Week 16

Dear Scott,

We got to talk to you four times in the last two weeks, but I'm sure I can come up with more to say! :)

On Saturday we had early morning choir practice, then our ward Christmas breakfast, and then we took the kids to shop for their sibling gifts. I had a Relief Society visit in the afternoon.  I'm pretty sure we ate snacks and watched movies for the rest of the day...

Sunday was our Christmas church service.  The choir (which included all our girls and me) sang two songs ("O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "Away in a Manger"), Dad accompanied a mens group and Kendra Jones, and for the closing song ("The First Noel"), Gracie and Sister Knight played the piano and I played the organ (super loud!).  Our choir is still small in numbers, but I think we were able to help bring the Spirit there.

The big event of the afternoon is that Dad, Tessa, and Emma went to pick up some free guinea pigs from someone in our neighborhood.  The girls were so excited!  Emma named hers Smores and Tessa named hers Patty.  They're actually pretty good pets, because they are quiet, don't run away, like to be held, like to be given treats, and don't bite.  They are a little smelly and poop a lot, but the girls have been pretty good about keeping up with that.

On Monday we did some shopping and sleeping and were generally lazy.  For Family Home Evening we made gingerbread houses.

Christmas Eve was Tuesday, and the weather was so nice--it got up to the low 70's.  I took the kids to a park in Murphy, and we had fun walking to a cemetery, throwing the football around, skating, and putting on a show.

That evening Gracie made her last Twelve Days of Christmas delivery, plus she delivered a couple gift cards she had purchased to some people in our ward.  She definitely has a giving heart.  We then got together and read the nativity story, and then the kids opened their sibling gifts.  Then it took some time, but eventually everyone got into bed so Santa could finish his work.

And then...Christmas morning came!  The kids were up around 5 or 6, but kept themselves busy until 7:30 when they came to ask if they could open their stockings.  It didn't take long after that to get everything going.  We are richly blessed, and so grateful for the blessings we have as a family--including having a missionary son!

It was a great day.  Caytie asked me to make baked custard, since they've never had it, so I did, and it tasted just like my mom used to make it when I was a child (which was delicious), but none of the kids really liked it that much.  Oh well--more for me.  We stayed in our jammies all day, just like we like it, and snacked and played and talked with you!

On Thursday we were invited by the Danielsons to go to Six Flags for the afternoon and evening.  Again, the weather was so nice--mid 60's with no wind.  The lines were long, but we learned about using the single rider lines and got through a lot pretty quickly.  Tessa tried the new Harley Quinn.  Caytie was especially brave, riding Mr. Freeze and the Titan, and she, Gracie, and I tried out the Texas Giant and loved it.  They said they'd have bragging rites over you, but I told them you wouldn't care!  Oh, and Dad shaved his beard that morning!  Surprise!

Friday was a great day for a bike ride, so Caytie, Emma, Benson and I rode to Community Park.  (Gracie was working on Personal Progress, and Tessa wasn't feeling well.)  

(I don't recommend riding a bike while taking pictures...I almost fell!)

We had a great time until Caytie fell and scratched up her legs and elbow (and tore a hole in her favorite leggings!), so Benson and I rode home and I went back in the car to pick up Caytie.  I spent the rest of the day reading a book that was due soon at the library, Dad worked on modifying his minibike with Brother Huberty, and everyone else played with Christmas gifts and guinea pigs.

I tried making fondue for dinner, but something went terribly wrong when the cheese never melted properly with the broth.  I tried to boil it a bit to get it to melt, but that was a mistake, and the cheese became a rubbery blob with a little cheesy broth.  I didn't have the energy to redo it, so we just used the runny cheesy broth, and everyone seemed fine with it.

Now we're to Saturday, and we've done almost nothing again, as it's been raining on and off all day.  It is great to have a break, but our house could really use a deep clean!  We have another week at home, so we'll need to try to be more productive.

We love you, Scott!  We're grateful you get to serve the Lord this way.  We miss you, especially as we're doing our traditional things without you, but what you're doing is more important.  We look forward to talking with you again on Monday!

Love, 

Mom

Week 15

Dear Scott,

All week this week I woke up the kids by saying, "It's the last Monday (or Tuesday, etc.) of school this decade!"  We are all so excited it's Friday.  I think I've had three naps in the last two days.  Anyway--now for the details!

On Saturday we headed to the church early to clean (but without Dad, who was at the stake concert rehearsal).  Another family and two men came too, so we got everything done in a little more than an hour.  That afternoon we had a Christmas piano recital at a nursing home.  Caytie played "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," and was a little worried that the residents would be offended, but none of them were. :)  Gracie did a duet of Jingle Bells with Sister Knight.

