Christmas Reflections

Within each stage of our family Christmas has changed.  The first few years we were married we were poor college students and only had a few humble presents under the tree.  As our family grew, Christmas became filled with anticipation and excitement for Santa to come.  We were so excited, our first Christmas as parents we couldn’t wait to see our daughters reactions to the tree, lights, Santa and presents.  She was crawling at the time and only cared about taking the bows from the packages and playing with them.  It was wonderful.

As each Christmas approached quicker than the year before we looked forward to surprising the kids with the things they asked Santa for.  I have fond memories of Holly getting her Polly Pockets and playing for hours, Harrison embracing for years his Chocolate Puppy and Marissa finally getting her giant teddy bear after waiting two years.

I will never forget the year the kids got the Wii.  They knew getting a gaming system was not in their future, so this was a huge surprise.  The winter following this Christmas we had a lot of snow which kept us home.  The Wii was a wonderful way to go bowling, play golf or even try being Olympians.  It proved to be a wonderful gift.

Just because we were adults with children didn’t mean we weren’t 10 years old on the inside wanting our own toys.  So one year Santa brought Mom and Dad huge Nerf guns.  Our surprise attack was met with many squeals.  That was the first year of our Nerf wars.  We even got Grandma involved when she visited.  

A Christmas that is close to my heart is the year we made gifts for everyone.  Our year had been met with many changes and it just didn’t seem appropriate to fill our tree with retail purchases.  So we spent months pondering, planning and making the special gift we knew would be loved.  At times the house was quiet as each of us were stowed away to secret places to make these special gifts.  Sitting around our tree that Christmas morning sharing our love and talents with one another brought a spirit of giving that we had not experienced before.

Now that the kids are married and have new families Sean and I have found ourselves celebrating Christmas alone.  Meaning we spent most of the day on the phone with them and even propped up our phones at the table during dinner.  While we weren’t together physically we felt them and our Christmas was not sad or depressing, rather filled with fun new memories.

This year was different from all the others.  We are in a different state, in a different home, and having different experiences.  We are here with our daughter, but she is grown, married and a mommy.  She isn’t our little girl that can’t wait for Santa to come.  Instead, we are celebrating this season as grandparents and watching our grandson be amazed by the twinkling lights, hearing the Christmas stories for the first time, and listening to lots and lots of Christmas music.  His face would light up as we sang and he loved Christmas movies that had lots of singing.

Christmas was different this year, but so wonderful.  We decorated together, baked together, meshed traditions and shared in watching our grandson discovering how to rip wrapping paper.  To his amazement beneath that paper that there was a toy just for him.  The blocks were a hit.  

Sitting on the floor Christmas morning with my sweetheart, our daughter, son in-law and grandson I felt so blessed.  I know it's not about the gifts, but the ultimate Gift.  The gift of the birth of Jesus Christ and His life.   The gift of the restored gospel.  The gift of eternal families. The gift of three wonderful children when I love and admire.  The gift to live with family and be part of our grandson’s life every day.  

I am looking forward to many more Christmases, watching our daughters' family grow and be part of those wonderful Christmas surprises we so enjoyed as parents.

Christmas Light

 
This year I feel like Christmas snuck up on me. It really didn't. It came 365 days after last year. The difference is that I was so occupied by life changes I didn’t give it the focus  I normally do. 

One year ago I was ice sledding down our street with 2 of our kids and our daughter in law. Sean was recovering from foot surgery, so he looked on from the screen door on crutches. It was almost perfect. 

Oregon is cold, dark, drippy and often snowy at Christmas. You can count on Christmas lights to brighten the season. Our home looked spectacular with lights. We had a 14+ foot Christmas tree that was a treasure trove of the places we’ve visited and the special memories we created over the last 30 years. Last year we enjoyed the lights so much that we didn’t take them down till Valentine’s.

This year Sean risked his life as usual to string lights on the roof stretching up every peak. Much to his disappointment there was no way to safely hang them over each peak. He settled for a more limited light display, but the house looked great. Bright white. Till a fuse went out and the roofline went dark. 

Last week we visited the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  Washington DC temple. Over 400,000 lights illuminated the visitor center. We had a wonderful evening together admiring the lights, the views of the temple and the many nativities. We even escaped the crowds to take in the views around the temple and the peace of Christmas. 

