The Sixth Word

   Do you know the story called, "The Sixth Word"?  In case you don't, maybe its because it has the weirdest title and I can't find anything on who actually wrote the story or how it got it's name.  Then again, I didn't look to hard.

       Anyway, I took the liberty of re-writing it to fit the flow of my story telling and corrected some seriously lame flaws. Feel free to use my version.  Feel free to compare it to what you might find on the Internet.

            All I know, is that we use this story every year with a little bag that has miniature Christmas things.  As we tell the story, we pull out the items, just as the story suggests.  My kids ADORE this story and learn every year the symbolism of some of the things we see at Christmas. 

        Sure they know WHY we have Christmas  but they're just now learning what the bow represents, why we have Christmas lights on the tree, and what the first color of Christmas really is, and why.

THE SIXTH WORD

Just a week before Christmas, I had a unique visitor. I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the room.  As I entered the room, I saw to my surprise, Santa Claus himself. He placed his finger to his lips, so I would not cry out.

         Whispering I started to ask, “What are you doing?”  But the words choked up in my throat when I saw the tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone–gone was the eager, energetic soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple plea, saying, “Teach the children.” I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. 
                                                                   

        As I stood there bewildered, Santa said again, “Teach the children. Teach them the old meaning of Christmas–the meanings that Christmas nowadays has forgotten.”   Santa reached into the toy bag and pulled out a brilliant shiny star.

“Teach the children the star was the heavenly sign of promise, long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and His Prophets foretold that a star would be a sign of the Savior’s birth. When Christ was born in Bethlehem, a new star appeared in the sky, and was a sign to the entire world. God fulfilled His promise.

Santa gently laid the star upon the fireplace mantle and drew forth from the bag a shiny red Christmas tree ornament. Santa continued, “Teach the children red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by the faithful people to remind them of Christ’s blood, which was shed for all mankind. Christ gave His life that every man might have God’s gift of Eternal Life. Red is the greatest color of all. It is the symbol of the gift of God.” 

Santa then withdrew a small Christmas tree from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it on the mantle and gently hung the red ornament on it. The deep green of the tree was a perfect  background  for the ornament.

“Here is the second color of Christmas” Santa spoke. “The color of the lovely tree remains all year around,” he said. “Green depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is the youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature.

All the needles point heavenward–reminding men that his thoughts should be of returning to live with God again. The great tree has been man’s best friend. It has sheltered him, warmed him, and made beauty for him.

Suddenly, I heard a soft tinkling sound. “Teach the children that lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell. The sound of the bell reminds man to return to the fold–it means guidance and safety. It further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord.” As the soft sound of the bell faded into the night, Santa drew forth a candle. He placed it on the mantle, and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast a glow about the darkened room. Odd shapes in shadows slowly danced and waved upon the walls. “Teach the children,” whispered Santa, “that the candle shows man’s thanks for the star of long ago. Its small light is the mirror of starlight. At first, candles were placed on the trees—they were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. The colored lights have now taken over in remembrance. 

He then brought forth a large bow and said, “The bow is placed on a present to remind us of the spirit of brotherhood. We should remember that the bow is tied as men should be tied, all of us together, with the bonds of good will toward each other. Good will forever is the message of the bow.” Santa slung his bag over his shoulder and pulled a candy cane from his pocket. He handed it to me and said, “Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd’s staff. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep to the flock.

The candy cane represents the helping hand we should show at Christmas time. It is the symbol that we are our brother’s keepers.” As Santa looked about the room, I noticed his smile had returned, and his cheeks were rosy again. His eyes were twinkling.

He reached into his bag one last time and brought forth a large wreath that he placed on my door.  He looked at me and whispered, “Please teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love; it never ceases, stops or ends. It is one continuous round of affection. Love should always be present at Christmas time.”  He turned to leave, and then looked back at me.  “Will you teach the children?” he asked.  And can you guess what I said to Santa?                                 

2012 Yearbook Photos

Deciding which photos to show 

you proved to be a tricky task!

