CHRISTMAS BEGINS WITH CHRIST!

Our Relief Society sisters began this year with a Carlson Farm Ward theme for 2018: “I Will Choose Him Again”.  Each month we have explored how best we can emulate the Savior through joy, love, radiating His light, extending forgiveness, and the other several topics we touched on throughout the ensuing months.

Then, as a conclusion to this year’s challenge to “Choose Him Again”, the ward Relief Society chose for a December theme simply “Choose Christ”.

I was thinking about that theme while I was sitting in Primary Sharing Time last Sunday. (Happily, I am still the ward Primary president!)  When it was Singing Time, the song leader cleverly introduced the songs for the month by talking about the symbols of Christmas which are each representative about some aspect of Christ.  Those symbols were hidden around the room in Christmas gift bags which the kids took turns finding. It was fun watching them gleefully participate in this treasure hunt as the activity unfolded.

The song leader started with a small tree and while she was taking it out of the bag explained that Christmas trees are Evergreen trees.   Not only do they symbolize the “living” Christ because they are always green and alive, but the branches of an Evergreen tree all point upward to heaven.

Next was the star which gave direction to the shepherds and the Wise Men who came seeking him. That star also guides us to Him.

Then she placed a string of lights on the tree.  The kids had no trouble recognizing that the lights also represent the “light of Christ”. 

She told them red is the first color of Christmas.  It represents the blood which Christ our Savior shed for us to redeem us from our sins. 

As she put presents under the tree, she reminded them that Christ was God’s gift to the world for our redemption.  And…presents significantly typify the gifts the Wise Men brought to the Christ child. 

When she held up a small poinsettia bloom, the kids correlated that poinsettias are also star-shaped.  There are two colors: red typifying the first color of Christmas and white for Christ’s purity.

Candy canes have a special meaning, too.  The crook at the top is a reminder that Christ is the Good Shepherd who watches over all of us, bringing the one back to the fold if any stray.

 Holly came next.  It is important because the red berries and prickly green leaves last all year.  The sharp edges of the holly leaf are a reminder of the thorns placed on the Savior’s head before his crucifixion.

When she pulled a wreath out of a colorful bag, she told the kids that a wreath’s circular shape represents one eternal round.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ's family for eternity!

And last…she said bells symbolize the announcement of Christ’s birth, as their joyful peal reminds us of that remarkable news every time they ring.

While the song leader was having the kids share what they knew about these symbols of Christmas, I thought about how the world is trying so very hard to take Christ right out of Christmas!  

There are blatant substitutions.  Winter holiday.  Forest animals.  Specialized ornaments.  ANYTHING but Christ.  It is getting ever more difficult even to find simple Nativity sets.  And the big department stores that could be counted on to have the really gorgeous—and expensive—Nativity sets no longer carry them.  No one wants them.

But…in spite of trying to take Christ out of Christmas—there He still is!  Right before our very eyes as we decorate our trees with stars, with lights, and bells, etc. and bustle about finding the perfect present to give to our special people.  The stores are FULL of Christ!

Make a mental note when you see these emblems that denote something important about Christ’s birth, life, and death, that Christ is still in Christmas!  Celebrate this year with a glad heart for the message of hope and love that His birth, which we celebrate each December 25^th, promised so many years ago.  His life simply cannot be erased.

CHOOSE CHRIST! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

PS Another really meaningful way to choose Christ is to participate in the LDS Church’s Christmas initiative this year.  There has been much opportunity provided by the Church in the previous Christmas seasons to reach out to others in an uplifting and helpful way.  This year is yet another opportunity to make a difference through service to our neighbors near and far away from us.  Check it out!  Just google “Light the World 2018” for ideas on how to participate in all kinds of service projects, either solo or with groups.

ALL ABLAZE !!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2018

Celebrated my 73rd birthday this last weekend.  First on Saturday with Louis,  Brice, Judy, Cheyenne, Cameron, Burgandy, Brittany, Ro, and Pippa.  A total smorgasbord of snacks and a birthday cake made with a recipe from my way, way past.  It is called 1, 2, 3, 4 Cake.  Simple yellow with almond flavoring, powdered sugar frosting topped with coconut.

We went to visit my mother's sister Cornelia and family once when I was just a little girl  and stayed for dinner.  This was the dessert.  I fell in love with it--NOT chocolate--and begged my mother to get the recipe.  It has been in my own recipes for years since I left for BYU and was a favorite choice for me when birthday time rolled around.  Ross used to make it for me.  But because he would always forget to separate the eggs and beat the whites by themselves to add at the end, he wrote a big note on the recipe  READ THIS with an arrow pointing to that part of the directions.

Anyway, when I found out Brittany and her kids were going to be here for my birthday, I sent her a copy of the recipe and asked if she would make it for my birthday.  She did.  And it was sooooo good!

