Christmas Inspiration

From Scott, December 2020

The words of one of my favorite poems (and hymn), I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, came into my mind and I pondered again those words and the feelings they conveyed.

As I pondered my thoughts, I penned two additional stanzas/verses to this poem. I shared them with my family on Christmas and share them with you now.

Merry Christmas.

Scott

Text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807–1882; verses 6 and 7 by Scott Edward Westra, December 25, 2020

Music: John Baptiste Calkin, 1827–1905

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

1. I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

2. I thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along th’unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

3. And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

5. Till, ringing, singing, on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

6. And now I’m blessed, my mind can see

Each day when humbly bow my knee

And in my heart, my course I chart

Of peace on earth good will to men.

7. I feel so blessed to see the Light

And know wherein to find the right

With joy I sing, my heart can bring

More peace on earth good will to men.

Christmas Slideshow ~ 2020

It started back in 2006 ... it was Grayson who made the first family slide show, featuring photos from the past year set to music. Then it became a tradition. Gray continued making them for a few years, then Jen took over in 2010. So here's 2020, which for the first time is not making its premiere at the Westra Family Christmas Eve party (Covid Cancellations!) But thanks to youtube (and a backup in Dropbox/GoogleDrive) the family can still watch and relive the year ... masks and all!

Link to Westra2020 on YouTube

Soundtrack this year is: "Wonderful Life" by Zendaya, "Better Things" by Dar Williams, 

"Let Me Live" by Kehlani, "Falling and Flying" by Mindy Gledhill and "We Are Brave" by Shawn McDonald.

Here's a look at the previous years too ...

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Christmas Newsletter ~ 2020

The annual, official, Westra Newsletter going out from Mom/Margie and Dad/LaMar. Derek put it together, after asking for updated pictures and "blurbs" from everyone. Jen thought she was so fast, and asked if she was first (and if she got a prize) and got the surprising reply that SCOTT had been first with a photo ... and Scott replied that he had sent his update to his family for approval before sending it on, but that he might have sent it in too if he'd known it was a competition ;)  For the actual PDF (with working links and enlarging capabilities) check out Westra 2020. 

Check out ALL the previous Christmas Newsletters ...

An Appeal, An Answer and an Ab-Wheel

In December of 2020, as part of the "Light the World" challenge, Mom/Margie shared a couple stories about prayer from her youth (Mom's Memories). Not long after, Derek shared a story as well. Here it is. 

God Has a Sense of Humor (Ab-Wheel Story)

Shared by Derek Westra via email, December 2020

When I had only been on my mission to Brazil a couple of months – I had this strong desire for a piece of exercise equipment that I had used every day before my mission – it was called an ab-wheel. I’m not sure why I wanted it so bad, but I have always hated sit-ups and they just weren’t doing it for me out there and I felt like I was losing my six-pack. :) My companion was a Brazilian named Elder Mariano, and while I still didn’t know the language very well yet, I told him about the ab-wheel and asked if I could find one in Brazil somewhere. He had never heard of one but said I should mention it to some of the members to see if they had. I did this at several houses, but no one had ever heard of one. Since I was new to Portuguese, I remember struggling to explain what this was. “E uma roda. Como… uma roda plastica, pequena que voce usa para fazer exercicios. Assim – eu vou te mostrar.”

I’d say: “It’s like a plastic wheel with handles that you use on the floor to do exercises, like this!” Then I’d try to demonstrate – which must have look ridiculous. One of the members was taking a trip to Sao Paulo to go to Wal-Mart and I asked them to look for one and buy it for me and I’d pay them back, but they couldn’t find one. I became sort of obsessed with finding one and since missionary work can be somewhat monotonous and unimaginative, I started working my new-found obsession into our door approaches. “Hey there – I was hoping you could help me with something: I’m an American and I’m looking for this exercise thing (I’d describe it) have you heard of this?” The answer was always no, but Brazilians love helping and to ask for a favor (a glass of water or help with an address) was always a better, more effective approach then just telling them we wanted to share a message.

My companion started to really tire of my obsession with finding an ab-wheel. I could tell it was starting to bother him, but I didn’t know a ton of Portuguese yet and I had gotten pretty practiced at my approach so I kept using it. Finally, one morning during our companionship prayer before leaving the apartment, Elder Marino was saying the prayer and said (with a lot of pent-up frustration): “Heavenly Father, please help us today to find Elder Westra’s stupid ab-wheel so he can stop talking about it.” I opened my eyes to scowl at him, but this was as earnest and sincere as I’d ever seen him. I got the hint that he had had enough and decided to drop it.

