More Christmas Visitors

The day after Nani arrived, Maggie, Andy, Amanda and Rachel showed up on our front porch. Hurrah!! Now it was a party!!

We had them jump back in the car and we drove to San Diego for a Mexican dinner as per Amanda's request.

We had been looking forward to going to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site where we took a tour and then got to watch a musical performance put on by the talented missionaries in the California San Diego Mission who work at the site.

Dallas and Rebecca had told us how much they enjoyed the Mormon Battalion and now I'm really gaining an appreciation of why they expressed so much enjoyment. It is a wonderful place to learn more about our pioneer heritage and to learn of the blessings that happened to them because of participating in that march.

Also, it's kind of fun to watch everyone pan for gold and pump water and make bricks.

We stopped by the temple on our way home to see the Christmas lights.

 I guess Rachel loves palm trees just like I love them.

Christmas Eve day was a big day in the mission. We got the okay to go ahead and hold the traditional Christmas devotional like it had been done in previous years.

We took a photo of us as we were heading out for the day. It reminds me of a few days earlier when we were sitting on stools in front of our beautifully decorated fireplace with the missionary picture in the background. The assistants had put together a video of all the missionaries, all the photos of them with their converts on their baptism day, snippets of converts talking and then our message to the missionaries at the end of the video.

We held our Christmas gathering at the Felicita building in Escondido. I had asked two sister training leaders to be in charge of the decorations and they did a fabulous job. They used leftover decorations from their ward's Christmas party.

They enlisted the help of all the zones in having a zone competition to see which zone could make the best nativity set.

This is the winning nativity. Everyone thought it was very clever how they used the Light the World pass along cards to make the whole thing. We are learning that missionaries can be very resourceful and creative.

Elder Kindmark and Elder Hopkins were the MCs of the show. They were very funny and had a lot of fun which helped us all have fun as well.

These elders did a parody of missionary life, mostly poking fun at the position of assistant to the president.

This elder was doing a juggling/balancing act using only one ball.

This elder sang and played the ukelele.

This sister sang an original Christmas song a cappella. Another sister played the flute and two sisters played a piano duet.

This elder sang and played the guitar with the assistance of the MCs.

The Spanish missionaries did some singing and dancing as they were acting out a skit about a Spanish boy trying to find the Christmas spirit.

This elder played the guitar while the two sisters sang a traditional Christmas song and then tacked on a special version of "Carlsbad Christmas" which was a big hit with the audience.

This group of elders told us they were going to "bring down the house" with their singing and band rendition (complete with drum set in the back) of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." (We sure have some generous ward members who let the missionaries borrow all of the instruments.)

After the talent show we ate a delicious roast beef meal.

While waiting for everyone to finish eating, I would glance over at the archway and see companions standing there getting their photo taken.

One time I looked over and saw a mixed couple standing there and was about to run over and break up whatever shenanigans was going on with an elder and a sister under the arch together. Then I realized it was Andy and Amanda standing there with Maggie shooting photos of them. Whew!!

Of course this companionship couldn't pass by the opportunity to stand in the archway for a photo either.

Here is more of the decorations the sisters did to spruce up the cultural hall.

What a great group of people we chose to sit by for dinner.

Glen and I really LOVED seeing the lighted word "Joy" when we walked into the cultural hall because that was the subject of our message at the end of the video that the missionaries would soon be watching.

Following the meal we went into the chapel and had a beautiful Christmas devotional. We watched the Light the World video once again. Several missionaries shared their experiences as they went about lighting the world in the days leading up to Christmas. Several other missionaries shared their testimonies.

We sang Christmas carols. A couple of missionaries sang beautiful Christmas songs. We watched a Christmas video that the Church had made of the nativity with President Monson, President Eyring and President Uchtdorf talking. I love that video.

The missionary video the assistants had made was shown that had our message about joy at the end of it. Then to finish up the meeting, Glen and I both took just a few minutes to talk to the group. We handed out recommend holders as our gift to them. We went out into the foyer and had each one of the missionaries walk by so we could wish them a Merry Christmas and give them their gift.

President and Sister Marin had made treat bags for each of the missionaries. They had also made two Christmas tins full of tamales for us which turned out to be the biggest treat ever for Andy and Amanda. They loved those things. We ate them that evening for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Then we went into the celestial room and had our traditional Christmas Eve program. Rachel played some songs for us on the piano. Nani said she had planned to show the Church nativity video which we had showed at the devotional, so her part had already been done.

