Captain Marvelous McBrides!!! Your friendly neighborhood PTA Family!!!

 

PTA. What exactly is the PTA? And why do we have to pay to be in it? And what is with ALL THE RULES AND REGULATIONS????

Mitzi has been the PTA president for her kids a few times & it EXHAUSTS me just thinking about it! I haven't ever been "active" on the PTA, and when we were assigned the McBrides & we thought about what we admired about their family, we decided we all love the way Aunt Mitzi is ALWAYS trying to serve others! 

So... we joined the PTA! I say we because we do everything all together. Bill is an amazing support and partner, so he has set up, reached out for donations and "manned the booth" multiple times when I am sure he would rather be at home working on his train horn. & the kids! All 3 kids have helped A TON on our commitments!

We started by volunteering to be the head of the Spirit Night "Gator Bite Nights". Once a month we coordinate a dinner fundraiser event. We have tried to add some fun elements to it. Additional games, activities and interaction. I reached out to the HS choir & band teachers and asked them if they wanted to partner with us to have the students have the option to volunteer to participate. They can do small groups, solos, duets.... Anything!!

This has been a little difficult during Covid, but we will continue to work on them throughout the year. 

We wanted to make the interaction higher with this months event, so we added a Toy & Food Drive. 

Wow. WOW!!!!! Seriously, Wow!!! People really liked the toy drive idea. The community gathered in and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!!!! 

Me and my brothers helped with the toy drive and had tons of fun filling up the truck and five bins. We tried to be like our wonderful McBride family. We can learn a lot from each and everyone of them love you McBride Family.

-Savannah

Helping with the PTA my mom was a very eye-opening experience. I had no idea how much work actually went into all the stuff or how many people were involved. It makes me appreciate more of the school events that the PTA put on that are cool; like nights at the different restaurants or fast food places. Seeing all this work my mom has done makes me appreciate my previous PTA presidents I had in schools before. I also realized that when you have a PTA president that is kind of back and doesn't wanna get too involved it makes things a lot harder to do for others & makes me think of all the previous PTA presidents at my schools who put in effort and made those activities fun. We are all involved and we get together pretty well.

-Brighton

 

Helping others feel loved

Week after week over the last several months I would notice that the missionary meal calendar was empty. Since the pandemic started, the missionaries are not permitted to eat with members inside or outside their homes. The only way to provide meals to the missionaries is to drop food off at their door. I guess that has affected the number of meals being provided. Both of the sisters had come to our ward as missionaries during the beginning of the pandemic and have not met many of the ward members at all in the months they had served in our ward. One of them was in the MTC at the start of the pandemic and was reassigned to Richmond instead of her original foreign assignment. 

Even the week of Thanksgiving their meal calendar was empty. On the day before Thanksgiving, I called the missionaries and asked if they had a Thanksgiving meal coming and it just wasn't on the online calendar and they said No. Our family was having Thanksgiving dinner on Friday (instead of Thursday) so I told them that I would bring them a full turkey dinner on Friday. I asked what each of their favorite dishes were for Thanksgiving and made sure to include it in our menu too. 

We delivered - turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, bacon apple brussel sprouts, stuffing, and corn casserole. Plus dessert of cheesecake bites and macaron cookies. 

After that meal delivery and talking to them a little bit, I decided for the season of service I was going to take them meals twice a week for the next few weeks. I asked them to let me know some meals that they love and either do not know how to cook themselves or would not make for just the two of them. 

Here is what their meals have been so far:

• copycat Café Rio (recipe) burritos with bottled root beer
• Pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, baked beans, roasted vegetables, and apple hand pies
• Homemade mac n cheese with toppings broccoli, kale, ham, bacon
• Christmas brunch (chocolate rolls, breakfast casserole)
• Baked rigatoni (no tomato since there is an allergy, so I made a roasted veggie pesto sauce) and salad
• No-bake cheesecake, homemade blueberry topping and cherry topping

We still have plans to deliver more meals. 

As I thought of specifically Charise during this season of service, she loves to make others feel special. I wanted to make sure that the sisters did not feel forgotten during this Christmas season and felt loved. I love to make delicious food and hope that others love it as well. 

