Anticipating a Happy New Year!

And wishing you a prosperous, spiritually rewarding year to remember.

"Our Heritage Binds Us Together" DUP coloring poster from Grandma

The best gift-giving never ends! 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing our wonderful friends, family and everyone a joyous Christmas!
Thank you!  We love you!!

It's Next Week, Not This Week

In my third-hour church meeting today, an announcement was explained by our young leader conducting the opening: “There has been some confusion about what we just said, that ‘next week is Family Week.’ 
To clarify, it is this coming week, not this week.”

So now it should be perfectly clear that the week of Christmas (Dec. 25th) is for family activities, free of mid-week church meetings and activities.  It's next week on my phone calendar, as Sunday is the first day of this week.  Clear as a Christmas bell!

Wishing you well!  "So be good for goodness sake!"  Counting days ...

Christmas Nativity Celebration (international display)
our family visited at the Kaysville Tabernacle 29 Nov 2013

Children's artwork in Kay's Primary room: "Christmas Symbols"

Frontier Christmas Day 2009

On Hold for a Season

What happens when we are put on hold or held up in line?  A weekly review of our New Year’s resolutions we made last January?  A trip down memory lane as we listen to Christmas music in snarled traffic?  A practice session on an imaginary piano, or a shopping spree on the web?  Waiting patiently on hold yesterday morning, I carried my mobile office phone outside for fresh air and a picture of the rising sun as it emerged from the clouds.  My old iPhone amazes me with multi-tasking.  The other day I kept working on a desktop computer throughout a 40-minute hold to save $30 on two 72-hour emergency-prep kits from MPS as advertised by Glenn on radio.  (Whew!!)

What do we put on hold for a season of giving?  After enduring three songs repeated for 40 minutes, I put my PC work on hold for tempting offers as she tried to upsell me beyond my $20 limit.  It was well worth it – I will have two gifts to place under the tree next week … without putting my budget on hold 

(“I prefer not to.”)  One thing for sure, we can’t put on hold the count-down of days till Christmas.  

Let us put off personal grudges and impatience for this season, while giving the time-on-hold to those whom we love – a gift to our Savior Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate.  For “He Is the Gift"  …  – Christmas.mormon.org

This Is The Place, 29 Dec 2012

Christmas cheer, everyone!

On Route 66 at My Age

My wife was determined to drive on it yesterday.  Stopping at a Flagstaff McD, 
I asked a bearded elder where Route 66 was.  Looking surprised that any old man would be so clueless, he pointed at the main street and replied, "You're on it right there!"  Sure enough, we soon found signs that confirmed it.  Kay’s phone is so smart, it found a historical-narrative audio about a Route-66 Flagstaff resident whose business barely survived after the freeway bypassed the district. He became a leader with a lifelong passion for promoting Route 66 as a tourist attraction.  So special – I wish my phone could find it; (can’t see in 164,000 results that her PC got today.)  However, I did learn a bit about the famous road 
I associate with my youth: it is actually older than I am!

"Route 66 is synonymous with the classic American road trip, and that carefree spirit is still alive in Flagstaff today.  When Route 66 became a highway in 1921, Flagstaff was established as a popular stop on the iconic highway.  ...  Now Route 66 has become firmly established in the annals of Americana.  The lore of the road paints romantic pictures of a simpler time.  ..."

– www.flagstaffarizona.org/route66

With a satellite signal beaming down on Route 66, two romantic U alumni enjoyed listening to BYU Radio SiriusXM – Christmas choir music and talks on gratitude.  We are grateful for family, for the privilege of visiting them last month in warm weather, and for a safe return to our simple frontier home.

Thanks to our Arizona family for a great "diner" party, and to Kay for fun cake!

66 Motel sign: "Get Your Kicks on Route 66"