Twas the Night Before Christmas

I spent forever yesterday trying to get caught up on our blog and when I finished,  it wouldn't save and it wouldn't publish except for a small portion.  Oh the DRAMA!  So the short story is I copied the text and I have divided the post in half in case it was too long.  I still couldn't figure out how to make all of the copy the same size.  aargh!!!  It makes me warm and fuzzy all over again just looking for pictures and remembering our fun times.

It was so kind of  Flori's family to make the 14 or so hour drive from Georgia to visit us for the holidays.  Thanks, Flo.  We introduced the Christensens to Kolaches (a german thing- rolls wrapped around sausage, cheese, or ham).  We walked around the Sam Houston statue, fed the ducks at the Sam Houston Museum home and in general had a wonderful Christmas Eve Day.  Bea's special request was to make Gingerbread Houses, and so the girl's and I made a little Gingerbread village with even a mystery murder.  Don't ask!  Just silly teenagers enjoying themselves.  

Rob & Bea Singing Carols

Christmas Eve we had an invitation from the Payne family to come for a Swedish Christmas Eve.  It made me think about our Grandma Effie who loved her Swedish roots.  After dinner, we all composed and shared Christmas poems and then we sang carols around the piano and afterward went caroling in the Payne's neighborhood.  Home to bed while visions of Sugar Fairies danced in our heads.  We had a pretty laid back Christmas morning since the Christensens had opened most of

their presents back home.  We had Christmas Dinner at the Institute and did Face Time with our other children throughout the day.  I was actually kind of a mess by the end of the week.   Houston Art Museum Neil and Flori in the Butterfly Refuge - Natural History Museum Maddie, Bea and Rob Dinosaur Fun We took off early the next morning for Houston where we visited the art museum and the Natural History museum and then headed to our hotel to chill.  We swam in the pool, watched movies and generally had a great time.  On Friday afternoon after checkout, we made our way to the Curtis's.   Flori and her cousin Marci spent lots of fun family reunions talking boys, life, dreams, etc and were excited to see each other.  When the Curtis's lived in Atlanta, the Christensens lived in Charlotteand they had a couple of mini vacations together.  Since they both have lots of girls about the same ages, it was a great time for everyone.  Neil and I just kind of sat back and enjoyed the revelry.  It was so nice of the Curtis Family to host us and a great benefit was being able to attend Church with them on Sunday and hearing Marci speak  in Church.  It was a rejuvenating time for us.   Curtis and Christensen Families Out to Dinner with Flori and Rob

 

Final Goodbyes

We parted with Flori and Rob as they began the journey home through New Orleans, and we headed back to Huntsville in order to meet up with my brother, John and his wife, Lisa, and their daughter, Abigail and family in College Station which was about the halfway point between Huntsville and Austin.  It was so much fun to be with them and get caught up on my brothers and sisters and John and Lisa's busy lives.  We felt so spoiled to see so many family members in such a short time. Dinner with the Adams Family

Back to Work

We have had a wonderful vacation the last two weeks.  We have enjoyed being with family and recharging our batteries.  With the coming of the new year, I have been feeling antsy and anxious to recenter and refocus our missionary efforts.  The students don't come back for another week, so we are busy doing bulletin boards, planning and plotting.

Christmas was a different experience for us this year, but memorable just the same.  We were able to attend our first zone conference two fold.  Our mission has grown from 160 to 320 missionaries this year.  As a result, there were two Christmas zone conferences.  Neil and I offered to help cater the conferences and we had a great time.

One Half of our mission

Making 18 cans worth of pineapple sauce

It looks like it turned out ok -  they ate it!

Member Provided the Cookies

Mission conferences were just a small part of our school break.  We also had lots of wonderful visits with family.  Neil's sister, Genie Lee and her husband, Winston, arrived on the 14th.  We had been so busy with planning for their visit and the mission conferences that we didn't check our emails very well.  We made it to Hobby Airport with lots of time to spare only to find out shortly after their arrival that they were at the nearer to us airport, George Bush!  We finally met up with them and then had a wonderful evening at the Houston Temple doing sealings.  We loved exploring Lake Livingston and introducing them to catfish.  We also stopped at a few antique stores in our travels, but we didn't make Winston suffer through them.  Genie gave me a beautiful handpieced floursack quilt top.  We also ate at the Farmhouse Cafe which turned out to be their favorite eatery. We were sad to see them go, it was such a lovely reminder of home.  Fortunately we had the Mission Conference right after they left, so we didn't have much time to be homesick.

Cold enough outside for Christmas, even in Huntsville

Lees left on the 18th and our daughter, Flori and her family, arrived on the evening of the 23rd.  We became party animals!

