The Christmas Angel

Rulan shared a Christmas story with us on Sunday that is now among one of my favorites. He emailed it to me and this is what I got:

Yes, Rulan, I know you like fishing. I haven't forgotten. Now, about that Christmas story?.... ;)

The Christmas Angel

This is one of my favorite Christmas stories. It was taken out of Bess’s journal by her great-granddaughter, Tamra K. Stitt. Many years ago Tamra gave me permission to share this story as she felt that it belonged to a greater audience than her family. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

~Janet Walgren

Christmas Angel

In the early 1900’s my great grandfather homesteaded what is called Burns Creek, Idaho which is located about fifteen miles above Heise Hot Springs. My Great Grandfather was a rough, tough old trapper who built the first road along the Snake River to Tablerock and then on to Burns Creek by hand. He had lived in the wild all his life. He trapped for a living and sent his furs to a fur trader who arranged to send his daughter out to Idaho for Carl to marry. My great grandmother was seventeen years old when they were married. She kept a detailed journal of her experiences in her new home. She hated Burns Creek, Idaho. She wrote how isolated and alone she felt. She wrote the following story in her journal.

Bess was now twenty-four years old and pregnant with her fourth child. She had asked Carl if he would take some of his furs to the valley and trade them for supplies and the things she had asked for on her Christmas list. She was embarrassed at how much she was asking for. Her list consisted of peppermint, chocolate and a little piece of yard goods to make her only little girl a new dress. Carl agreed to make the trip to the valley and also to bring her home a Christmas tree. He left her in fine shape. He had chopped lots of wood and all she had to do for the three days he would be gone was go to the barn and milk the old cow.

She wrote that the first day he was gone that she and the children made cookies for Christmas and a thick pudding. They made paper chains for the tree their father would bring back to them. The second day a tremendous blizzard hit the mountain. It snowed and the wind howled for the next two days. When the storm finally subsided, she wrote how she tried to get out of the cabin to milk the bellering old cow, but that an ice drift had formed over the front of the cabin. She had to take an ax and chop through the ice to get outside. She could see how deep the snow was, so she tied a rope around her waist and one to the door stop and started out through the drifts towards the barn. She could see that the snow was much too deep and the ice too slick, so “being with child” she didn’t dare go any farther than a few yards. She turned around and went back to the cabin. She felt bad for the cow and said a silent prayer that Carl would hurry home this Christmas Eve Day.

 The day came and the day went. It grew late into the night of Christmas Eve. Bess wrote that of all Carl’s good habits… promptness was his very best trait. She knew in her heart that something dreadful must have happened or he would have returned home by now. The children grew cranky and could not understand why their father and their tree had not arrived. She wrote she was just about to put them to bed when a knock at the door sent her heart flying. She knew it must be Carl. Her oldest little boy flung the door open…and Bess wrote her heart sunk. For there on the other side of the cabin door stood the stragliest old trapper she had ever seen. But to three little children on Christmas Eve, an old man with a white beard, a pack on his back and a tree in his hand was certainly welcome. They started to shout, “It’s Santa… It’s Santa.”

 The trapper must have sensed the fear in Bess, for he looked her directly in the eye and said “Bess, Don’t be afraid. Carl is at Tablerock in Spaulding’s trapper’s cabin with a lame horse. He couldn’t make it any farther tonight and I was out on snowshoes checking my traps and agreed that as long as I was coming this way, I would bring you this pack and this tree and he would be along in the morning.” Bess invited him in and fed him hot stew. He put the tree up and helped the children hang their ornaments. Bess judged him to be a good man, as he could recite the story of the nativity by heart. She put the children to bed. The old trapper brought wood in and milked the cow. She asked him if he would like to spend the night in the barn. He said that would be good. He told her he didn’t have any family and he had very much enjoyed spending this Christmas Eve with her children. She thanked him for his trouble an invited him to join them in the morning for Christmas breakfast. He seemed very happy.

