Merry Christmas!!!

At 6:00 a.m. this morning our phone rang. I was out of bed and to the phone in no time wondering which one of our children 2000 miles away was calling! It was may baby girl! "Hi, Mom! I made rolls last night and they did not turn out right. I think it was the recipe I used. Could you go downstairs and find the recipe in the Lion House Cookbook and call me back? This is not our real phone call." So, being the obedient mother I am, I dashed downstairs, found the cookbook, turned to the correct page and called her back. Whew! The recipe given, the phone call ended, and I with the knowledge that I had talked to my baby girl first this Christmas morning!

Later, much later, after a video call to Nathan (thanks to Katie Anne) and watching Josie play with her new toys, we opened the present that came from Florida. Our instructions were to open it first and all together. So we carefully unwrapped the present, taking turns, and Megan got the opportunity to open the box. What to our wondering awe did we see? This!!!

A REAL alligator head! If you know our family, you know that Megan was grossed out and so was I. Ray laughed and laughed and laughed and is still laughing! The very best medicine.

Later, I got my courage up and got it back out of its box and wrappings to get a better look and to show you what we got for Christmas. (This baby has VERY sharp teeth.)

Check out her blog! She is having a fantastic mission!

For Shannon!

No Christmas phone call?

I am happy to report that Lauren still has her dry humor intact. She writes this week that her mission president has banned Christmas phone calls. You can read her blog for an update where you will also learn that she smells like a wet dog!

On the home front, Ray gets his pump off Friday morning and none too soon as far as he is concerned. And to tell the truth, I am right there with him! We appreciate all the love and prayers that have come our way. We would not be getting through this without them. So, thank you!

Good News from the Missionfield

Lauren's new area is close to the Okefenokee swamp! I have always wanted to go there. Instead, Lauren is and she says she will take lots of pictures for me.

My lucky number is 13 and Lauren has had her lucky 13th baptism!

Best of all, Lauren has decided that she loves Christmas!!!!!! To quote her, "I am happy that it is the Christmas season. What better of a time to be sharing the message of the restored gospel than at the season of the birth of our Saviour. I know that he lives and that he loves us and that he wants what is best for us. For that I will be forever grateful."

December 1st

Lauren has now experienced her second transfer and her third companion. She is a small town in Georgia. I think she has forgotten that her roots are in an even smaller town, one with three less stoplights! (That equals zero) She and her companion are riding matching bikes with bells. And she experienced that Thanksgiving dinner is not dinner without macaroni and cheese, not the jello salad she is accustomed to. We missed her at our Thanksgiving dinner as we had to go without home made rolls. So, we both experienced a different kind of Thanksgiving. Lucky for me Megan still made the green bean casserole and Katie made the mashed potatoes. Children really are very lovely!