The Revitalizing Month of January~

For the joy-filled month of January, this is a beautiful quote from the beginning of a new year. Simple and easy things to do to make the year better. 

This month has been an unusual one for us. We were recovering from the flu during the first of the month. It wasn't a fun illness to have and took a long time to heal and be back to normal. 

We are so blessed to have our daughter Jenni, Michael and their children Alyssa, Emma and Ben living with us. We are enjoying having them here. Her husband Michael had to return to his former employment in preparation for coming here to work. He isn't here yet. He works for the government; government paperwork is very slow. We are hopeful he will be with us in February. 

Meanwhile, our oldest daughter Christina, Brandon and their children April, Abbey, Faith, and Levi came to spend 8 days with us. This is the family that we spent our Christmas while in Hawaii. They stopped here while moving from Australia to Minnesota. We are very thrilled to have them back in the states. They too were recovering from the flu; so we had a mini care center here. As the sick ones began to feel better, we were able to do a few fun activities. 

Here is a photo of going out to eat one night at an excellent Mexican Restaurant. It was delicious, and we had a great time. 
On one of the days, I took all the girls in the family which totaled 8 to the movie; The "Greatest Showman." This is a spectacular movie and if you haven't seen it; do. We had such a good time. I enjoyed learning about how this circus began. 
Later on in the month, I took my daughter Jenni and her children to see the Movie;"Wonder".Many lessons are learned from this movie. I personally think it should be shown in every school in the United States. It is a powerful one. 

While here this precious family had to pack. They had been shopping for warm clothing since they are moving from a warm climate to a frigid one. That meant they had to pack more bags. They ended up with 13 total. It was quite the feat to get the packing done and stay under the designated weight limit. 

Here the family is enjoying the last night. It was so fun to have them all. We hope we will get to see them more often now they are back in the US. 

Due to there being so much luggage they couldn't get it all in one car, so we helped them get to the airport. It was hard saying goodbye. Yup, I cried! 

We celebrated my dearest loves birthday on January 29th. He is now the same age as me. I always love his birthday because that means we are the same age. I was born in December of 1945, and he was born in January 1946. Therefore I am just two months older than him. He has always teased me that we are a year apart. Sadly, I am part of the Silent Generation, and my husband is a Baby Boomer. 

We had a great two day before birthday celebration with our Son Sean, Mary and part of their family; Gillian, Jackson, Jonathan, Jeffery and Joshua. I loved the photos of my husband with his son and then grandson. They were watching a football game. 
We later celebrated with opening a few gifts; which was sweet. My husband loved it all. 

Next, we traveled to Idaho to go through the Rexburg Idaho Temple for our Grandson's Endowment. He is preparing to leave for the Mission Training Center on February 14th. After two weeks of training, he will arrive in his mission which is the  Nebraska Omaha Mission. He will serve there for 24 months. His cousin, Jackson also served on this same mission. What is impressive is that their Great great grandfather served in this assignment in 1897. He was president of the Omaha Nebraska conference. It is highly unlikely for two cousins to be sent to the same mission. We know this call is from the Lord. Here is an article on a missionary call. 

The top right-hand photo is our handsome grandson, Austin; the missionary. The bottom picture is of our youngest Granddaughter, Haven. 

After the temple session, all of the children came to the temple so we could get some family photos outside of the temple. These two photos are from inside the temple waiting room.  These images are of Travis, Amanda, and their children; Justice, Austin, Ethan, Karlie, Ryley, Kason, Layton, and Haven. Also, my daughter in laws parents was present; Pierre and Brenda. My other son James, Amber was present at the temple, and then later their three children, Christian, Taylor Jo, and Averi came to the home for a congratulations party. 

I loved the family photo. I was a bit bummed out that I didn't take any of the pictures of the party. Wow, that is not like me at all. In fact, my children complain because I take too many photos. However, I know how important family history is, and I think pictures are essential. We must capture our special moments for posterity. 
As you can see, we had a great month of family activities, and we are looking forward to more fun in the loving month of February.