Sunday was nice.  We had a great discussion in Gospel Doctrine, and then Brother Harris said that Revelations can be summed up in two words, which he wrote on the chalk board:
"We win."  We then talked about Revelation 5:1-5 and 12-13, about how Jesus Christ is the only one worthy to save the world.  12 and 13 are the verses in the last song of the Messiah.  It was good to ponder on these things.  After church we had dinner for lunch, since Dad had to leave early, and then he made a bunch of mini cupcakes in a ding dong maker someone gave us.  Emma finished up some of the frosting for him.

That night was our stake's Feast of Carols.  I invited my PTA friend Laura to come, so we brought her, and Gracie invited one of her school friends, who ended up coming with her whole family.  (They have six kids, too!)  Ben was great in the orchestra (of course), and the choir was really nice.  They still can't get the sound system to work properly, so some of the solos were super quiet, and the percussion section could have used someone with more experience, but it was overall a great way to feel the Christmas spirit.

On Monday night we got some flowers and went caroling to Sister Edith Johnson and Sister Rose.  They both invited us in to chat for a while, and both told us how happy we were that we came.  (That reminds me that I forgot to tell you about our last FHE.  Our ward was challenged to help The Bridge Connection organization in some way this year, and one thing they do is hang those tags on the tree at Walmart.  Dad had just sold an extra motor he had, so we got two of the tags and used the motor money to shop for them.  The girls really enjoyed doing it; Benson was interested in finding things for himself.)  It's nice that we have some time and resources this year to do a little more for other people.  We haven't been able to as much the last few years.

On Tuesday morning Dad went to see Tessa's choir performance, since it was right before preschool and I couldn't make it.  He said they did a great job.  (She's on the front row, wearing her Christmas cat sweatshirt.)

My birthday was on Wednesday, and it was (as always) great to talk to you!  Dad got me a Fitbit smart watch, and I'm still learning how to use it, but I love that it reminds me to exercise more!  Now I need to exercise more.  (It has been a low priority lately.)  I took our old Christmas tree out to a sister in our ward without one and took her shopping.  Dad and I were supposed to go out for lunch, but with the shopping and things breaking at work, we were both busy until about 1:30, so I got some Jimmy Johns sandwiches on the way home and we ate them and watched the Mandalorian show together.  Not what was planned, but still nice.  Dad also cooked a turkey for dinner, which turned out great.  We had been saving it for later, but I needed the freezer space for something else, and we needed to get it cooked.  We had a chocolate chunk Nothing Bundt Cakes cake for dessert--with peppermint ice cream.  Soooo yummy!  Dad and the three older girls went ice skating for the youth activity that night, while I had Tessa and Benson help clean the house for my preschool Christmas show the next day.  Yay!

The preschool show turned out pretty well, except that my co-teacher couldn't be there, and my sub (Dad) had some last minute work that had to be done, so I was on my own.  The kids did great--minus one boy in the middle, who had so much energy that he couldn't stay in his spot.  But they did it, the parents loved it, we enjoyed cookies and milk, and then I sent everyone home and laid on the couch and napped!  Then I made some gingerbread cookie dough, and then the kids came home from school and we all headed out to see Star Wars!  (The kids instructed me to not make you jealous about it, but they did say it was the best movie they've ever, ever seen.)  We all really enjoyed it.  After the movie, I baked the cookies and Dad helped me quickly decorate them, and we finally got to bed.

Friday--it's the last day of school.  Hooray!  (It's always easier to wake them up on the first and last days.)  The kids bagged up the cookies to take to their teachers.  I got some gift wrapping done until early release brought kids home again.   Gracie and I went shopping for her last Twelve Days of Christmas gifts she's giving secretly each night to her Sunday School teachers, the Hathaways.  She has been loving doing this for them.   Tonight the missionaries are coming over to follow up on a challenge they gave us to do service.  I think we can say we've been doing well.

We (especially the girls) are excited we get to talk to you two times this week!  We look forward to hearing how you get to celebrate Christmas.  I hope your Sunday church service is uplifting and joyful, and that you can share your love of Jesus Christ with all you talk to!

We love you!

Mom

Week 14

Dear Scott,

Well, the idyllic "setting up Christmas after school" thing I wrote about last week never happened.  Instead, everyone came home and then left!  Dad had a practice for the MCO concert, Gracie and Caytie went to a painting party, Emma went to a choir party, and Tessa went to her friend's house for a "late-over."  That left me and Benson, so we went to McDonalds and then watched holiday episodes of The Great British Baking Show.

