Christmas - really? Doesn't quite feel right!

THOUGHT:  "Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. To us He has said, 'Come, follow me.'

"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others" (Thomas S. Monson, "In Search of the Christmas Spirit," Ensign, Dec 1987, 3).

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2014 -   Merry Christmas everyone!  I want you all to know that I am so grateful for you - each of you individually- and for what you have done to bless my life!  Being down here in Mexico has helped me to see even more of how blessed I am!  I have the most wonderful family and friends!  I hope that somehow you can understand what treasures you are in my life!!!

I have also had a lot of time to feel Heavenly Fathers spirit.  I know He lives and loves us and wants us to be happy in our lives.  Some days that seems hard to do, but if we look around at all of the blessings we enjoy every day we will soon come to realize His influence in our lives!   I am learning how to dwell on the positive things in my life and that is helping me to see the blessings easier!

So now that being said - Christmas was so  l - o - n - g!  For two days I kept looking at my watch and thought it was broken cause time didn't move very fast!  I really didn't need to worry - which I have also learned doesn't help! My kids really took over and helped and supported each other!!  I am so proud of them and their efforts to make me happy!  It was so fun to see my house with boxes, bows, kids and toys spread all over!  That is my favorite picture!    Thanks to you that worked so hard to make everyones Christmas great this year!!

Our Christmas schedule included...  getting up fairly early to make cinnamon rolls.  That took a lot longer than usual due to the fact that everything is bitty and had to dealt with on a smaller scale!  I could only make one batch of rolls.  The oven is nuts here so some of the cinnamon rolls were a little doughy on the bottom!  Everyone seemed to enjoy them anyway!  We delivered the rolls to all of the couples and had a nice visit with them!  We went to lunch at Vips down the street.  Vips is like a Denny's in America!  Dad had a hamburger and I had chicken noodle soup!  We delivered more rolls after lunch and had to prepare our funeral potatoes for the Christmas dinner on Christmas day!  We were invited to the Sandbergs place for a traditional Swedish Christmas dinner of creamed rice with cinnamon and sugar, ham and sweet rolls and cookies!  They eat this every year on Christmas eve!  I love learning about new traditions!  That was lots of fun!  We had to hurry back to our place to get on face time and watch Santa come and deliver presents to all the family that were there!  My brother Jim came down from Montana and his two daughters came to dinner also with their family.  The kids managed everything perfectly and had a great time!

Hopefully a good time was had by all!  I had a hard time watching that and not being there, but I made it and life goes on!!!

Christmas morning was just as peaceful and quiet as Christmas eve.  I guess that is what the biggest problem is...  I don't like peace and quiet!  I love the craziness of having the kids and grandkids around me!  That is where the fun is!

We had a nice breakfast casserole with the Andersons.  We were included in the Newman Christmas morning which was a blast!  Santa sure was good to them and I sure love face time!  We started watching White Christmas with the Andersons but didn't get to finish!  We will have to do that today!The Senior couples all planned a progressive dinner that started at 2 pm.  We went to the Sandbergs for appetizers, our place for salad, the Toblers and Rices for main course of ham, potatoes, corn, broccoli and homemade rolls!  Then on to the Olsons for dessert of homemade pies and cheesecake!  The dinner took us 3 1/2 hours to complete.  It was such a fun afternoon! We had to leave to go back to our house because most of the kids all met together to open the presents we got for them! It was fun watching everyone open their presents from us!   Rachel made peach pancakes for dinner afterwards that turned out great so now I see they can do it without us!

Life is good!  Christmas is over for another year.  Happy New Year!

Nothing quite like a little Christmas Eve shopping!
How do you like this octopus with one eye looking at you??
I wanted to get Greg this for Christmas, but he didn't think that was a very good idea!!!
Ungrateful!!!

This is our Christmas selfie!
Greg is almost smiling!
Merry Christmas to all!!!

1 month in MEXICO!!

THOUGHT:                              “And in despair I bowed my head;

                                                            "There is no peace on earth," I said;
                                                             "For hate is strong,
                                                              And mocks the song
                                                              Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

