Ben and Christina: January 2026

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Graduation, of sorts

I got honored at our monthly GT Facilitator Training for completing all of my coursework and getting my GT Metro Certificate. I got it about a year ago, but it was nice to be celebrated because it was a TON of work!

Saturday, January 24, 2026

First Show!

Camille had her first show- so of course it was snowing and freezing! It was fine, but it was reminiscent of last year when the same thing happened.

This show wasn't judged, just a chance for them to practice performing in front of a judge. They did great! It was fun to see their show- it's a great show this year!

Sparkles!

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Camille's Show

Winter guard returns, and while Camille wasn't sure about whether or not she wanted to participate, she now seems to be enjoying herself.

They did a showcase for parents. I love their show this year! It isn't fully complete yet, but so far it looks great.

I am hopeful she will continue this in high school, too. The coaches are the best people on the planet, the kids are the kindest you'll ever meet, and it really is so cool to see her out there throwing her rifle (not a sentence I ever thought I'd hear her say!) and dancing on the floor.

One parent asked me if Camille did dance. I said yes, and she said, "Oh, I thought so, she's so bendy!" She does her stretches every night and loves to do the splits- she's worked hard for this.

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Mission Call!!

Camille and I drove to school to the most gorgeous sunrise we have ever seen! It was Heavenly Mother in all of her glory, and it was fortuitous start to a terrific day!

Around noon, Audra texted me- her mission call came! We were not expecting this as we thought for sure it would be another week, even though is has been 23 days which has felt like forever.

Ben and I did a conference call with her around 3 to see what she wanted to do. We were OK with her opening it right then with us, and then doing a bigger reveal later, or whatever she wanted.

She said she thought she could make it to 8:45 so she could get her friends together and open it with her friends. So, she invited all her friends, while I sent a text to over 100 people inviting them. At 8:45 we anxiously gathered, with over 50 people/groups on Zoom and she had over 20 in person. She read her call: Brasilia, Brazil!

Brazil was nowhere on our radar! But, she is so incredibly excited. Ben and I are nervous, but we are going to trust God. It's hard to be too nervous while we are seeing her excitement. She has two friends in Brazil right now, so that is nice. She needs to renew her passport and we need to get her a Visa, but it will all be OK. We will get it figured out.

We know a lot of people getting called to Texas, which she was NOT excited about! So she may just be glad that she isn't going there ;)

We played an on-line guessing game where people could put their guesses. Out of roughly 100 guesses, one person got it correct- Zoe Friloux, and old friend from the Marsden Lake Ward.

Sister Marriott is going to be an absolutely incredible missionary! We can't fully grasp that this is really happening.

Monday, January 5, 2026

Last Breakfast

Before Ben took her to the airport (I'm still mad at him about this), I took the girls out for breakfast. Then I went to work and Ben took Audra to the airport. It was very sad to send her back! We miss her so much already!

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Lunch Date!

Audra and I went to lunch with some of her band friends from high school and their parents. It was fun to catch up. Everyone is doing really well, and all four did marching band at their college.