 The trapper retired to the barn and this was the first time Bess had been able to look inside Carl’s pack. Her heart soared. In the pack were: peppermint, chocolate and a beautiful piece of yard goods. Her Christmas would be perfect. She put the pack under the tree with the hand-carved horses and sleighs for the boys and the dollhouse for her little girl that Carl had so carefully carved himself. She then went to bed herself, feeling content knowing Carl was safe and her Christmas was perfect.

 The morning came and Bess was caught up in the children’s excitement. It was late into the morning when she realized the old trapper had not joined them for Christmas breakfast. By this time her little boy was shouting that he could see his father coming over the hill. They all met him at the door. The children were so excited to tell their father they had their “very own Santa Claus locked in the barn!” Carl looked perplexed and sent the children into the house. He looked at Bess and asked her who was in the barn. She quickly explained that it was just the old trapper he had sent with the tree and pack. That she had let him spend the night in the barn to repay him for his kindness.

Carl looked so puzzled and then he explained. He had never made it to the valley. He had made it as far as Tablerock when the storm hit. He went to the trappers cabin to wait the storm out. When he was tying his horse by the river, he saw an old trapper fall through the mush ice. It took three of them to get him pulled out from under the ice. When they took him into the cabin, they knew would never make it. So they wrapped him in a blanket and laid him by the fire. The storm had subsided some and they decided to go ahead and try to make it to the valley. The three saddled their horses and started back down the road. Carl said he had only went a few hundred yards, when a strange feeling came over him. He could not just go leave that old man to die alone at Christmas.

He sent the “two young bucks” onto the valley and he returned to the trappers cabin and to the old man. He told Bess he just kept the fire going and the old man would drift in and out of consciousness. Carl said he told the old trapper about his wife and family and how disappointed they would be that he never made it to the valley to pick up the peppermint, chocolate and little piece of yard goods for Christmas. He told him how much he loved his family and how he looked forward to just being back home with them. But for right now they were alone and without a Christmas tree on Christmas eve. The old man died in Carl’s arms.

Bess started to cry. The pages in her journal are tear stained as she wrote how she knew that she would find no trapper in the barn. There were no snowshoe tracks in the snow. She told Carl that she thought she had had the greatest blessing on earth… She had been allowed to entertain an angel on Christmas Eve because Carl had shown such unconditional love of Christ through caring for a dying old trapper on Christmas Eve. There was no trapper in the barn… but, she told Carl she had proof he had been there… for in the cabin underneath the Christmas tree was the pack with peppermint, chocolate and a little piece of yard goods.

 She wrapped up the yard goods in white paper and left them to me with a letter telling me never to use the fabric, for it was from heaven. She told this story countless times to our family and it has become part of our Christmas tradition.

 My Great Grandmother died when I was six years old… on Christmas day!

~ Tamra K. Stitt

The Graduate

From its founding as a pioneer academy to the modern university it is today, Brigham Young University-Idaho continues to build upon a rich legacy of progress and innovation. Guided by its affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, BYU-Idaho seeks to create a wholesome learning environment in which students can strengthen their commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and receive a quality education that prepares them for leadership in the home, the community, and the workplace.

Our college days at BYU-Idaho have come to a close. While there is much to look forward to and many adventures to be had elsewhere, we will greatly miss Rexburg and all the adventurous memories we've made here. But the nice thing about memories is that we take them wherever we go, right?

I'm just glad one thing we won't be taking with us is student loans. Very glad.

I was one proud woman as Josh made the four-years-of-dedicated-studying walk across the I-center stage to receive his baccalaureate diploma in Horticulture. A college graduate! Way to go, Josh! I was all smiles all evening long! :)

 Josh is under one of those black caps down there! :)

 In the greenhouses....his second home...that he (we) are sad to be leaving

He's really from Grant, Idaho in case anyone was wondering. And just for clarification the BS means something bachelor related, not what most people think when they hear "BS." 