Like many I love Christmas. But, it’s not the gifts, Santa, cookies or holiday movies , it’s the LIGHT. It’s the lights on the tree or outlining the house that I love. Their simple glow reminds me of the light from a bright star that guided shepherds to a humble stable where a baby lay in a manger filled with straw.   This baby brought light and hope to all. It is Christ's birth, His teachings and His atonement  that brings everlasting light to each of us. His light can brighten the darkest of nights and provide hope when we may have none. 

Tonight as I sit cross stitching while watching a Christmas movie my gaze is pulled toward our tree. This tree brightens a dark corner of your home. Through Christ a very dark time in our lives was made brighter. For that I am truly grateful. 

I hope that the love Christ has for you fills your heart this Christmas and brings you light throughout the new year.

Look Mom, "No Map"

 Look mom I did it!  It only took me 5 months, but I finally drove to Costco without using Apple or Google Maps.   I don't know the names of the streets, YET, but I will get there.

Getting to know our area has taken me a while.  I was nervous to drive the first month or so and thought I could learn my way by being an observant passenger.  NOPE!  There were too many distractions.  I thought I would be able to get my bearings based on landmarks.  NOPE!  Its flat here, there are no natural landmarks just lots and lots and lots of trees.  The vegetation covers many road signs or signs of commercial life.  I finally forced myself to get behind the wheel and drive. 

I hung a quote in my classroom that I love for many reasons on the Power of YET!

YET!

"I don't get it!"

"I can't do this!"

Take a deep breath.  Go for a short stroll.

Then add a "YET"

To the end of your sentence:

As in,

"I don't get it . . . YET!"

"I can't do this . . . YET!"

"This doesn't work . . . YET!"

Little by little I have become familiar with our new town and how to get to the places I need regularly.  I'm not completely familiar with our community or the surrounding ones, YET.  I'll get there.

A Christ Centered Christmas

 I was so excited last Christmas to be a Grammy that I bought our future grandbaby a few Christmas presents.  One of those gifts was the Fisher-Price Little People Nativity set.  I knew he wouldn’t play with it for a while, but I couldn’t resist.

Have you seen this toy?  The star on the stable lights up, and plays “Away in a Manger ''.  The 18 pieces include Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, 3 Wise Men and stable animals.  I love that all the pieces are there so kids can act out the story of Christ’s birth.  

Growing up in the 70’s I was very familiar with Little People.  We had the bus, house, the farm, the parking garage, all the cars and so many accessories that my dad got us a mini trash can to store them in.  We played with our Little People for hours, days and weeks at a time.  These toys were by far our favorite.

Now that our grandson is interacting with his toys, the Nativity has become a favorite of his.  He loves to chew on them, bang them on the floor, toss them or knock them over as I set them up.  I have personal memories of playing with Little People.  I have memories of our kids playing with their Little People and now I am building memories of my grandchildren playing with them.

Having a nativity set just for him at this age was important.  I wanted to invite the true spirit of Christmas into our home and our play this time of year.  I can’t wait to see how he interacts with this next year. 

My son in-laws' mom had a similar idea of giving a nativity to our growing family, 25 Days of Christ.  I love this nativity set just as much, but for different reasons.  This nativity set draws the family closer to Christ by studying his life and teachings.  I think this set could be a great addition to our Easter traditions or be pulled out and used any time during the year.

These two nativity sets brought me to a crossroads of sorts.  How do I incorporate our Christmas traditions, with our daughters and include what she and her husband have  brought from his family, plus what they have created as a little family?  I didn’t want to abandon what Sean and I have created or what I have known my whole life, but I wanted to make sure our grandson and family had the best of all four worlds.  

This transition wasn’t easy.  I wasn’t sure where to put our things, how to decorate or where to hang our ornaments.  The night we decorated the tree I started to pull out our ornaments and then stopped.  I couldn’t see where to hang them.  I sat on the floor and encouraged Holly and Dreyton to hang theirs.  Slowly the tree started to take shape and I was able to see where ours would fit in.  The best part of the evening was Holly.  She was so excited to be home for Christmas and to have a tree that we decorated together.  She reminded me that it is all about being together.

We have three trees, one per floor. Each tree is decorated beautifully with ornaments from my childhood all the way to Cutie E's first ornament. Our home has at least two nativities per floor. No matter where you are in our home you can see that Christ is the center of our Christmas traditions. I love it. I love that we are combining traditions and creating new ones with love.  The answer to getting over what I think are hurdles is love, an open heart and open mind.  

