Home for the Holidays

Dear Family & Friends,

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We had the privilege of going home for the Christmas holidays this year. All missions are different. We flew to Utah and stayed with our daughter Laurel & her cute family up in South Weber. Eight of our eleven children live in Utah and most of our twenty-six grandchildren. We love them dearly and want them to know they are part of an eternal family. 

Anchorage has had a record snowfall so far this year teaching over 79.5 inches. So you can imagine our surprise to arrive in Utah to dry roads and greening lawns, especially after having had record rainfall earlier in the year which really helped with the multi-year drought. Our forsythia bush in Mapleton even had a few yellow blooms on it! It finally snowed a little on the evening of the 22nd and cleaned out the inversion. Clean air in Utah is always an answer to prayer. Unfortunately, it did not stay.

Spanish Fork Lights & Dinner with Jesse, Toni, & Jane on Dec. 20.

Calvin at Hogle Zoo.

Hudson & Benson at Zoo.

Farrell & Ammon at Hogle Zoo on Dec. 21. It was 54°.


Visiting lights with Seelos Family on Dec. 22.

Badger Family Christmas Party at Roundy's on Dec. 23.

Heather at Roundy's on Dec. 28.

Tree of Life with Seelos Family.

Christmas Eve at the Kidd's in Bountiful. So precious.

Fancy Christmas Day dinner at Jesse & Toni's in Mapleton.

We enjoyed wonderful dinners, a couple of birthday celebrations, a trip to Hogle Zoo, the Aquarium, way too many delicious sugary treats, three evenings of Christmas lights, many hours of beautiful Christmas music, and two uplifting Sacrament meeting services with two of our daughters & their families. Singing Silent Night with nearly all our children and grandchildren is always tender. We've especially enjoyed watching our grandchildren in their homes, open gifts from us, and watch them play and tell us about their adventures. I was able to go to the gym with Laurel and her family most mornings. We were even able to visit a few dear friends and our siblings who live in the area. We appreciate all the thoughtful cards and gifts. There is never enough time to do everything or visit everyone we'd like to. We love hearing what you are up to and seeing pictures.

Aquarium w. Laurel, Dan, & boys Dec. 27th.

Dinner & Lights with Heather and Rachel, Patrick, & family on Dec. 28.

Jordan River Temple

We were able to do proxy baptisms with four of our grandchildren and daughters, Heather & Anna, in the Ogden and Jordan River Temples on two separate occasions. They were both sacred and special experiences. Five of the baptisms were brothers and they are my 2nd cousins twice removed. 

We really enjoyed going to church on Christmas Eve with both Laurel's and Anna's families. We had a young grandson get sick at church in Centerville. Unfortunately, as a result, we were not able to enjoy Christmas Eve with Anna's family or attend the play with Sophie for her birthday as more siblings became ill. So instead we waited in our car outside the Bountiful Temple before heading to another son-in-law's family Christmas Eve party in Bountiful. The air was crisp, 31°, and the ground was covered with fresh snow, with more snowflakes drifting to the ground. There was a nice view of the valley from way up there. They were so gracious to invite us and make us feel welcome. Dan's mother, Renee, is so creative. She played an angel and a shepherd and made the evening so fun for everyone.

A Christmas Carole

We were able to enjoy A Christmas Carole with our son, Aaron, and his wife HaLee, and grandson, Jameson on Dec. 27 at the Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy. The costumes, set, acting, and music were incredible. It was a magical evening. We went out for Mexican food afterward.

We enjoyed special dinners with many family members throughout the week. We also celebrated five birthdays in December. Joel's girlfriend, Shayli, Tabitha(15), Sophia(13), Ryan(42), and Benson(5). We were able to visit with three. Tabitha lives out of state and Ryan is in Mexico.

We are so appreciative of all our wonderful family members and amazing friends. Since it's the season of naughty & nice I've been thinking about the real purpose of this life. It's more than just a probationary period. We are put in numerous circumstances to learn, grow, and experience the difference between good & evil. Hopefully, we learn to repent through the infinite atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, and turn to our Heavenly Father in prayer to thank him for all our blessings and pray for what we need. I testify that He hears and answers every sincere prayer. Sometimes in his wisdom, the answer is no, and sometimes it's wait, but He is always there for us. Our prayers go out to our loved ones in need. His work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality & eternal life of man. How beautiful to know He loves us and we are never forgotten.  

We wish you a very Merry Christmas! #ThinkCelestial

Love always, Elder & Sister Badger