Trains, tiles, and the Christmas yard trash winner in Chicago

Sorry we missed a week.  We were having fun....with the Ekins. They are a short 7 hour drive from us and decided to have an early Christmas with us. What a blessing, and a refreshing change from our routine. Our condo expanded to allow sleeping accommodations for 5 extras and we were off on adventures.  We only took one day off from our responsibilities. We wanted to take the train to Chicago. Ellie said, " is it the Polar Express?" Not quite. We visited a few sights, visited with a few nice people on the train....and some not so nice people too. We saw Christkindle land which is a German village full of good food, nutcrackers, and hand blown ornaments....and wood carved everything. It was cold. It was rainy. We got lost at one point but we had fun seeing Chicago through new eyes. We then hopped on the train back to Glenview. At one point the train stopped and the conductor said, " the conductor will be off the train temporarily." She then opened all the train doors as she waltzed off the platform. We watched a couple of punks hustles past us then a couple of minutes later, four police come running after them, guns drawn. Jennifer says to me," Is my family safe?" I assured her this was the meaning of " sitting ducks"....open all the train doors while they play cops and robbers outside. After 10 minutes the conductor gets back on and we proceed home. Ekins were gratified they had the authentic Chicago tour.
We sang carols, watched the antics of Henry (the elf on the shelf),baked cookies, played games, did Christmas crafts galore, and enjoyed the laughter of children in our home. While Emily took a shower we heard a super loud clunk in the tub. She didn't respond at first, then came running out assuring us our bathroom walls weren't very strong. Six tiles and the soap dish fell off the wall into the bathtub while she showered, revealing wet Sheetrock and black mold beneath. I told you we were living retro ghetto. Our hope is we get a new tub and shower out of the deal....and maybe a whole new bathroom since our toilet has been leaking for 3 months with no response from our landlord.
We loved taking Randy and Jennifer to the temple on Saturday, and the whole family to church the next day where Elder Taggart sang a solo.  We were sad when they left but feel sure they will be back for more adventures.
Christmas wasn't much different than last year, just the two of us in Chicago instead of Seattle. We Skyped children and grandchildren for 8 hours. Our temple president's wife said to me, " oh, that would be perfect. You get to see them all but you don't have the mess to clean up after they leave. Ours came to see us this year."  True, but I missed the hugs and interaction you get in person. All of our posterity are in good places right now and for that I am grateful.
Every missionary got a gift. I watched a "loaves and fishes" miracle as things arrived from Renton, Wa, Freedom, Wyoming, Utah, my grandchildren who made ornaments, and goodie bags put together by the Wilmette Stake YSA. We requested for 40 missionaries who never get a letter or a box and it grew to 65 missionaries who needed something for Christmas. What a blessing you were in the lives of these "kids" far away from home for the holidays. Our Elder from Equadornsummed it up beautifully. "I never get letters or packages from home. All of a sudden I'm getting 2-3 Christmas cards a day----from people I don't even know. Then boxes. It meant so much to me."
That project also helped me keep my sanity. I have readdressed literally thousands of letters and approx. 1000 boxes.none day alone I did 192 boxes and 256 letters. It restores my hope in the goodness of humanity.
So here we are, at the end of the year.  We both need to find a doctor in the area, just in case. I am leaning toward Resurrection Health Care of Glenview. Where else have you seen that kind of promise? I realized today I have been sitting beside this good man for over a year now. I like it better than seeing him from afar on the stand. I taught a lesson today and it felt good to be back doing that. We are happy and healthy. I'll be feeding 120 on Tuesday so don't worry about me getting bored. We love you and miss you all. Make a resolution to read the Book of Mormon this year and share your testimony of it.
Love,
Sister Taggart