Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Lotts to tell in December

 

Christmas Parties🎄🎉and the Mattress Mixup!🛏

December 2021

Feliz Navidad!! Wow, I can’t believe that it is Christmas again. It feels just like yesterday that I celebrated it, but back in training. 

Last Wednesday was pretty crazy. David took us out to WaffleHouse for breakfast. He gave us handmade Christmas cards. He showed us a picture of how he hung up our peppermint hot chocolate thing for a decoration in his studio. Later, we went and said goodbye to the missionaries that were leaving to a different area or to go home. Then we went to the doctors for Hna. Marvin. She wasn’t doing great. She got an ear infection! The pharmacy took forever to get her antibiotic. To end the night we did a video call with Jose Luis and met two of his friends. One of them sat in on the call named Sergio. They both want to come to church!!

It was nice Thursday morning to not have to drive to transfers. Packing would’ve taken forever, I have made this apartment my home. Hna. Maxfield told us that she needed another mattress because she just got in a trio. So we spent about an hour switching Hna. Marvin’s bed frame, taking down the other bed frame, and shoving it, a table, and a mattress into our car. We were exhausted by the end of that. Two sickies trying to move things. We stopped by and said hi to Milvian on the way to english class. Ana, Debra, and Leo finally came again! We were able to tell them about the ward Christmas party. Debra is 11 and was fascinated by me playing the piano. So I taught her how to play a couple of things. It was really fun.

On Friday, we went and had a lesson with Angel and Caren. It went really well. They still want to get baptized but they aren’t coming to church. Afterwards, we went and worked more on our spreadsheet for people born out of the United States. We are super excited to go and visit these people. Then we went to visit the Sanchez fam. Mariola really wants to come to church. We told her we would help her out with that. We are going to try and have her follow us to church next week. After that, we raced to the Ward Christmas Party 45 minutes away. There were a lot of people there. David brought Jose Luis, Sergio, and two of their friends. Daniel, Ana, Debra, and Johany and her family were there. It was awesome! The food was delicious. I sat at the table with the four guys and tried to spark a conversation. They were very quiet. The only one that would really respond was Sergio in Spanglish. Here is a funny story: I was sleeping when I woke up to this awful smell. I fell asleep and thought nothing of it until it woke me up again. I found our febreeze and sprayed down the room. I thought geeze what is that smell?, it's not me so there is only one other option... Hna. Marvin. She actually woke up while I was spraying it. Then we both went back to bed. It happened again and woke me up! It was terrible and I couldn’t freaking breathe and I could taste it!! I did not enjoy this experience. We gotta watch what she is eating because it will kill me one day. (She gave me permission to share this. She cracks up so hard and can’t breathe when I bring it up.)

We did a lot of contacting on Saturday and then we went to Inman Ward’s Christmas party. We legit got invited by Santa the day before. He told us that he had invited some Spanish people to this one. We got there and kind of “crashed” the party. The Spanish people never showed up, which was sad, but we got dinner and a show. It was a great way to spend our dinner hour. They had a band that played Christmas music and it was awesome. It was my first concert. After that, we went and visited Ana and Leo. Ana was really sick, so we said a prayer for her and said we would be in touch. Then we went and visited Elida and her family. They were about to leave, so we rescheduled for Sunday. On the way home we got Krispy Kremes. It has become our place to go when they cancel. We have been quite a few times. While we were driving home Hna. Marvin saw some homeless people, so we flipped around to give them our doughnuts. I had already bit mine, so we ripped that part off. We gave them the doughnuts and left because it was pretty sketchy.

