Christmas and Stuff

Dear Sis. Johnson the Bestest!!

Oh my goodness! I can’t believe that we got to talk to you on Christmas! Your face was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on a computer screen (and that includes Tom Hiddleston dancing (Thanks, Shannon!)). Your voice was the most melodic thing I’ve ever heard coming from computer speakers (and that includes J.K. Rowling announcing that she is writing the screenplay for a Harry Potter prequel. Yes! That’s happening!) 

Needless to say, it was great to talk to you. Make sure to thank the member that helped you for us. I’d like to think that there’s some universal missionary karma system where every time I help the missionaries here, something nice happens to you in Louisiana. Hopefully, the reverse isn’t true, though, because if it is Grandma really needs to apologize for kicking you out of your housing. (The missionaries no longer live with her.)

I can’t believe you’ve already  been out long enough for it to be Christmas. Sometimes I think of you doing missionary things like planning, teaching, knocking doors, and going to trainings, and it makes me really happy. Also, it makes me feel old, and I can’t believe that you’re old enough to do all those missionary things. Weird.

It looks like you’re doing really well, and I hope you continued to have a marvelous Christmas. We missed you here about 3.8 x 10500. Something like that…. Did you get my package? If you haven’t I don’t want to give away what’s in it except to say that it is awesome! I think that the scriptures that go with it are 2 Nephi 31: 20 and 2 Nephi 32:3. Anyway, it reminded me of  you, and I hope you like it.

 

 We just ate your jambalaya mix for lunch. We put sausage and chicken in it. It was delicious. I put generous amounts of the “Slap You’ Mama” and “Punch your Daddy” seasoning on it too just to give it a little more punch and slap. Let me tell you, I got season slapped so hard that my Mama flinched and my Daddy winced. I can see why you like that Cajun cooking. You should send more, or I guess we could figure out where to get it here. Thanks for sending it!  

 

Christmas here was great! We did all the normal things: Christmas Eve dinner here on the racklett (with Dad and Troy complaining about how long it took to cook the food), Christmas stories after dinner where everyone took part in reading (Shannon did a 2 1/2 minute abridged version of “The Polar Express” that made everyone laugh. No idea  how they got that back  into a 2-hour movie. Oh yeah, they did the same thing “The Hobbit” did and added about 10 more plot lines.), then we watched a Christmas movie (with “Christmas” being loosely defined as we actually watched “City of Bones” which was mediocre but had some attractive  men with cool accents, so it could be forgiven major faults like character development.) 

 

Christmas day was great. We had a big breakfast, opened presents, went to Grandma’s, opened more presents, played a game, watched “Despicable Me 2,” which can also be loosely defined as a Christmas movie because it is about people who might celebrate Christmas one day. This movie is totes going on your to-watch list. It is on the sillier side of hilarious and features a ginger who yells “Lipstick Taser!!” several times throughout the movie. 

 

Other than Christmas, it’s been a pretty chill week. I’ve been to about a million doctor appointments. I got blood drawn on Friday, and the phlebotomist managed to give me a huge bruise on my arm. I attached a picture, but just know that it looked a million times worse yesterday. Makes me look like an incompetent drug addict. 

Shannon and I went climbing at City Rock on Monday. She was impressed with how awesome I’ve gotten, but let’s be honest, who isn’t? Just kidding! But really… 

I was impressed at how strong she is and how willing to face her fear. There was one point, though where I sent her up the chimney route and she got freaked out 3/4 of the way up because  not only was it high, but the walls also kind of close in on you the higher you go. Acrophobia and claustrophobia attack at the same time!

I got new climbing shoes for Christmas. They are as aggressive as a threatened badger, which as anyone familiar at all with badgers  can tell you, is pretty dang aggressive. I now understand why people complain about painful climbing shoes.

They’re remodeling City Rock. They’ve completely re-done the bouldering area and are expanding the upstairs. I think they’re trying to put routes on every single surface possible, which I’m OK with. 

How was the rest of your Christmas? How’s the trio going? Have you found cool people to teach? Fill me in on the missionary sitch. 

OH! I started watching Dr. Who and I might be a little obsessed. I started with the reboot and the 9th doctor,  but I’m already  on the 10th. It is awesome!

Your quote this week is from Alfred Tennyson’s poem Ulysses. In this poem, an old Ulysses is reminiscing about good times and adventures past and bemoaning the onslaught of death and old age. I just liked this one line because I thought it pertained to missionary work, ”I am a part of all that I have met.” Everyone you meet on your missionary will become a part of you and you of them. I think that’s the best part of being a missionary, except baptisms, of course. 

 

I  love you,

Tonya