Andrea and Danielle on Christmas Morning...
Alicia and cousin, Melissa with Grandma Johnson (95 years old) on Christmas Eve
Another shot from Christmas Eve...fotos are from Alicia's camara...hence lots of Alicia!
Alicia and Ivette during game time on Christmas Day.
Christmas Eve singing around the piano...
Grandpa's turn...
Christmas Day....
The Christmas Eve feast at Grandma's
Andrea is home and the giggles and sometimes bickering can be heard...music?? to a mother's ears.. Alicia will be home on Monday then we will be ready to enjoy Christmas. While Lester and I were at the temple, Andi and Dani had a photo shoot with Elzy. This is the photo they liked best.
Dani celebrated her birthday with a surprise gathering of friends for cake and a horse ride with her dad and brother. 
My trip back East to visit my brothers and their families. . First stop was PA... then on to CT and next was MA. I loved every minute of my trip. It had been over 6 years since I had seen my brothers. Only way to make this trip better would of been to have Lester with me.
Our trips to Utah are always fast and furious. On our trip back from conference I told Lester the next time there is a great airfare to Salt Lake City I would be on my way to really visit Alicia and Andrea. So here we are ...we started our day out by attending the SLC Temple while Andrea was in school, all three of us at lunch at the Lions House, athen Andi went back to school and Alicia and I went to the Jospeh Smith Memorial Building to watch the movie there. A great day!
Dani and Cristina Gil with their Lobo paws full of school spirit! Cristi is living with us. Her dad, Rene, lived with us many years ago. We are now living with two almost 16year olds!! YIKES!! No, it is actually working out good to have another child in the home. Dani did not like being the ONLY one...we were too boring! So now we are having DOUBLE THE FUN!
We were visiting our neighbors when Dani called to let us know that there was "something"in the house that the dog was barking at. I imagined a little animal of some sorts had gotten in. Well, I walked in the house to find Yaizah and Ivette! They had gotten a ride in from Arizona and stayed for 2 weeks. It was fun to have then here and have Yaizah get to know us a little better. But there was no competition...Aunt Dani was the favorite! 
Words cannot express what it was like to visit with my parents after 3 1/2 years! I LOVE playing the role of a daughter. It is almost like going back in time as you see and touch things from the past. My sister lives close so it was an added treat to have some time with her. We ate, played games, watched the Olympics and lounged around during our short time there. The storm was kind enough to wait for us to leave Orlando before it hit there.
Some of you may be thinking...It's about time that I added to this blog, but actually my thoughts are about time. In Veracruz, I had thought that I would have more time to keep up with this blog and other things that were put on hold for 3 years when I returned to life in the Colonies. But my days continue to race by. It is about time.. that I actually PLAN my days so that they are not just flying by but are actually carefully thought out. I need to make time for important things. Because the busy things tend to fill my days. It is important for me to make time for..
Introducing our grandbaby...YAIZAH. How we enjoyed having her around for a few days. It was way too short but we did enjoy every minute of it. I wasn't sure what was going to replace my missionaries...I think I found it.
The newlyweds are two of our returned missionaries. We were thrilled to attend the temple with them and so grateful that they chose the Veracruz Temple so that we could be there. Lester was one of the witnesses.
Our last group of missionaries arrived tonight, after almost a three week delay due to visa delays. They arrived at the end of a very busy week. We were beat but happy to greet them. They were so excited to finally be here...we will miss getting to know them. Missionaries are GREAT!
The last of the zone goodbyes. Some have been with tears, others with laughter, some had treats waiting as a farewell, others sent us off with gifts and others sang a hymm as we left.
Pico de Orizaba...I wondered if we would see the top of the mountain on our last trip to Orizaba. Many times it is hidden by the clouds. We were excited to have a clear view on our last visit. These little blessings ....
The last of the brownie making! As we made our last visits throughout the mission I gave each missionary a brownie...they were so thrilled, that it made all of the early morning and late night baking worth it.
Our last stake conference assignment was in Tierra Blanca. Here we are with the stake president( Pres. Salomon) and his wife (Violeta). I loved visiting with Violeta. These goodbyes are hard. What we could not communicate verbally our hugs and tears said it for us. 
Sunday, I attended a large baptismal service. I was so proud of myself driving across town all alone! Monday new missionaries arrived. Then there were hambergers for a zone of missionaries. Tuesday was our farewell dinner in a resturant since we are out of the mission home there is no more cooking for me! Yeah Costco...we love their frozen yogurt. We then headed to the temple with the leaving missionaries. Wednesday started early as we went to the airport to say goodbye. Then we went right into a zone leader consejo. Afterwards we ate at McDonald's. What more could a girl ask for than to be surrounded by missionaries??? Thursday and Friday were the start of our last round of multi-zone conferences. Friday we enjoyed tacos al pastor. YUM! After a wild, fun-filled, crazy week our assistants slept like babies all the way back to Veracruz. 
