Merry Christmas!

Cookies for Santa!

Like my eccentric smile? :) The result of new Vera Wang jammies. Thanks mom!

A new KB jersey?? :)

Thanks popsie!

Thanks mom & dad, and Santa, and most of all, Jesus.

Until next year...

Merry Christmas!

Manger Scene

Mady has been in the hospital for a few days, getting a "tune-up" as her doctor calls it. I've had the privilege of hanging out with her because Sutter Memorial Hospital is up in Sacramento. Anyhow, we brought Mady this little plastic manger scene to put in her room. When I suggested we do so, I didn't think much of it-- just thought it'd be a nice touch. Surprisingly, many of her nurses and even one of her doctors has asked or commented about the scene-- where they could get one, when we got it, etc. The fancy, ornate manger scenes (or the rad ones, like the Peanut's one added to the club this year) mom has collected are all very beautiful, but I do believe this small, old plastic one is especially special to me.

California, Here We Come-

Me & Nat, currently waiting for our flights to Sacramento, and San Diego, respectively.

Homeward Bound!

Departing @ 9:40.

YAY!

I can't wait to see my family. :)

Christmastime is Here

Because I don't believe in being politically correct (better yet, I'm anti-PC), I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. About two months ago, my Native Lit. Professor, Dr. Lundquist, gave us a beautiful poem by Diane Glancy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

A Hogan in Bethlehem

& so it was in a country across the water, she gave birth to a

son & wrapped him in a buffalo robe. The raccoon & elk &

deer gathered in the hogan-manger. & there were shep-

herds, or animal-watchers, in the field, & lo, an angel, a

spirit-being with wings, a bird-person, appeared the way a

coyote or tumbleweed crosses the headlights on a reserva-

tion road at night. & the high-beam of Wakan Tanka, the

Great Spirit, shined as if all the campfires of the stars

burned at once. & the animal-watchers, the shepherds,

were afraid. But the angel said, fear not, for the news is

good. Unto all people this night is born a Chief who is

Wovoka, Christ our Lord. & suddenly there were an-

els & hosts of spirit-beings in war-paint & feathers shout-

ing their war-cries & praising Wakan Tanka, the Great

Spirit, who had sent a Chief to walk among us. Though

still a baby he would be the light for our darkness. He

would be the sustenance for our lives. & the angels & war-

beings chanted glory in heaven & on earth, a peace-pipe.

Then all the spirit-beings flew back to heaven, & the elk &

deer & caribou returned to the woods, & the Wovoka baby

slept in the manger. Meanwhile, 3 scouts, 3 Medicine Men,

made their vision-quest under one star still burning like a

yard-light on the prairie. As if the Great Spirit didn't want

to leave the baby, or in case the baby wanted to migrate

back from earth. So the Medicine Men hurried with their

bundle-gifts to find a hogan in Bethlehem. They hurried to

find the Wovoka-child wrapped like a holy ear of corn.

In the Doctrine & Covenants, it says that the Lord reveals things in the language of the people. I believe this to be true. Taking my Native Lit. Class has strengthened my testimony of the gospel. We read a book called "Native and Christian" (a compilation of essays by various Native American authors) that was about the religions of Native Americans during the European conquest of America. It's interesting to see how much truth they really did have. They did have the "Great Spirit" and the love of our Heavenly Father. I believe this. They were taught that their religious ancestors were savages and evil, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. To me, when I look at the faith of the Native Americans, it just makes sense that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God. It is an account of the gospel proceedings of those people living in the Americas. To me, it makes perfect sense that the gospel was had over here. It doesn't make sense to me that Heavenly Father would neglect his children on the other side of the globe. I know that not everyone had the gospel, but they had forms of the truth, and they were wonderful, believing people. They are my ancestors. I know that Jesus Christ came and visited those people-- his brothers and sisters-- in this land, before ascending to heaven to be with the Father. My all-time favorite chapter of scripture is 3 Nephi 17...

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.

And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you.

Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you...

And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears...

And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.

And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.

And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.

And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude did bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

And when he had done this he wept again...

And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them..."

Now, I wasn't there when this happened, but through the witness of the Holy Ghost, I know that this is a true account, and that it really did happen. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that he loves all of us. I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate and remember his birth during this Christmas season. I believe he is the Savior & Redeemer of the world. His love is extended to all.

Now, on another note, I am really, really, really, really, really excited to go home this week. Yay! All we have to do is push through finals (should be plenty do-able this semester) and then it's homeward bound. Our family has a great chest of traditions, compiled through the years but no less wonderful during their annual occurrence. I am looking forward to those traditions. My mom and dad are just hilarious, as you will see. They sent me this digital postcard via dad's email. Take a look:

Yep. As you can see, dad's up to his old tricks. He swapped their faces. I laughed so hard, I nearly soiled myself. It was great. :) hehe. I love my family and I can't wait to see them. And for the record, this is what mom & dad really look like:

I'm sure I'll say it again in a future blog post this month, but, to the whole five of you who read this...

Merry Christmas!

