A Family Letter, with love, from Us to You

Throwing Stones at Playa Negra 2008 Brian Kershisnik

PREFACE

It's December when reminiscences and musings are thick upon the air as people build lists of moments of their year. Into these lists they cut and paste pictures of loved ones I no longer recognize unless I know the list-making and photo-pasting originals so well that I don't really need the photos. They then sprinkle on a holiday border, tri-fold and enclose the whole slurry in a Christmas card in hopes that the shiny-sweet Holiday outer coating will help it all slip on down. Funny, sometimes. Spiritual, sometimes. Always buzzing with many achievements and goals met and super-performing offspring/pets. Bah, and do I hear a humbug? Humbug! From the Victorian gentleman in the back row and the Mormon mom here at the keyboard.
You may well ask why I would feel this way (not that you ever ask. you are too polite). And I don't know. I love Christmas. And hearing from friends. And good photography (though, now I think of it--no, on second thought, never mind).
But. Here's the trouble. We don't do it. Haven't for years. For some reason, this is my problem, my failing.
It's not like I have no skills. Some things I can do.
But. I have never been good at Christmas greetings, beyond the traditional and basic "Merry Christmas!" spoken with varying degrees of warmth in the street or on the phone.
And Brian doesn't do the Christmas card thing insofar as it concerns writing any letters or mailing any cards. So.

Maybe it's the holiday borders.
Maybe the postage.

Whatever. Since lately I have been facing up to Hard Things on this blog, I thought I would post a holiday letter to test my endurance levels. Maybe it'll become a tradition.

Kershisnik Family Christmas Letter 2009

And What a Year It Was


Untitled (Angels) 2008 Brian Kershisnik

This year Brian painted in Kanosh, was happy doing it and made enough money. We are more grateful to God for this blessing than we can easily say and also to those who loved Brian's artwork enough to part with some of their own material comfort. This year Brian built a beautiful fence across the back of our yard and we are grateful that while we can now toss baby relatives outside, they cannot escape into greater Provo. Brian's back healed not so very long after the fence was completed and now he is reasonably nice. Again, we are grateful.

Rockaway Beach 2009

This year Noah lived in Heritage Halls at BYU, across the street from our new house. He loved it. We actually saw very little of him except on Sundays when he always came for dinner. In the summer, he moved home and we loved that. Then, on his sisters' first day of school, he walked up that same street with his two rolling bags and straight into the MTC without looking back. I watched him walk away, waiting for that last look over his shoulder, wondering if he was really just going to walk right away from us but thinking, this is what you raised him to do. And he did. Then he flew away to Hong Kong to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in Mandarin and now he lives across the world from the house in Provo. Sundays are very empty, but we are grateful. You can read his letters at eldernoah.blogspot.com.

Dance Company Photo 2009

This year Eden played all sorts of sports and then quit them to dance and have a life. She found out she likes it. In Life there is studying and getting lots of good grades and seeing the results of that. There is having time to have a job and spending the results of that. There is being president of stuff at church and liking that. There is time for friends and dance trips and Facebook and texting and dances and playing and that is really great if you are Eden or one of her friends. You can read about her Life at asyouhappentoseeitwillhappentobe.blogspot.com. If you see her, encourage her to clean her room and we will be grateful.

Rockaway Beach 2009

This year Leah signed herself up for things. Ballroom, band, the wonderful Wasatch choir (before school--eew!), Shakespeare play, ski school--I could pretend the list goes on and on. Oh, wait, the class Christmas party committee. My little over-achiever. Anything, in fact, that doesn't involve a ball. Though she recently confided to me, in a dark, confessional tone, that she is pretty good at soccer. There was a pause while we blinked at each other and she seemed to be waiting for a response. I told her that we loved all our children equally, no matter what path they pursued in life. She hit me, but gently. I was grateful. She has a blog and when she's older I'll tell you about it.

Running Carefully 2008 Brian Kershsinik

This year I worked on learning this new house and how to love it. I started Henry V at Wasatch Elementary. I read (there's a list) 79 books. So far. This year my sisters organized us into a beach house in Rockaway, Oregon where we tried to play hacky sack with our kids in the sand till they fell down laughing. May you all have a beach house memory in your life. I made new friends and old friends. I started this blog, which was/is a Hard Thing. I took care of my children in all the ways I knew. All. It is my privilege and I am eternally grateful.

I wrote a Christmas letter.

You read it.

We are Christmassing together.


Merry Christmas to you, and to yours. Mine are working hard at Merry and Bright. We love you, love hearing about your years, love sharing your lives. We bear to you, as our most precious gift, the testimony we carry in our hearts of the divinity of the baby whose story we tell and celebrate in the bleak midwinter. We are convinced following His teachings will bring love and joy to you this year and happiness in all the years to come.
Let your heart be light.

thanks to Eden and Julie M. for the photos