Here’s a quick look at what we did in 2012!

Mornings in January- Before Jo was in school.

Brooklyn's birthday, 3 years old.

Jazz Game

Kyle meets Kellen Moore- dream come true!

Spring Dance Recitals

   

Little Best Buddies

School Portraits, Fall 2012

Mr. T-Ball

Finally getting a little hair!

Catelyn and Best Friend MaKyra baking cookies

Swagger, 9 months old

New Bikes!  July 24th

There are no words....  Its all fun and games around here.

Catelyn's First Eye Exam

Happy Birthday Swagger, August 22-- 1 year old

Family Staycation- Everywhere we took the kids, we blindfolded  them to make it more exciting!

Enjoying Raspberry Jam that they helped to make!

Family Swimming, Rexburg Rapids

First Day of School

Brooklyn's first experience with a calf licking her.

Sibling Day at Lagoon, September

Corn Harvest 2012 TALLEST CORN EVER!!!

First Day of Joy School

Another Dentist Appointment.  This kid likes them. Weirdo.

Brooklyn has a funny habit of falling asleep in the weirdest ways.

Boise Temple Open House, October

Our little BSU Fan

Baby Witch, Ballerina, Dorothy, and a WWF guy, Halloween 2012

December 1st- First Solo Dance Competition- Took 2nd Place

Jocelyn's First Lost Tooth

Ward Party Night- A Night in Bethlehem- Catelyn

Party attenders enjoyed that Bishop Larsen was serving the "wine"

Bethlehem Locals

Seeing Santa, Dec. 13

Merry Christmas, 

with love,

The Larsens

35 years

It's my birthday. 

I want to remember that I hugged my kids several times.  And everyone of them said "happy birthday"except for Brooklyn.  She just wouldn't say it.  She said she would "when the kids get home from school".  Silly three year olds.

But then while we were going to lunch with Kyle, she just blurted it out.  We all laughed.

I want to remember that Jocelyn and her little bff Paige drew me pictures that said "happy birthday" and had art work all over them for me.

And I want to remember that Catelyn and Landon hugged me and are trying to be secretly helpful and surprise me...with cleaning and such.

Kyle and I are going to the Melaleuca Christmas party with our friends the Parkers this evening and Blaine is going to watch the kids.

I want to remember I had over 46 birthday wishes on my facebook wall and it's only 3pm.  I want to remember that I do have friends who care about me, and have texted or called and not just said happy birthday on my 'wall', but who have taken extra time to do a little more for me.

And I want to remember that while it's my birthday  and I have chocolate to eat, I have to still be "Mom" and  need to stop a small fight between the little girls.....

Jocelyn: You're not going to die!
Brooklyn: I want mommy!!!  Mom! Jo Jo is being mean!!!!

Of Munchkins and Ozians

I've been MIA.

Big time.

Back in April, I decided to audition for the local Art Council's fall musical,

 because they were doing The Wizard of Oz.

I took Catelyn and Landon with me, and we became Munchkins.  I was one of two adults in Munchkin Land! 

And I also got a part as an Ozian. 

Summer flew by.

And then in August, we began rehearsals.
I November, we fell off the recognizable face of Home.

 

 

But NOW?

its over.
the makeup. the dresses. the massive hair bows. the hoop slips. the shoes. the singing. the dancing. the green hair. the snowflake umbrellas. the bush umbrellas. the spooks. the jitterbugs. the face paint. the glitter. the fake eyelashes. the costumes changes. even the backstage buzz. and let's not forget the food. BUT......

the friendships?
NEVER.

the memories?
No way. 

As I look back at where November went, 

I realize about half of it when to The Wizard of Oz!

Starting on Thursday, November 1, until Tuesday, November 13- Catelyn, Landon and I spent roughly 36-40 hours working on and practicing and performing the show.  In the span of 13 days, we were gone 10 of those nights.

The little girls wanted their mother back in a bad way.

Catelyn and Landon got to sleep in until 10 every morning of the show, making them late for school a few times.  All three of us were sick with something at some point during the first 13 days of November.  We healed quickly with the help of good doctors and medicines.  So I had to mix in three trips to the doctor in between all the hustle and bustle of the show.

