Christmas Letter and Photos, 2015: Quotable Quotes

Erichsen-Webster Quotable Quotes
2015

This year has been, um, I don't want to say “boring” exactly, but maybe “uneventful” is a good word. For the first time in quite a while, we didn't have any graduations, missions, weddings, babies, travel (except Isaiah), or cross-country moves. It's been quiet. So this year, with little to report, I thought I'd share some memorable quotes:

Isaiah: “Foreign girls are way cooler than American girls. Foreign girls ask me questions and show genuine interest in what I have to say; American girls just talk about themselves.” His perspective after a year of traveling for his job as an On-site IT Specialist for Lanyon, Inc. In just over a year, he's visited five continents and at least a dozen U.S. cities, and he just returned from a 10-day trip to Dubai and Sri Lanka. Yes, he works super hard when he's on site, but we're all just a bit jealous anyway.

Amanda: “Yes!” In response to Eli's proposal that they get sealed in the temple this coming year.

Eli: “Mom, I've never met anyone like her. She's the kindest, most caring person I know.” When he called me on my birthday to tell me he wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Amanda White. Now these two cuties are blissfully engaged and planning an April wedding! Somehow Eli found time to fall in love while studying at BYU-Idaho, serving as Elders' Quorum President, and singing in a wonderful choir, “From the Heart.”

Seth: “When I propose to a girl, I'll do it with a Ring Pop. If she says 'yes,' I'll know she's the one and give her a real ring.” In response to his older brother's recent engagement. In July, Seth started working as a busser at Macaroni Grill and loves the financial independence a job provides. That, along with school (10th grade), piano lessons, and church duties, keeps him plenty busy, but he still manages to sneak in a game of DotA with Isaiah here and there.

Shulamith: “Because I don't already get enough time with toddlers the other 166 hours in the week, what I most wanted to do was take care of other people's toddlers for two hours every Sunday.” In response to her recent calling as a nursery leader at church. Her background in early childhood education makes her perfect for this job, though, and the children love her. Shulamith feels blessed to be a stay-at-home mom, and she also taught an ESL reading class two nights a week last semester at Salt Lake Community College.

Luke: “I'm excited!” What he typed on his laptop and showed to Desiree while she was on the phone working through the final details of their home purchase. The Erichsen-Valentines are buying a duplex and will live in one unit and rent out the other, a great investment for their family. Luke continues to work as a school psychologist in Frederick, Maryland.

Mathew: “She's going to just keep on having babies and more babies, and pretty soon when you walk downstairs, you won't even be able to open the door because they'll be babies everywhere blocking the way!” In response to the fact that the Webster-Monsons still live downstairs in our one-bedroom, daylight-basement apartment. Oh, how we love everything about this arrangement, except for the lack of sufficient space for a growing family (though Shulamith wants me to be clear that she's not currently pregnant). When he's not at his job as a supply chain manager at Vision Solar in Provo, Matt can be found rock climbing, disc golfing, or teaching youth Sunday School.

Desiree: “We started a business!” Desiree has embarked on a new adventure, starting her own consulting business, Pearl Enterprises, named for Evelyn's middle name. Already, she has several clients lined up.

Evelyn (Luke's 8-year-older daughter): “In a sunny village in Canada, at the edge of the ocean, where the sea is most calm and the sand is smooth, there was a little cottage.” The first sentence in a story she wrote for a creative writing contest at her school. And guess what? She and her mom just called to tell me she won! Congrats, Evelyn.

Gerald: “I'm better than a GPS.” In response to him guiding me around Logan by phone, when I was there last month to see Eli's choir on tour. Gerald is also great at tracking Isaiah's airline fights. Oftentimes, Isaiah, himself, has no idea of his flight schedule, connections, etc., but Dad always knows. It helps that he practically lives online, managing his About.com Spanish-language website and preparing Gospel Doctrine lessons.

