Christmas 2018

About noon time on Christmas Eve, we got to visit with Ruth for just over an hour. She is looking good and doing well, and it was wonderful to talk to her. So much as happened since Mother's Day. We had a lot to discuss and catch up on.

 As it grew dark, we started a fire outside. It took a while to get our wet wood burning well. Some of the family stayed indoors to finish up dinner preparations, and other things. I sat by the fire with the kids for a couple of hours singing carols and star gazing.

 Eventually the whole family made it out to the fire. We sat and sang carols under the stars. The night was clear and a little crisp-- a perfect night to sing about the Savior underneath the stars.

 Most of us have large portions of Luke 2 memorized. Kate and Johnny and Rachel have nearly the whole chapter committed to memory. We recited the scriptures together outside by the fire and under a beautifully starry sky.

 After pointing out the constellations, singing a good many carols, and reciting Luke 2, we decided to recite the story of the Grinch as many of us have large portions of that book memorized.

 I really loved our camp fire Christmas Eve. There's something wonderful about being out in nature while thinking about the Savior.

When all was done, we went inside for our traditional shepherd's dinner of naan bread, lamb, and pomegranates.  By then, the family was quite hungry, and our dinner went by fairly quietly.

 Christmas morning, the kids slept until 8am, and then Sam came and crawled in to my bed and cuddled up next to his warm dad, who wanted to continue to sleep.

 Eventually all the kids joined us in our room and made space for each other on our bed. I love these happy faces.

 I joked with them a little about having a big breakfast first, and then having to clean up and wash all the dishes before even getting to their stockings. Then I joked with them that Sam could decide when we could go open presents. When we asked Sam, he promptly said no. He wanted to stay cuddled in bed.

 Susan understands about Christmas morning now. She was full of joy and excitement and so fun to watch.

Susan can blow up balloons and is only 4 years old. While I took this picture, Rachel confessed to only being able to blow balloons up for the first time this fall.

We had a lot of people help us out this year. My mom bought all the kids warm jackets and a small gift. We had other people give us money. We mainly used the money to pay our bills, but we also provided a small Christmas. This jacket that my mom got Johnny is my favorite gift. He has not had a warm jacket that fits him for some time now, and he is always cold. This jacket will be worn a lot. I suspect he will even sleep in it.

Joseph and Joshua asked for their own chess game. My mom got it for them, and it was the first thing they did after the presents were opened.

When this box of crayons was opened, a great many of the kids cheered.

We had a lot of homemade gifts including lego creations that the kids made for each other. They were all quite happy with what they made.

Rachel had a heavy gift that we said she had to walk across the room before she could open it.

This is the game my mom got for the 4 oldest kids. They were all very happy about it.

Joseph painted this picture for Josh because he loves fish and whales.

Rachel painted this for Susan.

And Anya painted this for John.

Most of the kids got clip boards from the dollar store. They were all very happy about that. They are good for homeschool and excellent for drawing.

 Later in the day, John took the kids out to play a family game of soccer. And then they came in to the hot meal that was lovingly sent to us. It came from Honey Baked ham, and was plenty of food and delicious. I especially loved having a big Christmas dinner that I did not have to prepare.

We definitely had a Merry Christmas!

This Week at Our House #50

Kate's drawing of everyone getting their portrait taken

I guess I am off in my numbers this year, and will only be posting 51 updates. No big deal. We had a busy week with a lot of doctor and dentist appointments, so Monday morning I made the decision to give the family the week off from school making our Christmas break 3 weeks instead of just two. I did not get any complaints from that, and I am glad that I did. It made our week a lot easier and more Christmasy. We sang a lot carols, and played a lot of games together. Though the week was busy, it was good.

