The Leavitt Lodge Newsletter

     Today our newsletters go out.  Eighteen this month.  We started off with seven (7 children) with the first month last May.  By June we thought we'd send one to both Barry & my mothers to keep them updated with our family.  In July & August Barry & I were in St. George, Utah so I added my dear, caring Aunt Shirley to our list.  By September, I thought (hoped) my wonderful sister (Sis) might be interested, so we sent one to her as well.  October came & my loving cousin Ronda said she heard about my newsletters & wanted one.  November I sent an additional to my sweet niece & for December since it was the Christmas month, I thought  my brother would like one.  So, here it is, January & I just thought that I might as well send out 18 & see how it goes.

     I also write a newsletter for the Relief Society in our Ward at church - we make 50 copies & pass them out once a month.  Most of what I've written on my family newsletter is the same on the one for R.S. minus the family news & photos.

     So, here's to those of you who are so kindly following our journey at the Leavitt Lodge.  Here's some insight into who we are, what we believe & how we handle life, including our great and wonderful experience gained by those hard to learn lessons in life.

Part One:

Here in our little Leavitt Lodge we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary December 4^th with great appreciation for one another.  We surmised that getting remarried later in life has its perks because we’ve discovered things we wished we had learned when we were younger.  One of the main things (& this comes from age & maturity) is to put the other person first:   

We’d like to share with you some of those things we learned:

1.      Always be sensitive to each other’s feelings.

2.      Always communicate.  Ask, “Are you saying ___?”, before you react.  Say, “I’m hurt because ___” when you feel deprived or cheated or ignored.

3.      Hold hands when wherever you go.

4.     Tell yourself your most important job is to make the other happy.  When you do that, you’ll see that happiness comes back to you tenfold.

5.      Serve the other before you serve yourself.

     Being in love is more than attraction, more than having things in common, more than walking the same road together.  Being in love is all those things, of course, plus a commitment to stay in love, to understand each other, giving help, encouraging & supporting each the other in all that you do, sacrificing your own wants, forgiving when forgiveness is hard to come by & taking time out when the pressure gets to much.   We know that as you do those things love will continue to abound & happiness will continue to grow.

 

     Be each other’s present this year & every year after that.