Taking Care of Business

My family has been sending out a Christmas newsletter since 1986. My mom was usually the one who would write our family letter, but Dad was the one who would spend so much time meticulously tweaking it to be a work of perfection!

My dad died in January of 1999, so after that my mom took over writing the newsletter. I consider myself to be somewhat of a historian, and I have a passion for documenting my life/my family's life through my blog, journals, personal history, photo books, slideshows, etc. In 2006 I asked my mom if I could try my hand at writing our family's Christmas letter. Things get so busy, especially around the holidays, so I thought it would be something I could do to pull my weight! ;) Actually, I thought I would be able to do a good job, and I have to say I do a great job!

So for the past six years I've been writing our family letter. Now I'm the meticulous one! I always try hard to make a quality newsletter that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is interesting. My mom says that I have my dad's artistic flair in this arena, and I'd like to think and that I'm channeling some of my dad's energy when I'm working on it! As much as I enjoy writing it, it always feels like such a chore, so I'm always relieved when I just bite the bullet and get it done!

*As I said, my family has been sending out a family newsletter for the past 25 years. The neat thing is that we have a copy of each one. Writing a family newsletter doesn't take too long since it's only once a year, but it's a great way of keeping a record of what your family was up to at a certain point in time.

The other project I've been devoting lots of time to lately is my 2011 Year in Review – a slideshow of pictures/video clips of my family throughout the year. I started doing this two years ago after my friend Nate told me about making a Year in Review for his family each year. (And he'd gotten the idea from one of his classmates.) When he was telling me about his slideshow, I LOVED the idea. As I've said, documenting my life is right up my alley, but I hadn't ever dabbled in audio/visual documentation, so I thought I would give it a try. My first Year in Review in 2009 turned out really well for a first attempt and 2010's was even better than the first since I had more experience.

I'm hoping my 2011 Year in Review will be even better still. I bought a new slideshow program this past summer called ProShow Producer (made by a company called Photodex) and although it cost a pretty penny, I loved what this program is capable of doing so that's why I decided to shell out the money for it. Well, it's back to work for me!

"Room"

I recently finished listening to an interesting book that I wanted to make a post about. It's Room by Emma Donoghue. This book was very good for many reasons. DISCLAIMER: this is not a happy, feel-good book, so if that's the kind of book you're in the mood for, then this isn't the book for you!

Room is a haunting tale told (mostly) from the perspective of Jack, a five-year-old boy who has never left "room." Jack's mom, "Ma," is 26 and was abducted when she was 19 years old. Her abductor, "Old Nick" keeps her captive in his backyard and starts to molest her, and Jack is a product of rape. (There isn't anything very graphic in the book, as almost everything is implied and you just know that it HAS happened, but you don't have to read the gritty details.)

I won't say any more about the plot because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it was so well-written, which is something that I really appreciate in a book. (Because we all know that just because a book has been published, it's no guarantee that the author can actually write well!). I really thought this book deserved a shout out on my blog since it's so thought-provoking and well written. I'd actually really love to do it for my book club, but there is only one copy at my local library system. My library is literally right around the corner at the beginning of my subdivision (less than a mile away), so it's nice that it's conveniently close, however, their selection is lacking a bit in quantity and selection and isn't really not conducive to a book club, but I'll try not to complain! Anyway, if you read Room, I hope you like it and don't be afraid to let me know if you have a complete opposite opinion of the book!

For more information on Room, or to see an interactive diagram/layout of the actual room in Room, click here.

True Christmas Spirit

Today I wanted to write a post about the true meaning of Christmas and why it's important to me. Some of the fun aspects of Christmas are shopping, giving/receiving gifts, making/eating Christmas goodies, holiday parties and get-togethers, Christmas trees and decorations, snow, Christmas cards, hot chocolate, etc. The list could go on and on.

But what is the true meaning of Christmas and how does it apply to us? A lot of people might be thinking, "Duh, that's a no-brainer" however, there are a lot of people in the world who either don't believe in God and His son Jesus Christ, or don't know who Jesus Christ is or why He is so very important to all of us.

Jesus Christ is the son of God, and he lived 2000 years ago. He lived a perfect life, but He made the selfless choice to suffer for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and ultimately be put to death on the cross. That ultimate sacrifice was for each and every one of us (collectively AND individually). I'm so glad I KNOW this because let's face it, the world's a scary enough place on a good day and it would truly be a dark abyss without the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.

During the Christmas devotional last night, my church unveiled a really neat website that you can access by clicking here. There are some extremely well-made videos about the birth and life of Jesus Christ that are definitely worth your time! Here's a sampling:

Setting the Mood

Last night was the Christmas devotional that my church puts on each year. For as long as I can remember this devotional has always taken place on the first Sunday in December (in the evening). The devotional is held in Salt Lake City, Utah, (where the headquarters of my church is located) but it's also broadcast throughout the world and can be viewed in our different church buildings, or can even be watched at home on the TV or over the internet. (Isn't modern technology amazing?!)

This year's devotional was amazing, just as it is every year. It never disappoints! It's always the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season and it always fills me with the Christmas spirit. In this day and age the commercialization of Christmas is something that unfortunately happens all too often as the true meaning of Christmas gets swallowed up in secular traditions* and holiday chaos. Of course this isn't always the case, but I know from my own personal experience that it IS easy to get "sucked in" to the commercial side of Christmas since it's so prevalent in our society. That's why I personally have to make a conscious effort to remind myself to pause and reflect on what the true meaning of Christmas it is – celebrating the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I'll write more about this tomorrow since it's really late.

*Please don't think that I find anything wrong with secular Christmas traditions, because I definitely don't! I love partaking in presents, shopping, partying, making AND consuming Christmas goodies, Santa, etc., as much as your Average Joe, but I DO try to strike a definite/deliberate balance between my secular/religious festivities.

New Wheels

My new wheelchair that I ordered back in August arrived today! I've had my wheelchair for nearly 8 years, so it was starting to get worn out. I prefer a manual chair (as opposed to a power chair that I'd be able to drive myself with mouth controls). Some people in my situation would always opt for a power chair so that they could have as much independence as possible, but I'm perfectly content going the manual route. My new wheelchair is a lot nicer than the old one and has better features and a better fit overall. I only sat in my chair for a little while this afternoon, so I hope it still feels comfortable when I take it out for its "maiden voyage" on Sunday.

"Cherry" is a beautiful shade of red and I'm glad I decided to go with "candy red" for the color. I'm very thankful for good insurance so that I'm able to have the medical supplies I need at a minimal cost to myself.