alicia and co.

Merry Christmas! 2014

We hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the Christmas season and New Year. We are still in northwest Florida (our 4^th consecutive year here – an all-time record for our family!). This was our YEAR OF MISSIONARIES: Isaac finished his 2-year mission, and Eliza and Madi both left on 18-month missions to faraway lands. The highlight of our week is receiving e-mails and letters from our missionaries. After spending Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and her 20^th birthday at the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center, Madi will fly to Shqiperia (a.k.a.

Albania

) on December 29. Eliza is spending Christmas in

Belgium

, training a new missionary. And we love having Isaac home for Christmas, especially when he plays “Sleigh Ride” & “Nutcracker” on the piano.

2014 was also a YEAR OF TEMPLES for us…

In JANUARY, our family drove 6 hours to the BATON ROUGE LOUISIANA TEMPLE. A few days later, Eliza flew back to BYU in Provo for winter block classes after saying good-bye to her “womb mate” Madi – the last time they’d be together for over 2 years. Eliza was busy checking things off of her Pre-Mission Bucket List, such as spending the night in a BYU classroom (she and her friend hid in bathroom stalls until the building was closed and locked).

In FEBRUARY, Madi flew to Russia where she taught English to kindergarteners in Voronezh for 4 months. Living with a wonderful host family, she became conversational in the Russian language. The 4-yr-old and 8-yr-old “host brothers” dive competitively and loved Madi, especially when she walked on her hands with them. The host family cooked great meals and took Madi on trips to a hockey game, theater, ballet, Moscow and the Black Sea coast.

In MARCH, we took Eliza to the WASHINGTON D.C. TEMPLE before she reported to the MTC April 2. Zuster Riley enjoyed Sunday walks to the PROVO TEMPLE after an intense week of studying Dutch. On the other side of the world in APRIL, Madi packed a backpack and headed off on a Baltic tour with 2 other English teachers. After taking a 3^rd-class train ride to St. Petersburg, they explored Latvia, Estonia, Sweden and

Finland

on public transportation, a ferry, and on foot, staying in hostels and exploring the old towns at all hours of the night in order to fit in more sightseeing. They had picnics at the STOCKHOLM SWEDEN TEMPLE and HELSINKI FINLAND TEMPLE. Also in that part of the world, a war was brewing in eastern

Ukraine

. Elder Riley kept away from large gatherings on the streets and enjoyed extra study time when put under “lockdown” (as a safety precaution) and not allowed to leave the apartment for a few days. On April 10, Isaac and 70+ other missionaries were told to pack up all their belongings and be at the train station by midnight. From there, Isaac sadly left the city (Kharkov) and people he had grown to love, riding 8 hours west to Kiev. The first place they were taken upon arrival was the KIEV UKRAINE TEMPLE grounds, a beacon of peace and love in a country at war. As Isaac worked with the Kiev missionaries for a month, the situation in the east became worse. In early May, the Donetsk Ukraine Mission was closed and its American missionaries were re-assigned around the

USA

. Elder Riley served in the Salt Lake City East Mission for 4+ months and met wonderful people, pulled handcarts in a pioneer trek, took investigators to SALT LAKE CITY TEMPLE Square, and helped people come unto Christ and get baptized. After breaking the record for push-ups at the MTC and getting her name on the gym wall, Eliza flew to the Netherlands in MAY with one other elder, finally arriving after an overnight delay in Texas and an all-day layover in New York City (during which they made several contacts and gave out mormon.org cards). Eliza’s German-speaking ability must’ve helped her learn Dutch quickly; she gave a talk at a baptism a week after arriving in the country. She has served in northern Netherlands (Groningen) and northern Belgium (Gent and Turnhout) and has had 6 different companions in 6 transfers. Lyrad taught an OB course to nurses and midwives in

Belize

and still enjoys teaching residents and delivering babies regularly in his work with the FP Clinic at Eglin AFB.

In JUNE, Madi arrived home laden with gifts from her little Russian students. Three days later, she and I flew out west to visit Yellowstone, the OGDEN UTAH TEMPLE, and the IDAHO FALLS TEMPLE before getting her settled at BYU-I for summer term. Madi walked around the REX-BURG IDAHO TEMPLE as she anticipated her mission call… received July 17, to the Adriatic South Mission!!! When she wasn’t selling burgers and shakes at Shake Out, Madi was enjoying Idaho adventures: night-swimming, whitewater rafting, state fair, and hiking. She saw a bear and moose on a 14-mile night hike along steep mountain cliffs. Josh spent the summer in the hot garage, building a rowboat and oars out of wood. After 4 maiden voyages (and repairs after the first 3), the boat finally floated without leaking! After passing out business cards for his “Love Your Lawn” mowing service, Josh ended up with more jobs than he wanted, which provided him with steady income all summer to spend at the hardware store.

