The House Santa Missed

We lived in Kearns for many years. Kearns is a working-class community located in the south west part of Salt Lake Valley. It’s a community rich in the love and caring of its people, where the standard for helping others was set high by such giants as Myron White and many others.

Myron was the stereotypical giant of a man whose heart mirrored the size of his hands and feet. At his funeral, his son Mike confided that Myron wore size seventeen-triple-E shoes, “…and he complained that they were a little tight,” Mike said.

I know that if you tried to fit the heart of this gentle giant in both of those shoes, it would not fit. I know, because my family and I were the recipients of his love and caring. I tried and miserably failed to live up to his example of caring.

For Myron, the day was short and the work was never ending. It was not unusual for him to get up at three in the morning to start welding and hammering on some item in his garage workshop for a needy person in the area. While the family complained about his early start, his neighbors never did. They knew that he was working on some project for a widow or some friend in need.

This story is not about Myron. I just mention him to let you know that we lived in a community where the standard of neighbor helping neighbor was set high by a loving stake president and bishop who cared about people and demonstrated his love by his actions.

During the holidays, the Spirit of Christmas permeated our neighborhood. The Christmas lights on the homes lit our hearts and gave us the strength to complete the shopping before the holidays. In all the hustle, we never forgot each other.

Christmas time is a time for giving and for sharing. Since many of us were working class, we gave each other many homemade goodies. The First Ward had a pixy project, not unlike other communities, where treats were given anonymously to neighbors. I vividly remember many of them that our family enjoyed. There were the caramels made by Debbie D., and the green and red popcorn balls made by Sharon Heiner. Karla Stephens made sure the Cub Scouts had handmade gifts for their families. We still keep the Christmas calendar made my Jay in cubs, each bead that is moved along it’s ring, counts off another day closer to Christmas.

I like to fix a dish which consists of cooked sausages smothered in a mixture of brown sugar and orange juice. This concoction was then covered with festive red-delicious apples and green Granny Smith apples—appropriate Christmas colors—sprinkled with cinnamon. This dish was shared with friends and neighbors. While the dish was fun to make and share, being on limited budgets, we had to select the people who got this gift each year.

On a particular Christmas day I was headed to the Heiner’s house with a plate full of my sausage dish. They lived kitty corner from our house. I had crossed Heath Avenue and was in the middle of Mountain Men Drive when one of the strongest impressions I have ever received came to my heart and mind. Clear as a winter morning after a snowfall, I heard the Spirit, “You are going the wrong way. You need to go back to the house you just passed.”

In the middle of the street, I did an about-face and went to the house directly in front of our house. A young family lived there. They had moved in late in the summer. The family consisted of the father, the mother and four beautiful girls.

I had been there before to help install a light switch in one of the basement rooms and I enjoyed talking to the mom and dad since they too were from Mexico. It was refreshing to speak in Spanish with them.

I rang the doorbell, not knowing the reason I was prompted to come back to the house. The dad and the oldest girl came to the door. I think the girl was there in case she needed to translate. I could see the awkward feeling in her face. I know that feeling since many times, I had to translate for my mother and father when growing up. It is particularly hard when you are young and learning English yourself. What I did not see was the deeper hurt which lay hidden behind her apprehensive smile.

I told them that in my family we made this dish around Christmas and we liked to share it with some of the neighbors and friends. I asked if they would accept it. They said that they would love to have it and invited me in. The daughter yelled into the house, “Lalo” –that’s my nickname.—“brought us a dish and it smells delicious.”

The father invited me to have some Christmas tamales, a tradition from Mexico. As I walked up the steps into their living room, I asked the oldest what Santa had brought her. That’s when my Christmas adventure began.

As her eyes filled with tears, my heart filled with love and I knew why I had been asked to come back to this house. “I don’t know why,” she said through her tears, “but, Santa was not able to find our house last night.”

I tried to sooth a broken heart, “Maybe Santa couldn’t find you because of your new address,” I said, miserably failing to convince her. “The elves must have gotten busy and did not have time to update the address list,” I added.

I could see the devastation in her face. In her eyes I could read the unasked questions, “How could Santa forget her address? Weren’t the elves supposed to be magical and do all things, how could they forget to update an address?”

Trying to appease her, I said, “Maybe, you will get gifts on the 6th of January.” In many parts of Mexico, and many Latin American countries, the 6th of January is known as “El día de los magos.” The day of the Magi, when tradition maintains, was the day the kings from the orient brought their gifts to the Christ Child.