                                                             Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
                                                           "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
                                                             The Wrong shall fail,
                                                             the Right prevail,
                                                             With peace on earth, good-will to men!”
                                                                                      ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Monday Dec. 22nd - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!  I MADE IT ONE WHOLE MONTH IN MEXICO!
and I even made it without getting in an accident!!  and going over huge topes ( large speed bumps everywhere)!!! and getting found after we get lost - a million times!!!  and without diarrhea - ever!!!  and walking to and from the office - uphill(which is hard considering we live at 7500 ft)!!!  and drinking bottled water always!!!  and having a water filter always by our sink!!!   and going to the Tianguis and the Ciudadela without buying much!!! and going to Walmart, Costco, Olive Garden, Chilis, Sams Club!!!! and eating tacos for Christmas dinner!! and caroling in SPANISH!!!
AND missing my grandkids (and my kids)!!  and meeting these wonderful senior missionary couples!!  and living in a hotel with very little - really!!  and having a maid come in 3 times a week to clean everything up!!!   and enjoying really nice weather - although you have had really nice weather too!!!    and meeting CUTE missionaries, and awesome Mission Presidents and their wives!!   and helping the poor sick missionaries!!   and giving the missionaries flu shots!!!   and trying to serve others to the best of our ability!!!!  and trying to learn spanish and trying to do better at studying the scriptures!
Another miracle -  Greg sat and watched the BYU football game ( cause it was the only one he could watch) all the way to the miserable end!  That was such a painful game for everyone!!!
Sorry BYU!
We spent the morning shopping with the Andersons.  On the way home dad wanted to go to a family's home where he taught them as a missionary.  We struggled getting there - cause it's always fun to get lost!  He found it and rang the bell and knocked and knocked!  Finally someone came to the door, but they had never heard of the family Greg was looking for!  That would have been awesome if they were still around!  Greg doesn't realize 43 years is a long way back to find people!!!
We took it easy the rest of the evening and caught up on emails and stuff!  We had Papa Johns pizza during the football game so we ate soup at 9 pm and went to bed!!!!

Ringing the bell at the house
Looking for his ward members from 43 years ago!

A lady answered and didn't know the family Greg was looking for! 

The stake center where Greg was such an excellent missionary!

I love how people load up their trucks down here!

Gotta love the purple house!!!

Feliz Navidad!

THOUGHT:                “I heard the bells on Christmas Day
                                             Their old, familiar carols play,
                                             And wild and sweet
                                             The words repeat
                                             Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” 
                                                                  ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Sunday Dec 21st - We had a nice day today!  We had to be at the church by 8:30 to practice our songs we were singing in the choir!  Sacrament meeting was a nice Christmas program.  Our songs turned out great!  We had to hurry and leave to get home because Spencer and Sara face timed us!  They went to Rachels Sacrament meeting, with the Colemans as well, and face timed her Christmas program.  I'm not sure how legal that is, but it sure was fun to feel like we were right there!  We could hear Ollie calling to MOM!  Rachel sang in a sextet ( I don't like that word) but there were 6 of them singing.  Rachel still has her beautiful voice!  Then she played her violin in a solo, with a cello and with Melissa her friend while she sang O Holy Night!    She seemed to be half the program!  I was so happy to hear and see her perform!  Lesson to the rest of you!  Face time us so we can be part of your lives!  Thank You Spencer for that few minutes of sheer pleasure!!!
After the program we headed back to church to English RS and Priesthood mtg.  I love it there, probably cause I understand whats being said!   Then back home to pick up the Andersons!  ( he can't walk that far to church)  Then back to church for the Spanish Sacrament meeting!  I think the talks were very good!  They don't do any kind of a Christmas thing so it was just like all the other Sacrament meetings.  They are sweet people here in our ward!
We were tired after we had gone to church so many times so we went home and took a nap.
At 5 pm we met and made plates of all the goodies we had all made!  Our group of senior missionaries went caroling! Our group included the Matas, Hobbs, Olsons, Toblers, Rices, Sandbergs, Andersons and Ellises, and their cute daughter that brought us our package! and us!
NOW THAT IS AN EXPERIENCE YOU SHOULD ALL HAVE!
The Elders took us to some of the people they have been working with.  Sister Ellis had made 70 bags of candy to give to children we saw along the way!  The kids here are so dang cute!!!
Our first experience - we come to a metal gate.  There are buildings all around but you can't see in because of all the high walls and fences and gates.  A little lady opened the gate and let us all in.  We walked down some stairs, turned and down more stairs, turned and down more stairs.  We saw 2 ladies with their daughters doing dishes in the community kitchen - I guess!  We turned and went down more stairs.  There was the community toilet in a little cubby!  Keep in mind as we are going down all these stairs there are plain doors everywhere.  Behind those doors whole entire families live in a one room or 1 1/2 room place.  I can't even comprehend how many people lived behind this one gate.  There are hundreds of gates along the road!!!!!  We took a pic of a Christmas tree someone had put up high but out in the middle of alittle courtyard!  The courtyard was about 10ft x 10 ft big.  Clothes were hung all around on clothes lines.  We had to duck under them to get to this one family that lived in the very back of this SUBDIVISION!!!  HaHa!
We were all carrying the plates of cookies and such and also the bags of candy.  Actually some people didn't want us to sing to them and they wouldn't accept our goodies!  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???   We were just trying to spread Christmas cheer!
Back on the street, we saw all kinds of people.  Most seemed sad or resolved to their lives.  They were walking home carrying stuff they had been selling all day!  I was saying that I felt so bad for these people, but one of the missionaries said - but they don't know any better or other way!  I guess that is good that they don't!  Anyway, we got to go into about 4 of these little areas and give our goodies and candy away and sing carols to the people.  It was a very humbling experience!
We are all so blessed!  We need to look around us and truly be grateful for the things we have, as well as our families, health, the Gospel and all the rest!  We are a blessed people!  I know that all of you that have had children go to some of these kinds of places on their missions have already heard this lecture!  I guess you have to be there to get it!!!!  We walked a long way in the dark and windy night and were happy to be back home to our little hotel abode!  Good Times!
I can't believe how close to Christmas it is getting!  This is and will be a first for me - being away from all of my family!  Usually it was the kids that were leaving me home on Christmas when they all went on their Choice Humanitarian Adventures!  It's not that fun, but it seems everyone is doing OK at the minute so I can rest easy through this week!!!
IF THE KIDS AREN'T HAPPY - MOM AINT HAPPY - THEN NO ONE IS HAPPY!!!!!
May you be filled with the spirit of Christ this week especially - and for the next 52 weeks!
Love you all!

