The Best Christmas Story Ever

Sydney at Halloween

I've had the pleasure this year of teaching the six year old class in Primary. These kids have made me laugh, and they have often been the reason for me going straight to bed after church! Today was our special Christmas lesson. We discussed why we give gifts at Christmastime. Their insight on gospel principles has made an impression of good upon me. I told them I wanted to share a Christmas story with them. My class understands that they must listen, because they will be quizzed afterward. The account I shared is of S. Dilworth Young, who was a General Authority for 36 years.

When Elder Dilworth was a boy, he dreamed of getting a fire engine puzzle for Christmas. He was jubilant on Christmas morning when he received this treasured gift. After putting it together, and playing with it for about an hour, his father came into his room and told him about a family from Denmark who did not have any Christmas presents. His father proceeded to ask him to give up his most cherished gift to a boy who was the same age as him in this family.

We all have heard different versions of this story. People make selfless sacrifices during the Christmas season to give to those in need.

Elder Young shared the feeling of joy he had after giving up his cherished puzzle. When I finished telling the story, I asked the kids how they would feel if they had to give up a treasured gift.

They paused for a moment to contemplate this. No one answered me.

Sydney then spoke up, "Sister Simpson we did that once."

"Your family gave up your Christmas?" I was incredulous.

"Well, we just got a new Wii, and when we started playing with it, my mom came in the room and told us about a family who only had one dollar," She explained to me.

"Did you give them your Wii?" I was eager to know.

"Yes. We did." She answered like it was no big deal.

"Sydney, that is the NICEST thing I have ever heard." I practically had tears in my eyes.

Sydney looked at me, popped a chocolate in her mouth, and nonchalantly responded, "Well, actually it was the worst day of my life!"

I have been laughing all day.

Preschool Musical

The Christmas program at preschool is a highlight of the season. Today's presentation reminded me of the days when I taught music at preschool. You have the children who steal the show, the ones who wave at their parents, a few get stage fright, and then there's the one who refuses to sing. I don't think that happened today. Today's program was titled, "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Cozette was front and center, and it pains me to report that she hardly sang one word. She mostly just stood there and stared into the very large crowd.

She did wave to her Daddy twice.

I noticed her lips moving some, and she did the motions to some of the songs. I spoke to her music teacher afterward, and she told me that Cozette would sing very loudly in music. She also said that  Cozette knows every word to all the songs. I believe Cozette caught a case of stage fright!

Cozette's class had a book exchange at the Christmas party afterward.

Cozette could hardly wait for us to come home and open the present she made for us. We agreed at school that we would wait for her daddy to be there, but once we got home she said, "Why don't we just open it now!"  She made us a very lovely candle holder.

I asked Cozette what was her favorite thing about the Christmas party today.

"That my daddy was there."

Why am I not surprised?

A Prayer of Gratitude

Cozette enjoying her first Thanksgiving feast at preschool.

Have I ever mentioned that Cozette becomes a rooster when we have our family prayers? I am not sure why she becomes so silly. There's been plenty of times we stop to laugh at her. And have I ever mentioned that she usually will not pray with out a little help? We were surprised the other evening when she expressed that she wanted to pray by herself. I was not sure if she was going to be silly or stop mid-sentence. I can still see her little body next to our bed. She folded her arms, bowed her head, and proceeded to offer a very sincere prayer.

Here is what I remember her saying:

Dear Heavenly father,

I am thankful for Jesus. I love Mommy and Daddy. I am thankful for Kayleigh and Everett. Please bless Daddy to get better. Please bless Mommom and Papa. I love Grandma and Grandpa. Please bless my Grandpa to get better soon. Please bless my Daddy to get better...

 I need to mention that Brad is perfectly healthy. She asked two times for him to get better. I am the one who has been sick!

What she said next brought tears to my eyes.

Please bless baby Elijah...

Cozette has heard his name included in every prayer we say at night.  

I love bunny. I am thankful for my pillows. She ended the prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. 

When Cozette finished, she looked at us knowing she had just done something very special. There is wonder in hearing a child say a sincere prayer of thanksgiving.

I have so much to be grateful for.

The Coach and Mr. Baseball

When I'm old,  I will remember the days of Coach and Mr. Baseball as some of my favorite.  Brad started coaching Everett about three years ago. I remember taking baby Cozette to the park. I barely paid attention--only when Everett came up to bat. I never noticed when Everett was in the outfield. I sure have come a long way. Nikki and I often joke that we should get part-time jobs as umpires. Sometimes, I even tease Brad that I should have been his assistant coach. I have never mentioned how much I love watching Brad with his teams. And I have never gone into detail how he has blessed the lives of so many little boys. There have been many parents come up to me over the years stating that he is the best coach they have ever had.   

One of my favorite memories is from last spring. We were playing in a tournament game. The boys were struggling. An umpire made a really bad call. Brad took off his hat and beat it against the dug out. It was one of those moments when the parents were watching Brad for his reaction. My sister and I started laughing. What struck us even more funny were some of the remarks of the parents!  

" Wow. I'm glad to see that he will get mad!"  

"I've never seen coach Brad mad before!"

"It's about time he got mad."

These were a few of the comments we heard. You see, Brad never loses his temper. He certainly never did with the boys, and he earned the respect and confidence of the boys and their parents because of it.

It appears Brad's coaching days have come to an end.  This is truly sad for me. Everett has been invited to be a part of a traveling team in the spring. This invitation was extended with the understanding that he does not play on Sunday. It amazes me how that boy has been blessed. I do need to mention that Everett had two other travel teams express they wanted him to be a part of their league if we would play on Sunday.


So, now Brad will turn in his coaching hat for a scouting uniform. He was recently called to be the 11 year old Scout Leader. He will be able to serve with Everett in Boy Scouts. We are very excited for this opportunity for them to be together.

Believe it or not, Boy Scouts is even more important to us than baseball!

A Little Princess and the Scooby-Doo Gang

 When we went trick-or-treating last night, I reminded Cozette to say thank you at each house. Sometimes she would say "Thank you" and other times she would say "Happy Halloween." The best part of the evening was when we arrived at a very festive house. The lady answered the door and instead of saying "trick- or-treat" Cozette said, "Thank you!" The lady laughed and gave her extra candy.

I love having a three year old enjoy the festivities of Halloween.

Cozette and Emma Grace

An incredible resemblance of Daphne and Velma!

Introducing Sydney as Velma, Hunter as Fred, Ammon as Shaggy, Kayleigh as Daphne, and a very brave Michael as Scooby-Doo! Kayleigh is blessed to have such good friends.

Now, if you're wondering where Everett is, I did not get a single picture of him this
Halloween. He almost got his nerve up to go as a nerd. At the last minute, he decided that he just couldn't go through with it.

Guess what he was instead?

A baseball player.

Very original.

She's All That

She's 14 now.

She's also dynamite, spectacular, smart, witty, clever, creative, full of life, beautiful, good, kind, thoughtful, a true friend, classy, independent, the owner of a new cell phone, loyal, snazzy, humble,  easy going, dramatic, sensational, incredible, outstanding, amazing, friendly, a fantastic back scratcher, stylish, absolutely positively wonderful...

And a little bit more.

A Citizen in Action

A letter addressed to Everett came in the mail today. I opened it because I thought that it was a blue card. They have recently been working on the citizenship merit badge. I had no idea that Everett had written this to Senator Chambliss at Boy Scouts.

It delighted me beyond words.