Post Christmas

Dec. 26th, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
Well, didn't we just talk yesterday? That was so fun hearing your voice, your stories and being able to ask questions, get answers and know that you are doing well and sound very happy. It was almost like you were there with us sitting around the table chatting...almost.

Today the Lutz's went to church with us. They had a hard time waiting until 2:30pm, but now we are used to it and of course we change to 9am next week. It will be a shock to our system. A young couple who are fairly new in our ward, both of them attorneys spoke and they did a good job. I particularly liked his talk on how vital preparation is for any success in life. RS was a lesson on Pres. Eyring's talk from last conference about trusting in the Lord and going and doing once we have that faith and trust. There were several great comments made and that's what made the lesson so awesome. We learned that once we learn to trust in the Lord, then He will trust us and we will become trustworthy and He will trust us to do more and more things for Him. I want to be trustworthy in His eyes.

Tonight we played games with the Lutz's. They got a new game from their Middleton cousins called Things. It was a lot of fun, kind of like loaded questions with a twist. We introduced Bananagrams and the Pirate game to them. The little girls are going crazy playing Wii with the new games we got.

Our Christmas Eve was so nice with the Camerons and I really enjoy going over to their house. Here are a few pics from the night.

Kirk is holding Kelly's brothers baby. Doesn't he look like a natural with her?

Here are some pics from Christmas morning. I'll send some more in another email too so it doesn't load this one up too much.


Roxy found her new toy first thing in the morning and had it destroyed within minutes.

Here's Roxy looking very satisfied that she has destroyed the arch enemy.

to be continued in next letter...
momxxoo
A few more pix:
Sally and I playing Sleigh Ride at the Simpson's.


Very happy little girls. They appeared to get just what they wanted for Christmas.

We went shortest to tallest this time, so notice how Mary is working her way down to being #1. I think by next year, she'll be the first one in line.

This is us on the phone with you. We had a lot of fun!

Here's one more I thought you'd get a good laugh at. I found a bunch of older pictures today, I'll send you a few each week.

The best decision I ever made was marrying dad. He treats me like I'm somebody special, he'd do anything for me and looks at me like I'm the most beautiful woman he's ever seen and tells me that every day, even now. It couldn't get any better than that. He's strong in the church and we want the same things for our family.

At Jared and Kendra's sealing, the sealer talked about how they were forming a new kingdom being sealed together and how much Satan wants to destroy every little kingdom. He works harder at destroying families than he ever does on destroying governments or organizations. The higher covenants we make in the temple are empowering and I'm so grateful dad and I have made those covenants together. It gives me strength even in hard times. This picture just brought back a lot of fond memories and emotions.

Wish Elder Jolley good luck with his new mission back home. Tell him he's invited to stop by our home any time he's in Boise. Also I plan on checking with the post office this week to see where the scripture package is, so we'll let you know.

Keep up the great work in the Foxcroft area. I hope you get to stay there. Use the wonderful things you've learned from your companions and keep moving forward. You are gaining the trust of the Lord and He will use you in many ways.


Love you very much,

mom
XXOO

Soiree

Dec. 19, 2010

Dear Elder Alex,

Well, we just got back from the big soiree at Dustin Simpson's home. It was a lot of fun and tons of people were there. There were 13-14 musical numbers. Sally Larsen and I played the SleighRide duet and had fun with it. In the middle of the song Kristina, Kirk and Sean did the big clap or horse whip sound and then later on in the song everyone joined in. Most the numbers were on the serious side, but we managed to lighten things up. Sally has been over at our house almost every day this week so we could practice. Here's the girls and dogs listening to us.

Sally and I have also played our piece-the Dvorak. She loves that one and said, If Alex can play this, I can! I'm not going to give up!

How was your week? I've been thinking about you and wondering if the baptisms still took place. I hope so. I'm also very curious to know if the set of scriptures got to you. We sent them to your apartment directly and we were nervous about having something like that delivered and left on your door step. Are you in a safe area for things like that? On that same note, we sent your Christmas pkg to the mission home for that same reason, just not sure if things should be left on your door step all day. Then we sent one more thing and sent it directly to your place. So please let us know if any or all of them have shown up yet.

I'm very excited for our Christmas call this week. Let us know the particulars. We will make ourselves available and home whenever you say. Dad is working Christmas Eve and won't be home until around 9:30am or 10am Christmas morning. So just don't call early in the morning.