 Kathy will soon have a fancier robe to wear from ISU! :)

 If I haven't mentioned it already, we are SO HAPPY to have Skyler here!

 Here's my graduation picture since I didn't walk for my bachelor's degree last year.

Josh and Rulan walking to the Icenter, probably talking about their ice fishing trip on Saturday.

One of my favorite things is getting letters/packages/emails/calls from my mom! Well, a Christmas package came in the mail for all of us kids in Idaho. It was sitting at the front door as Josh and I were heading out the door so I brought it with us in the car and without thinking opened it. Then I realized it was a Christmas package and probably should wait for Christmas. So after accidentally seeing all the goodies on top I closed the box and told Josh matter-of-factly that we were going to wait, without peeking. So I put the box in the backseat, but the box "slipped" and dumped out in the backseat....whoops. (not much has changed since I was a kid, mom...I'm still a sneaky peeker). But you'd be proud of me mom because I didn't see everything so we packed it back in the box and taped it up. If we weren't in the process of packing and had a tree I'd put it underneath, but the kitchen table will have to suffice this year. :)

Larisa and I love sharing jokes with each other. Here's her joke of the day:

Thanks for the laugh, Larisa! :)


Love, Aubrey

Utah bound

I went for my 6 week postpartum check-up. They were so kind and gave me (well Sam, I guess) a bib with their Seasons Medical logo embroidered on it. I was sitting in the room waiting for the doctor to come in and stared at this picture wishing they'd give that to me as a gift instead of the bib...they said only the bib is free.

It's like the popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Tuesday was adventure packed. We went and saw our town home and finalized everything with the renting company and picked up our keys. We really like the place and are pretty excited about moving in. The previous renter was there to show us around and almost forgot his doorway pull-up workout contraption...which I was secretly hoping he'd forget. But he didn't. Bummer. 

 

The Red Iguana. Fine Mexican dining. With a plethora of mole flavors. (Josh said that reminded him a lot of Chile). The restaurant is a yellow and red brick building with bumper stickers plastered all over it (seriously, we could barely tell where the door was because it was ALL stickers). But the food was awesome. And the waitress was the BEST waitress I've ever had. Skyler had a question about the menu and she went through all the flavors and let us sample all the mole flavors and without looking at the menu pointed to each option and explained which flavor was served with what. And she spoke in her quick (but still understandable, thankfully) Mexican accent. It was impressive. And then she took our order and didn't even write it down. She repeated it back to us just as we had said it (with all the peculiars of "but without that, and can I have a side of that instead..") and it was all served AS ORDERED. (some waiters can't even do that when they write it all down!). So after we stuffed ourselves beyond full we tipped her rather kindly so she gave us free calendars. We get to the car and open the calendar to find a HUGE picture of Catholic Mary and a very tiny calendar at the bottom. And it was all in Spanish. But hey, that was nice of her to give it to us for free.

 Note the photo bomber (not Skyler...the other one..)

Temple Square Christmas lights. They definitely do a phenomenal job at lighting up the place. We walked around until they turned the lights on then we strolled around temple square and enjoyed the lights and the nativities.

 Photo bombed again, this time by a newly wed couple taking wedding photos. How cute.

 Skyler's hair. :)

 We love the lights! :)

 I love Josh!!

 My camera definitely doesn't do it justice, but you get the picture.

 Skyler's hair is fixed. Phew. (Still being photo bombed by bride.)

 Sam all cozy warm.

The red lights were my favorite. 

My attempt at a group selfie. About as good as it gets, folks. 