We went out knocking doors as usual and I avoided the “ab-wheel” approach since I knew my Senior Companion was at his wit’s end. But one street in, we came to a house where this really strong guy was exercising out front with his shirt off (doing pull-ups). I looked at my companion and he said “Okay – ask about the thing.” I went up to the guy and said, “Excuse me, but you look really strong and like you exercise a lot.” He was flattered and entertained by where this was going. I said, “I’m an American, and there is this one piece of exercise equipment that I can’t find anywhere in this country, it’s called an “Ab-wheel.”’ His eyes lit up and he got really excited. “They don’t make it here.” He said. But he had a huge smile, like he knew something I didn’t. “But I do!” He told us to come in his house and he had three of these home-made ab-wheels that he had made out of wood and broom handles. “I’ve seen these on TV, but they are only in the United States – I wanted to try one so I made a prototype out of wood. It’s not perfect, I’m still working on the design, but this ought to take care of you.” He handed me one of his three wood prototypes and said “It’s yours.” I looked at Elder Mariano and he was speechless. We had somehow found “Elder Westra’s stupid ab-wheel” on the day that he earnestly prayed and asked that we would. I’m convinced that in that huge country, we were led to that house, where someone was making these out of wood and was willing to just give one away.

Now, wouldn’t it be cool if I had some awesome conclusion about how we went on to teach that man, and how he became a great Church leader? Well, that didn’t happen. :) He had no interest in the Church or our message, and I never saw him again, but I used his homemade, wooden ab-wheel every day until it broke a month before I came home from Brazil.

I’m convinced that Heavenly Father knows us personally and cares about the details of our lives – even the insignificant things that matter more to us than they should.

Check out MargiesMessages - Prayer Section for more inspirational stories.

Mom/Margie's Memories (Prayer)

Written by Marjorie Norman Westra in 2020 for a #lighttheworld challenge of sharing a teaching story. Chris said he had heard the first one, but not the second. Wendy said the second one sounded familiar but that she hadn't heard the first one. Chris added the stories to Family Search, and now they are here on the blog as well, to ensure they won't be forgotten.

When a was a young girl in Murray.....My mother sent my brother Merrill (18 months younger than me) with a dollar bill to get a haircut in downtown Murray--about a mile away. Merrill came back crying, saying he had lost the dollar bill on the way to the barber shop. Mother called me (I was playing with friends) and told me to take Merrill on the back on my bike (our bikes used to have a long narrow seat above the back wheel, where someone could ride) and follow his route and see if we could find the dollar. I didn't want to leave my friends and resented having to do it. So I said a quick prayer that we would find the dollar----before we reached State Street---so I could get back and play with my friends. 

With Merrill on the back, I rode along Boxelder Street, turned up Miller Street, towards State Street. Suddenly I felt my bike tire go flat. I pulled over to the side of the street, next to a big field. I told Merrill to get off so that I could check the flat tire. But I was surprised to see that the tire was not flat. I looked down and there was the dollar bill, blown up against the weeds of the same color. We never would have seen it if we hadn't been right next to it! And yes, we found it before we got to State Street! I have remembered this experience my entire life. I have often thought that if God would answer the selfish prayer of a young girl, how much more likely he would be to answer our heartfelt important prayers.

When I was growing up, we went camping often with our extended family on the Howell side (mom's siblings and their kids). It was so fun to camp and play with my cousins, in the Fairview mountains. On one such trip, we were camped by a stream. My Uncle Demont decided to take all the kids who were old enough on a hike. We walked along the stream for a while and reached a point where the worn path ended and we needed to cross the stream to continue our hike, stepping on rocks to get across. I was a "scaredy-cat" then, as I am now. I was afraid to cross the stream this way, and told Demont and my cousins that I would just follow the path back to camp, which I did. By our camp, there was a bridge across the stream. So I got the bright idea that I would just cross the bridge and then rejoin Demont and my cousins on the other side to continue the hike. 

Well, I got hopelessly lost in the mountains. I was so frightened. I shouted and shouted, over and over, but no answer. I was smart enough to know if I could find the stream again, I could follow it back to camp. But emerging from the trees, I was on kind of a cliff. I could see the stream far down below, but the stream at that point was shaped like horseshoe turn and I didn't know which way to try to reach and follow the stream or if I would just get more lost. Finally, I was so desperate, I knelt down and prayed for help. As I got up from my knees, there was Uncle Demont coming towards me! I was so grateful to see him! It was such a traumatic experience that I was unable to even speak at all for about an hour.

Being a Bagger ... Now and Then

 

Through various family updates, we learned that Adria got a job as a bagger at Maceys. She applied and they hired her on the spot. She's not the first Westra to begin at bagging. Mom/Margie enjoys the conversations between kids, and the memories that come up because of them. So here's a little more remembered store lore ...

Uncle Derek wrote: 

Congrats to Adria on her job as a bagger! That was my first job as well (at The Store). Her grocery career won't stop at bagger - I was promoted to checker, then to produce department salsa maker, and then to the prestigious role of dairy manager! ;)  I have a funny story of my days as a bagger at age 15. The Store had a strict policy that any customer with two bags or more had be helped out of the store (we had to carry their bags to their car). They were pretty serious about this policy since (as you can imagine) most customers would rather carry their own bags than to have a skinny 15-year-old awkwardly follow them out and load their car. One time, I was loading an older woman's backseat of her car, and she took the opportunity to slip two dollars into my back pocket and to pinch my back side. No joke. But that isn't even the story. :)

One day, Karl Malone came into The Store on his Harley (wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat) and bought one gallon of milk, and one loaf of bread. Two items. Because he was a big (literally - the man was a mountain) star, there were lots of eyes on him as the checker checked out his items and gave them to me. He held out his HUGE hands. 