The father looked at me and I could hear the sadness that I saw in his face, “It’s been a hard year, and I don’t think we will have gifts this year.” Trying to change the subject and willing to share what little they had, he said, “Come in have some tamales and take some to Mary and your family.”

That day, I ate the tastiest tamales I have ever eaten—you see they weren’t just filled with meat; they were filled with love, and were an offering of the best they had to give. It reminded me of the widow’s mite. They willingly offered me all they had to give. I was humbled at the offer.

I bit into the first “tamal”—this is the singular, in Spanish, not “tamale” the “e” is only added when you make it plural “tamales”. In Mexico, it is not polite to turn down food, so I was offered and ate a second tamal and then a third. As I finished the tamales, my mind was racing and my mission for the day became clear.

While I was eating, my mind kept asking, “What would the Lord do if he was here? Why had He inspired me to come here?” As I ate the tamales, I concluded that He must have wanted me to help. Before I left, I asked the father’s permission to bring a few presents for his family and he graciously agreed.

With a dozen warm tamales in hand, I walked across the street; joy filled my heart and I had a mission to accomplish. The reason for going there became crystal clear in my mind. I was on a mission that would require the whole family. Unknown to me at the time, this mission would also involve many of our friends.

When I got home, tears welled up in my eyes as I related to the family what had happened. I was proud of the children, they quickly gathered gloves and scarves and toys and other things that they wanted give the family. These were some of their own gifts, which they willingly gave. The spirit of giving, the true spirit of Christmas, permeated our home.

Then, Jelena, our youngest daughter, came up with the idea, “Rob has a Santa suit, maybe he can come and take the presents to the family.” A phone call was made, Rob not only agreed, but he called his family and many more presents were immediately gathered by his parents and his brothers, sisters and their families. Their hearts were opened and a community reached out to a family in need.

By that evening, Rob not only delivered the presents, he apologized to the little girls for an “oversight” by his elves. “They forgot to update my computer when I left,” he told them in Spanish. He added, “I didn’t have your new address,” as he handed out the presents.

“You speak Spanish too,” the little girls asked Santa. “Yes,” Santa said, “Every year after Christmas, I go on vacation to Mexico. I had to learn Spanish.” Rob, who had been on a Spanish speaking mission, was able to pull it off.

Before the end of the day, joy had replaced sorrow. Many people’s hearts were turned to a spirit of giving. Page, Rob’s wife was even able to find a store that was open on Christmas Day and was able to shop for clothes for the whole family. A Christmas tree was decorated in the living room, a bike for the oldest girl was brought, toys for the younger ones, coats and work clothes for mom and dad were bought and given. A grateful family accepted the gifts and many people’s lives were touched by the true spirit of Christmas.

I am glad we lived in Kearns. I learned from such great men as Rob and Myron White, and many others, the true joy of giving. I will forever be grateful for the promptings of the Spirit that made me turn around in the middle of the street and go the back to the house that Santa missed. That has to be the best Christmas I have ever had!

Lessons from my granddaughter Alexis (Lexi)

One of the joys of being a grandparent is that you can dote on your grandchildren all you want. Sometimes, you even try to teach them. But the greatest joy one receives is when they unknowingly teach you a lesson that sinks deep into the core of your being.

One of my daily joys is to have two of my grandchildren come every school day for breakfast. Jakson and Lexi are dropped off by their parents around 7:20 on school days. I have the pleasure of fixing them breakfast on those days. I try to fix something nutritious and appealing every morning.

This experience has taught me how hard it is to plan meals every day, with variety and nutrition in mind. I now realize why my wife would get frustrated when she would ask, " What would you like for dinner (or breakfast or lunch)?" I would always cop out the answer, “Whatever you want.”

What she was saying, without really admitting it, was, “I am out of ideas, tell me something so that I don’t have to think of what to fix.”

As I was preparing dinner for Mary, last night, I hit one of those roadblocks. I had run out of ideas and I just wanted something simple. My solution was to go to Costco and buy one of their precooked pizzas. I love their combo.

I called Mary and asked if she wanted to go with me to Costco when she got off work. She said she would come home and pick me up; but, by the time she got home it was late and she was tired, so I suggested we cook some of the frozen pizzas we had in the freezer.

It seemed like a cop out, but it worked out fine. We had a nice dinner of pizza and mixed vegetables. I wasn’t too Italian, but it tasted fine.

I learned a good lesson yesterday, you don’t have to go out for a meal when you have one waiting in the freezer. That lesson paled compared to the lesson I learned from Lexi this morning!

