Picture a Christmas

Cozette is doing ASL to Away in a Manger.

Every day I have the privilege of working with children. I ponder the words of our Savior, "Suffer the little children, for such is the kingdom of heaven." These children love me unconditionally. I love teaching music to them. Children say the sweetest things. One of my little girls told me during the middle of our rehearsal that she was hungry. I told her we had just a few more songs to practice. At the end of our practice, she raised her hand and asked, "Ms. Jeannie, can I be hungry now?"  Children are kind, generous, forgiving, innocent, and trusting. No wonder He told us to be like them.

The theme for the Pre-k Christmas program was "Picture a Christmas." Each child had a speaking part. They were darling. They sang a variety of different Christmas carols including two from the LDS church, a Jamaican Christmas carol, Fum Fum Fum, Milton, the Dancing Christmas Mouse, which was their favorite, and a few others. We concluded with We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The children always laughed when they sang the words, "figgy pudding." They made such a big deal about the words, that it made me question what figgy pudding is. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is actually a type of bread pudding that is more like spice cake!

Cozette spoke her lines like she was a professional.
"And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes,
and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for Him in the inn."

 

Joy

There are moments in life we hope to never forget. Nikki's and John's wedding is one of them. I do not think I have the ability to express the joy our family felt that beautiful day. I believe that my sisters and I are blessed with a special gift-- a bond of sisterhood that the truest of sisters share. As I think about that day, there are special moments that have left an indelible impression upon my heart.

I want to share a few.

I loved looking at my parents. They were glowing. Mom was radiant. The absolute love they have for Nikki was not only visible, but I could also feel it. Mom was stunning as the mother of the bride. Dad was as dapper as always.

During the ceremony, I held hands with my own true love. It seems like yesterday, we were the happy couple. I also held hands with my dear sister, Quincy.  We had hoped for this moment for so long.

After their beautiful ceremony in the Atlanta Temple, I went to the dressing room with Quincy to be with Mom and Nikki. My mom was helping Nikki get into her wedding dress. It laced up the back. It took my mom over 10 minutes to lace her up. As I watched my mom, I was struck with a feeling of gratitude for her. We have a mother who has dedicated her life to us, a mother who daily blesses our lives. It's interesting how simple moments trigger such emotion.

Right before the wedding, Quincy commented to me, "I sure do hope we get to play Blokus today!" I laughed out loud.  I recently came across a quote that expressed sisters are a glimpse of your childhood. It is true.

It was a pleasure getting to meet some of John's family. I spent some time with his Uncle Raoul. He commented that a person also marries their spouse's family. Yes, we do. I thought of my own dear in-laws and sister-in-law who came to celebrate with our family, because they love Nikki so much.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the day was when my dad welcomed our guests at the wedding luncheon. He was kind and gracious. His words were perfect. After he prayed, I looked at my sister and said that I was proud to be his daughter. 


A few days before the wedding, Nikki asked me and Quincy to say a few words. Honestly, I feared that I was going to faint before I spoke. I wrote my words and memorized them. I labored over it. I lost sleep over it. Quincy was nervous too. She was lovely as she spoke from her heart to Nikki and John.

Here are my words to them:

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my sisters. All week I have been thinking about the eternal nature of love, and what a blessing it is to have a family.

 I was almost 14 years old when Nikki was born. I was convinced she was going to be my baby brother. I remember like it was yesterday running home from school to find out the happy news. I burst into the house, and my dad was on the phone saying, “Oh, yes, we are so happy!” I couldn’t believe it, because I finally had my baby brother. I then looked over at the kitchen table only to discover a pink “It’s a girl” card.

I started to cry.

But, when we went to the hospital that evening, I will never forget how I felt when I saw Nikki for the first time.  I can truly say it was love at first sight. She instantly became my baby. Because of our age difference, we didn’t grow up together, but she was 14 when Brad and I were married, and she grown up with us. Brad and I love you dearly.

And we love you, John. We waited a long time for you to get here.

Nikki and John, I’m not going to give you any advice, I couldn’t say anything that you don’t already know, but I do love these words:

“True love ‘beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.’ So Christ loved us, and that is how He hoped we would love each other.”

My sincerest hope is that your marriage will always be a reflection of this perfect love.
You are both worthy of it, and you deserve it.
I love you.

Cozette could not take her eyes off of Nikki's dress.

Kayleigh recently said that she could not believe the day has come and gone so quickly. I explained to her that's how it usually is.

The newlyweds are currently vacationing in Spain.

And we get to look forward to them coming home.

Here is a link to some bridal photos of Nikki.


 a

A Christmas Carol

Kayleigh made her debut in Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol" tonight. She was magnificent! We are very proud of her. She was a "Londoner" in the play. She even had a few lines, participated in a dancing scene, and sang Deck the Halls. She was in the play with her best friends Sydney, Homoira, and Hannah. They all did a fabulous job. The high school did an excellent job producing this Christmas classic. We attended the play with Mommom, Papa, Nikki and John. After the play, we went to my parents to be with Quincy's family who had just arrived for the wedding, which is in less than 48 hours.

We all say we can't wait for the weddin' day!

On Saturday, it is closing night, and we are happy that most of our family will be in town to see Kayleigh's performance. Quincy, Kirk, Zoe, Kaija, Bill, Shirley, Barbara, and Mary-Faith will all be there for her.

Her red hair was very striking on stage.

Sydney is to her left and Homoira to her right.

On the way home, Everett announced that he is playing Ebeneezer Scrooge in a scene for his Language Arts class tomorrow. I couldn't believe it when he told us. After seeing Scrooge on stage tonight, he came home and practiced his lines for tomorrow. It was the cutest thing ever. I told him he should audition for a play when he gets to high school.

He kindly responded, "No thank you."

Bah humbug!