Christmas was wonderful, fun, and busy as it should be. Too much food, late nights, lots of laughing and chatting. More memories made. The first part of December was the Smith get together. We had a great meal and white elephant exchange. Good times. Dave and I again served at his work party. We came, we saw, we served, we ate, and we left. Home by 9. Perfect. We had our ward party. The EQ was asked to do one of the numbers on the program. They got a cooler and some mugs like they were sitting around a campfire and told dad jokes. It was well done with little prep. Food was good as always. The next day Hatch's came in. We got to spend a lot of time with them.
Cora made us all some neat advent calendars this year. She got Dave a puzzle, put it all together, then separated it into bags with a date on it and a Lindor inside. He really enjoyed doing the puzzle. I had socks and drawings for my cookbook that I had wanted for years. Cora drew them and I love them. Leah and Braydon got flavored hot chocolate and little trinkets that Cora knew they would like. It was thoughtful and very Cora.
Once Hatch's got here we were pretty chill. Took some 4-wheeler rides and Cora made us some great pumpkin red curry soup. We played a lot of games this weekend. I had wanted to get through all our games and see what we wanted to keep or not. Cora decided she was going to help with my goal. So every day we would play a few round of a couple games. We got through a lot. There were some that we didn't even get through reading the instructions and we were like nope.
We had our Christmas dinner and Christmas Eve appetizers on the 26th and 27th. Barrett's were up at the in-laws before Christmas, then had spent Christmas day at their house just the two of them. So Christmas eve was not much. Had dinner, more games. The next morning slept in and then we opened presents. Cora said it was probably the last Christmas she would be able to sleep in for a long time. :) Easy lunch and chicken dinner. Barrett's got there that evening. We opened stockings after they ate. They always get great games from the in-laws, they brought those with so we could all play. We stayed up way to late just hanging out and chatting. Boxing Day morning we got ready to do cows. The steers needed to be banded and the cows needed Ivermectin. When we had preg tested the Ivermectin was frozen and slushy and we were not able to spray it on them. Cora bundled Jane up and over we went. We had lots of help this year. Emry had a friend over and then all our kids. Made for fast work and the kids were happy they got to be home for it. They have missed working with the cows. It was great that it worked for both families on a day that they were all there.
That night was our appetizers. So much food was prepared the whole week. We were running out of room for leftover storage. Had a cooler in the garage and stored some things outside. We had a lot of appetizers and they were all amazing. Cora had wanted specific pictures of Jane's first Christmas and had asked for Leah to help. After dinner I told the girls to go work on the picture as I did dishes so we could watch a movie after. Dave, Ammon, and Braydon helped me and it went fast. Leah got some cute pictures.
One the 27th we had our Christmas dinner. I invited my parents up so they could see the girls. It was a good meal and we had fun again chatting and hanging out. I really love hanging out with my kids and their spouses. They are so fun and they married great people. That night we did a quick nativity program. Guess who played baby Jesus this year??
Saturday afternoon was spent at Myrna's for the Puzey Christmas do. Great food, fun games, nice time. Barrett's had to leave the next morning to teach their primary class and back to work on Monday. Cora had some friends over and we pulled out all the left overs. Monday they had a work Christmas party and were checking out some of the projects down this way. Then they left early this morning to return home.
We got the Christmas decorations all put away and everything cleaned back up and laundered. I was supposed to go to work today, but they texted and said there was only 2 drs in and did I want the day off. Tonight we are going to decide what we feel like for dinner, watch a movie, ring in the new year early and finally get to bed at at decent hour.
We got to talk to Blake on pday and Christmas day this week. He has been in a trio the last 2 weeks after his comp went home. He has loved this companionship and was hoping to stay for a while. It has meant a lot of extra travel as they are covering two zones and multiple areas. Two weeks left in this transfer and Pres Jarvis called him Monday morning asking him to switch companions the next day. He is a little sad, but said he would do whatever president needed him to do. Sounds like it might be a tough one. Send a few extra prayers his way.
He told us of this golden family they are teaching right now. Blake said he was feeling like he needed to go to the top of this mountain and doing some finding, but his comp didn't want to and they had so many other areas to cover. A couple days later they got a call from another set of missionaries and said they had a referral for them. They had invited a man to a baptism and he showed. So Blake gets his info and low and behold he lives at the top of that mountain. When they first met with him the man said he thought he was going to his baptism, he was all in from the beginning with out even knowing what he was jumping in to. The missionaries explained that he needed to have a few lessons first and he has been very eager. One day they gave the family some things to memorize and the kids told their dad they needed him to help them as the elders would be coming by that night. They had memorized everything and read all the scriptures. This man, Joseph Bambosa, has brought 5 other families to church with him the last few weeks. The are set on date for mid January. If the water shows up. It was been a problem getting water during the dry season. Blake is hoping he gets to stay in the area to see this family baptized.
2024 was Elder Puzey's black out year. He is loving every minute, says he is not homesick and said he is working his butt off to get done as much as he can. Loves the people and the work.
We have had a great year. Had some changes and we love it all. We enjoy being empty nesters and love when the kids come to visit. We fill blessed beyond measure and are thankful for the kids we have and the decisions they make, the contributing members of society they are, the jobs they have and the love they have for each other.
Happy New Year!
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