We did sell our larger nativity to a very nice man who happily loaded it up whole in the back of his truck and took it away.  He paid us what we asked for it and we got another little one.

It feels good to have most of the Christmas shopping and sending done to our loved ones far away.  We won't be able to visit and hang out and see what they got from Santa, though.  :o(

But now we can concentrate on getting ready for the Bennetts and Evanses and Erin.  That will be a fun time with all of them and the Barneys together!!  The missionaries will be coming next Tuesday to help us put everything off our low shelves up high so that Matthew won't have to be told "No no!!" all the time.  And we will ask them to help us get out the tree and the boxes of decorations down from the attic.  Poor little Elder Whitlock is 18 and it's his first time away from home in Orem so he has been feeling homesick.  His family lives just a little north of where we were there.  I hope he will be able to get back on his feet and get on with the work at hand.  It's a miserable feeling.  I was homesick just once in my life and don't want to repeat it ever.  It was when I first went to Georgia State College for Women and the bus company didn't have my trunk when I got there.  I was there with just the clothes on my body and the contents of my purse.  The trunk came in the evening and that was all it took to make the homesickness go away.  Just a few of the things from home to sustain me.

The man has put up a swing for the kids to play on and that will probably be the completion of the play house.  There are plenty of nails for the little guys to hammer in to secure the floor.  He thinks the ladder will have to wait.  We are anxiously saving to pay property taxes the end of the year.  He calculates it costs us a little more to live here than in Utah as far as insurance and taxes go.  But we don't have any house payments.  :o)

The man went to the dentist and will have a root canal and a cap the first of January.  We say thank heaven for modern dentistry and medical procedures.  Not exactly like Star Trek yet, but surely better than even the recent past.

We have told the man in charge of ESL at the library that we want to finish teaching English this next spring, and he said he finally has a replacement for us that may want to start early in the year!!  It can't be too soon for me.  I don't know why it's so stressful.  Lara laughs because it's only 2 hours a week.  But somehow it just shadows my life.  I love the students, every one.  They are all so nice and fun to be with.  But the responsibility of finding and presenting enough to help them is overwhelming to me.  I will be happy to teach reading to one person.  That seems doable with little stress.  But English grammar is so fluid and changing that it's hard to pin down and try to explain.  Sorry to whine.  I volunteered, didn't I?

The weather is wonderful right now, but it's supposed to be rainy and cold all next week.  Maybe the predictions will be wrong, or the rain will be in another part of the county.  Can't get worried about it yet.

We got sick this week with an awful cold.  Jer got sick first and then I got it.  We are planning on it going away before the company comes, though.

We love you all  more than words can express and pray for you constantly to have what you need and for you to be happy and fulfilled.  We are so grateful for what each of you has brought into our lives and taught us.

The weather is gorgeous today!!  The second week in December and we were out doing yard work in shirt sleeves.  What a beautiful time of year here!  It was a little cool in the morning, but by noon it was idyllic.

We cut some low, overhanging branches from the pine in front and then lopped off the crape myrtles so that they will have blossoms lower down next year.  We will be able to see them from our front window.  The man also took off some dead branches from the tree in back using the Barney's tree saw.

Last week we also bought and set up a nativity in the front yard.  The plan was to subtly indicate to the neighbors that we are Christian.  I don't know what they know about the church, but if they know we are LDS I wanted them to know that LDS people are Christian.  So Dad made a stable and we put the figures in it and it was a little more than subtle.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  We had the figures lit the first night and then we decided that they look better in the day and not lit at night.  I'm afraid instead of whispering subtly it yells.  We'll see how we feel about it as time goes on.  I have it on Craig's List to see if anyone wants to buy it.  We could get a smaller, more subdued something.

