Christmas Letter To My Missionary Parents

Dear Elder and Sister Kindred,

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful day.  We enjoyed a fun Kindred family get-together on Sunday night.  It was great to visit with everyone and spend time in Amy's beautiful home.  I think Rachel really loved introducing George to everyone, they were all so friendly and welcoming to him.  The family talent show was really fun, Braden played the piano and sang, and I accompanied Stefanie on the piano as she played a violin solo.  I don't think anyone in the family had ever heard her play her violin before, she did a very good job.

Yesterday (Christmas Eve) was great!  We continued our tradition of eating Christmas Eve dinner at a restaurant, this year we went to P.F. Changs in Orem for some Chinese food.  So delicious!  George came with us, it is fun to include him in our family traditions.  Last night we had a little family devotional, singing Christmas hymns and reading about the birth of the Savior from the Bible.  This morning was the traditional opening of presents and a big breakfast.  Braden was delighted with his new skis--thanks to Kevin who hooked us up with a great deal from Sundance!  Braden also got some luggage, clothes and missionary supplies.  Stefanie's best present was an i-phone which she has been begging for.  Rachel got some clothes and girl stuff.  Of course her favorite Christmas present was a beautiful diamond ring she received a few days earlier.  Kent and I each got a few needed items, nothing spectacular.  We were just happy to have all our kids home with us.  With Braden leaving on a mission sometime this year it will be a couple of years until we all can share Christmas together as a family again. 

This week will be crazy for us...Kent has a basketball tournament in San Diego all week, the families of all the coaches were invited to go too.  Braden has a soccer camp in Provo this week, so I am staying home with him while Kent and the girls will travel to California with the Bingham basketball team, coaches and families.  They will leave at 4:00 a.m. and ride a chartered bus all day.  Their first game is tomorrow evening.  I really considered leaving Braden on his own for the week and going to California too, but that idea didn't last too long.  I am glad to stay home!  They will get home on New Years Eve, just in time for a party at our house!  We invited Todd and family, Tami and family, and Kevin so it should be a fun night!  I am looking forward to 2013 and know it will be a great year for our family.  We have lots of things to look forward to...Braden's graduation in May, a family cruise to Alaska in June, Rachel's wedding in July and Braden's mission sometime this summer.  Wow, big year for us!
 
We love you and are proud of you for your missionary service.    Love, Janeal

Neighbor Gifts

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is neighbor gifts.  I love giving and receiving them!  This year I bought 36 bottles of sparkling apple cider and attached a card which read, "Wishing you a "sparkling" holiday season!"  They covered my counter top for a few days until we got them all delivered. 

 

Engaged

It is official!  Rachel called me on Monday afternoon, all excited and breathless.  She told me all the details...they were at City Creek mall doing some Christmas shopping when they passed a lifesized cutout of George, on bended knee holding a ring box.  His sister had arrived ahead of them and placed the cutout in the window of one of the stores.   Rachel actually walked right by it without noticing, so George had to do some quick ad-libbing to get her to turn around and walk past it again!  The second time she did notice!  She stared at it for a moment, turned around to question George, and there he was in the same position as the cutout, holding the same ring box, wearing the same clothes, with the same big smile on his face.  He popped the question, she said yes, and nearby shoppers applauded.  Hooray! 

Several people have asked Kent and I if we knew this proposal was coming...yes we did, we just did not know exactly when.  Last week Kent and George drove down to Cedar City together to load up all of Rachel's things and bring her home to stay.  At some point during that 4-hour drive George asked Kent for his daughter's hand in marriage. Of course, Kent gave his blessing.  We later laughed and said it would have been a very long day for them if Kent had said no!  Haha!

Grandma Smith sent Rachel an email asking lots of questions about her fiance.  Rachel answered each question, and I thought I would include her responses here for anyone who doesn't already know...

What is his last name?  His full name is George Ballard Ungricht III.  Yes, he is a THIRD, named after his father and grandfather!

