Jena made this sign for Gary and I on Wednesday of this past week as we were both coughing and sleeping from Covid. Jena started getting sick the next day. So to all of us--get well soon....so we can continue our 'nice' mission!
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Christmas PJS
Christmas pjs from Grandpa and Grandma--we might not be in the same place, but we can feel a bit closer when we are wearing pjs like our cousins!
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| Syracuse, UT |
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| Oro Valley, AZ |
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| Tacoma, WA |
I love how these turned out and have to say that online shopping makes the process of Christmas pjs for a group much easier. Not sure how much longer matching pjs will be "okay" but I guess we will follow the lead of Scarlett, Niki, and Liam!
And I loved that the Russells spelled out a word. I pointed out that they could use that as part of a family motto- "Can" is a very good word.
Christmas Past
For historical purposes only (and probably of no interest to anyone except for me), I decided (in thinking about being home for Christmas) to identify where I have spent each Christmas of my life as far as I can remember or know about---
Ages 6 months to 15--Richland, Washington
There was one of those Christmases where we went to Portland for Christmas, but it was so much work my parents vowed never to do it again. I think that was the year our car also spun on the ice and hit the rock wall on the sides of the road.
Our home on Agnes Street
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The doll house for the "three little girls."
Ages 16 through 22- Amarillo, Texas
The pool table.JPG)
That last Christmas when I was 22-December of 1977-- Gary was there. We had gotten engaged on December 1st and he gave me my engagement ring for Christmas that year.
Switching now to years instead of ages- It gets a bit more tricky since I didn't keep a journal--but here it goes--
1978- Gary and I in our apartment in Sunset, Utah--
1979- home in Clearfield, Utah
1980- We were living in Provo in a mobile home at Christmas time and we went to Amarillo for Christmas that year.
1981 and 1982-- We were living in our home in West Jordan on Banquet Street (In Oquirrh Shadows)
In 1982, I was pregnant with Jessica so for the first time, we spent the night at Gary's parents' house on Christmas Eve. I got too sick at night to be driving back and forth.
1983-- We also spent the night since Jessica was just a baby and moving Christmas was easy.
1984-- Our first Christmas in our house in West Jordan on Wave Court. However, I think that we also spent the night up in Syracuse.
1985--Christmas in West Jordan
1986- This is the year that Scott joined our family in October, so we went to Amarillo for Christmas along with most of my family.
1987 and 1988-- our home in Hong Kong on Cox's Road
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| 1988 with families from our ward and one of our foster kids on Gary's lap-Mui |
1989-we were living in Discovery Bay on Lau Tau Island in Hong Kong--We headed home for the holidays--going first to Amarillo and then to Utah so everyone could meet Ben who would have been about 16 months then.
1990 and 1991 We spent in our Shouson Hill home in Hong Kong. In 1991, we left shortly after Christmas day and went to Thailand as a family (except for Tosha who was too young.) with friends.
1992- Living in Plano, Texas (a very hard move and took a while to settle in there)-we headed up to Amarillo and then to Utah for that Christmas season--by van in December with four kids ranging from 2 through 9--we were crazy!!! It was great to spend time with both my family and Gary's family and the kids loved their cousins!
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1996- We used our frequent flyer miles and flew to Utah for Christmas. This was the year that we tried to surprise the kids, but their cousin, Chris, wrote to Jessica and mentioned he was excited to see us at Christmas. He didn't know it was a secret and Jessica was happy to keep it a secret until we actually got to Utah. This was also the year that Tosha broke out in chickpox after a day on the plane and Christmas Eve together as an extended family. Fortunately, everyone else had had the chickpox except for Jena who got them about 2 weeks later at four months old. We were bringing Jena for everyone to meet.
1997- Plano, Texas
1998 and 1999- Our home in Syracuse, Utah
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| tree in the living room (or piano room) |
2000- We spent in Orlando, Florida at DisneyWorld and Universal Studios and then we stopped and spent time in Plano on our way home (since the flights went through Dallas anyway.)
2001-2004- Syracuse, Utah With five kids getting older, trips at Christmas time seemed unproductive.
Our pretend Christmas tree
2005....except for emergencies like 2005 when Jena was in Primary's Children Hospital with two kinds of pneumonia and then the flu on top of that. We ended up opening presents a few days after Christmas.
2006-2015-- Syracuse
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| In the TV room (which I call the family room) |
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| 2011-tree in the basement |
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| 2014 First Christmas with grandkids- Russells surprised us. (this wasn't on Christmas day) coming in from Oklahoma City. |
2016 and 2017-- Ben was at the state hospital so Gary, Jena, and I stayed in a hotel down in Provo and spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day with him.
2018, 2019, and 2020- We spent in Syracuse.
2021 and 2022- We were living in our missionary apartment in Salt Lake but were able to visit with Jessica's family during the day in Syracuse. In 2022, Ben stayed a few days with us in Salt Lake over the holiday which was great.
