Merry Christmas to Meg From Michael

I was very excited, upon receiving my assignment from Tiffany, to discover that I had Meg. Since moving back in with Mom and Dad I have had the opportunity to go through some old pictures and I have remembered that Meg was my first best friend. Unfortunately our relationship has gone through some ups and downs over the years. I thought this service project would be a great opportunity for me to grow closer to Meg by participating in something that she would care about.

After reflecting on what service project would be the best way to grow closer to Meg we heard from Kriss and Ed that there was a real need in Africa for receiving blankets for newborn babies. One of the things I have always associated with Meg is her love for craft type projects. I thought that making receiving blankets may be a perfect way to grow closer to Meg. I recruited my sister in law Tiffany to teach me how to make these blankets.

We headed over to our local Michael's and bought some fabric. I was especially pleased to discover that even in Southern California I could buy some University of Utah fabric.



After selecting our fabric we headed over to the cutting counter and waited for them to call our number. We had decided to go to Michael's the day after Thanksgiving and were forced to wait for quite awhile with some impatient bargain shoppers.

Upon returning home Tiffany taught me how to measure and square my material. We then ironed and made other preparations for our project.







During this phase of the project the kids and I discovered that the scrap material made for some excellent headgear.






I was shocked by how much I enjoyed sewing, though it took some time to get comfortable with the machine (see nervous face top left).





After finishing my five blankets for Africa, I was on a roll. I even made a blanket for Houston and our new baby.
In addition to drawing closer to Meg I also felt a little closer to my Grandma Hock who used to sew quilts for each of her grandchildren.
I love you very very much Meg. I love being your brother and I loved all of the fun times we had playing together growing up. Merry Christmas!

Our new family tradition

Traditionally, the Hock family has enjoyed the excitement and hullabaloo of Christmas gifts. This year we decided to try something new. With all three Hock children being adults and only one grandchild, we decided to try skipping the traditional store bought Christmas gifts and replace them with gifts of service.

Names were assigned randomly and are unknown to each other. The goal is not to serve the assigned person, but instead to do a service in honor of that person. We each had to brainstorm and really think about our assignment to contemplate what would mean something to them. On Christmas Day, we will all reveal who we had and how we chose to celebrate the new tradition of the Hock Family Season of Service by posting our experiences and pictures.

We hope this new tradition will help us focus on serving our communities and one another during the annual celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Thanks for your interest and support of our new family tradition. Please feel free to leave a comment throughout.