Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas week filled with friends and family...just as it should be. Don and I both have siblings, niece's, nephews, and their kids in the Tucson area, which is nice.

My sister came in from the Denver area to spend a couple of weeks. She has not been home for Christmas since 2000, and we haven't seen her at all since the summer of 2004. Below is a picture of my Mom and her four children at her house where we gathered on Christmas Eve. I know it made her very happy to have us all together again. Wish Dad could have been there. This is our sixth Christmas since his passing.

Below is my youngest sister with her daughter, son-in-law, and their two boys. The boys sure made opening gifts a lot of fun!

Below is my brother, his wife, and their son (who will be graduating from the university as an engineer in another year or so).

Jennifer had to work that night, so she wasn't here when we took pictures. But we were glad Nicole could stay and be in this photo with us.

On Christmas morning we had a chance to talk to the grandchildren in Germany...what a joy they are! I wish they could have been here to enjoy the week with us.

Although I realize that Christmas is not about the gifts, I do want to share one very special gift that was given to me by Don. When we got married, there was no money to spend on diamond rings because he was just beginning his education at the University of Arizona, I was teaching school, and we had three kids to support (two were mine, one was his). I was happy to wear a simple gold band. That was nearly 16 years ago.

This year for Christmas Don took me shopping to pick out a diamond ring...a token of his love and commitment. What a sweetheart! Below is a picture of the ring I picked out. It's called a waterfall...baguettes on both sides and 21 small diamonds arching through the middle set in yellow gold. It's beautiful!

Truly, we had wonderful Christmas! Each day this week was filled with fun, good friends, and extended family, for which I am grateful.

At this time of year when we remember the birth of the Savior of the World, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace, I wish all of you a blessed and wonderful Christmas season. Thank you for your love and friendship...I treasure it.

December, Week Three

WOW! What a busy week! All I can do is summarize the highlights.

We finished a big job with the business (which took three nights this week) and got all of the last minute shopping done. We took one night to relax with some friends (and I mean RELAX!). Denise and I put on comfortable baggy pants and t-shirts, then went to her kitchen and started cooking the teriaki chicken and prepared the stir fry vegetables. Then we turned Don and Rick loose in the kitchen to make miso soup and various kinds of sushi while Denise and I rested on the couch.

Don at his end of the counter.



Rick at his end of the counter.



Resting while the kids watched TV.

The final, beautiful result: soup, sushi, and veggies...the chicken had to be served on a different plate.

Thanks, Denise and Rick, for a fun night. Now we are ready for a big Christmas week!

December, Week Two

Well, the Christmas shopping is done, the gifts that needed to be made are now made (thanks to Nicole who came over and spent an afternoon with me), presents are wrapped, tags are on, but the tree is not up! Maybe this week I can make that happen.

Nicole and I made several of these jars...cookies mix (thank you, Sabrina, for a new recipe to try) and 5-bean soup mix. We had a lot of fun making them. Now we need to get them delivered to the families we home teach and visit teach.



Since the tree is not up, the gifts and wrapping paper are all over the beds in the guest room. Once the tree is up, I'll be able to clean up this room.


We had a several critter jobs this week...the smell in the truck attests to the fact that one of the jobs involved relocating a skunk. And we've got a lot of work lined up again this week, for which we are grateful.

We also went out for sushi with some friends in our ward, and my cousins came over one night for dinner and games. Don took his Boy Scouts caving on Saturday but he forgot the camera. He does a lot of "high adventure" things with them...some of which cause me "high anxiety" because I want them all to stay home and be safe and not take any risks. But that's not the program...

We also had a wonderful (and huge) ward party last week. So many people came that there weren't enough tables and chairs, so people were eating in the hallways. It was a good time, but again, I forgot the camera. Oh well. Better luck this week!

DECEMBER!!!!

I love December! Even though it sometimes wears me out, I love it! Christmas is my favorite holiday, and this year we got December off to a good start!

We had a Relief Society Christmas program which turned out to be a beautiful night. Not only were the tables beautifully decorated, but they were overflowing with food! About 70 of the sisters in our ward gathered and enjoyed talking and eating.



Around the room were many beautiful nativity displays that sisters had been brought from their homes. Several had written explanations as to why that particular nativity scene was special to their family.

The program was a combination of music poetry, stories, and scriptures. It went very well. There are so many who were willing to share their instrumental and vocal talents, and I appreciated them so much (I was in charge of the program). All in all, it was a beautiful night.

We also went to the Mesa temple one night this week. I love the peace that I feel there.

The grounds of the temple were lit up with many, many Christmas lights...it was SOOO beautiful!

These are about half life-size camels with the three wise men all created out of lights. It is situated in a grassy area off at a distance and is stunning. (Sorry this picture is a little blurred.)

There was a choir singing beautifully by the visitor's center...that's their reflection in the large pool of water that extended out in front of them.

This was a large nativity set out on another part of the lawn...I love the star!

On Saturday the girls came over for dinner to celebrate Nicole's successful completion of another semester of school. Yea Nicole!

On Sunday we watched the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional, which was a beautiful ending to our first week in December.