On our way back North to Idaho we stopped in the fun little town of Kaysville, Utah and saw Danny and Tiffannie and their kids. They are all growing up so fast! They just bought a house so we had the deluxe tour. Sam woke up hungry so I went upstairs into a room and fed her. 6 year old Ava followed. Which was fine with me because I have a blanket to cover up with while feeding. She said, "What do babies eat?" I said, "Milk." Ava seemed satisfied with that answer until she realized I didn't have any milk in my bag and I was holding Samantha under a blanket. So I explained that I breastfeed and my body makes the milk that she eats. She came over and lifted the blanket to see and then climbed on the bed next to me still curious, finally realizing where the milk was coming from. I was hoping her mom was ok that I was answering all her questions, as simply as possible. Her curiosity was satisfied when I said, "Isn't that cool that Heavenly Father created us so that we can make food for our babies?" Then we changed subjects and talked about first grade and the tooth fairy coming tonight. I'm just glad she didn't ask where babies came from. I've got a few years (maybe, hopefully more) before I have to think about explaining that to curious children.

Josh was packing up his closet and getting rid of some clothes. He put one of my favorite shirts in the DI pile so I took it back out and told him that he should seriously reconsider because the shirt looks so good on him! I told him to model it for us (me, Skyler, and Taylin) and then we'd decide if he should keep it or get rid of it. (I already had my answer...) so he comes out and models it for us...

I still made him keep it. :) 

Life is great. 

Love, Aubrey

 

 

This one's a (picture) book.

I just wanted to start this off by saying how BEAUTIFUL my mom is. Thanks for capturing it so well on snapchat, Anneka! :)



Ok, I should really post more often so I don't write a book each time. I'll make it a picture book so it's not as boring, deal?!

Samantha Jo is as cute as ever. She has the most adorable smile and will laugh in her sleep...it melts my heart. Sometimes she cries. Sometimes she cries a lot. And she doesn't suck on a binky...which is sometimes highly unfortunate (for me, at least.) But, it may be because she's spoiled and likes to suck on my finger instead. I don't know what it is but she LOVES my finger and sometimes it's all she needs to soothe her right into dreamland.

Last night she was fussy for a little bit so I turned on youtube on my phone and listened to The Piano Guys with David Archuleta and Peter Hollens singing Angels we Have Heard on High. They almost instantly dried her tears and watching the video that goes along with it produced tears for me. A bunch of people in Provo got together and broke the world record for largest live nativity. It was PHENOMENAL. And really brought the spirit of Christmas into my heart, at 2 in the morning. It's all a part of the #Sharethegift on social media promoting that we center our Christmas celebration around our Savior Jesus Christ.

Saturday morning at 0738 James and Cali welcomed the newest addition to the Cook family into the world, weighing 8 lb 12 oz, 19 inches long. Her name is as beautiful as she is: Hazel Marie Cook. She has a white patch on her head similar to Sam's. I'm pretty sure they planned that in heaven, which was not long ago.

We had some friends invite us over to dinner on Saturday evening. It was Thanksgiving all over again. They had a HUGE turkey in their freezer that they wanted to cook. And we were more than willing to help devour it. Brittany is a fabulous cook so dinner was absolutely amazing. We had a great time, filled our bellies with delicious food, had fun and uplifting conversation, and played Scattegories (which I dominated at!) Josh had too much fun eating only the heads off the sugar cookie snowmen. And eating my Styrofoam cup practically to pieces...he thought it would be funny to see me drink out of it and spill it all over myself..the funnier thing is that I don't need him to eat my cup for me to do that...haha. Josh and Glenn discovered their wedding rings are like tops, so they'd spin it and see whose ring spun the longest. (It was rather entertaining.)

That's Josh (if you couldn't already tell from the hat and plaid shirt) eating my cup. Caught red handed!

