Letter from John on December 30, 2008

he did an awesome job on that clock!!
this week wasnt too shabby for a week containing a major like christmas. im really enjoying it here in martinsville, i dont know how long ill stay but we'll see what the Lord wants.
yesterday in district meeting was asked by sister Perry (not related to the perrys we know, i checked already) why i hadnt hooped and hollered and bragged about the baptism when i called them for district calls saturday night. i replied at the time simply "you didnt ask". she was totally dumbfounded haha. but i got to thinking about it. baptisms dont really excite me as much anymore. im happy for Chris, Stacey, Randy, the Blairs and so forth and i understand the magnitude of the change and the step it is for the individual but its not a crazy rush for me anymore. i discovered that there were a couple reasons for this as i continued to ponder. first i suppose is i now recognize that isnt the finishing point. baptism is the first step so when someone is baptized yes ill celebrate with them (Chris is planning a "Mills isnt going to hell" party) but then immediately ive already moved on to start thinking about whats next, i start to working out in my head how i can help them get to the next step. i also realized that after Crossroads i almost expect baptisms. like ive gained some kind of stronger faith that if i do what im supposed to do miracles WILL happen, because thats what the Lord has promised will happen. Hearts like Chris's open up because i and Elder Adaoag are out fulfilling out purpose as missionaries so we get led to places where miracles will happen. i dunno if you followed all that but it makes sense to me.
i hope james is keeping his nose clean. hes always had a testimony but hes always tried to hide it. or maybe he doesnt know that he knows. if theres one thing ive learned its that each of our lives are specifically built for us to have the best possible chance back to our heavenly father. some may have to tread a thornier path, but eventually it will lead us to the point when we can accept it. maybe there was something to learn for Charles Hayden and the countless people he killed or Chris and the drugs hes been in and out of, or me and the stagnant way i have lead my way in the past. and who knows who these experiences will touch. so maybe james has a few more things he has to learn before he can make a good missionary.
hope you both have a great week!
i love ya
john

(Note: John is serving in an area of the world where the average baptisms during a two year mission is 2 per year. I think he has learned very well to trust in the Lord, do the work and expect miracles. I don't know how many baptisms he has had, but those he mentioned make at least 5 in the last 6 months. We are very proud of the growth he has made. We're even a little jealous that he has learned some of these things this early in life. I've just been learning some of them myself since he left.)

Bah, humbug!

I am officially tired of snow now. It’s been snowing all day long. The only time I remember it staying this cold and snowing this much in Boise was our first winter here. Back when we were used to snow and cold for 4-6 months of the year. Before I went to Honduras I couldn’t imagine a Christmas without snow. After Honduras I prefer them without snow. I’m getting spring fever already…aaarrrggghhh!

Of course, January 5 will be bright and clear and the roads will be perfect for going to work so there will be no snow days.

Oh, and we set up a timer on the hose to water the garden last summer. It was a miserable failure because the kids would unhook it and play in the hose then “forget” to reconnect everything when they were done. Except they remembered the last time because last night I couldn’t figure out why it sounded like there was water running. I finally found it. The water had frozen inside the timer and was now gushing out the huge crack in the side of the timer. At least it didn’t freeze the pipe! We just haven’t gotten enough snow or cold to remember those kinds of things.

Ok, I’m done. There’s still sugar in the house…

And I don’t want to eat it. Not even tempted.

12 Days of Christmas and the BIG day

Day 10...we watched another Christmas movie..."It's a Wonderful Life"...and the kids "camped out" in the family room.

Day 11...we were supposed to read stories, but just hung out playing games together, etc. James Cluff came to stay with us for a couple days so we spent time visiting with him.

Day 12...We finished the Christmas Advent Book, watched "Mr. Kruegar's Christmas" and snacked. The kids opened one gift each and a gift for the family. That one was Cranium for Families...much easier than the other one. We all gathered around and played a game of Cranium together.

THE BIG DAY

We had a wonderful time. On Dec 23 Big James arrived and stayed with us until yesterday evening. It was great to have him here with us. He will be in Japan for the next three years. John hasn’t seen him for 1 ½ years and then the next 3. Here’s Big James in his uniform. James told us not to buy him any presents, but we couldn’t do that. We couldn’t expect him to leave while we did things without him either. After all, he is one of the family.



All month we have been reading a scripture, story and singing a song at night which has kept our minds on the real meaning of Christmas. The kids have looked forward to it every day and often asked, “Mom, when are we doing SSSP?” The “p” was for prayer.