Genie and Winston Lee

Saying Goodbye

One of the hard things that happen to missionaries that you don't really anticipate is losing a loved one while you are away.   As we were driving home from the temple on Friday, we had a call letting us know our "dearest, most beloved" (Patt's description for extra special friends) friend, Patt Brown, passed away.  There are some people you meet whom you soon decide you want to be just like them when you grow up.  That is how I have felt about Patt.  And since I can't be home to eulogize her in person, I want to devote a few minutes here.

                                                                                                                                                                                

 Aunt Patt

Roll back the history books to 1983.  Our family had just moved into our home in Canyon Rim.  I was expecting our 7th child, Tom, and we were trying to completely remodel and makeover a home while living in one bedroom on the main floor.  We moved in the middle of Summer and met Patt soon after.  I was immediately impressed by her happy countenance and general glow.  The Brown's became even better friends when Kay was called as Bishop and Neil was called as his second counselor.  Patt and I shared a common love of cooking and some of my best recipes are from Patt, ie., BBQ ribs and tunnel cookies.  During a recession in the economy, Kay's job was eliminated and they were supporting their son, Kerry, on his mission in England before the days of standardized missionary support.  Patt was looking for a job and we needed a secretary for our business.  Patt not only became a valued employee, but she also became Aunt Patt.  Our youngest son, Bob, was about 3 when she started working for us and he spent many hours asking her endless questions and trying to find ways to scare her-- it was probably the start of her heart problems!  One time, Bob told her that she was so old she would probably die while he was on his mission.  I hope that was an incentive for her to prove him wrong.  It made it a tender memory to know that she passed while we are serving our mission.  I'm happy she will maybe be our guardian angel and help us be better missionaries.

Patt told our oldest daughter, Flori, that if she would marry one of her sons, she would sew anything she wanted.  She also tenderly made a lace hankie for Flori for her wedding(it wasn't even one of her sons).  Patt was yellow through and through -- not the coward yellow, but the fun yellow.  She had the special gift of feeling joy in the happiness and enjoyment of others.  She taught me about how to keep a family close, be a great grandmother, entertain with flair and how to be a loyal friend.  She witnessed a lot of drama in our family of little children and also encouraged us through some hard times.  One of the greatest gifts she gave was teaching me how to forgive others.  I will always love my other "big sister". Thank you, Patt for loving me and being one of my dearest, most beloved friends.

Thoughts from Elder LeBaron

Krystin Ulassin (18) was baptized a member on 1 Dec, 2013.  She had taken the discussions a year ago and has been coming to church ever since.  Her Catholic mother wanted Kristin to wait until she was 18 to join the church.  She has been coming every week just waiting for the day she could be baptized.   She spoke today in church and it was amazing.  Another girl, Zarena, was baptized in Madisonville yesterday.  We had specialized training last Saturday in Huntsville (11 Dec 2013).  We drove the three Spanish speaking Sisters over from Huntsville so they could save on their allotted mileage.  One of the sisters said that having us here was like having parents in Huntsville which made us feel good because she could have said, “Grandparents.”   We bought a Christmas tree stand at Goodwill that we gave to the sisters who needed it for a real tree they purchased.  They were more grateful than we deserved.

Sister LeBaron made rice bags (in orange SHSU colors) for every student, missionary and some of the mission couples.  She cooks virtually every day.  When the timer on the oven goes off, I think that the sound is broadcast on campus.  “If you bake it, they will come.”

In the MTC, we were told that the prophet said that we (the senior mission couples) were the best the church had – and then they added that the prophet also said, “Actually, you’re all we have.”

We sent our Christmas cards this week.  If you didn't get one, send me your address - neillebaron@comcast.net, and I will mail one to you.  We actually have 450 of them.  When Ruth Ann went to have them printed at Walmart, she had some problems and went to the customer service area.  The clerk kept telling her they were just downloading and then he would check his printer and there would be no pictures so he would push print again.  He did that three times before he decided to check the printer in the customer area.  He sheepishly came back with 450 cards and didn't charge her anything . . . of course, she was there for 3 hours  We tend to send a lot of Christmas greetings because we have lived in five stakes and have scattered friends and family in other states and countries, but short of grabbing people by the lapels and begging them to take a card, we do have quite a few left.

The work is challenging and we feel inadequate but, at the same time, richly blessed and we do "have desires to serve God."  Mosiah 2:41  "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual, ..."

Thanks for your updates to blogs, Instagram, facetime calls, etc.  We love you and pray for you all.

