Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I am excited that it is less than a week away. Because Christmas is coming up, I am going to talk about some of my family’s Christmas traditions. We have done these traditions since I was born.
The first tradition is that Santa comes. The night of Christmas Eve we hang our stockings over our fireplace. In the morning we are not allowed to go upstairs until our parents have finished putting things in the right places. Then when they are ready we come up one at a time youngest to oldest. My dad always records us opening our presents.
The second tradition is that we put all of our family’s names in a Santa hat and we draw one out. Whoever we draw out we get a Christmas present for them. By doing this it makes it so that we can get a more expensive gift for that person rather than getting everyone a small gift. Usually watch each other open these gifts because they are a little more special than the gifts from Santa.
Often when we open a gift we send them on a treasure hunt around the house. Sometimes they need to put puzzles together to find out where the next clue is. This usually doesn’t happen on Christmas just on birthdays. By sending people on treasure hunts it makes them earn their present.
We always go to our grandma’s house during the week of Christmas. Usually we get a small present. Sometimes we have a talent show. We usually meet with our other side of our family and have dinner. This is a fun time to talk to my cousins. I love talking with my cousins because I do not see them very often. Pretty soon the will be married and on missions. Some of my cousins are already married and some are on missions.
Usually we put up our Christmas tree and our other ornaments on a Monday night. We help each other put hard things up. Our tree is always stuffed with ornaments that we have made. The tree always looks magnificent after we are done.
On Christmas morning we always have quiche. We eat it after we open our presents. Quiche is a breakfast food that has a pie crust and has cheese and bacon. Quiche is most of our family’s favorite food.
With our cousins we act out the nativity scene. The nativity scene is Jesus Christ’s birth. We act out the shepherd, the wise men, Mary, Joseph, and even baby Jesus.
We also make some good Christmas goodies. These include Fudge, divinity, and other yummy stuff. We make these as a family.
We also go to our great aunt to make gingerbread houses. They are always a milk carton and a plate that we cover with frosting. Then we apply all the goodies onto them.
I love my traditions. They are very fun. They are things that I look forward to the whole year!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Author Letter
Earlier this week I wrote this for the author contest.
Dear D. J. MacHale,
I enjoyed the Pendragon Series especially, The Soldiers of Halla, the last book. There were many lessons taught in this book that were also in the other Pendragon books. One of these lessons is to never give up. Another lesson is patience. The last and most important lesson is that reading can be fun. These lessons have helped me in my life and have probably helped others too.
The first lesson is to never give up. This lesson was found in The Soldiers of Halla as Bobby fought to save Halla. Halla is everything that exists, all the worlds and everything on them. Bobby fought even though fighting for Halla looked impossible many times in The Soldiers of Halla. This book has taught me not to give up in many things even if it looks impossible to win. Many times my grades do not look to good at midterm, but by the end of the term my grades look much better. My grades looked much better because I did not give up at midterm. This lesson has not only helped me with my grades, it has also helped me in sports. Enduring to the end is a good lesson that has helped me in my life. Sometimes, even though I do not give up I loose a soccer game, but by not giving up and being patient I might win the tournament.
Patience is the second lesson The Soldiers of Halla taught me. As Bobby fought his way through Halla he was not always patient, but when he was not patient, he paid the price. In The Soldiers of Halla Bobby was horribly outnumbered, but as they slowly and patiently fought Saint Dane, they eventually won the war. For many things I have needed to be patient. I have needed to be patient when I run. When I started, I was not very fast, I was slow. As time went on, I eventually was able to run very fast. If I was not patient with myself, I would have never been able to run fast. By being patient I can continue to improve my running. The first time I played soccer I was not very good. By being patient I will continue to improve and become better. Patience has helped me be better at many things. From reading The Soldiers of Halla I learned to be patient and that reading is fun.
Most importantly The Soldiers of Halla taught me that reading can be fun. The Pendragon Series was probably the first group of books that I read for fun, rather than being forced. I actually could imagine what was happening in my head because it was very descriptive. It was also a fast moving book that if I skipped a page I probably would not know what was happening. These books were action packed and had many inventions in them. These books taught me to use my imagination rather than just following the words on the page. The Soldiers of Halla and the other books in the Pendragon series have taught me that reading can be fun.