Jan and Jeff and Mary are coming in this week too, in fact on Christmas Eve day. They'll be going to our annual party at the Cameron's that night. I think they'll be getting their call from David on Christmas Eve afternoon. They are staying for a week.

I can't believe that you sang O Holy Night at the last minute. That's not exactly a last minute song. Dustin sang it today in church and I thought of you doing it the whole time. I'm so glad singing is a part of your mission. Music can bring the spirit into a room faster than most anything else and I'm happy you're using your talent. If you ever need me to send you sheet music, let me know.

We've been getting our fair share of snow here. It's kind of weird to have so much snow, but it's been nice. I'm thinking it probably won't seem so festive once we're into January.

Kirk and Sean are both here now and both will be working at the mall the next few weeks. The big BSU bowl game against Utah is this Wednesday, so the Blue and Orange shop should be hopping.

I was happy to hear that you took Jessica with you to help teach a lesson. You're right. I would have loved being there. I hope Samantha is doing well and progressing and hopefully she got baptized last week.

Friday night was Nikki's big Cantus choir concert. It was a formal event and Nikki had to wear a long black gown with a faux diamond necklace and earrings. It was held at the Cathedral of the Rockies. Can't remember if you've sung there before, but it's a gorgeous place. When I walked in I thought of the wedding scene from the Sound of Music. The accoustics were amazing too. Nikki was so excited for this event and said it was even better than she thought. She is singing all over the house now and especially in the shower. She's got quite the operatic voice.... :)

Sean went to the new single's ward today. Can't remember if I told you what happened there. They created a new YSA stake in our area and realigned all the wards. Our Park Lane ward combined with a ward that meets on Hill Rd in Boise. Each ward should have at least 150 active members. That was the plan anyway. Sean said there weren't that many there today but it's the week before Christmas. He said the speaker today was Frank Arnold who was the coach at BYU when Steve played. I had lost track of him, but apparently he lives here now and is the high councilor over that ward. It's called the Boise YSA 7th ward. Kirk will attend that ward while he's home. Maybe his wife is there! That would make Nikki's Christmas list come true. We still get a good laugh over her list.

I hope you're finding some opportunities for service especially at this time of the year. Pray always to have the spirit with you so each home you enter will feel there's something different when you and your companion enter.

Can't wait to hear from you. Have a festive and wonderful week. I hope you are keeping warm and know how much we love you. Be true.

love you,

Mom

XXOO

Nikki's Christmas list

This is priceless and so Nikki! I'm not sure what Santa's going to do with this.

Choirside

Dec. 12, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
Just returned from our stake's "choirside". That's what I called it anyway. Heather Pinder asked each of the ward choirs to perform one piece and then there were a few solos and we ended by singing a congregational Handel's Hallelujah chorus. It was very nice. Dad and I were both in our choir. Next week we have our ward's Christmas program where we sing quite a few more songs and Kristina is even doing a duet with Sally Larsen as part of our accompaniment for one of our songs.

Today also was the farewell for the Taylor twins. They both did a good job speaking and will be very good missionaries. They'll both be in the South with you (Kentucky and Georgia).

Yesterday was the ward's annual Christmas breakfast. Then last night Pres. Stafford asked the stake council to all go to the temple together with spouses. We met in the chapel in the temple first where Pres. Stafford and also the first counselor in the temple presidency spoke to us. Then we went into a session together. It was a wonderful experience.

We sent one package to you yesterday that contains something for Jaclyn and a few goodies for you to either consume or to give out. So let us know when you get that one. We mailed that one to your address in Marion.
The funniest thing this week is when the girls turned in their Christmas lists. Here's a copy of Nikki's list so you can see it now, but I'm also going to send you a hard copy in one of the packages because it's a classic!

I still laugh about when I read it again. Kirk's got to feel the pressure from that. :)

This week was also the Christmas choir concert at the high school. Because there have been so many people attending now, they had 3 separate concerts. We went to the one on Thurs night and it was excellent. Then on Friday there was a bomb threat at the school, but the dogs and police found nothing, so school wasn't cancelled much to the chagrin of most students. Nikki also had her 4th grade holiday concert. She loves singing!!