Gracie and Caytie painted a snowman snow globe scene, and put all of us in it:

The next day, Dad, Emma, and Gracie went to the craft fair in downtown Wylie to sell candles for the Venturing Crew.  Then Dad and Gracie came home, so Gracie could babysit, and we finally pulled out the Christmas tree--the one we have been meaning to replace for the last three years.  Dad set it up and turned it on, and about 10 lights came on, and half the needles dropped, and it looked...sad.  On a whim we decided to go buy a live tree.  Caytie and Benson were NOT happy about it, thinking that our old tree was good enough, but we brought them and Tessa along to the Home Depot tree lot and soon they were happy to help pick out a tree.  The guy there said all the good trees were purchased the week before, so he gave us the tree we chose for 50% off.  (We think the tree is beautiful, but it is true that it hasn't drunk/drank? any water all week, so it's probably not in good shape that way.)  We wanted to let the branches come down after being wrapped up, so we didn't get it decorated until Sunday, just before choir.  (I spent the whole hour of choir studying how I needed to rearrange the clustered ornaments.)

Also on Sunday, I updated our missionary map!

(Oh, Dad had the MCO concert on Saturday night.  The title was "Mele Kalikimaka," and there were some amazing hula dancers there.  I haven't made it to one of their Christmas concerts yet, but I need to!  Maybe next year...)

Emma had her choir concert on Tuesday, and it was beautiful.  I love that our school district embraces songs about Jesus.  I heard the percussion concert was cancelled because Mr. Houpe had the flu.

We had our Relief Society dinner last night (Thursday), and it was really nice.  We catered Mexican food, had a cookie exchange (plus got extras to take to ministering families), and I spoke for a bit about following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and gave everyone fuzzy socks (plus gave extras for ministering sisters).  It is so nice to have a Relief Society Meetings Board that is magnifying their callings so well!  I also had a lady wishing to remain anonymous give me a couple baskets of treats to deliver to whoever I though might need them, so I got to do that this week.

I liked this quote from the Ensign this month, from Elder Bednar's "Jesus Christ: the Source of Enduring Joy:"

I hope you have an amazing week as you get to testify of Jesus Christ so near to the celebration of His birth!  You are lighting the world every day.  We love you so much, and miss you, especially as we do our traditions without you for the first time.  We're praying for you all the time!

Love,

Mom

Week 13

Dear Scott,

I'm taking a break from Christmas decorating to write this letter.  I love the little light tree you made in your apartment!  Maybe you can hang some seashells on the wall for ornaments, and write "Sea-sons Greetings," for your first summer Christmas.

Sunday was nice.  It's always good to fast and remember to focus on things besides physical appetites.  Dad threw up right before church, though, and he did come for the sacrament, but left right after to sleep for the rest of the day.  We carried on and had choir here and a RS presidency meeting.

The Wylie Christmas Parade was fun, and the weather was just right.  Emma, Gracie, and Benson rode on Benson's pack's float.  Tessa stayed home, and Caytie and I were in the audience.  (It's a lot easier to keep track of one 12 year old than 6 small kids!)  And, of course, Dad rode his motorbike with the other guys from the neighborhood.  Their picture is in the newspaper this week!

(That's Cloe and Andrew Wilson, and Dad's in the black helmet behind them.)

I said I'd send you pictures of Gracie's project.  It turned out so well.  Her teacher is keeping it to put in the library.

Caytie did a project, too--it's a cardboard C with pictures of conures in pockets.

This week there were three sisters who had surgeries and one who had a miscarriage, so there was a lot of organizing how to care for them, and also making meals to take to them.  I also took a sister grocery shopping (the one who lives 30 minutes away).  We got done in time for me to get back for Benson, except I got stuck behind a truck with some kind of huge tank on the back.  Another truck was following with these guys with long sticks.  The trucks would drive a short distance and then stop, and the guys would run out and use the sticks to lift the power lines that were too low, and the tank truck would drive through, and they guys would run back to their little truck.  Unfortunately, there were a LOT of these wires on this small stretch of road, so all of us waiting behind this show got delayed about 20 minutes.  I pulled into the neighborhood as Benson's bus was pulling out.  I saw him waiting on the doorstep.  He said, "I had to wait a whole minute for you to get here!"  I reminded him that he knew the garage code, and he said he didn't think of that.

Good news for Emma's foot, as we told you on Monday when you called.  No fracture, just a bad sprain.  She got the cast removed and had a lace up brace, and used the crutches until Wednesday, and now doesn't use them.  So she's healing well.  We're working on getting a few of her grades pulled up before the end of the semester.

Last night I went to Kellene El-Shahawy's cookie exchange party in Plano.  It was so good to see old friends again.  Randa Nelson, Donna Bateman, and Osama and Ramsey all said to say hello to you!  Today I'm sampling a bit of each cookie before the kids get home from school to eat the rest while they finish decorating the house.

This morning I had a thought while reading the scriptures.  I've known the verse in 1 John 4:18 for a long time, which says "perfect love casteth out fear," but today I finally connected it with verse 8, which says "God is love."  The Perfect Love that casteth out fear is God.  It was good to think about that today.

Only 10 more days of school until Christmas break!  We are counting down the days, for sure.

We love you so much!  We hope you have an amazing week.

Love,

Mom