Terrianne: “I do too have a sense of humor!” Shulamith: “Have you thought of a quote for yourself for the Christmas letter yet?” Terrianne: “No.” Shulamith: “That's because you're not funny.” My not-funny life proceeds along happily as usual: being a mom, teaching English part time at LDS Business College, freelance writing for Sidelines, and teaching Gospel Essentials at church.

Swen: (Shulamith's 3½-year-old son): “We do NOT love Kennedy!” In response to his mom trying to get him to be nice to his little sister – Broken Record Mom: “Be nice to Kennedy; we love Kennedy.”

Kennedy (Shulamith's 1-½ year old daughter): “Ta-tor.” Regarding every moving object on four wheels: cars, trucks, buses, and yes, tractors.

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“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

May we “fear not” as we reach out in love to all people, focusing on those things that unite, rather than divide, us.

Merry Christmas!

Mom and Dad

Eli and Amanda

The Erichsen-Valentines

Luke, Desiree, and Evelyn

Isaiah and Seth

The Monsters (AKA Monson-Websters)

Shulamith, Mathew, Swen, and Kennedy

"25" is just a number

Today is December 25th. But it is not Christmas Day at our house.

For us, “25” is just a number, while Christmas means family and the joy that comes from everyone celebrating together. We are blessed to have several children, some of whom are grown, so coordinating schedules on holidays can be challenging. We don't want anyone to have to leave in the middle or miss any part of our Christmas Eve or Christmas Day celebrations, so this year we decided it would be best to simply move the day.

We will celebrate Christmas Eve tonight! We will eat yummy Chinese food (yep, Asian Potato is open today). We will read the Christmas story from the Bible. We will open one gift each. We will bake cookies and leave them out for Santa. Then tomorrow, it will be Christmas!

Admittedly, not everyone loves this whole program. Seth, in particular, has been complaining about it for days, and today especially, his mood is not the finest. At this moment, he is sitting here in the family room with Isaiah, Eli, and me. About two seconds ago, he said, "I wonder how much fun every other family is having right now?" We laughed. But it didn't stop there. He pointed to our Mouse countdown calendar and said, "Notice on that calendar, there is NO NUMBER 26. That's because Christmas is supposed to be on the 25th."

Ahh, Seth. It's been a rough week already. Two days ago we lost our sweet dog, Kitty, Seth's very best friend. She passed away so suddenly and so unexpectedly, and we are all sad, but especially Seth. And now in his mind, it's Christmas, but he has to wait until tonight and tomorrow to celebrate. But honestly, Seth, nothing whatsoever is lost. If anything, it's sorta cool when everyone else's fun is over, and ours is just beginning.

So what will I do today? How will I spend my December 25th? I will send Gerald and the boys to a dollar movie, one I've already seen. I will lie back in my recliner, sip a Diet Coke, listen to Christmas music, and wander around online. When I tire of that, I'll Netflix binge just a bit (The 100, anyone?). I expect the day to be most enjoyable.

So Happy December 25th, everyone! My “Merry Christmas” will come tomorrow!

Love is in the air...and what better season than Christmas?

Love is in the air.

And what better season than Christmas?

Last evening, with tears in my eyes, I peeked round a corner to watch my adorable son get down on one knee, hold out a sparkly diamond ring, and ask his beautiful girlfriend Amanda to be his for time all eternity.

And I asked myself, "What does that really mean?"

It means that together they will navigate the changing tides of this life. It means they have chosen each other as partners, companions, best friends, and soul mates.

It means that together they will share incredible joy, the joy that comes from building a future as one, from creating and following common goals, and from crafting those goals into reality.

It means that together they will also share disappointments and struggles, and strife. They will rely on each other's strength in times of weakness. They will face hardships and adversity because, well, Heavenly Father loves them too. But in the face of trials, they will choose faith instead of fear because together, they are stronger than either one by him or herself.

It means that on April 8, 2016, in the Draper, Utah Temple, they will make sacred covenants with their Father in Heaven and with each other. As a result of keeping those covenants, they will be promised eternity together and with their future children.

What does that really mean? It means they are heirs to blessings they are only just beginning to understand.