Mission Life

Last Wednesday was a highlight for me because we were able to attend our first Zone Mtg.  Zone meetings are usually held on Wednesdays right when I am teaching my Book of Mormon class, so we usually miss out.  Last week was dead week on campus and so we headed to Madisonville, about 45 min. away for zone training.  I loved every minute of it, but had to do a mental evaluation of the myriad ways I can improve as a missionary.  Not a big guilt trip, but a good way to see how I can better consecrate my life -- same struggle we all have.  It was another small miracle of feeding our 5,000
(ok, 26 missionaries)  I made a braided cherry bread tree not realizing we would be such a big group.  I felt like I was cutting up the sweet roll into 2" squares, but everyone who wanted some had one and there was even one left over.

College Station Zone 2

Friday morning we invited the Sister Missionaries to come over to make 2 receiving blankets for a set of twins in a family they are teaching.  Sister Gutierrez also wanted to make rice bags for her family since she is going home on January 1 along with Elder Smith and Elder Schiffman of our district.

Neil and I love being the home away home and parents away from parents for so many of the students and missionaries.  It feels like an important aspect of our mission to nurture others.

I had the opportunity on Saturday to attend a Baptist Women Luncheon.  It was very nice and a great way to meet more women in the community.  Each table had a hostess who decorated and set their table. . . Relief Society Christmas Activity memory?  I love that women are pretty much the same in most settings!

Angie Taylor works with the Student Activities Dept. at SHSU and came to speak at one of our Friday Forums.  I really appreciated her invitation to the luncheon.  We left after the luncheon to go to Houston to pick up Neil's sister, Genie, and her husband, Winston Lee.  Somehow we got confused on our calendar and went to Hobby Airport in South Houston instead of Bush Airport in North Houston.  No wonder we couldn't find them at the arrivals door.  Poor things, they had to wait an extra hour for us to make the journey to the right place!  Good thing they have a sense of humor.  We went straight to the Houston Temple and did sealings.  What a special time.  Almost every time we go, we meet either a long lost relative or someone who has a connection to us or someone we know.  Last night we met a niece of Uncle Lynn and Aunt Lila Zemp (LeBaron side).

I think Genie looks especially pretty in this photo.  For those who knew Neil's mother, Floss, Genie could be her twin!

Let Your Soul Delight in Fatness

Delight in the "Fatness" of our Savior

The title of this post comes from 2 Nephi 9:51.  It usually refers to "Feasting" on the words of Christ, but as I read those words today, it made me think about Christmas.  If asked about the meaning of Christmas, most of us could give a great commentary on all the things Christmas represents.  In the anxiety, excitement and celebration we usually know "about" Christmas, but do we know and feel the joy of this wonderful gift?  Do we "know" Christ?  I feel like I fit in the first category most of the time, but this Christmas I feel I have been given the opportunity to move into the second group -- or at least to stand on the sidelines of those who do know.  This mission experience has been such a growing and nourishing time for me personally.  Being on a mission is a little bit of a cocoon that isn't always realistic for most of us in regular life, but I hope I will permanently be a changed person.  I decided to concentrate my studies this month on the end of Helaman through 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon along with the four gospels in the New Testament.  It has been  edifying and strengthening to me.

We have just finished the semester at the Institute.  Finals were last week and now most of the students have left for home.  We had some great final activities.  Things will be pretty quiet at the Institute until the middle of January, so we will be concentrating on our preparations for next semester.  There is a lot of enthusiasm for our Provident Living/Cooking class, so I am looking forward to that.

Bringing Christmas to the Institute

Greeting Sammy, the Bearkat

Sisters Vann & LeBaron filling rice bags

 Rice and Corn Bags

We had a lot of fun making rice bags for each of the students.  It made it a little more meaningful to have them out of the school colors.  We made about thirty of them and used deer corn to fill most of them, so I hope they don't attract too many deer from the forest.  Sister Vann is always a good sport to help me out with my many hare(or deer) brain ideas.

