Email from Mom: Saturday, December 18, 2021

To: Christian.garcia@missionary.org
Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021
Subject: F it is COLD!

Hey!

How are you? How was your week? How is Papa Diaz? He is the one you go and see and get to do service right? How is your baptism for the 25th looking?

This week has been nothing but downright freezing cold. Like barely highs in the 30's and if they hit 30 it is in the lowest of lows 30's. Mostly it has been like 26 degrees...yeah, cold. It snowed a lot. So much that school was cancelled. I honestly was shocked. I didn't think after the whole Covid thing school cancelled would ever be an option but it seems that too much cold and so much ice, it just wasn't safe to ask people to travel to get to the school. The kids had an option to get online between noon and 2pm to talk to their teachers but Brooklyn was just thrilled to not have to worry about school. :)

B got her braces off first thing Wednesday morning. We had to drive in the whole lot of crappy snow to get there but we did and she was so excited. She has butterflies in her stomach the whole time and since we had a first thing in the morning appointment we were home by 10am. It was lovely! She is so happy to have her braces off. She had them on for 31 months total. That is a long dang time but her smile is so beautiful and that payoff is worth it. She has a couple of more appointments that will come up in the next few months for retainers, gum fusing/burning (so she isn't gummy like a few people we know ha ha ha ), and then to just make sure everything is in line to get her wisdom teeth out shortly after school gets out I am sure. Other than that it will be sure lovely to not have to have ortho appointments on the calendar and I am SO thrilled to almost be done with the Horsely office as a whole. I have learned a lot from them about who not to be and how not to be. I can be frustrated but in the end I am grateful to have learned some lessons along the way for myself.

B and I are still moving along on our Book of Mormon reading. She is funny. I wasn't sure she would be thrilled about it (and I don't think thrilled is the word I would use) but she is the one who reminds me every night that we need to get reading done and she is even retaining some of what we are reading. :) I am sure glad Kaitlyn challenged all of us to do this. How are you doing with your study?

I had a cookie party here with the Young Women, Primary, and Relief Society presidencies. It was fine. I wasn't thrilled as it got closer to everyone showing up but in the end I think everyone had a good time and that is what I was hoping for. Another opportunity for lessons to be learned by others. Jaci for example cannot show up to a thing on time. She was 30+ minutes late and annoyed that we didn't wait for her to start. Well...lesson learned and/or reminded that peoples time needs to be respected and we all need to be mindful and accountable for our own doing. In the end...I don't care if she was upset. Next time I will know not to invite her. Small lessons along the way in every single day so long as I will take the chance to look for them. Isn't it funny how life has a way of doing that?

I rode up to the cabin today to help Tyler get stuff moved in order for carpet to be installed after the first of the year. I didn't help much. In fact, not at all really. I ended up sitting in the chair downstairs and falling asleep. I cannot get caught up on what I guess my body is looking to recover from. I was so tired! Anyways, I ended up coming home and he stayed. I imagine we will need to go back up and get it all finished but today I just couldn't pull myself together to do much. I sure wish on days like today that you were home. You were always so great to be willing to help, even if it was with crappy stuff. Thank you for that. I want you to know it sure didn't and still doesn't, go unnoticed.

This week is kind of low key. Kind of. B has an ortho appointment on Wednesday and then a dermatologist appointment after that on the same day. You and Kaitlyn both have zone activities on Tuesday this week, Kaitlyn has P-day on Wednesday this week since she will get to go to the temple and do an endowment session, you hit 6 months on Thursday while we will be at the movie theater watching Sing 2, and then it is Christmas. This year and especially this month have flown by. I cannot believe it is already almost 2022!

What does Christmas look like where you are? Do they celebrate it and will you get to do dinner with a member or something special? Will you be able to use the money on the gift card we sent to maybe splurge on a special meal for you and your companion? I almost am jealous that your holiday celebration is simplified and not full of the fluff and chaos. :)

Well, I won't keep you but I wanted you to know that I love you and that I am thinking of you. I hope your week has been wonderful and that you have had an opportunity to find small moments yourself of lessons learned along the way throughout this week as well. I hope we will have a chance to talk on Monday and catch up. I am so proud of you. I hope you never have to wonder about that. :)

I love you for forever,

Mom