Our Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family –

As 2011 draws to a close we are reminded of how much Heavenly Father has blessed us by just reminding us that he loves us. Especially during this Holiday season we are especially conscious of the blessing that Heavenly Father allowed his son Jesus Christ to be born on Earth and to atone for our sins so we could return and live with Him again. We are so amazed when we think that Jesus volunteered to be our Savior. We are so blessed.

This year has been wonderfully busy. Jogie is currently in his second year at Midwestern University’s Podiatry Medical School. School has stretched and strengthened his ability to believe in himself and exercise faith that Heavenly Father will provide a way for us to succeed with school. Thank you everyone for your prayers and faith in our behalf; we have certainly needed that at times and have felt the blessings of your faith.

Amanda continues to work at the Slepian Law Office. Here she has focused on working up the evidence for cases that are pending for a hearing. Additionally, she has taken charge of cases at the Virtual Screening Unit. She has also been given the task of editing appeals from the attorneys.

 

Over the Fourth of July weekend we took a road trip to White Sands, New Mexico. Here we did some sledding and some backpacking. It was a really beautiful area. We were lucky enough to have front row seats to some stunning lightning.

Jogie wanted to catch a lizard of our own since we are in Phoenix and seem to see them all over. We caught Fluffy on our patio. Later we caught Squishy by our front door. We decided Gecko’s are really cute!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!

Michael Vey the Prisoner of Cell 25

I read Michael Vey the Prisoner of Cell 25. It was a greatly entertaining read. Even better than the entertainment value was the themes and messages that were edifying. Michael is a fourteen year old boy with a power to transmit electricity from his body.

One evident theme was of love. Michael, the main character, loved his friends. He also had a lot of love for his mother. When his friend and his mom were in trouble he had to help despite the dangers. The bad guys in the book tried to exploit this love; but it did not work. In fact characters who Michael could have felt enmity towards became his friends and allies.

One character represented Satan in the story. He would tempt the main characters to do things that they knew were wrong. He would manipulate those around him to get them to do what he wanted because he did not have the ability to do these things himself. He would dote on them until they faltered and they were then in his power. “You know how it goes, Michael. The first time you resist. The second time you relent. The third time you volunteer. It’s that easy” (pg. 255). Just like in life there are those who live by what they know is right and those who become blinded by the lies they are told.

There is also a trio of characters that represent God. Their initials spell out I AM. Each has a different electrical power that is a godlike power. One could see and knew where others were. Another could heal physical pain through touching. And the third could emit light in a dark place. When Michael was in trouble and needed help this trio was able to provide comfort. The one who could see knew that Michael needed help and how to reach him. The one who could provide light shone a light in the dark place. This light also guided Michael to the one who could heal the physical pain. Michael in order to feel the comfort from the trio had to reach out for it. The trio wanted to help Michael. God wants to help us as well. He wants to comfort and sustain us. In order for us to receive this comfort we need to reach out for it.

I can be Happy on Earth

Jogie and I while visiting with friends were inspired by the phrase said during the conversation of “when you look for life’s tender mercies you will find them.” I really like the eloquence and simplicity of a truth I have long known. I know that when I am consciously looking for things that I can take joy in I definitely find them.

I have really enjoyed days where I make a point to recognize situations where I have felt joy. Where I have felt he Holy Ghost; where I knew that Heavenly Father loves me. Once I recognize a couple instances in a day where I know that Heavenly Father has blessed me I find that they just keep coming.

Even frustrating situations can show the tender mercies in our lives. This last month as we were getting ready to load up in the car and go to church we found that the car had been broken into and was trashed inside. Jogie took it all in stride despite it all. There are many positive ways that we were able to view this frustrating circumstance. Though the dash was taken out the cords were intact and we were able to re-hook up the vent system so it works just as well as it ever did. Despite a window being broken we live in Phoenix where it is warm enough that we could comfortably drive around sans one window. We had an opportunity to clean out and vacuum the car which I’m sure the car liked. We still have every one of the BYU squish pillows. Without the stereo that was able to only play the primary program CD Jogie is less likely to have these songs stuck in his head and thus stuck in my head. The Primary CD has been stuck in it ever since we put it in; so the broken player can now be a missionary tool to share wholesome music!

I have been impressed with how well Jogie has taken the frustrations of the situation of having his car broken into. He definitely is a good example of taking it all in stride and letting the bad things roll right off and recognizing our blessings.

I love Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving! It is so neat that we have a holiday where we take a break to count our many blessings. And boy do we have so many. Heavenly Father certainly must love me because he has blessed me so richly.

I find it so perfect that Thanksgiving comes one month prior to Christmas. During Christmas we celebrate the life of our Savior Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to express gratitude to my Savior for all that he has done for me; without the distraction of the commercialism that the Christmas Holiday often brings.

I love that Thanksgiving is a holiday that focuses on the family. I have long enjoyed the feast that included favorite foods like olives. But, what really makes Thanksgiving so wonderful is the time spent with family.