Monday night we spent the evening at a pot luck dinner and helping set up the 18th Annual Nativity Display at the church.  They have hundreds of nativity sets loaned by individuals and set out all over the building (Kristin, you left a week too soon!)  In the cultural hall were the beautiful and fragile ones and in the Primary room were the children's ones and a place for the kids to draw and color.  They had an ongoing video of the nativity in the chapel, and they had different groups and individuals present music at different times throughout the two days.  Mary's school orchestra played the first night. The ones in charge have had lots of practice and they know how to present well.  There was also a room where there were all kinds of nativity costumes and a backdrop for the kids or families to dress up and have their picture taken.  And there was a roomful of quilts made from Christmas themes.  I knew what it was going to be and I was still in awe. It was absolutely breathtaking.

The pictures don't come close to doing it justice.  The whole cultural hall was lined with a desert backdrop, the lights were dim and the ceiling was draped with white cloths and white lights.  I can't tell you how beautiful and reverent it was; and the nativities were 3 or 4 deep all along the walls.  Anyway, the whole neighborhood was invited and lots of people came.  It was nice that they came to hear their students play and then they could see the beautiful things.

Here is Mary playing her cello in their school's musical presentation.

Yesterday we had a surprise.  The man came into the kitchen after dinner and said, "Guess what I just did."  and showed me his tooth.  It had broken off right at the gum line.  So we went to the dentist today and he said he can still save the root and put in a post and put on a crown.  The wonderful thing is that it doesn't hurt and he can wait till January to have it taken care of.  You just never know what's going to happen.  Life is full of surprises; some are good and some are not.

We are looking forward to this month.  It will be so good to have family visits around Christmas and it's fun to be involved in the Christmas activities here.  We are so blessed!!  We are so happy and at peace.  We are grateful for every day and the privilege of being together one more day and then another day and another.  We hope you all are also joyful and at peace.  We love you so much!

This week we had the Collinses to visit:  Sean, Kristin, Stephanie and Vince, and Rachael and Scott.  We had almost 5 days with them and the Barneys came over sometimes to make it a really fun family time together.  Sarah and Scott played and played in the treehouse and did lots of fun things there Wednesday evening and Thursday during the day.  Thanksgiving Day was slow and easy and fun to just hang out together and watch the kids play.  They played a tic tac toe game over and over with lots of exciting competition.

Friday we went to NASA and saw moon rocks and the lunar lander and some of the many other artifacts from the space exploration era.  We also learned that the exploration of Mars is still ongoing and they are continuing to learn lots of new things with their little rover that is traveling around there.   Do you know why the planet is red?  I have always wondered that and they said it's because the surface is mostly rusted iron dust.   There is water actually flowing in one place and there is evidence of the elements that are necessary for life.

Saturday was Kristin's birthday and all us girls went to get our nails done.  Kristin and Lara and I got pedicures and Rachael and Stephanie got their fingernails done.

In the afternoon Kristin and Sean and the young ones went to see a friend of theirs play football in the rain and Stephanie and Vince and Dad and I went to see Mockingjay 2.  Stephanie hadn't seen any of them so she and Vince had spent hours seeing all the previous movies so she would be ready to see this last one.  We all loved it.  Dad and I had seen it earlier and we were happy to see it again.

In the evening we all met up in the Woodlands (which is between where they went to see the game and where we live) to have dinner together for Kristin's birthday.  It was a really nice Italian restaurant and it was nice to be together.  

Today we went to church and then had lunch at 230 or so before the Collinses had to leave to go home.  Dad was finally able to give his lesson and do the 3rd hour presentation that he had been worrying over for weeks.  He finally was done with it and able to relax.  It was about the Just Serve program that is getting started in most areas.  It's always nice to finish up something like that.

Life is good for us.  We are grateful for so many things:  family, the gospel in our lives and how it gives us peace and joy and faith in the future.  The church as a platform from which to serve in different areas and grow in abilities and friendships.  We are so grateful for health with so many around us the same age failing.  We are happy here with things to do that are useful to others.  We are so very grateful for everything in our lives.

