12 days continues...

I just love this picture Derrek sent us. This is the tree he found in his apartment and decorated it.  He said he's in love with it.  So cute!  He is sounding like he's doing better every week.  We miss him, but are so happy he chose to serve the Lord.  I can't wait to talk to him on Christmas Day.  What a treat!

This week has been fun.  All during the month of December, our FHE consists of some kind of service.  We wanted to have the kids get outside of themselves and give to others.  This started years ago, while living in St. George, when we gave the kids a great Christmas, as far as presents were concerned.  After they opened them all up, one of them said, "is that it?".  Scott and I knew we were not teaching them the true reason for the season!  So, every year since, we have dedicated December as our month of pure service or thinking of others.  This year we did missionary packages one night, we have been doing the 12 days of Christmas to a family, and we made treats for friends and neighbors and gave them away.  So, this last Monday, I had Alec be in charge of making the caramel corn right after he got home from school.  I had to make a trip for the mortuary and so I was gone until about 7:30 pm.  After the first couple of batches, he learned that margarine worked better than butter (just so you know!), and then Dallen wanted to try and make it.  So, Alec taught him how to make it and Dallen ended up making it better than Alec!  Dallen was pumping it out and was feeling like King of the Kitchen!  I got home and we bagged it all as a family and then the boys headed out to deliver to friends.  I didn't realize until we were bagging it, how many friends we have made in such a short time.  We really love the people here.  Anyway, this went along with our plan to deliver the 5th day of the 12 days.  We had planned on one boy taking it to the door of the house and knocking on their door and then hiding while the rest of us went up their driveway to deliver the caramel corn.  This way, they would get the 5th day gift and then we would show up a few minutes later and the kid hiding in the bushes would just meet us as we went to the front door.  Well, it kind of worked all but them getting the present before the kids got to the door.  Alec didn't knock on the door hard enough, or they didn't hear it.  Anyway, the gift was on the doorstep when the boys arrived.  So, the family thought it was a little suspicious.  They were talking to the boys and the boys had seen that the gate that Calvin ran into was in the back of their truck needing to be fixed and the family was saying that they "think that whomever did it didn't tell their dad" and that they just wanted an apology.  Calvin was DYING and freaking out when he got home.  So, the 6th day I had a friend's daughter delivering the gift at Preschool, because Donna teaches preschool, and with it I wrote a poem asking for an apology and hoping that it wasn't turning into a Christmas nightmare!  Then my friend asked if Donna knew who was doing this and she said she thinks it's our family because of the gate thing, but then my friend, Rinda, said "well, I just know this family has a lot of help, so maybe it could have been someone helping them".  Donna said, "I never thought of that!".  So, thanks to Rinda, she helped throw them off our tracks...Day 7 we knew the kids left their bikes at another persons house during school and then rode them home after they got off the bus, so we put it on the kids' bikes.  Then the next night, Scott and I were delivering bread to friends that we thought would rather have that than caramel corn and we decided to be brave and we delivered the 8th day ourselves...acting like the "family" asked us to help them out.  While there, I noticed one of their daughters gone and I asked, "Where's Abbey?" and they said, "oh, she's outside waiting to catch whomever is doing this 12 days of Christmas...she's determined to catch them"!!!  Scott and I were dying inside and so glad we decided to NOT have the boys drop it off.  WHEW!!!  We stayed and chatted for awhile and that was fun.  Scott and I were giggling all the way home. Then the next night, day 9, we had Scott's boss take it over.  They were delivering treats there anyway and offered to take it.  Day 10...we were stuck for an idea.  The only thing we could think of was to drop it on their doorstep, but we were afraid that Abbey was outside waiting again.  This time Scott, Alec, and Dallen went.  They borrowed a golf cart and took a back road for a ways and then hiked in toward their house for about a mile.  Scott soon realized that there was no brush or anything to hide behind around their house and so he realized that whichever one of them drops it has to run...fast!  Dallen was going to do it, but then got scared, so Scott decided to do it.  Of course, the moon was bright and they had their house lights on this night and so there was no hiding!  As Scott crept up to the house, he could hear them in their front room.  He put the bag on the porch and then knocked really loud "bang! bang! bang!" and he heard them scream and run out onto the porch.  He didn't look back and was just running for his life.  His chest hurt the rest of the night from breathing so hard from running so hard!  He swore he heard them chasing him, but then heard them hop in their car and they were driving down their driveway, just sure that the person was going that way.  That was Alec's idea...to go down their driveway and then hike in, but it was too risky and if they had done that, they would have surely been caught.  So, they got back to the van and headed out and then all of a sudden there was a car behind them.  So, they didn't go home and lost the car, thinking it was the Larsons because the car came out of nowhere...and then Abbey, their daughter, started texting Alec.  She kept saying things like "do you own dark clothes" and "please be honest and don't lie to me", and then she asked, "have you ever ridden at night?" and Alec said "horses?" and we realized she thought the people rode horses out to their place.  We could honestly say "no".  Alec said, "what happened" and she said a little while later, "something that hasn't ever happened in the 20 years we have lived here...we were door-bell-ditched!".   All the questions she asked we could honestly answer...we were laughing because all she had to ask was the right question, but she never did.  We know they know it's us, but they can't prove it and it's driving them nuts!  Scott said that the screams he heard were of pure joy and fun.  Anyway, it's been so fun and one of the biggest challenges we've had doing it!  Today we had a nursery boy take it in (Donna and Justin are the nursery leaders).  Justin and Donna were hanging out in the Chapel and I couldn't find the mom I was giving it to, so her son could give it to them!  The plan was Donna and Justin would be in nursery already and we would slip it to the mom before her son went in...didn't happen!  Scott said, "quick! she went down the hall already to take him to nursery!".  Luckily Donna and Justin were still in the Chapel and I RAN down to the mom and caught her just as she was going in and slipped it to her.  I forgot to tell her not to tell them who gave it to her.  I slipped into the Primary room, where I go and there just happened to be people who needed help getting their visitors to class and I took them (not knowing really where the classrooms were) so that it looked like there was no way I could give the present to Blake.  And so, Blake's mom caught me in the hall after she gave it them and said, "As soon as Blake gave it to her she said 'Who gave this to you?' to me, and I realized I probably wasn't supposed to say, so I didn't"...WHEW!!!  Scott and I were laughing so hard.  So, they definitely suspect us, but like I said, they can't prove it :).  Tomorrow we are delivering it ourselves and can't wait to review the last 12 days with them.

We had some sad news this week...one of Dallen's two gerbils died (Gwenette, the brown one).  He was so heart-broken and sad.  It broke my heart.  Then half-way through typing this blog, Ashton's hamster was found dead on the floor...Angel had found it.  Ashton was holding it and it jumped off his lap and he couldn't find it...the dog did :(  So, he is super sad right now.  Dallen went and buried the hamster next to the gerbil and said "I know you two couldn't be friends here on earth, but you can be friends now" and started crying.  He has such a tender heart for animals...he's like his mama!

Other good news...Scott passed his exam to sell Life Insurance.  Now he can start selling pre-need policies for the mortuary and it will be a nice little side income for us.  Jason, Scott's boss, said that Scott's the only employee that has taken him up on this offer (he paid for the school and testing and gas to go test!) and the only one to pass in the 8 years he's been doing it here.  He was so happy to see an employee take him up on this opportunity because he said it really helped his family when they were starting out and Jason is always trying to figure out how to make things better for us.  We really appreciate his kindness and thoughts on our behalf.

We hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!