Thursday, January 5, 2023

Farewell 2022

 Wow! This year, the trio graduated from High School, they all received their temple endowments, Caleb got his mission call and left for Boise Idaho. Sarah started college at BYU-I and got her mission call to Houston Texas, Eliza enlisted in the army, and graduated from Basic Training and Adam and I became Empty Nesters practically overnight!  What a year we have had! We are so grateful for all of it! 

I have a feeling 2023 is going to be a lot quieter around here. But, I say bring it on. I know the Lord has more blessings in store for us and more opportunities for us to grow. 

December

As soon as the Thanksgiving holiday was over, I got to work decorating our home for Christmas! Both girls would be home for Christmas and I couldn’t wait! 

I got an early Christmas present!! I’m loving my new Segway. It’s so fun to zoom around the property! 


Speaking of the property, recently Richard built a big barn on his and his family spent the month working tirelessly on a special project that they wanted to have ready by the time the girls got home! 
We’ve also had fun helping a little and sharing in the excitement of  the surprise.

We loved attending the town of Taylor’s live nativity again this year. We missed our kids, but having Richard and Calli and their kids with us was the next best thing. 



The mountains got a little snow, so Adam and Richard took the buggies up to play in it for a bit. 


Eliza received a certificate for successfully completing the “Introduction to Basic Army Medicine” course. 
This was the first phase of her training at Ft Sam. 
She’ll go on to receive specialized training in physical therapy after the holiday break. 






Sarah’s last month at BYUI was so fun!
Her FHE group went to the temple together and on another occasion went ice skating. 

 

Sarah’s roommates took her to Cold Stone Creamery for her Birthday! And speaking of birthday’s it was so great that the trio’s Birthday happened to fall on Caleb’s p-day. So, even though it was their first birthday ever spent apart, they were all able to have a good visit over the phone. 
Sarah loved her time at BYU-I. She worked hard and ended the semester with straight A’s!! 
She is looking forward to going back to BYU-I after her mission. 


Caleb has been enjoying the snow in Boise this month. He continues to work hard and has found new people to teach. 

The day finally came for Adam to go pick up Sarah from BYU-I.  I still had preschool to teach and as the ward Relief Society President I was in charge of our ward Christmas party (Not to mention, there was a funeral luncheon for Brother Tenny on the same day as the ward Christmas party). So, sadly I couldn’t make the trip.

After helping Sarah get all packed up, they attended the Rexburg temple with aunt Lynn and Uncle Bill


Then, they headed west, to Boise where Elder Gurr got permission to enjoy lunch with them!! 
 They loved the short time they were able to spend with him.
After saying Goodbye to Elder Gurr, Adam and Sarah visited a couple of Adam’s Aunts in Boise, then they went to the Meridian Idaho Temple.


They had one more stop on the way home from Idaho. This time, they stopped in Salt lake and boy, was Sarah surprised to find out why!!!

As it turned out, Eliza was able to come home a few days earlier that originally expected. So, she flew into Salt Lake so Adam and Sarah could pick her up on their way home!! 

I am so glad that they had a great trip and I was SO happy when they all finally made it home!!!

As expected, they loved the surprise Halli and little Richard had planned for them! The fun barn is a total blast!


Their first full day back was Sunday the 18th. I sure loved having my girls home with me. 

The girls enjoyed a day at sunrise with some of their Gurr Cousins. 


Christmas was a low key affair. Having our girls home, going to church and getting to talk to Caleb is what made it truly special. 

The day after Christmas, the Hulse family came! Oh what fun! 

Of course, we had to go for a buggy ride! 


The crowning moment of the month was getting to go to the Mesa Temple with Eliza while she received her own temple endowments. We felt so blessed to be in the temple with Eliza, Sarah, our parents, and many of our siblings and nieces. 



Congratulations Eliza!