Our ESL party went so well!  Dad was stressed for days before it happened, but there was no problem at all.  The house was clean and the food was good and so much that we couldn't even taste it all before we got full.  Everyone brought something and most brought several things.  I really love each of the students.  They are delightful people and so are their spouses.  We have a doctor and an attorney and a math and physics teacher, an engineer with an oil company.  They are all intelligent and trying hard to learn English.
Another couple had come and brought their little 1 year old.  They sat by Dad but they left right after dinner before we got the picture.  The wife of the couple is our student and she is from Burma or Myanmar as it's called now.  The missionaries came and were awesome as friends to them all.  When they left the ESL students all said what nice boys they are.  Our hope in inviting them was to make it easier for the ESL students to welcome missionaries that may come upon them later in their homes.  And besides that, we just like the missionaries and enjoy having them over.  

I made the fake turkey but I let it stay in the oven too long.  This week I'll make it and take it out sooner so that it will be better.  Some people tasted it and said it wasn't bad.  Maybe I'll like it better when it's softer.

Today the Barneys came over for dinner and helped us get rid of some of the leftovers.  What a fun and relaxed evening.  It's nice to be  close enough to visit.  Sarah and Mary checked out the tree house too.  Sarah brought over a friend yesterday to play in it.  It's so fun to have something that brings joy.

While I was buying more supplies I noticed that one of the grocery stores was having a sale on outdoor furniture so we bought a little metal table to have outside near the fire pit.  Something to put the marshmallows and chocolate bars on when we have s'mores.

I burned two of my pots when I was cooking dinner.  I totally burned to a crisp the turkey neck and giblets.  I wanted to use the liquid to make more gravy.  Then the mashed potatoes burned on the very bottom.  But my wonderful pans cleaned up nicely.  It was pretty miraculous considering how burned the giblets got.  We had to open the windows to let out the smell.  We had left it cooking and gone out for a little while.

Now we are happily anticipating the arrival of the Collinses this week.  We can do it all over again but hopefully better.  Mary is a bagger at one of the big grocery stores here and for part of her holiday bonus got a free turkey that she is donating to the Thanksgiving feast this week.  So nice!

As far as yard work, Dad put in a divider between the bushes in front and the grass.  I love it!  it feels good to have definition and not just grass growing into the bushes.  It took a lot of work since there are so many tree roots there, but he persisted and got it done.  Looks so clean and orderly now!  We also put in some different bushes to make the front more consistent.  Getting it done little by little.

Tuesday night and we have Mutual.  The Beehive teacher will be showing our 15 Beehive girls how to make fancy cupcakes and having them try it and we will be feeding them ice cream.  It's only an hour plus a little and there's not a lot of time to do much else.  I'm still nervous about the many girls.  This is the first time we have been alone with them and in charge.  I hope it will be a good experience for them.  The teacher is a great lady, though, so it should be fine.  Still nervous.

Not much else going on.  Dad finished the playhouse except for the ladder that he is saving for Robert and Atticus to make.  And they can still help nail down the floor.  There should be plenty of nailing for both or all three or four of them to do.

Playhouse with the lattice on it.  I think it looks so nice!  And below is the new little floor Dad added to make it fun to play under the house as well as in it.  Picture taken on a rainy night.

The weather has been so gorgeous lately.  It has been pleasantly warm and sort of balmy,  It started raining about noon and has been going most of the afternoon.  Now it's stopped and is cool.  But not cold.  

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with the Collinses next week!  And this coming Saturday we are having a sort of dress rehearsal with our ESL class.  They will all be coming over to have an early Thanksgiving with their spouses and us here at our house.  I'm looking forward to it.  I really hope it goes well.

I have decided that English is too unpredictable to be fun to teach.  As soon as we say a general rule there's always an exception.  Language is more of an art than a science.  I don't want to teach it anymore.  We told the library we would be there till the end of May and we will stick it out, but never again.  I think it will be okay to teach reading.  That's better.  And it's useful immediately.  I kind of thought along those lines when I was in linguistics when the experts were crabbing at each other about minute little details.  I thought that was silly.  Childish.  And I still do,  And the language continues to change.  

So here's our cupcake Beehive activity.  Didn't take as much time as we had, but they were happy to wander the halls and play with each other.  Only half of them came.  