Holy cow we are so blessed!

Holy cow we are so blessed! This last quarter at medical school, especially during finals, we really felt Heavenly Father helping us to do our best. The Father’s blessings, prayers, support of friends and family was all felt. Thank you everyone for your love and support as we pushed forward through some difficult tests. We are so grateful. We know we can do hard things; and we know we can because Heavenly Father helps us so much and makes us equal to the task! We certainly have much to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving Holiday. 

The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz

I recently read The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey. As soon as I heard about the book months ago I really wanted to read the story. And I finally got the chance. The book was about Avey’s experience during World War II including the point where he broke into the notorious death camp. The Holocaust destroyed not only lives; but souls, and thus I felt that it is vital to understand what happened if I am determined to not have a comparable experience during my lifetime.

It was clear in the book how truly trapped individuals were in Auschwitz and the neighboring POW camp where Avey was. Certainly the prisoners and the POW’s were trapped as they were prisoners to the camp. But the guards were also trapped in the inhumanity as well. The hierarchy reigned with a fear that anyone acted in opposition to the Fuhrer’s dictates regarding the camp were killed by a fellow SS officer. Thus if an officer had thoughts to place a road block to the atrocities he would have no allies; not in fellow officers, and not with the prisoners.

No one in the camp was able to take a transitional stance and change what was happening. For this reason those who survived in the camp could not help themselves out of the camp. They needed help from someone outside.

How often do we choose to suffer on our own and not ask for help from someone else? We are not in our mortal experience to suffer by ourselves; but to lift each other into the promise of eternal life. If we allow others to help with the difficult circumstances that we presently struggle with; then we can walk away with the experience to help someone else later. There are so many people who love and are able to help lift us; and we need to let them help lift us out of the spiritual death camp we are in.

Random Hiking - Love it!

On Saturday I participated with my coworkers in the Breast Cancer walk in Tempe, Arizona. It was good to visit with coworkers and their families during this walk. It was a huge event. Thousands participated. After doing a pioneer trek a couple months ago; walking three miles on paved road in pants was a cinch. Certainly the walk was for a good cause: to promote awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer through regular check-ups.

My adventure, was trying to get to the starting line... I had left with plenty of time to get there and maneuver around the closed roads. Having charted my way to a parking lot from which I could hoof it to the starting line. I, however, hadn’t accounted for the fact that the lot I had selected was closed, nor that the street had become the parking lot. I spent a good forty minutes puttering around with my fellow motorists. I had enough of this parking lot and drove away from the event and pulled into the first parking garage I came to. I tightened my shoe laces and began to run. It was time for the walk to begin and who knows how far away I was. I ran through the midst of ASU campus; which was ridiculously empty. (This was weird for me as I am used to BYU campus which is full of people all of the time.) I was grateful the campus was empty as I really didn’t want an audience as I ran. I came to the light rail station and ran out of sidewalk. I had a couple options: I could run along the tracks (not a good option as a train was loading up to pull out at that time) or cross the tracks and hike up the mountain in front of me and hope that it does come down on the other side. Obviously I chose to go hiking. I went up and over the glorified pile of dirt and made it to the starting line. It was a good little hike which ended up putting me right at the starting line. Whoo!

Gila Valley Temple Trip

This weekend Jogie and I went on a temple trip to the Gila Valley Temple. After receiving my endowment two years ago I decided I would like to attend a temple I had not been to before close to the anniversary of my first temple trip. Last year we went to the Las Vegas Temple. This year we chose to go to the Gila Valley Arizona Temple.

Since Jogie is in medical school right now, studying to be a Podiatrist, he often has a lot of studying that he needs to do. So he brought along his notes for his upcoming Pharmacology test that he needed to learn. I drove while he told me all about Pharmacology; and I helped him come up with ways to remember things.

After three and half hours of driving though some beautiful country we made it to the Gila Valley Temple. I drove our car around the entire temple. It was noon, on a Saturday and our Saturn was the only car in the lot. A phone call confirmed that the temple was closed for cleaning. If only we had made the phone call before we left! Since we were at the Gila Valley Temple we were going to make sure we got our picture in front of the temple to prove we were there - even if we couldn’t do a session. Luckily a van pulled into the lot full of young women and leaders who just finished a pioneer trek. This was perfect because we were able to have a pioneer take our picture in front of the temple. We then did our walk around the fence of the temple noticing the horticulture, locating the cornerstone, and touching the pillars of the fence. On the other end of parking lot we heard an animal. We turned to see a very tall barrier probably 8 feet or so tall and over it the ears, eyes and nose of a horse! I really liked getting to see the horse. Especially as the horse was clearly on his back legs trying to see us!

We got back in the car with the decision to make of where to go now. We decided to go to the Mesa Temple. So after another three hours of driving we made it to an open temple! (It took us about seven hours to make it to a temple that was hardly one hour away.) In case anyone is wondering; we took the shorter way back home.

