Christmas 2012

The 2012 Spendlove Christmas began on Christmas Eve, as Calders, Spendloves, Flindts, and Eberts gathered for chicken tortilla soup and the Christmas story.  We took turns sharing a special memory from 2012, many of them trips.  They ranged from Camille's blitzkrieg through Europe to Grant's "trip" working on the Romney campaign, from Elizabeth interning with a German bank to Jonny and Jenny visiting Machu Pichu.  Lisa described touring the Pacific coast and Lake Arrowhead, Gretta and Dave mentioned their return to Burma, and Michael told about his year in Australia.  A very special highlight from 2012 was Michael Flindt's mission call.

Of course, Christmas Eve included Scott's family singing "Hang Up the Baby's Stocking" (with a new baby, Grant's Lulu), and Gretta reading Luke Chapter Two from the old Calder Bible. 

On Christmas morning, we gathered again, for nutella and berry crepes, and then to open gifts.

Kyle was best-dressed, in his reindeer hat.

 

Grandma Gretta laid out the grandkids' picture books, Toblerones, and chocolate oranges.

The kids scrambled to see what outrageous, unflattering snapshots Grandma Gretta had included, along with a few gems.

 

The Flindt and Ebert children shared the pleasure of opening and sharing their gifts.

 

Before scattering, we posed for a family portrait.  Michael Flindt is leaving on a mission in April and Spencer and Grant will quickly follow.  We may not be all together again for many years.

 

 

 

Back Home in Brazil...

Michael's friend, Juliana, joined us for Christmas.  She is from southern Brazil, of Italian descent, and a great cook.

Jonny spent two years in northern Brazil on his mission and is also a great cook.

All of us love Salt Lake City's Rodizio Grill, with its rich Brazilian meats and salads.  It was clear what our family party on December 23 should be--a Brazilian feast!

Jonny and Gretta prowled Whole Foods Market and specialty Hispanic grocery stores, assembling the meats, black beans, and farina for the Brazilian national dish, fejoida.

 

 

Jonny made the Brazilian limeade "limonada", and Gretta made flan.

Juliana made sautéed kale to accompany the fejoida and pavlova, a classic Brazilian dessert made of chocolate and vanilla puddings and ladyfingers.

The gang was all there, with Lisa's and Camille's children greeting each other like long-lost friends, which they were.  There was Spencer, Grant, and Jono...

Michael K, with his reading matter, just like Grandma encourages...

Ezra...

Sophia and Alyssa...

Emilie and Kirsten...

 

 

Annelise whispering secrets to Jenny...

Mike and Lisa...

Kyle and Steve...

Grandpa and Sophia...

and Grandma and Darrell.

 

 

And the party was ON! 

The Christmas Story

Jonny joined me on December 16, 2012, to teach the Christmas lesson to the CTR Bs in Primary.

Jonny told a bit about Chicago and a bit about Peru, from which he had just returned.  (Lillian's parents later reported that one thing they always heard about, from their three children whom Gretta taught, was our family trips...mingled with scripture.)  Jonny then read from Luke as my students acted out the Christmas story.  Catherine was Mary and Ben was Joseph.  Lillian hovered over everyone as the angel, with her striped wings and polka dot tights.

The Two Kings relaxed on their fold-up chairs, chatting with their camel.  (Jack wanted to be the camel, and the Kings rode him from the door to their chairs.)

A King then offered the Christ child something nearly as sweet as frankincense--a spray of Gretta's cologne.

 

Gretta sprawled, exhausted, after it was over.  There's nothing like a Primary class for a good work-out, spiritual and physical! 

 

Mission Call

One of the most dramatic moments in Mormon culture, for a prospective missionary, is opening your "mission call"--the letter from Church headquarters that tells where you will be serving.  That letter determines where you will spend two years and the memories you will have as long as you live.   Lisa's son, Michael Flindt, received his mission call in Seattle, in mid-December.  He opened the letter over Skype, so both sets of grandparents living in Salt Lake City, and an array of visiting aunts and uncles, could share in the excitement.

 

 

And he's going to...the Denver, Colorado mission!  Michael's mission includes parts of Denver, Boulder, most of Wyoming, and parts of Nebraska, including Scott's Bluff, on the Mormon trail.  Michael's great-great-great Grandmother Isabella Hill was born in the wagon box of a pioneer wagon while her family paused in Scott's Bluff before traveling on from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake City. It would be a great adventure for Michael to serve in the area where one of his ancestors was born, but it will also be an adventure to teach any of Heavenly Father's children the truth!   Michael enters the Provo Missionary Training Center in early April.