Caroling!

The Christmas Tree up on the balcony
with the laundry hanging below!

ROAD TRIP! & Tell your mom you love her!

Thought:   My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” 
― Bob Hope

Thursday Dec. 18th - Today is my mother's passing away day, 6 years ago at 3:15 in the afternoon!  I sat by her bedside all day and watched her!  Sure do wish I could tell her I love her just one more time!  Hopefully she already knows that!  I'm sticking with that idea! Rhonda lost her mom in March so we have had this tradition of going somewhere to get chocolate cake in memory of our moms.  We will have to go when I get back, then get back on schedule!  

We got up early this morning and drove to Veracruz with the Olsons, Andersons and Sandbergs! WE met two other couples there that are missionaries over by the temple - the Smiths and Pococks from Idaho Falls. It took us 6 hours to get there.  We drove through some very beautiful mountains and the scenery was spectacular!  It looks just like people told me it looked like!  I tried to trust them and they were right!

Veracruz is on the coast.  We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express right on the beach!  It reminded me a lot of when our family went to Cancun last May!

Kinda looks like our Cancun hotel with the ocean in the background!

The beach isn't as nice!

The Christmas tree in front of the hotel!

The reason for going to Veracruz was to go to the temple there!  The temple is just like the Newport beach temple.  We were able to catch a 4:00pm session and then did 1 1/2 hours of sealings afterwards in SPANISH!!!  My head is mush!  We went to Chilis for some dinner and the chocolate cake I was suppose to be eating with Rhonda!  The king size bed felt so nice!  I swear our bed at our place is a double!

Greg thinks this is a good pic of the traffic!
It's hard to capture the idea of 6 lanes of traffic
heading into 2 real lanes!

This is out of our hotel room window towards the beach in Veracruz!

The other side!  See the beach down there
with all those houses around it!

Veracruz

Chilis for dinner!

Our hotel behind Greg!

The Veracruz temple

From left the Sandbergs, Pococks and Sis Olson

The nativity scene on the temple grounds

We had to drive through downtown to get to the old fort!
Just took a pic of the side of the road

Another pic of the side of the road!
There are little stands like this everywhere!
I don't know how anyone sells anything because there
so many of these stands!

Friday Dec 19th - We got up early, and headed back over to the temple for a 9 am session.  But unfortunately a bus of temple goers beat us to the temple.  We got dressed and stood in the hallway for 1 hour and 5 min.  Welcome to Mexico!!!  You know how bad it is to start a temple session when you are exhausted!  It's bad enough when you have had a good nights sleep!  Only one side of my headphones worked and so I was crazy all day!  We finally got through with that and headed back to the hotel to change into more comfortable clothes.  We still had to dress like missionaries.  I can't tell you when the last time was that I wore pants!  I guess I won't be for the next 16 1/2 months!  Anyhoo-  the Olsons directed us all to an old fort that Cortez built to protect the port of Veracruz.  This place was built in the early 1500's!  We wandered around there for a couple of hours.  It was a very pleasant afternoon, so fun was had by all!  Also, we got to meet the mission pres. for the Veracruz mission.  I swear his wife is 19!  (Not really) They both look so young!  What a responsibility for such a cute little couple!

