Christmas

The lights are up.  The tree is decorated.  It even snowed this weekend. Christmas time has always been a great time of year, but thanks to my son Christmas has some extra magic. Twenty years ago I would have been anxiously anticipating opening the presents under the tree.  Although I will be excited to see my son open his presents on Christmas, the real source of my joy this season has been the thought of raising my son to be a generous, kind, Christ-like individual. He is blessed to have been born into a loving family, with the resources to be able to provide him with all of his needs in life.

As a child, my family often struggled to even put food on the table. Despite this, my father was always generous to those in need. I remember a Christmas tradition formed as I got older and my family was more financially secure. Through some local organization we obtained information about a family in need.  We would join with other family friends to provide Christmas gifts, school supplies, food, and clothing to a different family each year. Often times that meant we would only have a few presents ourselves. I hope I can raise a son who, regardless of his level of wealth, possesses a sincere love for his fellow man.  

Peace at home

You don't know my wife, but I will tell you this. Both she and I are STUBBORN. And all those capitals are warranted. Sometimes peace at home takes some serious effort. But I will also tell you it is completely worth all the effort. I once had a church leader give me the most amazing marriage advice, and I want to share it here with you.

"You know," he said. "The marriage covenant is the only covenant Heavenly Father asks us to enter into with an imperfect person. All of our other covenant are with Him - a perfect being. Maybe this covenant is to help us understand how He feels."

It hit me so hard and brought me so much peace all at the same time. I'm grateful for the chance I have to work for peace in my home.

Taking risks

Did you build a tree house when you were a kid?  I always wanted one, but growing up living in apartment complexes doesn't really allow for tree-house building.  Fortunately I also grew up in Oregon, where trees are bountiful.  For most of my childhood we lived in an apartment complex with a forest directly behind our building.  To a child, 5 acres of forest might as well be the amazon rainforest.  I remember climbing high into trees, enjoying the view, and even attempting to build tree houses out of the various materials I could scavenge from the dumpster.

Yesterday, while my wife was painting one of the bedrooms in our new home, we turned around to find our young son had climbed to the top of an 8 foot ladder.  Lately, I have found him on top of nearly every climbable object in the house.  At first, I was incessantly worried that he might fall, and wished that he wasn't so adventurous.  But thinking back on my adventures climbing trees, I am now grateful for his independent and confident attitude.  I look forward to seeing all the great things he will accomplish in this life.

Thanksgiving

This week my parents visited for Thanksgiving.  It is always great to spend time with my parents, but this visit was exceptionally great because of my son.  It was beautiful to see him interact with his grandparents, but perhaps even more beautiful to see my father interact with his first grandson.  My childhood memories are fogged by time, but I have several precious memories of time spent with my father.  Time with my father was a rarity for my siblings and I.  My father often spent nearly every waking hour working to provide for our impoverished family.  Regardless, he always made time to bond and create memories.  Not a year passed that we did not visit the annual city parade, camp together, or walk along the river enjoying the summer carnival.  As an adult I have come to a better understanding of my father's lack of presence in my childhood.  Seeing him with my son further testified of the love my father has for his children and family.  This thanksgiving I am grateful for my father, my son, and the financial blessings that allow me to spend time with my family.

Wholesome Recreational Activities

My wife and I consider ourselves mountain people. Which is interesting since neither of us really grew up in the mountains. But nonetheless, the mountains are home for our family. They are where all of our favorites converge - where our interests intersect. Hiking, mountain biking, dirt biking, climbing, hunting, snowboarding, snow shoeing, yurting, cabining. Life is in the mountains.

"We need to do this more often," I find myself saying EVERY time we go to the mountains. And we do. We really really do need to do it more. Because a family that spends time in the mountains is a happy family, that's what I say.

My hope is we raise a bunch of little kids who grow up to be nature lovers, just like their mom and dad. That way we can be a mountain family for life.

Perspective

Recently the internet has been flooded with pictures and stories of the Syrian refugee crisis. It is incredibly heart wrenching. I've been especially touched by several stories featured on the Facebook page People of New York.  The stories of families forced to leave their homes, jobs, and lives behind as they flee a war torn country fill me with sadness.  Some families do not make it out together, and some do not make it out at all.  This has stoked the fire of gratitude in my heart for the blessings and comforts I enjoy in my life.  Often I can be stressed about the minutia of work, school, church callings, and family duties.  Reading stories and seeing photos of people who are in much worse situations helps me put things into perspective.  I am especially grateful for the eternal perspective offered through an understanding of the plan of salvation.

Equally yoked

This week in my religion class, we discussed the importance of equal partnership in marriage.  I am lucky to have married such a competent and intelligent woman. I often tell friends that marrying my wife was the best decision I ever made. I am sure that any couple can learn to have an equal partnership, but I know that it is so much easier for me because of the way I view my wife.  Of the many traits my wife possesses that attracted me to her, near the top of the list is her competence. Since I view my wife as competent, talented, intelligent, and capable, it is very easy to establish an equally yoked relationship.  I appreciate the fact that I can lean on my wife for support, and I suspect she feels the same way. This is what an equal partnership in marriage means to me: a marriage in which both partners contribute to a greater whole, the family.