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!