 

Another iconic missionary experience is the trip to Mr. Mac in Salt Lake City to buy your missionary wardrobe.  Missionaries are Mr. Mac's specialties, and they have everything for every mission, whether its white ties for baptisms or dress pants with special padding in the crotch for riding bikes all day!  Michael's Spendlove grandparents treated him to his missionary clothes and Michael's Flindt grandparents treated him to his luggage.  The day after Christmas, Dave, Gretta, Lisa, Alyssa, and Uncle Jonny came along to help the boy make good decisions.

First step was trying on suits.  Lisa handed over the gear list sent by the Denver, Colorado Mission. Lisa and Michael even made a call to Michael's future mission mother in Denver to clarify whether her missionaries needed to wear suit coats in the summer (no).  "It feels even more like this is really going to happen, now that we've talked to the mission mother!" Lisa exclaimed.  The clerk made suggestions--a pinstripe, a solid, two pairs of pants with each, as well as some extra slacks for summer--but Michael made the selections.  Michael had good taste--when Dave saw the itemized bill, he realized that one of Michael's missionary suits cost more than any suit Dave had owned!

 

 

 

 

 

Jonny was the expert on shoes, ties, and underwear.  "It's got to be Echo shoes," Jonny insisted, even at $170 per pair.  And so it was.  Jonny also made a selection of tasteful but stain-resistant ties.  "And then go down to Deseret Industries and buy a handful more," he recommended.  While Michael chose shirts and was measured for his suit, Dave and Jonny made a quick trip to Deseret Book to grab ten pairs of underwear.  "But what if he doesn't like the style?"  Lisa asked.  A gift is a gift...

 

When it was all over, Michael relaxed with Grant and Kirsten, Uncle Mike, and a good game of Ticket to Ride. 

 

Let the Revelry Begin!

The first two weekends in December, Dave and I worked like Obama and Romney the day before the election.  Our day of reckoning was December 22, when 16 members of the Flindt and Ebert tribes arrived, all at once.  We scrubbed the house, spiffed up the guest room, set up cots downstairs, cooked 1000 caramels, set out the Christmas china, and dragged out the Christmas tree ornaments. We also bought the tree.

It's a fun tradition, searching among the lines of firs and pines for the tree that is not too tall and not too short, not too bushy and not too spare, not too crooked and not too perfect-looking--just right.  We have the clerk saw off a few inches of the trunk and then rush the tree home to soak it in water so it will--this year, for the first time ever--not dry to crackly bones before Christmas is over.  Dave defines "Christmas is over" liberally.  It's perfectly acceptable to him to drag the tree outside once the presents are open on Christmas morning, breakfast is served, and the guests aren't looking.

The Christmas revelry began even before the Flindts and Eberts arrived.  Jonny and Jenny flew in from Chicago December 12 and stayed until nearly New Years.  On December 13, we took them to dinner at Market Street Broiler and the musical, "A Christmas Carol," afterwards.  Jonny and Jenny came home with us to show the treasure trove of handmade baby blankets, hats, booties, and burp cloths that Jenny's Grandmother Shirley had given them.  She even threw in a red and green poinsettia doily that Jonny and Jenny let us borrow during the holidays.  Shirley shut down her home knitting business this year and gave Jonny and Jenny their pick of the inventory.

  

 

 

Jonny!

Some things are meant to be.  Dave and I planned to fly home from our Columbus, Ohio visit to Camille and Steve Ebert's home on Sunday, November 25, 2012.  When Dave looked at his tickets, on Saturday night, he realized that he had booked our return home for, Monday, in the late afternoon rather than Sunday.  After a relaxing Sunday with Camille, we packed up Monday morning for our drive to Cincinnati, two hours away, where we were to catch our plane to SLC. I left my cell phone in the kitchen and went back upstairs.  When the phone began to ring, Camille looked at the caller ID, which said "Jonny Spendlove"!  "Are Mom and Dad by chance flying home today through Cincinnati?" Jonny asked.  He and Jenny had spent Thanksgiving at Machu Pichu, Peru, and he had just put Jenny on a non-stop flight from Miami to Chicago.  Jonny's Miami/Chicago flight had a 6-hour layover in Cincinnati on Monday, from noon to 6 p.m.!

It was a joyous reunion to meet Jonny at the Cincinati airport.  We drove downtown and ate a decadently delicious meal at McCormick & Schmick, an elegant restaurant chain which Kyle and Lisa introduced us to in Portland and Seattle. Even better than the food was talking with Jonny about his and Jenny's trip to Machu Pichu.  Jonny showed us his gorgeous photographs of Machu Pichu and the surrounding mountains, as well as of the five star hotel in a nearby town where they spent another few days.  Jenny had been sick, and we also heard tales of Lima hospitals and Jenny's lingering recovery.  In our turn, we reported on Thanksgiving in Columbus and all the adventures we had with Michael and the Eberts.  As Jonny and we split up at the airport, we gave big hugs and thanked each other for that good visit.