Wrapping up 2025

Much has happened since our last post, including the close of 2025. In no particular order, we will hit some highlights:

Julia was hired as a language tutor at the MTC! She is thrilled and we are proud. She did her training during the break and will start with her own (17!) appointments this coming week. Good luck, Schwester Collings!

Abdiel was ordained a teacher! We had chocolate muffins, chocolate Peanut Butter Moo'd, and a strawberry smoothie to celebrate (and to break our fasts).

Elinor is losing teeth faster than aristocrats were losing heads during the French Revolution. 

Gwyn entered Young Women and the temple! Two of them, in fact. This was Saratoga Springs with her eligible siblings on the Saturday after New Year's.

Justin, Lia, and Julia attended President Holland's funeral in Salt Lake, followed by Justin practicing a presentation he will be giving to Area Committee on Gabriel's birthday. To reward the kids for keeping themselves alive, Justin took them to redeem the Swig cards many found in their stockings for Christmas. Katharine, the main babysitter, is collapsed on the couch in the background.

Boxing Day found the crew trooping northward in order to bring a Christmas concert to our friend Rosie Sargeant. We hit Cracker Barrel afterward where biscuits, rainbow trout, and chicken tenders were enjoyed by all.

Justin scored an extra ticket in the President's Box for the December 22nd game, so we took Julia who was neither drowning in homework nor teaching at the MTC yet. Cougs crushed it.

Katharine and Abdiel learned the Piano Guys rendition of O Come, Emmanuel and played it in our ward Christmas program, for Rosie Sargeant, and for two sacrament meetings at the hospital branch. Abdiel refused to use his music, memorizing all eleven pages. This particular performance backed Katharine's wish that he would at least have had the key change in front of him, but all were still overcome by the beauty of both of their playing.

Justin had the kids dress up like prophets and then deliver their Messianic prophecies. We are always amazed and delighted at what costumes they can conjure on just a moment's notice.

Julia was honored to be selected by the director of Women's Chorus as one of sixteen women amongst all the BYU choirs to sing at a paid, private Christmas event. Justin therefore secured an invitation to the private event and we surprised Julia by showing up. She was magnificent and beautiful. A funny moment of the evening was the former mission leaders of the Zimbabwe mission learning that one of their A.P.'s is a Sunday School teacher in Julia's ward. Match-making ensued immediately and did not let up. 

Our final Lyceum Christmas concert for a few years! The guest of honor was Adassa, the voice for Dolores from the Disney movie Encanto. The cello section was of course stunning. 

Elisabeth explained to us that Annaberg, the dorf in which she spent Christmas, was nothing short of magical thanks to Schwibbogen--carved scenes put in the windows and lit by candles. Searching for some great outdoor Christmas decor, we tried our hand and our wallet.

Way back at Thanksgiving we hosted the Bollinger kids while their parents were on a cruise and Julia's friend from Greek, Alexis. A Kawasaki Turkey never disappoints, nor does Peter Reinhart's Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread. Abdiel did a great job on the mashed potatoes, Katharine killed it on the rolls, Julia's fruit salad was divine, and Justin nailed a quite complicated green salad. Cooking together always makes mama happy! 

Did we already record hiking the G on an unseasonably warm day? Turns out--months later--we could have taken that hike clear into Christmas! Sometimes it's hard not to love global warming.

Our nativity.

Our Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas pajamas and talking to Elisabeth while opening presents.

Some favorite gifts! We loved using reindeer names to keep secret which sibling had purchased for each other. It meant that everyone had to locate what they gave instead of what they received and everyone helped play Santa.

Julia and Gwyn doing a very fun duet of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman at Rosie Sargeant's. Gwyn played the same song with a friend in the ward for the ward Christmas party.

Cracker Barrel again, with a better shot of Lia's Christmas sweater that won the Cutest Sweater award (and a package of slim Oreos) at the same ward Christmas party.

We went ice skating for FHE. Justin hung out with Miriam off the ice; Lia and Julia alternated helping Gabriel and Elinor on it.

Four of the last five AVPs after President Holland's funeral. From left to right: John Tanner, C. Shane Reese, Elder James Rasband, Justin Collings. Only Brent Webb was missing.

Justin's birthday, turning 44! Much of it was spent at the funeral after opening presents of some new clothes from Lia and a set of 25 history books to read with them from the children. Justin also got a subscription to Hydrow rowing workouts, so if readers of our blog note some astounding changes in physique, know that it is owed to that. Returned from the funeral and Swig, we went to the church to play basketball and then watched the 90's classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids after his birthday dinner.

Gwyn's first trip to the temple! She did baptisms for relatives from Germany: Francisca and Elisabeth Dillman, Anna Maria Wocher, and Magdalena Litz.

The 27th saw us gathered with Cougar fans around the world cheering our men on to a nail-biting, come-from-behind victory over Georgia Tech. Having never tasted one in his life before, Abdiel is now a HUGE pop tarts fan.

 This year's Christmas card! And with that, we bid a happy goodbye to 2025. 2026 will bring big changes: Gabriel will start kindergarten, Gwyn will start middle school, and Katharine will start college. Elinor will begin her life on the covenant path when she gets baptized this summer and is already almost through with Mosiah in her efforts to read the entire Book of Mormon before that day. Katharine also contacted the bishop today to begin her mission papers. We are confident that Julia will thrive teaching missionaries at the MTC, that Elisabeth will continue to share the gospel through all her spoken languages as well as her beautiful music, that Abdiel will wax stronger and stronger in wisdom and spirit as he does in physique, and that Miriam will continue to charm us all with her ever-increasing vocabulary (yesterday she learned, "I love you!" which is even cuter than her previous, "Go Cougs!"). Hopefully we will be diligent in documenting at least a bit of it!