Ed and Lorie's Mission Call

Spencer's parents have been called to serve as the mission presidents in the Guatemala City North mission. We are thrilled for them. They told us about the call over  Thanksgiving and we have been patiently (ok, not so patiently) waiting to hear where they were headed. They report to the MTC in Provo on June 22 through the 26 and then they will arrive in Guatemala on July 1, 2011.

 Guatemala is on the isthmus that connects Mexico to South America. We are happy it is not farther south. Flights to Guatemala from Texas (where Spencer's brother lives and where we hope to go to grad school) are only around $200 a person. We may get to visit Ed and Lorie more than once!

Here are some stats about Guatemala from the church website. They are from 2001 but I couldn't find any updated information.

National population: approximately 11.5 million
Church membership: more than 179,000
Stakes: 40
Missions: 4
Wards and branches: 453
Church-owned meetinghouses: 261
Temple: Guatemala City, dedicated in 1984
Missionary Training Center: Guatemala City

Annual Thorpe Family Gingerbread Competition

 Sorry for all the Christmas posts but I need to do some catching up and we have done lots of fun stuff. Every year my family does a gingerbread competition- it is our favorite tradition and we look forward to it all year. We buy (and eat) way too much candy and make a huge mess but we all love it.

 Mom usually goes for a mosaic style- very cute Santa this year.

 Kara and Josh made a Christmas tree out of frosted mini wheats. There is also a sleigh on there.

 Dad always says he has no ideas and then does something awesome. This is his ski village. the little condos had windows and front doors with shoveled walkways.

 Al made a helicopter pad with Santa's sleigh coming in for a landing.

Another mosaic. It was cute, colorful and kind of random- a lot like Selina :)

 

My tribute to the Nightmare Before Christmas. Notice Jack on the left behind the graveyard. The Oogie Boogie Man (made of a green Air Head) is on the right by the Christmas tree. I'm not going to lie- I was pretty excited about this. Nerdy... I know.

So where is Spencer's contribution this year? It's right here...

Yes, even though Spence loves doing the gingerbreads, he sacrificed himself and took care of Reese while we all played. It was really sweet of him because he usually dominates us all with his awesome creations.

Christmas

We had an awesome first Christmas as a family. On Christmas Eve we spent the day at my parent's place. My sister Megan and her husband Boone were in town and we really enjoyed being with them. The Elders came over and had lunch with us and played dominoes and Chinese Ping Pong. Mom had made sugar cookies so we decorated those (we stole two to bring home and leave out for Santa.) We spent the rest of the day watching How to Train Your Dragon (loved it- seriously), eating way to much, and playing some games. We opened our siblings gifts that night- thanks to Josh and Megan for our gifts! We read the Christmas story in Luke 2 as well as some other scriptures from the Book of Mormon. We have a little baby sized plush nativity so we let Reese play with the pieces as we told her the story of the Savior's birth.
Once we were home as a little family we put out Santa's cookies, milk and some carrots for the reindeer. We put Reese in her Christmas jammies and read a story.

On Christmas morning Spence and I got up so we would be ready for Reese when she woke up. She woke around 8:30 (our baby is awesome) and we brought her out to see what Santa had brought for her. She loved her stuffed Elmo in her stocking and liked her car from Santa but is still figuring it out.

Her favorite thing of the morning was a blue bow from one of the boxes. She crawled around with it stuck to her hand and then she would sit down and just look at it. We opened our gifts from Ed and Lorie and Dallin and Morgan (thanks guys!) Before heading back over to my parent's house.

Everyone was up and waiting for us so we got to dig right in. Reese had the most presents out of anyone, so we were all helping her open her new toys, books and clothes. Presents are so fun- to get and to give. My favorite presents I got were a Whippy Cake head band from Spence and some bird pictures from my parents. My favorite presents to give were surprise Adidas to Spencer, a new rug for my parents and Reese's new Elmo. Christmas day was spent eating again (turkey dinner- yummy) and watching the Madagascar Christmas movies (so funny!) We played more games and really just enjoyed being together as a family. We Skyped with Ed and Lorie- we sure did miss the Watts side of our family. We are truly blessed to both have awesome parents that we love and respect. Our first Christmas with Reese was a total success and we loved every minute of it.

