Christmas 2013, Skyping with Zuster Israelsen, Jake home and all the Traditions, Complete with Chinese Food on Christmas Eve in Denver and Belgium!

Megan's Package from Belgium!

Christmas Eve! 

Some of it was delicious and some was a little nasty! 

Chocolate Letters From Netherlands!

New Pajamas!

Sister Israelsen (can I call you Megan when we pick you up?), I Loved, loved, loved talking to you on Christmas! It made me miss you even more. I'm not trying to truck you out, but I can hardly wait to see you in April. It just makes me realize that you only have a few months before we see you. I am very excited to come to Europe! During our conversation, I could tell that you were having a difficult time with your companion. I didn't mean to "shut you down" about talking about the situation. I just didnt know if they could hear you in the other room and I didnt want to make it any worse. I'm guessing from your short comments that your companion can be difficult at times. I hope you are able to handle it okay. All I can say, is that I had one companion that I had the hardest time getting along with (and I thought I could get along with anyone). I was wrong! He just rubbed me the wrong way. I did everything I could to get along. I did splits with the other Elders as often as I could and I let the Zone Leaders know that I was having a hard time with him. I found that when I tried to do things for him, I felt better about myself and it felt like it helped us get along. I am sorry, if it is difficult right now. I know that the mission President must have really trusted you to let you know that he was giving you a difficult assignment. Hang in there. Your mother must really be in tune with you because she felt like something was up when she asked about you companion.  Stay close to the Lord, and pray for help. He will help you get through this difficult time. Not only that, you only have a limited amount of time to do everything that you want to before you are done. Dont let a difficult companion hold you back. Do your best and the Lord will back you up and give you strength. Hang in there sweetheart. I Love you!! So, I guess Grandpa has been telling everyone that he was able to talk to you in Holland and us in Denver all at the same time. Uncle Neal called to tell me that he was very thrilled. Even though he didnt say much and didnt understand your dutch. He was still thrilled. Grandma loved it also. I was really scared that I would not be able to get them up and running on that program. We had a few technical difficulties but in the end it worked out great! The Bishop, wife and family all seemed to be pretty fun. It was so nice of them to let you do all that at their home. I just wanted to let you know that anyone that wants to come over and stay with us, they are welcome. Your mother is waiting for your friend to email her about work/study. She hasnt been able to find her email. please let her know that she would be welcomed with open arms . We would love to have her, just have her email right away.  I am excited to meet some of the people that you have been serving! Of course we also want you to see a few of the sights.  This is the final streach, do your best and keep your head in the game. I Love you! Dad

Zuster,
How are you?  It was so amazing to see you on Christmas.  I keepthinking about seeing you and what we talked about.  You look so goodand have come so far with your testimony and you Dutch!  Wow!  I amglad it worked out to add Grandma and Grandpa even though they didn'tquite get the screen right so you could see them well.  :)  We havebeen enjoying your box all week too.  Jake even used the black ballcandies with his friends - if they lost on a game, they had to eat thecandies.  We've been eating the sprinkles on toast for breakfast.
It has been nice to be home for a break!  We've done a few thingstogether like go to the Hobbit and some restaurants.  Elizabeth haskept up her Mathnasium schedule and we even tried some shopping afterChristmas - it was crazy busy!  Jake wore one of his new suits todayto church.
Jake and Rachel have been out late with friends and everyone is offschedule getting up late and going to bed late.  Dad and I have stillbeen getting up so we are exhausted.
We fed the missionaries tonight - all 4 of them.  One of the eldersplayed football for BYU and he can eat!  We had them and the Ellis'sfor dinner.  We had hoospot and sausage casserole in honor of ourDutch side.  I finally finished the dishes!  I cleaned all morning andgot food ready before going to church and playing SINGO for sharingtime.  The kids had Bingo cards that I had made - actually SINGO cardswith the names of Christmas songs and then pictures of Christmasthings.  They got to have Sunday Sundaes for memorizing their articlesof faith.  They got a topping for every article they had memorized.It was kind of gross to see the kids who had 13 toppings.
We are all going to ride indoor race cars tomorrow - Dad got it forChristmas for everyone.  I am a little worried about it but he is veryexcited and I guess we are all going to try it.
We have been working on our trip a little bit and need to finalizemuch more before going back to work but one thing we finalized was torent a flat in Den Haag from April 1-10.  We are staying on the coastright next to the large hotel where you got your picture taken.Hopefully that will be close to everything you want to do.  We willrent a car so we can do whatever you want.  We will fly back to US onthe 9th or 10th.  We are hoping to finalize flights tomorrow.  Anyway,it is still a ways off so keep working hard.  This will probably besome of the most productive months you have on your mission.
I was concerned about your companion and you after talking to you.Are you sure you are okay?  I talked to Kris about multiplepersonality and she said that MPD is a dangerous disorder and makes aperson totally unpredictable.  It isn't a matter of standing up tothem, it is dangerous for her and for you.  I guess I am surprisedthat a condition like that made it all the way to the Netherlands.President Toombs sent 3 new missionaries home this week because theyhad unresolved issues and health problems.  I guess I am surprised andthought that the screening was more rigorous than that.  Is she aGeneral Authority's daughter?  Please don't be a hero.  Tell youPresident if you are having any issues and move on.  She may be muchbetter off returning home than having you cover up for her and herproblems.  You shouldn't have to deal with that on top of everythingelse.
It was wonderful to meet the Bishop and his family!  What a complimentto you to have the sister's requested to move to that ward.  I amconfident that you are an amazing influence on those Young Women.Please take care and ask for help if you need it.
Love you,Mom