1. The kids love their time with their dad. I notice that most of them go to him each evening to ask what activity he will do with them. John plays soccer and lots of games with the kids almost everyday. He takes Sam for a shoulder ride everyday. When night falls, Sam will usually seek out Dad, raise his hands in the air and ask for a ride.
2. I had 2 doctors appointments this week. Monday was the specialist appointment and everything was looking so good that they said I do not need to come back to them. Friday I had the midwife appointment and the baby failed the non-stress test. He was sleeping and we just could not get him to move around and raise his heart rate. I had eaten a small breakfast of an orange before going, and thought that might be the reason. Still, they sent me to the hospital for more tests. I had little kids with me, so I took them home, got John and a big lunch. I drank a cup of orange juice, which I never do because of blood sugar, but I wanted to be sure all was well. All was well. The baby passed the non-stress test at the hospital within the first half hour. I just needed to feed him a little more. The next non-stress test is the day after Christmas, and I am going to eat a big meal before going. 
3. We may hear from Ruth a day early because she might not be able to get to wifi on Christmas day.
4. Kate made ice cream snowmen and snowflakes for some Christmas crafts with the kids. They loved it.
5. Johnny felt ill most of the week. I don't feel like I saw him much as he was either laying down trying to feel better or working on programming and transcribing.
6. Adam woke up early on Saturday morning and cleaned inside and underneath the couches, his bedroom, and one bathroom as a surprise for me. Adam had a dentist appointment and has no cavities. He confused the dentist because she was wondering why he had some missing teeth. They took a whole set of x-rays to find out that his 12 year old molars have not grown in yet. Funny, because he is 14, big, and has a deep voice.
7. Rachel finally made a lot of progress on her Book of Mormon reading. She might actually get it finished before the new year. 
8. Anya has no cavities too, but has to go back to get a sealant on one of her 6 year old molars. She will have that done on the same day the rest of the kids have their check ups. 
9. Joseph has no cavities, and given how awful his mouth was the last time, that is really good news. I think he has learned to take good care of his teeth. 
10. Josh had no cavities too. He talked and talked and talked the whole time he was having his teeth cleaned. He also gagged and complained about the taste of the toothpaste, and called the dentist old. I think I need to take him into public more.
11. Arwen's quiet and content and because of that she tends to stay in the back ground a lot playing and taking care of herself.
12. Susan asked Kate her name and Kate said "Kathryn". Susan told her that Kathryn is not pretty, so it is not her name. But "Kate" is pretty.
13. Miracle of miracles!! We have our presents wrapped and under the Christmas tree and Sam has not opened them. That's surprising because Kate wrapped a bunch, took a short break and Sam snuck in and unwrapped two. 
14. As of last Monday, Gideon weighed in at about 7lbs. His brain is completely healed, though I feel to be cautious with anything after he is born since he basically experienced encephalitis before birth. I wonder if he will be sensitive to chemicals and medications and such. 

Pictures

the last of our beautiful fall leaves

A very kind reader of my blog sent us a Christmas dinner from Honey Baked Ham. All we have to do is stick it in the oven. It is in the fridge thawing and awaiting Christmas! 

ice cream snowmen

Stories from Ruth #64

Sorry I did not write last week. We moved flats and then everything has just been crazy since. This transfer Sister Shin and I are staying together In Gillingham! However, we have a new flat. The senior sisters moved to the temple and we moved into their lovely flat. I get to wake up to seeing the water every morning.

 

This week we met a lot of bashers. One day we had this guy named Lingo call us and he asked to meet and we told him we would share more of the Book of Mormon. Well we met him and he brought his friend. We asked if we could start the lesson with a prayer and Lingo said a harsh no. Sister Shin and I were taken aback. Lingo's friend said it was okay but Lingo vehemently denied. His friend pacified him and we prayed and then Lingo told us that in his church women are not allowed to pray. If they were in church together Lingo would have to pray for him mom. He then also told us that no matter how much we read or believed The bible if we did not wear the cross we were not Christians and would be damned and he would not accept that a person who did not wear the cross believed in Christ. I told him that was making the cross and idol and worshiping it instead of Jesus. We then tried to explain the restoration and they were just hung up on the trinity no matter how many scriptures we showed them. In the end we introduced the Book of Mormon and invited them both to pray which they refused to do. After all of this Lingo asked me out... that take guts I will give him that but bless him no!

Then we had another lesson right after with two guys from Romania who were fine until they heard about the Book of Mormon and they were just telling us how they have heard awful things from their uncle who is a baptist minister. They asked why other Christians hate us and I asked why the pharisees hated Christ. They showed us scriptures and we dis back and then we showed them scriptures from the Book of Mormon and pray. Then they, as the two boys before, said that they did not want to read and would bot pray. Then after some more conversation and pleading with them to pray the younger one looked at the both of us and said "if you are christian, why do you have earings?" I simply told them that women were only allowed one pair while men none, and that we did not drink or smoke, etc., etc..

Well let's just say we had a good laugh on the way home.

I want to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon:
Moroni 7:45 "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 "But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
48 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

I know that this is true. Charity is something that we must learn to develop, not just a love for people, but every single one of those attributes, and become pure even as Christ is pure. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and will help us as we strive to become more like him and overcome the natural man. I love this gospel. I know the Book of Mormon is true and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve.

Merry Christmas 2018

New Portraits