The family insisted on the whole ration of candles to top the cake.  Not only was there barely room to place them all, but that amount of candles were putting out a fair amount of heat.  I had picked up a lighter with a long nozzle at the dollar store earlier that day so no one would get burnt fingers trying to light the candles.  An alarm sounded at the cash register to alert the clerk to the possibility a minor was trying to purchase the lighter.  She looked at me and said, "I assume you are over 18?"   I told her, "Just a bit.  I'll be 73 tomorrow."  The she came back with, "Not too much over 18,  though."

Was I able to blow all those candles out with just one breath?  You bet I did!  And am looking forward to my wish coming true.   (Smoke filled the kitchen but fortunately, the smoke alarm didn't go off.) 

The celebration continued all day Sunday (my ACTUAL birthday on the 2nd) as I spent the time with my Primary kids and friends who dropped in during the evening with small gifts.  It was a good celebration.  One that pointed me in a positive direction for the remaining 20 months before I TRULY retire for real on my 20th anniversary with United on August 7, 2020.

Wish me luck...and "many more"....

COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL ISSUES #52 STORIES OF ME....(week 47)

QUESTION:  Is there someone in your life who has inspired you to care more about the community and global issues?

ANSWER:  No.  None of the rhetoric that blasts the media has done anything for me but be turned off by the strident--and often--inaccurate reports that scream from the internet and the news.

About the only awareness for these issues that I have had in my life has come from the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ministering opportunities that my local congregation has afforded me to serve or the individual efforts I have made to "minister" when I feel a personal inspiration to do so.

I pray.  And at times I add my "Widow's Mite" to the other reservoirs of "mites" to assist in local, national, and international crises.

I guess by pretty much all "standards" out there, I am UNCARING.  UNFEELING.  And PRIVILEGED not to have been impacted or even touched by the disasters so prevalent in the world.

Does that make me a BAD person?

CHRISTMAS IS COMING....!

Christmas is coming!  And I feel that old familiar aura of holiday anticipation about me, in spite of the fact that this is only the first week in November.  The stores are already completely full of everything Christmas from décor to apparel to decorations to specialty food items.  Some of that stuff has been in the stores since summer--depending on the store and what kind of merchandise it sells. But that was pretty easy to overlook until I went to a Nativity Sneak Peek early this week.

Our northern Colorado book/gift store which carried Latter-day Saint items  recently became an Independent Deseret Book store and changed its name from Moroni Books to Latter-Day Books and Gifts.  It was through the auspices of Deseret Book that this little store held the Nativity event--along with every other Deseret Book affiliate or independent book store across the country.

Even though this is NOT the year I display my beautiful collection  of Nativities, my interest was piqued.  I am always out on a trip when it comes to these kinds of events, but this time I saw that I was going to be in town.  Without thinking, I clicked on the box and requested two FREE tickets.  Maybe Louis and I could slip up to Fort Collins that night after he finished driving.

I was out on my walk a couple of days later when I thought, "Why not invite Cathy Callahan, my all time favorite next door neighbor to go with me?  She could come up here in the late afternoon, we could grab a bite to eat and be at the store by 6:30."  I don't like to drive if I don't have to, so I wasn't sure what her response would be.

It was an enthusiastic, "Yes!"  She had enjoyed my Nativity Festival last Christmas and thought this would be nice.  Though she is Catholic, she is the one who wrote to me what a wonderful tribute my display was to the Lord and how my love of Him  inspired others after seeing the article in the newspaper and visiting my home.  She said I had touched many hearts for the Christmas season and had done what Christ asks of all of us --to share and spread His word and love to His people.  I was glad she was interested in driving up to Johnstown from Arvada, and we made plans.

I hadn't been to the store since its remodel to a Deseret Book affiliate.  Wow!  The location also expanded into the space next to it, and now looks like the real deal.  Instead of a crowded little space with limited inventory, it seemed to have a little bit of everything.  The shelving, the displays, the whole persona was authentic.  You can't tell it from any other DB in the country.  What a transformation!

The Sneak Peek was supposed to showcase 19 NEW Nativity sets, all of which are in the current catalog that arrived in the mail a couple of days later.  There are some really nice large sets.  Some smaller ones, too.  Many of them are part of a Fair Trade kind of thing that assists people in other countries to earn a living selling culturally authentic merchandise.  I have seen similar kinds of initiatives in other online sites and Protestant/Catholic stores which I pop into when I am out on my layovers.

(Side note:  The year-round Christmas store in San Diego closed permanently October 1st.  I was sad about that.  It was always a big impetus to get out and walk there--plus some of my Nativity sets and ornaments came Mistletoe over a period of a dozen years.)

