As I sit by the
fire and write to all of you, my eyes fall upon the many moving boxes scattered
all over our house, and the chaos that comes with moving our family across the country
yet again. There are no decorations, no Christmas tree. But friends, my heart couldn’t possibly be more
full with Christmas joy and an indescribable love for our Heavenly Father. Tears fall upon my cheeks as I recall “the
best of times,” and “the worst of times” that was our 2014. But fear not, these are tears of happiness
and gratitude—tears that come whenever I think of each of you who stood by me
and my family during hard times, boosting us up with your love and
kindness. My faith in a loving Heavenly
Father was strengthened and my love for the Savior deepened.
Elijah earned the
title of best husband and father this year, fair and square. He was laid off early this year, but continued
to work part-time, look for a new job full time, attend the temple weekly, serve
in the church, look after a sickly pregnant wife, cook, clean, do laundry, and
take care of our children’s needs. As if
he didn’t have enough to do, Elijah found a bit of time to dedicate to his
favorite past time – baking and sharing with others. His pies, banana breads, and whole-wheat brownies
are known far and wide.
The day after we
found out about the change in Elijah’s employment, we learned that I was
expecting! This pregnancy was more
difficult than my others. For the first
four months, I just seemed to sleep through life…and watch Netflix. I became an expert in all manner of
throw-away television, and discovered that I have addictive tendencies. As soon as
I felt better, I caught up with life once again. I’ve really enjoyed teaching art at my boys’
school, taking Charlton sightseeing, homeschooling Gillian, teaching Medieval
History to a middle school homeschooling group, becoming an art docent at a
nearby art gallery, swimming my summer away, starting a photography business,
and oh yes, giving birth to a most beautiful daughter!
Illyria
Providence Garmon was born on the last day of August at the request of her
mother. She came three weeks early; her
lungs were not fully developed, and she had to stay in the NICU for a few days.
Her family’s love, her siblings’
adoration, and everyone’s prayers strengthened Illyria during this early
trial. She grew stronger, and in no time
became an experienced traveler. At just
two weeks old, she accompanied her mother and sister to Time Out for Women in
Sacramento, and at one month old she was ready to make the acquaintance of her
Georgia family, via her first airline flight.
Nowadays, you can find Illyria nestled in her siblings’ arms. Illyria’s beautiful spirit makes us happy to
be alive.
Charlton turned 5
this year and he immediately requested to be transferred to an older class at
church – he didn’t want to be with “babies” any more. Haha, turns out he was the youngest in that class!
Charlton has enjoyed art days with mom, finally found the courage to
swim in the deep end, loved Kindergarten (although he doesn’t like the early
dismissal at all), showed me he could do hard things by learning how to ice skate,
and has amazed us with his reading abilities.
My favorite moments are when I catch him reading to Illyria. My heart could burst with love and pride for
this sharp boy of mine.
James just turned
9, but he acts with such maturity, thoughtfulness, and goodness that I sometimes
think he is my role model. He is at the
top of his class for math and reading, loves playing the piano, enjoys teaming
up with his older brother to play sports or read together, and is the best
brother ever to little Illyria!! You
don’t have to wonder where James is – he’s always tending to his younger sister. We are so grateful for James’s devotion and
love for his family and friends. On more
than one occasion his teacher has sent letters home telling us how impressed
she is with James and his diplomatic solutions in the classroom. This world needs a peacemaker like James!
Jefferson is 10
this year. He enjoys reading into the
wee hours of the morning (his reading scores are off the charts), playing
basketball with his brother, skateboarding or rollerblading with his sister,
and teaching Charlton how to play chess.
He is Charlton’s best buddy and doesn’t mind playing countless hours of
board games with his younger brother. Jefferson
has an innate desire to do well in all things.
His drive to win makes him an unstoppable force for good.
Gillian had her
best year so far. She gave public middle
school a try, but every day would come home burdened by the drama that goes
along with that stage of life. So we
decided we’d had enough of long faces and unhappiness, and started homeschooling. What a difference this has made in Gillian’s
life! She has made close friends who
love her and are so fun to be around.
She’s enjoyed learning at her own pace, writing poetry and short stories
daily, playing the piano, singing in a children’s chorus, and—most of
all—learning Medieval history from her own mother! What a great help Gillian has been with
Illyria as I run my busy life. Her
favorite thing this year was attending girls’ camp. She turned 12 in July and entered our church’s
Young Women program. Gillian loves the west
coast friends she has made, and will miss them very much.
In a couple of days
now, Elijah and I will leave California and drive our family to Georgia. We’ll spend Christmas with family, and then
in the new year we’ll start a new life in the metro Atlanta area, where Elijah
has a great new job. Although I can’t
write this without crying because of all of the great friends we’re leaving
behind, we are excited for this next stage in life. This year we have been repeatedly taught that
God lives, loves us, and is aware of our needs.
Job stress, pregnancy nausea, hospitalization of our little one, and
uprooting our family during Christmastime have been but a few of the trials
that we’ve been chosen to experience in one year’s time – but we were never
left alone: You were there, and God was
there.
In this time of
celebration, I feel an overwhelming gratitude for my Savior and His
example. When all is said and done, He is
the one who suffered all and gave all for me, for you, for us all. I have an unshakeable witness that He lives! He is my Savior. He was born in Bethlehem in a manger; He
lived a perfect life of service and love; He died and was resurrected so we
could all live with God again. He is the
Son of God, the gift of Christmas. May
His light shine upon you this Christmas season!
Much love,
Melita, Elijah,
Gillian, Jefferson, James, Charlton, and Illyria Garmon
Christmas 2014