This morning, I fixed a ham, cheese and spinach frittata, hash brown patties, along with cranberry juice, toast, and a raspberry fruit snack. I thought It was quite nutritious and easy to fix. Lexi commented that the frittata was one of her favorite breakfasts. She is so cute, she always compliments my breakfasts, no matter what I cook.

Jakson, in the other hand, is a picky eater. Usually he will have a couple of pop tarts or cereal for breakfast. Today, was no different, he had cereal and some ham pieces, but unlike most days, when he eats a couple of bowls of cereal, today, he just picked at the food. He said he was not feeling well.

I commented on how little he had eaten, and I could see he was not feeling well. He felt bad! He was almost to the point of crying, he felt so bad.

Lexi notice that too. That is when my lesson began!

You see, Lexi is older than Jakson by three years, and when she noticed that he was not feeling well and that he looked sad, her charitable and compassionate self kicked in. In an instant, her role changed. Right before my eyes, she became an older sister instead of a granddaughter.

Granddaughters can be pampered and doted on and spoiled, but older sisters become the doters, the coddlers and the caregivers. I know, because I have an older sister, Chacha. As much as we, her three younger brothers, tormented her when we were growing up, Chacha was a care giver, a doter and compassionate when we were hurt or sick. She still is!

Lexi’s role changed this morning. I saw her become a compassionate, charitable older sister trying to cheer up her ailing younger brother. She tried jokes to lift up his spirits, she tried feeding him and tried comforting words. “You will be alright,” she said trying more to convince herself than to convince him. It was beautiful to see the transformation!

I saw her transformed, right before my eyes, from a young 11 year-old girl to a mature caring person, being charitable with her brother.

The Book of Mormon gives a great definition of what charity is. We read:
(Moroni 7:45 - 47)
45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

(These verses, are very much like what Paul taught the saints in Corinth. See 1 Corinthians 13)

I learned the meaning of charity as I watched Lexi trying to comfort her brother this morning. She was kind, was not puffed up, she sought not her own, believed and hoped that her brother would be well. I saw the pure love of Christ in a young 11 year-old as she showed concern and compassion for her younger brother.

Jakson will be fine. He was just a little sick..

What did I learn this morning? I learned the what it means to be a true brother/sister. I learned by example what it means to have compassion and charity.

Yes, I love to have the grand kids over because I can spoil them, but more than that, because of the lessons they teach me.

Keeping Christ in Christmas!

During this time of year, we spend time and money to decorate our houses with lights. Some lights twinkle on and off as if desperately calling our attention. Others shine in silence illuminating houses with colors. There are red, green and blue lights strung below and around eves and fascias. Making the homes cheery and joyful and inviting; all are announcing the birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ. After all, this is the Christmas Season!

Some houses have lights stung on the inside. Mary, for example, took some garland with holly and white flowers, wrapped it with a string of lights and used to decorate the mantle above the fire place. It looks beautiful, especially when the house lights are turned off. The mantle is lit up with the beautiful colored lights, while below a warm fire glows. I could sit all night and watch this scene.

There was another scene, illuminated, not by lights, but by a star, a little over two-thousand years ago. What a scene this must have been! In a lowly stable, was born the king of kings. The song writer wrote: “I did not go to Bethlehem, or hear the angels sing, but there was magic in the air that made me feel as though I had been there.” (Michael Mclean: The Shepherd: You were not there!)

Yes during this season we too feel the magic in the air and we feel as though we had been there, to witness the birth of the Savior. The twinkling lights remind us of that bright star that announced the birth so long ago!

Through the years this magic continues. It is a season when the Spirit of Christ permeates our being and makes us more understanding, more generous, more charitable. This is the spirit of Christ working in us more during this time of the year!

Christ himself said:”I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (New Testament | John 8:12)

This year, as we decorate our houses and as we decorate our Christmas tree, may we remember that light which shined on the manger and the young child, the son of God, who lay there. As we string our lights, may we remember that He is “the light of the world” and He will not let us walk in darkness.








Para mis amigos hispanos:

Durante esta temporada del año, nos esforzamos tomando tiempo y dinero para decorar nuestras casas con luces. Unas de las luces se prenden y se apagan, como si quisieran llamarnos la atención. Otras en silencio brillan llenando nuestras casas de colores. Unas son rojas, otras son verdes y aun otras son azules. Hacen que nuestras casas brillen con luz y las hacen que las casas se vean alegres y nos invitan a admirarlas. Las luces anuncian el nacimeinto de nuesto Señor Jesucristo.

