This year finds us in much the same place as we were last Christmas. Jerry and I are still empty nesters. We live in the same home that has been our primary residence since 1986. We have had no marriages in the family this year. No one has moved or changed jobs or schools since last Christmas. We do have three wonderful new grandchildren born this year:
Seth Brian Carroll joined his three older brothers Benjamin,
Joshua and Dallin, and his parents Camie and Spencer on Sept 20, 2013. He was 9 lbs 5 ounces and 20 inches long.
Addison Blake Martin was born on October 3, 2013 to Sara and
Jerry. She was 6 lbs 6 ounces and 20 inches
long. She is their first child.
Brinley Kristine Martin joined her older brother Trace to become the second child of Kara and Justin. She was 7 lbs 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Her birth brought our grandkid total up to 19 (with our 20th expected in February).
Adam is still in Brazil preaching the Gospel in Portuguese and baptizing many people. He will have a lot of interesting stories to tell when he gets home to us on March 11, 2014. He changed missions and Mission Presidents without even moving. His area transferred to the new Brazil São Paulo West Mission. We are excited to have him come home. His time at home will be short lived. He plans to resume his studies at BYU-Idaho in April after traveling to see all siblings, their spouses and his nieces and nephews including the three new ones he has yet to meet.
When I said we were empty nesters, that is not completely
true. We have two 19 year-old
missionaries in our home with us. Elder
Day and Elder Forbush are wonderful young men, devoted like Adam to preaching
the gospel full time. They do acts of
service for us and others. It is nice
having them there. They keep the house
running while we travel to visit our parent, siblings, children and
grandchildren. We had two different
missionaries occupying the house while we spent spring and summer in Utah for
Gemie to study at BYU and Jerry to visit family members and be a house-husband.
Gemie was able to complete five of her remaining nine
classes. The others will be completed
next year as we do the same thing and again return to BYU in Provo, Utah for
Spring and Summer terms. Hopefully Gemie will have earned her Bachelor of
General Studies with an emphasis in Psychology before next year’s Christmas
letter. Gemie’s Church callings have been in the area of Emergency Preparation. She was asked to be the Emergency
Preparedness Specialist for the Plano 4th Ward. Then, she was approached by the Stake leaders
to be the Emergency Preparedness
Specialist for the Plano, Texas Stake.
In February the Stake put on an Emergency Preparedness Fair which was
attended by many from both the Church and the community.
Jerry is really enjoying retirement. He did celebrate a big birthday this year (60
years). He has been a big support to
Gemie as she pursues her studies. He has
been able to spend time with his mother and sister in Preston Idaho. He has logged in a lot of hours playing with
his grandchildren. He still exercises a
lot. He hiked “Y Mountain” several times
a week and hiked all over the Provo area while we were there. He is now hiking around Plano, Texas and
often going to the Frito-lay fitness center to exercise. For his Church calling, he helps teach the
Missionary Preparation Class in the Plano, Texas Stake. Before we went to Utah, he was the Young
Men’s President over the 12 to 18-year-old young men in the Plano 4th
Ward.
We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a happy and
prosperous New Year!