Sent from my iPad

Christmas Week

Hello! 
We are so excited to get to talk with you face to face on Wednesday! So, we will just start with that. 
Skype - coloradoisraelsensOoVoo - Oizzy64
Just let us know what will work. 
So, this was one long crazy week! Dad and Jake got home late Monday night from SLC. Their flight was delayed so they didn't get home until about 11pm. Jake had to be at the dentist by 8am Tuesday morning too. The girls and I had school all week. Elizabeth had her music concert at Silver Hills on Tuesday. I ran over there after teaching all day, battle of the books after school and then 4 presentations on 21st Century Learning for Parent Information Night. She was the tallest girl on the back row. It was fun to hear them but the gym was packed and hot! 
Wednesday was filled with Rachel taking finals, Elizabeth and I in school and Jake just trying to relax at home. He is discovering that he isn't very good and doing nothing and it seems to drive him crazy. He and I went shopping Wednesday night. 
Thursday was the last day of school and early morning seminary for Dad and the girls! I had school on Friday. Rachel agreed to babysit for Mr. Grabhorn (triplets and a 7 year old). She woke up with a 102 fever and so I had to wake Jake up and ask him to babysit. He was a great sport and did the babysitting with Elizabeth. As you can imagine, it was a long hard day but he was so good about it. I told Rachel that she was lucky to have such a good brother! I finished my grades and then did some ordering and hanging some posters. I left school on time and picked up Jake. K&G was having a sale on suits - buy one and get three free. So, we got 4 suits and got them measured for alterations. We did pretty good. It is a lot easier to get his clothes than yours - just suits and shirts and pretty much done. Anyway, we decided to get them as who knows when we will be able to do it. With our luck, he will be sent to some tropical zone and won't need suits. :) It looks like he has all his information and paperwork done at this point. Then we went out to dinner and ate sushi! 
Saturday, Dad took all three kids (Rachel was feeling better) to the mall and I stayed home to watch Hallmark movies and wrap. It was nice for me but they had to fight all the crowds and ate at the mall. I went out to dinner with the girls that night and we saw a movie out at Flatirons. They have these new seats at the theatre that you have to reserve and they are huge comfy lounge chairs that even let you recline and the foot rest comes up. We saw Saving Mr. Banks and you will have to see it. It was wonderful! 
Today was the sacrament meeting program with Christmas music. The primary kids sang Away in a Manger. They were good and even sang parts on the chorus. Dad and Jake delivered gifts to Dad's hometeaching families and now we are all relaxing. 
Can't wait to see you! We love you!Love,Mom
Sent from my iPad

Israelsen Christmas Party and Owen's 50th Birthday and Mom's Birthday Celebration with Loralee

100+ People at the Israelsen Christmas Party!  

 Hello Zuster!

How are you?  We are crazy here!  Rachel is getting ready for finals and I am madly grading and getting ready for the end of the semester!  Dad has been gone for almost two weeks and he and Jake finally arrive tomorrow (Monday) night late.  He has been gone for a long time but is having a great time with the Israelsen's.  They had the family Christmas party and spotlighted his 50th birthday.  He is pretty excited. They had about 100 people at the party and our family only had 2 so the family is growing!  Grandpa looks good in the pictures.  He and Jake and Glenna went to the Hobbit last night.  It is the 2nd Hobbit movie.  I guess Rachel and I will go see it after finals etc. 

It looks like Jake will finish his first semester in college with all A's.  He has really been working so hard to make sure his grades are good.  He is  amazing.  I think he is looking forward to relaxing at home.  However, he has a dentist appointment on the first morning of his break at 8am with mission paper requirements in tow.  No rest for the wicked I guess.

