Happy New Year

 It IS brand new!  Happy New Year!

Christmas Came

Surreal as it seems to me, Christmas came.  I am mentally still  somewhere back in June. "Really?  It's Christmas time?"  I keep asking myself.  This probably wasn't my best Christmas. I certainly wasn't on my game.  And yet, in some ways it was better.  I am trying to decide what I want my Christmases to look like in the future.  This year I didn't do any preparations until 2 weeks before the day.  Good in that I didn't drag the stresses out for months, bad in that I forgot lots of things like teacher gifts, sending anything to TY's work associates or bosses, and we didn't pull off any kind of Christmas service.  What do you think?  Is it best to send hand made, clever  Christmas gifts to your children's teachers or a cutie like I did this year?  Simplicity or thoughtfulness?  My biggest success this year was deciding that TY and I would not give each other gifts.  (He didn't totally stick to the rules, but he was pretty good).  He is a really good gift giver, but as nice as his gifts are, I always feel that we spend too much at Christmas, not to mention the stress I go through buying for him.  (He's hard!)  For me it was great.   I hope he wasn't too disappointed.  I think the kids were happy and that's the best part.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

There are 3 more days before Christmas.  I should be baking and delivering, keeping the house clean and nice, making gingerbread houses with the kids.  But I don't seem to have the energy.  That and I'm nursing a sore back.  I did however mention in a whisper to each of my kids that they could work on a little something for their siblings for Christmas, maybe a homemade item.  So they have been busy working on their gifts (with some help from mom, but not much).  I think it will add some sweetness to the holiday, but I know for a fact it has added a lot of mess I'm too tired to clean up.....hope I'm not getting sick.

Sitting Bull

Gman had a book report due some time in January, or so we thought.  He came home yesterday and informed me it was actually due tomorrow.  Ha.  Just what we needed to worry about this week.  But actually, it wasn't too bad.  He had already read the book, a biography of Sitting Bull.  The reports can be in any form.  So he decided since Sitting Bull drew pictures as opposed to writing his history, he would do the same.  He chose to make a tee pee and decorate it with pictures that represent important events in Sitting Bull's life.  I was impressed with his drawings.  I did not help him with these.  He will give an oral report and share more detailed information with the class.

O Christmas Tree

All lit up and decorated, it ended up being one of my all time favorite trees.  It turned out so pretty.  Unfortunately it's dead now.  I hope we can make it until Christmas.

The most compelling and intriguing thing about Guatemala is her people.  Here are some pics of new friends that we made as well as some that typify the lifestyle.  

Cooking tortillas.

Hauling firewood up the mountain.

Guatemalans like to carpool.

Harold, our guide at the temple, showing us pictures of his family.

Marguerite.

Jeremy.

A type of housing we saw a lot of.  

Nixon, our guide in the jungle.  He does amazing howler monkey calls.

Tikal

 Tikal was the exclamation point on the trip to Guatemala.  You have to take a small plane to get up to Tikal.  The ancient temple ruins are amazing!  The interesting thing is there are thousands of ancient buildings still covered by the earth here.  You can see them as you walk through the jungle.  "huh....doesn't take an archeologist to see there's a temple there."  It's still a fairly new discovery and they are uncovering the sites continually.  This is Temple 1, the most commonly photographed temple but not the largest.  Temple 4, the largest isn't completely uncovered, so harder to photograph.

Atop temple 4.  Oh my.  I guess I'm kind of afraid of heights.  I actually am fine, it's just I don't trust other people and heights, especially children.  When people are messing around and one slip results in death, I can't look.  Mom and I were so stressed at the top.  I couldn't get Gman down fast enough.  But....it was really amazing.

The picture above is the view.

 I was definitely picturing the ruins differently.  I thought, "yea there's going to be a million steps up the temple, better get in some kind of shape."  But, I pictured the tour bus would drop you off, there would be the temples just like it is on the park map.  But that map is a little deceiving.  No, first you have to hike through the jungle for miles just to come to the first  two temples.  But mostly you can't see any of the other sites from the one you are at.  They're just hidden in the jungle.  It totally blew me away that we were wandering through the jungle.  It was just our family and our guide.  He was a fantastic guide too.  I think he took us on unbeaten paths where most tourists weren't going.  (kinda scary, but cool)  We saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys.......oh my gosh, the howler monkeys were fierce.  They sounded like roaring lions.  Sooooo scary! ........a crocodile, and other animals I didn't know existed and of course I don't remember their names.

 So happy that Grandma and Grandpa agreed to come with us on this trip.  They really made it.  They are so fun to travel with!  They love everything they see, even with all their traveling they are still so easy to please and just like to experience new things.  They are great sports about any tricky situation that might come up.  I loved having them along, and it made it all the more fun for Gman.  Plus, Grandpa wouldn't admit it, but he really is a linguist.  His abilities with the language were so helpful.  TY knew a lot more Spanish than he let on too.  After the week was over I thought even I had picked up a few things.  "Donde esta el bano, por favor?"

 My favorite was when my mom yelled out "ALTO!" while we were traveling.  She's not a back seat driver, really she was very relaxed ....well, sort of.  But she couldn't think of the word in English!  (Stop!)  I laughed and laughed.

Yeah!

 This is really what we did most on this trip.  Luckily Grandpa brought his cards.  (10 hour layover in LA!)  He taught Gman several card tricks and games.

Our hut in Tikal.  It was a lot like camping.  There was a shower, but it was so scary, you wouldn't use it and it was so muggy you just figured you'd feel just as sticky and gross afterwards, so don't waste your time.  We did have beds.  The power was on during certain hours of the day.  From 6:30 - 8:30 am, 2:30-4:30 pm, etc.  So you have to try and think when you might be needing power.  Mostly we didn't.  We just camped.