The other night, I allowed myself to purchase a small "paper quill" nativity from Cambodia.  I don't think I have one from there.  I'll put it up this year.  Then it will be a nice addition to my International Table next Christmas.

The new Christmas album from David Archuleta was playing in the background.  I have never paid much attention to him or his singing.  I know he was some kind of winner for American Idol then went on a mission and later sang with the Choir at Temple Square for one of the Christmas concerts.  But, I really liked this music softly wafting through the store.  THAT alone is unusual for me.  I'm pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas music.  Only the carols--not Christmas songs.  And either instrumental or sung by a great choir like the Church's.  

So, I took a chance and bought the album, as well as the nativity set.  I listened to it in the car on my next trip to DIA and back.  And I really listened to the words.  Never been keen on "Mary, Do You Know?" and "Immanuel", but his renditions were tender and loving.  The selections he wrote himself are full of gospel principles about Christ and His mission on earth.  Well.....I think I made a good purchase.  I do love Christmas music.

I'm almost sorry this isn't the year I display my nativity collection.  I have the time off, and that little Sneak Peek just whetted my appetite for that wonderful, spiritual uplift in the unique way I choose to celebrate Christmas.  

Make plans to share all that with me next Christmas! 
One child.  One star.  One night.

BINDING UP THE BROKEN AMONG US.....

Because I play the organ at the temple, I was again invited to the annual Temple Workers Devotional for this year. 

These are wonderful meetings (I also used to go to the ones at the Denver Temple, too. ) There is a great deal of spiritual uplift, plus an opportunity to mingle socially with the other temple workers. 

And one of the Seventy General Authorities is usually invited to speak. Over the years I have heard some wonderful doctrinal insight. This time the visiting authority was Elder Brian K. Taylor, who had been reorganizing the Longmont Stake that weekend.  

When President Garrett, the temple president, spoke recently at this year's Fort Collins Temple Workers devotional, he said that every morning for 52 years Sister Garrett has gone to the drawer and taken out a bandage.  And then, holding that bandage, prayed to know whom she could "bind up" that day.

Isn't that a wonderful visual! 

We all have the commission from our baptismal covenant to bind up the broken among us.  So, I suggest Sister Garrett's example as something tangible to focus on as we pray about our purpose here as disciples of Christ in ministering to and blessing others all around us, no matter what our current Church assignment-- Primary President, like me, or whatever your calling is now, like you.

There is always a need for loving care....with--or without--the bandage.

SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS...

MAUDE HUGGINS' PATCHWORK OF EMBROIDERY STICHES

 FOR A RELIEF SOCIETY MINI CLASS CIRCA 1970'S

I still keep in touch with the "no contact" sisters in our ward as part of my formal ministering responsibilities.  Each month one of the things I do for these eleven sisters is to write a letter addressing the theme our ward Relief Society presidency has chosen on which to focus their weekly meetings.  This is what I chose to write to those sisters for October 2018.

My mother was a beautiful seamstress!

During her lifetime she sewed whole wardrobes of everyday and dress-up clothing, often with embroidered embellishments, for her family of eight girls.  Plus, she lovingly stitched the wedding dresses for three of them.  My mother used materials at hand which sometimes involved fashioning something new from other still serviceable items of clothing.  Her talent was extraordinary, and her sewing entries almost always garnered a blue ribbon at the local County Fair. 

I remember the teachers at school would often “Ooh, and ah” as they admired my school dresses, fingering the cloth and turning up the hem on the garment to the inside which revealed workmanship as beautifully crafted and precise as the visible outside.  One of those creations was a jumper and matching coat which my mother made for me from the first quality wool of my brother-in-law’s Navy blues when I was in the first grade.  The coat was lined with yellow taffeta, and I felt so special when I wore that outfit. 

Sometime after I was long gone from home, my mother was invited to teach a class for her Relief Society about embroidery stitches.  But she didn’t just “talk” the instructions, she made a patchwork quilt pillowtop and bordered each patch with a different embroidery stitch to demonstrate.

After my mother died, I was the happy recipient of that beautiful piece of work.  I recognized the patches on that throw pillow as scraps of material from some of the articles of clothing my mother had sewn for me—including the yellow taffeta lining of that treasured coat!  Little bits and pieces of my life lovingly stitched into a priceless family heirloom. 

When I open my cedar chest and look at that pillow, I often think how those patches represent the small and simple things my mother did in our home to build great people through her joy in the role she had as mother, her strength of character, and her finely tuned spirit.

Our Relief Society theme this month is “Choose the Small and Simple Things”.  We don’t have to do big elaborate stuff to make a difference either at home or with others.  We need only remember that those small moments and decisions we make will have such an big impact on the outcome of our purposes here.  It is the consistent redoing over and over of the same small behaviors that will cement everything we’ve tried to accomplish as wife and mother into a consequence that is of great importance.