In JULY, Isaac enjoyed visiting the JORDAN RIVER UTAH TEMPLE, playing soccer with youth, speaking almost every Sunday, attending a dog burial with grief-stricken older women, and being well-fed by so many awesome Utah families. When our cousins from Colorado came to visit, we enjoyed beach trips, late nights, and floats down Turkey Creek (our town’s “lazy river” – full of snakes but we survived. 3 times.). Rachel was so excited to get her first job: wearing a plaid shirt and serving fried pickles and fried green tomatoes at PoFolks. Over the summer we also had a large metal “houseguest”: a tuba from the high school. Though Rachel loves playing flute in concert band, she was tired of flutes not being heard or seen in marching band. She now plays TUBA in marching band! Though it’s a lot more work to haul a tuba around, it all pays off when she’s front and center in the 300-member marching band show. Eliza was learning bike tricks in

Netherlands

while teaching the Gospel and getting caught up in World Cup excitement. She even mailed us a box of Oranje banners and ribbons and snacks so we could be proud Dutch fans, too.

Lyrad planned a humanitarian medical trip to Haiti for us, since he felt bad always leaving me home while he went on a his military trips. My initial reaction was, “No, please --leave me home with my AC and clean running water; just tell me about it when you get home.” But I went to

Haiti

with him, where we worked in a medical clinic (I helped the Creole pharmacist; between her limited English and my limited French, we managed not to poison anyone). We had an incredible experience, meeting teenagers playing street soccer, reading farm animal books to children at an orphanage, observing earthquake damage and the results of poor infrastructure (i.e. no garbage pick-up), visiting a woman who had just given birth in her 8-foot-square wooden home that morning, and singing hymns in French at church. We were impressed with the kind, humble, and resourceful Haitian people we met.

On SEPTEMBER 16, Старейшина Рили arrived home after 101 weeks as a missionary. Because Madi finished her summer term the week before, she surprised Isaac by flying home to Florida with him. Once Isaac unpacked his suitcase, cooked us Ukrainian bliny, and downloaded the 700+ photos on his camera, we took a day trip to our closest temple, 4 ½ hours north in BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA. Isaac kept up his missionary schedule with plenty of studying. When my piano students walked into the house, they passed Isaac sitting in a big armchair reading Russian aloud to himself. I later wondered if they went home and told their families about a crazy man sitting at the Rileys muttering to himself? But in January he’ll spend winter semester at BYU living in the Russian House with a companion from Ukraine, so he can mutter away по-русски. While getting Madi ready for her

mission, we visited the ORLANDO FLORIDA  TEMPLE in OCTOBER before Madi entered the MTC Oct. 29 for 9 weeks of Albanian language training. We love Madi’s weekly e-mailed photos of the MTC and PROVO TEMPLE; she sends anywhere from 12 - 40 photos a week (lucky me!). I spend my weeks writing to missionaries and updating mission blogs.

In October, Eliza visited THE HAGUE NETHERLANDS TEMPLE and enjoyed P-day trips to the beautiful cities of Brugge and Antwerp. Eliza teaches the Gospel at every opportunity: on the streets, on public transportation, and on her bike. She loves the food over there: falafels, fresh seedy wholegrain bread, crisp produce, Indonesian peanut sauce, couscous, and cheap juicy mangos from the market.

In NOVEMBER, we drove to the COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA  TEMPLE on the way to our nephew Chris Riley’s wedding.

In DECEMBER, Josh and Rachel were baptized for their Italian ancestors at the BIRMINGHAM AL TEMPLE. We are grateful for the Christmas season and the chance we have to celebrate the birth of our Savior and His life and His teachings and His great love and Atonement for us. We testify that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth and is directed by a living prophet. This is the message that Eliza and Madi are dedicating 18 months of their lives to teach. We are grateful for the strength, peace and joy the Gospel brings into our lives. Best wishes to each of you in 2015!

Love, Lyrad, Alicia, Isaac, Eliza, Madi, Rachel & Josh Riley

Quotable Quotes:

--When Rachel saw pics of Elder Riley with his short buzzed hair, she did not approve. She warned us what the consequences will be if he keeps that up once he's home: "It's either a haircut or a wife. He can't have both."

