Christmas 2010

We really love getting all of your Christmas greetings. I am sorry that we are not as consistent with sending you ours. Our two biggest news items this year are: Ailsa’s return from a successful mission; and Todd’s release from the calling of Bishop.

It is fitting that Ailsa got to serve a mission to Spanish speaking people. After all she is our “Sister Salsa.” We were happy that she had to learn a language, but, were a little reluctant to just send her out to any old dangerous place in the world. Since her return she has filled us in on all the scary details that the youth of the Church gratefully do not send home in their weekly missionary letters. Now we know that Houston, although not terribly remote, is dangerous enough. One of her areas (Greenspoint) was lovingly refered to as Gunspoint by the missionaries. But, the neighbors take the sisters under their wing and protect the “church ladies.”

Ailsa picked up some good cooking skills and recipes from her friends in Texas. She can now make a pretty hot homemade Salsa (too hot for me!) This fall we had an abundance of tomatoes to process into Marinara sauce (a recipe from Todd's mission in Italy) and also Salsa (from Ailsa’s mission.) One day Todd came home from work, tore off a huge chunk of Italian bread, dipped it in the sauce and stuffed it in his mouth. Yes, he had mistaken the hot salsa for Italian sugo. And, no he won’t make that mistake again.

Last March after 387 years serving in the local Bishopric, Todd was released as Bishop. Not only was there an audible relief from our household, but from the whole ward as well. Truthfully, it was a pleasure and an honor to serve the Church in this fashion. Todd had a nice six week sabbatical from work last winter. But, he ended up with pneumonia at the same time. So mostly, he just stayed around the house, put a new tile floor in the master bath and cleaned the carpets, among other things.

Lenore has been teaching at the Prosperity Learning Center for the last year and half. She loves this job, and we feel it is right down her alley. We have noticed a marked decrease in her pontificating at home since taking on this role.

Jensen is at BYU and really enjoying herself. Unfortunately, at this point, she has plenty of credits. But, we really don’t know for sure what she will graduate in. She really has become a bright spot of sunshine in the home. She is lots of fun. We try often to remind her and Ailsa that to graduate to the next stage in life (the Mrs. Degree) they will need to develop relationships with boys that extend beyond the “parallel playing” stage.

Laney is fast becoming too big for her breeches. Last Christmas she asked the Santa at our ward Christmas party for, “harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.... And, world peace.” (See Miss Congeniality) She is a great student and regularly gets all “A’s” on her report cards.

We now officially have a clowder of cats in our household: Tom, Diggy, Bella (usually called Beller, pronounced with the British intrusive “r”), and Cissy. We have had to register as a shelter with the local RSPCA and obtain special Health Department dispensation. None of us has the heart to deny a new kitten or a stray that may cross our paths. And they seem to do so often.

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and hope that you take time soon to contemplate the special gifts of our families and this beautiful world we live in. God is great and has blessed us all so richly.

The Lillywhites