Neil, the Wise Man w/ Caesar in the Background

 In addition to winding up the semester, we also had the opportunity to participate in an interfaith production of Journey thru Bethlehem that was held at the county fair grounds.  It involves several hundred people and was attended by almost 1,000 visitors.  Attendance was down because of rain and icy winds but it was an awesome(pardon that word, but it is very descriptive of all the amazing things it included)  They had census taking, Caesar Augustus, shepherds, wise men, King Herod's court, a Mormon Bishop aka rabbit, a synogogue, fabric dyers, wool carders and hand spinners, bread shoppes, toy shoppes, spice stall, nativity and more.  Everyone was in a period costume.  Neil and I were census takers.  Originally Neil was going to be a wise man, but apparently you can have too many wise men or in Neil's case, wise guys.   (Neil's take on JTB)  I spent one afternoon helping them moved painted wall panels, props, furniture, costumes, rugs, fake plants, a huge potter’s wheel, etc. (five big flatbed trucks full + a box van full of stuff)  I was a wiseman at first but there were ten wisemen so I was the odd man out, so to speak.  The Huntsville bishop, Scott Bumbaugh (the Jewish Rabbi) said: “I hate to say this Elder LeBaron but you look like you just stepped out of the shower.”  I did feel like an “odd man” so quickly changed out of my velvet dress into the garb of a tax collector.  It was a cold evening but about 400 people braved the weather (33 degrees) that night.  I was at the table with a young ward member who said to an incoming group: “Welcome to Bethlehem, come in and add your name to the senseless form” (Census Form).  I thought it may be a Freudian, political commentary.  (I’d like to challenge that.)   The Bishop played the part of the Jewish Rabbi so convincingly that most of Huntsville thinks that he is Jewish.  Robert Williams who heads the Journey Through Bethlehem committee, coordinated all of the set up, (I spent several hours helping to load sets) costuming, staging, food, takedown, etc.  He is a doctor who works for the prison system.  His wife, Karen, is also a doctor and is the daughter of James Olson, the Heritage Branch president.  Robert asked one little boy what he like the best about Journey Through Bethlehem.  The boy said: “When I found Jesus.”

Bishop Bumbaugh and Bro. Williams

Elder Field and James Taylor ( LDSSA Pres.)

Sets for the Event

 Census Takers

Elder Smith, Sister Gutierrez, Sister Seymour, Sister Hosking and Elder LeB

For His Eye is on the Sparrow and I know He watches me

I am sitting at my desk at the institute checking emails, making plans, taking breaks to tie baby quilts and now catching up on our blog.  In our devotional this morning, we read from Alma 5:14-15.  I feel the beginnings of a mighty change in my heart that sometimes seems just out of reach, but in view.  I begin to see the value of patience and the need to trust in the Lord's time and not just what I think should be happening in my life and efforts.  In short, I'm like everyone else just trying to get it right, without doing too much damage while I am in the process.  So much for me!  This is dad now.  I am more like the agency motto that President Marshall said that they had at their advertising agency; "Seldom right -- never in doubt."

We have been busy with lots of Institute activities and plans.  On November 13th, we planned a service project for one of the family ward members.  The Paynes had a 100-year-old Post Oak tip over in a big rainstorm last month and we wanted to help move the chopped up tree.   We moved a ton of brush and dried leaves. When it got too dark to work and the fire had burned down some, we had a hot dog and marshmallow roast and visited around the fire.  Elder Neil called it "No [Bro.] Payne, no Gain!"

Brother Payne transporting wood

Moving and shaking

First load burning!

Lily Jean

It was while we were at the Payne's that we had exciting news.  Our daughter, Maggie, had a beautiful baby girl, Lily Jean, on Nov. 14th.  I left the next afternoon, after our Friday Forum and lunch, for Decatur to help out for a few days.  It was so wonderful to be with Maggie and Justin and family.  I cooked and played and generally wore myself out.  I am definitely not as spry as I once was, but I loved every minute of it.  Gracie and Gunner are

My first meeting !

in school each day, so Maisy and I hung out. She makes me laugh.  She is my little miracle child and is wiry and crazy.  It always throws me a little because she looks so much like her cousin, Isabel, only Isabel has beautiful dark brown hair - so it is quite a contrast to an almost white blonde.  I need to get a picture of the two of them together.  I always hoped for curly haired children and then I also got some curly haired grandchildren as a grand prize!  Every time I tried to get Maisy to look up at me for a photo, I would get her focused and then, as I would push the button, she would look down again at the ipad.   It was fun watching Maisy play 

Mr. Potato Head on the ipad.  She figured out new things to do with it that I didn't even know existed.  I guess we know who are the ones to rule the new world.  I love the picture below of me holding Lily in my apron.  It is a symbol to me of two of the things I love best--grandchildren and cooking for others.

This is getting longer than I intended it to be, but I just wanted to mention two more things.  It poured rain last Friday for our service project of making baby quilts, so instead of setting up on campus, we ended up setting up quilts at the Institute.  We served Grilled Teryaki Turkey which was something new for most of the group.  Kind, Brother Ballew from the Branch Presidency came to be our outdoor chef on our new donated BBQ grill.  We are also going to use it tonight for hot dogs at FHE.

The amazing Elder LeBaron

Elder LeBaron continues to amaze students with all of his domestic skills.  I think it is a great role model for them to see a man who is so supportive of his wife.  Yes, we are still crazy in love!

The final picture is of somethings I have fallen in love with in Texas!  They have some of the most expressive clouds I have ever seen.  I love to look up each day and see what new picture has been created for my enjoyment.  It can be blue, clear sky in the morning and then look like this an hour later.  So many layers--just like our lives, eh?

Sunset comes to Huntsville