We hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas with loved ones. We certainly have!
December 22 - Monday
We loaded up our car and got to Saratoga Springs just in time to wish Jacee a "Happy 12th Birthday" just before Julie & John and family headed to John's family's Christmas Party.
Happy Birthday, Jacee. Being 12 years old will be a great year ahead. Here's her on first day of school August 2014
Jacee, we love you!
Then they shared a family home evening lesson in their December series of a "Christ-centered Christmas" as they add another character to their Nativity each Monday. Tonight it was the "Angel," and Steve shared a tender lesson centering on two angels in his life: His mother, and then his eternal sweetheart. Thanks Steve for those nice remembrances you have of me and of your wonderful wife, Natalie.
We picked up Kimble from his job at Tenney's Pizza and rendezvoused with David & Julie and kids to go see the Draper Park's dazzling lighted trees, with the highlight being an amazing "Tree of Life."
What a great time with three of our families to start Christmas week!
December 23 - Tuesday
Walt went with Julie and got his Christmas shopping done a day early. I also finished up and rendezvoused for lunch with Walt, Julie, John, and Rigdon at The Spaghetti Factory at the University Mall in Orem. (I got no photos of this.)
When we got back, we were delighted to have D. Kelly and Marcia Ogden come from Provo to visit us. He gave us his new book Loving Life--Lessons I Have Learned from Heaven and Earth just published September 2014. We became good friends when they were called to be over the MTC in Guatemala during the time we were there 2005-2007. They served January 2006-2009.
For supper, we were invited to rendezvous with David & Julie, Joshua, Anna, Sam, and William at La Hacienda in Draper where they serve delicious Mexican food. Address: 12434 Minuteman Drive #200, Draper, UT 84020 Really great reviews when I tried to google a photo because I forgot to get any during our time there.
Walt went with Julie and got his Christmas shopping done a day early. I also finished up and rendezvoused for lunch with Walt, Julie, John, and Rigdon at The Spaghetti Factory at the University Mall in Orem. (I got no photos of this.)
When we got back, we were delighted to have D. Kelly and Marcia Ogden come from Provo to visit us. He gave us his new book Loving Life--Lessons I Have Learned from Heaven and Earth just published September 2014. We became good friends when they were called to be over the MTC in Guatemala during the time we were there 2005-2007. They served January 2006-2009.
Then we went to their home where we had dessert of brownies and ice cream, along with sharing Christmas memories.
One of Walt's favorite Christmases was when his Mom went back
to Ohio to help her sister, Tess, when she had a baby. His Mom had put his Dad in charge of getting the Christmas presents. Ray got Walt a pair of boxing gloves. Walt was ecstatic to have boxing gloves! However, when his Mom got home she was not happy with Ray for buying their 9 or 10-year-old son boxing gloves. But he got to keep them.
Eileen shared that one of her favorite Christmases was when she and Walt were first married and they were alone in their tiny, cozy old apartment in the middle of the blocks of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They found out that where they were together, that was "home" and Christmas was still a wonderful time with just the two of them together.
The night before Steve had said something about the next day would be Christmas Eve Eve, to which Anna had replied: "Then it must be Christmas Adam, because Adam came before Eve." (Great play on words, Anna!)
December 24 - Wednesday
Finally...the actual Christmas Eve.
Brent and Vicki brought Jasmine and Jada over to do a Peterson cousins traditional day-before-Christmas making Gingerbread houses.
These cousins had fun--and each Gingerbread house turned out different. Didn't get Jackson in the picture with Maddie, Jada, Jasmine, and Jacee.
Then Grampa PetersEn got a turn to hold Rigdon...
...while John made some of his out-of-this-world fudge.
Ready to go caroling with John's home made fudge to share with the neighbors.
And after opening the traditional one gift on Christmas Eve...which is always new Christmas jammies from the Elf...
...watching a short Disney version of "A Christmas Carol," watching "The Gift" put out this year by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about the Birth of Jesus Christ, and
their Mom and Dad bearing a strong testimony of the truthfulness of The Son of God coming to earth,
along with testimony by Grama and Grampa Petersen,
it was time for the kids to go to bed, sleeping by the Christmas tree
in the basement with colored lights.
December 25 - Thursday
Looks like everyone in this home has been good this year!
Christmas morning tradition: Everyone in bed together at 6:00 a.m. before going out to see if Santa really did come in the night.
Santa really did come!
Jackson...a basketball backboard is among his surprises.
Maddie...wanted a unicorn as one of the three things on her wish list.
Jacee...also got lots of fun things, including the headboard that was among the three items on her wish list for Santa.
Rigdon had some special things for "Baby's First Christmas"...
Mom & Dad, Grama 'n Grampa were good, too, because they got lots of fun presents.
However, Grampa was sad when he saw a bag of coal in the top of his stocking...
And Grama Petersen had a fun surprise when she opened a huge teddy bear that she has wanted for many years for the grandchildren to play with at their home in Burley, Idaho.
However, even tho Max got some presents and even some goodies in his Christmas stocking, he thought the big teddy bear was for him to snuggle up to and sleep.
(This is where I added more photos from Christmas day and the day after.)
After all the presents were opened and we were taking things back to our rooms, Grampa tripped on something and fell down going from the carpeted family room into the hardwood of the entry way.
His left shoulder is painful from being injured--maybe a torn rotator cuff, plus he has some pain in his chest when he hickups or laughs--so he may have a cracked rib. His wrist also is swollen and hurts, plus he has a cut by the side of his eye.
(Here's a photo a couple of days later when his eye
is showing the black and blue around it.)
Time for a Christmas breakfast of waffles with strawberries 'n whipped cream, link sausages, hot chocolate and other yummy things.
Steve & Natalie, Cortney, Kimble, and Carter came by to visit and that afternoon they drove us to Thanksgiving Point to see the new movie "Unbroken," about Louie Zamperini, an Olympian runner who are treated so badly by his Japanese captors in World War II that it's a wonder he came out of it alive.
It was a good movie but sad to see what he had to live through.
The disappointment in the movie is that they didn't show the main point of his life that he accepted Christ and forgave the prison heads and guards who treated him so inhumanely.
It was wonderful to rendezvous with my sister Janice, and Jeff. We got to exchange our Christmas gifts after. It had started snowing hard while we were in the movie theater.
Back at Saratoga Springs Julie & John had a delicious Christmas Dinner prepared for us and Steve & Natalie's family.
Cortney brought her cute puppy....I think the name is Maya.
Then Gary & Kathy and family came over from their home in Lake Fountain to visit with us. What a blessing to be with them for a while.
A Merry Christmas was had by all!
December 26, 2014 - Friday
We had a relaxing time on the day after Christmas just enjoying hanging out with family...eating...
...kids playing in the snow. Jacee made a snow angel on the trampoline.
...and watching Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney's "White Christmas" of 1954.
Such wonderful music by Irving Berlin and sweet story.
(I have posted the photos from Dec. 27, Sat., on the Dec. 27-Jan 4 post.0
We pray you have had a restful and a peaceful Sabbath Day.
We testify that Heavenly Father did send His Firstborn Spirit Son to come to earth as His Mortal Son foreordained to become Our Savior and Redeemer. And Jesus Christ fulfilled His Foreordination.
"...to this end was I born..." John 18:37
And now we await His Second Coming in Glory...
Of this we testify. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Walt and Eileen Petersen