The weekend again and another rain.  This one is a gentle, slow rain that it's okay to go out in.  I took out the little Norfolk pines that were in the front and some more holly roots and trimmed the azalea and  other bushes in front.  The man is busy continuing on the lattice work that will go around the top of the playhouse.  It's taking a long time as you can imagine with the little overlapping boards.

We decided that the heavy lattice will be best and it needs to be stained to disappear amidst the tree with the stained playhouse.

It could be a little darker, but it's okay as it is.  He may put on a second coat sometime later, but we will see how it looks with the lattice on it.

Today he is having to do it in the garage so the lattice doesn't get wet with the constant drizzle.  He said it's boring work so now he has the radio on in the truck and is listening to his folk songs.  :o)

The Subaru is out in the drizzle so I took advantage of that to scrub it down with our nice soft brush and get off the accumulated dust.  No one else can tell the difference but I can.

In other news, We were very concerned yesterday when we heard about the pronouncements of the church leaders.  I couldn't understand how it was that the children were being punished for the actions of their parents.  It was a day of thinking and praying and soul searching.  At last in the afternoon as I was praying and talking with Heavenly Father about it and asking to just understand, I felt a sweet influence that said, "be comforted."  And I was comforted.

I know that men are mortal and that they make mistakes, but I trust Heavenly Father and know that His wisdom is perfect.  And I know that everything He does is for the good and blessing of His children.  We can't understand it now, but I believe it will come to be recognized as a blessing in the future.

A person on Facebook remarked that the church leaders used to say it was wrong for different races to marry and it was for the good of the children and the unity of a marriage that it was discouraged.  And now that counsel is no longer given.  That's true.  But does that mean the counsel was bad counsel at that time?  I grew up during that time and it was not only socially unacceptable, but also illegal in some places.  It was definitely dangerous and couples and children were at risk.  Now that times have changed that is no longer true and it's no longer of any consequence to be part of a mixed race family.

Isn't that why we have prophets today?  Counsel that was good and for the benefit of the people at one time may no longer apply later.  But at the time it's given it's pertinent and for the safety and good of those involved.  Heavenly Father is a loving father and all that He does is for the good and blessing of His children.  Even when it hurts and when it's hard to understand.  I trust my Father and my God.  I know He loves every single one of us with a love beyond our comprehension.  Every single one of us.  I feel His love throughout my whole body and know with a surety that He cares and is doing all He can for our welfare.

We had a really good rain this weekend.  Not part of the hurricane, but more water.  It came up on the lawn but fortunately the street is enough below the house that the water stayed out there and didn't come in.  It came up to the support post on our neighbor's mailbox which is about two feet.  And then it drained away.  Good drains.  Yay!!  I wonder if the maintenance force went around clearing the drains or if it just finally stopped raining enough for the drains to do what they're there for.

It was fun to see it.  The neighbor was taking pictures just like we were, so I guess it's not what usually happens around here.  The lady at church said it's only been that high a couple times since she has lived here.

It rained till about noon on Saturday and then it cleared off so the kids could trick or treat.  We had two groups of 3 come to the door.  I've got a whole lot of sour patch kids and Swedish fish to do something with.  I specifically didn't buy what we like.  We really don't need any of that stuff.  Sarah also came and showed us her awesome costume and got a candy bar.

We had a nice evening last Thursday after the man had assembled our new outdoor grill.  While I was in the temple he went to the store and bought chocolate and marshmallows and graham crackers and after dinner the Barneys came over for s'mores.  It was so nice sitting on the deck in the evening with nice people,  visiting and eating yummy things.  The weather is perfect right now.  It's a very pleasant temperature outside and the mosquitoes have gone.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that night but here is the grill today in the rain.  We bought some bricks to put under it so that it won't scorch the deck.  We still need some lights around the deck and a rope swing on the tree over the deck.

They (Sarah and Dad) decided they need a floor around the bottom of the tree house so that it can be a little play area out of the dirt and roots and leaves.  That will be nice for the younger kids who won't be up in the top very much.  I guess that really means Matthew.  I think James will be in the top most of the time along with everyone else.