December 2021

December 2021

December started out pretty unique..  Matt was offered a position with a new company, Pan Handle Milling.  This is a relatively young company that was started by some of the people that used to work with Matt at ConAgra/Ardent Mills.  They know his work ethic and talents and have reached out from time to time with interest in hiring him.  We have been reluctant until now because we are very happy here in California and happy with his employer (JBSS), his facility, and co-workers  Also, we didn't want to move Eve before she graduated.  Now that she is approaching that milestone, we decided to consider the offer.  The position is in Amarillo, TX, at least for the next few years. Then there will most likely be some flexibility in location depending on his future positions. This opportunity offers a lot more room for career growth for Matthew.

So, we decided to fly out to the area to get a feel for the city, the schools, the wards, and the landscape.  As you can see it is plains, with not a lot of green.  But it is actually similar to California in climate and humidity.  Anything we grow here will still need watering!  While on our trip we found a piece of land for sale that is in a very nice residential area of Bushland (just west of Amarillo).  It is 4 acres and has some slope leading to a gully, where a well could be used for creating a pond.  It was definitely of interest!  The potential for making a beautiful place, was appealing!  

We felt good about the schools and wards.  Now we just had the tough decision of whether to stay put or accept the offer and prepare to move.  We spent 2 1/2 days in Amarillo.  Then we counselled with the kids, attended the temple, and prayed about it.  We had quite a bit of angst in making the decision.  Ultimately, we decided to accept the offer and brave the future of leaving our comfortable life here and seeking new growth opportunities.  The kids have been supportive, but I think we are all sad to leave all the great things/people about our life here in California.  I have realized that we should be courageous, optimistic, and have faith as we have with every move up to this point.  I am happy that Matt will get more growth opportunities and that the kids will learn to be resilient, again.  As far as timing, this is a good time to transition with Sheri beginning high school in the fall and Eve graduating in May.  Matt will begin his new job on January 3, 2022 and will fly home to visit every 2-3 weeks.  The rest of us will move this coming summer.  

These are some of the notes for coordinating all the kids' needs while we were on our trip.  With so much going on, I am very grateful for Eve's help with driving and everyone picking up more tasks.

We managed to get our tree put up before leaving for TX and the kids decorated it for us while we were gone.  Isn't that helpful?!!!

The rest of the month was filled with busyness!  Eve had her first band concert of the school year in early December.  Here she is with her two close friends, Diego and Angel.

For a YW Activity we collected cans for the local food pantry.

The YW were in charge of leading the ward Christmas Party this year.  I am so impressed with everyone's efforts.  Michelle planned and led decorating and created invitations, Krissy planned the program (with help from many talented people in the ward).  I helped coordinate all the plans and led the crafts for the kids. The youth all helped with decorating, serving food, and participated in the program.  (Sheri and her friends, Ava, Charlotte, and, Aubrey all danced a ballet piece from the Nutcracker.  Eve played a Flute trio with Allison, and Sheri) The Relief Society arranged the dinner.  The Primary did the Santa Room and did a nativity scene.  And finally, the Elders Quorum helped with clean up.  The evening before, the youth gathered to decorate and practice their program parts.  The evening turned out beautifully!  We all were so glad that it went so well!

Dance classes resumed after the holidays and I got to sit in on Parent Watch Week.

The studio had a very fun Christmas party with a gift exchange, food, and personally made bracelets by Ms. Charlotte.

Sheri has joined indoor soccer and absolutely loves it!  It is very fast paced and great for developing her quick footwork and other skills.

The youth were able to go ice skating again this year and had a wonderful time!  Sterling brought his friend Lila for fun.

Eve brought Angel who now comes to most of our activities.  He has been investigating the church for almost a year now and wants to be baptized, but has to wait until he turns 18.  Here Sheri is pushing him for fun. 

Eve and Diego are just very good friends.  They are a good support to each other.

These are some of our cute youth and YW leaders.

We were happy to decorated cookies and gingerbreads with Alma's family again this year.  We are keeping the tradition alive!  I think next year I'll prep the cookies the day before so I'm not as tired by evening.:)

For neighbor and friend gifts I decided to box up the beautiful fruit from our trees and make potpourri packets.  They were a lot of fun to assemble!  Sheri was my sweet helper.

We also got to do some caroling with the Harris family (with flutes and keyboard.)  It was fun to spread Christmas cheer in that way!

While I worked on wrapping things up for Christmas Matthew took Eve, Sterling, and Christian to the beach in Monterey for the day.  I was happy to have some work/errand time and Sheri stayed with me to enjoy some special Mom time.

Christmas morning was wonderful as ever.  We had stockings of course.  Eve loves to have Baby Bell cheeses.  Christian loves chocolate oranges, Sterling likes anything. Sheri loves specialty chocolates like Lindt.  Matt loves Almond Roca.  I decided that a pecan log is my one must have. :)  But everyone loves grapefruit or pomegranates!

We had our traditional pastry wreath (a labor of love) and sausage with eggnog.

For lunch we had this yummy display!

I didn't get any pictures of the presents this year for some odd reason.  But I do remember that we had fun playing with a few new games that we got.

The day after Christmas we had a special Sacrament Meeting which I was heavily involved with.  I conducted the congregation for the main songs, played a piano solo, sang in a small group choir, and accompanied the youth hymn.  It was a lot, but I felt the spirit as I prepared and participated in making music.  I am grateful for my talents that I can share.

On December 27th we decided to drive up to the snow

Can you spot Eve in this picture below?

Also during Christmas break we decided to visit the Fresno Zoo to see the lights with Michelle, her family, and a few friends.

I sure love Michelle!

The rest of our break was pretty "chill".  We were happy to have friends over and get some time to catch up on sleep.  On New Years Eve we had lots of friends over and had a blast!

Well, that sums up our December.  We feel abundantly blessed and are especially grateful for Christ, his atonement, his grace, and his resurrection!  We are grateful for the church, scriptures, and prophets.  We are grateful for our relatively healthy bodies and for our family and friends, near and far.  We are grateful that families can be together forever.  We recognize that we have been tremendously blessed and will move forward with faith and courage in the experiences of the next year.  Happy New Year!