Hannah was sick all Christmas eve. I don’t know what she ate or what kind of bug she had. Fortunately, she felt better in the evening and was feeling wonderful on Christmas day. This is a picture of her with her friend from the fourth grade. Maleigh moved to Oregon a couple years ago, but was in town for visiting.

Yesterday morning started out in the traditional Jenson way. Tom got up at 8 am and put the breakfast casserole in the oven. Then we started getting through the shower…first Tom and then me. We finally sat down to breakfast at 9:30 am, and read 3 Nephi 11 as we finished eating.

Then we opened gifts. Each person has one small gift in their stocking which they investigate first. All the gifts under the tree have only numbers on them. One person starts by choosing a present and giving it to the person it belongs to. I have the master list. The only rule is they can’t choose one of their own and if they do I tell them that one has to wait. Then each person unwraps their gift and chooses the next one.

I made new quilts for James and Hannah this year. Hannah is showing hers off and James has his wrapped around him.

Here is Tom in the duct tape tie Tim made for him.

Big James is opening one of his gifts. We gave him a card with a photo of all of us (including him) that was taken before he left for basic training. We also gave him a rubic’s cube key chain and a wallet to put his picture in. I told him we wouldn’t be offended if he couldn’t use the gifts, but he enjoyed them and appreciated them.





This was one of the family gifts. The kids like to unwrap those ones all together.

This was the first “broken” toy…the basketball kept getting stuck in the hoop because it was frozen.

Of course, one of the best parts was talking to John on the phone. He is doing great and having a very successful mission. They are teaching a young man who will be baptized tomorrow. John said they found a three piece suit in their apartment that must have belonged to a previous missionary. They took it to this young man and it fit perfectly, so now he has a suit to wear to church. John gets to call 4 times…on Christmas and Mother's day both years. He has only one call left...next Mother's day and then he will be home! Can't believe how fast it has gone.

This is John’s girlfriend. As soon as John called Big James called Jess to let her know and she was here in seconds it seemed like.



Our driveway is wide enough for two cars, but there is quite a drop from the driveway to the street. So we like to let the snow and ice build up in the base of the driveway so it will be smooth for once. Right now it isn’t packed down very well and when Big James’ friend came to get him she got stuck in our driveway. Tom, Big James, Tim and James went out to get her unstuck. Then we said our goodbyes. Big James calls me “Third mom.” He told Tim to stop growing or he’d be taller than him. Tim just smiled and said, “That would be cool.”

These photos are of our back yard. Tom thought the snow on the trees and bushes looked so pretty in the sunlight.

The two best gifts I received...

I love gifts because they make me feel loved, but I really enjoy giving them because I can show my love through them.

My sister Nancy gave me a belt pack thing with a pedometer on the buckle so I can carry my mp3 player while I’m exercising or walking.


The best gift was from Tom. My grandpa Housley (mom’s dad) used to make beautiful clocks out of wood cross cut off the stump of trees. He would varnish them until they were glossy and smooth, and then attach a clock face and works. I always wanted one of those clocks and years ago I got a couple cuts of wood from my aunt. I’ve had the clock works for ages, but never got around to doing it. I needed someone to help me drill the holes I needed in the wood. So, Tom snuck my pieces of wood to someone (I haven’t asked who yet) and had a clock made for me. He gave the man the other piece of wood for his labor. Here it is:

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

More Twelve Days of Christmas

Day 7...

We dipped all the candy centers.



Day 8...

We made the gingerbread houses.



Starting out.



Linda



James



Tom, Hannah and Tim

***************

Here are the finished products.

Tom's

Hannah's

James'

Linda's

Mine

Tim's

If you look closely you will see a fish theme. Tom put a Swedish fish over his door. James' gingerbread man has a fishing pole and they talked me into putting a couple fish on the barby. LOL...it's better than the year I bought chocolate covered bananas and raisins. It didn't take long for our kids to decide the bananas and raisins were reindeer droppings that year. I've never bought them again.

Day 9...

Was supposed to be caroling, but only one other family came and we decided that since the kids were enjoying the snow so much we'd stay inside, chat and play a game.

On the fourth, fifth and sixth days of Christmas...

Day 4...

We watched a movie. Ok, it wasn't actually a full length movie. The boys went to the church to play dodgeball and returned home around 9 pm. So we watched the 25 minute film of "The Other Wise Man."

Day 5...

