2025 Faith Leap - Chapter 8: Happy New Year! (now 2026)

 2025/26 Faith Leap - Chapter 8: Happy New Year! (We did not ask for poses in the picture below. This is just how these 3 roll😍)

My second witness message this week came from "Four Gifts That Jesus Christ Offers You" by President Nelson. Closely related to the gifts I chose to give to the Savior (see Chapter 7), I especially loved the instruction that repentance in Greek is metanoeo - which means change of mind, knowledge, spirit, and breath. We debriefed this as a family and were especially touched by change of breath: Initially, that felt a little abstract, until we thought about the best practices for calming down - whether we are anxious, tearful, or angry, the first step in emotionally regulating is to take a deep breath. That action releases tension and helps us to see the distressing situation more clearly. What an empowering truth that something as small as choosing to pause and breathe is evidence of a repentant heart.

Highlights:

• Full-on Glutened = No bueno
• Bob is "Cookin" at filling the vacant role of oldest brother
• 44 mph winds, roaring thunder, lightning, hail, and pouring rain have left our beach unrecognizable
• Fort, Trampoline, and Treasure Hunting parameters
• Helped some new Russian friends practice their limited English with an afternoon of games, where we learned of an incredibly healing miracle.
• We found Rain Boots (in Chakvi 😆)!! And Miss received a generous gift
• Ketchup and Mayo are apparently an ingredient, not a condiment
• Our 17th Anniversary! - the kids treated us to a "Hotel" stay
• New Year's Eve! - Endless games, topped with 3 Clues and Mad Lib Toasts with Carson and Grandma across the distance, just before we lost power.
• Tender Mercy: Our house did not burn down

Prayer Requests:

• Batumi Family in need : This family is working so hard to do their best with their situation. Mom and Dad are divorced, but are still living in the same house with their 3 children. It cannot be easy on any of them to navigate the emotional difficulties that must come with all of that. They live in the snowy mountains near us and their kitchen is just a breezeway - so it is exposed to the elements - and has no running water. Mom has scrimped and saved this past year to restore heat to the house (they were without it for 2 years), and to fix the leaking roof. She is now trying to save up enough to move the kitchen upstairs and to have gas and water installed. We are going to drive up to visit them as soon the roads clear (hopefully Saturday). We hope to be a sounding board for Mom in figuring out what materials she has, what her projected expenses will be, and where she can save money by having branch members possibly help out. 
• Along those lines, please pray for us to navigate our contribution in the Branch with sensitivity and wisdom. Maybe we are too much in our heads, but we want to be careful not to overstep our bounds, while also providing perspective and experience that might help the Branch to grow. There are so many unexpected factors that lend to it being surprisingly tricky to know how to be of service.

Details:

Glutened, Gluten-Free, and Cookin'

I should have known better than to mention my narrow escapes with Gluten exposure last time. We purchased a food that we thought was gluten free (we couldn't get service in the Grocery store, so we weren't able to check, and I forgot to check when we got home). I realized my mistake when I was suddenly emptying all of the contents of my stomach. But, God used this mistake to demonstrate His love in a powerful way for me. As my stress hormones about the potential pain and permanent damage my misstep may have caused began spiraling, I asked Richard for a Priesthood Blessing. God acknowledged that it is difficult to avoid Gluten here and that He is the one who sent me here. He promised me protection, peace, and healing. A wave of peace swept over me, and I actually slept through the night, without any difficult symptoms. I spent the next day in bed - just to give my body the rest needed to recover. I have had a little bit of residual inflammation symptoms - which is to be expected for a couple of weeks - but nothing more than a minor nuisance. My God is a God of miracles.

Richard found a couple of Health Food stores that actually sell maple syrup and clearly-labeled gluten-free grains and treats AND a lot of the labels are in English! 🎉Despite the pouring rain, while I stayed home in bed, Bob volunteered to accompany Richard. They came home with enough food to feed a small army - Partly because Richard was determined to make sure I have plenty of alternative foods on hand for when we are out and about and aren't sure what is in the food, and partly because crazy weather, frequent power outages, etc have left us feeling we need to have a little bit of an emergency storage - just in case.

They had an umbrella, but umbrellas are not super useful when attempting to navigate city sidewalks full of puddles, people, dogs, low trees, and cars - putting two people under an umbrella is out of the question. Bob, in his hooded coat, told Richard he was fine without the umbrella and let Richard use it. By the time they had walked the several blocks between the stores and the car, Bob was completely soaked through every layer he was wearing. But he didn't complain at all. Richard was so impressed by his resilience.