The Church's recent Semi-annual General Conference held on October 6-7^th this year was a fertile field of examples and suggestions which can easily be adopted into our scheme of small things that make a difference in the long run:  forgiveness, ministering, hope, love….  I thought one talk during the Saturday morning session was particularly pertinent to the “small and simple” theme. 

Elder Steven R. Bangerter of the Seventy said that the small and simple traditions we establish in our homes are increasingly important in the world today.  He spoke of several simple things they did which laid a foundation for their family.  One of those traditions he spoke of resonated with my heart.  Elder Bangerter said they never left the house or ended a phone call to each other without closing with the phrase, “I love you.”  

That was not a tradition in my home growing up, or even with my children.  But I determined some years ago to add it to my conversations with the Nichols Kids.  I’m not always successful in remembering that important phrase, but I believe it has a connective quality to it when I do remember. 

I then invited those sisters to do the following:  

Take a pencil and paper and jot down some of the small and simple things you have done in your family that have contributed to those wonderful big people your children are now.  Give yourself credit for the good you have done—then keep those traditions alive as each day passes. 

Remember Alma’s counsel to his sons in the Book of Mormon:  “…that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”  (Alma 37:6)

I also encourage you to check out all of the other recent General Conference proceedings.  Each of them will fill your heart with greater understanding of the Lord’s love for us and His great desire for us to be happy and have peace in a world that is increasingly dark.  I know this is true.

And, don’t forget that I am here ready to assist you with a listening ear, a meal, a ride, or any other kind of assistance you may need.  I hope you consider me your friend, as I do you.   Text.  Email.  Call.  I want to help you in any way I can.

Georgia Nichols  303-918-1127    mommuzamom@msn.com

POST SCRIPT:  I never know if the letters I write to these special sisters ever strike a chord with them--or truly, if they even read them.  Some of these eleven I have been writing to since we moved to Johnstown 15 years ago.  

But, President Nelson's recent challenges to us as sisters, first to be ministers, also included studying about Christ in the Book of Mormon so we could bear testimony of Him and invite others to come unto Him.  

I want to do that, so I am also looking to do the small and simple things I need to in order to accomplish those purposes.

SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS MAKE A BEAUTIFUL PATCHWORK OF LIFE....

"TO BE, OR NOT TO BE"

I've been thinking a lot about Shakespeare lately, specifically how so many things he wrote are gospel centric.  And in particular I have been pondering this well-known phrase "TO BE, OR NOT TO BE" that has become so commonplace, it is used in a plethora of situations both serious and humorous around the world.

I know without even being conscious about it, every day I have either chosen to be--or or not to be--my better self.  And lots of times I failed.  My temper got the best of me.  I raised my voice.  I argued because I thought I was right.  I was not very compassionate. Etc. Etc. Etc.  But today, I am thinking about "to be, or not to be" as it relates to my whole life. 

 There has been a lot said in the last few years about making a "bucket list" of things to do--before you kick the bucket.  I have had a few items in that proverbial bucket myself, including a trip to South America which I have wanted to do since I studied about that continent when I was in the 5th grade.

Ironically, when I was based in Chicago every time I was assigned a trip to South America, something happened like a delay, a cancellation, or some other operational glitch that I never made it.  Now that United and Continental flight attendants fly the same planes and the same routes--TOGETHER--there is a possibility that I could pick up a trip and work to South America and back.  Only at this point in time, I am not so sure I even want to go.

What I'm looking at now is not a bucket list of "things" I want to accomplish or experience before I die, but an inventory of what I have become in this life.

 I'm desirous that even a cursory glance of my life would show that I tried to be an authentic and consistent example.  That I provided support, love, and help to my children--though I was not ever generous with hugs or verbal "I love you!" phrases, I truly loved them and did the best I knew how at the time for them.  And that I taught the importance of values, tradition, and personal identity both in our family and as a child of God.  

Soooo...this is what is on my "bucket list" with my 73rd birthday on the horizon.

I hope my children would see me as having strived to live a life faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ in spite of making mistakes.  A life in which I was an example of  some of Christ's attributes.  If my headstone could read: "She was a handsome woman", I would be happy.  That doesn't mean handsome in the way we think of physical looks, but a combination of personal traits that blended to make me a person with integrity of character.

I hope that my children could see in me a change over the years in my attitude and behavior. That my faith and my actions were not in conflict with each other.  A person in whom they could see a standard of someone whom they would consider emulating.  

I hope that they will be able to discern, not only that I tried to teach my belief to them, but also that I tried to become a model of what I taught.

I hope that my life would be a resource for them and for my grandchildren.  That they recognize I would have liked to have been their mentor and cheerleader, had they only let me be so for them even after they grew up.