Me: "Umm...I have to take these to your car Mr. Malone." 

Karl: "I got it kid." 

Me: "Ummm...it's a store policy - I have to take them to your car." 

Karl: (Smiling) "I don't have a car."

Me: Looking out the store window at his motorcycle. "I can take them out to your bike." 

Karl: (Not smiling) "Fine. Follow me." 

He walked out and I awkwardly followed. He opened his Harley's saddlebags and I put his milk in one side, and the bread in the other side. 

Karl: "Am I supposed to tip you now?"

Me: (proudly) No! We don't accept tips. Store policy. 

Karl: "Okay. Thanks kid." 

Karl then loudly started his bike and rode off. My boss was watching, and was pretty pleased that I held my ground and exerted my "store policy" authority, even though, by the looks of his upper body, the Mailman was perfectly capable of hefting the two purchased items. :)

Jen added her bagger memories ...

I worked as a bagger as one of my first jobs too. Skaggs Alpha Beta, there on VanWinkle. It's now Vasa (gym). I always liked bagging groceries. I'd put enough groceries away that I knew it was good to put all the freezer/cold stuff together (I hate it when there is one random freezer thing in a different bag that I have to go track down). Like things together. No foods with the cleaning supplies. Don't put something heavy on top of the bread. Once, they redid the whole store, rearranged everything. They had a few of us girls wear dresses, and we would "hostess" ... we'd learned where everything was after the change, and then would help people who now didn't know where to find things. Just easing the transition. It was fun.

Mom/Margie added to Adria:  

Once when I was shopping at Harmon's many years ago, I complimented the clerk I had (can't remember what for--maybe her friendliness/cheerfulness/helpfulness or something. I remember she said, "Thank you so much! ---- Now will you go tell my manager over there! (There was a head checker hovering in front of all the check-out stands, that would oversee all the checkers and solve problems). Maybe after you receive all these helpful hints and experiences, you will end up "running the store" in no time at all!

Reading through these recollections reminded me of my only grocery store teen experience: My friend Barbara Millet's father worked for HiLand Dairy. So Barbara and I were hired at times, to pass out samples of HiLand Dairy products, as Costco passes out samples. It was a fun easy job. I remember around the holidays, we were giving out samples of eggnog, and the men would tease us and ask if there was anything stronger in it! (I guess for Christmas and New Years, people add booze to their eggnog!)

 

Covid-Free World

I think by now, we all know that Scott is a poet. Many a Father's Day invites came with a rhyme, and there have been other fun phasings, such as his ode to Dad's Moles and his Covid Limmericks. 

As Covid continued, Scott wrote another poem, to the tune of "Part Of This World" from Disney's "Little Mermaid". The full story is not confirmed, but Scott MAY have introduced it to his co-workers, singing some of it during a company Zoom meeting. There may be video proof out there somewhere ... unfortunately none was found at the time of this writing. As 2020 progressed, and Covid made a new world where social distancing is expected, masks are mandatory and hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes are treasures untold, many of us wish we could be part of that old, non-Covid world. 

Wish I could be part of that Non-COVID World
by Scott Westra/2020

Look at this stuff
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the guy
The guy who has ev'rything?
Look at this trove
PPE untold
How many masks can one earlobe hold?
Lookin' around here you'd think
(Sure) he's got everything

I've got cameras and speakers aplenty
I've got Lysol and Clorox galore
(You want hand sanitizer?
I got twenty)
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more!

I want to be where the people are
I want to see
want to see 'em smiling
Flashing around those
(Whad'ya call 'em?) oh - teeth
Gasping for breath you don't get too far
Airflow’s required for jumpin', dancin'
Working out at those
(What's that word again?) gyms.

Out where they walk
Out where they run
Out where they stay all day in the sun
Going mask free!
Wish I could be!
Part of that world!

What would I give
If I could live
Back at the office?
What would I pay
To spend a day
Free of my mask?
Betcha it’s grand
To understand
And not reprimanded by our bosses
It’s been a while
I’m sick of this trial
Ready to smile!

And ready to know what the people know
Ask 'em my questions
And hear their answers
What's a hug and how did we
Used to shake hands?

What are our plans?
What can I do
I just wish that it were all through!
Going mask free!
Wish I could be!
Part of that world!

A couple of the girls at Scott's work kicked him out of his office, set up a scene, got costumes and made this video using his custom lyrics ... then it was sent out to the company with this poem (not by Scott)...

Even though we can’t be together this year,
The EAC still wanted to spread some holiday cheer.
The link below is not a phish,
We’re hoping it fulfills your holiday wish.
For smiles and laughter…
And happily ever after!
So enjoy a little humor,
And know that no one is as good at this rhyming thing
As Westra….


Derek commented how he laughed that those at work call Scott "Westra"