These lessons taught in The Soldiers of Halla and other Pendragon Series books have helped me in my life. These books have taught me to never give up. These books have taught me patience. Most importantly these books have taught me that reading can be fun. The Soldiers of Halla and the other books in the Pendragon Series have changed my life, they have changed other’s lives, and will continue change lives.
Thanks so much,
Rex Sumsion
Dear D. J. MacHale,
I enjoyed the Pendragon Series especially, The Soldiers of Halla, the last book. There were many lessons taught in this book that were also in the other Pendragon books. One of these lessons is to never give up. Another lesson is patience. The last and most important lesson is that reading can be fun. These lessons have helped me in my life and have probably helped others too.
The first lesson is to never give up. This lesson was found in The Soldiers of Halla as Bobby fought to save Halla. Halla is everything that exists, all the worlds and everything on them. Bobby fought even though fighting for Halla looked impossible many times in The Soldiers of Halla. This book has taught me not to give up in many things even if it looks impossible to win. Many times my grades do not look to good at midterm, but by the end of the term my grades look much better. My grades looked much better because I did not give up at midterm. This lesson has not only helped me with my grades, it has also helped me in sports. Enduring to the end is a good lesson that has helped me in my life. Sometimes, even though I do not give up I loose a soccer game, but by not giving up and being patient I might win the tournament.
Patience is the second lesson The Soldiers of Halla taught me. As Bobby fought his way through Halla he was not always patient, but when he was not patient, he paid the price. In The Soldiers of Halla Bobby was horribly outnumbered, but as they slowly and patiently fought Saint Dane, they eventually won the war. For many things I have needed to be patient. I have needed to be patient when I run. When I started, I was not very fast, I was slow. As time went on, I eventually was able to run very fast. If I was not patient with myself, I would have never been able to run fast. By being patient I can continue to improve my running. The first time I played soccer I was not very good. By being patient I will continue to improve and become better. Patience has helped me be better at many things. From reading The Soldiers of Halla I learned to be patient and that reading is fun.
Most importantly The Soldiers of Halla taught me that reading can be fun. The Pendragon Series was probably the first group of books that I read for fun, rather than being forced. I actually could imagine what was happening in my head because it was very descriptive. It was also a fast moving book that if I skipped a page I probably would not know what was happening. These books were action packed and had many inventions in them. These books taught me to use my imagination rather than just following the words on the page. The Soldiers of Halla and the other books in the Pendragon series have taught me that reading can be fun.
These lessons taught in The Soldiers of Halla and other Pendragon Series books have helped me in my life. These books have taught me to never give up. These books have taught me patience. Most importantly these books have taught me that reading can be fun. The Soldiers of Halla and the other books in the Pendragon Series have changed my life, they have changed other’s lives, and will continue change lives.
Thanks so much,
Rex Sumsion
Thursday, December 3, 2009
100 Things That I Am Grateful For...
1. Walls
2. Lights
3. Ceiling
4. Dishes
5. Running Water
6. Cookies
7. Cake
8. Chocolate
9. Carmel
10. Whipped Cream
11. Pie
12. Bed
13. Yard
14. Friends
15. School
16. Television
17. Telephone
18. Cell phone
19. Cars
20. Videogames
21. Computer
22. iPod
23. Books
24. Time
25. Pen
26. Pencil
27. Shoes
28. Shocks
29. Pants
30. Shorts
31. Shirts
32. Jackets
33. Hair
34. Thumbs
35. Pine trees
36. Fruit trees
37. Shrubs
38. Grass
39. Sports
40. Dirt
41. Paper
42. Chairs
43. Gravity
44. Eyes
45. Ears
46. Mouth
47. Nose
48. Nerves
49. Skin
50. Ten fingers
51. Toes
52. Girls
53. Temple
54. Church
55. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
56. The Book of Mormon
57. Seminary
58. Classes
59. Piano
60. Music
61. Microwave
62. Oven
63. Washer
64. Dryer
65. Toilet
66. Soap
67. Shampoo
68. Sinks
69. Pictures
70. Cameras
71. Dressers
72. Book Shelves
73. Clock
74. Skies
75. Ear buds
76. Speakers
77. Head phones
78. Lamps
79. Table
80. plates
81. Glasses
82. Silver Ware
83. Napkins
84. Assignments
85. Money
86. Rivers
87. Lakes
88. Snow
89. Rain
90. Flies
91. Frogs
92. Mountains
93. Desert
94. Sky
95. Ground
96. Sun
97. Earth
98. Solar Systems
99. Galaxies
100. Universe
2. Lights
3. Ceiling
4. Dishes
5. Running Water
6. Cookies
7. Cake
8. Chocolate
9. Carmel
10. Whipped Cream