Pic of inside of port!
The right is closest to the water so where the
shipments came in.  The left side is where
prisoners were kept!

Greg ready to turn into superman while talking on his phone!
Probably a guard hut!!

pics of the San Juan de Ulua
built in 1500's

Courtyard!
 The archways tot he left led out to the docks!

Out on the dock!

Prisoners were kept here!
Those white bumps are stalagtites
and stalagmites!  I don't remember which is which!
One grows up and the other drips down!

Cool old door to keep prisoners in!

We all met at a famous fish restaurant for dinner!  Never quite got the name!  It was in Spanish, you know!  I had shimp on a shishkabob and Greg had some white fish!  Who really knows what your eating here in Mexico?????

It's hard to see the funny fish hanging on the pole!  Sorry

A table on the beach!

All I can say is Welcome to Mexico!

Saturday Dec. 20th - Again we got up early (GREG WON'T TELL ME WHY WE ALWAYS HAVE TO GET UP SO EARLY!)  Why can't I just sleep in once in awhile!

The Andersons rode with us on the way back home.  We were scheduled to go to the Xalapa (sounds like halapa) mission to give the missionaries their flu shots!  We finally arrived there after going through all these small towns, which I wanted to stop and roam around in, but no, Greg is always on the run!  You all know that!  Greg already wrote - out of turn - about how we finally found the church!  We met Pres. and Sister Greer.  They are from Gilbert Az.  These mission presidents and wives are just the nicest people ever!  I love sister Greer!  She doesn't speak Spanish!  We will be friends, I just know it!  Also sister Pocock doesn't spanish either.  She has been in Mexico for 8 months!  We will be friends too!  Well, someone had already given the missionaries their shots, so got to enjoy watching their skits ( Elders took turns trying to convert Santa Claus.)  Funny!

The Greers also invited us to their mission Christmas lunch they were feeding the missionaries!  YUM!  We had ham with a pineapple sauce, salad, mashed potatoes with cheese, corn chowder soup and a roll.  Cheesecake for dessert!  Best lunch EVER!  We had so much fun visiting with the missionaries!  I met Mike Lee 's(the Senator)  son!  He is almost done with his mission.  His twin brother is in Michigan or somewhere also speaking Spanish!  Cute kid!  Our friends son - Chris Anjeweirden is in this mission, but he was up north and didn't get to see him!

We had a long drive ahead of us, so we left after lunch!  We also met up with all the others who had left later than us.  We met at some ruins in the middle of nowhere!  They were called the Cantalon ruins.  There was evidence that the ruins were built around 600 BC and were inhabited until 1100AD. At the peak it is estimated that 93,000 people lived there!  WOW!  Cool stuff!  We climbed around them.  I dont know how the kids could walk on that volcanic rock that was everywhere.  They must have had leather feet!  

We had to drive over another big mountain pass to get home.  It was extremely foggy and very hard to see for a long while.  I was driving (of course) and that was scary!  Even scarier than the crazy people in the city!  We finally arrived back to our place around 7:30 pm.  I was very excited to get home because our kids had sent stuff with a daughter of the Ellis' that was coming down to visit for Christmas!  We didn't connect until Sunday.  I also had to make chocolate chip cookies for our caroling party on Sunday and do the laundry!  We finally got to bed around 12:30, then Beka facetimed us at 12:45 just to visit!  She has gone nuts now that finals are over!  Still nice to talk to her.

Looks out of place in Veracruz!

Following this truck filled with burnt sugar cane!
I love how high they pile their trucks!

There really aren't words!
A little family taking their sugar cane to a market probably!
The husband is walking on the side!
We are on our way out to see the ruins in the
middle of nowhere and we see this!!!

A huge Christmas tree at the ruins!
I don't know how someone got the bow on the top!

Walkway up to the ruins!  Called 1st avenue!

A section of the ruins that housed a family of 20!
So the archeologist say!
Do those people really know what they are talking about???
Do they really know where the people slept, ate, worked or sacrificed their horrible teenagers????
They say these ruins are from 600 BC
What will people say about the ruins we leave in 500 years or longer???

Pretty amazing really!
How long did it take to put all of those rocks together?

Ruins up the hill and a whole city is up on top!

Looking up the hill at a huge ruin!
All this is built out of volcanic rock!
Do you know how sharp these rocks are??

A main walkway
either 1st or 2nd avenue!

This is part of the ruins that have not been restored!
It seems to go on forever out there in the desert!

Have a very Merry Christmas this week!