run forward to see her own son who had walked out behind him.

Of course, after that there was a lot of running and jumping and most of all hugging. Running up and hugging my brother was one of the greatest things. It was so good to see him and to be able to put my arms around him and know that he was home. I think we ended up scaring Chris though with all of us that were there coming forward to hug him because he was shaking the whole time. Once the hugging was finished we took some more photo's and then proceed to leave the airport and to take him home.

The whole ride in the car he kept saying how big everything is here in America and how small things are in France. It was fun to see his face and watch his reaction as we pulled into the driveway and he walked into the house. He just kept looking around. We all gathered together in the basement and ate and talked. We listened to funny stories and even watched a couple of his videos. But most of all, we were just together until he head to go meet with the stake president to get released.

Once he got home he cleaned out his bags, hung up his ties, and changed his clothes. Then we sat again and talked some more and looked at the stuff he brought home until he decided that after being up for 26 hours that he was ready to go to bed. So we said goodnight and told him to sleep in and that we would see him in the morning.

All in all, it was a great day! A day full of joy and love. A day where I got to see my brother, who I am so proud of and love, come home. A day I wont soon forget.

My brother . . . as studly as ever