Celebrating McKenzie's 23rd Birthday! (And setting up the apartment for the refugee family I get to help mentor soon...)

We went out to dinner at The Olive Garden and it was soooo yummy!  We had fun enjoying each other's company!  Grandma even felt up to going so it was nice to have her along!  Afterward, we went over to Grandma's house to open McKenzie's presents and have cake and ice cream and sing happy birthday to her.  I can't believe it has been 23 years since she was born and entered our lives.  What a joy she has been!  She has had to overcome a lot in those 23 years, but she is doing remarkably well and loving her life!  You can't ask for more than that!  It was a fun evening. 

Later on, I went with Julie and Rob Spear to help with a group of people to set up an apartment for a refugee family coming from the Congo tomorrow night.  It is a mom (Kito) and her 8 year old daughter (Miriam).  It was so much fun to set up this apartment knowing that they would have a safe place to call home and finally be able to have peace in their lives.  I just kept thinking about them... I know they must be scared with coming to a new country where they don't know the language or anything about our culture, but that it will STILL be such an improvement for them.  Our group will be mentoring Kito and Miriam and helping them to learn the language and the culture and help them to adjust to life here in the United States.  We will be teaching them how to balance a budget, go grocery shopping and how to use the local library-- among other things!  It should be a really fulfilling experience and I'm sure we will grow to love these people!  There were quite a few people there from our group (and children too) helping to set up, and it is a very small apartment, so we were able to get everything moved in and put away in less than 3 hours!  I get to go again tomorrow night to meet them at the airport with some of the same people that came tonight.  It is a group of women from our Stake, so it will be fun getting to know those women too.  There are several from our ward!  (Me, Sandy Weigand, Micole Hinton and Julie Spear)  Here are some pictures of Kito and Miriam's cute little abode!  (I didn't get any pictures of the bedroom as the beds hadn't arrived yet.)  But it is little!  I'm sure they will be thrilled to have everything they need to start a new life here in the good 'ol USA!!