Daniel's baptism

On December 5th, Daniel turned 8 years old. It was finally his turn to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to make promises to live how Christ would have him live. We are so proud of Danny! He is an energetic, loving young boy who truly desires to do what is right. The baptism took place at the Payson West Stake Center and was performed by Jeff. I am extremely grateful that Jeff is worthy to have the priesthood (God's authority/power given to man on the earth to act in His name). I am thankful that Jeff is able to perform these ordinances and to bless our family. During the baptism, I was asked to speak on the gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt honored and privileged that Danny would ask me to do so...and to speak on such an important topic. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost's guidance and comfort in my life. Without him, I would not be where I am at today. I pray that Daniel (and all the kids) will continue to make good choices so that they can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost to lead and guide them during their lives. After the baptism, everyone who was invited made their way to our church building for soup, salad, and rolls. It was a great day for an amazing young boy!

Holidays

 

Our engagement took us right through the busy holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also during that time, I sold my house, moved all my stuff to Utah, had Daniel's baptism and quit my job. Needless to say, I was glad that we'd decided not to put our wedding on top of all of that. Still, it made the time fly by as we were able to celebrate these fun holidays with our families.

My parents were luckily able to drive up to Utah to spend Thanksgiving. However, since my little sister, Krystle, had to work on Thanksgiving, Jeff and I celebrated Thanksgiving day with the Southwicks. Jeff's brother, Stan, and his family drove down from Idaho to be with us. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. We then celebrated Thanksgiving with the Shumways on Saturday. It was a fun-filled weekend with family and food!

 

Jeff and I - our first Thanksgiving together.

 

The Southwick kiddos: Carson, Grant, Travis, Dallin, Macy, Bennett, Laurin, Daniel and Amber.

Jeff, the boys and I at the Shumway Thanksgiving.

Since my house sold earlier than expected, Jeff flew down the week before Christmas, helped me finish packing up, loaded a Uhaul and drove it back to Utah. However, before he left, we were able to have a mini-Christmas celebration with my family.

Opening gifts at my parents' house.

Tyler and Kate opening presents from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Alisha.

Jeff drove the Uhaul back to Utah on December 21st while I flew up later that evening after I finished my last day of work. I have truly enjoyed the career and educational opportunities I've been blessed with. I enjoyed working as a mental health counselor for children and families in Arizona, but I'm also looking forward to my new "job" responsibilities helping Jeff raise the children, run the household, and help with the business.

In any case, once all my stuff (and myself) made it to Utah there were only a couple days remaining before Christmas. I busied myself with unpacking what items I could and to prepare for my first Southwick Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed spending the day playing games with the kids and just hanging out together. That evening we had a "Bethlehem dinner" of pita bread, humus, dried fruits, cheese, grape juice, etc. We then spent the evening commemorating the true reason for the season, Christ's birth. It has always been a Shumway tradition to light luminaries on Christmas Eve. This tradition goes back to the 1600/1700s when Spanish priests used to light luminaries to mark the way to the churches for mass on Christmas Eve. The lights were to welcome, not only the patrons of the churches, but especially the Christ-child. We have carried on the tradition in my family as a way to remind us that Christ is the Light of the World and to show Him the way into our home. Jeff and I decided to carry on this tradition with our little family...of course it was done on a much larger scale since our house/property is bigger than my parents'. Still, we all had fun and the end result was gorgeous. It is a tradition I am going to continue to look forward to.

 

 

After lighting our luminaries, Jeff's father provided a family home evening lesson on giving gifts to Christ. The kids were then off to bed and Jeff and I spent the rest of the evening making sure Santa got everything under the tree. The next morning we enjoyed watching the kids open their gifts after which we broke in Jeff's new waffle maker (a gift I gave him) to start another Christmas tradition - waffles. It was truly one of the best Christmases I've had. I enjoyed being with Jeff and the kids. I am looking forward to many more holidays with everyone.