New Years Eve

Started the day wit a little friendly/somewhat competitive pickleball at the Ericson's.

It's been so nice to be able to use their court in the winter, but even nicer to get to play outside when it warms up here. One thing Kai will miss when it warms up, is playing in the ball pit at Ericson's during pickleball.  Hopefully I;ve posted pics of that before.  If not, I seriously need to take some pics from the ball pit room there.  Sooooo fun!

Some Acai Bowls for our Brazil lovers.  This acai palce was started by a man who served his mission in Brazil and has since taken his family back to visit several times and decided to start importing the goods and sell authneitc Brazilian Acai Bowls here in South Jordan.

Even Koa loves them

We were in AZ for our usual Christmas in Color FHE night, so we scheduled it for New Years Eve.  It was a little too cold to take Jesse with the top off like we usually do, and this was our 1st year without Jett being with us.  

A little sad, but the girls still ROCKED out in the backseat....singing their hearts out. 

Brenna spent the rest of New Years Eve with Emily, Charley, & Boston at Makayla's house lighting and sending off lanterns.

We spent the late nigt out sharing love 

My best friend Marianne lost her daughter Amy earlier today and we wanted to quietly let her know how much we LOVE her and her family. 

 

Year End Skiing

This crew (Em, Boston, Jeremy, Linz & Brenna) got in some late night skiing at Brighton before the year ended.  It was a stormy and snowy night, but didn't seem to bother them a bit. They were happy to be there and to get to ski together.

 

Top Golf Brrrr

Time for a little golfing @ Top Golf

We were totally think our bay would be warn with all the heaters they have, but that was not the case.

Brenna aiming for the ball colletion truck

Robert aiming for the fences

We drank our fair share of hot chocolates as we tried to stay warm and just enjoyed being together.

 

2021 Christmas Bell Choir

We were happy to add a few more musicians, Katie & Logan, to our Christmas Night bell choir. They were so nice to jump right in and to travel all over South Jordan without gloves or hats.  It was a cold night, but sharing Christmas songs on friends porches defintely warms our hearts. 💓

 

Christmas 2021

1st Christmas without Jett

We had some momentos made with his paw prints and started the day by opening those. A little bitter sweet.

Then onto some happier items...mini waffle maker

New fuzzy coat.  This girls has not been able to stay warm since she got home from Brazil, so she will defintely need lots of coats.

We all got these cute candles with tender messages and quotes from Katherine

Em was suprised whe she opened a present with new white Dr. Martins

And a new white hydroflask (this girl must like white)

Our puzzle girl opened 2 new puzzles; one of BYU and one from Brazil

Lindsay got a print of a painting she loves of angels behind the shoulders of 2 sister missionaries as they knock on a door.  This painting is precious!

Kayla got new Sketchers....she had tis same pair of Sketchers when she was about 7, and Grandma Webber tried to replace them once she grew out of them, but never could find  the.  15 years later....they have been found and now Kayla has them again.

Kekoa loves being snuggled

One of the girls got Elan a cape and hair set since he's started cutting his own hair at home now.

Kai got a machine full of legos that he pushed around most of the afternoon

Koa got a hippo that has a bunch of balls in it. He toally like the Hippo, he was just pretty into playing with the wrapping paper today

Brenna is in love with Parrots & Macaw's - so now she can have her own little Tiki Room

Best part of Christmas - Being Together

 

Gilbert Trip

We made kind of a last minute decision to head to Gilbert just before Christmas for David & Macy's wedding and to visit sisters and cousins.  There were still a few cousins Kayla hadn't seen since before her mission, so it was good to be able to  ebe with everyone. 

We stayed at a resort in Scottsdale, and absolutely loved the warmer temps. We went out on runs and payed pickleball everyday.  The girls all got to meet Michaley's finance Talon. We hiked Camelback and ate delicious food and just enjoyed being together with no obligations or responsibilities.  Quick escape to the desert before we head home for a white Christmas.

 

Christmas with the Cole's

We love having Logan and Katie live close to us again.  They are always so fun and so thoughtful.

They had us ALL over for a Christmas dinner, that's 2 of them and 10 of us.  Not an eask task, but Katie loves cooking and entertaining.  We just love being with them and appreciate their kindness and hospitality,   We had chili on baked potatos, Logan's famous sourdough bread, and Katie's treats.

