Christmas was over, but the party was just beginning! Saturday the 27th, I took Rachel and Sariah on a little walk to Beauport Beach. We didn’t actually go down to the water, but we had fun walking along the cliffs overlooking the sea. We stopped on a bench to eat some crisps and enjoy the view!
Shanti Rose and her boyfriend, Shane arrived on the ferry, and we all went to Bishop Pinzari’s home for some homemade Korean spring rolls and sushi! It was a feast and so much fun! The missionaries came and brought some friends along, so we had a full house to play games. We played Taboo and I can’t remember who won, but we did remarkably well considering two of our team members spoke English as their second language! We also played the game where you pick names from a hat, and your team has to guess who they are from your description. Pete was appalled that no one on his team knew who assassinated JFK. Ha!
Sunday, we all caravanned to church, then enjoyed a restful afternoon and evening together. Then Monday, we took a great hike along the cliffs at Rozel. Pete and Alex are so adventurous-it was fun to see how they do things and try to learn from their examples. We all had babies strapped to us, but that was part of the fun of it! Something about being with them made me feel like I can do hard things and HAVE FUN DOING IT!
We went to the pub afterward for lunch with Yvonne, Nadine, Matt, and Pops. Such a fun bunch! I hadn’t been out to eat since AUGUST when we went on a date to Tucano’s before leaving America, so it was fun to have a little fish and chips.
Tuesday, the 30th was our 3 years anniversary! Paul and I exchanged some small gifts and celebrated by going to see The Hobbit! (By the way, the script writing was so bad, we could hardly stop from laughing at times. The actors did a fine job, and special effects, costumes, makeup-everything was well done… but what were they thinking writing lines like “Why does it hurt so bad?” “Because it was real.”??? Cheese!!! Oh well, we had fun, but we decided they should never have agreed to make 3 movies where 1 would suffice.) Later in the week, we were able to go to dinner at Sugareef-just the two of us! We had a nice dinner and DIVINE desserts that we couldn’t finish! The best part was just being alone for a few minutes and walking home along the beach, holding hands. We even got lost in the cemetery at St. Brelade’s church, but I didn’t mind, knowing I had my big strong, handsome husband to protect me.
Poor Sariah was poorly, so we spent New Year’s Eve at home most of the day, and then most of us went to Yvonne’s for dinner. Paul and I both got so overheated and we were eating food we aren’t used to, so we BOTH had anxiety attacks! That’s NEVER happened to us before. So weird. We managed to have fun anyway because we were with such lovely people, but I felt bad not being the best company. We got back to the cottage and put the girls to bed in time to watch the fireworks in London at midnight. We held hands in a circle and sang Auld Lang Syne. It was a magical moment to ring in the New Year with lots of love, hope, and friendship.
Thursday, we went for a family bike ride with Rachel and Alice in a little trailer behind my bike! We rode down to St. Corbiere where we could look out at the lighthouse and the waves crashing on the rocks. Rachel and I had fun running around pretending we were birds. I think the last time I rode a bike was at least 10 years ago, so my bum was pretty sore for a few days. But it felt so good to get some exercise and be out as a family! We decided we need to do that more often.
Friday, January 2nd, Rachel turned 2! I HAVE A TWO YEAR OLD! I know I already posted a letter to her, but I just have to say again how much I love and adore that beautiful little soul. Someone recently asked “Does she ever stop smiling?” I realized just how blessed I am to have my sunshine girl! Love that Bean! We took her to the “zoo” which is really an endangered species wildlife conserve. It was a GORGEOUS day, and the animals were INCREDIBLE! We watched the gorillas eat lunch, popped up in the meerkat farm, stood about 3 feet from the orange lion monkeys, and watched the sea otters playing a few feet from us! Paul got some amazing shots…
We stopped by Gorey Castle on our way home to take some pictures. It's really quite stunning. Pictures can't do it justice!
Rachel had fun opening some presents-mostly art supplies and a Frozen Bubble Kit from Mimi and Grandpa Ru, a Frozen dress from mom and dad, and her own Frozen plate, bowl, and cup from the Beasleys! She was so cute saying “No way!” every time she opened a new present! She had a hard time falling asleep that night because she wanted to play with her presents!
Saturday, we were able to attend Mariah’s baptism! It was a great opportunity to remember my own baptism and to show Rachel what it means to be baptized! Mariah asked me to play the piano, and I was happy to try. I accompanied Sister Moorcroft and Sister Steffenson on two music numbers, and I felt the Holy Spirit so strongly. They are such good women, and you can feel the power of their faith as they sing together. I really loved getting to know them over the two weeks we lived with them. They feel like family to me!
After the baptism, I talked with a friend who got me thinking about my life choices as of late. He said he wished he had the faith to “say yes to life” like I had done. It shocked me, because he seems to live a very full and rich life. I realized that I probably appear the same way to him! From what I write and the way I talk about myself, my life might sound thrilling or courageous… and to be fair, it is exciting at times. It’s also full of the mundane things like doing dishes, changing nappies, sweeping, mopping, laundry, cooking, and spending a few spare minutes checking facebook now and then. Sometimes, I feel sad. I get lonely. I let myself make excuses to eat too much chocolate and stay inside all day. BUT I’ve resolved to SAY YES TO LIFE this year and see where it takes me. I’m not going to be afraid of getting lost on the bus system or feel ashamed because I didn’t curl my hair and I’m wearing the same thing I wore yesterday. Instead, I’m going to fill my days with all the good and virtuous and healthy things I can! We’re going to go outside more often and try new healthy recipes (and laugh when they fail miserably). I’m going to get out and serve people in whatever way I can think of, even though there’s not a lot I can do. I’m going to offer service instead of being ashamed that I can’t do more. That’s a big one for me. It’s something I’ve been trying/wanting to do for a long time and keep failing. But here’s to making improvements!
So, 2015-here is what you look like to me:
1. Eating a few more fruits and veggies, a little less chocolate
2. Exercising daily-dancing in the kitchen counts. Bonus if you can include the family!
3. Read the Book of Mormon and New Testament cover to cover. (and other good books to feed your mind good things!
4. Say YES to travel, adventures, and learning opportunities that come your way
5. Serve without apologizing
6. Keep trying when you fail at #1-5.
And now, a picture of Alice:
No comments:
Post a Comment