To Maisie, Love Brianne

So, I had Maisie this year, and I've thought a lot about her and prayed for her on her adventures as a missionary in So. Carolina. Being a missionary is so great, especially around Christmastime. It's the perfect opportunity to talk about the Savior, especially with the Christmas initiative the church puts forth. #lighttheworld is a perfect opportunity to talk to people and to serve others, and with the vending machines in the JSM Building downtown, I thought no better way to show my support that by donating to the cause. I went downtown and was able to purchase glasses for local kids, as well as some canned chicken for the hungry. It was so crazy busy, and there was a ton of people in line to use the machines, and I loved seeing how the community was coming together to bless the needy - that's what missionary work is all about!! :)

We also fed the missionaries in our ward, but it was more like my husband fed the missionaries (i got home from work late that day) but anyways, I love you Maisie, and I am so proud of you. Missionary work is the greatest! Merry Christmas!

To Jacob from Sister Kirkby

Hey fam bam! This year has been one of my best years ever! I've been a missionary for over 6 months and I've learned a ton. As I'm reflecting on the year, I must admit that my service for Jacob has come from being on a mission... I know... what a copout... With Jacob being one of my younger cousins, I was a little stumped on what to do for service. Just as I was stumped when I found out that most of the people we were teaching in my first area ranged from the age of 12-14!

Lilly-12

Conner-13

Michael-14

Sarah-14

John-14

I was not prepared for that! These kids have a lot of drama going on. Lilly and Conner are siblings and their parents are very inactive members who desperately want the missionaries to teach them. Michael, Sarah, and John are all siblings, but they're not blood related. They are all from Bulgaria (speak 0 English) and are now apart of a very active family in the church. Let's just say that there's lots of intense culture shock. It seemed almost instantly that I (w/ my companion) held the "fate" of all these 5 kids. We were to receive the revelation on how to help them obtain testimonies... I didn't know how to do that!!!!! (I still don't know how to do that!!!) My childhood was nothing like theirs! All I knew was that I learned a lot about myself by doing personal progress; I learned how to study the scriptures by going to seminary; I learned of my Savior as I bore my testimony. As I knew and remembered that doing those good things helped me those years, we were able to teach to their needs with the help of the Spirit!

I guess the reason why I'm saying this is because I hope that serving a mission serves more than just those that I meet here in Virginia. I hope that the testimony that I develop here helps you all back home. I know that our family is eternal, I know that my Savior died and lives for me, I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that the prophet Joseph Smith truly is a prophet of God. I have truly come to know that making righteous choices is the way that Heavenly Father is able to give us the blessings we need. I would invite all you youngins to think on how you want to prepare to serve a mission or enter the temple worthily!

I wish you all a merry Christmas! I can't wait to see you all next year!

Love, Sister Kirkby

To Uncle Kevan from Ben

Uncle Kevan never ceases to amaze me!  He is always a source of inspiration.  He's an example of a great Priesthood Holder, Husband, Father and Brother.  It was a pleasure to find ways to honor him while serving others.  

Kevan holds a unique set of skills and talents that nobody else in our extended family has.  We have all benefited from his medical expertise and we are so grateful!  Kevan is always willing to help anytime somebody mentions an ailment or injury.  I always feel bad when we ask him to help out but he is always so willing.   A few months ago I asked him to look at my knee which I injured last winter.  It wasn't getting better and I was worried that I might have injured it permanently, maybe needing surgery.  He took the time to check it out.  He gave me some good news that it wasn't a serious injury but that I would need to do some painful stretches and exercises.  Following the doctors orders, I completely recovered in just days.  Thanks so much Uncle Kevan!

In November I got a call to help a friend from Hawaii that was moving to Utah.  They were great friends in Hawaii and as close to family as we had there.  They had a shipping container arriving in Saratoga Springs of all places on a Saturday, but our actual friends weren't arriving for a few more weeks (sounds familiar...lol).  My natural instinct is always to grumble about service but it wasn't long before I remembered how Uncle Kevan took on the challenge of unloading my container before our family arrived in Utah.  Kevan was more than willing to help unload our stuff and so I thought I can do the same and help our dear friends with their move.