I had the hour of code at school this week and all the kids in the school were able to do one hour of computer coding just to try it out.  My 4th and 5th graders got to write code for an Angry Birds Game.  It is such a great thing to teach them coding.  

I got a haircut, Rachel had a concert.  I sent you a link to the blog so you can hear one of their songs.  I should have recorded the first song, it was even better but I was trying to follow the rules about turning off my phone.  http://owenandlaurafamily.blogspot.com/

I am behind with my Christmas shopping but luckily your box showed up so there will be something to open!  Grandma Gail sent you a check for $100.  I will put that in your account.  I hope you get something you need or want!  We also put money in there so get something!  

So, Dad is trying to set up a way for us to talk to Grandma and Grandpa at the same time on Christmas - so a conference call with 3 people.  Dad set up an OOVOO Account.  Do you think there will be a problem with using this to talk to us?  It is a free conferencing site like Skype only they allow more than one person on the account.  http://www.oovoo.com/home.aspx

I think there is a download so you will have to tell us what is okay with where you are using a computer.  My flat classroom leaders recommended this site too.  I guess Uncle Bert uses it a lot as well.  Let us know!  

Bobby is in the MTC this week and Glenna is trying to get me to help her set up a Blog.  

I had Primary music today and the kids are singing Away in the Manger next week in Sacrament Meeting.  It should be interesting. 

We love love love you!  

Happy Holidays,

Mom 

December 8, 2013

Hello Zuster!  

How are you? I saw some pictures of you on Facebook - posted by a lady that I've never heard of.  You were holding up a pair of black gloves I think and something else that I couldn't tell.  It was fun to see it, but kind of odd.  :)j

Another busy week!  You dad was gone a couple of days and then he left tonight again.  He was in California this week.  One of the sales guys quit his job and now Dad has to try to cover his territory too.  He was lucky though and missed a few days of the sub zero weather we have been experiencing.  Apparently we are running a record of the coldest air since 1995 and are still waiting to warm up.  High temps have been around 5 and many minus 0 days and nights.  AND of course I had duty all week before and after school - Brrrrr!

My days at school have been very busy.  I traded schedules with 21st Century Learning classes so that we could bring the 7th graders into the library to do ecosystem glogsters.  Next week, we are starting the hour of code week where the kids are joining other kids around the world and trying their hand at coding for an hour.  We are going to code Angry Birds!  It is totally cool and the kids are going to love it!  

On Friday night, Loralee and I went downtown in the subzero weather to celebrate our birthdays and go to the symphony with Brian Stokes Mitchell.  It was wonderful!  We tried a new restaurant and were walking downtown in the below zero weather.  It was also the parade of lights so a lot of atmosphere and a fun evening!  

We put up the tree and still need to put up the count down quilts etc.  Music today was learning Away in a Manger with the parts and the kids sound great.  It is going to be good.  They are singing in sacrament meeting on the 22nd.  

I noticed that you took quite a large amount of money out of your account.  Is everything ok?  How are the Christmas celebrations in Belgium?  

Elizabeth has a concert this week and Dad is in Kansas City and some other small towns and then on to SLC for the Israelsen Christmas party on the 14th.  He is pretty excited!  Kelly is getting a birthday cake for the whole family for me and they are going to sing Happy Birthday to your Dad.  Jake and Dad are flying back to CO next Monday on the 16th.  Dad wants to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa.  

I love you!

Love,

Mom

Rachel's Christmas Concert Twilight at Legacy!

Thanksgiving 2013

The Captain's Table

Jake arrives from the airport 11/26/2013!

How many cooks does it take to make....

Hello Zuster!

What a week!  I taught for two days working to get caught up with projects and kids.  I left on time Tuesday to run to the store to get ready for Thanksgiving.  I got to Wal-Mart and there wasn't even one empty cart that's how busy the store was.  
We picked Jake up from the airport Tuesday night and came home to eat sausage casserole. Jake asked if we could have that before Thanksgiving.  He was excited to sleep in his own bed and try the new shower.  

Wednesday, we cooked and got ready for Thanksgiving.  The Beelek's showed up about 7:00pm and we ordered pizza for dinner.  Thursday morning Dad and I got up and stuffed the turkey and put it in the oven by 6:30am.  We ate at 12:30 with the Beelek's and the Ellis's.  It was yummy and I was just glad we made it.   Heather brought her yummy lemon bars, chocolate cake, turkey and cranberry salad!  We had potatoes, gravy, turkey, stuffing, shrimp salad and sweet potato souffle. We spent the afternoon playing games and having fun.  It was a nice group and a wonderful day.