Yesterday was a really great day. I translated sacrament meeting and it wasn’t too bad. Hna. Marvin got asked 30 minutes before church to give a talk. She was not expecting that, but she did great. There were 5 speakers that spoke for 5-7 minutes each. Daniel, Martin, the Huipe fam., and Yadira and her kids came. It was a little miracle. During Sunday school we talked about The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Families are a really important part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for us. I am grateful that I have my family and the knowledge of eternal families. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with the opportunity to share my knowledge of that with others. We got some snacks after church. It was bribery to sing in the choir, but we had a lesson. Salvador wasn’t there, but his mom was. We were able to teach her on the porch and we are going back next week. After that, we went to go find this guy Mauricio. We had the address and when we pulled up, we realized we didn’t have the apartment number. We prayed and then proceeded to knock the whole building. We felt like knocking the 3rd floor. On the 7th door we met a guy named Nyckole. He is from Puerto Rico. He said he had heard of our English Classes before. He wants to come! We got his number and we gave him a pamphlet. He told us he would like to learn more about the gospel. We knocked the 2nd floor and nothing. Doors opened but they weren’t a Spanish guy. On the 1st floor we met this guy named Bobby. He was super nice and we are going to call him and do a study.  After we finished we drove to this other address. It was a Maria I had visited before. She is a member, but is going back to her old church. She is super nice and we are going back later this week. Her cat Paco is hilarious and fat (pic down below). Then we raced home for a little snack and then to our lesson with Daniel. He is doing so great and has such a desire to learn. Millie has such a strong testimony and it is helping him. He is understanding the gospel more and it is cool watching the change happen in him! He has lots of questions. To end the night, we went and taught Elida and her family. We gave her son Daniel and Amanda their own Bibles. They are excited to dive straight in. 

We watched The Christ Child tonight. It is a really neat video. As I was watching it, I thought of how much faith the shepards and the wisemen must of had. The shepards listened to the things that the angel told them. Instead of disregarding it, they left the sheep and the lambs to look for the babe lying in a manger. Al Caroway said that they left their lambs unprotected to find the Lamb that was more important. The wisemen must have studied the scriptures and were well versed on the sign’s of the Savior’s birth. In Matthew 2:11 it says, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” These three gifts are very valuable, but the gift of Christ is of an infinite value. I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to celebrate his birth, but even more to celebrate his life.

Hna. Marvin said this the other day and I lost it. I couldn’t breathe because I was laughing so hard.

“Aw man, I got a paper cut underneath my fingernail. Why am I so afflicted?”

Here are some pictures!!:















                                                      Sorry pictures are out of order

All his hard work finally paid off...Poor Bambi's Dad


The similarities are crazy- they both love junk and are eating a toaster strudel for a snack.

Ethan was so excited to get all this junk food for his birthday from his friends.  He hid it from Adam so he wouldn't eat it.

Our trip to Louisiana in November.  We visited the original head quarters of Duck Dynasty.

Yummy fried food in Mississippi.  Fried bacon???  Yep, it's delicious!!!!

Go Aggies.  

Halloween 2021

Visiting some Civil War homes in Natchez, Mississippi.  I loved this town.  It was beautiful and the people were so nice.

A Hallmark movie was actually filmed in Natchez this fall.  We watched it and it was fun to see many of the places we had gone to.  This tree is actually in the movie.  It's called Every Time a Bell Rings.

Mike quickly informed me I am not a saint.  How rude.  JK

Alabama state line.  This makes for our last state!!!!

Chicken and waffles in Alabama.  They sound gross but they were delicious!!!

Finally all 50 states!!!!

Their smiles are fake, and for the picture, because I had to make them help me decorate- ha ha!!!

He had fun eating his creation.



Dec 2, 2021
I attended the German Christmas mart in Salt Lake with my parents and sister.  There was a petting zoo.  It is exciting to now be able to say I have pet a kangaroo.  


Date with the boys to Panda Express



December 15, 2021

Ethan's Christmas choir concert.  Surprise Surprise he is wearing the purple wig for one of the songs.


To Adam's surprise, Mike can still take him on!!!!


Jaime shared her talent for her Zone conference Christmas party.



                                



                                

  Merry Christmas 2021

Once again, another year has come and gone.  We have so many new memories and blessings to be thankful for.

