Good-bye 2014

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!  We sure did.  It has been very busy all week since kids are out of school and people are traveling.  Our Twelve Days of Christmas ended on Tuesday with the missionaries doing the program.  Not just Battalion Sisters, either, lots of missionaries from the Great San Diego Mission.  The performances had been pretty full for the whole weekend, but on the last night it was JAM PACKED!  I couldn’t even see the performers!  We still had tours going on so I was out at the front desk, but I could hear the music and the singers.  Really quite wonderful.

Earlier that day before we were on shift, we were able to have lunch with our dear friends Jay and Judy and catch up with them.  Yes, on December 23 we ate lunch out on the patio.  Sorry about the shadows in the picture.  We have really missed them!  On Christmas Day as we came in to the dinner we had for the Sisters, we saw their car in the lot!  Craig took their tour and the Sister who was leading it was able to go in and eat.  We were able to see them for a bit and that made our Christmas a little brighter.

On Christmas Eve we worked the morning shift and then were able to go to the temple lights again.  LOTS of people doing the same thing.

We have seen this Christmas decorated van quite a few times over the last month.

 

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas day.  We did.  We were pretty lucky that it was our P-day!  We got up and went to the beach.  Yes, the water was cold, but really not bad so we walked along with our feet in the water.  We came home and ate breakfast, then opened our gifts.  People were very generous and we made out like bandits.  Then we spent a couple of hours at Sea World.  It was pretty crowded, but people were happy. 

Our mini Christmas tree with gifts under it.

These reindeer were at Sea World, Obviously they were all tuckered out from the night before!

We went to the Battalion and spent a little time there eating and even opening a few more gifts!  Some of the Sisters had already Skyped or Facetimed their families and the rest were looking forward to it.  It was a different Christmas for all of us, but we were told by President Schmitt not to try to replicate all of your family's holiday traditions in the mission field. Rejoice in the wonderful, unique opportunity to spend the holidays in the mission field.  That was good advice.  This year we were really able to find Christ in Christmas.

We were able to talk to all of the kids, some of the grandkids, my sister and even one Sister that is home from her mission now.  What a treat to talk to so many people we love in one day.

This week will be 2015.  Wow.  We look back at 2014 and know we are really blessed.  We got to go on a mission to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site and work with some of the best Sister Missionaries ever.

Genna graduated from Law School and all of our kids were together!  And she also passed the Bar.

We have had family and friends come to visit.  We have enjoyed living in this area.  We have met many, many interesting people.  We get to spend time on the temple grounds.  So many wonderful things!

We look forward to what 2015 will bring.  Especially a new grandchild in Arkansas in May!  We wish you all of the best in 2015, too.  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

We hope you are having the merriest Christmas ever.  What a blessing to be able to concentrate on our Savior at this time of year, although we think of him all year long.  We are so grateful that He came into the world.  We are thankful we are able to share His message.

If you haven’t seen this 3 minute video, please watch.  He is the Gift!

We have been enjoying all of the Christmas festivities and decorations.  Some of the Sisters from colder places are missing the snow.  We are fine with the nice weather!

Some shots of some of the Twelve Days of Christmas programs at the Battalion.

  

More pictures of the Temple Lights.  Can't stop taking them!

Other decorations we have enjoyed.

Yes, shorts and flip-flops in December.

This week we spotlight the Millers, who are from Arizona.  This is their SIXTH mission!  They have been serving here for nearly 18 months.  They go home at the end of January and we will miss them.  They have 6 kids and I am sure they are looking forward to spending some time with them and the grandkids!

Sister Miller writes songs and poems.  She plays the guitar and sings to some of the school tours while they wait.  She is a fantastic cook and makes ricotta cheese!  We are all looking forward to the Yule Logs she makes for Christmas dinner.  Elder Miller can fix anything.  He is pressed into repair service not only at the Battalion, but also in the Sisters’ apartments.  He knows how things work and what to do when they don’t.  He made my life a lot easier when he told me to hit clear on the copier before making a copy.  That way the first sheet does not fold into an accordion fan and jam.  Very valuable info.  Whatever will we do when they are gone?

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is such a wonderful time!   You would not believe how beautiful the San Diego temple is with all of the Christmas lights on at night. 

There have been musical programs on the weekends since Thanksgiving.  This is the last weekend.  They are well attended.  Many people come on weeknights, too.  Who can resist taking pictures here?  And there is such a nice feeling on the temple grounds.

Friday at the Battalion we started the Twelve Days of Christmas with different musical groups each night at 7.  How fun!  On December 23, the final night, the Battalion Sisters will be singing.  We look forward to that!

We have noticed Christmas decorations all around.

A gigantic Christmas tree on the end of Crystal Pier

A giant Christmas tree at an Old Town restaurant

It rained for a couple of days this week!  Prayers answered.  California has been in a drought for years and this helped.  Now we need about 6 more storms just like it.

Transfer time again!  We had to say good-bye to three wonderful Sisters who ended their missions - Sister Lehmitz, Sister Stephens and Sister Wells.  I am not sure the Battalion can run without them!  They certainly left a huge hole in our hearts.  We worked with Sister Stephens on Sunday mornings for six months, until she was transferred to a new area with earlier church meetings.  But she had stake conference on her last Sunday and so needed to trade her schedule.  She was on with us one last time.  She and Elder Robinson led a tour together Sunday.  Sister Brown went along in the tour.  I think it was fun for them.

We did get one new Sister and one more Sister went out on full pross.

This week we introduce you to sweet Sister Lopez from Utah.  She was called Spanish speaking and had the advantage of already being a native speaker.  We were so happy to learn that she also knows American Sign Language!  She started using it almost immediately at the Battalion.  So right off the bat she needed to learn the script in English, Spanish and ASL.  She plays rugby!  She calls it the best game of all.  She also plays soccer.  She loves dance parties where you can dance your heart out.  She is very cheerful.

She loves when people she is teaching recognize the change the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring to them and they WANT that change.

December!

How is it December?  Things are moving way too fast!

Early this week it was time for apartment inspections again.  This time Craig gave a quick little lesson to the missionaries after we finished our inspections.  In this apartment Craig is the shortest Elder.  Even though he is 6’1”,  both of the Elders are taller.

Monday night we had Family Home Evening with the other senior missionaries.  It was a nice evening with dinner, singing by the 2^nd counselor in the Mission Presidency and his daughters, a few words from President Schmitt and some Christmas carols sung by everyone. 

 The evening was capped off by a delightful rendition of Jingle Bells, played by President Schmitt’s son.  With an encore of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  He did a great job!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Sea World.  We don’t stay long, but we see cool things.

We got to see two whales playing together.  And the walrus was pretty cool, too.

This week both Sister Anderson and her companion Sister Dunaway had birthdays, just one day apart.  We were able to go celebrate, along with a few other companionships.  It is always a fun time with the Sisters!

This is what happens when your phone is on the desk with the camera on.

One night a couple came in for a tour.  Afterwards they went to one of the Mexican restaurants and brought FOUR DOZEN fresh tortillas back and gave them to the Sisters.  How nice is that?  They did share with all of the other Sisters after the shift.

Sorry about the glaring lights.

Today you get to meet Sister Xia.  She is originally from China, but moved to Texas when she was 14 and moved to Hawaii a couple of years later.  She started dancing at age 4 and loves it.  She also loves singing.  She goes to school at BYU and is in Pre-med with a major in Medical Laboratory Science. 

She joined the church at age 16.  She went from having nothing religious in her life to knowing Jesus Christ is her Savior.  She can really see the Atonement in her life.  The Gospel blesses her family and they have a stronger bond because of it.