Soooo...Number ONE on my bucket list now?  
NO REGRET AT THE END THAT I DID NOT LIVE A LIFE TRUE TO MYSELF.

"TO BE, OR NOT TO BE"....

END OF AN ERA...

Saturday, September 29, 2018, I finished my last trip with legacy United Airlines.

When I go to DIA on Monday, October 1, 2018, I will be flying as part of the new One United which comprises all flight attendant groups for legacy United and legacy Continental Airlines.  

It has been eight years coming....and most of us are not feeling really keen about the multitudinous changes which have been touted as neither United or Continental.  But it is MORE like the old Continental than it is the old United.

We began wearing the same uniform a couple of years after the announced merger, and there have been lots of other changes already along the way.  However suffice it to say, there has been a really steep learning curve these last few months to begin the new bidding process, learn how to make schedule changes, and adapt to meeting our crew for the first time--ON THE PLANE.  No more briefing in the domicile. This is going to be different!

I was really dreading this change and let the whole thing overwhelm me until I decided to take a different perspective:  It's going to be a brand new job.  And, like any new employment, it's going to be different and awkward sometimes before I actually get the hang of it.  That means months, probably.  

But I have also given myself permission that if the flying is similar to the way it has been with longs days, short nights and no time at home, I will put in my retirement papers after profit sharing comes in March.  I am not going to hold myself to the 20th Anniversary retirement I stated a few months ago.  If it's not working for me, I'm not going to work for them.

For this new unity, I bid to work on planes I am already familiar with in positions I KNOW how to do very well.  I was rewarded with a line that encompassed both those bidding requests.  Plus, I got all four Sundays off and the trips are all two-day trips.  THAT was good!

Though I haven't really liked a whole month of two-day trips before, now I am so ready to move from the assignments that keep me away from home 4 days and 3 nights every time.  At least it will be a good opportunity to take the new job a little bit at a time.  There won't be as much layover money.  But, I'm thinking I am also worth being home more.  

I look around the house and yard as I get ready to go to DIA every time and just wish I could spend more time at home.  Life is slipping by pretty quickly.  I want to capture some of that time at home--in my own bed at night and getting ready in my own bathroom in the morning.

It has been a hard summer of flying this year.  That has also made it easier to think about "cutting the apron strings", so to speak.

My flying partner, with me below, suggested we go out the night before this last trip and celebrate the END OF AN ERA.  I murmured a decline for that, though I did agree to this picture to mark the "goodbye".  

I'll let you know how the new ONE UNITED is working out.....

Georgia with Marilor Klissor on an A320 as we deplaned from 

St. Louis  at the end of my last (I HOPE!) four day trip.

LUCKY BONUS!

Schuyler, Abbey, and Jeremy were in town for several days in July.  As luck would have it--or rather as United would have it--I had to fly TEN of the days they were here.  But on July 31st, I didn't have to leave for DIA until late afternoon.

We arranged for me to meet them at the temple after I played the organ for the 8 a.m. session.  

Lynette brought Orion and Briggs, too.  I wasn't baptized that day, but Schuyler did the Priesthood work for the baptisms and confirmations.

What a great day!  Twice this summer in the temple with my grand boys...it was a nice family experience!

Jeremy on the left, Momma G, Orion, and Briggs

Oh!  the sun was SO bright that day...

And what a treat to be in the temple with Schuyler again.  

I don't get many opportunities to do that either.

JUBILEE CELEBRATION!

Today is August 31, 2018.   Fifty years since I arrived in Denver, Colorado, to make a new life following my May graduation from Brigham Young University.

It is a red letter day in my history, as it is the eventful instance I packed up my 1961 black Ford Fairlane with a broken TV Beth had given me at college, the wooden ironing board purchased at the Near-New Store in Rawlins and repaired by my dad before I left for college , and the few household goods I had used at BYU--plus my clothes--and backed out of the driveway of my home in Rawlins while it was still the gray of early morning dawn.  

When I stood at the door of my dad's bedroom a few minutes before, he had asked me if I needed money.  "No."  I had $300.  That sounded like enough to start a new life.  Then I said goodbye to my parents--HATED goodbyes and had tried to get out without that formality--and bawled all  the way to Fort Collins.  But, as the sun rose my heart looked toward a bright future.  And I literally NEVER looked back.

  

Well, I have previously documented that occasion in the Nichols Family Newsletter and the days following as I found, not only a full-time job at a research library, but also my future husband at a church meeting two weeks after I arrived in  Denver.  

Life couldn't get any better than that.  There was no way but UP!

And, today I celebrate the outstanding 50 years that have held both triumph and sorrow here in my adopted home of Colorado.

On a parallel note, I also celebrate the closing of our Nichols Family home at 7328 Secrest Court in unincorporated Jefferson County on this day in 1979.  What memories I have of those nearly 25 years, as well!