--When Rachel glared at our healthy dinner and asked what it was, I answered, “It’s broccoli soup. You LOVED this when you were younger!” But she wasn’t impressed. “I also loved BREAST MILK when I was a child,” she said.

--After finishing his homework and music practice and chores before lunchtime on a day off, Josh announced, “I’ve got no strings on me. By that I mean I have finished my music and I have nothing to do. By that I mean I have TONS of things to do,” and he headed out to the power tools and wood in the garage.

--Rachel enjoys giving talks in church and has her writing-a-talk system down to a science: Holding up the True to the Faith book, she said, “This is like the chips. And my own words and other examples that I add are like the cheese and salsa.”

--After we watched the old movie “Father of the Bride,” Josh wanted Isaac to read him Calvin and Hobbes at bedtime. But Isaac was off somewhere skyping his good friend in Provo. Josh lamented sadly from his room, “I feel like Father of the Bride. I’m losing Isaac.”

--Taking a tuna casserole out of the oven, I said, “Oh! This takes me back to my childhood.” Josh responded, “That sounds like a long trip.”

--After Josh came home from the theater wearing heavy stage make-up, Rachel announced: "That awkward moment when your little brother is wearing more make-up than you."

Posted by Isaac on Facebook:

--Rachel on why I can play the piano faster than she can play the flute: "Well, I don't have 10 fingers. I mean, oh wait, I do. That's not what I meant."

--Co-worker after my mom paid me a visit at work: "Is that your wife?" I guess she can take the compliment...

-- Me: "I had to move a bunch of deer corn at work today."
Mom: "Oh, nice, people like to feed the deer?"
Me: "Yeah...and then shoot them." –

Moments with Madi (from Russia)

--I was peer- pressured into taking part in a "Russian tradition"; in the banya, there is a bucket of large leaves soaking in boiling water, and these leaves are used to slap some heat onto whoever is in the banya, followed by a cold shower in the snow. So, am I officially Russian now?

--im in Moscow…some activists photobombed my st basils cathedral pics...

----You guys (especially dad) would love the Russian village life... simple but comfortable, gardening and eating good food, enjoying being outside, befriending nice elderly, and even using pieces of old t- shirts for cleaning!

But idk if mom would like the outhouse

--"A ship in a port is safe but, that is not what ships were built for." I love traveling and experiencing different cultures, and a big reason for this is the incredible people I meet in doing so. It amazes me that there are SO MANY different kinds of people out there, with very different pasts and all leading very different lives, but when it comes down to it, we really are all so similar. Everyone needs sleep in order to function (some more than others). Everyone eats and enjoys a good meal. Everyone has people in their life that they love, and everybody has a family. We are all just trying to make our way through this crazy life and be the best that we can be... makes me wonder how people can be so prejudiced.. people really aren't THAT different! And everybody has their own unique, interesting story.

Excerpts from Eliza’s Emails

--after eating three (MTC) meals/day together for three weeks, I guess some Elders in my zone have noticed how I like my fruit and veggies... they have been struggling with punctuality, and apparently last night they decided on punishments for coming to breakfast late today: they have to eat whatever Zuster Riley gets!

-- we were looking up a referral and got caught in some heavy rain and huddled under a tree looking at a map, and everyone in the apt. next to us were looking at us Americans like we were crazy, and a mom even lifted her toddler up so she could see us better! I think they missed the part where one of them invites us in to stay dry, and we share a message, etc....

-- I'm pretty excited about Nederland creaming Espana. We decorated the outside of our house with orange flags, which is nothing compared to the orange flooding other neighborhoods… you won't believe that we got permission to go to the Grote Markt for the World Cup semi-final match and didn't get home until 1:30 am… it was sad that we lost, but third place still aín't too shabby for this little mustard seed of a country!