For now, they are young and happy and so deeply in love.

Their smiles show what is in their hearts.

In just two weeks, Amanda will go with her family home to California, and Eli will stay here with us. Both will work hard and save money until their wedding in April. It won't be easy. Worthwhile things rarely are. They will talk on the phone and Skype and text and maybe even write old-fashioned love letters. And they will learn that their love can withstand even physical separation.

What better season than Christmas for two so lovely and pure and hopeful to begin this amazing journey?

"A weary world rejoices."

And so did we.

Ghost-blogger Mama

So Isaiah returned Sunday afternoon from a 10-day trip to Dubai and Sri Lanka. He was in Dubai for work but decided to extend the trip by three days and fly down to Sri Lanka because who knows when he'll get back to that part of the world.

We always love hearing about his adventures whenever he return from these trips, but this particular one was so unusual and amazing that I felt it needed to be preserved in the annals of Erichsen-Webster history, and Isaiah isn't likely to do that, so I'm assuming the role of "Ghost-blogger Mama." I wasn't there, of course, so I don't have the complete story, but I'll do what I can.

Dubai is a beautiful city, according to Isaiah, with gracious, welcoming people. He thoroughly enjoyed his time there. Everything is big, and not only big, but in several cases, biggest! He went to the top of the world's tallest building and wandered through the world's largest shopping mall. Can you imagine? The world's largest shopping mall wasted on a minimalist like Isaiah.

Life in Sri Lanka was quite the opposite of the wealth he observed in Dubai; however, it was equally beautiful. Isaiah said he feared for his life, racing through the jungle on the two-lane road that weaves through the country. He saw monkeys, visited museums, and rode an elephant.

He stayed in the home of his tour guide, who prepared giant feasts and explained that in Sri Lanka, one must eat everything that is prepared in order not to offend the host. All three meals each day included rice and curry, and in their culture, they don't use utensils but rather eat with their hands. Isaiah's comment: "It's quite efficient, actually." 

Being 6'4" was a distinct disadvantage, when the average height of an adult in Sri Lanka is 5'6". Isaiah hit his head multiple times walking through doors and said his bed only reached down to his shins.

Even so, it was a fabulous experience, and he is so glad he went. I'm glad too. I'm even more glad he's home safe. Shulamith and I definitely want to go there, along with just about everywhere else Isaiah travels. For now, we'll live vicariously through him, but one day...

One day it will be our turn.

On gift wrapping, and other related musings

On gift wrapping...

I was once a member of the International Order of Rainbow for Girls, a service organization for girls ages 12 - 20.  Along with service, Rainbow Girls have to raise money in order to do all the fun things they want to do, and in my assembly (individual unit of Rainbow Girls), the primary way we did that was gift wrapping at Christmastime.

In Portland, Oregon, and in other cities though it was founded in Portland, is a chain of superstores called Fred Meyer, and every year my group of Rainbow Girls set up a gift wrapping station there. We manned our station all hours the store was open for the entire month prior to Christmas. It was there that I learned to wrap Christmas presents. It was there that I learned to love wrapping Christmas presents.

Let me just say here that I was an over-the-top zealous Rainbow Girl. To say it was practically my whole life through middle and high school would be an understatement. I participated in every activity, including this yearly gift wrapping, and I worked every possible shift I could. I remember carefully watching some of the moms who were there with us. I learned from them how to cut the exact right amount of paper, how to line the gift up perfectly so the crease would end up right down the center, how to make the corners tight and professional. This was pure heaven for an OCD girl like me.

That was years ago, but my love for gift wrapping hasn't waned; it's still one of my most favorite things to do. Because I love to wrap, I wrap for pretty much everyone in the family. I wrap all the gifts I buy and all the ones Shulamith buys. Strangely enough, I even wrap the ones she buys for me! She puts them in boxes and tapes them shut (no, I wouldn't peek, but it's better not to create temptation), and then I get to wrap them.

So this is a picture of my tree as of today, with all the wrapped gifts underneath. I really just love to sit and gaze at it.