I went to all three hours of church on Sunday for the first time since Samantha was born! In Sunday School the teacher talked about how in life there will be times we are driven to our knees because there is no where else to go. He shared a story about his wife. He and his wife had four kids at the time and she was sick but they didn't know what was wrong. They went to doctor after stumped doctor unable to figure out what the matter was. Finally they got her in to see a specialist, but by that time she was down to 80 pounds! So she is pretty sick by this point. Finally a doctor had a diagnosis. An 8 week old ruptured appendix. She was rushed in that evening for emergency exploratory surgery and the doctor was blunt in letting them know the chances of survival (especially after 8 weeks) was slim. She was already hanging on by a thread. She had massive abscesses and infection. The teacher spoke of going home that night and being driven to his knees pleading with the Lord to save his wife because everything at this point was out of his hands. He felt the strength and comfort that all would turn out ok. He was in tears as he shared how miraculously his wife recovered. The doctors were astounded. And that was a testament to him of how our Heavenly Father is perfectly orchestrating everything. The very details of our lives are known by a loving and caring Father in Heaven. 

Josh and I are going to miss Sunday dinners at Kathy and Rulan's once we move to Ogden. We love them dearly!

 Grandma Cook snuggling with Samantha Jo. :)

Handsome Josh holding precious Sammy (who likes to stick her bum out)

I just want everyone to know that I own and proudly wear a goat shirt! :) 

Samantha weighs a whopping 11 pounds now! :)

Skyler arrived to "the North Pole" (aka Rexburg) last night. :) She should really start a blog because listening to all her airport stories is well worth hearing! She's such a good story teller! I am so happy that she is here for a few weeks! There is much fun to be had.

I love them so much!

Love, Aubrey

Chocolate Frosty for the Grump

I'm not sure if I'm going crazy...but I think it's a possibility. Few things I did this week that I just had to shake my head and laugh...1. I turned my blinker on left when I made a right turn. 2. I went through the checkout line in the store and paid for my item and then walked away leaving the item on the checkout counter. The lady kindly but in a uh-you-are-coo-koo kind of way told me that I probably wanted to take the item with me. Uh yeah, I do. 3. We made brownies the other evening and I smelled them so I went to check on them to see if they were done...so I look in the microwave...and surprise, no brownies! I have no idea why I looked in the microwave for brownies... 4. I made soup for dinner and mixed up some crystal light juice mix for a drink. I poured my drink in my soup bowl...

We made a visit to Nana's. :) We sure love her house! It was nice to visit with her for a little bit. (and restock on the candy supply.) My favorite part was seeing Nana hold little Sammy and having Sammy look up into her eyes. Precious. Sam is one lucky great-grandaughter to have such an amazing great-grandma (great-Nana?!)

We decorated the sugar cookies we made. We realized that we didn't have any food coloring or sprinkles, so our karote kicker and penguin sugar cookies are pretty bare. But hey, they're frosted. And they're sugary. And some are even chocolate. :)

Josh and I have a tradition of watching The Forgotten Carols every year. The last two years we've been able to go to the Idaho Falls Civic Center and watch the live performance (which is amazing!) but this year we checked out the DVD from the library. Such a great performance to get us in the Christmas spirit. I highly recommend seeing it.

Josh soothing Sam during The Forgotten Carols.

Definitely two of my favorite people! She's adorable and he's pretty darn handsome. 

Taylin and Samantha often match, or at least coordinate. It's quite adorable. 

Don't mind the mess in the background...packing has begun.

Taylin has been getting into the running spirit (YEAH! :) ) and we were talking about good running routes and she was asking if there were any areas she needed to be aware of that had dogs. She does not like dogs. Like, she has an unquenchable fear of them. I have only had one encounter with a dog and the renters no longer live there, and luckily they took the dog with them. So I told her I've never had any situation with dogs. Well today I went on my normal run and I'm huffing and puffing going up hill and I hear this jingle, dog-collar jingle. I turn around and this little beagle dog is following me. And follows me the whole 2 miles! This story really has no climax or moral, just that is was very annoying. And he kept running out in front of cars who would have to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting him. I'm sure the drivers were cursing at me to keep my dog under control. I should have worn my shirt that says "He's not my dog!" Ok, I don't have a shirt that says that. But if I did I would have worn it today.