As Chuck contemplated what he would do, he thought of the way that Bill so eagerly serves others in his ward and his community. When a member of our ward called Chuck to help install their new microwave, Chuck was excited to help them out. What he thought would be something simple, quickly turned into a project that required more extensive rebuilding of the cabinet, but he reported that he was happy to spend the day serving the family because he thought of Bill. 

Wait for it.....

It didn't take me long to know what focus I wanted to take with Dixie and Noah.  Aunt Dixie has always been the fun Aunt.  She works so hard, since as long as I can remember, to get our family to play and have fun together.  This goes back long before there was ever a Clear Creek Family Ranch.  One of my earliest memories is Dixie taking a bunch of us cousins to see The Rescuers, I was only 4!  When I was young and people would ask my favorite movie, I would answer, The Rescuers, probably because I had such a fond memory of going with my cousins and cool Aunt Dixie.  Another memory I have from later on, is Dixie kidnapping the older cousins, which I was one at the time, and taking us to breakfast.  That was around the time that Dixie had a business idea of a place where families could get together and eat, and then end up in a food fight (she had an idea to put a garbage disposal at the bottom of the floor for all the food from the food fight).  She was always thinking of fun things to do with our family.

As Dixie grew and had a family of her own, the fun didn't stop.  To this day, with Noah, she still does Cousin Shindig, every year, gathering all the teenage cousins...a favorite for Bodell Family Teens.

Deciding on what to do in Dixie's honor came very easily, executing it is another story.  I knew what needed to be done, we needed a 2020 Virtual Bodell Family Party.  Wayne, Dixie (my daughter) Dillon and Denim have helped with getting things ready.  

While the party is still to take place on Monday, December 28th, the hours that I have so far spent have been wonderful.  I have loved getting to know so many of my cousins that I haven't seen or some I haven't even met.

Aunt Dixie and Noah, I'm so glad I'm a Bodell kid...with you!

After the party, I will upload our 3 family songs.  They have been what has taken the biggest part of time, so far.  I have loved getting to know my "angel helper," Jessica Bodell, whom I have might have never met, but love so much!  I have loved getting to know more of my family better through the correspondence about the party.  

Here is an outtake that was not used to give you an idea of the fun in store:

Service at the Hospital- the Entire Family Style

Throughout this month, Garrett and I tried to live life more like Hock and Lani. Do more things with our children, be with them, make memories with them, be more patient and loving. 

In trying to decide what to do for the Hock family, I first was tempted to just do something with me and Garrett, and not include the kids. But, I thought about the Hocks and how even if it might be harder and more time consuming and take more patience, I knew that one way to serve the Hocks was to do it all together, as a family. Christmas Eve we did our Season of Service as a family together. Garrett and I thought of something that the Hocks would do together, as a family. 

Christmas Eve morning we cut papers and wrote inspriring notes on each one. The kids wrote on them things to encourage and spread the Christmas spirit. "You are awesome", "Happy Holidays", "Merry Christmas", "Let it Snow", "It's going to be ok", and lots more. We then went to Lone Peak Hospital in Draper, and we went and put the little slips of paper on all the cars in the parking lots. 

The kids loved running around from car to car and putting their slips of paper that they created on each car to spread Christmas Joy. Sometimes, people were in the cars waiting. Those people would sweetly roll down their window and we would hand them a paper. Gates loved these since sometimes he was a little too short to reach the windshield wiper. They would sweetly smile and Gates would say "Merry Christmas" and run away to the next car. It was such a joy to feel the spirit while serving the Hock family. I thought how this is something the Hocks would do with their family. Something all together, from Houston down to Mayley, something they would do together. We thought of all the times they have spent with a car in a parking lot of a hospital and loved serving those who hopefully would come out and see a sweet message on their car. 

It's interesting because we were going to go to our local hospital that is just down the street basically from our house. But for some reason we felt like going to Draper. While there, Gates put one paper on a car, and a lady was walking out of the hospital emergency area, limping, with a knee brace on. When I asked her if she needed help, she said sweetly "Yes, can you give me the paper you put on my car?" We ran back over, and handed it to her. Hers said "You are going to be ok." She read it and started crying and said "Thank you. I needed this today." When I asked Brooklyn about that phrase, Brooklyn said "I only wrote that one once. All the other times I wrote "It's going to be ok."" We thought of how special and tender mercy that was. That the one person who needed "YOU are going to be ok" received it, and was coming out at that exact time. 