Muchas casas tienen ristras de luces por dentro. Mary, por ejemplo tomo una ristra de guirnalda y le enredo una ristra de luces. Las colgó sobre la balda de la chimenea. Se ven bien bonitas, especialmente cuando las luces de la casa están apagadas y la chimenea tiene un fuego. Me gusta tanto que puedo durar horas admirando el fuego y las luces.

Hubo otra escena, iluminada por luz, que se desempeño hace mas de dos mil años. Pero esa escena se ilumino por la luz de una estrella nueva, que brillaba y alumbraba un establo. ¡Qué hermosa escena ha de ver sido! En un humilde establo, nació el Rey de Reyes.

Un poeta y escritor de canciones escribió: “Yo no fui a Belén, ni escuche los ángeles cantar, pero había magia en el aire que me hizo sentir como si yo hubiera estado allí.” (Traducido del original de Michael Mclean, The Shepherd: You were not there!).

Durante esta temporada, nosotros también somos participes de esa magia que nos hace sentir como si hubiéramos estado allí, presenciando el nacimiento de Jesucristo, nuestro Salvador. Las centelleo y titilaciones de las luces anuncian el nacimiento que se efectuó hace tanto tiempo.

A pesar de los años, la magia continua y nos llena del espíritu de Cristo. Ese espíritu nos llena de mas comprensión, nos hace sentir mas generosos y caritativos. Este es el espíritu de Cristo obrando en nosotros.

Cristo mismo dijo: “Yo soy la luz del mundo; el que me sigue no andará en tinieblas, sino que tendrá la luz de la vida.” (Nuevo Testamento| Juan 8:12)

Este año, al decorar nuestras casas y al decorar el árbol de navidad, nuestro deseo es que recordemos la luz que brillo en el estable y el niño que allí nació, el hijo de Dios y al poner las ristras de luces, que recordemos que El es la “luz del mundo” y que no nos dejara andar en tinieblas.

De los Alba
Mary y Eduardo
Les deseamos una Feliz Navidad y Un Prospero Año Nuevo

Snow falling: What a beutiful day!

I am looking out the window toward the back yard, watching the soft snow fall. What a peaceful sight. Everything is white and beautiful. The snow covers much of what may be thought of as ugly. It covers the ugly scars, he mud, the dirt, the asphalt, and so on. It looks beautiful with no tracks marring its soft blanket. It’s a beautiful day!

Overnight we got about 3 inches of new snow and it has been snowing all day. Who knows how much snow we will get? I love it! As soon as it stops snowing, I will go outside and start up my snow blower and clean the driveway and sidewalks. Sunday, I got the blower started and cleaned my driveway and also did the whole block. I blew the snow from everyone on our side of the street. Their sidewalks were clean when they came out to shovel or blow their snow. It was my gift to them, a kindness given without regard other than the pure love for them.

I appreciate my neighbors! They help make this a great neighborhood to live in. It is a quiet neighborhood, like the falling snow!

The beautiful snow reminds me that every day is a gift from God! Each day gives us another opportunity to take advantage of His atonement, repent from our sins and draw closer to Him. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” (Old Testament | Isaiah 1:18)

I heard a wise person say, that the greatest gift we can give the Lord is to love and serve one another. I wonder: what I will do to help someone today. During this Christmas season, how will I serve others without selfish motives?

In all the years that I have lived in Utah and Idaho, with all the snow I have seen, I have yet to lose my fascination with it! It is so beautiful! I love to walk in it and feel the snowflakes falling on my face. When it snows at night I love to walk past a street light and watch the now as it comes into the light, drifting slowly in the wind as if dancing to some silent music. As the snowflakes drift past the light, it seems that they are alive, celebrating their own creative uniqueness.

People claim that every snowflake is unique and that no two are alike. With all the flakes that fall, how do they know that? What if they have kindred spirits, another flake that is just like them? Like two people who find each other seemingly by accident, yet they know that their spirits are bound for eternity, not just till “death do us part.” Watching the falling snow makes me feel that they are drifting, searching for that kindred flake. Take time to look sometime and see that they don’t fall straight down: they drift in the wind, as if searching for their kindred partner.

I love to watch the snow fall. I am weird enough that I even enjoy driving in it, especially at night! The lights from the car form cones of light that illuminate the falling snow. I love to hear the tires gripping the snow as they turn. Oh, and don't get me started about cutting doughnuts in the parking lot. What a thrill! :)

Have a wonderful day, and do something special for someone that is in need, make their life beautiful too!