Ethan still has only two volumes- loud and louder.  We still have to remind him that we can hear him from a mile away and to use his inside voice.  You would think we would have figured out by now that his inside voice is still extremely loud.  Maybe we need to tell him to just think about what he wants to say and I am sure we would still be able to hear him- ha ha.  Ethan was excited to turn 13 this year.  He has been counting the days to be able to finally get to watch PG-13 movies.  Now all he wants to do is watch Avenger movies.  Needless to say, I am sick of super heroes and infinity stones, because his list of Avenger movies is infinite!!  Ethan continues to grow, and grow.  Almost daily he walks past me, pats me on the head, and reminds me of how tiny I am.  The funny part is that he is only like an inch taller than me!!!  What’s crazier is the fact that Ryan did this to me when he was this age as well.  Another similarity of Ryan and Ethan is their fascination with arm pit hair.  Ryan was so excited for the “hope” of arm pit hair and now I am reliving this again as Ethan weekly tries to show me he has some.  Sorry bud, not yet.  I don’t think a magnifying glass would find any either- ha ha.  Ethan loves being in the 7th grade.  He reminds me every time we pass his old elementary school how stupid it was and how cool it is to be in Jr. High.  (Adam then reminds him about how stupid Jr. High is and that high school is better and the fight is on!!!)  Ethan was so proud to get a 4.0. and annoys me by checking his grades daily (and sometimes even more) on his Chromebook.  A few weeks ago, Ethan and a friend were wrestling and he told me that his friend jumped on his face and his jaw popped.  I brushed this aside, as we all know kids whine and complain when it is convenient.  It wasn’t until about an hour later he looked at me and sure enough his entire jaw was swollen and he looked like he had been stung by a bee.  Woops, I guess he was right this time!!  Ethan was also so excited to get braces this year.  We warned him they weren’t fun.  The next day he decided we were right and now the count down for them to come off has begun!!!  Sadly, or should I say, most annoyedly, his brackets keep popping off and we have to go to the orthodontist way too often to fix them.  Here is a helpful fact to note- when your brother pushes your face into the net on the trampoline, it will get stuck on your braces and cause your brackets to get pulled off.

Adam is in the 10th grade and was not as excited as Ethan to start school this fall.  He too continues to grow, however, he doesn’t pat me on the head when he walks past me.  He is at the age where he won’t come anywhere near me.  I have to actually had to bribe him to give me a hug.  He started driving and hopes to get his license next spring.  I am still hoping we survive his driving and make it to the spring.  Just kidding.  He is actually a pretty good driver.  I think this is due to the fact that he was with us while driving with Jaime and remembers all those near-death experiences.  Adam can easily consume 5,000 calories a day and still lose weight.  He eats before each meal, consumes the meal and then heads to the cupboard for more food right after he eats.  We have actually started hiding treats from him so he won’t eat everything in sight.  The winner of the stinkiest feet in the world is now not a title that Adam holds.  Ethan has now been passed this torch, not that this is necessarily a good thing for us.  Not only do Ethan’s feet stink, his friend’s feet stink when they come over.  I can be known to get out a can of Lysol and spray down both Ethan and his friend’s feet.  Back to Adam, he enjoyed being on the track team in the spring.  It was fun to go to the meets and watch him participate in the long jump, high jump, and hurdles.  He did very well and even placed in Regions.  Adam can jump 5’6”.  That’s like him running and jumping over my head.  Needless to say, I never let him practice on me, as I am sure he would have fun missing on purpose.  But we do watch him jump over our fences in the backyard.  He’s crazy.  I have mentioned that it will hurt when he doesn’t clear them.  He apparently has found that out a few times on his own.  We refer to his as a gazelle (not always a graceful one).  Adam comes in handy when I need to him to jump up into the loft in the garage and get something.  He doesn’t even need to use the ladder.  Even though his is really skinny, he is pretty strong.  It’s nice to have some free labor to carry heavy things- this helps make up for all food he eats.  It’s so nice to still have a few kids around so I can make them do the things around the house that I do not want to do- ha ha. 

