A Very Merry Christmas

On Saturday, December 22, David, Juliann, Clarissa, Jared, Michelle, Siena, Turin, and Brockton came to Las Vegas to celebrate Christmas with us!!!  We were SO excited to see them and grateful that the weather had been favorable so they could travel safely.  Being here in Las Vegas for Christmas reminded me of the Christmas that we were in San Francisco  and I was 8 3/4 months pregnant with David and the OB told us not to travel to Utah for Christmas.  We were SO disappointed!  But it turned out to be quite a memorable Christmas, and I was sure this one would be too, even though we wouldn't be celebrating with over half of our family.  But oh, how wonderful it was to have them come and share a part of Las Vegas with them at this time of joy and gladness.  They brought the best presents of all with them--their presence!

Before they came, we got this darling picture from Jade--how we love getting these!

                           This one is from Siena--so so cute!  We love the details on these pictures!

And this one from Lindsey with her favorite Christmas traditions on it!  This one made me a little homesick.

On Sunday we went to our ward--the Buffalo ward--and it was so great to see the ward members come up and greet them and be so kind to them. We really do love this ward. Bishop Larkin and his wife Melanie brought over a case of oranges for us--so so sweet since they know we are only temporary and our records are still in our ward in Layton.  It meant a lot.

On Sunday evening, we got together with our dear friends, the Trumans, at their daughter and her husband's home, Carolee and Jared Frost, for dinner.  It was awesome to be together and see their other children who had come to Las Vegas also, Kim and Stephanie and her husband Brock. Our families have had such good memories together over the years. We had a great time.

On Monday morning we went over to Jared and Michelle's hotel and swam in their indoor pool, which was WARM!!  It was fun to see how much Siena and Turin had improved in their swimming skills since we saw them last at the Tanglewood pool.  It was so fun to play games with them in the pool.

Later we went to the Bellagio hotel to see their Christmas display, which was amazing.  It was SO crowded--we learned that there are a LOT of people who fly to Las Vegas from around the world to celebrate Christmas here.  We also went outside to see the Bellagio fountains and then walked over to the Paris hotel and ate at a crepe restaurant and had French pastries--yum yum!  Fun fun!  The kids were such good sports!  Then David, Juliann, Clarissa, Glen and I, went to the south end of Las Vegas to see Wendy, Jeanette's oldest daughter who had recently moved here.  Jeanette had sent with Wendy some Christmas gifts for Clarissa that were incredible and so thoughtful.  It was fun to see her.

We then had our favorite Christmas tradition--the acting out of the Nativity.  We have been doing this for about 32 years, using about the same script and adding a few props or costumes each year.  We rotate the parts, and this year Michelle and Jared were Mary and Joseph and Brockton was baby Jesus.  The story of the Nativity never loses its impact for me, but rather increases each year. It is marvelous to me that the Son of God would be born in such humble circumstances.  We ended the Nativity singing one of our favorite Christmas songs:  "Heavenly choirs must have had children singing along as they came to the earth.  Jesus I know loved little children, so I imagine they sang at His birth: Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise to the Lord, praise to His Son, praise to the Lord, praise to His Son." 

  Siena and Turin then left healthy treats out for Santa. 

Our three little lambs--Siena, Clarissa, and Brockton.  Having grandchildren there for the Nativity and for Christmas day made it so special! 

 Siena and Turin were so excited to open their gifts on Christmas morning  and it was so fun to see them.  When Turin opened his ripstick, he said, "I told Santa I wanted a giant candy cane and all he got me was a ripstick!"  We laughed so hard!" 

Glen really spoiled me this Christmas and one of the things he gave me was a new CAMERA!!  I was so excited!  My camera  was officially broken  and I had really missed it.  Glen got some things he really needed too.  

Juliann made me this darling pillow and crocheted the stockings  for the newest members of our family during the past year.  Can you believe she has crocheted one for all 25 members of our family?  What a labor of love!

After all of our Christmas festivities and lunch,  it was time for them to go back to Utah, and we were so sad!      

We didn't want Christmas to end! Here we are in front of the building where we live.  Can you believe some of the trees are still green?

We stopped at the mission office since it's right on the way for them to go home and gave them a tour.  Thank you so much, David and Juliann and Jared and Michelle, for coming!  You totally helped us to have a very merry Christmas.  We love you so much!

CHRISTMAS DAY was so special though we were miles from home. Whisperings of the Spirit tell us we were  not alone. The gifts we enjoyed from those we hold dear Has kept our thoughts close and helped us feel near!

The next day we had to be at the office at 8:00 and we got another Christmas surprise--Rand and Marilyn Matthews stopped in at the office!  We have loved them for over 20 years and it was so fun to see them!  We really appreciated their visit.  

And now it was officially time for us to get back to work, and there was a LOT piled up for us to do!  It took me 2 1/2 hours to do all the mail and packages!  But I'm so excited, because the transfer board is nearly half done and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel that it will actually get done.  I also had another tender mercy--I couldn't get a certain document on the computer to work--a document I have had trouble with ever since we got here.  I have asked others to help me with it without success, but on Thursday Elder Weekes was able to fix it and show me what to do to fix it when it won't work--HURRAY!!  Maybe now I can get things done to get ready for our big transfer in just THREE weeks.  Missionary work moves forward--Hurrah for Israel!