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| I had packed our Christmas stockings and in 2021, we used grocery bags, but Jena was determined that wouldn't happen again. We got these for the four of us. |
Which brings me to 2023 in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. So many memories and so many Christmases in Syracuse. It is no wonder I miss it. It is a part of my life and my heart. How blessed we have been with so many happy Christmas mornings and fun Christmas days.
And there it is 69 Christmases! So blessed have I been and so many happy memories connected with the holiday.
"I'll Be Home From Christmas...."
...if only in my dreams." I have thought a lot about that song over this Christmas season. Although this is the four Christmas we have been on a mission, it is the first one where we were literally far from home and any of our other kids, family, and friends. It has been a sacrifice, more than I expected it would be and it has caused me to think a lot about Christmases past and "being home for Christmas."
The first aspect that made it hard was that in my mind, I had always planned to have Ben fly out and spend Christmas with us--staying for a couple of weeks and heading back home. I thought that would be good for him to spend some time with us at the middle point of our mission and also allow us to share the holidays with him. However, the nature of his illness made that not possible. A few times in October and November, I would get online and look at flights and ways that I could fly to Utah and fly back with Ben and then do the reverse to return in back, but there were no easy flights that made sense and it is such an expensive time to travel as well. I wanted to make it work, but it was not right and it didn't make sense to force it to work. I knew that Ben would spend the day with Jessica and family and he loves being with her kids. It was a small thing but it became a symbol of my willingness to serve a mission at this time in Arkansas. I had a peace about that decision and moved forward with the busy Christmas season that I have posted about.
Then, Sister Julie Carter asked me one day what our plans were for Christmas. I said that we would be here. She said, "Oh, you are the first couple that has stayed at Christmas time. The others all went home or to their children's houses from Christmas!" That hit me--that is what I wanted to do as well--but then I thought about those sweet missionaries in our zone who we love dearly--some have been away from home for almost 2 years, others just a month, and they would all be here, serving the Lord on Christmas day. Could we do anything different? I wanted to go home, but more than anything, I wanted to be a missionary right now and that meant being here in Ft. Smith for Christmas! I am glad that I had already gone through that whole process before that conversation, so it was just a minor blip for me....it was a sacrifice--a tiny little one really--to be a missionary at Christmas time.
Then Tosha called and told me that they were heading to Utah because Austen's grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer and at 98 years old would not be having treatments for it. They wanted to visit her while she was still feeling well. Again, the pull to be in Utah intensified--now three of our kids and 8 of our grandkids would be there.....I thought it wouldn't be hard to fly home for a day and see everyone and come back--the missionaries would never know....but again, because I had already gone through the process of deciding why we should stay here and not go home, I was able to let those feelings go quickly. God has given us everything--I can give one Christmas here in Arkansas!
And as Gary pointed out----so glad that we hadn't flown Ben in or made plans to go to Utah for Christmas since we were all sick with Covid this week!
"I'll be home for Christmas, but only in my dreams!" Next year!!!!
Our "Unique" Christmas in Ft. Smith
Remember the words from my facebook post-
Tomorrow will be another unique day--a Christmas truly away from our family and friends! We will have stockings and presents and good food--but we will also have the chance to make Christmas breakfast for our zone and to be taught by them in our zone meeting afterwards. In the evening, we will attend by zoom a Christmas devotional with the whole mission and will be taught by our sweet mission leaders-President and Sister Collins.
We will be taking missionaries home to Mena after district meeting and hope to stop and take some more photos at a local cemetery! And that will be a remarkable Christmas day in the mission field.
I wrote that on Christmas eve afternoon. Gary was driving to Mena to bring the two elders up for our combined Christmas breakfast and zone meeting while Jena and I were putting the finishing touches on the breakfasts casseroles we were making plus wrapping the last few presents. We knew it would be a different type of Christmas, but we had a plan and I knew it would be a sweet day with the missionaries in the morning, a cemetery visit, and then some time together the three of us celebrating Christmas with stockings and Christmas gifts.
You probably noticed the operative words- "I had a plan...."
Gary woke up on Sunday with a headache which is very unusual for him. It was bad enough that he decided to stay home from Church to sleep it off since he needed to transport the missionaries from Mena that evening. He wasn't feeling great but the headache was better so he decided he was good to go to pick them up and take them to the Ft. Smith's Elders apartment.
However, during the night, he started running a low fever and started coughing, so Monday morning, before we did anything else, he took a Covid test--just in case and sure enough, he was positive. I was also developing a sore throat, but no fever or cough, so I wore a mask and headed to the Church to set up for Christmas breakfast for our sweet zone. Jena came with me and was a great help.
We opened our Christmas stockings when we got back to the apartment--
We headed back to clean up after the meeting and join in the white elephant gift exchange that they held at lunch.
