The week before Christmas (Dec. 17-23) was busy and dusty! School was out and out-of-town kids went home, but we forgot about FHE here with the locals and started our "repair & paint the stairway ceiling and walls" project on Monday morning. FHE was a lesson, Christmas caroling at two rest homes, then back here for hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls (Brenda made a double batch that afternoon).

Our Elders came on Tuesday to do service. It was a really cold day! They helped Gary install a floodlight for the parking lot. Then they placed six 1-ft square stepping stones in the yard near the winter-time-only bus stop. No wonder no grass grows in that area - lots of students wait at that stop! Our district leader and companion (Elders Brazinski and Melchior) came to say goodbye - both getting transferred tomorrow. A quick dinner out together was fun.

After 2 days of mudding and sanding and lots of vacuuming, it was time to paint. There was dust everywhere despite the plastic enclosure. Sure played havoc with Gary's allergies! Two and a half gallons of paint later we cleaned up, dressed up, and were ready for the Sharing the Gospel/Mission Prep class that evening. They Elders taught their Taiwanese investigator at the Institute today. Gary started prepping the walls in the alcove. When it got puffy he dug down and found wallpaper, under several old layers of paint, that had separated from the wall. Lots of scraping, lots of mudding. Got the 12-ft. stair handrail cleaned and back up.

Thursday evening our Christmas "break" began (special benefit of having family nearby). We drove to West Lafayette in time to watch the BYU bowl win with Kevin & Bryson - pretty boring game until the end. The next morning was Alyssa's pancake party at school. Later we all went to a local candy store and watched them make hand-made candy canes. Now we know how they get the thick red stripe and the double thin red stripes on a white candy cane! Got a phone call from one of our students. Riley had just opened his mission call and is going to Fresno, CA! Brenda made cinnamon rolls with Kaitlyn. We played games, worked on a puzzle, built block towers, read books, etc. with the grandkids. They have an "Elf on the Shelf". His name is Zach. The kids are excited about Christmas and so are we!