Snow, Cold, and Christmas

     December 2nd, 2015 found us in Utah at Farrell and AnnaVee's house for the night.  They are doing good.  They actually have the house to themselves most of the time now as AnnaKay's kids are living with her in Salt Lake.  We enjoyed our visit and had a good nights sleep.  We left their house about 11:00am on the 3rd and drove to the Golden Corral to meet up with President y Hermana Burk and Hermana Joan Gardner for lunch.  The Burks finished their mission on Oct. 31st and this is the first time we have been able to visit with them since their return.  Joan, of course, had come home from their mission 6 months earlier when her husband fell and died.  (you can read about this in our Guatemala Mission Blog)  It was so good to see them.  It was like we had never been separated as we just sat and talked and talked.  We needed to be on the road by 2 because a storm was coming in and we wanted to beat it and get home.  We arrived home in good time but tomorrow will have to clear the sidewalks and driveway of the 2-3 inches of snow.
     We went to visit Larry and Blanca on the 4th.  She is heading to Panama for 3 months to house sit for her family there.  Larry is not going so we will try to have him over while she is gone.
   Saturday morning, the 5th we drove to Tracy's house and drove to Declo with them to watch Chandler's wrestling meet.  Ashton is not competing today. 

 Chandler drew a bye so we had to wait for 2 hours for his first match, which he won with a pin.  Then we waited another 2 hours for his second match and his third match where he was pinned.  It was a long day.  We got home in time for our Ward Christmas Party.
     We met a young couple with 2 little boys at the party who are moving to Jerome.  Shawn starts work next week and is trying to find a place to live while they house hunt.  We told him that we had a room if he didn't find anything.  It is not easy to get an apartment or any rental on a month to month lease.
     Sunday evening we watched the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional.  It was excellent as usual.  The music was so uplifting and really sets the tone for the Christmas holiday.
     On Monday, Lon got a cooking lesson.  We made pumpkin rolls for our Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching families.  It was a long day but we now have 10 rolls in the freezer.  Lon now understands why we only make them once a year.
     Lon surprised me today.  He actually put up Christmas lights. 

 I just love the lights.  They just give me a feeling of peace.  He did this while I worked inside on the tree and inside decorations.

We have gotten rid of our entertainment center so I had no place to put all of my nativities.  So I put them under the tree.  It was the perfect place as I knew we wouldn't have a bunch of gifts there.

We have had snow on and off all week.

Shawn Durham moved in on the 10th.  He thinks that he has a studio apartment to move into in about a week in Eden.  We are skeptical about any apartment in Eden so we shall see. 

On Friday the 11th, George and Kim took us to a Christmas Concert in Twin at the Twin Falls South Stake.  Carson Wong was directing the choir.  I have really been missing the music of Christmas.  Our ward Choir is so bad.  There was a display of over 400 nativities from all over the world set up.  It was amazing and so beautiful to view these and then listen to the concert. 

On the 12, we again headed to Utah.  The Burk's are giving their mission report on the 13th and we want to be there for a mini mission reunion.  We had good roads all the way down.  We decided to spend Saturday night with Norm and Bev Kump who have moved to Spanish Fork this past summer.  They were busy moving out when we were busy moving back in so we didn't really get much time with them.  Norm has been very ill and it was good to see him doing better.  They have a beautiful home and are very happy to be close to family now.  We visited till late and in the morning said our good-byes and headed the few miles to Salem for Sacrament meeting. 

We arrived at the church a half hour before the meeting and were delighted to be reunited with our dear friends and family from the Guatemala City Temple Mission.

 Los Roberts, Pitchers, Thompsons, Brubakers, Burks, Sis. Gardner, Sis. Cabellero, Perkins(they had gone home before we arrived) Sis. Dick, Los Murri.

 Elders Pitcher, Roberts, Thompson, and Brubaker showing off their Guatemalan made suits

The Temple Presidency:  Roberts, Burks, Thompsons   

We all met at the Burk's home for a light lunch and visiting.  There just wasn't enough time to say all that we wanted to say.  There was another storm predicted so we knew that we had to get on the road no later then 3:00pm.  We had good roads until Burley when it started to rain and blow.  We have been so blessed to come and go in between storms and we are thankful to be home tonight.  We woke up to a good snow storm with high winds and lots of blowing and drifting.  The roads had the layer of ice from the rains last night so they were very slick with the snow on top of the ice. 

Shawn and his boss were heading to Rexburg this morning and went off the road and rolled the pickup.  Thankfully they were not hurt.  We are so thankful that we came home on Sunday afternoon instead of this morning.  Shawn will be with us until he moves into his new house.  He is looking and hopes to give an offer on one soon.  The apartment in Eden was a joke and not livable.  

After our shift in the temple this morning, the 15th, we came home, took a nap, and then headed to Boise to attend Gideon's Christmas Concert.

Gideon plays the cello.  We really enjoyed the concert and our dinner with Justin, Shayla, Ryanne and Gideon before the concert.  The roads were good and once again we traveled in between storms.