Love you guys, and yes we LOVE Katie's sweater (no Grinching on that sweater)

 

Kayla's (Unexpected) Zoom Call

Back in October, Kayla reached out to someone she knows at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints requesting more information about their humanitarian and refugee services, as she hopes to work in that field after completing college.

His secretary set up a Zoom meeting for a few days later, and she began preparing questions for the call. About 30 minutes before the scheduled call, she reached out to me to go over her questions and decide what she should start with, what direction to go from there, etc.  Then we hung up and she connected to her call with the information provided by the secretary.

She gets into the Zoom meeting and another box opens on the right side of the screen and it says Sharon Eubank.  Before she can even process, Sister Eubank appears in the box and asks Kayla how she is doing. THis was her face when she was telling me about it.

 If you are not familiar with Sharon Eubank - here is some information about her:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sister-sharon-eubank

Kayla adores and admires her and the work she does.

That wasn't all.  On the call was also the Managing Director for theWelfare and Self Reliance Services division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints as well as the current head of Refugee Services for the same organization. She was kind of in shock, but kept her cool and tried to learn as much from them as she possibly could in the 30 miuntes they has together.  What a wonderful opportunity this was for Kay and she has since kept in contact with her hero, Sister Eubank.

 

Hanging with Lindz

It has been so fun to have Lindsay home and to be able to spend so much tme togther before she heads back to BYU. We never quite know what we'll do each day, but we've tried to find creative ways to serve and bless the lives of others. Dropping off some GOOd LUCK ballons

Anoth day of visiting schools 

Took she and Caroline up to the cabin for a night

Got to bundle up and play in the snow a bit

It was summer in Brazil when came home, so she is missing the warm weather there.

Lots of time spent with Aubrey and the boys (and as the red visitor sticker shows) she spent another day shadowing some teachers at a school in the ditrsict

We found the best Acai Bowls north of Brazil.  Seriously.  A guy who serve his mission in Brazil just opened up this shop and he has all the fruit and ingredients imported.  A little pricey, but oh soooo good.

Another school visit, another classroom grant check presentation.  She's becoming a pro

Volunteering at the annual Christmas for Kids event.  She signed up to be a chaperone/shopping partner for a middle or high school student and said she'd be happy to help anyone that spoke Portuguese.  When the event was almost over, and it seemed like all the students had been assigned and were already out shopping, up came 1 more student who was a refugee from Venezuela and needed language assistance.  Though her 1st language was Spanish, Lindsay was able to use her Portuguese/Spanish to help the girl complete her shopping. So nice to see the Lord use her as an instrument to help others.

Got some Pho one night when Robert was traveling.

Went dowtown with Aubrey and the boys to purchase a goat and some educational supplies.

She always told people about how the church has Giving Machines up at Christmas time, as she was happy to be able to purchase from them today.

We sure love this crew and have loved having time together this past month. 

Near the end of Lindsay's mission in Brazil, she put in a request to extend her mission for 6 more weeks.  We all knew with an extemsion she would not arrive home until Jan 4th, the 2nd day of classes for the winter semester at BYU.  She knew it would be stressful to literally jump right into classes, straight from the airport, but her desire to continue to serve was strong and we supported her in whatver decision she made.  

In mid October her request was granted by her mission president and submitted to the mission department at church headquaters in Salt Lake City.  Her mission president later recieved an email that Lindsay's request had been denied.  No details. No explanation. Just denied.  It took her a few days to adjust to the fact that she indeed would be retuning home in November, versus January and she used her time and energy working hard and enoying each and everyday that she was there.  As her mission completion date drew closer, she relaized that she would be leaving Sao Paolo 1 day before 2 special people she had been teaching for several months would be married and baptized.

 It took a lot of courage,  but after fasting and praying she submitted a second request - this time for a 1 day extension.  It was immediately granted by her mission president, and within just a few day, we received a new flight itinerary for her arrival date and time. The mission department at church headquarters had granted her 1 day exntension and she was able to be a participant and witness at her friends wedding and baptisms.  Though the events of that special day would have gone on just as planned had Lindsay left, there was tremendous joy in the hearts of everyone that she could be there to  see her friends start their lives together and begin their journey down the covenant path.  She now plans to return to Brazil next November to be a witness at their sealing in the Sao Paulo Temple.  It is a good reminder that God is in the details of our lives.  He is aware of our needs, as well as our desires and he will grant us blessings best suited for our own spirtual growth and progress. He is in the details of our lives, and we defintely saw His hand in almost every aspect of Lindsay's mission, from beginning to the very very end.