I read this talk by President Gordon B. Hinckley. How Can I Become the Woman of Whom I Dream? Definitely an inspiring read! We have such great potential! I also watched a documentary about the life of President Hinckley. What an inspiring man! He was the man we can thank for pioneering social media as a way to help the church progress and spread its truth. He is the prophet I grew up loving. I remember when he passed away. I was in high school. Our family knelt for family prayer that morning and mom told us the news. I cried. All day. His challenge the read the Book of Mormon is what helped spark the beginning flame of my testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His talks in general conference were always my favorite. His address of the 6 B's were such a strength to me in middle and high school. He had such a happy spirit and contagious smile. And the way he talked about his wife, his dear beloved Marjorie, was adorable and inspiring. I am thankful for the good man that he was and I will always be grateful for the role he played in helping me gain a testimony and the courage to live it. 

I've been grumpy. For no real reason. I just have days like that sometimes. Josh went grocery shopping (yeah, he's pretty much the best!) and comes home and hands me a chocolate Wendy's frosty (see, he's the best!). He's done this before when I've had grumpy days. I'm not sure if it's a healthy habit to start....if I ever have a hankering for a Wendy's frosty I just have to be grumpy. 

There he is, being the best. And being tough in the Christmas vest. (wow, more vests haha) Never a dull moment with this handsome man! :)

Love, Aubrey

Vests

We have a place to live. Hallelujah! Ogden will be our home! We are really excited about the adventures that await, but I'm a little bit nervous about it. I feel like I need a bat, pepper spray, and a gun. I feel so safe here in Rexburg so even Utah (Utah of all places!) feels scary. I'm a scardey-cat and need to just relax and have fun and ENJOY THE JOURNEY.

Speaking of enjoying the journey, that is our family theme for the year 2015. I'll post more about that later. (If I remember.)

I went to the Relief Society Christmas dinner last night. The first few postpartum weeks I felt like a hermit who was never going to leave home again (mostly because I had a surplus of milk and no way to contain it) so going to this activity was exciting for me. I got all dressed up and even did my hair! I pumped before I left so Josh would be able to feed her if she got hungry before I got back. That, and so I wouldn't leak. But I wore a vest just in case. The dinner was beautiful. Real fancy. Fancy meaning I had 3 forks to choose from and a cloth napkin. The warm-up salad was delicious and the main course was even more so. The turkey could have used more cranberry sauce on it, but even with the turkey being a little dry it was a really well prepared meal. The relief society had a great turn out. There was lots of good conversation at our table. And then I felt it. I brushed my forearm against my chest and felt it. Wet. Yep, WET! How embarrassing.. As the table continued to talk (and hopefully not notice me for a minute or two) I peaked a look at how bad it was, thinking it must be really bad if it was able to leak through my vest. I look down to see CRANBERRY SAUCE all over my vest, and now my forearm. Really? So I hurriedly but discretely wipe it up into the fancy napkin. But now not only did a spill cranberry sauce all over me I have a big dark spot conveniently placed to make it look like spilled milk! Wow, Aubrey! No wonder the turkey was so dry.

 Rexburg 10th Ward Relief Society. And me with cranberry sauce on my vest. (can you find me?)

Josh and I made sugar cookies. We love Christmas-time. And sugar cookies! While we were making them Taylin noticed that her and Josh were almost twins. All Josh needed was a matching vest. (What is it with all these vests?!) So he fetched his fishing vests and vwa-lah, him and Taylin were twinners.

Skyler gets here in less than a week!!! I may be a little (and by a little a mean ALOT) excited! She's probably taking a final right now for chemistry or physics or calculus....GOOD LUCK SKYLER!

I am back to running. It feels so good to be able to run with out wetting myself. I am thankful for good health and the strength to keep my body active and healthy. That is something I'm going to miss about Rexburg...going on runs and enjoying the view of the Tetons to the east and the valley everywhere else. And the endless uphills. I guess I can still run in Ogden...with pepper spray.

 Stretching after a good 2 mile run and some lunges.

 Gotta love those wall sits.

Sam thinks I should shower before I snuggle her. :)