Thankful

I fully realize we are 5 days into #lighttheworld, but I am far behind and I am committed to keeping this record of our mission and so I am going back to Thanksgiving for a bit.  But, as long as I mentioned #lighttheworld I wanted to add in this picture, it is one of my all time favorites.  Since it is December 5 and today we are honoring our parents, I wanted to share this picture, taken 11 years ago on my Grandma Vi's 105th birthday.  (I hope I inherited her genes)  I only wish Scott had been in the picture, but it shows 4 generations of people I am so Thankful for.  It reflects how my parents honored their parents, how I hope I am honoring mine, and how grateful I am for children who live their lives in honorable ways, which is the best way I can think of for them to honor us.  I'm so thankful for, and missing these people today, especially Grandma Vi who has been gone for almost 9 years now.  And feeling very Thankful for eternal families.  

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  Right after we dropped off our departing missionaries on Wednesday morning, Preston came to town on the same plane that took our missionaries back to Salt Lake and beyond.  Ethan had come in the Sunday before and then Wednesday night our nephew Greg Hymas, who lives in Palo Alto drove over and our Thanksgiving dinner guests had all arrived.  We had a small group, but we had a lot of fun.  A few firsts: First time the boys have gone swimming on Thanksgiving morning instead of playing in a turkey bowl.  First time we haven't filled several tables full of people, and first time I had to cook the entire Thanksgiving dinner without help from others bringing wonderful dishes.  And, because our group was small but I still cook big, it was the first time I have thrown out Thanksgiving leftovers that went bad before they were all eaten.  But it was great and we had a fun day and night and I was so Thankful to have these three here celebrating with us.  

The day after Thanksgiving we were blessed to have a few more visitors.  I spent the morning decorating my house, making the transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  I only brought a few boxes of Christmas decorations and I may have hit on to something.  It took me 4 hours (with the help of the boys setting up the trees) to decorate, rather than my normal 2 days.  I may be simplifying when I have my next Christmas at home.  

That afternoon my mom and dad arrived. They had spent Thanksgiving in Oakland with my brother and his family at my nephew's home and so they made the 2 hour drive over to spend the weekend with us.  It was such a blessing to have them come and it was so great to have them here.  I think it brought back a lot of memories of their mission to New York 26 years ago and it was fun to talk with them and compare the differences between then and now.  

About an hour later Alex, Allie, Hannah and Porter arrived.  Oh my goodness, it was good to see them and have them here with us.  I have missed those kids and Porter has grown up so much in the 5 months we have been gone.  We had so much fun just sitting around and talking and reconnecting with the kids.  I think it's like heaven will be, when we are reunited with people we don't even remember knowing, it is going to be like we were never apart.  

On Saturday we had such a fun day and a unique experience.  It was the Hmong New Year and there is a huge Hmong New Year Celebration in Sacramento every year.  I have written before about how much we love the Hmong people and we have a Hmong name so basically we may as well be Hmong.  And after this Hmong New Year, I kind of wish we were.  They are such gracious, generous, family oriented people.

Our friends, the Hers, are so extremely generous to us.  They brought us Hmong New Year Clothing to wear to the celebration.  They even brought an outfit for Hannah.  We didn't know quite what to expect, but the Hmong New Year was so much fun.  Our missionaries had a booth there but we weren't exactly sure where it was.  We had quite a walk and I have never felt like more of a poser in my life.  We had on these incredible Hmong New Year outfits, but our blonde hair made it evident we weren't really Hmong.  We had so many funny looks, wondering who we were and why we were dressed that way when we clearly weren't Hmong.  I even had someone ask if they could take my picture, we were quite the sight.  

Can you believe this jewelry the Hers lent us to wear? I was a bit nervous to sport around their heirloom jewelry and money aprons. And yes, they are as heavy as they look.  

 Hmong New Year draws members, missionaries, former missionaries and their families.  It was wonderful to meet so many former missionaries and their families that came back.

 The Hers treated us to a delicious Hmong Bar b que lunch.  It was so generous of them, and also very delicious. I'm looking forward to eating Hmong sausage and ribs again next year.  And the other picture above is of me with Sister Her's mother. She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Hmong, but she was so lovely. She kept hugging me and held my hand all the way to where we ate lunch.  She was so proud of her family, which she should be. 

Hannah thanking Sister Her for her beautiful Hmong outfit, and for lunch.

We did some other fun things while everyone was here, the Railroad Museum, Eating way too much at really good restaurants, playing many rounds of Liverpool, and spending time with the missionaries.  

Sunday came far too quickly and Ethan and Preston and my mom and dad were on their way back home.  But we still had Alex and Allie and we made the most of our time with them.  We still did plenty of missionary work during the time they were here, but that is for another post. 

We visited Old Town, the iconic Tower Bridge, Folsom Zoo, The Sacramento Temple and Apple Hill.  We had the best time just spending time with each other talking and laughing and letting the kids play at home.  Alex gets the dad of the year award, as he got in the pool with Hannah. We are in California, and it is warmer than Utah, but the pool was freezing and it took us a while to figure out how to turn on the hot tub without Preston here.  Hannah is a true polar bear, as she stayed in the cold pool for at least 20-3- minutes.  But she was bound and determined to swim.  Can't wait for her to come back sometime when it's warm and she can really enjoy the pool  

 A little silliness at the Tower Bridge!

 Folsom Zoo

Sacramento Temple

Fun at Home

Apple Hill

We had to say goodbye to this cute family on Wednesday, but they were able to come to the first half of our zone conference before they left, and they were able to bear their testimonies to the missionaries.  It was so wonderful to have them here, and we are so thankful for their visit.  Can't wait until they can come again.!