I'm Not Old-Fashioned

 

Thanksgiving Weekend: Wednesday

Michelle and Brian graciously invited our whole family to their home for Thanksgiving again this year.  They are so kind to host.  We enjoyed four wonderful days together.  We always share pictures and sorting through those to create posts takes a while.  But I will do a post about each of the Thanksgiving weekend days.

Wednesday:

We all gathered in South Jordan on Wednesday evening.  We came from St. George, Camerons from Logan, and Mackrorys from Idaho Falls.  Brielle came from BYU.
Family gatherings usually start with back to back height checks.  Brielle was less than pleased that her 12 year old sister has now surpassed her in height.

We had a yummy soup dinner, then the kids gathered around Brielle's phone to play some game.

It was so good to be together again.!

 

A Beautiful Gift

One of the couples we work with every week in the temple brought us a beautiful gift.  Their business is starting and growing plants and selling them to big stores like Lowes, Walmart, grocery stores, etc.  This time of year they sell a lot of beautiful poinsettias.  They brought one to us with some other gifts.  It is so beautiful and has brought us much joy.

 

Christmas

 

The Book Club Hotel

 

The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Physical Book Fiction
This was a most-enjoyable Christmas read. It’s not going to win any literature awards, but it was a sweet story of friendship, moving forward, and romance. 3 1/2 stars


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Winter Solstice

 

Physical Book   5 stars

It took me awhile to get into it as there were several characters introduced and I wasn’t sure how they related to one another. But it soon became clear and I loved this sweet winter/Christmas read. It’s one I would like to reread during December in the future. Rosamunde Pilcher is a gifted author. I look to read all of her books.

The Lost Bookshop

 

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fiction Physical Book
This is a beautiful book and a mostly pleasant read. I enjoyed it. It has a bit of fantasy and romance and history. It is well-written, though I found it confusing at first. 3 ½ stars.


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And They Came with Haste . . .

 

. . . and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

The Dogs Finally Won!

 Our neighborhood mailbox finally fell.  The dogs who have been working on it for years finally won.

The timing is bad- Christmas card season.  We now have to go wait in line at the post office for our mail.  

Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle . .

 

Advice from Mother Teresa

 

The Grapes of Wrath

 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Historical Fiction Physical book
I like to read book reviews. I sometimes read the phrase, “This book destroyed me,” or something similar, and I think, “Isn’t that being a little over dramatic? But now I understand. The Grapes of Wrath destroyed me. It rocked my soul to the very core. I hated it. Every page was hopeless. And yet I loved it. I loved the characters. I wished I could reach into the book and help them. I have shelves of food. I would give them all I have. They were good people who had very hard times.
My favorite quote from the book that I have pondered much: “If you’re in trouble or hurt or in need, go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help, the only ones.”

This book changed me. It made me analyze myself and my character. Would I be willing to give when I had nothing? Would I share? Who am I? What is my character?
This book now finds a place on my list of my top ten favorite books of all time. I don’t know what book I’ll kick off that list to make room for it, but I’ll do it. Like I say, I hated it. But I can’t quit thinking about it. It makes me want to be better and do better. It is a book that has the power to change.
I once asked my dad (an avid reader) what his favorite book of all time was. He said this one along with two others. I see why dad, I see why. I wish you were still here so we could discuss it.

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Keynotes in Carnegie Hall?

 

We hope people don't come to our concert expecting too much!  This came out in the advertisements for December's tabernacle concerts.  I had submitted our biography, but evidently some other group got ours and we got theirs.  

We've all had a good laugh about this.  The biggest concert hall we sing in is the dining room of assisted living centers!  But we are excited for our concert.  If you're around, come to the Tabernacle Thursday, Dec. 11th 7-8pm.  

Word Nerd

 

Just a Nasty Chant?

 

This touched me deeply.  Our words can greatly affect others.  Be kind.:

Jared and I got to sneak away this weekend for a much needed date night. We went to the BYU vs. Cincinnati football game. This is us trying to move on from the attack on our church two months ago. Trying to do something fun where the attack is not at the forefront our our minds for once. This is us at the game before all the heaviness and fear still found a way to creep in and overtake my emotions and thoughts the next few days as the Cincinnati fans chanted hateful words directed towards us. This has got to stop.

I emailed the University of Cincinnati athletic director and assistant atheltic director yesterday and shared my thoughts with them. I am going to share that email here as well, in hopes the message can extend farther than just this incident because it happens at a lot of football games. It is unacceptable.

“Dear Mr. Cunningham,

I am writing to you from my heart as a disheartened college football fan. More specifically, as a BYU football fan and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commonly know as “the Mormons.”

As a BYU alumni and huge fans of college football, my husband and I took the opportunity to travel 4.5 hours from our little city in Grand Blanc, Michigan to come spectate and enjoy our favorite pass time at the BYU vs. Cincinnati football game at Nippert Stadium last night.

I want to provide a little bit of background for you in order to portray the strength and courage it took for us to travel to this event and really try to enjoy ourselves.

You see, just eight short weeks ago, while attending church, we were attacked at our place of worship simply for being “Mormon.”
Someone with hatred in their heart rammed their truck into the front of our church building, entered the chapel, and began shooting us and setting our church on fire while many people were still hiding inside. As my family (me, my husband, and our three young children), ran for our lives, my husband and my 5 year old daughter were both shot. I was also running with my 15 month old baby and my 3 year old in my arms as I was struck in my back with shrapnel. I will spare you any further details about the nightmare we lived through that day and the recovery that has followed, but miraculously, me and my family all made it out alive.

