To say this year has been unexpected, challenging, and yes even frustrating would not be an exaggeration. However, upon reflection there are many many things to be grateful for (pics at the bottom):
Through this year and all of it's craziness, hardships, and disappointments we have fine tuned ourselves by looking for the blessings that have come in unexpected ways. Merry Christmas to you all and know for a surety that God is watching you and there is a prophet of God guiding us. All we need to do is stop and listen and then get to work. That is what our family has learned through this year and though we have a long way to go, we know where we are going. Love you all!
0 Comments
Carsyn He had the most excitement for this month. He and some buddies decided to do a winter hike. They were prepared and even had things like a beacon. They headed out. On their second day one of the party ended up with severe altitude sickness. They knew that they needed to get him down off of the mountain. Unfortunately by this time it was dark, but they kept trying knowing it was important. They did get to where they had cell phone service and called. At this point it was determined that search and rescue needed to aide with the medical part. They were called at 10:00 pm. At midnight they found a spot to land the chopper and a couple of paramedics hiked the mile or so into them and at 2:00 am they reached them. At 6:00 am they started to extract them. The one with altitude sickness absolutely needed to get off of the mountain in a timely manner. The medical professionals said that 1/2 mile more is all his body would have been able to do. These young men used all of their Eagle Scout knowledge, as well as their adventuring knowledge, and they also turned to their Heavenly Father to help them with this unexpected turn of events. Their preparations helped them get through a big struggle. Through another turn of events, it ended up being a Black Hawk that extracted them one at a time to the trailhead - the sick one was rushed to the hospital. Once he got down, got some fluids, etc he bounced back quickly, because he is strong and healthy. You can see pics below. One interesting note is that Carsyn did say that his basket was spinning so fast as it was being raised he thought he might pass out. He, himself, wasn't in any danger. Anyway, other than that, his November was filled with school work, running, hiking, biking, mission prep, and applying to colleges. Brooklyn Brooklyn's November was pretty similar to her previous months. They added a couple of investigators. Things are still going well with the work. One super fun thing was that she was able to Zoom in on a baptism of one of her investigators from Argentina. So that was super cool for her. What a cool thing that she could still participate these months later. We live in a wonderful world where even when we are thrown a great big curve ball, that rocks our plans, if we are looking we see God's hand in our lives. Also, in November the Hallmark movie that she is an extra in premiered. She is in the last scene - see if you can spot her in the picture below (she is the short one on your left with the tan coat). She comes home the first of Feb. Ashly & Jesse Ashly's dance concert was filmed in November and will be on YouTube until Friday, December 11th. She is in the 2nd dance and the 2nd to last dance. Jesse started his internship with Northwestern Mutual. Overall their November was filled with work, and school. They did spend their Thanksgiving down in Henderson, NV with Jesse's uncle and family, and have been getting their Casita festive for Christmas. Nicole & Eric Our November was filled with work and with Christmas preparations both at our house and at my parent's house. Eric's siblings are also doing a special project for their parents so we also worked on that. We totally revamped our decorations since we totally revamped our house this year. See pics below. School has 2 more weeks to go for this semester. Almost 1/2way done with the school year and we are all holding our breath. It has been a great semester so far. Granted there have been plenty of hiccups, and indeed some frustrations, but we are so willing to get over those hiccups if it means we get to see the students in person. Eric's boss had a brain tumor, and in November he had surgery, so Eric was busier at work than normal. For Ashly, Jesse, and myself we were able to once again sing with the children for a couple of weeks. We did hold our Primary Program and it was so special. We only have about 12 kids so we spaced them all out on the stand and we all wore masks. For each song we had a couple of children at mics. (Especially since we have overflow clear into the cultural hall for social distancing purposes.) The power that those children bring to the songs is amazing. Testimonies that are heartfelt can shine through any darkness. These are the 4 songs that we did, along with short dialogue to introduce them. |
AuthorWe are just a family sharing ideas and our family's experiences with our friends and family. Archives
January 2022
Categories |