Update on Transplant--Doing well

Here I am in the picture, 11 days after the operation.

I guess it is time to update this blog. It has been almost a month since my kidney transplant and things are going really well. I am so grateful for the many blessings that have come into my life. I appreciate all the phone calls and visits that have been made by friends and family. I particularly appreciate the many prayers that were offered in my behalf. They really work!

Since the operation, many things have been happening that were surprising. I expected that the operation would allow me to feel better, what I did not expect, was how much better I have felt since the operation. Before the operation, I was always tired and felt sick all the time. Now I have much energy and feel like I can do much and not get tired.

What a wonderful blessing this has been in my life. Jared d does not know how wonderful this blessing has been to me. I appreciate him even more than I did before. It is truly a great gift he has given me. I hurt when he hurt and I was worried about him the first couple of days, because he was in so much pain. It made me appreciate the sacrifice that he made for me!

Jared is back to work and has been working for the last three weeks! He is getting his strength back and will soon be up to where he was before the operation.
I have set goals for my self that deal with exercising. I started walking on the treadmill once a day for half-an- hour., and have been able to increase that to 78 minutes a day. Now I am walking 3 miles per day and I have felt the effect already. I am sure that as I continue, my insulin intake will decrease, as my body requires less insulin and is able to better metabolize the insulin I take. I am monitoring my sugar as much as I can, usually every two or three hours and have had great results; however, I am fighting a battle with the sugars because some of the steroids that they have given me make the blood-sugars jump dramatically. My goal is to have my A1c around a 6, but it will take me some time to get there.

For Thanksgiving, Mary prepared a great feast for my immediate family. I missed the big party for Dad’s 90th birthday on Thanksgiving Day because I am under restriction from the doctors to avoid large groups of people. That restriction will remain in effect until the end of December. However, if you wish to visit, you may, on the condition that you are not sick. My immune system is suppressed and I am susceptible to illness. So if you are sick, wait until you get better and then come visit, or better yet, call me on the phone!

I have appreciated all the help the family has given. They have taken good care of me and have watched out for me and for Jared. Jay was a trooper! On the first night he stayed in the hospital overnight and would go between my room and Jared’s to check up on us. He spent the whole night there.

Jessica was with me and Jared a couple of days also. She took time off work to make sure we were OK! She would look out for the sick ones as well as for Mary. I appreciated the visits from Jelena, also and all she did for us. Joel was in the hospital quite a bit of the time also. Thank you all for your help and concern.

When I got home, Mary took great care of me. She would help me dress and would pamper me more than I deserved. I am sure grateful for all she has done. She would not let me do anything until I was ready. She fixed my meals and made sure that I was getting all that I needed to heal. She would take me to my appointments and would make sure that I was comfortable as we traveled to and from home. I have sure appreciated her care! I love her more than I did before and feel the kind loving spirit that she has.

Once again, I want to thank all those of you who have expressed wishes and prayers in my behalf.

Patient Update

Dad and Jared seem to be doing well. They are anxiously awaiting their release from the hospital. We are hoping that Jared may be going home later today. It looks like Dad may be released tomorrow.

At this time, we are primarily concerned with Guelito (my dad's father) and Sylvia (my cousin), who are also in local hospitals. Guelito spent the night at LDS hospital. From what I have been told he has been asking for a diet coke - that is a good sign right? We hope he will be feeling better and be able to get out of the hospital soon. My aunts and uncles have been taking good care of Guelito in the hospital. Sylvia is at another hospital. We hope that she will start healing and feeling better soon.

More updates and some better pictures will be posted later today. We want to thank everyone for checking the blog and for all of the calls, text messages, emails, and well wishes. We have been blessed in so many different ways. Love you all!

On the mend

I spent all day at the hospital with Dad and Jared today. Dad is doing really well. He is up walking around. His kidney function tests continue to look great. He is in good spirits. He loves Mexican music and spent the morning listening to it on his iPod. Today he learned how to get in and out of bed without putting much strain on his incision. He also has this new trick for putting his socks on and taking them off. He has been a great patient!

Jared had a tough day yesterday. He was in better spirits today. His kids sent Froggy and Jeffrey to spend the day with their dad. Froggy is Lexi's stuffed frog. Jeffrey is JJ's stuffed monkey. The kids sleep with these stuffed animals. They love them almost as much as their parents. Jared and Dusty love Froggy and Jeffrey too, they have hosted birthday parties at their house for them.

Thanks for all of the visits. We had some fun visiting with family members and friends who have dropped by to say hello.