17 December 2019
Merry Christmas!
It’s 17 degrees outside. I mention this in justification as to why I’m sitting wrapped up in a cozy blanket in front of my laptop,
rather than walking the dog which is my normal routine for this time of the morning. In my defense, I notice that none of my
neighbors in our dog walking group have texted about bundling up and heading out this morning either...so maybe they’ve
also had similar dread about facing the frigid temperatures? But if I’m going to avoid the cold this morning, I should probably
assuage my guilt by at least being productive in getting started on my Christmas letter (as Oscar paws at my arm...he’s a bit
confused as to why I’m not putting on my coat and shoes. He knows my morning schedule as well as I do).
So where did I leave off? Ah yes, last year I was typing my Christmas letter just two days before Julianne was due to arrive
home from her mission. It was the most joyous of reunions and we spent a delightful 2.5 weeks together as a family before
Christmas break ended and everyone had to return to school. We packed her up again, this time with college related items
rather than mission, and shuffled her back down to Provo as she picked up where she’d left off in her studies at Utah Valley
University. As of this current semester, those studies have shifted a bit as she’s changed her major from Elementary
Education to Family Science, and she’s also recently been hired to work as a teacher at the Missionary Training Center. Her
missionaries all tower over their petite teacher, but from what I can tell, they absolutely adore her and her enthusiastic
teaching style (even asking, “Sister Croft, have you ever done theatre? You’d be really good at it.” She laughed as she told
them she’d been involved in theatre since she was 6-years old).
Another thing Julianne picked up where she’d left off? Her relationship with Jordan DiReda. They met in high school when
they were both in the cast of West Side Story. Their high school friendship became something more when they reconnected
down in Provo in the few months between Jordan returning from his mission to Canada and Julianne leaving for hers in New
Jersey. They wrote letters during those 18 months and when Julianne came home, they slowly started exploring the idea of a
relationship again, knowing this time it could potentially lead to something even more permanent. As evidenced by the fact
that he is in our family picture on this holiday card, you’d be right to assume something big is coming for 2020 but I don’t want
to be the one to make the official announcement as they are still trying to find the time to go ring shopping while they struggle
through taking finals. So I will just say that we are absolutely thrilled.
Brandon finished up his senior year at Davis High and graduated with honors (yes, I still cried...third child to graduate, still not
any easier on my emotions) and decided to attend Southern Utah University in Cedar City, a 3.5 hour drive south of here. Of
all my kids he’s chosen to attend school the furthest from home, should I read anything into that? But he does call fairly
regularly and regale us with tales from campus, so though we see him the least we still are pretty current as to what he’s up
to. He’s majoring in Marketing with a minor in Photography. Speaking of photography, he’s been hired to take photos of all
the university events which means you’ll often find him standing on the sidelines of a basketball game, women’s gymnastics
meet or campus activity with a camera in hand. Many of his shots I later see posted on various SUU social media accounts.
He spends a lot of time with Abbie, his girlfriend...in fact he’s arriving home today after spending this past weekend with her
family in Henderson, NV. Overall he is thriving in Cedar City and claims college life is so much better than high school.
Another graduation this year; Rebekah from Utah State University. Our first college graduate. She called me a few weeks
before the date of commencement and said, “Momma, are you going to be sad if you can’t go to my graduation? Because I’m
going to be in China on that day…” While I would’ve loved to see her in cap and gown, this trip was the opportunity of a
lifetime. So the official diploma arrived by mail while Rebekah and Tanner flew to China where they stayed for the entire
month of May. They had a little apartment in the city of Chengdu, in the center of China. Because they weren’t in a more
tourist-type city many people there had never seen Americans in person before and treated Rebekah and Tanner like
celebrities. People would stop and point, take pictures or ask for selfies, and even comment about sightings of “the foreigner
couple” on a local social media site. “So white, so beautiful!” was a phrase Rebekah heard frequently due to her very pale
skin and they were always impressed with how well Tanner spoke Mandarin. Rebekah and Tanner spent their time teaching
English to Chinese preschoolers and sightseeing. They even got the chance to visit Xi’an and see the Terra Cotta Warriors.
Thankfully they sent pictures and videos regularly so we could live vicariously.