School is hard!

I've been sitting at the same computer in the Periodicals Section of the HBLL for 7 hours now (gross!). It's so awesome. Not. And yes, I realize it's Saturday night and I'm 19 ... I'm weird, I guess. Then again, finals are in a week, so maybe my hermit-like behavior is justified. I'd like to think so. :)

Ok, the fact that I've been here for this long is not cool, but what I've been finding sure is. I've been researching one of my ancestral families all semester long: George Tilton Hyde, his wife Emma, and their 8 children. I've discovered some incredible records tonight (for example, their son Rosel (my great-uncle) was the FHCC Chairman under FOUR US PRESIDENTS! How rad is that? His obituary was even in the NY Times...) but for the most part, my searches yield not much of anything. When I do come across something-- even something tiny-- I consider it cause for celebration. Mega celebration.

Learning about my ancestors is really gratifying. Sometimes I'll find a quality we have in common or a similar interest. I have a bit of an imagination, so when I come across a simple record or new piece of information, I like to picture what's going on in their life and imagine how they maybe felt or how whatever the incident was, how it impacted their family. All of them are remarkable people. George Tilton was a devoted husband and father, not to mention a tested servant of the Lord. He served in many capacities and was ultimately ordained a member of the Seventy. His wife, Emma, gave birth to EIGHT children and was always supportive of George in his community involvement and tiresome church service. George has said their home in Downey, Idaho was the town's social center. All of their children went on to be successful in their personal lives and in their careers. My great-grandpa, George Osmond, became an attorney and also served as a temple sealer in the Washington D.C. Temple. His brothers Rosel (FHCC Chairman) and Donald (also a lawyer) also settled in D.C. Daughter Emma died at age 19 and I have yet to discover why/how. I don't know much about her, but hopefully I will come across helpful records as I continue searching. Erma Hyde (Emma's twin sister) married in the SLC Temple, raised a family with her husband Willis Brim, and also served in many church capacities, including stake primary president for nearly 15 years (holy cow-- that's a LONG time) and a missionary in the Central States Mission with her husband. Son Charles graduated from the U of U and then the University of Colorado and practiced as a physician in SLC and Nevada. Youngest son Reed honorably served as a pilot in WWII, but died in action at age 33 and was buried in a military cemetery in Surrey, England.

Anyway, the library "get out now" music is playing, so I've gotta wrap this up. My point is, I have come to love my ancestors. :) They rock, to say the least, and I'm grateful to be counted among their posterity. Also, I have gained a real testimony of family history work this semester. I'm excited and anxious to move on to researching other families in my heritage in future years, and, although no expert or lifetime devotee, I recommend genealogy work to anyone looking for serious satisfaction, increased love/appreciation for their heritage, and a spiritual boost. :)

BYU! BYU! BYU!

This is how we feel after BYU beats the U! EXCITED!!

Way to go Cougs. We're so happy that Max pulled it off his senior year.

GREAT DAY TO BE A COUGAR!

And this is me just messing around with special effects. One of my favorite past times. Not sure why I'm even posting this. Maybe my kids will laugh about it one day.

When Grace and Ashley Go Walking...

Things I love:

a) Grace

b) Bidwell Park

c) Chico in the fall

Happy Thanksgiving!

It feels wonderful to be home! I left Provo Monday afternoon and was greeted at the Sac airport Monday night by the greatest family-- mine! :) Anyhow, call me ridiculous but I did take some photos of our house because I was just so excited to be home in sunny California. It's gorgeous here! Growing up, I took the lovely weather for granted.

Mom made these delicious ranger cookies for me. She's the best!

I love our backyard!

I miss these hammock chairs. They're perfect for reading.

It's too cold to swim in, but it's still pretty!

I can wear sandals here. Woot woot!

Hi Jeeves :)

Miss this guy when I'm away, too.

Laker Cupcakes!

pre-frosting

It's funfetti cake + funfetti frosting. I died the cake batter as well as the frosting, and this is what I got. Let's go LA!

I'm an English Major

Today, I cleaned. It was the best. I actually enjoy cleaning. It relaxes me and gives the greatest sense of satisfaction. I decided to clean (this time, clean=organize) because my five subject BYU notebook is ripping. It's busting with papers; the poor little buddy. Anyway, I whipped out my little filing box to remove those papers/handouts/etc. from last semester's classes to make room for this semester's when I realized that the English class section is markedly fatter. All those papers...

See it? It's the thick white clutch in the middle.

Even though being an English major is always exhausting (on top of usual homework assignments, impossibly lengthy reading assignments every class, and unit tests/quizzes, we write paper after paper after paper after paper-- it's madness!), I love it. Let me repeat that: I LOVE IT. As I shuffled through handouts from my Brit. Lit. class, I found one Dr. Walker gave us the first week of school that is especially meaningful:

Amen to that.

Oh and, for kicks, he gave us this on the other side of the sheet:

:) (Lynne Truss would scold me for that)... :)

Oh Boy.

Friday:

Saturday:

Talk about a transformation over night.