We got our son Preston here for Christmas after he finished his finals at BYU. He came in on Saturday, the 22nd. Every year, for the past 20 years at least, we have a Joseph Smith Birthday dinner on December 23. This is our family's biggest, formal meal during the holidays. We started it long ago when we saw our children getting bigger and busier and wanted a time set aside to just be together as a family and also to focus on the blessing Joseph Smith has been in our lives. We have done lots of different things to celebrate his life over the years. This year it was just going to be the three of us, and so I invited some friends from our ward to join us. Steve and Susan Parkinson and Steve and Brooke Sedgwick. We had so much fun sharing this tradition with them. Also, on a side note, our daughter Stacie did the Joseph Smith dinner for our Utah family and our daughter Andrea did one for her little family in Virginia. As we talked, we had all chosen nearly an identical menu. I guess great minds think alike, even when we are miles apart.
Also on the 23rd, we had fun following the post on FaceBook of the video we made as a mission where we were all singing "I will be what I believe" . I posted it on this blog as well. To date it has gotten 29,900 views, which has blown us away.
On Christmas Eve Scott went out delivering packages that had come late into the mission office and I stayed home with Preston and finally wrapped the few presents we had bought. That evening we had the most unique Christmas Eve we may have ever had. We went to a production at the Folsom Lake College Theater of a Holiday Drum Line. It was an all black college drum line band that came and played holiday music like we had never heard it played. It was so much fun, so much energy and it made Preston really miss his mission in the South. We then went to dinner at one of our favorite Sacramento restaurants. It was different, but good. We have learned to enjoy different and embrace and find joy in new things. For the traditionalist that I am, that is a good thing.
Christmas morning we had our Assistants, Elder Ricedorff and Elder Larsen, our Office Elders, Elder Dobson and Elder Anderson, and our office couple, Elder and Sister Gunnell over for brunch. We loved having them in the Mission home for the holidays!
A bit later, our daughter Stacie, her husband Bennett and their kids, Thomas, Charlotte and Caroline came into town. We love it when they come, it is always such a joyful reunion at the airport.
We stopped at a bakery, Estelle, for lunch and a bunch of treats on our way home. I was pretty excited about the referral I got for the elders in East Sacramento for the young man who helped us there. I thought he was golden, and Preston was ready to go teaching with the missionaries if they could get in before he had to leave. Unfortunately, the Elders contacted him and he's not quite ready to meet with them yet, but it was fun talking to him about the church anyway.
Our son Ethan and his wife Camee were supposed to get in around midnight that night, but their flights were delayed until about 1:30 a.m. Preston is a gem and took the late night airport pick up as we had our Three Week New Missionary meeting bright and early the next morning. Gratefully Stacie and Bennett were here. We are super short handed in the office right now, we get a new Secretary at the end of this week, and another office couple at the first of February but until then, it is the Gunnells and the Goodwins that are running the whole operation. Stacie and Bennett were gracious enough to go and pick up the food for after the meeting. It worked out well. One thing I love is sharing the mission experience with our family and especially our grandkids. The very first time they came out here last October it was over a Zone Conference and they came to part of it. Then last December Stacie came out for a few days with the kids and it was during our Christmas Conference. That made such a big impression on Thomas. Every time we talk to him he asks us if we are going to Zone Conference. When they got here he wondered if we had Zone Conference. We didn't, but he still got some time with the missionaries as they came to the Three Week meeting. He and Charlotte loved meeting all of the missionaries. In their eyes, they might as well be celebrities.
That evening we were blessed to have Taryn (formerly Hermana) Alexander and her family over. They were in town and we were grateful they took some time out to come and spend with us. What a great family, we loved having them here. It was so good to see Hermana Alexander, but it made us miss her even more than we already do.
We celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary on the 29th. We went to see Mary Poppins in the afternoon, and then Scott got sick, the kids were tired, and we passed on our dinner reservation that night. Ethan, Preston and Camee went and brought the rest of us take out. Stacie is so darling, though, she said "you are not spending your anniversary this way, I am planning your date for the night." She made us go in our room and watch my favorite old movie, You've Got Mail, and she and Bennett got their kids down, and cleaned the house up. It was actually wonderful and maybe the first time in 18 months that we have actually layed on our bed and watched a movie. It is great to have wonderful children!!!
