Friday, December 14, 2012

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! 
May the blessings of heaven be yours in abundance!

2012 has been a very eventful year. We started out with a foot deep snowfall in January
which was great fun....for the kids! Grandma loved it too because she did not have to go out in it! 
Doyle has been working 1/2 time all this year with a three week rotation. I spent most of the first 8 months taking care of my mother who was in need of more assistance.
Doyle and I also continued our mission in the Daily Dose Program, teaching English two nights a week and attending the Spanish Branch.

In March we went to Hawaii with our good friends, the Merrells. It was our 40th wedding anniversary and so we had a lovely week in the sun! Mom's good friend from Pleasanton flew in and stayed with her that week. They had a wonderful time together!

The last week of May I flew to Houston to retrieve Ariel from her sojourn in Texas.
We attended the Houston temple and drove through New Mexico and Utah (stopping to see Micah and Becky of course) and all the way home to WA. It was a long trip but it so good to have her home!

June found my two good friends and I spending a few days together at Merrell's cabin in Sandpoint, ID. It is always a joy to hang out with the girls!

With Ariel home to care for my mother, Doyle and I were able to take a little time in July and go to Mt St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. The scenery was lovely and we had a marvelous time in the great outdoors! Something we have not done in quite awhile.

Autumn had her home leave from CRS and so we got to enjoy having her home for most of the month of August. We have certainly been blessed with some lovely daughters!
August also found us in Montana at our Brown Family Reunion.
 
It is amazing we got this picture...was a challenge to get that many "kids" to hold still long enough for a photo!
 
My mother passed away August 23, the day after Autumn left to return to Madagasacar.
She made her exit quietly in her sleep and we just feel blessed to have had her for as long as we
did. She always had a smile and her ready wit kept us all entertained. We all miss her very much!
How thankful we are that the Gospel promises us a future reunion!

There were 37 of her family able to attend the funeral services in Illinois.
Several family and friends from the Morrison area came and paid their respects as well.

We were released from our Church service mission so September found us in the wilds of Alaska. We took a cruise ( a different kind of wild!)
with our missionary friends from Japan. We have a reunion every year and it was exciting to see the beauties of Alaska as well as spending some fun times with our forever friends!

I flew to Utah to spend a little time with Micah and Becky's family the end of October. Little Cosette had just gotten her glasses and she was rediscovering the world around her! The pirate and elephant are ready to go trick-o-treating!

Haven is very clever and always comes up with amazing costumes for her kids too!

November found us on our long journey to Madagascar, via Phoenix, New York and Johannesburg.
Had an exrtordinary time with friends and with our Autumn. Learned a lot and enjoyed the warm sun!

As we prepare for this Christmas season our hearts are filled with gratitude for the birth, life and sacrifice of our Savior. We love, honor and do our best to obey Him. Our lives have meaning because of Him and we rejoice in that great plan that promises eternal life to those who seek Him!
May your holidays and the year to follow be hallowed and filled with peace!

Much love from the Browns!!

3 comments:

  1. What a year! You two know how to pack excitement into everything. We know that you miss your mom at this time of year. I surely miss my parents. We do hope to reconnect some time and see you again. Merry Christmas! The Gibsons!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great letter Mom! :) I sure do love you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! Is there anything you haven't done? I think of you often. Have a great new year!

    ReplyDelete