Christmas

Cindy was spending the month of December  working to strengthen her knee. Twice a week all month long she was in therapy and made great improvements each time.

The picture below is what the artificial knee looks like.

Once the concerts were done it was now time for the family activities before Christmas. We first had a Montgomery party at Mom and Dad's house in the afternoon of the 24th.

 Tyson is telling Maddie what he wants for Christmas.














We then had the Jennings Christmas program at our house that evening. We figured we had over 45 people in the house and we all fit. We had dinner first and then it was the program.

We started with some talents and Payton and Connor played the piano. 

 It was then the chimes, songs, pinata, all the regular activities and the Christmas pageant.  The next morning was Sunday morning and Christmas day. Since church was later in the day we had our normal activities of watching Maddie come down the stairs and be surprised.

The girls in their moose pajamas and our cute Christmas tree in a new old location.

Maddie happy with her stocking stuffers.

There were also gifts for Cindy besides her new knee. 

It snowed early on the 25th so we also had a white Christmas. 

It was a wonderful day and we had an evening meal with family to end a great Christmas.

December activities

We went to three different concerts during the month of December. The first one was just Cindy and myself. We went to  Layton High and saw David Archuleta and Nathan Pacheco. It was a wonderful concert and each has a great gift. What a great way to start the Christmas season with great music.

The following week we went to the Voice Male at Weber State. This has been an annual tradition with Cindy, Maddie and myself. We took Cindy's sister Nancy with us this year as we had an extra ticket and Maddie did not have anyone who could come with her.  Of course they have a mixture of powerful spiritual songs plus traditional fun songs. This is the Rubber Ducky song with the ducks being thrown on stage while they sing.
















The next evening was the annual family dinner at the Lion House in Salt Lake. We waited out in the cold. Two days earlier it was in the 50's and this night it was in the teens. Yes Nancy is with us for this concert also.

Once we got in it was a wonderful meal and then it was off to see the lights at Temple Square.

After seeing the lights it was off to the Kurt Bestor concert.

 This year it was at the new Eccles performing arts center. What an amazing place and the concert was really one of the best. We were pretty high up but had no idea how this place was since it had just opened. Cindy did great walking around Salt Lake two and a half weeks after having her knee replaced.

Payton's Baptism

Payton turned 8 and her baptism was scheduled for December 10. She had been looking forward to this date for a long time and was so excited. Hers was the only baptism that day which made it extra special. Cindy spoke along with Payton's other grandma, grandma Rich. Trying to get everyone rounded up for a picture afterwards was difficult.

We finally did it  but not quite.

One more time and we got everyone  in a group who was there to celebrate Payton's special day.

Christmas tree hunt

The tradition is to get our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving. This year we did not know if Cindy and I would join the event with her knee replacement a few days ago. She decided that if she stayed in the car this would work. The day was great and temperature pleasant and not much snow on the mountain. We tried a new location up the same canyon. We all got bundled up and ready for the adventure. Connor and Payton already created their own adventure with the twig "dinosaur bones" they found.

The others were also excited.

We walked into a grove and found a wonderful grouping of trees that we all liked. Cecelia and Cameron found their tree so quickly she made little snow creatures while they waited for the rest of us.

We all headed back with our trees in recorded time.

The next week was Payton's birthday and she is now 8.

We had a good snow storm on Payton's birthday. Later in the week there was a beautiful sunset that lighted the Ben Lomand. This may be the last season to have the views we have been used to for decades as a subdivision is being laid out in the open field.

Thanksgiving

The month of November was very mild. I was picking tomatoes and zucchinis till the mild of November. November was also the time of Cindy's knee replacement. She had dealt with the problems of having no ACL and the wear on her bones because of no cartilage to cushion the bones as they move back and forth
The night before her surgery we started the Christmas family home evenings at our house.

She went in  on November 22 for her surgery on her right knee. Here is the before picture of her knee.

Then it was off to the hospital and Cindy's preparation for surgery.

In a little more than an hour she was done and then another 40 minutes she was wheeled into her room where we were anxious to greet her.

She spent the night there and then the next morning she learned her exercises and was ready to go home with her new knee.

The next morning was Thanksgiving and we were so grateful that she was home and doing so well with her healing. Payton had to show us what she had done at school to get ready for Thanksgiving.                                                  

We had a wonderful dinner prepared by all the girls so Cindy could rest and recover.

After dinner was games and good time. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving especially to have Cindy home and see her recovering. 

The month of October

The first of the month started off with General Conference. Cindy, Mark, Jan and I received an invitation to attend the Sunday afternoon session of conference from Elder Carl Cook. He was speaking in the afternoon and was going to use some exerts from Joseph Skeen's journal in his talk and so gave us this invitation which we gladly accepted. We walked in a special door without waiting in line and then when we saw the location of the seats we were amazed. We got there early not knowing what to expect.

We watched as the church leaders and their wives entered the center and then felt the spirit as President Monson came in. There is nothing like being there for feeling and spirit. We were so grateful for Carl giving us this opportunity.

Of course football games are also part of our Octobers. Every home game started at 8:15 so it makes for a late night but we enjoy it.

We stayed in Lehi one night instead of going home and then the next morning went to Salt Lake and the church museum to see the new displays. They are wonderful and also have a good spirit with them. Afterwards we had lunch at City Creek. We set at an outdoor table to eat and in a few minutes some of the restaurant people and security started looking under our table. When we asked what was going on the said there was a bat at the base of the table. We got up and went inside. A couple days later we read that there were some rabid bats found downtown. Just our luck.












Aubrey's 1 year birthday was also celebrated in October. There are so many things she likes, but books seems to be on the top of the list.

Birthday celebrations are followed by the changing leaf colors out our window and dress up days for school.

That is then followed by our Halloween party. It is always a fun time to get together. We had a couple of themes going, Zootopia and the elections.

It was a fun evening together The next morning Cindy and I went to the Tabernacle for Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. It is interesting to see a full rehearsal and then the actual performance for tv and radio. It was so great being there. There is nothing like the sound in person and the power of the music.