Christmas In the Air!

Our daughter, Missy, is a creative genius.

And, even better, she is patient and kind.

Every year, she helps me create our Christmas card,

then she orders it, with her connections, and has it delivered to our door.

How lucky are we?

After our pre-Christmas adventures at Mindy's, in Mesa, and then in Las Vegas,

we finally put up our favorite Christmas decorations.

Earlier in December, we had dinner with our good friends, Jim and Kathy Jensen, 

at "the best Mexican restaurant in St. George - 

Los Lupes in Mesquite!"

We were in Mesa and missed our branch party this year
and we attended the Washington County Board of Realtors Christmas Party dinner at the Hilton 
with Bob and Mary Brady.

The NAI Christmas party was held at the Anasazi Steak House.

As each guest arrived, Mark & company passed out these safety goggles.

They said that they were to protect us from the splattering when we did our own cooking on the hot rocks! 

The NAI owners, the Walters, are real jokesters, 

and the Christmas parties every year are always full of gags and fun!

You'll never guess what I chose to cook - fish!

An inspiring and absolutely beautiful highlight of our Christmas Season every year is hearing, the Keynotes, 

in their Christmas program in the Tabernacle. 

My sister, Kay, has been its director for many years,

and I tell her every time I hear them,

"This is your best program yet!"

And it's true!

I directed our INSTA-CHOIR Christmas program in Sacrament meeting the Sunday before Christmas, 

and Roger and I were thrilled with the participation and the beautiful sound.

We sang arrangements of, "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks," "Once in Royal David's City," 
and, "The First Noel," complete with piano, violin and flute. 

Monday morning, we drove up north to Rick and Jodie's to stay with Blakey 
while his family went to Hawaii for a week over Christmas.  

It was a win/win all around.

Blake, in the past, didn't love the sun, the sand and the ocean.

He was happy in his own comfort zone at home with Grandma and Grandpa,

his family could focus on having lots of fun with each other before Josh leaves later this year on his mission, 

and Grandma and Grandpa got to play with Blake and also attend lots of Christmas festivities 

we would have missed down south. 

The night before they left,

we went out for sushi at the Mikado.

First up, the Christmas Eve Party at Grandma Lois's - 

she has had this party at her home ever since our kids were little.

Rog pulled over and took a pic of the Wasatch Mountains 

with the sun on the snow peak on our way to the party.  

The beauty of the Wasatch Front is unsurpassed!

We enjoyed catching up with Roger's siblings, spouses, their kids and grandkids.

We took a quick pic with Grandma in her living room.

We love and adore this amazing woman!

No Stratford Christmas Eve Party is complete without the Nativity acted out by the little kids,
and then, Santa!

Christmas morning, we woke up to this!

Roger shoveled three times throughout the day,

but who doesn't love a white Christmas?

Josh's car, buried!

The roads were really pretty good, and we made it to Mindy and Jeff's by around 10 AM. 

to watch them open some of their presents and have a delicious Christmas brunch. 

Jeff made German pancakes and we had sugar pepper bacon, fresh raspberries, and Martinelli's.

We each had a Christmas cracker on our plates.

Mindy and Jeff really did get The Best Gift this Christmas!

We headed back to Lois's Christmas afternoon for a bone-in ham dinner with ALL the trimmings!

On the night of the 26th,

we drove above Deer Valley to Jerry and Vickie's annual Holiday Party in their beautiful ski home. 

There were 25 of Roger's classmates who attended the prime rib dinner and catch -up gab session. 

This is part of the Lake Powell crew, and they're great people!

Jodie had arranged a baby-sitter for Blake for this night . . .

. . . and for the next afternoon, so we could visit our dear friends, the Woodbury's, in their assisted living home, 

and we were able to visit with Beau and see Kathy. 

That turned out to be less than 48 hours before she passed away.

They are such wonderful people, and it is heart-breaking that she, just one year older than Roger, 

had to go so soon.  

We are so glad that we got to say good-bye. 

We didn't know that is what we were doing, that we were saying good-bye, 
but that is what happened. 

We then drove to Market Street Grill to meet Karleen for lunch.

We had a lot of catching up to do with her.

We both lamented the fact that we had missed our annual Cedar City Shakespeare Festival time together, 

and vowed (God willing) that we wouldn't miss it in 2015.

Rick and Jodie's home was decorated so beautifully.

"SILENT NIGHT 

HOLY NIGHT . . .

. . . .ALL IS CALM

               ALL IS BRIGHT . . .

. . . SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE . . . 

. . . SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE."

Back home in St. George, 

Roger and I celebrated New Year's Eve at Lorin and Kathy's Branch Open House in their lovely home. 

Friends and neighbors, members and non-members alike

( probably over 100 people),

came pouring in to enjoy the delicious food and the great company. 

Roger catching up with cousin and Branch President, Kim Taylor

We enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Season,

so now, on to 2015!