Youth Conference

Not much snow so far his year, which allowed Sarah to write a New Years greeting on our driveway in January. The rainbow platter is from our New Years day dinner. Cornish Game hens rounded out the meal. Will loved dissecting his bird.

Every other year our ward holds a youth conference. When I was bishop we decided to try January on the semester break which gives every student in the Nebo School district a Friday off. In the past we have enjoyed 2 1/2 days at Aspen Grove (cross country skiing, tubing, etc.), but this year budget restraints and a lack of snow brought about a change of venue. We held the daily events in out ward building and in the evening the 12 young men slept in the Emmett basement (it took some cleaning to get ready!) and the 17 young women slept in the Bowers basement down the street. The theme of the conference comes from Alma 37:6 which states: ",,, by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.." On Thursday night we had dinner and played games. Friday (while I was teaching classes) they all went up to Solider Hollow for tubing. That night we had a fireside with Ben Knowlton, built a huge domino course all over the cultural hall floor (illustrating small things doing big things) and then we watched the movie "How to train your dragon." A fun movie that also illustrated the theme. Sarah is on the back row second from the right. I am on the second to back row first on the left.

Saturday we all visited the Art City Care and Rehabilitation Center. The youth were divided into groups of three (plus one leader) to go and visit with nine of the residents. They were to visit about their lives and about how small and simple decisions and choices had helped them along the way. It turned out to be a great experience. The youth learned a lot and the residents had fun talking about what it was like growing up, their families, decisions they had made etc. We ended by sitting on the cultural hall floor and sharing testimonies, experiences and lessons learned. (Final duty was to give the church building its weekly cleaning--all of the youth jumped in and helped and we were done in no time)

A farewell chant of emua--which means press forward. The back of the t-shirt illustrates the front formula: S + S = G. It shows a tree and roots then has in black and white these words: small + simple equals GREAT. On the E and T are a sun and a drop of water--illustrating the small and simple ingredients to growing a great tree. It is amazing to see the devotion and hard word of the Young Men and Young Women leaders (and their spouses) who cleaned homes, cooked food, organized great activities, designed t-shirts, took time off work, and helped the youth to have a wonderful experience.

Christmas Celebrations

The start of the Christmas Posada at Aunt Anna's, with Joel as Joseph. The Holy Family goes from room to room searching for a place to stay but each Inn keeper (the aunts and uncles) give some flimsy excuse: "We have a wild dog in here." "I'm too busy reading the scriptures about the Messiah to help someone in need." "I have a growth on my head." "I'm not dressed (literally)." (photos by Chad, Text mostly by Sarah)

Cousin Katie as Mary and her "Donkey".

Will, a wise man was upgraded from shepherd to wise man. This is one of the first years the boys haven't been shepherds.

Finally some nice inn keepers who will let the holy family stay.

Most of the nativity costumes used in both families are a collection gathered over multiple trips to the Holy Land (red kaffiyeh), a trip to Morocco (blue and lavender robes) and even a few batik bathrobes from Indonesia (maroon and black above)

Grandma and Grandpa Tueller as the Kind innkeepers.

The nativity scene complete with a very holy angel choir.

The Holy Family

Reading Luke 2

The Angel dance, which was initiated as a family tradition last year, was not as sophisticated as last year, due to a lack of "angelic" music. This years performance was to rockin' around the Christmas tree"

The wave

Grandma Jean rockin.

Dancing Aunts

These guys weren't as enthusiastic about feliz navidad

Will at the gift exchange

Uncle Paul was dually abused this year, playing both a donkey and Samuel the Lamanite

Tracking Santa with cousins

Reading the Christmas story.

Christmas Eve advent candles. We enjoyed reading advent scriptures and singing Christmas carols for each of the four Sunday nights before Christmas. We used Eric Huntsman's new book "Good Tidings of Great Joy" as our guide and inspiration. Many of the photos in the book are from Chad Emmett's holy land journeys.

Marie with the latest addition to her angel choir.

Sarah looking through her two-volume Jerusalem blog-to-book book, which includes all of the Jerusalem blogs and additional photos.

Christmas morning

Will and his new watch

Joel checking out his stocking

Joel's new BYU poster, he's trying to cover up his whole wall.

Aebelskivers

Traditional Christmas breakfast: sliced oranges with powder sugar and Aebelskivers with homemade chokecherry syrup, raspberry jam, and strawberry jam or lemon and powder sugar. 

Sarah participating in the Christmas night Extravaganza, she also sang 3 songs

Mother daughter duet

At Grandma Emmett's house: Cousin Michael as Samuel the Lamanite take 2 (prophesying in the Americas about the coming birth of Jesus), he only got straws thrown at him instead of Nerf Footballs

Will as a wiseman with his cousins

Mary and the Angel Gabriel

Joel posing as a donkey with the rest of the Nativity.

Sarah performing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Grandma Veara Fife hand tatted all of the snowflakes on the trees.

Watching cousins Emily and Jamie (draped in black) sing upside down. Notice the 50 plus ski boot Christmas stockings for every member of the John and Norda Emmett family.

Joel performing "Jingle Bell Rock" which he has memorized.