The kids all went to YM/YW, and I made candy with a friend. We put in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Horton Hears a Who" (the old cartoon versions) for her kids and we chatted and cooked up a storm. We made one batch of caramels, one batch of mint patties and one batch of coconut bars. We'll be dipping them for Day 7.

Day 6...

We're supposed to play games tonight, but Tom is at a meeting. Tim is playing computer games. I'm updating the blog, checking emails, sending cards...lol. James is laying around and Hannah is reading. I think I'll find a game we can play quickly now it's 9:30 pm and then send them to bed.

Here's to hoping for a snow day tomorrow!

Dear Mom and Dad, December 16, 2008

this week was a great one! Chris is continuing to progress wonderfully. he's read into Alma. he quit smoking for good. and hes still facing the very jaws of hell gaping its mouth wide trying to swallow him whole. but i have faith he'll pull through it.
the final transfer meeting falls on the 15 of july. so unless something crazy happens to the transfer cycle that should be it. i dunno what time ill call on Christmas just yet im hoping we'll receive some guidance on what Christmas will look like in our transfer meeting/zone conference tomorrow. ill let you know for sure soon. but tentatively i suppose we can say about 3pm my time 1pm yours.
i bet it was a neat experience to be Santa for a little bit. it must be like being a missionary. when youre santa you get to talk about the things santa would talk about and feel the warmth and spirit of the little ones faith. i imagine thats why the savior liked being surrounded by little ones so often. and as a missionary i get to go and talk about the gospel Jesus brought to the earth and feel the spirit and power of that message.
well i love ya and hope you have a great week, john

i suppose ill have to write a general epistle to the ward this year. i think that'd be a good thing to do. haha maybe i can title it the epistle of john and someone can read it over the pulpit =p
well i dunno how long it'll take to show you indiana. i suppose no more than a week but probably 3 or 4 days. it kinda depends on how often im transfered from here on out haha. if they leave me here i imagine we'll have to come visit for a bit. franklin is deffinitly on the list of places to stop. crossroads. and i guess we'll have to drive through dunkirk and see president Shrak for dad. hopefully by then ill be able to gather all the addresses etc.
sounds like the christmas party went pretty well. as you described it it reminded me of theater kinda. ill never forget the night Geri taught me one of the lessons thats really stuck with me since. he walked up, looked at me and James moments before 'flaming idiots' started and said calm as a summers day,"sh** happens", he stated and gently added, "its all about how you deal with it" and then he walked off.
Chris is doing really well! i updated a bit more elaborately in dads email but hes definitely doing really good. he has a baptisimal date scheduled for the 27th this month. we sat down to talk with him about word of wisdom and baptism and before we could start he started asking all sorts of questions. then he said "so you guys said that this all includes baptism right?". yup. "ok so when can that happen?" ... i paused... ive never had to answer that question. we taught him the word of wisdom and then told him he'd need to quit smoking and be done for 2 weeks before he could be baptized. then he said "ok so in two weeks ill be baptized". HOLY COW. hes rad.
haha maybe you did end up with more elaborate details. maybe i should just write one big email to both of you.
well i hope you have a great week. i plan on it. love ya, john


I love it when I catch him online and we can have a "conversation."

Me: That's so cool about Chris. I'll put more details in next week...lol.

John: btw, neither of us are getting transfered

Me: That's good to know. I figured you'd tell us if you were. Did you get the warm socks yet? I think I mailed them on Friday so if not they should be getting there. Do you need anything else?

John: ohh yeah! i was gonna thank you for those socks. theyre really good!! and they couldnt have shown up at a better time. yesterday dropped down to like 20 degrees. im doin pretty good right now. thanks again though.

On the first, second, third days of Christmas...

This tradition is a carry over from things we did while I was growing up. I've changed some of the activities (since going to see the lights as Temple Square is kind of hard to do when you live in Boise).

Here's what we've done so far...

On the first day of Christmas...

We made gingerbread for the houses we'll make later on.

Cutting out the gingerbread after it's baked.

Now they get to age for a week...They need at least a few days to be easier to work with.

The kids' best part...the scraps.

John's girlfriend does a house from a kit and then brings it to us. This is the second year she's done it.

On the second day of Christmas...

We made the kids' ornaments.

Our first Christmas a tree was given to us and we decorated it with popcorn and a borrowed strand of lights and a sheet as the tree skirt. Then I started making ornaments for our tree and soon I started making one ornament for each child each year. By the time I am done they will have more than 24 ornaments for their first trees. I hope their spouses will appreciate the ornaments and that they will use them at least during the lean years in the beginning.