We need some help with our hand hearts, but he is definitely the other half of my heart!
They rolled out of town kind of like they rolled in. Stacie and Bennet and the kids left on Wednesday, Ethan and Camee left on Friday and Preston left on Saturday. We loved having them here so much. Here is what the rest of our week looked like while they were here.
Thomas and Charlotte were pretty comfortable in these chairs, but they loved the paper shredder most of all
We went up to the toy store in Placerville, no trip is complete without a stop up there.
We spent New Year's Eve celebrating early with the kids. While we were at the office we decided that it was finally time to put to good use, the pinata Sister Richins made of President last year for Christmas. It was a little creepy to see him hanging there, but the kids had a ton of fun.
New Year's Eve came at about 8:30 for the kids. We played some games, broke open the pinata full of candy, watched a countdown, they banged on pans, and Preston shot off a confetti rocket. They were in heaven with the candy from the pinata, and the confetti and the pans. Once they were in bed, we went and got sushi for the adults and played a new game Ethan and Camee brought called Sushi Go.
Happy New Year 2019!
We played lots of games, ate way too much good food, ventured into Sacramento and Thomas' very favorite thing was swimming every day but Sunday.
All too soon it was time for the Rasmussen's to leave. It was so sad to say goodbye!
We got to go to the temple with Ethan, Camee and Preston before they had to go back home.
We feel so blessed to have a temple so close to us. And we feel so blessed to be close enough to see our family often.
The day we finished our last Zone Conference, we found out, at the same time everyone else in the church did, of the historic announcement (those historic announcements are becoming more and more common) that sister missionaries were allowed to wear pants. We had to come up with an amount of money each sister got in order for them to go and buy some pants. Sister Searle and Sister Shaw stopped by our house the day after Sister Shaw had gone pants shopping. She was the first Sister we saw wearing pants after the new policy and she wanted photographic proof of it. They are so darling.
The other picture is of Thomas and I with Sister Christensen and Sister Zheng who came to the church and unlocked the doors and helped me find my Book of Mormon that I had left there on Sunday. I don't know where my head is, this is the third time I have had to track down my scriptures, I think three strikes and you're out, but thankfully I have great missionaries and a loving Heavenly Father who always help me find them. I would be completely lost without my Book of Mormon.
I also have to document about the historic first week of two hour church. It was great. I love our Silva Valley Ward. There are such wonderful people here. They are good and kind and have deep convictions of the gospel and the conversation in Sunday School was really enlightening. We were talking about the rich young man who couldn't sell all he had to follow the Savior. As I sat there I was feeling pretty good about myself, because, although we didn't have to sell all we had, we did leave it all behind. But, as the discussion turned to 'what lack I yet?' I started wondering the same thing. What more do I need to leave behind to truly follow the Savior and come to know Him more deeply? It seems we are working for him 24 hours a day and at times it seems like all we have to do is humanly impossible. But that comes with a cost, in that sometimes it begins to feel like we are doing so much, we do things without thinking of why we are doing it and for whom we are doing it. I determined there are things I can leave behind that will give me more time to ponder and really let the Savior be my guide, so that I can follow him in every aspect of my life.
My daughter asked me what word I was going to focus on this year, and as I thought of it, my word is really two words. Be Intentional. I want to be more intentional in my relationships with the Savior and with my Heavenly Father, with our far away family and friends, and our friends here, and with our missionaries and with my missionary work and the way I approach it. This wonderful experience will be over sooner than we think and I want to make it count. To truly Be Intentional and enjoy this journey is my goal this year.
I want to thank everyone who helped make 2018 such a banner year. Our missionaries, our former missionaries, their parents and families who have been so supportive of us. Our friends at home and our friends here. And especially our family who supports us and loves us in every way. It was a great year for us. We got a new daughter in law and two new granddaughters, in addition to well over 100 new missionary children. We felt so much love from you all during this past year, and during the holidays and for that we are very, very grateful. We love you all and are richly blessed to have so many people we love so dearly in our lives. It's hard to express our gratitude for each of you, but hope you feel of our love and appreciation. Now... on to a fabulous 2019.
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