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| E. Jensen, E. Esera, E. Gallup, E. Smythe, E. Coombs |
We then headed back home--I took a Covid test which was negative, but I was definitely getting sick by then. We opened our presents around 2:00 pm--the latest in the history of my life---
And that sums up our "unique" Christmas day--no Christmas zone meeting with the missionaries, no drive to Mena nor stop at a cemetery----but it was a quiet, sweet memory nonetheless. The Christmas we had Covid.....and the day after that and the day after that....in fact, Jena took care of us most of the week until she finally started getting sick on Thursday evening. As suggested by the mission nurse, we took Covid tests on Saturday and both she and I were positive at this point. I am near the end, Gary is mostly better, but Jena is in the middle of it although she is doing fine. We did, however, enjoyed the mission Christmas devotional on Zoom that night where four of our zone performed or spoke. They did an awesome job!
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| Elder Jensen sharing his testimony with Elder Simmons. |
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| Sister Ohki and Sister Madden sang both in English and Spanish |
Plans---sometimes, it makes you wonder why I even ever make plans! But, I am a planner---so it will continue to be one of the threads of my life. I think it is okay to be a planner as long as:
1. You are flexible when things happen--like Covid!
2. You are trying to put your plans in line with what God wants and needs you to do!
Merry Christmas, my family and friends! I hope you enjoyed your day as well, wherever it was spent!
Christmas Eve FaceBook Post
Copied from Facebook (without the 30+ pictures I posted since most of them are in the other posts on the blog):
"Happy Christmas Eve, my family and friends! We hope that you have found moments of peace, joy, and family during this busy time of year! As is seen in many places around Arkansas and Missouri, "Christ is the reason for the season!" How grateful we are to know He is our Savior and Redeemer!
It has been a month since I last shared about our mission and life here in Arkansas. We have had Thanksgiving, finished two Institute classes for the semester, had a temple trip to Bentonville with the young adults, sang lots of Christmas songs and attend excellent Christmas concerts and shows, and had a two-day senior district meeting with the senior missionaries in our mission in Bentonville. And to top it off, we just finished a two day trip to Branson, Missouri, home of Silver Dollar City and 6.5 million Christmas lights!
And in the midst of all of that, we have had moments of pure joy as we listened to beautiful Christmas music or read the many Christmas cards we received. We have tasted wonderful food! We have been taught by these amazing young missionaries during district and zone meetings. We have been strengthen by our interactions with the senior missionaries and the mission presidency. And we have felt the peace that comes from service in the temple.
We have missed things as well--our family and our growing grandchildren, our friends including our neighbors and ward members, and the familiar Christmas decorations and trees of our home. It has been three years since our last Christmas in Syracuse. It has been hard to miss saying goodbye to another neighbor, Judy Johnson who passed away this past week at the age of 79.
This is a unique time in our lives and we are blessed to be here with these sweet people in Ft. Smith, in Institute, and in our mission. It is not always easy, but it is amazing in its own way and I will always be grateful that we were here for this time in our lives.
Tomorrow will be another unique day--a Christmas truly away from our family and friends! We will have stockings and presents and good food--but we will also have the chance to make Christmas breakfast for our zone and to be taught by them in our zone meeting afterwards. In the evening, we will attend by zoom a Christmas devotional with the whole mission and will be taught by our sweet mission leaders-President and Sister Collins.
We will be taking missionaries home to Mena after district meeting and hope to stop and take some more photos at a local cemetery! And that will be a remarkable Christmas day in the mission field.
Love you all. Christ is truly the reason for this season and every day of my life! Because of Him, we can repent, change, and move forward and we will live again forever in our Heavenly Father's Home. Merry Christmas...and God bless you, every one!"
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Grandkids or is that Grand Kids?!!!
They are all grand for sure--both the big ones (our kids) and their kids!
Yes, you are seeing right---Jessica's and Tosha's kids in one place. They all met up at Panda Express with Ben yesterday. Tosha's family made a quick trip to Utah to visit his grandmother who is 98 and dying from cancer.
Other pictures that were shared this weekend--
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| Ezri looking cute at Panda Express |
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| Christmas cookies with Jessica and Elessia's kids Liam, Ezri, Zander, Alex and Carter |
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| Tosha and Austen's kids in Utah Niki, Ava and Cooper |
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| Scott and Chantel's family James and Scarlett At a neighborhood Hayride |
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| Scarlett and friends--Scarlett on the far right1 |
The Christ of the Ozarks
Although I was familiar with the Christ statue in Rio, Brazil, I didn't know that there were many other "large" outdoor statues throughout the world. Sister Ellis told me about the one at Eureka Springs, AR, so we stopped by as we were passing though. It is actually a big complex with a "Holy Land Tour" which takes you through the Holy Land recreated, a couple of gift shops, and a Bible Museum.
The statue is the highlight of the area and sits at the top of this small mountain. It is called the Christ of the Ozarks and stands about 68 feet tall with an arm span of about the same. (For reference it is about 20 feet smaller than the one in Rio.)
This is the view from the back where the parking lot is.
I am not a personal lover of statues--I prefer paintings! And this is not the face or the image of Christ that reminds me of Him! But I appreciate the desire to worship Christ and to share that desire in such a way with the world. How great it is to stand in unity with followers of Christ both here at this place and in Branson as the performers shared their love of Him through words and songs. Again, not necessary in my preferred way, but still in ways of faith and desire to worship Him during this season and all year long.
There is good all around us. We are so blessed.
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