James gluing.

Hannah gluing. James holding an ornament up.

Here's John's collection so far. I have six more days of Christmas to complete the set and I'll do one for his mission. Then his will be done.

On the third day of Christmas...

We attended Hannah's orchestra concert.

She loves playing the cello.

It looked like she was doing very well.

I'll post about more as the days go by.

Five Favorite Things

I was tagged by Brianna.

Five Favorite Things:
1. Tom
2. Getting emails from Johnathan, our missionary
3. Having teenagers...weird, I know and I never thought I'd enjoy them so much.
4. Having best friends
5. Chocolate

I tag any 5 who want to do it. I dare you!

Email from John--Dec 9, 2008

the baptism was awesome, really highly spiritual meeting. there was a really good attendance too. of course im sure it was only to be expected his family had been in the church a long time (grandparents etc.).
im glad youre figureing out your place in your calling. its always stressful when we dont know just what we can do and how much we should delegate and so forth. this district leader calling has been interesting in that right. ive received very little instruction on what to do but i think im figureing it out. this week i gave a training on the importance of silence in lessons, i think it went pretty well. i shared with them my conversion story and a few favorite scriptures along with long pauses to allow for silence all so i could illustrate the relationship the spirit has with silence.
this week was a pretty good week. wee found and taught a lot of new people. theres this one guy though that sticks out from the rest. his name is Chris Mills. he initially invited us back to be antagonistic and see if he could make us look stupid. he admitted this later. he was impressed before we came back that he should pray and tell God that if we came back he'd go to church and see what we had to offer. when we came back he told us that on that merit alone he'd come to church. we then moved to share with him the restoration of the gospel through joseph smith. it was a very intrigueing lesson. all of the points and principles seemed kinda scattered but i knew that was the way he needed to hear it because of how strong the spirit was the whole time. id say that this single meeting was one of the strongest times ive ever felt the spirit in my life. he was speachless. i and Elder Adaoag were following the spirit on what to do and it turned into probably one of the coolest experiences of my mission. we scheduled to meet with him the next day at the church. he was there, he had bishop with us as well. and again had an awesome experience. hes been facing incredible amounts of opposition. he lost his job, but then the Lord gave him one soon thereafter. and other things have been getting in his way. satan really wants him bad. im excited for him and what amazing things may come from him, but i worry about his path there. its gonna be hard.
well i gotta write dad at least so i better go i love ya john

More about Tom

Tag from Krista

5 things he Loves:
The Church
Having fun
Rugby
Having fun
Spending time with the kids
Having fun
Nature
Did I say having fun?

5 things on his To Do List:
Finish his MBA
Pick up Johnathan from his mission
Help finish our food storage shelves
Fix the MVA
Finish getting my Christmas present

5 Foods he enjoys:
Anything with curry in it.
Anything with cheese in it.
Anything with chicken in it.
Anything with sugar in it.
Just about any kind of food.

5 things you might not know about him:
He played rubgy for BYU.
He plays the harmonica.
He served a mission in Australia.
He is awesome with kids.
He still believes in Santa Claus.

5 Places he's lived:
Palo Alto, California
Gympie, Australia
Provo, Utah
Cincinnati, Ohio
Spokane, Washington

5 Quirky things about him
He says he becomes someone else when he puts on his Santa suit.
He starts lots of stuff, but has a hard time finishing. About once a month he gets into a cleaning mode and wants to clean the whole house in one day. The problem is that he goes from one thing to the next without finishing anything. I have the privilege of finishing all the projects he starts and I'm always glad when the day is over and he gets out of that mode.
When he packs to go somewhere he just throws things in. He may end up where he's going without things he needs, but he doesn't care. It drives me crazy watching him and the boys pack for Fathers and Sons outings.
He used to tell people he was a hooker...a rugby hooker, that is.
He always leaves his shaving creme on the back of the toilet.

I tag whoever wants to do it.

Since I'm new at this...

I picked this up at Krista's post since she left it open for whoever. It will probably get old sometime...lol.

WHAT IS YOUR HUSBAND'S NAME? Tom or Dad...I'm not big on terms of endearment.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN MARRIED? 22 years

HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? Let's see, a few dates as friends before my mission and 1 1/2 weeks after my mission.

HOW OLD IS HE? 47

WHO IS TALLER? He is.

WHO CAN SING BEST? Me.

WHO IS SMARTER? I let him think he is, but I really know...lol. Except I still can't figure out the spring forward, fall back thing, and he can tell me every time.