The couch sitters didn't have anything to contribute to the program. So I shared a Christmas thought and story that one of our missionaries' moms had sent to me in a Christmas card. It was a lovely, short program if I don't say so myself!!

Everyone was anxious for the much-anticipated, traditional dessert drink--Nani's ice cream/sherbet slush.  

Later in the evening Amanda, Rachel and Maggie got busy making orange rolls for breakfast in the morning. Thanks, Nani, for doing the dishes!

 Then off to bed for everyone because Santa Claus was coming to town.

Christmas Is Coming, Nani Arrived

Our small group of three new missionaries came back to the mission home two days after they arrived for new missionary training--complete with lunch.

It got really cold and even rained the following day. Well, I should clarify. It got really cold for Carlsbad. It was cold enough that I brought out my winter coat and have been wearing it every day. Especially in meetings. The Californians still turn on the air conditioning in the church buildings. BRRR!!!

One thing positive about the cold weather (okay--maybe I better just say cooler weather) is it made it feel a lot more like the Christmas season. I wasn't missing the cold of December, but I was missing a change of seasons.

Our mission office always has some bikes in the waiting area during transfer week. In December, we had packages galore all throughout the office and stored in another room in the church building.

One day we had to go to Camp Pendleton to get updated paperwork done to go on base. We went with the assistants, Elder Romney and Elder Ruhl, to do that and then took them to lunch. They suggested Tip Top Meats which is owned and run by a German man named Big John (see his image on the napkin).

I was the only brave one of the group who actually ordered real authentic German food--cabbage roll, regular and red sauerkraut and some kind of potato hash stuff.

Big John himself came out to greet us and tell us how much he respects the missionaries and the work they are doing. I was a little slow with the camera and missed documenting his visit to our table.

Sister Christensen is a self-proclaimed introvert and has banded together with her fellow introverts in the office. Notice how her husband and mine are not in the photo. They are not part of our special club.

I love p-days when we go out exploring and find some interesting things we've never seen before.

P-days also inevitably involve going to various doctor appointments. I happened to be texting Sarah this particular day and told her I was at yet another medical facility.

She was inquiring about my health and well being and was wondering which doctor and for what reason. I told her it was for my heart and then I sent this photo.

 This is her response.

Jeff's comment had me completely cracking up. He wrote: You should be happy. That's more love than she shows me when I'm sick.

Christmas was coming and that meant Nani was coming to visit. Hurrah!!

We decided not to let a rainy day keep us from having fun and spending the day in the great outdoors at the San Diego Botanical Garden which is not all that far from our home.

Nani learned which trees are punching trees (the bark is soft enough that punching it won't hurt your fist) and had to give it a try.

 There were many beautiful flowers blooming despite it being the dead of winter.

All throughout the garden were interesting/weird/strange/unusual sculptures that were available for purchase for thousands and thousands of dollars.

Glen braved the elements to try out the buzzard's roost.

All throughout there were trees and stumps with a variety of different plants growing on them.

 

I was excited to see a children's area that had a tree house. I was imaging taking the grandchildren there to let them wander through the garden and come upon the fun children's things to do and see.

There's Glen below the buzzards and their roost looking around at the musical instruments available to play.

 HO, HO, HO, Merry Christmas!!!!! The Santa and Mrs. Claus chairs were just too much to resist.

I'm sure the grandchildren would love walking out on this platformed area to climb the stairs to the overlook.

We found another kid area complete with a water feature. Note: the mud would not be there on a regular day.

When the rain started pouring down toward the end of our day, Glen opted out and ran to the car while Nani and I finished up looking at everything. This was a little bonus of our enduring to the end when one of the workers asked us if we wanted to look inside the building on the other side of the parking lot.

There on display were a bunch of nutcrackers. I bet Glen was sad he missed out on seeing them.

I am sure Nani will agree with me when I say it was a very fun and interesting experience going to the botanical garden. I definitely want to return again. At each season. Just to see what new and different things are blooming at different times of the year.

Quotes of the Week

We cannot talk or walk as other men, for we have a different destiny, obligation, and responsibility placed upon us.
--John A. Widstoe

Don't rationalize away future happiness by taking shortcuts instead of applying sound gospel principles.
--Richard G. Scott

The first great truth of eternity is that God loves us with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.
--Jeffrey R. Holland

Everyone of us is more beloved than we can possibly understand or imagine.  Let us therfore be kinder to one another and to ourselves.
-Robert D. Hales