How has your week been going? We got one of Spencer Shumway's letters this week. It's his first week in Japan and it sounds like it's going well. Dallas is also doing well but is struggling with a native companion who is very moody and refuses to talk half the time. It's been a challenge for Dallas but he says he's definitely learning and growing from this experience.

How's Samantha coming along? Sounds like you're having a couple baptisms this week. I hope it all goes well. What did you decide about the conflict with the temple trip? Does Jessica live near her sister, like will she be in the same ward? I always worry for new members right after their baptisms because I know how important it is for every member to feel needed in their wards, loved and supported by many friends and how important it is for them to continue to have spiritual experiences that help solidify their testimonies. Those experiences will only come if they are in the right places at the right time and they need to make time each day to ponder, study and listen. So many of my own wonderful spiritual experiences have come while reading the scriptures alone or re-reading conference talks (which are scripture too). The spirit is hard to hear above the clamor of the world. The Holy Ghost is always looking for times when we can be taught and if we have those quiet moments daily, we will be taught by the spirit. Let them know how important those daily moments of devotion are.

Sounds like you're teaching a few girls your own age too, so be careful they are not just enamored with you or Elder Jolley. Since I am the mom I can't help but think my son is handsome to everyone, so just a word of caution there. ;)

So you got texting, huh? That will be nice for all of you. So does that mean you just want to text us for Christmas?? I think you'd be on the losing end of that deal. We are not the fastest texters in the world but it's improving each day.

I loved your pictures that you sent last week. Nice job with the axe. That reminds me, Do you do exercising as part of your daily routine? Just wondering since I know you're in a car a lot or do you actually do a lot of walking?

We had a great SS lesson about Daniel today. Daniel acted out of faith and it was clear that King Neb. (not even going to try spelling it) always seemed to be acting out of fear. He was a powerful King, but without faith in God, he was left only with fear and his actions sure reflected that. I had to ponder about my own life and wonder if my actions bespeak fear or faith. I hope you've seen faith in how I live. I know I have a lot more to learn in life, but my faith has steadily grown through the years. Thank you for the example of great faith you set for me too. I'm humbled by what I learn from you. Continue sharing your testimony and proclaiming the truth to all who will listen. I love hearing the stories of conversion from those you teach--it gives me such a great feeling. So keep sharing the things they say as you teach them, share their words and feelings with us because it strengthens us too. It's the same feeling I get when I see a glimmer of testimony begin to develop in one of my children. I see Leah many times at night laying in bed reading the Friend or reading her scriptures or listening to church music. I know that it just makes her feel good and I want her to know where the source of those good feelings come from. Sharing the gospel is one of the best parts of being a mom.

Well, we are all doing well here. Kirk and Sean are finishing up their last week of the semester and will be home later this week. They are both going to work at the Blue and Orange when they get home. Kirk will be home for 4 months and will go to the new singles ward. They are combining our singles ward with a ward in Boise and will meet in a different building. It will be nice because the ward will be nice and big. They are forming big wards all throughout the Boise, Meridian and Eagle area and they will be part of a single's stake. So I think it will be much better for everyone. We will miss them in our building though.

Kristina has lots of tests this week too so she's been studying pretty hard lately. Nikki and Leah are having fun with the usual elementary school holiday parties, etc. Dad and I are trying to make a simpler more peaceful Christmas season. So far, so good. I'm enjoying the Christmas music always playing throughout the house. I will miss it in January.

Have a spiritual and gratitude-filled week. Remember the source of all your blessings and gifts because you have been given many. Some of those gifts I saw in you when you were very young.

Love you always,

mom
XXOO

Snowstorm of the decade

Dec. 5, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
It was so fun to hear that Jessica got baptized last week. What a nice opportunity for you too to be able to actually baptize her. We loved seeing the pictures. Keep them coming! How is Samantha coming along with her lessons?

Today was a good Sabbath. At choir practice we had a full orchestra practice--well, before you get too excited about that, our entire orchestra consisted of Ellen Hullinger on flute, Coleman Madsen on violin and Spencer Madsen on cello. But it sounded awesome. Next week is the Stake Choir fireside and each ward is singing one number for it, so we're preparing for that first and then of course the sacrament meeting where we sing lots of songs will be on the 19th. It's fun meeting at Dustin Simpson's house.

Sean called earlier and reported back about his big interview with the group Imagine Dragons who were performing in Provo. He did the pre-concert interview with them back stage. His roommates were jealous and Sean said they were all cool guys and very talented. He said the lead singer was mesmorizing to watch. Then he said that they were really starting to feel like a full-fledged band because they got to do a pre-concert interview.

