A Texas Christmas!

Although we missed Sawyer a ton during the holidays, he had a great Texas Christmas!

This cute little 'Elder Varvel' went everywhere with us and did everything with us over the holidays.

It's tradition that our kids get a new ornament to hang on the tree each year. We sent one to Sawyer, but we needed one for our tree too. He got a Lubbock, Texas mission ornament.

It was hard not having him here on Christmas Eve, and Christmas morning. There are some things we wanted to get him that he can't have in the mission field, so we put them under our tree, and he'll just have them waiting for him when he gets home.

The BEST part of our Christmas was getting to Skype with Elder Varvel! It was so good to see his face and here his voice! We got to meet Elder Walker, and talk with Sawyer for over an hour.  I hardly even said anything, because I was just sitting there taking it all in. He seemed so happy, and is really enjoying his mission. When we got down to our last minute, I could feel the panic and tears start to come.  He reminded me that I only have 4 1/2 months, and we'll get to talk again. 

That was Christmas from our end, so now here's a little bit of what Sawyer experienced during his first Christmas as a missionary, and away from home.

He made a Batman snowflake at an investigator's house.

Elder Walker made them twin missionary gingerbread men! I love the glasses :)!

Elder Walker with his gingerbread man.

They had this cool Joy to the World light display in Muleshoe.

They had a big Christmas party for the missionaries. He said it was awesome because he got to see other missionaries that he hadn't seen in a long time! Some even from the MTC! He saw Elders Martin, Chapman, King, and lots of other friends from Abilene. He also saw Elders Stoneking and Baggaley from the MTC.

Elder Varvel and Elder Stoneking. They were in the MTC together. 

Elder Varvel and Elder Chapman. He was Sawyer's first companion in Abilene. 

Santa!

At the party, they got the Christmas boxes their families had sent. We sent Sawyer the 12 Days of Christmas! It was so fun! There was a tag on the outside telling him what day to open a certain thing, and then a poem explaining what we got him on the inside.

On the first day of Christmas my family gave to me,
a little baby missionary Christmas tree.

On the second day of Christmas my family gave to me,
an ornament to hang on my little baby missionary Christmas tree.

His little tree was so cute! He loved his ornament. It says, "How come both y'all's  first name is ELDER?"

On the third day of Christmas my family gave to me,
a stocking to put next to my little baby missionary Christmas tree.
His stocking was so cute! It even had his name tag in Spanish.

On the forth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
music to enjoy around my little baby missionary Christmas Tree.
We got him the Piano Guys Christmas CD.

On the fifth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
stories to read around my little baby missionary Christmas tree.
His good friend, Tyler Klingler, is serving a mission in Africa right now. His mom was the author of one of the short stories in the book we sent him. He thought that was cool!

On the sixth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
antlers to prance around my little baby missionary Christmas tree. 

On the seventh day of Christmas my family gave to me,
candy to munch around my little baby missionary Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
hot chocolate to sip around my little baby missionary Christmas tree.
This was a fun one. We sent him and his companion fun cups and straws, hot chocolate,  flavored creamers, and marshmallows.

On the ninth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
SNIFFY to give me company around my little baby missionary Christmas tree.
We thought we were hilarious with this one! He thought he was rid of Sniffy forever! I love the expression on his face!  

On the tenth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
presents to put under my little baby missionary Christmas tree. 

On the eleventh day of Christmas because I still believe,
I'll leave cookies and reindeer dust so Santa finds me Christmas Eve.
Not having him here for reindeer dust was one of the hardest parts of the holidays for me. He always made the best faces! I was SO happy when I got these pictures! I knew he wouldn't dissapoint us!  

Love him!

Awe! He really did leave the cookies out for Santa :)!

On the twelfth day of Christmas my family gave to me,
breakfast to eat around my little baby missionary Christmas tree.
We sent him powdered donuts (those are his all time favorite), Hershey's syrup for chocolate milk, and this great straw! 

On Christmas morning they opened their presents. He got a Batman robe and slippers from us (because we're hilarious). He also got the October 2013 General Conference on CD, and the Volume 2 and 3 John Bytheway CD sets. He got a missionary calendar, some books, and a few other things. They spent the day with the Donnell family. They played games and had dinner with them. I'm grateful that so many families welcome the missionaries into their homes and take care of them. I hope I get to meet all these great people someday.

I have no words! 

In his stocking there was a bunch of stick on Batman mustaches!  This picture makes me laugh for several reasons. When we talked to him on Christmas day, his hair was REALLY short like this. He said the day before, he tried to give himself a haircut. He messed up pretty bad and cut some spots really short. I think his companion finished for him. He turned sideways and showed us the short spots. What a nut!

We love you Elder Varvel! We're so glad you had a great Christmas!