I’ve included links if you are curious and want to check it out either nativity set.

Fisher-Price Little People Nativity

25 Days of Christ

Best Part Of the Day

​I’ve been listening to the heavy rain as I clean up from dinner. I enjoy hearing the rain fall as it hits the roof, our windows or falls through the trees.  It is a familiar sound that is also comforting. 

The other evening Sean and I were on a walk just as the sun was setting. It had been overcast all day, but the clouds broke just enough to let light shine through. We enjoyed a spectacular sunset. Bright oranges and pinks quickly faded to blues, grays and eventually gave way to the night sky filled with stars. 

Our previous home had perfect views of sunrise and sunset.  I’ve been known to snap pictures of a stunning sunrise at school or run around the house to capture just the right view of a sunset. Our new home has a small view of sunsets and I love it!  Sunsets are my favorite part of the day. I think each morning Heavenly Father says good morning with a beautiful sunrise and He says good night with a sunset. 

What is your favorite part of the day?

Mrs Dotson Returns

Since my last post I have been a little busy.  I dusted off Mrs. Dotson so I could lead 19 students and 9 chaperones on a whirlwind of a seven day history trip through Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Monticello, Washing  DC and Mount Vernon.

  I have been guiding student-led field trips to Washington DC since 1997.  Over the years I have had     some incredible experiences with students that I would have never had in the classroom.  This year was     no different.  

  We were lucky enough to get a tour of the White House at Christmas.  The theme was “Magic, Wonder &  Joy”, experiencing Christmas through a child’s eyes.  To say the decorations were incredible is an         understatement.  I felt like it was the Nutcracker meets Candyland lifesize.  It brought to life what a child     might dream Christmas looked like.  The rooms and hallways twinkled bright red and green, the trees we     grand and Santa in his sleigh being pulled by his eight tiny reindeer suspended from the Grand Foyer left     you in awe.  As the secret service was ushering me out I was overjoyed that we got to see the “People’s     House” decorated for Christmas.

 Another moment that sticks out was our visit to Arlington National Cemetery.  Many people don’t know

 that you can request to participate in special ceremonies at the cemetery.  Each trip I request to have         students  lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  It is a solemn ceremony.  This year as I     watched my four students walk silent steps to the Tomb my heart swelled with love for these kiddo’s and     the community I have been able to live and teach in.  It felt like my final lesson had been taught at     Banks Middle School.  

This last moment brought me to tears.  Do you remember where you were when you learned about     airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York or the Pentagon?  I clearly remember that day and so  did  our tour guide.  Josh shared his personal experience of being in New York at the Twin Towers just two  days before the attack.  He captivated the students.  As they left the bus he invited each of us to take a     card and silently read about an individual that was on flight 77.  Once we arrived at the memorial Josh     explained the significance of the memorial and how to find the person on their card.  Each of us quietly l    located our individual.  One of my students has some unique needs and he wanted to find his individual on  his own.  When he finally arrived at her memorial he knelt down beside it and read her bio out loud. It was  the most sincere moment of the trip. 

 What I learned on this trip is that I can’t take the teacher out of who I am.  I love teaching.  I love     connecting with students and bringing history to life for them.  I love watching a student connect  what they  are learning with other topics, units or subjects and really understand it.  This trip allowed me the time to     reflect on who I am.  I am a wife, a mother and a teacher.  I need to find ways to walk the footsteps of     history with middle schoolers while caring for my grandbabies.

    This DC trip came at a time I needed it most. I needed to be “Teacher Dotson”.

Glassblowing, our first industry

The 3 ships in Jamestown Susan Constant, Godspeed & Discovery

Yorktown:  tents for our men during the Revolutionary War

Yorktown Monument

Capitol Building in Williamsburg

Governors Palace in Williamsburg

Fife & Drum

Jefferson's resting place at Monticello

We walked so much I blew out my shoes

Its Christmas at the Capitol

MLK

FDR

Elenor Roosevelt

Candyland at the White House

T'was the Night Before Christmas

I toured the White House

We've had a few names on this sign lately

Vietnam Memorial

Korean Memorial

Arlington National Cemetery

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Air Force Memorial

Discovery