Christmas
2014
Dearest Family and
Friends----
I hope this
letter finds you all happy and healthy and anxiously engaged in your typical
greatness. As we continue in our quest
of making lemonade out of life’s lemons, I have to say, we are becoming masters
of the trade, and the drink just gets sweeter and sweeter. 2014 has definitely been a year of growth, in
the Hirchak Weidmer home. And, I’m not
just talking about the hundreds of ziplock bags we use, or the truckload of
granola bars or fruit snacks. I am not
talking about the tower of cereal we go through each week, nor the mountains of
laundry. I am talking about real
growth. Braden is now taller than I
am! Sean is not far behind. Garrett will always be a spiritual
giant. And, Karmen can now purchase
shoes in the women’s department. Amber
has almost outgrown high school and will graduate this summer. But, the real growth I want to share, cannot
be measured back to back, nor with a yard stick and the door trim. It is the quiet growth that goes on within
each of us. This year, I will not
spotlight a first place pinewood derby race, nor the outstanding GPA of a
child. I will not share the excellence
that has occurred in our family, this year.
I think social media does a great job at keeping us informed and making
us feel inferior. So, I decided to
approach this year’s Christmas letter a little differently, and share the
growth that cannot be seen, and that often occurs after lots of blood, sweat
and tears. But this growth means the
most and is worthy of every Facebook feed.
We have all grown together! One more year of family dinners, family
chores, family events, family games, family prayer, family scripture reading,
and yep, every Monday night, Family Home Evening. We are blessed to have Braden, Sean and
Karmen every Monday night. I know this
is not an accident. He is in the
details. We have seen kids learn to
conduct this meeting and stand with confidence.
They have learned, through participation, to speak in front of people,
to share tender thoughts, experiences and even testimonies. We have all been touched as prayers are said,
and those missing are mentioned by name.
I can honestly say, and No, this is not the making of a new Mormon
Message, but these Monday nights have been the catalyst of amazing growth
within each of the kids individually, and for us as a family.
We have learned the importance of
compromise. Compromise is more than
sharing or picking a have way point to end an argument. Compromise is truly learning where someone
else is coming from, and deciding to do it his way or her way, their way or my
way, just because we’re family! Compromise can be just scrapping the whole idea
and creating a new celebration, game or tradition. Compromise is when the past is put aside for
the moment, trusting the future is worth the change, and love and the desire to
be a family matter more than who’s right or wrong, or any toy, game or event.
Some of the greatest growth can be the
result of weakness. When we notice an
area of the garden that is not thriving, we water it meticulously and take even
greater care to nourish that part of the garden to optimize our harvest. With people, we tend to do exactly the
opposite. Especially in families, we tend
to see the weak, and poke, prod and draw attention to failures and magnify
mistakes. We have learned to apply our
gardening principles inside our own home, the perfect greenhouse! We have
learned what amazing results are seen and felt, when we work together to
nourish where we are weak, take extra care when things are down, and weed out
the negativity and replace it with just plain kindness. This year we had a
garden. This year we grew a family!
Our hearts have grown. We have learned to love others as our
own. We have learned how each child and
each other likes to give love and receive love.
For one, it may be a note of encouragement. For another, to prepare a favorite dinner or
snack. For some, it may be to do their
chores for them on a busy day. And, for
another, to follow up on a homework assignment.
For another, it may be taking time to create a cardboard school project
in the final hour and have fun doing it.
And, for another, it may be an outing for some fries and chicken
nuggets, even when your budget says, “NO”!
Our hearts have grown as we have learned to love each other BECAUSE of
our differences not in spite of them. Our love has grown as we have put each
other and family first. Our love has
grown as we have taken time and been willing to invest it in our future
realizing the past is important, and the present creates our direction.
2014 will always be remembered as the
year we became grandparents! On April 12th,
we welcomed Addy Grace to the family!
She has brought all of us together with her contagious smile and mighty
spirit of love and divinity that is felt by all. Addy has taught us all
that it doesn’t matter how much money you have, what kind of car you drive, or
how you look. Addy shows us daily that
it’s all about smiling and how you make others feel, that really makes a
difference.
This year, we
grew a family, and we thank our Savior, whose birth we celebrate this Christmas
season, for making up where we fall short and for bringing us together! He is
the gift, of this we are certain! May
2015 be another year of great growth.
May we all decide to uplift, to strengthen and inspire those around us. And, in honor of Addy Grace, smile more, is
our prayer!
We love you!
The Hirchak Weidmer Family
No comments:
Post a Comment