December 2012

Dear Friend,

What a month!  I can't believe we only have six months left of student life.  December flew by as we traveled from one place to the next.  Oh how we will miss the student's winter break.  Even though the first week of December was filled with final papers and tests, Elias still came home a few times and swept Summer & I away on an impromptu hike.  We absolutely loved it.

One Saturday we went up to San Francisco and went out to lunch with some friends.  They took us to Umami Burger & it was pretty amazing.  Seriously, when they brought out a burger without anything on it I was super skeptical, but it was delicious!

 We enjoyed a wonderful ward party and Summer had some fun with Santa! 

 And then our travels began!  We first drove to Las Vegas to spend a few days with Corie and her family.  They have a beautiful home and I always love visiting them.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but Summer loves playing with Claire and Carolyn and I got to make Christmas chocolates with Corie while listening to Christmas music and talking the day away....pure happiness!  We drove back to CA and the next day we headed to the airport.  Once again, Summer proved to be an amazing traveler.  We said a sweet goodbye to that darling smile in Houston, as we handed her off to my brother Carter before Elias & I boarded a plane for Mexico.  

After a layover in Mexico City, a flight to Tuxtla, and a drive to San Cristobal, we finally arrived in our darling little hotel.  

 

The next morning we met up with my parents and sisters, Chelsea and Hannah, (along with a few other explorers) and toured the town.  

We hit up the market and dolled up with the local bling!

We also took a boat ride through the jungle and saw monkeys and crocodiles.  

The views were amazing!

From there we were off to work.  They loaded us into trucks and we drove 3 hours on a dirt road into the mountains of Chiapas Mexico.  (I have to admit..Mom & I were lucky enough to get one of the seats inside the truck!  Phew!) 

 

The next few days were spent building a middle school and bathrooms for the village of Tepayac.  I wish I had better pictures, but we were pretty busy up there.  We had about 30 people in our group from all over and it was fun to work together and get to know them.  

 While we missed Summer, this was a great experience for Elias and me.  We got to know my cousin Ann and her husband Andrew who have dedicated their life to this foundation and live in San Cristobal.  We were able to ponder and discuss how we want to serve in our lives and the most effective way to use our personal time and resources.  

 I love Elias so much & he's just so hott when he's doing construction!

Let alone speaking Spanish!

 

The people of the village were beautiful.  I wish I had a picture of the family we stayed the night with.  We received our housing assignments and one home had offered to take 6 of us, so my parents, sisters, Elias and I were all assigned together.  We walked from the village square on a small walking path through the mountain side and arrived at a humble home made of cinder block, wooden slabs, and sheet metal.  The moment we walked in the door we were overcome by the sweetest spirit of love.  While the walls were mostly bare, one wall had a picture of a temple taped to it.  This is a member family of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!  There is a small branch and missionaries in the village.  Of the 60 village families, 12 are members of the church, and we happened to stay with one of them.  We had a wonderful experience discussing the joy and truthfulness of gospel with them and singing "I am a Child of God" together in Spanish.  The gospel is true!  

 Once the school was dedicated we were headed back to our little SummerGirl!  It was such a joy to reunite with her.  When we landed in Texas we called Carter to see how things had went.  He gave us rave reviews of how cheerful Summer was, how easily the week had gone, and how she smiled all the time.  When we arrived at Carter's place Summer was asleep, but his kids ran out to greet us.  His six year-old Reese jumped into my arms and declared, "Summer was really hard on my mom.  She cried the whole time and my brother Dane got really jealous."  Awesome.  Steph ensured me the truth was somewhere in between!

 

The next few days were packed with some serious Christensen Family Fun!  Corie's family flew in from Vegas and we all stayed at Carter's place in La Feria, TX.  Carter and Steph were amazing hosts.  Steph has made the home beautiful.  Carter provided us all with free dental appointments at his office.  (Which was amazing by the way!  It was so cool to see my brother at his place of business.  He is a stellar dentist and great with the patients.  I'm so proud of him!)  And Reese taught us all how to play Dance Dance Revolution!  It was so fun to get a taste of the sweet life they have carved out for themselves in such a unique part of the states.  We attended their ward and visited the local hot spots, which included a wild trip to the flea market.  Their family has such a strong spirit.  I'm grateful Summer was able to spend a few days with them and that they were willing to watch her.  We love you Carter & Steph!  Thank you!  Thank you! Thank you! 

 The food was amazing & they made sure Elias was well-fed.

 It was a special experience to watch my dad make "Christmas Cookies with Dad" with the next generation.  I love that man and he is so good with kids.  This is one of my favorite childhood memories as my dad always made it magical when he pulled out "reindeer juice" and "magic elf power" and then we got to mix everything with our hands.  

 The most fun part was just having everyone together.  

 My mom even hosted another Jerusalem dinner on Christmas Eve.  We all dressed up and ate on the floor by candlelight.  

 Christmas morning was perfect!  It was so special to have my entire family there, and to have nieces at an age where Christmas morning is magical was even more exciting.   

 Grandmother surprised us all with awesome (and sometimes a little racy) gifts!  Classic.  We love you Grandmother!

Carter & Steph have discovered a few quirks about south Texas, one being that any occasion calls for a pinata and a bouncy house.  We decided to join in on the local living and get a pinata for Christmas afternoon.  It was a hit and Summer surprised us with how much she wanted to get in on the action!

All-in-all, December was an amazing month for the Ericksons.  A big thanks to my parents for letting us come to Mexico with you.  It was an experience never to be forgotten.  And many thanks to Carter and Steph for making that happen by watching Summer and then hosting a beautiful Christmas reunion.  Family - we love you!  In fact, we clearly couldn't get enough because we spent the first week of January in Colorado, but we'll post on that next month!

Always,
B,E&S