Other related musings...

Yesterday, I took a day all to myself. I like to shop just about as much as I like to wrap presents, so a whole lot. I left at 9:00 a.m. and did not return to my house until 8:00 p.m. It was such a super fun day. I went to both malls near our home, then to Kohl's, and finished up at Old Navy, Deseret Book, and Target.

It was crazy busy everywhere, and I loved it. The crowds make me so happy! When I look at all the people and all the cars, I think to myself that all these other folks are doing exactly the same thing I am, trying to find the perfect gifts for those they love. As an example, from the time I drove into the parking lot at Fashion Place to the time I found a parking spot there and exited my car was 33 minutes. And I didn't mind a bit.

I sat in my car and enjoyed the Christmas music playing on the radio. In that 33-minute period, two of my all-time favorite classics came on. When Home for the Holidays played, I was able to shout "He wanted pie!" as loud as I could with no one making fun of me, and when Winter Wonderland came on, I tilted my head to the right and put my hand up to my ear, and all was right with the world.

Well that was yesterday. After staying up quite late wrapping all the presents I bought (so fun!), I slept soundly. Church was nice this morning; I had the opportunity to read The Gift of the Magi aloud in Relief Society. O'Henry's syntax is a bit of a challenge, but I did my very best, and it was fun. The second I finished, I raced to the airport, where Isaiah had already landed, finally home from a 10-day trip to Dubai and Sri Lanka. So, so great to see him and have him home safe.

With that I will wind up this somewhat fragmented post. If you need any presents wrapped, bring them right over.

You can't swing a dead cat...

...without hitting a mommy blogger.

Bahahhaha!

Here's the back story. As some of you know, I do some freelance writing for a site called Sidelines. I am a senior writer, and along with two other women, oversee the Parenting and Lifestyle Communities. A few months ago, the three of us were chatting with our managing editor about what kinds of contributors we would like to recruit, and someone mentioned "mommy bloggers." As soon as she said that, the other person said: "You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a mommy blogger."

As a prolific mommy blogger, myself, this statement cracked me up. So just yesterday, this stitched sign arrived in the mail. Once my Christmas decor is down, it will most definitely be framed and on display.

The statement, by the way, is absolutely true. And why wouldn't it be? As mommies, we love to talk about our kids. As writers, well, we love to write. The result: The Mommy Blogger! I am proud to be one of the many, and I'm grateful for all who read. It's such a treat when someone comes up to me, often someone I don't even really know, and tells me she enjoyed a particular post.

It's also a wonderful way to preserve family history, something I was never very good at pre-internet days. I now have six hardback books with all my posts from the past six years. Soon, I'll get to order the one for 2015.

So here's to another year of mommy blogging. Just don't swing any dead cats my way.

When will they say "He wanted pie!"?

Okay, the purpose of today's post is to record this for our family history, and this blog, for all intents and purposes, represents our family history. So if you're not interested in our little family quirks (and why would you be?), feel free to stop reading and join me again next post.

If you're still reading, remember, I warned you.

So the other day, Shulamith asked, "When you say 'He wanted pie!' in that song, did you just make that up? Because I've heard several different recordings of that song this week, and I keep waiting for them to say 'He wanted pie!' but they never do. So now I'm thinking you just made it up."

Well, yes, actually, I suppose I did. But it's very important. There are a couple traditions that go with Christmas songs that simply must be observed. Not to do so would be just wrong. One is during the song "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays," right after the line that goes "I met a man who lived in Tennessee, and he was headin' for Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie," you have to shout "He wanted pie!" You just have to.

No, the recording artists who sing this song don't do it, but they should.

Second, whenever you hear the song "Winter Wonderland," in the very first line, when it says "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?" you need to tilt your head slightly to the right and put your right hand up to your right ear, like you're listening. Every. Single. Time. Wherever you are.

So now you know. The next time you hear these songs, I'm counting on you.

Shout it loud: "He wanted pie!"

Head tilted to the right, hand to ear.

You've totally got this.