That was early one Saturday morning.  After the move help was done that morning, I decided to dedicate the entire day and make it a day of service by sharing my skills and talents like Uncle Kevan.  Eric Patterson had been asking me to come look at some home repairs he was having problems with and Liz had been asking me to come and look at her kitchen table.  It was in bad shape after her move and she needed it repaired.  

Long story short, I spent the rest of the day and into the evening sharing my skills and talents with family members just like uncle Kevan.  I know my skills are not the gift of healing and saving lives, but some times back doors and kitchen tables really matter also!  Lol  It was a great day and I felt really good after serving people I love all day.  

Thanks Uncle Kevan for honoring your priesthood and always being a great example to me!

Ben

To Maegann From Casey

My service was performed on behalf of Maegann Kirkby. I didn’t know very much about Maegann, but I’ve loved talking to people about her and getting to know her more. One of the recurring traits that people kept telling me is how selfless she is. Over the course of the year I tried to be more like her finding more opportunities to be selfless, such as being a good cousin, friend and listener.

However, on October 1, Las Vegas became victim one of the worst shootings in U.S. history. It broke my heart to hear about this tragic event. My thoughts quickly went to praying for all of those affected. Lauren and I texted all day about this crazy event and how glad we were the Kirby’s are here in Utah instead of down in Vegas. We saw how many victims there were and wondered how can we help so many people. I learned that they needed a lot of blood and fast. Utah was one of the first states the Red Cross would pull from. I quickly searched online to find a place to donate and was able to donate.

In honor of Maegann, being a selfless person and being from Vegas, I donated blood to the victims and later helped coordinate with the red cross to come to Nu Skin and set up for a blood drive.I re-learned the lesson that as we give of ourselves to those in need, we get more and are happier in life. I am so grateful that I was able to get to know Maegann more and serve on her behalf this year. Merry Christmas!!!

To Lydia, Merry Christmas! Love, Lauren

Merry Christmas! I thought I'd focus on your enjoyment of theater in high school and decided to volunteer to help at one of Libby's high school plays.  I helped sell tickets for Les Miserables at Skyridge High and it was really fun.  Love you, Lydia!

to Alex (and Cindy), from brian

Alex, my brother! so many places i could have gone with this assignment. i considered doing something around gaming as that's a connection that we've made and has bonded us together. i also considered doing something with education and the fact that i'm a student at your university. i could have written something eloquent and affirming about how WGU is the education reform that we've needed for a while and will be the leader of the universities that will survive the impending secondary education bubble burst. you are a part of something big there and i could have shared my heartfelt experiences and insights about my education journey and your role there.

but then, Liz asked me "since we both have Alex and Cindy, should we do something together for them?" i had no idea what that would be, so i didn't jump at it from the beginning, but as Liz sought my editorial insight into the video she was creating, i realized the beautiful work of art about a beautiful family that she was forming and i got excited to be a part of it.

we had a long brainstorm session one evening that culminated in the idea of a 10th anniversary retrospective. along with the music video that Liz created, we'd create a ruse as to why Liz wanted to interview you about each other and cut that into a video as well. i could bring some web development skills to bring it all together in a single location where we could celebrate 10 years of the Alex and Cindy Kenney family!

as often happens with my projects, i dream big and then have to pair it down to something manageable. with my overloaded school schedule and work and life in general, i paired it down to a simple family page with three different navigation options. i called it Gaming Life (with love) as a double entendre  meaning both 1) showing that gaming is a big part of both you and Cindy's life and b) playing off the defintion of "gaming" to mean "influencing a situation for optimal outcome." you guys are rocking life and it's a pleasure to be witness to it!

another huge bonus of Liz and I doing this project together was that it brought us closer together. it's been a while since Liz and I have tried to work together on something. but on this project, we were able to listen to each other and accept valuable insights and perspectives. Liz and i are very different people with very different perspectives that can sometimes clash, but for some reason on this project we came together well and made a better product all around.

anywho, here's your 10 year anniversary page: http://bkirkby.wixsite.com/alovestory

to Cindy (and Alex), love Liz

Alex AND Cindy, (be sure you are together)

Watch this video FIRST before reading on:

PART 1

I've been waiting and praying all year to find inspiration on how to serve Cindy this year. Despite my good intentions, month after month would pass with nothing seeming to come to me. Around the beginning of fall, I had decided I would do a video tribute of some sort. But what? I had a mother/daughter song I really like and perhaps I'd do something to honor Cindy and her mother since the past year has been a special one to our family with Colleen being a surrogate mom to so many in our family (Brian included). I was starting to feel pulled down that path, but something wasnt "right" about it. But at least I had a path to go down. 