It occurs to me that one blessing of CJ remaining at home, is that it has created a space for Bob step into the role of oldest brother/Dad's helper. As the kids say these days: He is cookin! And these purposeful excursions are helping him to be happier about our adventure. So it is a win-win 💖

Crazy Storm

Everything is wet and soggy here. It has rained everyday for days - though we have had some breaks where we've been able to wander out to see the aftermath of the storms. One night brought 44 mph winds, roaring thunder, and hail. (We've been assured that only happens once or twice a year - so hopefully the weather got it out of its system. It was wild!) We were amazed at how completely our beach was transformed. Where there were once endless rocks, it was now covered in black sand, with the water surging up into the stairwells of the seawall - a distance unimaginable only a couple of days before. The lazy stream we had played in was now a 15-foot wide river - cutting us off from the other half of our beach. In rare moments of calm - where the water has receded some - there are enormous amounts of new "treasures"! In addition to a paintbrush and broom (for playing in the sand with later), Kroc insisted on rolling a tire back to the house to turn into a mini trampoline. I have had to put a limit on the number of treasures the kids can acquire - fearing that the landlady will not appreciate her porch being turned into a treasure trove. When the rain is too heavy to be outside, the kids have spent their time building a fort and creating an imaginative game of survivalists.

An Excursion to visit New Friends

At the Branch Christmas Eve party, we met a mother and her 3 children - whose ages are really close to our kids'. They are trying to learn English, and want practice by being immersed in it - so they invited us to their home for lunch and games. The kids chose to be great sports, and ended up having a good time together, despite the language barrier. They loved meeting Liza - the dog that can never have too much attention. While the kids played, the adults got to know each other. We learned that Yevgenia's oldest child was born in a hospital in Russia with terrible sanitation and contracted an infection that led to Hydrocephalus. They were told that there was no cure and he would never walk or talk. She couldn't accept that answer as final, so she began exploring alternative options and he was completely healed using Chinese Medicine. She and her husband have since become practitioners. They lived on a large homestead in a small town on the Russia/Ukraine Border until 2 years ago - when the government informed them they had to leave, and destroyed their home. Hence the relocation to Georgia. As we chatted, we found that we have a lot in common and we look forward to getting to know them better.

We met a man from Ukraine on the beach a couple of days ago - also here because of the war. Richard felt strongly prompted to strike up a conversation with him and, as they talked, it was evident that their meeting was clearly orchestrated. It is heartbreaking to hear so many stories about people who have been affected by this conflict that they didn't choose. War hurts to many on both sides.

To thank the kids for being such good sports about us pushing them out of their comfort zones, we got them Shawarma burgers/wraps for dinner. I have never seen so much ketchup and mayo on anything before. They put Subway-amounts on every layer of the burger (I assume to hold it all together?). I felt a little like the family at the end of "A Christmas Story" - laughing at the oddities of the foreign meal be presented to them because they didn't know what else to do. We all held back giggles as we watched them pick up the bottles times after time. I was worried the kids wouldn't eat it, but they said it was actually a lot more mild than at home, and it was delicious. 🤷🏻‍♀️

That night, we also found a little market - right here in our village - and they had $10 rainboots! It was exactly what I had hoped to find, for the price that I had hoped. (And, now that they have them, Richard and Bob are grateful that I was so insistent that they have them. They've gotten a lot of milage tromping through the soggy forest, swamp, and beach). When the shop owner discovered that Richard is an American that speaks Georgian, she lit up like a Christmas tree. They talked all about family, we learned that she also has twins (boys - now adults with children of their own). She saw Miss ask me about buying a purse and gifted her a gold fanny pack! Miss loves it so much - definitely a kindness that is a highlight of the trip for her. 

At the shop next door, the shop owner gifted us 2 lemons that were in his pocket. Richard has set a goal to ask names and speak with people as often as he can. (The kids are learning no quick trip to the store is going to be truly quick 😉) Maybe Richard's friendly introduction is why we seem to receive so many gifts? Perhaps it is because it is the holiday season? because we are a big family - so we are noticeable? or they are grateful an American made the effort to learn their language - or talk to them? Or maybe they are culturally this generous in general?... I'm not sure why. And I apologize if I have said this before. But I am just amazed at how grumpy Georgians seem at first impression and then how warm they turn out to be as soon as a personal connection is made. We are finding so much joy in each little interaction.