 

The Christmas Tie

My Dad has a million ties. He has worn a tie to work everyday probably since before I was born. Some people in his office take a 'casual Friday.' Not my Dad- he still wears a tie. My Mom has offered to get him a nice rotating tie rack. He said no- he keeps them all on a wooden rack and he says he has a system. Some ties have been given to him as gifts. Some ties are from other countries. Some ties are really, really nice. Some ties are not. When my little brother was asked to describe our Dad for a Father's Day project, one of the first things he said was "my Dad wears a tie."

My Dad is a wonderful man. He has worked hard his whole life to support his family, to teach us the things we need to know about the gospel and the world. But he plays hard too. When I was little, he would come home from work and take his tie off- that meant he was ready to play. I know my Dad was busy with work and callings and personal interests but he took the time to play with us every night. He is my friend and he cares about me. When he gives me a hug it is never cursory- he means it every time.

 

I told my Dad once, probably a long time ago, that this is my favorite of his ties. I don't know where he bought it or who gave it to him. I don't even remember when I told him that. But every year at Christmas he saves this tie just for me. When I would come home from college for the holidays he would wear it to church for me. This tie is one of the many ways that he tells me how much he loves me. I live closer to him now and I get to see him more often, so you might think small gestures like this wouldn't need to happen any more. But last week when we went to have lunch with him at his office he wore this tie again- just for me.

Happy Thanksgiving

 We headed south for Thanksgiving this year as it was Spencer's family's turn. The Watts clan does Thanksgiving in St. George with Ed's family, so not only did we drive 12 hours to Logan but then we pulled an extra 5.5 to St. George. It was worth it though. We were do happy to stay in Logan with Ed and Lorie for a night. They usually don't put up their Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but they had it all up as a surprise for us. Reese had to get her picture with Santa in their living room.

 Reese and Mimi (Spencer's mom, Lorie)

Spencer's brother Paul and his family came all the way from Texas. Reese loved her cousins- especially Ruby, who is almost 2. She would just watch her walk around and crawled after her all the time. All of their kids were so sweet to Reese and we were thrilled they were with us. Dallin and his girlfriend Morgan came too. We are all excited for that to become more official sometime soon.

 Reese and Ruby

Thanksgiving night we got a big surprise. Ed and Lorie always give us a gift that night to start the Christmas season- usually a book. But then they gave us a box to all open together- even Spencer's sister Lisa and her husband Ken were on the phone with us. Inside the box was a little piece of paper that read "We are going on a mission." We were shocked! They have been called to preside over a Spanish speaking mission, but we won't know which one until early March. We couldn't be more excited for them, but we will of course miss them tons since they will be gone for 3 years. We are already saving our money in case we need to visit them in Argentina or something. 

 Reese's first Thanksgiving

Spencer had to drive home Monday, but Reese and I stayed in Layton so I could see my 2 grandmas and my sisters. When I lived in Logan, I spent a lot of time at Christmas with my Grandma Edna. She and I would put up her tree and decorations, go to Temple Square, watch Christmas movies and make holiday candy. She loves Reese so much, so it was fun to do some of these things just the 3 of us.

 Reese bundled up to see the lights in Layton Park

 Reese standing up and trying to climb the stairs- which she did successfully several times

My sweet Grandma Edna reading Reese a book

So Thanksgiving was awesome- full of family and food and fun. We love Spencer's side of our family so much- Paul and Glory, and Dallin and Morgan are so awesome (we of course missed Ken and Lisa too.) Family is a special blessing, and I couldn't be luckier when it comes to my in laws. I don't even think of them that way- we are sealed, so I love them just as much as my own brother and sisters and their spouses too. And we are incredibly blessed to have so many living grandparents. We both have wonderful examples to follow. I hope your Thanksgivings were just as awesome.