We went to the movie on Friday before noon to get good prices and everyone split up to watch different movies.  Jake, Rachel, Katie and Michael went to Ender's Game.  Owen and I went to Catching Fire (since everyone else had already seen it) and Kris, Bob, Elizabeth, Ryan and Nathan went to the new Disney movie Frozen.  They didn't like it at all - sounds like Disney is losing its touch.  Jake saw some friends that evening and we played in the park for the afternoon.  The weather is incredible here right now - 65 all weekend.  







Saturday we made a big breakfast and played more games.  We liked Chicken Foot dominoes and Ryan, Elizabeth and Nathan were very fond of The Lord of the Rings Monopoly-so fond in fact that we had to have referees - oh I mean bankers for their games and finally had to hide the game.  They are very competitive and we decided that we need to work with Elizabeth on her sportsmanship and play more games with her.  

Headbandz Game!

Potatoes!!!

Games!

The Captain's Table

Owen and Bob - notice the new light!

Elizabeth and Ryan

The Beelek's headed out about 2:00 or so and decided to drive back through  Wyoming.  They came over through Vail and stayed in Grand Junction but went back on I-80. That night Elizabeth got up and vomited all over the place...she left no surface untouched at about 2 in the morning and Dad and I had to spend almost a hour scrubbing and cleaning - gross!  She and I then stayed up for two more hours and watched the last episode of Dancing with the Stars.  Jake came up this morning telling us that he didn't feel very well and had been up in the night.  We had to stop and get medicine and a coke for him on the way to the airport.  He took off about noon today and we will really miss him.  He made it on the flight and to Logan without throwing up so all in all a success.  We found out that Michael and Katie were sick all night too.  Something going around in Denver I guess.  I had to do Primary Music today and was a little dizzy but we are starting to feel better tonight.  

Back to school tomorrow - bummer! 
Love you,
Mom  

Jake and Rachel

Cory, Rachel and Katie!

Kris and Bob

  

Cousins at the Park - Football and Fun!

It's always a bummer when the fun ends.  Thanks for coming to Colorado!

November 24, 2013

Turkey Toss for Primary Music Time

Hello Zuster!  

How are you?  It is so fun to get your letters.  I hope you are okay.  I've been meaning to ask you if you have deodorant left.  Also, I noticed that you got a little money out of your account.  There is plenty Megan, get what you need!  Buy something you want for Christmas!  I didn't send money in the Christmas box, so take some out of your account and get a present, take you and your companion out to dinner or whatever you want.  

We are celebrating Thanksgiving this week.  I have two days of school first though and then Jake is flying in Tuesday night and Kris and her family are driving over on Wednesday.  I am not sure how long they will be here but Jake is hoping for a day or two to just rest.  He wants sausage casserole.  Isn't that funny?  We are having the Ellis's over too.  We decided we needed two turkeys so I hope we have enough food for 26 people.  I went to Costco yesterday but still have some shopping to do. 

It seems like everything is breaking down though.  Rachel and I both had to have the batteries in our cars changed and the dishwasher is not working.  It broke over the weekend - wouldn't you know it right before Thanksgiving?  Dad is trying to get a repairman in here tomorrow.  We've been washing dishes by hand.  It is always something.  

I went to a meeting Tuesday night about the district's book selection policy.  It is interesting to see what they are looking at and the parents who were there and hoping for a better process to make sure that books are appropriate for the kids and their age.  The district almost re-wrote the whole policy.  It hasn't come to policy council yet.  I will be interested to see what it looks like when it arrives.  Wednesday, Christina and I did the PD for ER and we did it in Nearpod.  It was amazing and we rocked the house!  Thursday, Tara and I stayed after school to make purses out of hardback books with two girls who won an auction.  Friday, we stayed late to get some orders turned in and update the BYOD policies and FAQ's on the website.  It was a long week!  

We spent all day yesterday cleaning and shopping for Thanksgiving.  Today was Primary music and we did a Turkey Toss - picture attached.  The kids liked it and we even sang all of the article of faith from 1-12 in order.  They did great.  

Trent had his farewell today.  Can you believe he enters the MTC on December 3?  They are leaving Tuesday to go see family in UT and then drop him off at the MTC.  Rachel sang and so did Trent and the quartet which was Trent, Troy, Bro. Cleverly and Cory today.  I think there was a little communication problem to have two musical numbers and the meeting went until 1:25... It is fun to see Trent so excited to go on his mission.  I hope he enjoys his mission and isn't disappointed.  

I love you!

Mom

Fall 2013