We were in Hawaii last year during the first part of December and missed some fun Christmas dinners. So, this year we were anxious to attend our Great Salt Lake District Christmas dinner. These are all the leaders who serve in each branch at the prison.
The dinner was held at the new transition branch building in West Valley. The new branch was formed for the men and women exiting prison to have a place to attend church where they may feel more comfortable, and where they will continue to be able to be active participants in the meetings as they have done in the prison.
Our district presidency and their wives outdid themselves with fixing a delicious brisket dinner for us.
A young girl was playing the harp all through dinner and it was so beautiful. After dinner she was the first performance in the program with her harp solo. She was amazing!!!
One of our women leaders is a tap dancer who works with tappers for BYU performances. She had a portable tap floor laid out for the performers she had invited to come and entertain us. Several different kinds of tapping dances were performed and it was very entertaining.
The last performers were five members of the BYU Ambassadors singing group. They sang several beautiful songs and then ended with a song that touched our hearts so deeply. It is called "O Come, All You Unfaithful." At first we thought we heard the opening line wrong. Then as the song continued, we understood the meaning of the title.
Their group now has this song available on YouTube for viewing. It is worth it to find it. The words are so touching for each one of us.
Glen and I loved the song so much that we decided it would be a perfect song to end our Christmas program with for our Sunday worship service on Christmas Eve morning at the prison. The men loved it as their hearts were touched deeply.
There was so much meat leftover that the district presidency bagged it all up and begged all of us to take some home. That made Glen happy. They also sent each couple home with a poinsettia. I think this is the healthiest poinsettia plant I have ever owned. I love it sitting on our kitchen cabinet.
They also gifted us with President Nelson's latest book. Glen commented that not many people can say, "What 100 years of living have taught me" like President Nelson can.
Abe sent some photos of his family getting in the Christmas spirit. Newland and Monty both wore their Christmas hats to school.
Monty is the third one from the left on the back row.
How about a little cocoa, crafting, live nativity, and Christmas lights.
Monty is the one in the middle.
This looks like a fun activity for Abe and this bunch of boys. (Newland is on the right.)
Newland looks so grown up in this photo. He is definitely Abe's little clone.
We went to Provo to attend a BYU basketball game and met Natalie and Emma for dinner. They picked Teppanyaki for their restaurant of choice.
We were VERY bummed when we discovered our season ticket seats this year are up in the rafters three rows down from the top. NOT GOOD!!
We have decided our front-row seats in front of our big-screen TV in our basement gives us a much better view of the games. And the bonus is we don't have to go out in the cold to go to the games.
Although I know Glen will be taking me to some of the future games despite the cold and the less-than-desirable seats.
One evening we met our missionary Benjamin Flitton and his new fiancé at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.
Funny story about this elder is his father lived right across the street from me when I was growing up on 22nd Street in Ogden. It was hilarious when we made that connection and I told him I babysat his dad. How random is that??
Talking about babysitting... I watched Ben and Haley's three boys one evening so they could go to an escape room.
Haley had told me Maverick is getting pretty good at sitting up, so we gave it a try with Kade being his grabber if he started to topple.
I absolutely love this picture Haley took of Levi.
When Levi comes to visit, he likes to rearrange the nativity scene. The first time he did it, I asked him which was Baby Jesus. He pointed to the right one and then put his finger up to his mouth and said, "Shhhhh, Baby Jesus is sleeping."
This time he put every tree, animal and person in a line with Baby Jesus face down in front of the donkey. I wish I knew what he was thinking as he made this arrangement. I didn't notice it until after they had left.
Andy and Amanda's daughter Rachel recently returned home from her Washington Spokane Spanish speaking mission. She is such a fun-loving, spunky girl and did a great job on our talk. We had enjoyed reading her weekly emails and looking at her mission photos.
Natalie and Rachel are great friends (besides being first cousins).
Natalie went to the airport with Rachel's family to greet her upon her arrival home. She went with us to church to hear Rachel give her report. Then we enjoyed a most delicious lunch afterward at Andy and Amanda's home.
Another Christmas dinner party Glen and I missed last year, which we were anxious to attend this year, was at Bill and Jan Evans's home. Jan goes all out in her decorating and it is fun to look at everything she has on display.
And as usual, she had set the most lovely dinner table.
She had a journal gift for each one of us at each place setting with the words "Think Celestial" embossed in gold on the front.
Bill carved up some prime rib. Jan had also cooked crab legs and oven-roasted potatoes. We brought the shrimp. Jane and Dennis brought cheese and cracker appetizer. Grant and Diane brought homemade rolls. Bruno and Colleen brought the salad. And Rick and Debi made the cheesecake dessert. YUM to all of it!!
A special treat was the wassail Jan had her son Will make for us. I loved that stuff!! Tastiest wassail I have ever had!
After dinner, we went into their family room and exchanged gifts. It is always fun to see what is inside each package and then decide to keep or to steal from someone else. Fun evening with our good friends.
We were invited to attend Caroline and Madison's Christmas piano recital.
I was impressed with how well-prepared our granddaughters were with their numbers.
I was also impressed with the variety of Christmas songs that the piano teacher had planned for her students to perform. It was very enjoyable.
I got a little chuckle when I realized the fancy Christmas skirt Madison was wearing was their Christmas tree skirt. Rebecca said Madison had worn it to school and even Caroline had taken a turn wearing it to school. Well, after all, it IS called a "skirt."
As we were anticipating Christmas fast approaching, it wasn't feeling totally like Christmas to me quite yet. Then the day before Christmas Eve, it snowed just enough for us to have a white Christmas feel.
It was perfect to have it snow that day because the next day we were hosting a Christmas Eve dinner for my side of the family. We set up five tables in anticipation of the same large crowd we had on Thanksgiving. Then people kept dropping off due to sickness.
Mike and Lorene were sick. Cheryl's family was sick. Seth's family had their youngest son in the hospital with an infection. Four of the six people in Sarah's family were sick and so they also missed the party.
We were thankful for the family members who were able to attend. It was fun to have Rachel there as she had missed the family gatherings when she was serving her mission.
We had an overabundance of food due to all the absent people. But we enjoyed our Christmas Eve feast complete with the ice cream slush drink that Nani always brings. It is a tradition that must never be broken!! We all love it!!
We bid the family members a farewell with a wish for all to have a Merry Christmas the next day.