With Rebekah’s graduation in Elementary Education complete, she was officially hired to teach 4th grade at Lewiston
Elementary just north of Logan where they still live as Tanner finishes up his senior year at USU. Rebekah spent countless
hours this summer preparing her classroom and lessons for the 25 students who would be calling her Mrs. Braden. Every
time she comes to visit she brings piles of spelling tests and math assignments to grade or sheets of laminated items to cut
out. She tasks us all with various assignments and often you’ll find us sitting on the floor in the living room chatting and
listening to music while we help Mrs. Braden get her school work done. Rebekah claims that it’s been hugely exhausting and
overwhelming, but she loves her little class and they definitely love her. Tanner is her biggest cheerleader and is nearly as
invested in those kids as Rebekah is. It makes my heart smile as I see him working hard on his own school work, but also
making huge efforts in helping Rebekah with her classroom needs, grading papers and providing moral support when she’s
had a tough day. He’s also taken on cooking the majority of their meals and doing the laundry. The two of them are such a
great pair.
Would you believe that for the first time in 17 years, we don’t have a child in elementary school? (Well, if you don’t count
Rebekah who just went back…) Lilian is in 7th grade this year at the new Shoreline Jr High and is the only child living at
home. What with her siblings spread out between Logan, Provo and Cedar City, Lilian’s hanging out full time with the parents
and dog and will continue to do so for the next 6 years. Heaven forbid we ever start butting heads considering there isn’t any
sibling buffer. So far she still likes us. Fingers crossed that lasts a good long while. At school Lilian joined the orchestra,
continuing with her cello (she’s just been chosen to be first chair next semester). Additionally she sings with the choir and
between the two we attend a lot of concerts. She’s also in her third year of competitive soccer with Forza. Her coach calls her
Lily Fierce due to the fact that she’s tiny but plays aggressively on the field which always tends to take the opposing team by
surprise, especially when they are often twice her size. Lilian enjoyed her first experience with Young Women Girls Camp this
past summer. She also decided, even with such a shortened amount of time, to earn her Personal Progress Medallion before
the program changes in January. She is one determined girl.
Earlier this year Lilian played the part of Veruca Salt in the school musical Willy Wonka Jr and made a very believable snotty
little rich girl, complete with foot stomping and spot-on British accent. I was technically the music director but ended up
co-directing in all aspects from music, to staging and blocking, characterization and lines, and even helping plan costumes,
build sets and find props. It was an enormous undertaking...hundreds of hours. I ate, slept and breathed Willy Wonka. To the
point that the weekend before we opened I caught the dreaded influenza, likely due to a lowered immune system from stress
and lack of sleep, but also being surrounded by 100+ kids every morning for weeks on end during the height of flu season!
But what could I do seeing as we had 2 dress rehearsals and 6 performances over the next week? Nothing but drug myself
best I could and blearily soldier on. But oh, I was so ridiculously proud of those kids and they will always have my heart. What
a rewarding experience the whole thing was.
Julianne and I traveled to New Jersey and Rockland County, New York to visit her mission in June. What an amazing
experience to it was to spend this one-on-one time with my daughter as she shared a part of her life that had such an impact
in shaping the person she has become. She took me to every apartment she lived in, we ate at all her favorite places and
visited mission friends that she came to know and love. So much reminiscing of details big and small, all with a happy grin on
her face, and she spoke fluent Spanish with the people we met up with. It was like watching her revert back into Hermana
Croft all over again. We popped into her old Newark Spanish Ward building one evening where we found ourselves invited to
the Seminary graduation already in progress with a big old Peruvian feast afterwards. We stopped by the mission office to
visit some senior couples and also had a joyful reunion with one of Julianne’s companions. On Sunday we attended church
with the New City Ward in New York where Julianne had served for 5 transfers. It was delightful to hear voices around me
singing in English, Spanish and Creole all at the same time. We spent that evening at the home of the VerHoefs, Julianne’s
adopted mission family. I can see why Julianne adores them, they are truly some of the best people I have ever met. I will
never be able to thank them enough for the way they loved my daughter and took care of her during a time when I couldn’t.