One more tender mercy is that we had just enough papers for EVERY SINGLE CAR in the parking lot! We couldn't believe it! It was a special start to our Christmas Eve together. 

Merry Christmas Hock family! WE LOVE YOU! Love Uncle Gmaughan, AuntTiti, Brookie Cookie, Zelda, and Gates. 

What Goes Around Comes Around

I was honored to be included in your Sunday Zoom the last 9 months. I am also honored to be asked to be included in The Gates Season of Service this year. Of course I would have been excited to get any of your names. I was thrilled to get the Gates with the best smile, that brings Sunshine to my Soul each time I see her.  

I want to give a bit of a back story. I love what I do. I love running the Parkway Motel and meeting people from all over the world. I don’t love cleaning rooms all the time by myself. It is really hard to find workers here in Orderville. Two years ago I was dreading my upcoming season of housekeeping. My lady, I had the two years before, had gotten a full time job. So, I said a little prayer for me to have the passion and strength to do the job myself or send someone my way.  

Within two days I was talking to a friend about a girl/lady that had moved into town. She had lost her young son to cancer two years earlier and struggled with anxiety and getting out and doing anything ever since. I had the little mind whisper of the spirit saying reach out and see if she wants to do housekeeping. I reached out and she was the best housekeeper I have ever had help at the Parkway Motel. She was super shy and closed off at the beginning, but as we worked together and made beds (if you ever worked for me that is one of the jobs that bonds people) each day. Jenny and I learned more about each other and became friends. I saw a mother heart mourning and showered her with my Dixie love. She was an answer to my prayer in 2019.  

Fast forward to March 15, 2020, opening day of the Parkway Motel. This little twist in my plans - within one week I had 90% of my reservations for the season cancel out. I had to tell Jenny I could not use her and I would have to do all the housekeeping for the season on my own due to budgeting. I missed having her around and hardly saw her. 

Fast forward to the beginning of November, Jenny texted me to see if they could use my fax machine. Come to find out her husband had lost his job the month before and they were getting kicked out of their house at the end of November. They, with their two teenage kids, had no job and would have no home for the holidays.  

You would be surprised how many cross country adventurers I meet each summer. This is a person who just starts walking across the country. In the olden days they may be called Hobos. Some of them are organized and have a plan. Most do not. I get quite a few that will stop and want to work for a room, they have no money. If there is room at the inn, I let them stay. Sometimes I have them work, but more times naught. When I ask them to work, I have them do yard work and always ask if they want to stay an extra day to help me clean out my storage shed, that was a mess! They seldom did a good job at cleaning my yard and never helped clean out the shed.  

I wanted to assist my friend, Jenny, who had been an answer to my prayers. I asked her and Rick if they wanted to do my Fall clean up of the yard and help clean out my back shed. Within a week they had my storage shed cleaned out, and my front and back yard cleaned up better than it had ever been. Another answer to my prayers.  

I could not afford to keep paying them, because of my financial disaster of this year. But I had room at the Inn. I decided to let this family stay for the month of December or until they can find a home. Part of the reason I am doing this is to be an answer to their prayer and 

“Because I have been sheltered, fed

By thy good care;

I cannot see another’s lack and I not share;

My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,

my roof's safe shelter overhead

That he too may be comforted.”

 

Another reason is that I had Tiffany’s sweet family as my service this season. I thought of Garrett and how he had lost his job this summer.  So when Rick and Jenny came to me about losing their job and home, I wanted to serve them in honor of Tiffany and Garrett's family. I prayed for what I could do, and that little mind whisper of the spirit again said, there is room at the Inn. We have been challenged by the prophet to “Hear Him”, so when I do hear him, I try to act.

 

 Tiffany and Garrett to me are shining examples of enduring through hard stuff. And they have been given some challenges. I am thankful for both of them and the Christlike example they are to me.  

 

It has been helpful for me to have a project during this Covid Christmas that could be weird and lonely.  But I have kept busy finding and helping with sub for Santa, setting up a Christmas Tree for this family and making them feel the Christmas spirit this season.