At mid-October I realized I had better start taking this seriously since the end of the year was fast approaching and with a wedding for Brianne and Jake upon us, I knew I'd regret it if I didnt get prepared quickly. I put in a phone call to Colleen to talk about collecting pictures of Cindy's childhood and hopefully some mother/daughter photos. But apparently Colleen was more in tune to the spirit than I was. She reminded me that this is Alex and Cindy's 10 year anniversary this December and perhaps I should do something culminating the last 10 years of their marriage. This was the answer, and I knew it immediately. 

It just so happened that this phone call occurred over a weekend in October where I was up to my eyeballs in pictures of Brianne and Jake as I was putting together their upcoming wedding slideshow. I hit a wall and could proceed no longer as I needed to await more pictures from Jake's mom. So I stepped away from the computer and called Cindy's mom as a distraction from the current project. When Colleen mentioned an anniversary tribute I was very intrigued. You see, I had this really awesome song swimming around in my head for the last 24 hours. I was debating between two love songs to end the wedding slideshow with.  I made a decision and left the "Perfect" song on the proverbial "cutting room floor".  I was a bit heartbroken because I REALLY loved this Perfect song. I think I knew in the back of my head it had a different job to do than the wedding slideshow. In was, in fact, waiting for the Kenney's. I'm pretty sure it was made for this purpose.  Perfect!

The next day was Monday. I hadnt planned to work on Cindy's service project quite yet. I figured I'd get this wedding slideshow and music video over with before I tackled any other projects. Before I knew what was happening, I was in front of my computer once again. But this time, instead of browsing through Bri/Jake pictures, I was scouring Facebook for pictures of Alex and Cindy.  Why was a starting a third project? "I dont have time for this" I would find myself thinking. But I kept going anyway - when inspiration is flowing, I've learned not to walk away from it. Perfect!

By the time I was done with it, I had finished it in a fraction of the time it usually takes me to make a slideshow video. I was astonished at how I seemed to find the exact picture I needed and how it fit Perfect-ly with the music.  At one point, I grabbed a row of pictures to insert into the editor and was about to edit the order and timing. But as I hit "play" for the music to tell me what to do, I got completely choked up and teary as I realized how Perfect the music and the pictures already went together. I looked at the other pictures and was suddenly making edits and cuts and I didnt know why I was making them. Things were just flowing into place. I sat back and hit play again and let  the spirit wash over me as I watched this video that was just put together by heavenly angels - it was beautiful and Perfect. 

I watched the video again and again, making very few adjustments. I needed an ending and I'd have to get creative about how to obtain the last few frames since it didnt exist, but I wasnt worried. I knew it would come together. I must have watched it 20 times after I was done. Each time, I'd think of how much I love this sweet family. Just like this video, their life has a plan. There is a reason why things have happened the way they have - it is no accident. It is Perfect. Just like this slideshow was planned by our Father in Heaven, so is their life - their marriage and their children. It was all prepared beforehand. We just need to let our hands and feet do the work He inspires us to do.

I am so grateful for Cindy and her coming to our family. She is a beautiful example to me as a wife, in motherhood, and as a disciple of Christ.  Alex sure is a blessed man! Life may not seem Perfect as we are in the midst of it all, but isnt it amazing how we can take a look back and see the beauty of it? 

PART 2

This is the first year that a husband/wife (Brian and myself) have a matching husband and wife (Alex and Cindy). We thought it would be fun to do something that served them as a couple. The slideshow I made certainly involves A&C equally and we decided to add a second feature - an interview!

In order to get their cooperation, I needed to tell a few white lies. I told them I had dad for Christmas and was interviewing all the kids/spouses, but in reality, they were the only ones we talked to. Tricked ya! Or perhaps they figured it out because I had to contact them a few times about various details and they may have figured it out. 

Well, Brian and I worked together on the interview portion of the video and it was a fun activity to do together. Alex and Cindy are a great example of successful marriage - we all have something to learn from them. Brian added one other feature that I will let him explain in his own post to Alex. 

Merry Christmas you love birds!!!

Love, Liz