ACT Rock Stars.  Both girls got a perfect score on the Reading Section of the ACT.  

Reading, reading, reading from the womb on has been beneficial to our whole family.  When I was in college at the University of Arizona, one of our head instructors in the College of Education was Kenneth Goodman, best know as the 'Father of Whole Language' in the Education World. If there is anything I took from my time at U of A, it was the importance of reading, reading, reading at all times and in all places.  From street signs to menu's to comics, exposure to constant texts and good books can really strengthen a child's education.   

One final night out together before Papa & Grandma head back to LA.  It feels like our family size is shrinking as we are missing Elan & Kayla - and we did miss having them with us tonight.

We recorded just a little of Kay speaking Cebuano.

We got to visit for about an hour and she wanted to hear from us much more than she wanted to share.  It was sooooo good to see her, but a little heartbreaking to say Goodbye.  I had heard that is the toughest part.  

We LOVE this girl so very much! She is such an important part of our family and we miss her tremendously. We know it is her sincere desire to serve the Lord by serving the people of Cebu, Philippines, and have great faith that he will provide opportunities for her to do that. 

Love you love you Kay!

Though presents are not the main focus of Christmas for us, there is great joy in giving in receiving meaningful and thoughtful gifts (and fun ones) from those closest to you.  They girls/Elan spend a lot of time thinking about their 'sister' gift each year and I think that is usually our favorite.

We also get to be the recipients of thoughtful gifts from extended family.  Katherine is one of the best gift choosers I know.  Here is a puzzle they got for Papa with a quilting theme and a dog outside the window that looks just like Buster

Elan had custom socks made for Brenna with Jett's face on them.  How awesome is that.

Katherine was able to sneak and purchase a necklace that Francee mentioned she liked while they were out there in Illinois earlier in the year.  And yes, she loved it!

Beanies for our snow girls

Robert hoping Papa will follow in his footsteps with fun socks.

Emily is always so happy and excited about every gift

Brenna showing Jett his new bone treats from Tate & Izzy - he liked them more when she opened the package

Emi with her new little waffle maker from Holts.  This little guy has already gotten a lot of use

Jett & Tate enjoying new bones

Elan with his new Special Edition Surfing Championship vans

A Microwave Pasta cooker for our Pasta Queen Lindz.  Aubs and Elan know a little about freshman life in college and knew she'd get lots of use out if this.

Brenna with her new Vaquita Porpoise phone case.  If you ever want to know anything about Vaquita Porpoises, Brenna is your gal.  They are one of the most endangered species in the world, and if Brenna could save them from going extinct - she would.  She is almost as passionate about not have plastic waste in the ocean as she is about making sure cars are 'idle-free'  

Some of Em's new shoes - pineapple vans, white crocs with pins, and silver slip-ons.  She has no problem creating her own styles and being proud of them

Lindsay got some new Lacrosse gear

and gift cards

This was the only pic I got of Brenna's sister present to Em this year.  It was as exclusive and expensive subscription to a videography workshop put on my 2 of Emily's idols people in this industry.  She was beyond stoked!

 

This years video is out and we are LOVING it!

Took all the dogs and people on a walk with Barney and Marianne

Luke II Puppet show

Read about Rose and the Christmas Orange.  This is definitely one of our favorite's.  Our hearts related to Rose in a different way this year as we celebrate the normal traditions of Christmas with Kayla so far away.  We each want to gather a segment of this special time to share it with her!

It's Christmas Eve - time to go Ice Skating

Papa & Grandmother have been part of this tradition for many of the years they have spent Christmas here with us

Down the 3 girls

3 girls down for sure

They all got it by the end, I did not.

Em was all over figure skating this year.

Brenna thought hockey might be her sport

Lindz leaned towards speed skating

They finally all agreed on Curling

Another fun Christmas Eve spent at the Olympic Oval.  

We had a such a wonderful Church Service together as we gathered as friends and neighbors to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  The music was beautiful and the words read from the scriptures touched our hearts deeply.   Jesus Christ is not only the reason for the season He is the source of all truth, light, and goodness that we have here on the Earth. 

Today we renewed covenants to keep his commandments, always remember him, and take his name upon us. In return he promises that we may always have his spirit to be with us.  

One of the ways we keep our covenants is by caring for and serving others.  Tonight we paired up with an organization called Soul Food  to help provide food, blankets, and love to those in need within our community.  Volunteers provide and serve chili, cornbread, cake, and gifts of warmth and cheer.  Their goal is to warm the stomachs of those they serve, as well as warm their hearts with the true spirit of Christmas.    

Tonight we brought 100+ flannel blankets to help others keep warm, but it was in their sharing that our hearts were truly filled with the warmth of the Saviors Love.  

After delivering our blankets to the appropriate stations, we were paired up to help individuals gather their food and gifts and then spend time visiting with them.

   

Brenna and I were able to help a man and a women in a wheelchair with a dog attached. 

Robert helped that women's adult son and his dog.

Lindsay and Emily helped a middle aged man from the Middle East.

We helped them gather lots of food on the plates, and let them choose socks, gloves, hats, and blankets that we then filled into stockings for safe keeping.  We filled up big tall cups of hot chocolate with all the fix-ins and headed out to the closed off portion of the street to eat and visit.

Serving a large group of people is awesome, and so necessary to the needs around us.  But serving the 1 allows for an even more meaningful experience for everyone. When you sit and visit with someone you hear their stories, their struggles, their journeys, and even their hopes for the future.  They are not just a group of 'homeless people' but are individuals, known and loved by God just as we ALL are.  

