Merry Christmas!

Familia!

First off... announcement... Steven got baptized last night! YAY! And His less-active older sister came. It was a wonderful baptism, though it was nearly a bit of a disaster. Poor Hermana Russon was a little stressed. I was too, secretly, but I didn't let it show, because no body needs two panicked sisters at a baptism. It was just a problem with the whole program not showing up for a few ages, and also we had no baptismal jumpers for Steven. He's 12, but he's really tiny. We ended up using an adult jumper and just rolling up the sleeves. Then, the only other jumper we had (the rest were dresses) had a broken zipper when Pompo tried to put it on. So he was struggling with that in the bathroom for a little while, trying to beg safety-pins off of people and stuff. In the end it all worked out though. He got baptized and that's what's important, and his less-active mom is making lots of friends in the ward.

La Hermanita Diaz just got home from her mission to Argentina. We got to talk to her a little at the Christmas Party Saturday night. “Raro.” was all she kept saying when people would ask her how she felt. Raro is like weird. She looked a little bit uncomfortable and out of place. I was watching her saying to myself, “Aww... that's going to be me one day. How cute.” We made arrangements for her to come out with us this week, and when I pulled my planner out she say it and was like, “Oohhhh. I miss that.”

These planners are amazing. So efficient and practical. I said the other day that God himself probably designed them, and I wasn't being cheeky, I actually think these planners are a product of revelation. But everybody laughed, and I was like, “No. I'm serious.”

FELIZ NAVIDAD! It's Christmas this week. We are SO excited! This has been a really wonderful, oddly warm Christmas season for me. I told Hermana Russon about the Stained Glass Orchard Christmas story that I've got in mind to write when my hands are untied and fate returns the quill to it's rightful place in my hand. I clearly have lost all my writing skills, and will need to be periodically reminded when I accidentally use words that don't exist in English. All this great Christmas music that you folks sent me and also that I discovered here, has got me piecing together a soundtrack for the motion picture. Which is a little strange, since I haven't even written the book yet, and have no funding.

What's the song called on the CD you sent me...? Track 6? Really gorgeous rich baritone voice and the lyrics are a narration of when the Angel told the shepherds to go to Bethlehem? “Prepare and go, the Angel said, to Bethlehem...” Something a long those lines. I feel like it's familiar to me, but I can't think where I've heard it before. Probably as a special number in church or something... anyway, I REALLY love that song.

Home sounds so brilliant. Everyone's continuing in their common vocations in life... rescuing animals, singing Christmas songs, repainting the bedroom. Actually, I managed to impress some of the Latino men I've taught, because they'll occasionally talk about how difficulty tiling is and then I just shrug and say, “Yeah. Been there, done that.” in Spanish. I definitely do remember when we took on that particular project. I bet it'll look gorgeous, I hope you all have a little fun working on that.

Yeah, I remember you mentioned about dad's sabbatical. I thought only professors got sabbaticals? If you guys do decide to go to the grand canyon or something, do send me pictures. And be careful. I keep hearing stories about people falling to their deaths recently. Tenganse cuidado.

I ended up sending off a little Christmas package last week for y'all. I don't know if you'll get it until today in the afternoon or tomorrow though, just because of the high quantity of mail etc. Holidays, ya know? Plus, I didn't send it priority. But it's just got this rather nice picture of ME that I thought you would appreciate on an artistic basis, and plus I'm in it looking quite snug in the Tejas snow. And you can see my nametag. I really like this picture. Ashley, who works at Walgreens, developed our footage and then decided to redo the display, so now there's a bunch of pictures of missionaries hanging up in the foto department at her Walgreens. She says people sort of look funny at it sometimes, and she just chuckles and takes their money.

There's also a copy of a CD that I've fallen in love with. Track #11 is particularly amazing. I love it, because it's very much a Christmas song, so I think about Christmas and my savoir... but it also sounds a lot like the Violin bit in Serenity to me at the beginning. Plus it's quite dark and rich. Mmm. Sounds like chocolate to me. But yeah, I don't know when you'll get that. Or if you'll get it. Tell Chantal I got her letters, and I'm working on her Christmas package. I'm sending her the same CD and a Book of Mormon, that she must cherish forever. I'm also nearly complete with my story-summary-notebook, which I told her she could have while I'm gone, since she asked about what ideas I've gotten while I'm on my mission, I figure she might like to read them herself and send me her thoughts on my righteous madness... But first, she's getting a Book of Mormon for Christmas and a Jenny Oaks Baker CD. So is Brighteyes. I know it's not really a surprise if I write what their getting in here, but hey. I'm a missionary. What did they think they would get from me this year? I might actually wrap them up in paper and then write IT'S A BOOK OF MORMON! On the wrapping, just so the surprise is really utterly ruined.

BABY RATS! I love little ratties. I'm glad the kitties are more or less being good about the new pets. Diggy is so silly. I can just picture him sitting, totally serene and gentlemanly inside of the rat cage with the little sillies playing with that ridiculous fluffy tail he's got.

The Christmas program sounds charming. Silly Laney. Give her a kiss for me. I feel like me or Jensen did that once too? Did we? I wish I could hear you all sing! I was trying to figure out if any of the songs on that CD were done by daddy's chior.

Good job in school Jensen! Let me know what her final grades are. Would you do me a huge favor and PLEASE please please, TALK with Mr. Darcy before I get back?! That is, assuming that he hasn't moved back to England to marry someone named Elizabeth or Jane or Georgina. I love hearing of romance. So delightful. The thing I'm going to regret about this attitude is that someone will probably hold me to it when I get back, but I'll worry about that later. For now. I'm Hermana Lillywhite. Soy misionera.

Good luck on your Kung Fu test Jensen! And tell Chantal I said MWAH as well! You'll both do great. Send pictures of the carnage.

Well, I'm just going to end my letter there. There's tons more I could say, but since I get to hear your voices on FRIDAY! YAY CHRISTMAS! I'll just leave it here. I LOVE you and I miss you, but I've felt it again and again. I'm here for a wise purpose and this is exactly where I want to be this holiday season. Besito and besito.

Happy Christmas! Hermanita Lillywhite