So, here's to one of the best jubilee celebrations I will ever have!  If you have any memories of being with me during these last 50 years, celebrate with me as you reminisce those occasions as well.

I'm looking forward to more years of a wonderful life full of blessings to exceed any imagination.

Happy 50th to the partnership of  Colorado and me!

CHRISTMAS IN JULY: EPILOGUE...

CHRISTMAS IN JULY:  EPILOGUE

THEN:  probably about the 11th of January

I closed the door on the last guest for my 2017 Nativity Festival on January 10th.  Whew! 

It had been an exhilarating seven weeks since I had begun to decorate the house with over 350 Nativity sets and a very spiritual Christmas celebration as I lovingly put everything into place and  welcomed the first guests on December 2nd.  All totaled there were 224 people who signed my guest list, and many others who forgot or I had forgotten to invite them to write their names so I could remember their visit for my special holiday celebration.  No matter....that so many more people came than last time...and the time before that... and the time before that, etc. made all the effort worthwhile.


NOW:  more than six months after I wrote the above introduction of my wonderful 2017 Christmas celebration

So, that means I obviously am not going to write with the exuberance I felt while I was still close to the experience.  And it is going to be abbreviated.  Well, at least the narrative is.  I will have to tell you in person about some of the individual experiences--particularly with non-members like my hairdresser, the man who works for Billy Graham Ministries here visiting his daughter and family, local doctors, people from out of town visiting families who had come other years, some of my United flight attendant friends, old Bookclub members.  That really made Christmas special!  And I wanted to share the pictures which are easier to do than write a lengthy background at this point in time.  The pictures took a long time coming.  And that is why I waited to write the rest.  Then when the pictures did arrive on a flash drive, it has been another three months before I sat down tonight to share them with you.  Hence, Christmas in July!

I think I mentioned before, the Town of Johnstown contacted me in 2016 about being one of the houses on their Christmas tour.  Someone had told the head of the committee about my collection and suggested our house might be a nice addition to the many other houses with showcased lights and elaborately decorated yards.  When the man called me, I told him I would love to!  Except that my deal was an every-other-year deal, and I wouldn't be displaying the Nativities again until 2017.  He agreed to call me the following year.

When I got word from him again in November 2017, I was a little surprised that the date for the tour was December 2nd.  I was expecting sometime later, perhaps mid-month.  Luckily, I had not bid for December yet, and I had some days off the end of November.  It was going to be a full-on effort to get everything ready and hope that my December schedule would give me that first Saturday off.  I got to work.

It wasn't long after that, however, that I got a call from the Johnstown Historical Society telling me that the annual Christmas tour had been cancelled.  Two other houses had withdrawn from the event, and they didn't feel like there was enough participation to go ahead with their plans for 2017.

I was pretty disappointed.  I had already put up about half of the decorations and began to wonder if I wanted to go all out.  But I had already committed to myself two years before to have my biennial Nativity open house in 2017.  And the Young Women had already been invited, as in the past years.  Why feel any differently about it just because Johnstown wasn't going to traipse through my house?  I decided I would set December 2nd as the date for my own open house and welcome any and all visitors with generous helpings of Christmas music, Christmas fragrance, and eye-popping displays of that ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT  presented in so many, many diverse ways.

That's when I also decided that in addition to sending the flyer to my neighbors and friends in my ward and stake--and people from United this time around--I would put a flyer into the storefront windows in downtown Johnstown--all four blocks!  Maybe SOMEBODY in Johnstown would see the flyer and be curious enough to come and see.  I also listed other dates in December I would open my home for people to come and also invited them to call me if they would like to come at a time other than those dates I had listed.

One day early in December I got a call from a young woman who is a reporter for the Johnstown Breeze Newspaper.  A "Christmas angel" had called and put a bug into her ear that she might want to write an article of local interest about a woman in Johnstown who invited people to see her collection of Nativity sets every year that she displayed them.  It turns out, the Christmas angel was none other than my daughter Brittany Wilson who knew this open house was part of my missionary effort and wanted to make sure my effort got maximized.  Boy, did it ever!

We set a date for this young woman to come on a Sunday after Church to interview me and take pictures.  Her name was Brittany Legg, who told me later she was expecting something a little "ho-hum", but she would check it out.  With Brittany's first steps onto the porch and into the house she was enthralled.  She went around the house "oohing and aahing" as she admired the extensive array of sets in various sizes and mediums.  Everywhere she looked, she said, there was something else she hadn't seen before.

Then she began the interview and afterward took copious pictures.  The article was published in the newspaper the following Thursday with the picture of the original homemade Nativity we made as a family in 1972 on the front page.  More of the article followed on an inside page with a picture of me and Louis in front of the big tree by the piano.  I told her some of the sets were new, some had been gifts, and some were from thrift stores as sets, and some were sets made from bits and pieces from other sets and thrift store finds.  Brittany described that in the article as "repurposed".  I like that...it's a really genuine description of what I like to do.

