Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. Sarah and Glen were able to come the Friday before Thanksgiving which gave us time to visit and enjoy some one on one with them since we had not really seen them since their honeymoon. We had a new batch of missionaries come in on Tuesday and Glen and Sarah were so much help getting ready. They helped get the meal on while I was instructing. It was so fun to have them share this experience with us. Sam came that night and the next morning at Breakfast, Bill had he and Glen talk to the new elders about companion ships since they were companions in the mission field. They did a great job. Brig, Nathan, Marie and their kids had joined us by Wednesday night. Thanksgiving day was spent cooking and playing with the kids. Nathan went with Bill to be the  interpreter for a second interview for baptism. Our dinner was delicious thanks to Marie and all of her great recipes. She taught us how to put the turkey in a "brine" the night before so it was so juice and moist. That night the kids surprised us with an ice cream cake for Bill and my birthdays and a little video of everyone in the family telling us "one thing" they liked about us which is our family tradition. It was   of effort and such a fun surprise. The next day we all went on a swamp tour  on an air boat. It was a hoot. We saw 10-12.  alligators. We learned a lot about the swamps and at the end the kids were able to hold a baby alligator. That night we played games with our competitive group, but the competition is really between Bill and Marie. She manages to always beat Bill at everything which doesn't happen very often.  Saturday we slept in a bit, made Marie's famous cookies and got Nate and Marie on their way  home. After they were off we went to the "Laura Plantation" where you really get an understanding of the Creole culture of Louisiana. We met Bill for dinner where we introduced everyone to fried alligator and other yummy Louisiana food. Bill got up at 4:30 AM to get everyone to New Orleans to catch their flight home so he could be home in time for us to leave at 7:30 to go to Covington to speak in Sacrament Meeting at 9:00. As much a I love this missionary work and all that goes with it I remembered how happy and content I am when I am with my family. Thank you everyone for making the effort to be with us we are good to go for a while longer.