Touching story

So, I hope everyone is ready for Christmas. We finally are. I started early and got almost everyone done, but then I had mom and Aaron left, which are both hard for me, and we wanted to do something nice from all the kids but none of our money trees have produced, so I've been trying to figure out what to do to make everyone happy (not spend too much but do something nice). Anyway, my mom's sweet neighbor and Jord's 2nd mom started the search for us and shared her shopping skills to help us get a great deal, but then today, I remembered that mom told me what she really wanted for Christmas...what she and dad both wanted...as I read this story that my friend (sister for all intents and purposes) Lindsy sent us.


Hi Murray Sista's…. Someone forwarded this story to me and as I was reading it I felt like the guy in the story was a lot like your sweet Dad. Always looking for the needs of others, always giving with all he had. What a wonderful man he was on earth and what a wonderful angel he is in heaven.  My sister told me about this quote someone had in their house after their dad died.. it said "Because someone we love is in Heaven, we feel heaven in our home."  I am thinking of your family and praying for sweet memories for you this Christmas of your dear sweet Dad. I am grateful that I had the privilege of having his influence and example in my life.  XO


Christmas Eve 1881


Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity. Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what...

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what?

Yeah," I said, "Why?"  "I rode by just today," Pa said.  "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for an other armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked. Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

"We brought you a few things, Ma'am,"
Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say somethin' but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up." I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.
My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.
Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say , May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."  Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold.

When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, Whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.

Don't be too busy today. May God richly bless you.

This made me cry hard, and I remembered that mom and dad really wanted us to do a service for someone and write about it. It may be a little late to get it done by Christmas, but I am still going to do it, and I was really feeling the love of the Savior, of course that was interrupted by Wesley taking the jar of sunflower seeds and dumping them all over the floor.


I couldn't keep myself from yelling at Jacki for letting him "spill the freakin' sunflower seeds and not getting the lid like I had asked her to do." But, now I'm laughing because he is really happy eating sunflower seeds off the floor....simple pleasures... It really isn't that big a deal, just the daily disaster around the Craven home. Yesterday, they put shredded cheese all over the floor. Our theme is from a book called Olivia, "You really wear me out, but I love you anyway." Merry Christmas. I hope that Christmas day is just the start of the Christmas season of serving and loving like Christ and our Heavenly father do."

Holiday season

We've been enjoying the holiday season- except for the head cold that we always get when the weather changes drastically- like last week when it was freezing. This week wasn't so bad. Forty degrees actually felt warm. A lot has happened this year. Our sweet Wesley (yes I love Princess bride) has turned into our Wild Wes. He's walkin' and talkin'. Although he can say more words, he sticks with cracker or dada most of the time. So, don't be offended if he calls you cracker. Jacki hates it, and yells, "He's calling me cracker. I'm not a cracker. I'm Jacki Hope Craven." He likes to dive off our bed face first and likes to follow Jacki around and hits her if he gets close enough.

Jacki is our science kid and has to know why everything happens and how and wants to know everything now (and will keep asking until you respond.) She is really into winning, so if I want her to do something, I make it into a race, but she gets really upset when Wes wins her getting dressed or if we press the garage door button first. She is very concerned about a lot of things. We've been looking for a book that the library said we had still checked out, but we never even read it. I don't remember checking it out; however I knew it was a possibility because one time I found a library book in one of Jacki's drawers that we never use. Then, this week a book disappeared, and I insisted we find it before we went to the library. She found it "in her toy chest." I was very happy to find out that the library had found it. When we checked out books this week, I prepared myself to pay for it, but the clerk told me it wasn't showing overdue, and the fines were gone.

Jacki makes sure that I know to stop at every red light and stop sign by yelling as soon as she can see the red light (way before it's time to actually stop.) She screams, "You have to stop at the red light (stop sign)." After I stop she asks, "Why did you stop at the red light?" So, I tell her she just answered her own question. No wonder I'm exhausted. I wake up tired, and it gets worse as the day goes on.

The kids love playing with their daddy. Ty and I realized that we shouldn't have bought them any presents this year- just bubble wrap. Wes laughed hard every time we popped a bubble, and Jacki loved doing the popping. Kids really do like simple things the best, but for those of you thinking about inventing a bubble wrap toy- it's too late. That same day in Toys R Us we found an electronic bubble pop imitator. We got it for Jacki. After I bought it I realized that Lauren has one (that really annoys me because it makes other sounds after you press the bubble. For example, one sound is a doorbell. It gets really annoying.)

Since the passing of my dad in November, I haven't been in to the presents and commercial side of things and have been trying to enjoy being with family and friends and seeing the lights display, which remind me of the our Savior. We had a great time with our Salt Lake buddies. (Love you guys) Jacki liked the nativities at temple square. We took her to see the Christus, and Melanie told us that Jacki said, "We're going up, up, up to see the big, big Jesus."