Happy 17 Years of Wedded Bliss to Us

If we are being honest, Richard and I weren't expecting much of our Anniversary this year. But our thoughtful children made it wonderfully memorable. With the front-desk feel of the kitchen, grand staircase, and numbered bedrooms, our home actually lends itself well to playing "Hotel". So the kids checked us in to "The Chicken Hotel" - complete with a dining hall and theater room. We opted to upgrade our package to include laundry, spa, and room services. They cooked and cleaned up after all of the meals, so that we could relax. They get a 5 star review from us - highly recommend! 

Not to be mushy, but it's our Anniversary - so a little mush is called for, right? One of the songs we used on our Wedding Video was "Life As We Know It" by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. This is one of my favorite love songs. I feel like it beautifully captures the joy of our relationship - and it becomes more and more true as the years go by: "Life as we know it, it's goin good. That's an understatement - it's goin better than I ever thought it could. Never been so happy, so content." I literally thank God everyday for the gift of Richard. (The picture below was from Dec 23. The 30th was NOT sunny and lovely like this. 😝)

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve was Spectacular (in more ways than one)! We spent the day rotating through each person selecting an activity for the family to do together. We played card and dice games and, when I requested a game to get us up and moving when a little cabin fever began manifesting in sharp tones, Miss suggested we play "Would You Rather" - with each round beginning on the second floor and sending us up to the 3rd, or down to the 1st floor. I suspect this will become a household staple this winter. 

We introduced a new New Year's Eve tradition: before reviewing pictures from the previous year, we played "3 Clues": each person took turns thinking of an event from the previous year and then giving up to 3 clues to help the rest of the family guess the event (each clue getting a little easier). For example, Bob's clues were "Neeerm!" (Onomatopoeia of a fast-moving vehicle), "Body of Water" and "People who eat people". His event was a trip to Lagoon Amusement park (the boys' favorite ride is called Cannibal). It was a lot of fun and got us fondly reminiscing of wonderful family moments together. We loved pulling CJ in to this game with us.

And, it wouldn't be New Year's Eve without our traditional Mad-Lib Toasts - which CJ, Grandma, and my adorable nephew joined for.  As always, it was endless silliness - Richard will be forgiving everyone who chicken dances, Miss' mantra will be "You can never have too many toilet seats", Grandma will worry less about antidisestablishmentarianism, Bob is da-bomb-diggity - to give you a taste 😆. (Bob was there - he just is seated off-screen)

Our power went out part way through the call, but it had happened just the day before and Richard was taught how to turn it back on, so a quick sprint through the freezing wind and rain had us back up and running. Then, just before Midnight, at the exact moment we said goodbye/goodnight to our Utah family, the power went out again. And Richard got it going again. We watched some fireworks in the neighborhood (and listened to a lot more - most of the fireworks here are loud firecrackers throw in every direction - I suppose there isn't much fire hazard with all the rain). Then Richard and I kissed the children goodnight and went to bed. (They were determined to pull an all nighter.) At 2:15am, we woke to Miss' panicked call as the house was plunged into blackness for the 3rd time. At, 3:15am, Richard got a second fireworks show - this time from the electrical wiring on the side of our house when he attempted to turn on the power for the 4th time. He immediately turned it off  and messaged Mari to let her know that, while we would be fine for the rest of the night without power, we would need a professional to come fix it as soon as possible the next day. Our sleep-deprived children were bitterly-disappointed to have their all-nighter cut short - but what can you do to keep yourself awake without light or warmth?... They were also worried about the fire hazard right outside our door. So the twins climbed into bed with us - which translated to a complete roll reversal of Richard and I unintentionally being up all night. 😭).

While we were cold, we have plenty of layers, a fireplace (with a little dry wood - and more drying 🤞🏻) and a gas stove - so we were able to cook warm meals. While we were a little uncomfortable, we were also laughing - because, of course this is how our New Year in Georgia would begin. And the comedy of errors continued when the entire hungover neighborhood showed up to try to fix the problem (every single person's solution: just try again! 😬) (Everyone in Georgia drinks until drunk for New Year's Eve - and then gets up and does it again on New Year's day. Nothing is open because the expectation is that everyone is nursing their hangover) Thankfully, the Electric Company employees arrived to fix the job proper, using their professional tools: a kitchen knife, and electrical tape.🤨😆 Now our house is warm, and the internet is working (hence this post). We are just grateful that all of the wet of the week prevented the house from catching on fire.