Christmas Skype

The best present of all this year was being able to Skype with our missionary. :D

It was so wonderful to see, hear, and speak directly with him. He is doing amazingly well. He was happy and smiling during the entire call. He reported that he has gained 20 pounds and is now up to 150. He isn't sure where he is putting it because he still needs to wear a belt. It could be muscles from all the biking.

As he spoke, he didn't have an accent of any sort. However, Mandarin words slipped into the conversation. He would notice and translate them for us at times, but other times, he would say the Mandarin words and didn't seem to notice.

He is doing well with his companion and is sad to leave him at the next transfer. He told us about his "Miracle Christmas Eve." In Taiwan, Christmas is not really celebrated. The missionaries still proselyted and planned as in a normal week. They had decided to go out to visit an LA- less active family. It was out in an unfamiliar area for them. At the end of their visit, they asked the family if there was somewhere they could stop for dinner. The member directed them to a restaurant where they went. They looked at the menus and decided there were some inexpensive items and they would be fine to eat there. After sitting down, the lady working there informed them, in English, since it was Christmas, they could only choose from a certain, selected part of the menu. The problem was, these items were more expensive. Zack and his companion were trying to save their money for their more pricey dinner on Christmas. They ended up buying dinner there. Much to their surprise, the dinner ended up being course after course after course. He said they ended up with about 7 course for their meal. They were so impressed and the food was so good. He said one early course was a salad. He said you can't really get salad there, so it was awesome. They were supposed to meet the sisters, but they were going to be late. They called them to tell them they were going to be late because they were waiting for the dessert course to come out.

He is excited for his Hump Day coming up, but feels like he still has so much to do in only a years' time.

When asked about good or bad things being there, he didn't mention any bad things, but immediately listed the good. He said he loved the people. They were so friendly and awesome. He said one of his favorite things is teaching the people and seeing their faces light up and change when they accept Jesus Christ into their lives. He said he loves to see it when he teaches and he can also see it in pictures when they are baptized. He was able to see some pictures of some baptisms from Yuan Lin. He knew those investigators and had started the process. He loved being able to see the pictures of them and their faces.

It was awesome to talk. It was very hard to say goodbye. We miss him, love him, and are so proud of him.

Christmas Day

We woke up to a good 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. I love White Christmases! Especially when I don't have to go anywhere. :)

It was so cold, snowy, and windy, we had real ice forming on the outside of the windows.

For the first time I can ever remember, we not only slept in, but ate breakfast before we opened gifts. Weird, but fun! We had Belgian waffles with strawberries and bacon for breakfast. Yum!!

 Present from both Zack and Nicole. Nicole even wrote the tag in Mandarin. Zack was very impressed with her Mandarin writing. He said she should go on a mission to Taiwan :)

 Grandma got new soft jammies. Perfect for a cold, snowy day.

 Nicole got Keith a pirate ship. 

 Nicole got a lot of supplies for college next year: new bedding, towels, pans...

 Powder got tissue paper and a box. :)

 Traditional Fleming Family Christmas Dinner: Cheese fondue. It was delicious this year. 

 We played 5 Crowns while waiting for our Skype call from Zack. 

Christmas Eve

As is a tradition now in our house, we had pizza for Christmas Eve dinner. This year we had both the VanHorns and McEwens over to eat and play with us. 

 In the afternoon before the guests came, we played some Rummikub. 

 We had cheese, margherita, barbecue, buffalo chicken, and reuben pizzas. We also had 2 delicious salads and a fabulous Tiramisu dessert. 

 Margherita pizza in honor of Zack--it's his favorite. 

 Everyone wrote messages or drew on a balloon for Zack's Hump Day package. 

 On Christmas Eve, we always open 1 present each. 

 Powder always loves the tissue wrapping paper. 

Christmas box from Zack :)

Zack sent home a box with some books and clothes he is not using. He also sent us a Christmas present and some postcards for friends and family. It was a nice surprise.