The Awesome Power of an Honest Testimony

Jogie and I teach the twelve year olds in our ward for Sunday School. We love it! They teach us so much. Last week our lesson was on the Holy Ghost and I asked our class what the Holy Ghost feels like. The answer I got the most was “Awesome.” I tried to see if I could get an additional response when I followed up with “what if you already feel awesome?” “Then you feel more Awesome!”

An honest testimony borne presents those hearing it with an awesome feeling. The Holy Ghost is this more awesome feeling that comes into our hearts so we may know that the principles in that testimony are true.

I was able to participate in the General Relief Society Broadcast where Elder Uchtdorf spoke on things we should not forget. One of his forget-me-nots was to not forget that Heavenly Father loves you. He bore such a wonderful testimony of how Heavenly Father is aware of each of us, and loves us each individually. The seriousness of his words hit me with a sense of awesomeness. It really is so awesome that God really does care about me personally. It feels so awesome!

This week as Jogie and I taught our twelve year olds about testimony I had the opportunity to bear my own testimony. I had the class come up with things that would be appropriate to share in a testimony. I then asked them to pay attention to the awesome feeling of the Holy Ghost as he testified of the truth of what I was saying. As I shared the simple testimony there was an awesome reverence in our classroom. I am so glad that the Holy Ghost gives us this awesome feeling when we bear our testimony! And I know that the principles stated are true.

Pioneer Trek

Tonight Jogie attended with me a reunion fireside for those who participated on the Youth Pioneer Trek. I went as a big sister leaving Jogie behind to focus on school. It was so nice to see some of my little siblings from the trek; it was also nice to see pictures from the trek.

The great lesson that I took from the trek was that I can do hard things. Walking for miles and miles is hard. It is painful. I felt so dirty, and exhausted, and sore. Yet I did it. I along with the youth that were in my family proved to ourselves that we can push through and do something hard. We can put one foot in front of the other and we can reach our destination. When a tougher trial comes that is painful and overwhelming I know I can start walking and before long that trial is behind me. And as I look back on that trial I have a sense of triumph that I did it.

The most moving part of the entire trek experience for me was the silent march. During this one of the kids from our family was taken ahead one mile. They represented people who had died on the trail. The rest of us continued on without this one family member pushing along with us. I found I really missed that one family member that had gone on ahead. I missed him really bad. I knew at the end of one mile that he would join our family again. But, it was so hard to keep going without him in our midst. Because of the Plan of Salvation I know that when family members die it won’t be forever. We will see each other again. Despite knowing that we will be together again it is still hard to keep going when your heart hurts so much. I realized that I can feel sad about the separation and still have a testimony of eternal families.

Since I went on the trek by myself I found myself really missing Jogie. We had hardly been apart since we got married a year ago. I wanted that hug and kiss goodnight. I wanted him to sit close to me during the chilly evening of the testimony meeting so I would stay warm. I wanted him to hold my hand as our blisters developed blisters. While I was missing Jogie; he was missing me too. When I returned it was clear that he was so happy to have me back home and I felt so loved. Though Jogie was unable to directly experience the trek; he was able to vicariously experience the pioneer trek through me. The fireside that we attended tonight together was, therefore, just as personal to him as it was to me.

The Real Value of the Stradivarius

While I am at work I often like to listen to Pandora to keep me focused. My favorite Pandora station is the David Garrett station. I am in love with his music. I find myself having a desire to play my violin so I can play like David Garrett. Realistically, I have hardly picked up my violin in a decade; thus the likelihood that I sound like David Garrett when I play is less than likely. Plus the violin I play is not a Stradivarius which puts me at a further disadvantage. The violin that has the best sound should be played by the person who will play it.

           
A Stradivarius Violin made in the early 18th century is worth millions of dollars. Antonius Stradivarius, the master violin maker, perfected violin making such that even today the best violins are the ones he made 300 years ago. The value of these instruments is not in the name brand and the age; but rather it is the sound that these instruments make when they are played.

           
There are hundreds of these violins still around. Many owned by master violinists like David Garrett. Others are placed in display cases for others to see. These violins on display are useless. They might be pretty and a very expensive piece of artwork. But, that is not where their value lies. The value of the Stradivarius lies in the quality sound made when it is played. A violin in a box is nothing compared to a violin that is tuned and being played by the master.

           
What do I find I leave in a box or even in a display case rather than playing it? Perhaps my talents. Maybe my scriptures.

           
The value of my talents and the value of my scriptures are not in how pretty they look in a display case. The real value in my talents and in my scriptures is most certainly, like the Stradivarius, in how they are played.

What am I getting into?!

I have slowly realized that I am losing so much of the writing skills that I practiced while I was at BYU. I want to rectify that. I enjoy writing in my journal, as so many of my friends and family are acutely aware of. Logically I can really see myself enjoying doing something like blogging whether or not anyone else enjoys it with me. For those of an adventurous heart; I hope it is an inspiring, insightful, and intriguing read.