Sharing food, gifts, and the light of Christ warmed our hearts, but also left us leaving downtown with heavy hearts.  Homelessness is complicated.  There is no one solution and as we learned tonight, the causes that lead to it are as unique as the individuals.  At least 1 of my grandparents on both sides of my family experienced homeless during their lifetime, whether due to the effects of the great depression or mental illness.  It is complicated and sometimes hard to know how to best help others, but tonight's experiences reminded us that we are all here to help each other. We can provide warm food and blankets, a listening ear, and share kindness and love to show that we care just as the Savior did when was here.  We can use our hearts and hands to be instruments of love for Him. 

With a sunny afternoon upon us, and everyone home, we tried to decide what to do.

We all agreed on Batting Cages at Mulligan's.  

Good idea - but we learned that when the temps get this low, the machines don't pitch correctly, so Batting Cages are closed for the season.  But they did offer us Mini Golf for 8 - on the house.

 How could we pass up free Mini Golf?  

The first few holes were a little chilly, but not too challenging.

The challenge came when we got to the first 'house'

Where does the ball go when you hit it into the house but it doesn't come down the shoot onto the lower green?  Maybe we could find it by lifting the hatch door?

Maybe if we all gather around the house we can find the disappearing balls?  Nope.  We lost balls on both of the 'house' holes and had to keep returning to the shack for more.

Found a cool rock to hold our clubs when we weren't golfing

Here are our BIG winners for the night.  Emily with 1 hole-in-one and Aubrey with 4 Holes-in-one!! 

Meanwhile Lindsay was being asked out on a date in the background

Sister fun

Family Fun.  Thanks Mulligans!!!

Lindsay - For my Math of Personal Finance class, each class period brings in money to do a Sub-4-Santa. This year we made more than they ever had in the past, the total for all eight class periods was over $25,000.00!!! After all the money was collected (in November), Mr. Jensen picks families he knows or has been told are having a rough time, could use some help with Christmas, or families that are a part of the Angel Tree organization (meet the same criteria). This year we were able to take on 44 families in need, varying from two grandparents with a child to families of 8 or 9 children. In our class periods, we picked groups of 1-15 people and each group was assigned a family to buy groceries and some Christmas presents for. 

Linds' experience: 

On the second Thursday in December, all the groups were invited to stay after school and listen to stories of those impacted by this specific Sub-4-Santa, including teachers who helped or were helped in previous years. Then each group was assigned a family, or two in my group's case, one of grandparents with a little boy and one of two parents with teenage girls and a young teenage boy. We made a game plan of who would do groceries vs presents and what sort of things we wanted for each family, then we all got on buses and were driven over to Walmart. After two or so hours of shopping and almost 7 shopping carts later, we payed for the food and presents for both families with the exact money we had donated earlier. Then we were driven back to the school where we wrapped the presents and were told to contact our families to have them come pick up the food and presents. For some reason, the families we were assigned to would not answer the phone, but after a few tries the grandparent family said that we could bring the stuff over to their house. We loaded up two cars FULL of food and presents and drove out to the house. We brought in the presents and then took multiple trips to bring all the food in, as the grandma thanked us and we talked to the little boy. After driving back to the school, we could not figure out a way to contact the other family and we didn't have an address to deliver it to, to Mr. Jensen decided to let us leave for the night and try to figure it out the next day with fresh minds. After cleaning up the wrapping area, we left around 10:45, a little tired and hungry but with hearts full of joy!

The next night, we had gotten a hold of the address so we loaded up in three cars and drove up to North Salt Lake. We grabbed some of the presents and went up to the door, only to be told that the people we were looking for had moved out a few months before. Not sure how to continue on, Mr. Jensen said he would make a few calls and we should wait and maybe get some food and see if there was any way he could figure out how to deliver the goods to the family. After about an hour Jensen called us and said he had another address to try so we loaded back up and drove a couple blocks further. This time we grabbed some food and walked up to the door. One of the teenage girls answered the door and we started talking, then went inside and started dropping off the food as people took trips back to the car for more food and presents. After we had brought it all in, the mom talked to us about what we were doing and each of the family members expressed their gratitude. The mom then asked if we were all members of the Church, which is true, so she invited us to join them in a prayer of gratitude to the Lord. As the mom prayed it brought me to tears thinking of how similar these people are to me and how one accident or incident could put me in a situation like theirs. They weren't super poor or living on the streets, but after a tough year they didn't have a lot of extra money for Christmas. Being able to serve and see the people we served really made me grateful for everything that I have in my life and made me sure I want to participate in helping others not only at Christmastime but throughout the year for the rest of my life!

Emi's experience:

Although I am not in the Math of Personal Finance class, I am really good friends with the teacher, Mr. Jensen, who is our neighbor. I went to his class one day and he convinced me to donate $40 to his class and join one of the groups (which consisted of the senior Minerettes) and go with them to one of the families. We all had a performance on the night that everyone else went, so we decided to go a week later on our own. We got our money and went shopping right after school. We bought groceries and Christmas presents for our family of a single mother, her three sons ages 10, 7, and 2. Shopping went very good and we ended up being 15 cents over our budget. We went back to the school and wrapped all the presents up and the family arrived at 7:30! The family didn't seem like they were living in poverty or a group of people you could pick out of a crowd that they were struggling. The mom was so grateful for everything it was hard for her to express it. It made me so thankful for all I have and for the opportunity to serve!

Mr. True Blue Pageant-

Last year Bingham started the annual tradition of having a Mr. True Blue Pageant. At this black tie event, Senior boys sign up to compete in 4 categories; Christmas wear, interview, talent, and evening wear. A group of teachers is chosen to be judges and everyone attending gets in with either $3 or 3 cans of food, with all the proceeds going towards True Blue. 

post-Christmas dance

aka- The Jingle Jam

During the 'Day of Service' the student body put together over 21,000 weekend and snack kits for students in need within our district.

Minerettes performed at the Winter Recognition/True Blue Closing assembly.  We love True Blue!