The anxiety and fear we have felt since that day has been debilitating. We have put in a lot of work in that short 8 weeks so we can try to feel some sort of safety and normalcy again and enjoy the things we used to, including football games.

We had been planning to come see this game for months as we don’t get the opportunity to see many BYU games in person since we moved across the country for my husband’s medical training. We almost didn’t come because it felt scary and overwhelming since the attack on our church. However, we know we cannot live in fear and we need to enjoy the things that used to make us happy. We decided to come and that took a lot for us both mentally and physically. I was nervous putting on my BYU fan gear that day because I knew it would identify me as one of ”the Mormons.” I did it anyway.
I was apprehensive when I walked down to my seat and saw that the nearest exit was pretty far from me. I continued to my seat anyway. We came. We smiled. We cheered. We enjoyed ourselves….Until the University of Cincinnati fans began to chant “F*** the Mormons.”

This is not a new chant. This is not a chant that is specific to your university. This is a chant I’ve heard before while enjoying a football game whether in-person or on tv. It’s always disheartening to hear. However, now that we Mormons have been quite literally targeted, attacked, chased, shot at, and some of us have been killed simply for being “Mormon,” this chant is no longer just disheartening. It’s crippling. It’s personal. It’s unacceptable. Period.

While I did hear the announcer give a warning over the speakers at the game that such chants will not be tolerated, it was simply just that- a warning. It was not just a few fans, it was tens, possibly hundreds of the university’s student fans chanting “F*** the Mormons.”

Please, Mr. Cunningham, do not tolerate it. Remove them from the game. Don’t let them come back. Educate them on the seriousness of their actions. Set that standard and expectation moving forward and enforce it. We are hurting. Badly. We just want to enjoy the things that make us happy again without the fear of being targeted and attacked for our religious beliefs.

I know you have no control over the Cincy fans on the shuttle after the game ranting about Mormons and how awful we are and how we must have just paid off the refs because we’re corrupt and evil. I don’t get it, but I am used to it. It’s not new to me to hear this stuff and these huge misconceptions about my faith. But now it is personal. Now it is me fearing for my life everywhere I go because someone decided to take it there. Someone tried to kill me, my kids, and my husband. Someone killed 4 of my friends. Now the chanting means something more than it used to.

I know you can’t control the actions and words of the fans on the bus. However, I do believe you have the ability to get control of the students’ hurtful and hateful chanting.

If you made it this far, thank you for listening. If I am mistaken about any actions that were or were not taken as a result of the chanting, please feel free to correct me.
I would welcome the reassurance.

Sincerely,

Brandi Hicken
A fellow college football fan
A Mormon
A Christian
A mass casualty hate crime survivor
A human deserving of respect”

On Second Thought

 

On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Modern Fiction Physical Book
I really enjoyed this book and will look for others by this author.


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Books for Uzbekistan Schools

A friend of mine (we've sung in Keynotes together for 35 years) is serving a mission with her husband in Uzbekistan.  They are the first missionaries ever in that country.  They both teach English in public schools.  They saw a great need for children's books in English.  There is no mail system, so they couldn't have them sent.  Their daughter (who is now singing in Keynotes) went to visit them there.  She sent out a plea for children's books.  She created an Amazon wish list, asking for book donations.  Many, many, many books were contributed. She and her sons took suitcases full of children's books to donate to the schools.  

 I love this picture- especially since the woman is holding one of the books I donated.  

Do Hard Things on Purpose

 

When I read this I thought it was a good idea.  But when I started to try to apply it, I realized that, at this age, much of what I do every day is hard.  Some of it very hard.  So I don't need to take a cold shower or go on a long run to do something hard.  But I do appreciate what this is teaching.  We can make ourselves stronger by doing hard stuff.  Okay, okay.

Today I Met the Good Morning Guy

 

Ken goes on a 4-5 mile walk every morning except Sunday. He uses our wonderful trail system.  He is friendly.  He always says good morning to everyone he passes- some walking, some running, some riding bikes.  He often sees the same people day after day.  They are also victims of positive habits.  

He often sees the same lady on her bicycle as she speeds by on her way to work.  A couple of weeks ago, she stopped her bike to talk to him.  He found out she is a local doctor and rides her bike quite a distance to work each day.  She also coaches a mountain bike team at a local high school.  For several years, Ken passed and greeted a young girl who rode her bike to school every single day- rain or shine.  Somehow, he found out her name and would greet her by name. She would never respond to him (probably thought he was a creepy, old guy!) but she knew him.  Turns out, this Dr. was her high school biking coach.  She went on to ride for Utah State University's mountain biking team, taking many medals.  She and her coach had talked about Ken and labeled him "The Good Morning Guy."

So, Ken has a new handle.  Feel free to use it on him!

Ken found his new friend on Strava and saw this post.  I asked him to copy it so I could share it here:

It's kind of fun to be married to the Good Morning Guy!

Your Dad was My Doctor

 I work at the temple with a sister a few years older than me on our Friday shift every other week. There are three of us that work together on that shift.  As we have had time to visit, we discovered we are both from Treasure Valley in Idaho.  I am from Caldwell and she is from Parma, about 20 minutes away.  We both married Hurricane boys that we met at BYU.  In both cases, our spouses were our family home evening brothers at BYU.  We have a lot in common.  I truly love this dear sister.  She has come to be a good friend.

One day she asked me my maiden name.  Then she asked me what my father did.  I told her he was a doctor in Caldwell.  Dr. Gabrielsen. "Your dad was my doctor!"  What?  When she was in high school, my father was her doctor.  She described what he looked like to me and said he was very nice.  What a sweet miracle!  Even as I type this I get tears in my eyes.  She knew my Daddy!  This is such a sweet connection.  I just had to share!