I'm glad you had a great Thanksgiving. We sent your package to you last week, so let us know when you get it and what you think. Sorry we couldn't get any footage of Steve and Carolina and their gang. We really missed having them here. You can tell I'm still trying to get over it. I really look forward to having Steve here each year.

It's still bitterly cold here but it's supposed to warm up to the 40's this week. I'll gladly welcome the 40's. According to my widgets on the computer, it looks like you're having some pretty cold weather too, at least cold for the South. The snow has not melted here, but at least the roads are clear. Kristina's getting in some good driving in the snow practice time.

We had the biggest snow storm here last Wednesday since around the 90's sometime, according to the old timers. Here are a couple pics:
I think we got about 8" of snow and just about everything shut down. A snow day from school is always good times! I was awakened about 5:30am by a recording from the school district tell me school was canceled, however the whole message was in Spanish. Thank goodness they were speaking slowly and very clear. And once again thank goodness for high school Spanish.

I had to cancel an RS luncheon that day and it was a hard call for me to make because Julie Rasmussen was in charge of the whole thing and had put a lot of effort into it's preparation. I felt really bad for her but I couldn't insist that the older sisters in our stake all try to get out on the roads and make it to the stake center and back. YM/YW also got canceled.

Our ward seems to be growing still. We had yet another couple move in this week. They bought Jeff and Audra Davis's house. They moved from Houston. We've had about 10 families move in since the summer. I also noticed there was a big sold sign on the Kent's house last week, so we'll see who moves in there. Speaking of the Davis's, they went to Ethiopia and adopted a little boy. He is so cute and it's so fun to hear him talk. He doesn't know very much English, but when he does talk he has somewhat of an Italian accent. He rolls all his R's. He's 5 years old and has a great big smile and his name is Sam. We all call him Sammy but Audra didn't want to call him Sammy for obvious reasons, but he just looks like a Sammy, so he's going to have to live with it. Hope he sings! He broke his collar bone the first week he was here. He fell off the couch and got a hairline fracture, then the next day he slipped on the ice and broke it more. Welcome to America.

Will you please send us a Christmas wish list today. Thanks. That will help us get things to you on time. Garments, shirts, ties, books, pencils, pens, under armor.....whatever you can think of. Anyway, dad says he wants your Christmas list by Monday night when he gets home from work. He loves working on your packages and has a lot of fun with them.

Football report-BSU was back to it's old self again. They won 50-14 and played like the BSU we all know and love. It was a fun game to watch and it certainly helped Brotzman feel a bit better. There were banners up everywhere in support of him and he played great. BSU has been invited to the bowl in Las Vegas to play against Utah. Not quite the BCS invitation, but we'll just have to get past that.

I was talking with Grandpa Trumbo this week and he was saying what an awesome outlook you have on life and how much he enjoys and looks forward to your letters each week. I often wonder what some of my brothers and sisters think, the ones who don't go to church any more and I pray that they will have experiences that will help them feel the spirit in their lives. I'm hoping your missionary spirit will carry into their hearts too.

I had a nice, somewhat small but meant a lot to me, missionary experience this week. On my quilting blog, feeddogsdown I showed a picture of our Christmas tree and talked about how we always put a picture of Christ on the tree and I said"We always put a picture of Christ on the tree so He doesn't get lost amid all the glitter and glam of Christmas." A woman from Michigan wrote back that she loved that idea and wanted to borrow that tradition for her own home. She's not a member, but has been reading my blog for some time now and I always make sure to include our religion in any way that I can. I may put your picture on my next post and talk about your mission (hopefully that's ok with you) so she can know there are missionaries everywhere, etc.


Your influence is greater than you know, so stay true to your covenants and be obedient so you can receive the great blessings that come through obedience to the laws and principles of the gospel. They are real.

Here's a quote I like and used for something I did for the ward RS presidents: "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." Roy L. Smith
I know as a missionary you will get to have Christmas in your heart every day for 2 years, but my prayer is that you will help those you teach to know where to look to find that same feeling. He stands at the door (everyone's door) and knocks.

I love you very much and hope you have a warm week filled with many teaching appointments.

Mom
XXOO
Say hey to Elder Jolley!