11. Pie
12. Bed
13. Yard
14. Friends
15. School
16. Television
17. Telephone
18. Cell phone
19. Cars
20. Videogames
21. Computer
22. iPod
23. Books
24. Time
25. Pen
26. Pencil
27. Shoes
28. Shocks
29. Pants
30. Shorts
31. Shirts
32. Jackets
33. Hair
34. Thumbs
35. Pine trees
36. Fruit trees
37. Shrubs
38. Grass
39. Sports
40. Dirt
41. Paper
42. Chairs
43. Gravity
44. Eyes
45. Ears
46. Mouth
47. Nose
48. Nerves
49. Skin
50. Ten fingers
51. Toes
52. Girls
53. Temple
54. Church
55. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
56. The Book of Mormon
57. Seminary
58. Classes
59. Piano
60. Music
61. Microwave
62. Oven
63. Washer
64. Dryer
65. Toilet
66. Soap
67. Shampoo
68. Sinks
69. Pictures
70. Cameras
71. Dressers
72. Book Shelves
73. Clock
74. Skies
75. Ear buds
76. Speakers
77. Head phones
78. Lamps
79. Table
80. plates
81. Glasses
82. Silver Ware
83. Napkins
84. Assignments
85. Money
86. Rivers
87. Lakes
88. Snow
89. Rain
90. Flies
91. Frogs
92. Mountains
93. Desert
94. Sky
95. Ground
96. Sun
97. Earth
98. Solar Systems
99. Galaxies
100. Universe
Service
I am grateful for many things, especially around Christmas. I am grateful that I have everything that I need. I am also grateful for the things that I do not need. It makes me more grateful when I see how some people do not have everything they need. It makes me feel really good when I serve people. Service is fun to do and it makes a person feel good.
Around Christmas last year or the year before we helped a family get Christmas. We helped them on family night. It started out as my dad giving us a little bit of money for us helping around the house. After that he pointed out that a family was not going to get Christmas. Before we knew it we were at the store buying some things that would be good for this family. Then around Christmas we put these in front of their door and doorbell ditched them. We ran away and heard some excited screams and the parents yelled thank you. It made me feel really good. It made me want to do it again.
We helped a family another time. We were going on a vacation in a couple weeks. This time I am not sure if it was during Christmas or another time. But we still met at family home evening. When we met my dad gave us money that would have been used for a vacation. It was a pretty big amount of money. My dad talked about another family that was in financial trouble. We stuffed some big socks with the money and my parents took the money to them. Helping someone made me feel very happy even though we just gave away our vacation. Service makes me very happy. It does not need to be around Christmas to do service.
Service is very fun to do. It does not need to be as big as this but it still can help someone out. For example when the teachers in the ward and I went to rake leaves I felt happy. When a person does service for someone other than his/herself it generally makes that person feel happy. Another great thing about service is that it is fun. Even though a person is working it seems fun. It is especially fun when a person does it with a group like their family or friends. Service is what a person needs when they are not feeling to good.
Around Christmas last year or the year before we helped a family get Christmas. We helped them on family night. It started out as my dad giving us a little bit of money for us helping around the house. After that he pointed out that a family was not going to get Christmas. Before we knew it we were at the store buying some things that would be good for this family. Then around Christmas we put these in front of their door and doorbell ditched them. We ran away and heard some excited screams and the parents yelled thank you. It made me feel really good. It made me want to do it again.
We helped a family another time. We were going on a vacation in a couple weeks. This time I am not sure if it was during Christmas or another time. But we still met at family home evening. When we met my dad gave us money that would have been used for a vacation. It was a pretty big amount of money. My dad talked about another family that was in financial trouble. We stuffed some big socks with the money and my parents took the money to them. Helping someone made me feel very happy even though we just gave away our vacation. Service makes me very happy. It does not need to be around Christmas to do service.
Service is very fun to do. It does not need to be as big as this but it still can help someone out. For example when the teachers in the ward and I went to rake leaves I felt happy. When a person does service for someone other than his/herself it generally makes that person feel happy. Another great thing about service is that it is fun. Even though a person is working it seems fun. It is especially fun when a person does it with a group like their family or friends. Service is what a person needs when they are not feeling to good.
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