Birthday, Beach, Balloons, and Brazil

Unbeknownst to Steven, I decorated the house in Brazilian colors for his birthday. I kept asking him if he liked the colors of the balloons, but he had no idea what I was trying to tell him. We all drove to Seabright Beach and met up with some friends (Osorios and Davis). We played lots of games and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. It was an absolutely beautiful day. However, it didn't matter how much we tried to distract Steven; he could only think about whether or not his call would come today. 

 We pulled in to the driveway around 4pm and immediately noticed a big white envelope sticking out of our mail box. What a perfect birthday present! Steven invited a few of his friends and finally put his mind at ease after learning where he would be serving for two years. Steven Weller Zinn has been called to labor in the Brazil Sao Paulo South Mission speaking Portuguese. He will enter the Brazil MTC on May 9.

The rest of the evening was spent eating lots of cake and ice-cream and playing games. Happy eighteenth Birthday Steven! 

The Red Giants

So, a FedEx envelope was delivered for Steven this morning. We asked him what it was and he said that it was just his seminary transcript. I looked at the papers and saw on the bottom of the stack a travel itinerary. What is this? Steven said that it was just FedEx's tracking list of where the package had been. I took his logic as fact and thought that this was sent to him because he had just graduated from seminary. A few hours later, Dad was looking at the papers, because we were still confused with the whole thing, and actually studied the travel itinerary. He discovered that this was Steven's flight info to the Sao Paulo, Brazil MTC! Now we were more confused because his call still hadn't come in the mail. The mission president's name was also on the paper, so Dad looked it up online, finding out where Steven would be serving. He told me, but Steven wanted to wait for his white envelope. Sadly, and maddening, it never came today. I don't think Steven will be getting a good night's sleep.

In the afternoon we played among the "giants". 

Moana

I took Kirsten, Dave-o, Emily, and Owen to see Moana. I loved this movie! Disney captured the Polynesian culture perfectly. Hands down my favorite movie of 2016. Watching it made me miss Hawaii.  

Chunky and Lacy

 One of my Christmas presents was a box full of red chunky yarn with a pattern for a lacy afghan. This was fun to make because it worked up quickly. I didn't like the instructions for the border, so I made up my own. I love the finished blanket. And don't you love my model? 

Christmas on the MISH

Merry Belated Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! I definitely did.  

We were told not to proselyte on Christmas and Christmas Eve. It was pretty nice to have that two day break! Even though it was a short week for missionary work, we were able to get a lot done. We taught Dorothy and Mary a couple times. Mary got permission from her husband to be baptized! Dorothy hasn't yet though. We are probably going to have to push back their date a couple weeks, but they are both still super solid! We taught Jalay the Plan of Salvation! She really connected to it! After the lesson she requested to be baptized as soon as possible. Jalay is going on vacation for a week, but when she gets back we will accelerate the discussion pace!

We had a great experience volunteering at a Christmas party run by the Episcopal church here in town. It was awesome to join forces with other churches instead of being constantly being attacked by them.

 On Christmas Eve, we helped deliver Christmas "packages" to different refugees in the area that were donated by members from our ward. It was great to participate in this because a good part of our teaching pool are refugees from Liberia. The rest of the day was bouncing around from different members homes eating a lot of food.

Christmas was an awesome day! Even though at some points I did feel a bit lonely, I really felt the real meaning of Christmas. Being able to spend the past year serving others and growing closer to Christ has filled me with a joy that has kept me going! We once again ate a ton of food through out the day. 

Thank you all for your continued support! Remember to continue to LIGHTTHEWORLD throughout the rest of your life! I love you all!

I forgot my USB/SD adapter, sorry...

The Unrefined Palette

David took the week off and it's no surprise that he is using much of this time in his studio painting. He recently opened an Etsy shop called The Unrefined Palette and is looking into making prints of his masterpieces to sell. It's fun to see his progression. He sure has come a long way in such a short amount of time.

Presents, Church, Brunch, and Missionary

I love Christmas on a Sunday. After opening up some presents,we got dressed up and went to church for Sacrament Meeting. It was the perfect way to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Afterwards, we rushed home to prepare Christmas brunch for our family and a few friends. This is my favorite part of Christmas each year. There's something about sitting with loved ones, sharing a meal together, that bonds you. 

Grandma and Grandpa gave Loni dress up clothes; Tinkerbell and Sophia. Loni is so lucky to have a cousin to play dress-up with. 

Later in the afternoon, we got to talk to our missionary! Our time with him went by too fast, but I am grateful for the extra hour he was given by his new mission president. His last one only gave them 45 minutes to talk. James is doing great. I loved hearing about all of his investigators and his life in general. He even wore the mardi gras tie again. Now, only five months till Mother's Day.

Eve

Christmas Eve was a bit different this year. We broke from one of our traditions, which is opening our secret pal gifts before bed. With James being on his mission, we thought it would be fun to open them up when we Skyped him on Christmas day.

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner, which is always kept low-key. We ordered pizza. Then, Mom Zinn showed some nativity videos and spoke on the true meaning of Christmas; Jesus Christ. As always, she also gave each of the grandkids a little gift to open

Rudolph and a cute little elf visited our house. Now we're just waiting for Santa. 

Penguin Purse

 This wrist purse is the perfect accessory. I crocheted a couple of them for Christmas presents. Pattern is free at Repeat After Me blog.

An Angel

 Lonetta has traded in her red Superman cape for Angel Wings. 

For now.

Never Forgotten

Every neighborhood needs a Grandma. Our street has been blessed to have Lucy roam the streets pinching babies cheeks, passing out lollipops to all the children, and even doggie biscuits to the dogs. Over the past few months, Lucy has fallen numerous times (she's 87 years old). I have been taking her to the doctors at least twice a week for various issues. Her last fall did her in. The left side of her body was black and blue making moving around near impossible. Sadly, but understandable, Lucy's children have placed her in the care of an assisted living center. She'll be selling her home and living there permanently. We are all so sad about this change in our little community. I was in tears as we visited her in her new digs. It's a nice place, but it's not next door to me and I know she misses her home. She was so thrilled to show me a card that she had gotten from some of the neighborhood children. It was covered in stickers, band aids, and words of love. I am thankful for the amazing people that make up our little tree-lined neighborhood. Lucy will be missed, but never forgotten.