 US National Team Soccer Jerseys: our present from Zack. Sadly, they are in Asian sizes so they are a bit snug. He did well, though. Keith got Tim Howard, Nicole got Alex Morgan, and I got Kelly O'Hara (LOVE her). The Women's jerseys are also current with the 3 stars for their 3 World Cup titles. 

The following are some excerpts from his letter:

I hope you like the package! :) I have to sincerely apologize though, I have a feeling that the jerseys might be the wrong sizes and that they might be too small...I'm so sorry if that's the case! :( I had a guy help me get them, and he got his online deal for them, but I think it's Asian sizes and not American sizes...I hope they fit, or at least if they don't that you like looking at them :) Next year's Christmas present should be much better. :) .....I hope :)

Also, in this package, I'm sending some post cards. I don't know these peoples' addresses and was hoping you could help me send them out. :)

I hope you are doing well and that you have a wonderful holiday season and a little break from the grind. :) I hope that we can all use this time to remember Jesus, the greatest gift of all. I am so glad that I can be serving Him this holiday season. 

I heard a quote from the Christmas devotional (we got to watch it last night, which was really cool!) :) It says, "ti's good to be a child sometimes, especially around Christmas time whose founder is a child Himself." It's something like that. I hope that this holiday season, and especially at Christmas, that we can all relax and have fun and remember our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I'm so excited to be able to Skype you and grandma next week!! :D It's going to be so great to see you again! I was also thinking that the Mother's Day Skype might be my last one, because I might come home in December for Christmas or school That would be kind of cool. :)

I hope that you are all doing well, and I love you all so much. :) I love and miss you and you are always in my prayers!! :)

Love, 
Elder Fleming :) 

Let it Snow!

We have received a lot of snow this year. It seems to snow a lot every other day. It is a good thing because we need the water. Plus, a White Christmas is always the best.

View of the snow storm out the front window.

View of the snow out the back window. 

Our yard in the snow

Silver Rush Invitational Meet

 Last weekend, Nicole had a 2 day swim meet at the University of Utah pool with 10 other teams. Friday night was time trials. If you were in the top 16, you made it to the meet on the next day. Nicole was able to get 2 personal best times Friday night on her 50 free and 100 breast stroke. She qualified for the meet the following day with her breast stroke.

warming up for her race

 She swam well, looked awesome, and moved up 3 places in her heat. 

Classroom Visit

Today, my class received a special visit from two BYU defensive linesmen. One of the football players is cousins with a student in my class. They came and mesmerized my students by talking about being a team, practice, and friendship. It was an awesome experience and my kids were so excited and cute. They saw these two young men as celebrities. One student asked if he could give them a hug :). At the end, the students lined up for autographs. It was so fun for the kids.

Feliz Thanksgiving

We went up to the Carters for Thanksgiving. This year was a little different. Since Mom Carter had a stroke a few weeks ago, she was has been rehabbing in the hospital and unable to cook. She was able to come home for 6 hours to enjoy time with the family. Everyone in the family stepped up and pitched in more than usual to help plan, set up, cook, and clean up. It was nice to see everyone and to be together. Mom Carter is improving and coming home for good next week.

My contribution:

pumpkin streusel pie

brownie chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake pie

2 of the 3 pie flavors I made. I also made mini peanut butter chocolate cheesecakes. They were baked in cupcake liners and were delicious.

The pies are also made for Pie Night. The night before Thanksgiving, our friends have Pie Night. Everyone invited brings 1-2 pies and we all get to try different pies. So fun and so yummmy!!!

Jayden, Jeff, Chase, Hudson, Ethan, & Russell

Celeste & Debbie

Brittni, Lauren, Diana, & Jace

Grandpa & Remi

Darin

Keith & Jace

Bret, Darin, Grandpa, & Debbie

Bret, Grandpa, Debbie, Dawn, Diana, Jeff, Brittni, Ethan

Julie & Dawn

Grandma & Nicole