A Few Things I Learned

My perspective since our GIANT wind storm (hurricane as I call it) has changed.  I realized a few things.  The main thing of course was that our house is useless without power in the winter.  That's not good.  That will change.  I was glad that out of frustration with cordless phones (always dead and batteries that won't hold a charge) I purchased an "old fashioned" phone with a cord.  That worked.  I realized I want a truck and big chain saw and Carharts and other good hardy resources like that.  For sure!  All these things.  But the thing that you might not think of that was huge for me was this.  After spending the days in the COLD, working hard physically, and having a little bit of stress or worry from the situation I would "come home" to my parent's house and step into a warm, clean home where my mom had fixed us a hearty warm meal.  I have known the importance of these things, but now I was feeling it.  So important!  Sometimes these things get put on the back burner and don't get done at my house.  Nurturing my family in this way seems more important to me now.  Also, when the hurricane came I was behind in my laundry - of course I had just returned from a trip and instead of doing laundry, worked outside preparing for the storm- had dishes in the sink and the storage room as usual was disastrous.  Then, with no power for several days, things only get worse.  Especially with children fending for themselves at home while I was gone working.  Can't do laundry, can't do dishes, can't use the disposal, can't find things in the storage room in the dark.   Hope this experience will stay fresh in my mind and help me be a little more like the wife and mother I want to be.

Lake Atitlan

 Panajachel is a little town on the edge of Lake Atitlan.  3 volcanoes surround the lake.  It is gorgeous!  So beautiful.

 A little lunch.  Eating was tricky.  You couldn't drink the water, or any drinks with ice.  You couldn't eat anything that had been washed with water.  Also, you might wonder how long the chicken had sat outside in the market before it was purchased.  We tried to be careful, but eventually we broke most all of the rules.  No one ended up sick.  Well, I guess it is possible we all have parasites and just don't know it yet.

 View of the lake and San Pedro from our hotel.

 So happy to be here with Gman.  What a great time we had with him.  He was a great traveler, never complained, was easy to please and I think he learned a lot.  He even remembers things like the names of volcanoes, and height of ancient temples.  I think I don't even make note of these things because I know I'll forget.  TY and I have traveled a fair bit together, always in the states, but still we've done some trips.  Traveling with your child makes things all the more meaningful.  (Notice I didn't say traveling with young childREN).  How does the world look in their eyes?  What do I want him to learn from this experience?  What  can I learn?  How can this bring us closer together?  We were very lucky to be able to have this experience with him.

I traveled with my dad a lot when I was young.  Some times I don't remember all the details of the places we've been.  However, I know those trips helped to shape my character and are a part of who I am.  I hope this will be true for Gman as well.

 The little taxis in Guatemala are called
"Tuk-Tuks".  Are they awesome?

Stray dogs are everywhere in Guatemala.  Usually they are mangy, crippled, and sick.  Always they are skinny.  Only once did I see a dog that belonged to someone.  This little guy was perched up on this store front like he owned the street.

Quetzaltenango

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.  The temple open house.  The reason for our visit.  I feel very grateful and fortunate for the opportunity to see the temple and have this experience.  TY of course was the designer on this project and has been working on it for the last few years.  We said in the beginning that when it completed we'd try and take Gman along with us to see it.  I am always amazed at what he is capable of doing.  The details are so well thought out, have significance to the people in the area it serves and are so stunning.  The temple was gorgeous!  (I guess I ought to give him more leeway in our own home, but I don't.  We never agree.)  Once the people here found out TY was the designer, (my dad is very proud of his son-in-law and has a big mouth) it was like we were celebrities.  They were so grateful.  We had our own English speaking guide and lots of attention.  Some ladies waited for us to get out of the temple to take a picture with TY.  Once we completed our tour, they asked if we would stay and do an interview on camera for the history.  They asked TY a few questions through interpreters and then asked him to bear testimony.  This was a particularly sweet experience.  I was so happy to hear his testimony and his fondness for the people and for this project.  My mom bore a sweet testimony and told the people how BEAUTIFUL their children are.  (She had been noticing the children everywhere, how beautiful their faces are!)  My dad told them about TY, that he's a descendent of Brigham Young's brother and that he thought he would be pleased with the work he had done.  I also shared some thoughts, mainly my gratitude.  I was so happy that we had this experience and that Gman was able to hear such sweet testimonies from his family.  I hope it meant something to him and that he will remember it.  I know I will.  The scripture I think of when I see the contrast of the majority of the country and it's people and that of the feeling of the temple is this:  "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  The people here seem to work so hard to provide for their basic needs.  Life here is difficult for many.  Some of the children don't get to go to school, but start working as soon as they are able.  Their living conditions are less than comfortable.  Their country feels unsafe with machine-gun armed men outside every business or hotel.  Contrast those feelings with that of the temple.  It is has an abundance of light, it offers peace and rest.  A safe haven from the world.  It is so beautiful!  I think it must mean so much to the saints there.  After our temple visit, we spent the evening with old family friends who are presiding over the mission there.  They said the people are so proud of the temple.  Even those who aren't members of the church.  While we were there they received a phone call from a woman who had just been through the open house and would like to be baptized.  

The suspension bridge we had to cross to get to the temple.  Just kidding!  We just found it on our way, we didn't need to cross it.  It was being used however.  

The women were almost always dressed traditionally in these wonderfully colorful, beautiful patterned dresses even when working.  These two were exceptionally nice as they were attending the temple open house.