-- You know you're in Belgium when you feel like you're in Disneyland (but better because REAL life with all the adorable old, cute, colorful buildings); no one bats an eyelid if the bus comes late/ train doesn't show at all; there's a postcard-worthy historic church or cathedral on every corner; you run into hills and cornfields instead of windmills and canals; graffiti is an art here; everyone speaks French and English in addition to vlaams; biking/ bussing an hour to a dinner appt. is close…I love it

Josh’s Top Ten

1) Making his treehouse into a luxury cottage with indoor lighting, electricity, running water (via the roof and a rain bucket), couch (he built it himself using wood and rope and old sleeping pads), and he even hauled up a t.v. with a built-in DVD player that he found out for trash pick-up

2) Floating on his raft made of 48 empty milk jugs attached to a wooden pallet with chicken wire

3) Backpacking overnight with Dad and 2 friends, in the rain

4) Acting as Kurt in the “Sound of Music” (see him at http://rileysinca.blogspot.com/)

5) Catching fish from his rowboat

6) Making all-state chorus

7) Reading Terry Deary’s “Horrible History” books

8) Shooting: guns with Dad and paintball with friends

9) Cutting open his huge teddy bear, climbing inside it, and wearing it to the ward trunk-or-treat

10) Landing the role of Michael Banks in the March 2015 “Mary Poppins” musical

Rachel’s Top Ten

1)Getting her driver’s license and driving Betsy all over town

2) Eating ice-cream—not just after school; peppermint and pumpkin ice cream make the best breakfast, she says

3) Playing a 25-pound tuba in marching band at football games and competitions

4) Playing piccolo solos in the Dixie Classic band competition in Atlanta, GA

5) Playing Christmas carols on flute, piano, piccolo, guitar, tuba, trumpet, or ukulele (some are better than others)

6) Dual enrolling in college classes for her junior year

7) Visiting her best friend Vanessa in Washington D.C. -- movies, Smithsonians, late nights, and cupcakes.

8) Throwing discus and shot put for Varsity Track & Field

9) Making movies in a Digital Cinema class including the Invisibility Cloak and Aladdin’s Flying Carpet

10) Experiencing the “Little Mermaid” ride at Disney World & dressing up like Ariel for the ward trunk or treat to run a “Kiss the Girl” booth (giving out Hershey’s kisses)

Isaac’s Top Ten

1) Experimenting with kontiks (Ukrainian chocolate cookies)- slurping milk through them, frying them in brownie batter, dipping them in melted butter…

2) Getting better at soccer, basketball and running on his mission (and losing 20 pounds )

3) Playing piano for hours on end while Rachel sings “Les Mis” songs with him

4) Coaching Josh’s rec soccer team in the fall and gaining experience as a peacekeeper amid internal squabblings

5) Skyping a special friend in Provo (up to 4 hours a night)

6) Discovering “Studio C” (especially “National Relations”, “The Doorstep” and “Operation Break-up”)

7) Practicing languages—he reads scriptures and watches news in Russian, Ukrainian, German, French, and Spanish (and practices speaking English with a Filipino accent and a Russian accent – he says it helps his pronunciation)

8) Reading (and re-reading) Reinventing the Bazaar – his favorite book ever written about Economics

9) Experimenting in the kitchen—bliny, sweet potato stew, dumplings, hush puppies…

10) Having a baptism in SLC 3 days before he came home

Blast from the past:

In honor of our twin missionaries who are separated from each other (and us) this Christmastime, here are “twin quotes” from their early years (note: Eliza went by “Mary” until age 9):

--One day when our four-year-old twins were eating lunch, two flies landed on Mary's sandwich. She was so excited. "I saw TWIN FLIES!" she squealed.

-- If 5-year-old Mary wanted something Madi had, Mary insisted, "We're twins. We share EVERYTHING!" ,But when the tables were turned, Mary refused to share and calmed Madi down by saying sweetly, "Remember, we never fight."
--While trying to fix Mary's hair one morning, I found sticky spots that were hard to brush. When I told her she must have honey in her hair, Mary explained what REALLY happened. "I heared Madison tangle knots in my hair when I was sleeping," she said in disgust. And when Madi had messy tangled hair one morning, 4-year-old Mary told me desperately, "I feel like I'm in a witch's house when I see Madison's hair. Please fix it.”

--When 7-year-old Isaac couldn't get a word in edgewise during dinner, he suggested in frustration, "My sisters need a doctor appointment to get their vocal chords smaller because they aren't giving me a chance to talk."
--While driving along, Joshie asked, “What is the difference between identical twins and fraternal twins?” 12-year-old Madi quickly replied: “Identical twins do NOT look alike. Fraternal twins do not look AT ALL alike.”

--The night before freshman year tennis team tryouts, Madi predicted: “Either both of us will make it, or both of us will be cut. The coaches don’t know our names; they call both of us ‘Riley.’

--In a 9^th grade photo of Eliza, she looked a lot like Madi. So I asked Josh who he thought it was. He replied, “Madi.” When I told him it was actually Eliza, he looked more closely at it and said, “I can see Eliza in there. But it’s Madi at first sight.”