Anyway, the newspaper article generated a lot of visitors I wouldn't have had otherwise--and I was SOOO pleased!  Too many details and now too many months since the interest of Christmas has faded.  It was a lot of work.  Hard work in some cases with the unpacking, climbing up and down ladders and stools.  Tedious work finding just the optimum spot for display, the right poses, adjusting, etc.  The long hours and long days--that literally flew by as I savored the wonderful opportunity I had to bear testimony of Christ's birth in such a unique way.  The memories of how each set or ornament was added to my collection.  That's really a big part of it for me.  And the true Spirit of Christmas that permeated the whole house!

Just let my last sentence above written in January suffice to cover the entire experience....IT WAS WORTH IT!

An eclectic display of both sophisticated and purchased items as well as the ONLY completed project I ever did at a Relief Society Homemaking Meeting.  White and color together made a nice complement to each other.  This year I added the stable on the top right of the cabinet, a three-piece Holy Family I have had for years, and the wire tree from the thrift store.  With the Wise Men on the left, a great scene!

This is the view of the alcoves from the kitchen area.  The upper and lower left and right alcoves are pretty much the same for every display year.  .  This is where it is most conducive to make village dioramas with several sets.

This picture is duplicated down below.  I had this set, whose each piece is on a metal pick, for several years, It looked like it was for use in a floral arrangement.  Never been used.  So, I scrounged around in the boxes down the basement and found this huge garland with the price tag still on.  Scrunched it into the wooden box from the R.S. Super Saturday last October which I had Burgandy finish for me--and, voila!  A nice outdoor set complete with the wooden sign I attached--also purchased sometime or another.  All separate but totally repurposed!

The tree is decorated with only Nativity ornaments and gold balls with a beautiful Nativity set under the tree peeping out from under the branches.  The piano has a variety of "gold sets".

Brittany Legg loved this one I purchased in Sweden--made in Italy, the joke was on me!  She liked the way I displayed it on navy blue taffeta with the "diamonds" scattered about and reflect in the cabinet's back-mirror.

Detail of upper left alcove.  This is two sets together with all the findings like straw and plants to make it "real".

This is a "repurposed" item.  I bought the Nativity set at a Christmas store in California.  The glass terrarium I bought for $1 at Deseret Industries in Salt Lake City. I set it on a gold charger plate from the thrift store on top of a gold placemat from Dollar Tree.  The gold wire trees are items I picked up separately over the years from drug stores, and other places just because I liked them when I saw them. A dollar here.  A dollar there.   And together they look terrific.  The other items fill in the nooks crannies of the secretary desk.  This was a favorite with many. 

Three very different depictions of the Nativity in a variety of materials

Top:  Martha Stewart set bought in Utah.  Never saw this anywhere else online or around the country.  MS knows her demographics.  The table skirt is a beautiful white velvet tree skirt embroidered with "jewels"

Middle:  Another favorite with the visitors.  Purchased at Kohl's years ago, but it's the red that makes it attractive.

Bottom:  Over the front door.  Made out of tin.  Priced new at Hobby Lobby years ago for over $100.  I got it for 80% off after Christmas because some of the pieces were damaged.  And NO baby.  So, I did the repair work.  One King got a new crown. Another got a new gift to present, and Baby Jesus is really a soft chenille rabbit wrapped in a gold lame cloth.  And since no one gets up close to this one, from far away nothing looks amiss.

Simple presentation on a dining room chair covered with a gold napkin trimmed in glass beads bought in Morristown NJ.  Draped Nativity bought 2015 in a gold wood tray I had for years.   You can tell the timeline on some of these as to what was popular at the time.  Draped figures showed up within the last few years.  A different dimension.

And on top in the middle....the Nativity that started it all!  I wanted a real Nativity so much after I taught that RS lesson so long ago.  Ross made the stable from tree twigs in the back yard and backed it with bark.  I made the cardboard cone figures topped by painted face beads.  Harold and Brice's little hands "helped" dress the people from scraps in my sewing box.  Everyone loves the originality and use of materials:  bouillon cube, gold cardboard, a screw for the Wise Men gifts.  Now attached permanently to the tray and displayed year round in my china cabinet.  Lots of memories in this one.  The rest of the table is International.

This is the American Indian set that I won in a lottery at the Western store that used to be at Denver International Airport.  I had seen it on display and asked about  buying one.  The owner said that it wasn't for sale.  He just put one on display every year--already on the board--and then held a lottery for it at the end of the season.  Was I interested?  You bet!  When I got a phone call several weeks later that I had "won the lottery", I thought it was a crank call.  It's about the only thing I've even won in my life.  A little rabbit's fur from Hobby Lobby, beaded placemat from somewhere years ago, and a couple of vases from the thrift store make a really nice presentation.  