WHO DOES LAUNDRY? Used to be me, but over the years we've developed a system where he starts it and I finish it. Not my favorite way to do it...I'd rather start it, except he gets everything mixed up and then I find the kids' socks and t-shirts in my drawers. I don't like that even more than folding clothes.

WHO PAYS BILLS? I do. Paychecks are deposited automaticly. He adjusts the exemptions when needed on his checks. I do that on mine. If we ever have a problem and need to call to correct it...he does it. He does most the banking since he can easily walk to the bank during his break.

WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? Which side is the right side? Looking at the bed, he does. While on the bed, I do.

WHO COOKS DINNER? I do...if I can't talk the kids into doing it. They need to learn, right? Tom cooks about once a week unless he's very busy.

WHO MOWS THE LAWN? The kids...Tom is very good at delegating that one.

WHO'S THE FIRST TO ADMIT THEY ARE WRONG? Usually me.

WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? Tom kissed me first. It was my first kiss and I wasn't expecting it exactly so I was smiling (embarrassed) so he actually kissed my teeth.

WHO WEARS THE PANTS? He does, but it took a while for both of us to learn that we are a team.

I tag...Who's next? Anyone?

Seven random/weird facts about me

Tagged by Krista

1. I took piano lessons as a child for three years, but was totally miserable for several reasons. As soon as I began band in school I talked my parents out of piano lessons. Now, in my 40's, I'm taking lessons again and loving it. Thanks, Krista.

2. Besides piano, I have played 5 instruments...flute, piccalo, clarinet, bass clarinet and contra bass clarinet. The contra bass was my favorite instrument. When there wasn't a contra bass part the teacher would give me the tuba part, which I LOVED! OomPa, OomPa...

3. The clarinet was my first instrument. I began playing it in the sixth grade. Grandma Housley gave me the clarinet my aunts had played in school. It was all metal and very hard to play. I still have it.

4. I got malaria on my mission, but only missed 4 1/2 days of work.

5. I learned how to milk a cow by hand while I was in high school. My uncle loaned us a cow which we milked twice a day getting one gallon each time. There were 11 people in my family and we drank all that milk. Mom made butter out of the cream.

6. I learned to swim by watching the swimming instructors teach my children how to swim, starting when I was 37.

7. I had the part of an extra in our school play during my junior year of high school. The play was "The Robe" by Lloyd C. Douglas. I looked so young they would only let me on the stage during the opening scene. I was a little girl being dragged away from the crucifiction by her mother. My only line was, "But I want to watch longer."

I'll tag...anyone who wants to do it.

We're back...

The trip went well. Both our families are normal, and it was fun to try remembering that as we greeted each nut in the family tree. I'm glad to be home with only my own crazy people. I love both our families, but I can only take so much before I'm glad we live 350 miles away. lol.

A few years ago I took a class through the Church Education System called "Positive Parenting." One day was spent talking about how we teach our children gratitude. The teacher said we teach gratitude by not giving our children everything they want and then they are grateful for what they get. I thought at the time it must be correct because we haven't been able to give our kids everything and they seem to be grateful. We had an eye opening experience on this trip as we watched a 16 year old receive birthday gifts with no gratitude at all. He and his siblings have always had more than our kids, but our kids are lots more grateful for what they get. We felt sorry for the parents. Things like that are never fun.

This was the first long trip with our blue van, and we were very happy with it. It was comfortable and the gas mileage was better than we've had in a very long time. We got 24 miles per gallon on the freeway. Not bad for a mini van! We got to Tremonton and debated topping off the tank or waiting until Salt Lake when "the gas prices might be even lower." When I said that Tom laughed. After all the gas prices are lower than they've been in a decade and I wanted to see if they were lower in Salt Lake...lol. We filled up in Tremonton on the way down and again on the way home. All our driving around Salt Lake and Orem was done with that one tank of gas. Very nice. And the kids loved the dvd player. We didn't choose the van because of that...just lucked out that it was in it. I wondered how many people were wondering what movie we were watching as we drove down the freeway. I wonder if they guessed "The Absent-Minded Professor" or "Follow Me, Boys" or "Twelfth Night"...

Now it's back to normal life. I'm working at 8 am all week. One of my coworkers is in Las Vegas because her neice is in the National Miss Rodeo contest. And I'm working on the Stake Nativity display this weekend and the Ward Christmas Party next week. I'm sooo glad I'm done shopping. I can't imagine planning for those two activities and shopping at the same time.