Hi all,
It is late in the day and I'm afraid I won't get this done in time to meet Caleb's Monday in Taiwan!
Monday Spencer went with me to a movie so that was fun. We saw Daddy's Home 2. He really enjoyed the 1st one. He was super tired, so he didn't show much emotion this time, but he says he enjoyed it. I was just glad to have him come to a movie with me. We had Wednesday and Thursday off since the temple was closed. We caught up with things around here and I prepared my contributions for Thanksgiving dinner. I went with a big group of missionaries to see "Darkest Hour" about the early part of WW II in England and the role of Churchill. I really enjoyed the history and the acting. It made me recognize so many blessings in my life.
Thursday morning several of the men missionaries took our chairs to the parade route at the end of our block at 4:15 AM. Then at 5:30 Spencer and another elder went to "guard" our chairs. The rest of us arrived at 7 AM. We had hot chocolate and treats while we waited. We were very near the beginning point of the parade. So right at 9 AM we could see the giant Olaf balloon floating toward us.
Most balloons are centered around kids' shows or cartoons. I loved them. There were a lot of bands--huge bands! One band had 20 tubas and about 25-30 percussionists. It made me think of Scott Dike and his love of percussion in his marching band. I took special note of the Air Force band and said a silent prayer of thanks for Stephen Alexander and all of the other members of the Air Force. I thought of Alexanders also when I saw a float depicting things from Hawaii. The KFC float had a Utah sign, but I couldn't get a good shot of it. That of course reminded me of the Crawfords and Kidds together in Utah.
I was astounded at how many walkers there are holding each balloon. Sometimes they roll them in closer and let them up or make them move around. You can sort of see it with Charlie Brown--that is just part of them! 
After the parade I was able to FaceTime with Nathan and his boys for a long time. That was the highlight of the day. We also texted a lot during the parade. It definitely made me feel loved. Later, Jason and Lucy called for a very quick chat before they went to the movies . I had a good visit with Rachelle as well. She always remembers me on holidays, so that was an enjoyable break.
Mid afternoon we went to President and Sister Bench's apartment with a few other missionaries--those who had no family to be with. We all helped, but Sister Bench did a LOT. It was so nice to visit and enjoy each other in a relaxing environment.I have lots more pictures, but I think you have seen enough now.
Friday was VERY busy in the temple. I tried to visit with the three kids visiting in CA, but I had already taken my bedtime meds and it was 11:30 PM, so I was fading fast and had to cut it shorter than my heart wanted to... :(
Today after church I went with four other missionaries to a professional performance of the "Messiah" in Carnegie Hall. We even saw Santa before it started. As you can see, he was only the size of an elf!The performance
was out of this world fantastic. What an amazing building. The choir had about 200-250 people. The orchestra probably had 150 people. Then in the second half another choir of about 200 people moved into the two balconies on either side and joined their voices to the Hallelujah chorus and Worthy is the Lamb. It was spiritual and exhilarating all at the same time.Tuesday we start working on the day shift. So we will go to the temple about 9 or 10 everyday and work for 7 hours. It will be a nice change and we can see lots of Christmas shows and lights in the evening! At least that is my plan.
We hope you all had a good holiday. We were happy to hear from Melody's family this afternoon. We love to FaceTime and see the grandkids. Everyone just keeps growing up. Weird!
Love,
Jeanine
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