We had dinner at Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen and enjoyed dipping our toes in the sand and surf at Sandy Hook Beach. We
visited Weehawken where Hamilton’s fatal duel with Aaron Burr took place, and explored Bear Mountain State Park in
Rockland County, hiking to a peak with a view into 4 different states. We then met up with my sister Melissa to spend 5 more
days in Manhattan. It was the ultimate girls trip and we explored that city so vigorously that my fitbit told me we’d walked 44
miles during those few days. Highlights included seeing 4 Broadway shows, walking the Brooklyn Bridge and High Line, and
taking the Hard Hat Tour of the unrestored section of Ellis Island with Julianne also showing us around the Family History
Center where she’d helped people find their immigrant ancestors as a missionary.
In July I hopped another plane, this time to Europe with the Sally Bytheway Chorale for a singing tour to Austria, Slovenia
and Croatia. I knew Salzburg, Austria would be amazing, but didn’t really know much about the other two countries. They
aren’t places you automatically think of when considering a trip to Europe, right? Oh my, was I mistaken in my initial apathy. I
don’t think I’ve ever seen a place as beautiful as Lake Bled, Slovenia. And Ljubljana rivals Prague in terms of charm. We
toured the most incredible national park in Croatia filled with more waterfalls than I’d ever seen in one place before, and
explored a jaw dropping cave system in Slovenia. In Salzburg we felt like we’d jumped into the Sound of Music movie, even
singing a concert in the famed church where the wedding between Captain Von Trapp and Maria was filmed. First and
foremost though the trip was about singing, and we performed 5 concerts in various cathedrals throughout the week, even
making it onto the local news in Slovenia after our concert in Ljublijana. There is definitely something special about singing in
those old European cathedrals where there is so much history and the sound reverberates off the marble and spins around
those high ceilings. The trip was such a gift to see firsthand so many new countries, cultures and landscapes. And to do it all
while singing with two of my sisters and so many friends was simply incredible.
In August I was determined to plan a family vacation, even if just a small one, with the whole family before everyone started
school. We booked a cabin in Island Park, Idaho and headed up for a few days of relaxing in the woods. Lots of reading and
games, hiking and exploring. Rebekah, Tanner, Julianne and Jordan even saw a show at the Playmill Theatre in West
Yellowstone. It was the perfect way to end the summer. And then in October my sister Melissa and I decided to take
advantage of Fall Break to take a little road trip with our daughters, Maddy and Lilian. Goblin Valley is fascinating in an
otherworldly sort of way. And did you know the Four Corners Monument is on a Navajo reservation? I have no idea why
standing in four states at once on an indian reservation thrilled me so much. And then Mesa Verde, you guys. Visit in the fall
when the leaves are changing colors. Those cliff dwellings are nothing short of spectacular. Idaho, Utah, Colorado...we
definitely live in a beautiful part of the country.
Bryan saw a lot of business travel in the first half of the year but has been home a bit more the past few months. Most
Saturday and Sunday mornings you’ll find him at the Kaysville gun range competing in target shooting. He’s always been a
good shot, but competing against other gun enthusiasts has upped his game and he’s come home with first place bragging
rights more and more lately. Bryan has really enjoyed his time there and has made a lot of friends.
This past year for the first time I applied for and was selected to perform Lamb of God with Witness Music in the spring. I’d
seen the production from the audience and have owned the soundtrack for many years, but to be so wholly invested in the
message during the weeks of rehearsals and performances...it’s hard to put into words the feelings and experiences I had.
This music. This message. This experience. This strengthened me and spiritually filled me this year. So I want to leave you
with the lyrics to one of the songs that though written to be part of the Easter story, still feels appropriate right now as we
celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Jesus, my Savior, Lord and King, what great name could e’er I sing?
What greater joy than from Thee I know, what greater debt than mine to owe?
O how my words in vain impart, what glows within my grateful heart.
No tongue could ever right declare, what tender love is written there.
Ten thousand gifts could I employ to show my praise, my thanks, my joy!
All of my life, yea, all my days, still not enough to sing Thy praise.
Ever I’ll sing Thy praise.
We hope you’ve had a wonderful year and wish you the merriest of Christmas and holiday seasons!
Love, The Croft Family
Bryan, Sarah, Rebekah & Tanner, Julianne & Jordan, Brandon, Lilian (plus Oscar)
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