This is a shot from the Kids' room, otherwise known as "Please TOUCH these!"  It's kind of dark, but you can see there are several little sets here for the kids to play with--and several more in other places around the room.  One little five year old girl in my Primary had a great time rearranging the animals, people, and the props from one set into another all around the room.  Her dad was sitting there with her while her mom visited the displays in other parts of the house.  It took me a LOOONG time to sort everything out that night after everyone had gone,  but I hope the little girl remembers with fondness her delightful evening.

This was a present from one of the sisters in our ward in Berlin.  The style with an embroidery hoop was a popular way to showcase the beautiful lace panels so prevalent in Germany that tell a story .

Here is one of my personal favorites--and it always goes INSIDE the cabinet on the lower right hand side of the alcove.  I saw this Black Nativity while on a layover in Indianapolis shortly after Louis and I got married.  I hauled it around on the plane for four days after I purchased it.  The stable, the light in the background and the rocks enhance its uniqueness.

There are WAAAAAY more Nativity sets than I have room to display singly, so in this case I encased the plant on the kitchen table with four very different sets with stables that have come from any number of places.

For some reason this display always elicits a lot of comments.  No stable but a long metal tray that came originally with candles in the shape of apples--obviously from our Secrest Court house where apples were the motif in the kitchen/family room.  I guess the secret something was to place them one before the other with the baby at the front.

This is the west wall in the kitchen.  A few years ago I ran out of space to display the Nativity sets on tables and in cabinets around the house, so I took everything off the tops of the kitchen cabinets and started to display some there.  It's evolved over the years.  The set on the right also has NO Baby Jesus.   I got this one from the thrift store, and it is a lovely set.  The funny thing is no one seems to notice there is no baby.   Until Louis tells them to see if they can tell what is different about it.

Can you believe people steal the baby from the stores?!  Store clerks have verified that fact for years.  I often see signs that say something like "Santa will put you on the Naughty List if you take the Baby Jesus!"  The set in the middle is in a jewelry cabinet. Burgandy helped me by lining the cabinet with suede paper and installing the lights at the top.  The sheep reside in the pulled-out drawer. 

The "Silent Night" plate is one of a set of four made by Oneida I saw at a thrift store in Calgary.  I didn't buy the other three and could kick myself.  The other sets are mix and match people, stables, animals etc.  All go together well.

THE FOLLOWING PICTURES I TOOK MYSELF.  I ALWAYS LIKE SOME KIND OF GUIDE TO GO BY THE NEXT TIME I PUT UP THE NATIVITES.  NOTHING IS SET IN STONE.  JUST HELPS TO SEE HOW I DID IT BEFORE.

                          On the fence even--looking out my kitchen window!  This was Louis' favorite this time.

All the homemade ones the kids gave me over the years.

Under the tree up in the loft--also decorated with ONLY Nativity ornaments.

The loft is where the "Lamanite" Nativities are.  This is just part of them.  Kids especially love the

 Eskimo one with the snowflakes around the mirror with the little grey seal on it.

More of the Lamanite Nativities.  Also in the loft.

On the small wall in the hall between the laundry room and our bedroom.  I used EVERY available space!

Nothing but Wise Men, in sets, doubles, singles, and several other depictions, too.  I like this display.

                          

This is the top of the dining room table.  This has stayed pretty much the same display since we got to Johnstown.

This set I also purchased while on a trip for work.  This time in Seattle, and carried it around for days.  It is sitting on a lovely lace cloth with part of the Nativity story in every corner.  Also ranks up there with the favorites.

This set was a gift from a recent convert a few years ago.  I have displayed it several different ways.  I like this one.

This is a total "repurposed" set.  The figures are Italian.  The arch is from the hardware store--part of a garden dwarf scene.  The copper bucket from a find when I was in Orlando, the gold tray, which I covered with burlap, 

was purchased in Calgary at a thrift store.  I also bought at a floral shop the low greenery bushes that same day in Calgary.  

This was my year round display a few years ago.  It was on the piano.

AND MORE AND MORE AND MORE.....AD NAUSEUM FOR YOU BY THIS TIME, I GUESS.  BUT I HAVE SUCH A GOOD TIME WITH THIS WHOLE PROJECT IN SPITE OF THE HEAVY WORK LOAD IT BRINGS TO PUT UP THE DISPLAY--AND THEN TAKE IT DOWN AGAIN.

THOUGH I SAID I WAS NOT GOING TO DO THIS CHRISTMAS THING AGAIN, I AM ALREADY PLANNING IN MY MIND HOW I COULD MAKE IT EVEN BETTER NEXT TIME!

WE'LL SEE.....