Why the shepherds?

Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve and at my house they will be acting out the nativity. (I am still in Colorado so will miss out on the fun.) In the past, everyone wanted to be the angel or the wise men. The angel has an actual speaking part and the wise men are well . . . wise. And they wear the nicest costumes and bring the best gifts.

Personally, I would want to be a shepherd.

The shepherds were responsible for verifying which of the lambs were the first born and without blemish. Or in other words, which would be offered to God as a sacrifice. And so it seems only fitting that the shepherds, watching over their flocks by night, were given the glad tidings of Christ birth. They went in haste and found Him lying in a manger and became witnesses to the world that He was truly the "Lamb of God", the first born of Mary, and as such, would offer himself as a the great sacrifice. What a sight to see the angels singing and then being able to worship the Savior in the humble stable.

What an honor to be a shepherd.

Colorado Observations

I have learned a few things since being here in Colorado. Here are a few of them.

1. There is a very good reason I live in Arizona instead of Colorado. It is COLD here! When I went home last night it was 6 degrees. I don't think we have been above 17 since I have been here.

2. If you visit Colorado in the winter, bring gloves!!! Your hands freeze to the steering wheel of the car without them.

3. I also know why I don't have dogs. Hair, hair, everywhere. Camille has two dogs and since Dave has been at the hospital at night, it has fallen to me to put them out in the morning, feed them, put them out again, play with them (somewhat unwillingly on my part) and say, "Down, Cody! Down, Max!" about a hundred times a day--or at least once for each time they jump on me. And I get to clean up dog hair, which is everywhere.

4. It is so sad when hospital food tastes better than what I fix at home. Yesterday I had coconut chicken with mango salsa and the day before it was chicken breast stuffed with brie and apples. Very yummy. It is time to get out the cook books!

5. I am not as directionally challenged as I thought. I just never pay attention. I always get lost when I am somewhere new--including inside the hotels. But since being here I have had to pay attention to where I am going and can make it to the hospital, to Camille's house, church, Walmart and any number of other stores. And I haven't been lost once!

Carly Amelia Tusler

She is here, in all her glory! She didn’t arrive without a lot of drama, however. For the details you can go to Camille’s blog at http://www.tuslerfamily.blogspot.com/. For my version, however, you can stay here.

Flying to Colorado was fun. I was so excited about getting a grandbaby, that I told everyone along the way . . . the security guards, all the people in the waiting area at the airport, the stewardesses, those sitting by me on the plane. . .

The next day we went to the hospital . Camille was induced around 8:30, they broke her water in the early afternoon, and after the contractions became steady and painful, she got an epidural. Unfortunately the epidural only took on one side, and in an effort to correct that, the anesthesiologist repositioned the needle and pumped up the medication. With in minutes Camille’s blood pressure started dropping. The medicine to fix that made her heart race and after repeated attempts to stabilize her, the doctor told us they were going to perform an emergency c-section.

I started crying. Since she couldn’t handle the epidural they had to take that off and put her completely under. I felt so bad Camille was going to miss the birth of her baby, but my tears were also out of relief that it was going to be over. Watching the nurses and doctor scurrying around and watching Camille struggle to maintain consciousness over the past hour and a half, was very difficult. I was so relieved a decision was made and Carly would soon be born.

They took us to a waiting room outside the nursery door so we could wait for Dave to bring the baby to us following her birth. And we waited what was only about ten minutes, but what seemed like an eternity.
And then we heard what was one of the most memorable and profound sounds of my life. Chimes. At this hospital they play chimes each time a baby is born. We had heard several chimes during the day and listened with envy. But at 8:00 p.m., when the chimes rang, we knew it was for us and we all started to cry—Dave’s mother, sister and myself. Dave’s dad laughed at us and wondered what all the tears were about.

Since that time we have been having fun playing with the baby, watching Dave change lots of diapers (Camille has yet to do that) and helping Camille in and out of bed and making her walk. Carly is so tiny, only 6 lbs, 12 oz and 19 inches. And she has a lot of dark hair and skin. And of course, she is beautiful!

The Perils of Procrastination . . .

I had the best of intentions. I was going to send out all my Christmas cards, do the bulk of my shopping, make all the treats for the neighbors and deliver gifts to friends, beginning tomorrow. I was waiting for weddings to be over (first Ryan's and then today my niece's) and seminary to be behind me. THEN I would have time to focus on Christmas.