I made food every day for the cast. Had a few  recipes requested from fellow Ozians, which I managed to blog in the wee hours of the night, which made me feel good on top of the fun I was having.

Plus I fed my family before we left for the night.

Will I do it again?  HECK YES.

But not until the little girls are old enough to come with me.  I didn't enjoy leaving them behind.  

And I'm going to make Kyle do it with us.

Was it the funnest?  ABSOLUTELY.

Do I miss it? NO.

I DO miss the cute teenagers and fun adults like crazy.  Take some of the most silly, talented, extroverted, wild people you know and put them in a room together and you have the cast of the WOZ.  With the exception of maybe one or two people, who I STILL am wondering about- 

how did they ever get into this show? They were so quiet!-

Some of the closest friends I made during include: 

Klurisa, McKell, Molly, Cabe, Alayna and Paula, Chance and Easton, Dayia, Lisa, Megan, Bryon and Dustin, Kennidee, Savannah, Samantha and Bailey, Sharee, Lauren, and Joy .

Catelyn and Landon made new friends too.  Which was half the point for them

 in my including them in the madness.

I felt a closeness to Catelyn and Landon that I don't think I would have experienced without the show. And now that it's over, I'm grateful that it worked into our lives, even with the strain it put on Kyle and the little girls. Which is why I would absolutely do this again.  That kind bonding -over songs and the silliness of the show- is something I don't think one can get from any basketball game, TV show, dance recital, or board game. I was filled with heart wrenching pride, I admit it, when I watched Landon as part of the Lollipop guild- 

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

My heart and smile grew every time I was able to catch Catelyn's eyes from her place in the aisle.  And her smile grew too. And she had to try hard not to wave at me.

Yeah, it was epic for us.
Here's a few photos:

Awesome hair pieces by Serene!

 

Dress Rehearsal?  Who knows.  I lost track of it all.

Snowflake or Snow Angel?  I'm still not sure.

 Jack Sparrow

That about wraps it up for photos.  I had to steal a few off Facebook, so they're not great quality, but oh well.

I do not know how I didn't get downstairs to photograph my munchkins. And how I didn't shots of everyone!  It makes me ill.

I'm trying to find a hole to crawl into about not having any other photos of Landon and Cate then the TWO you see on here.  I'm dying. EPIC FAIL as a MOTHER. I've put out a plea if anyone has a photo or two of them, to please share them with me.  But I may never have anything more than these two shots as proof that my oldest two children were in the Wizard of Oz as kids.

It's really eating my insides up.

It's been more than a week and the songs have yet to die off.

The little girls know them all by heart too now, and this is a 'status update' I posted on facebook yesterday:

IN THE FRONT ROOM:
Brooklyn, 3 years old: "Dingdongthewitchesdeaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Witch o witch? Which o' witch? Dingdongthewichessdeeeeead!"

Jocelyn, 5 years old: "No! Brooklyn's that's not right!" Proceeds to sing it correctly...

IN THE KITCHEN:
Me, to Kyle: "How much longer do you think they're gunna be singing these songs?"

Kyle: "Oh, I give it another two days."

Me, seriously confused and sarcastic: "That's all? Yeah, right."

Kyle: "Well, when do you plan to turn the Christmas music on, then? The sooner you do, the faster their tunes will change to the obnoxious rounds of "Batman Smells" and "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer", and (our favorite) .....................

"Dashing through the trees,
with a pair of broken skis,
the snow is turning red,
I think I'm nearly dead!
Ooooooh 9-1-1!
9-1-1!
Help is on the waaaaayyyyy!"

DON'T WORRY.  I'm still writing EDITING.  I had a few kids in the show help me with some ideas for easy editing stuff- But the best part about trying to edit while doing a this show? The 15 year old boy who kept reading the MS, and his confession that he LIKED it!!!  Along with the few other fans I collected! 

I've gotta be one of the extroverted writers, huh?