This is my first time putting a picture into the blog....baby steps. Jacki's favorite light display was the hopping frog at the Layton lights. We also went up to the Willard lights. I loved that both of those were drive through lights. Ty thought the lights on the trees there were so cool because they changed colors. Jacki liked seeing characters that she recognized from movies.

Ty has had a busy year working. He told me that yesterday was his first Saturday off in 3 weeks. He likes to sleep in on the weekend, but the kids don't allow that too often. Wes was up at 6:30 today. Ty works so hard, and he treats me really good, especially when I'm pregnant and doesn't complain too much about the messy house. He thinks I'm more attractive when I'm pregnant and loves watching my belly grow. We found out that we're having another boy. (Jacki wasn't happy when Ty told her that there are going to be more boys than girls in the family.) We found out we were having a boy the same week that my dad passed, and it was emotional for me. I'd like to name him after both our dads because they are both great people, but we'll see what happens.

That's a summary of what we're up to. I started the post mentioning that I'm trying to enjoy the season, so I cut out sending out Christmas cards. Instead, look for a new years card...lazy, pregnant, call it whatever you like, but it's nice to not have to worry about sending the cards by Christmas. They should arrive by Three Kings days (January 6).

Jacki just woke up and is saying "mom".

Yesterday the first thing that she asked is where Beauty and the beast is in the scriptures. She found the drawing with Abraham and said, "there it is."

She just told me that she wanted to say goodbye to dad. We got advent calendars, and she is looking at me with her eyes smiling and asking how about if we eat a chocolate treat today. Last night I melted some chocolate that we had on pretzels and almonds. She was so mad at me for melting the chips. She wanted to eat them as chocolate chips. She got over it when she tasted how yummy they were....chocolate almonds are soooooo good.

Wes is getting Mischievous (I had to spell check it in word to spell that word. However, it isn't giving me the red "you are spelling this wrong" underline that I'm getting in this program) and kept climbing on Grandma's glass table that he knew he wasn't supposed to do.

Tyson has been spending a lot of time on our light problem. He didn't buy enough for the outside of the house, so half of the garage didn't have it. The lights got bought up by a landscaping company. In fact, it's pretty hard to find Christmas decorations. He said Lowes is already down to one small isle.....I guess since fm 100 started playing Christmas music the beginning of November, everything is a month behind, so it's like Christmas is over before the season has even started. He has checked on line, gone to the Riverdale, Logan, and Ogden Lowes, and he even went to wally world (in desperation.) Well, I was at wally world yesterday and saw the led lights that he needed. They are a different brand that the others ones we have, and there is orange instead of purples, but hey not bad.. I'm really glad we can stop the search for more led lights. We are trying to slow down the season and enjoy it. We took around advent calendars to neighbors yesterday and had fun looking at the lights. The Kuhns had music that went with the lights, which was awesome.

Brushing your teeth toddler style

We've been trying to brush our teeth daily, and the kids are learning to brush too. The other night, I was helping the kids brush their teeth. Jacki has a light up toothbrush that blinks as she brushes, so she knows how long to brush. We're still working on brushing every tooth. I brushed Wesley's teeth, which didn't take long since there are only 9.  Jacki's brush stopped blinking, so she was done too. I gave Wes his toothbrush (to practice) and pretend like he was brushing, and I went to my bathroom and brushed my teeth. I was gone for two to three minutes. When I came back, Jacki was gone. Wes had her toothbrush and his toothbrush and was dipping them into the toilet.

Thanks to our wonderful dental hygienist who told me that you can sanitize toothbrushes by washing them in the dishwasher. It's been a couple of days since this incident, and Wes hasn't died, so he must not have taken in too much toilet water.

Alphabet Soup

I was making chili in the crock pot, and Jacki told me that she was making soup. She took all of the alphabet magnets off the fridge and put them in the small crock pot (the kind that is used for dips). She told me it was ready, and I said okay and went down to fold clothes while I watched Oprah. Then, she told me that she touched the hot soup, and I still didn't catch on. I thought she must have touched my crock pot, but Ty came home and said that the little crock pot was on and hot with all of the alphabet magnets in it. I will never think of Alphabet soup the same way. It turned out to be funny (since the house didn't burn down.)

Talking to the yogurt

Thursday was story time. Jacki got a bunch of books and a couple of movies. She went to get them out of the car. She told me not to let Wes eat her yogurt over and over. I told her I heard her the first several times. Then she said, “I wasn’t talking to you mom- I was talking to my yogurt.”

Truck with Fluffy stuff

Yesterday we had insulation put in our attic. It's free for us with the current rebates available. I told Jacki that there was a big truck coming that would pump fluffy stuff called insulation into the ceiling that would help keep the house warm. She was so excited and would not leave the front window, but they were late, so after an hour, I made her go down for a nap. They ended up coming 3 hours late, which worked out fine.  Jacki and Wes had just woken up from their naps. I told Jacki that she hadn't missed the truck. It was still coming. She asked, "Did they have a nap too." She liked watching the insulation pump through. I asked her if she remembered the big word I taught her, and she said, fluffilation. Ty and I think it should be renamed that.