But today we received the best of news. Our daughter Camille, whose baby is due December 26, is being induced Saturday morning. I had already purchased a ticket to fly to Denver on Christmas day, but the moment I knew exactly when the baby was coming I started to bawl. I did not just tear up, mind you. This was full fledged bawling. And I knew my heart would break if I could not be there with her.

I have never been a grandmother before. And in fact, I have never really liked that word. It sounds so old. But I have to say that today all my thoughts and feelings about grandparenting changed--in an instant.

And so tomorrow I will be flying to Denver and not returning until December 27. That means that all those cards, and gifts and treats, are going to have to wait. Even "Christmas" morning is going to be delayed a couple days so I, my husband and three daughters at home can all celebrate together.

So, do I wish I had not procrastinated? Yes. But I am still thrilled, overwhelmed, excited and ecstatic to be on my way to Colorado where I will get to welcome into the world my very first grandbaby! Something I know will add . . . joy to my journey!

Let Your Light So Shine!

Today was our last morning of seminary until after Christmas break. I teach freshmen, and I am going to miss them terribly. I love freshmen because they are always so excited about everything. And they never say, “But last year we did it this way.”

We are studying the New Testament and when we learned about the parable of the Ten Virgins, we decided to make our own lamps, earn oil to put in them and then go outside in the darkness of the early morning and light our lamps.

Today, after three months of earning oil, we did it!

I had worried about the weather. It has been raining for days. But this morning the clouds parted and a clear sky, sparkling with stars shined down upon us. It was a beautiful sight to see how much light all the lamps put off. And it was fun to walk from the cold and darkness of the pavilion across the parking lot to the warmth and light of the church building, with the lamps lighting our way. (I don’t have pictures of that; I wish I did.)

Inside we were warmed by both testimonies and hot chocolate. It was such a sweet moment to hear the youth bear powerful testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t get paychecks in seminary, at least not the monetary kind. But occasionally you have one of those moments where you know getting up at 4:30 every morning, working on lessons all day, and constantly worrying about your class, is more than worth it. Today was one of those mornings. It was a morning that brought tremendous . . . joy to my journey.

Angels round about us to bear us up . . .

I believe in angels—both those we can’t see and those we can. And I appreciate both.

Several years ago, I was driving home late at night with my daughter in the car. We pulled up to a stop sign, checked for oncoming cars, didn’t see any, so proceeded to make a right hand turn onto the next street. But instead of moving forward, I pulled the car sharply to the right on to the side of the road and stopped. I then looked at my daughter in surprise, wondering why I had done that. It was almost as if the car had a mind of its own and had taken control. Just then a car, with its head lights off, zipped by us on the wrong side of the street in an effort to pass the car next to it. Had I pulled onto the road as intended, I would have hit that car head on.

That was not my first experience where I felt someone was watching over and assisting us, nor has it been my last. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we are not walking this journey alone. But I am so glad that not all angels are on the other side of the veil. Sometimes God sends family members, friends and even strangers to help us.

I had an experience a little over a year ago that I will never forget. I was on day five of recovering from major surgery. Everything hurt, my spirits, which had been high the previous four days, had plummeted, and I felt miserable, body and soul. I also had a doctor’s appointment, and not being allowed to drive, was chauffeured there and back by my husband. While returning to our home he told me he had to return to work, which meant I would be home alone.

Normally I would have been okay with that, but at that very low moment the thought of being alone was overwhelming and I began to cry. I also began to pray that Heavenly Father would send someone to my home to keep me company.

My husband got me in the house and settled into a chair and then left through the back door. He had no sooner closed the door behind him when my front doorbell rang. I called for the visitor to enter and in walked a friend, Julie, who claimed to just be passing by and thought she would drop in and give me a foot massage. For the next half hour, Julie, a trained massage therapist, massaged my feet, kept me company and boosted my spirits. When she left, I not only felt loved by her, but also by my Heavenly Father who cared enough to send someone to help me that day.
Over several weeks of my recovery, many friends and neighbors came by to watch movies with me, bring dinner, wash my dishes, and just visit. I am thankful for all of them—all angels who came and brought such great . . . joy to my journey.

Growing Pains . . .

Our daughter Camille got married this past year and will be spending her first Christmas as a married woman. She is also expecting a baby any day. The other night she and her husband were shopping at Walmart and Camille mentioned she wanted to buy some Christmas stockings. Dave (her husband) was curious as to what she was going to do with them. She explained she would fill them with candy and treats for Christmas morning. Dave then asked, "Isn't that what our parents do?" Camille answered, "Dave, we are the parents." I hope he knows he is Santa Claus too!