Life in a Northern Town: FAMILY LETTER 12.17.17

Dear Loved Ones,

What a wild week of Christmas concerts and firesides and music and food! I started recapping the week in my head and it really feels like two weeks—CRAZY, but super fun.

Monday everybody went to school and that evening for Family Night we attended Addie’s choir concert at the high school. It was just beautiful. She and her friends look so lovely in their choir dresses. On Tuesday the 12^th we attended James’ 6^th grade band concert, his first concert on the French Horn. It was really good—it’s kind of amazing how much they have improved since 5^th grade! Wednesday was St. Lucia Day, so in the morning I baked Lucy buns and ginger snaps. In the afternoon I picked up Ammon from school and we went out to the ranch and started a fire and got the house ready to host a special Young Women’s Christmas fireside that night. I ran back home to serve dinner then up to the church for a choir practice at 6pm, then drove the girls out to the ranch for the fireside. We had some sleet during the day, so the roads were freezing into sheets of ice---so scary! But the fireside was lovely—guest speakers talking about how to become closer to Christ, reflect His light, and draw others closer to Him, with the Christmas Star serving as the symbol and theme. After the talks and songs, the girls went down to the pavilion in a few inches of snow, and they each lit and released a pretty white lantern (like on “Tangled”). They floated above us and flew south before they went out, and the girls sang “Silent Night.” I was up on the deck but I could hear them and it was just the sweetest thing. We got home late, but it was a lovely night. Thursday we had TWO concerts—one in the afternoon with Niles’ first grade class, and one in the evening with Heidi’s 8^th grade choir. Heidi did a great job singing alto, and she really loved the song, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” She said she cried a few times practicing it because she “just loves Jesus so much, especially at Christmas time.” So cute. Friday was a crazy busy day with a chiropractic appointment first thing, then visiting teaching with Addie. She had the day off of school, but the school was open for tutoring and make up work and she needed help in Geometry, so I had to rush her back to the school because our appointments went over, and then I missed my visiting teachers coming. I caught them as they were leaving and we exchanged hugs and they left me some sweet gifts—Davina always makes the cutest, craftiest things. She and Erin are great VTs. We had a quiet evening at home while the boys saw Star Wars with Dad. Saturday we did a bunch of chores and elfing—finishing gifts, wrapping, making neighbor gifts and cards for the nursing home, and preparing for the ward Christmas Dinner, which was pretty crazy. The Primary did a little Nativity, which was a bit of a fiasco, but really sweet, and we watched our annual ward history slideshow over dessert. The YW sang “Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella” and Heidi and Sidney sang, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” in between dinner and the nativity and they did a nice job. We are grateful to be done with that!

Church today (Sunday) was very sweet. We got like 2 feet of snow on Saturday, so it was beautiful today when the sun came out. We had terrific high council speakers, including Finn Johnston recently returned from the Germany Alpine Mission. We sang beautiful Christmas hymns and had good lessons on the Family Proclamation and President Hinckley’s teachings on the temple. It was kind of amazing to look back on all the things that man accomplished. I’m sure he’s still gettin’ stuff done on the other side of the veil, as busy and efficient as ever. This afternoon we had a quick lunch and took naps, and had the Jones family over for soup and candy train making. Kara Saari was here hanging with Heidi and Lexi Speas just got home from college today, so she came and hung out with Eden at our house, too. I frickin love these kids! It was a delightfully chill evening-- so cozy and fun to be together. I am really looking forward to the next two weeks—more of the same! We hope all is well with all of you and you are enjoying some cozy Christmas traditions of your own. We love and miss you all so much, especially as we celebrate and do these fun things together.

All our love and holiday cheer—

Jamie and Rich and Family