Jaime turned 20 this year.  In February she was injured on her mission and had to come home for a few months to heal.  She had a collision with an Elder while playing basketball and broke her collar bone.  Poor girl.  The Elder lives in Ogden- only 20 minutes from our house.  I joked that he owes us some yard work when he gets home- JK.  Sadly, this is the third time she has had a broken collar bone in her life- the 5th for our family.  (Apparently, Mike’s family genes produced faulty collarbones, because it definitely didn’t come from my side- ha ha.)  Jaime returned to her mission in July and should be home this June.  She loves serving the people in South Carolina.  She not only loves the people, but also the food.  At times it’s hard to believe she is in the United States, and not in South America, with all the unusual things she tries.  She would deny it, but she is doing very well at speaking Spanish. Adam is also taking Spanish in high school; they look forward to talking about their parents in Spanish when she gets home.  We are very proud of Jaime and the influence she is having on other’s lives.  I miss her a lot, but do not miss her messy room. I go into her room often and bask in the fact that her room is still clean.

Ryan would be 23.  It’s hard to believe that next May will mark ten years since he left us.  We love him so much and think of him often.  We still go to the cemetery to let off balloons and wear orange to honor him.  We know we will be with him again someday, and can’t wait to find out what he has been up to all this time.

Alex and Kelsie moved to North Ogden this past spring.  It is nice to have them closer.  I am especially thankful Kelsie is around so I am not alone with all these darn boys- JK.  Alex has decided to become a plumber and is going to night school for it.  We are very proud of him and the fact that he is getting good grades.  We are so excited he is now Kelsie’s problem and that we do not have to ground him and make him do his homework- Ha ha!!  Alex has two horses and loves to hunt.  This fall he was able to kill his first deer (poor Bambi).  He had some exciting times while hunting and had a mountain lion in his camp one evening.  Yikes.  I was reading an article about the deadliest animals in Utah and a mountain lion was at the top.  It also said that encounters were very rare and not to worry.  This goes to show that Alex has bad luck and solidifies the fact that I will never go in the ocean with him because with my luck a shark would get us. Kelsie is a CNA and works at McKay Dee hospital, as well as goes to school.  They both definitely stay busy. 

One of the happiest days of my life occurred this spring as I finally graduated from college.  I earned, with sweat and lots and lots of tears, my degree from BYU-Idaho online in Marriage and Family Studies.  It feels great to be done.  Now, I have so much more time to watch tv and have naps.  I only wish Mike traveled more so he wouldn’t see me taking these naps so often- thus making me feel guilty and needing to practice some of the things I have learned in my marriage classes.  Presently, I have decided not to pursue a career because at the moment I am raking in the dough with a new financial venture of mine.  I have started charging the boys money when they forget to clean their rooms, do their chores, and when they leave things lying around the house.  Needless to say, I have already made enough to go on a really nice trip- JK.   And speaking of trips, Mike and I have finally made it to all 50 states.  In November, we marked the last two off our list.  The last state was Alabama.  I thought it would be nice to walk hand in hand across the state line together.  Mike thought he should get to cross it first because he has gone on all of these crazy trips to random states with me all these years.  So, we both started walking (not hand in hand) towards the state line and then we both sped up and made a run for it.  So much for being romantic.  I am not sure who crossed it first.  I say it was a tie; Mike says he won.  I should have tripped him when I had the chance!! JK.

Mike has still been working from home.  He can not wait to start traveling again because he is sick of having to wake me up from my many naps.  He looks forward to now going on trips to places we actually want to go.  He is also glad I am done with school so I am not so stressed out, do not cry as much, and do not practice all the things I am learning in my marriage classes on him because I have to write a paper about it.

We love you all and hope you found joy in your lives as 2021 comes to an end.  May you find ways to “dance” though the storms that come your way in 2022.  I hope we can all be a little kinder, a little more grateful, a little less busy this coming year, and spend our time in ways that really matter.  I am so thankful for this time of year and all the “Joys” of the season.  I am so thankful for a sweet, tiny babe born in a manger.  This tiny babe gives meaning and joy to life.  This tiny babe loves us all unconditionally.  This tiny babe is the Reason for the Season.

    Lotts of joy to you and your family- now and forever

  The Lott family