Lon is really getting tired of shoveling snow but it just keeps coming!

The snow is pretty, but once it is on the ground, the temperature just gets cold!

We have had some single digit days!!

Tonight was the Christmas Piano Recital for Ashton and Eisley.

It was held at Bridgeview, a retirement center.  The kids did very good.  I am going to start teaching Chandler, Ashton and Eisley in January.  I hope that I can instill in them a love for music and help them advance in their talent.  Right now, these two don't know the names of the notes or where they are on the piano.  Ashton plays a lot by ear like his Dad, which is a talent but he does need to know the notes and some of the theory associated with the piano.

Our Sacrament Meeting today, the 20th was such a disappointment.  I expected it to be all about Christmas and the birth of our Savior but it was not.  You would think that on the Sunday before Christmas we would be celebrating through music and word this joyous event.  I was a bit disappointed and feeling down when Karen called to tell us about a Stake Christmas program in Wendell that Melissa was participating in.  So off we went in a snow storm to Wendell to get our Christmas music fix.  The program was amazing and we are so glad that we went.

Shawn headed for Utah to spend Christmas with his family on Wednesday evening.

Lon learned to make peanut brittle, Cashew brittle, and cereal mix candy.  We spent the rest of the week cooking and getting ready for our family Christmas Eve party.  We just hope that the snows will slow down so that everyone can get here without trouble.

We decided that our house was just too small for 15 people, Justin and Shayla with six of their kids; Mason, Riley, Aydan, Dillon, Ryanne, Gideon and Tracy and Sarah with Chandler, Ashton and Eisley.  We reserved the church and with the help of Sarah and the kids set up the Young Women's room with tables to eat at and the gym ready for the craft and running and playing for the kids.  It was a little trying to make sure that we had everything we needed for the meal but the whole evening turned out wonderful.  Sarah had us play a game of passing around gifts to a Left and Right Story.  The kids loved it.  I had them act out a Christmas story and we just enjoyed being together again.

 The boys played dodge ball, basket ball, and just goofed off in the gym

 Sarah, Ryanne, and Riley starting to design their t-shirts with the sharpies and alcohol.

 The best attempt to a group photo.  You can pretty much see everyone except Grandpa and I.  Around the table: Dillon, Mason, Gideon, Chandler, Shayla, Justin, Aydan, Riley, Ryanne, Sarah, Tracy, Ashton, Eisley, and Grandpa's arm.

 The t-shirts are starting to be very colorful.

 Riley and Mason getting into the action with dodge ball

                       Chandler, Dillon, and Ashton taking a break from the game.
We got home around 8:30. It has snowed all day.  We are indeed having a white Christmas.  We watched another Hallmark Movie and went to bed.  After being gone for the last 4 seasons, there are a bunch of Hallmark movies that we haven't seen.
     Christmas morning we slept in and didn't have breakfast until 10:00.  Raul came over about 10:30 and wanted us to come to lunch right then.  We agreed to come over at noon and eat with them.  We weren't even hungry but ate a Christmas meal with Raul and Juanna consisting of Pasole (soup) and her version of enchiladas.  Then we got to open our gifts and facetime or talk on the phone with the kids, grandkids, and several of Lon's brothers who called to wish him a Happy Birthday.  It was a nice relaxing day.  About 6:00 George and Kim called and we went to their house to watch a new movie with them.  It is called "I once was a Beehive".  Very good movie.  It was a wonderful Christmas Day for us.
     Brett and Vebeca's daughter Kenya has returned from her mission to the Boston area so on Sunday we got people to cover for us during the last hour of Primary and we went to hear her give her coming home talk in her ward.  She is still her loving, bubbly self.  We went to Brett's house for a dinner afterward and got to visit with all of Kurt and Linda's family.  Shawn got home from Utah around 9 and announced that they should close on their new house (in our ward) on the 29th of January.  They are buying a house from another ward member in the sub-division.
     We have about 5" of snow on the ground now.  It is cold!!
     We got the tree down and the lights off the house in time for the new year.
     New Year's Eve 2015.  Lon went to pick up Larry, his brother, in Buhl.  Larry will spend the night with us and watch football all day today and all day tomorrow.  We could tell that he is very lonesome for Blanca.  Shawn is home again with his family so we have a room. Tracy and the family came over to have dinner of taco's and chips and pies.  Lon and Larry and Tracy watched football all afternoon and evening.  Sarah and I and the kids played games and just had a wonderful New Year's Eve Party. 
     2015 has been an eventful year for us.  We began in Guatemala City and ended up in our little home in Jerome, Idaho.  We have spent time with all of our children and grandchildren.  We have visited with all of our brothers and sisters, Mom, and extended family.  We are busy serving in the Twin Falls Temple and in the Primary in the Jerome 2nd Ward.  We have been blessed with so many miracles and tender mercies from our Heavenly Father.  We are trying to show our appreciation and love to Him in our words and actions.  Life is wonderful and we are happy and looking forward to a new year.  It will be fun to find out what adventures lay ahead for us in 2016.