Where does he live?  He lives in Lehi, about ten minutes from my house. 

How many siblings does he have? He has an older sister, an older brother, and a twin sister named Hillary who is getting married a month before George and me.

When did you two meet?  We were both students at Lehi High School, he graduated a year before me.

What does he like to do? He likes to play lacrosse...that is how we met.   He is a very good singer, he was in the high school choir.  He likes sports too.

What work or schooling is he in?  He currently works the night shift at a bakery at a grocery store in Lehi.  He goes in to work at midnight and gets off at 8:00 a.m.

Will you be getting a job while you are awaiting the wedding?  Yes, I hope to get a job soon!  I have moved home from SUU to be closer to George and to plan my wedding, but I will still be a full time student, taking fourteen credits online. 

So there is the story!  We are excited to plan a wedding!  The date is July 10th at the Salt Lake Temple.  Exciting times at our house!

Christmas Music

One of my favorite traditions at Christmastime is the music.  I love it so much.  It is playing on my radio or CD player almost constantly, and I have so much fun singing Christmas songs and carols at school with my cute elementary students.  I especially enjoy directing my little chime choir.  We had four performances last month, they were each fantastic.  Here we are at a concert performing for the school. I have no idea who took this picture, it was posted on the front page of my school website!  I was surprised to see it there!

For the past two years I have "borrowed" the chimes and put together a ward chime choir.  This year we performed at the ward Christmas party, at a stake Christmas musical fireside, and in Sacrament Meeting.  So fun! 

Another musical highlight I had this Christmas was attending a sing-along of Handel's Messiah by the Mountain West Chorale.  My brother was one of the soloists, and he invited us to attend.  Wow, it was incredible!  I studied the life of George Frederick Handel a few years ago for a unit I taught my 5th and 6th grade classes, I have such great respect and admiration for him! It was really neat to be able to sit and listen/sing along with his inspired music.  A full orchestra provided accompaniment, and the audience was encouraged to join in. I have a CD of the Tabernacle Choir singing the Messiah, I listened to it often this Christmas season in preparation for the Sing-In, so I was familiar with much of the score and was able to keep up with some of it, but it is complicated! I enjoyed it very much. 

Also, Stefanie performed twice this Christmas season with her middle school advanced orchestra class.  She has improved so much.  I am proud she is developing her violin talent.  

Heartbreak

This weekend has been hard.  Friday morning at school I learned about the shootings in Connecticut.  When I arrived home that afternoon I logged onto the internet to read about it in detail.

I wish I could un-read it all.

I don't think any parent can hear about something like this and not imagine it being their own child.  No elementary school teacher can keep from imagining the horror of what must have happened inside those classrooms.   

The only comfort I have found this weekend has come from two pictures.  The first is of Jesus tenderly embracing a small child. I love this!

The second is of a classroom of sweet children with Jesus in their midst.  I have to believe he was there with them.

Quartet

A few weeks ago Braden was asked to sing in Sacrament Meeting with a quartet of youth from our ward.  They practiced a couple of times, and performed yesterday.  They looked so cute up there, I was dying to take a picture, but didn't have the guts to do it!  So I was quite delighted this morning when this picture showed up on facebook.  One of his friends took the picture and posted it for all to see.  Love it!  (They sang great!)

Reindeer Visit

Look who came to my neighborhood to visit?  I could barely believe my eyes!  He was just over my backyard fence in my neighbor's pasture.

 I texted my neighbor to ask her how a reindeer got in her back yard.  She texted back, "I am not home, are you sure it is real?  Maybe it is someone's Christmas lawn decoration." Umm...no, he is real.  But that would be the coolest decoration ever!

I watched him wander for a while, then Holly caught his scent, started barking like crazy and scared him off.  But not before I got a few pictures so I could prove my story!

I later learned he is not actually a reindeer, but a mule deer that wandered away from his herd in the foothills on the other side of the Jordan River.  So cool!  It made my day.