Christmas Songs

 I wanted to share the songs I shared on Facebook for the 4 Sundays of Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.  Enjoy!

Peace in Christ 

All I Need for Christmas

The Hour Before Christmas

Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined

Winter Snow

He is the Gift

Merry Christmas

Dear family and friends,

One of the blessings of this time of year is the chance it gives us to connect with you. We've had a happy, busy year here in the Reil household. Leonard and Jennifer celebrated their silver wedding anniversary and all of us caught covid finally. Here's some of the fun things we've enjoyed.

Leonard took a trip to Utah for the MTA Conference and saw some family and friends.

Jennifer also took a trip, but to beautiful British Columbia with her hiking gals.

Kaleb is a wonderful missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Noé earned her mouse ears and completed a summer internship at Walt Disney World.

Gavin had a blast at FSY (For the Strength of Youth) camp with kids from all over Eastern Canada.

Teague improved his outdoor skills at a Young Men's camp with boys from all over Ottawa.

Hiram had a fun birthday party at Flying Squirrel (trampoline park).

Ali celebrated her 8^th birthday and chose to be baptized as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Macy started junior kindergarten at our public school and is improving her vocabulary with music.

This summer our family went on a big road trip making stops in Ontario, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We're so grateful for all the loved ones we spent time with, the fun we had, and for the beauty of our earthly home.

We are moving to Guangzhou, China next summer for three years. If you know anyone who would be interested in renting our home in Ottawa during that time (2023-2026), please share our contact info with them.

What have you enjoyed during 2022? Please send us a note and let us know!

We wish you a thoughtful and joyful Christmas season, and much love and beauty for the coming year!

Love,

The Reil family

Leonard, Jennifer, Kaleb, Noé, Gavin, Teague, Hiram, Ali, and Macy

Silver Anniversary

Leonard and I were just 18 when we started dating.

We had only known each other for 2 months, before he came home to Vegas to meet the fam (thanks Leslie for getting baptized then!).  My siblings were only 9, 8, 5, and 4 when Len met them.

We met the first week of our freshman year at BYU.  We got married almost 4 years later, a week after I graduated.

So grateful how our family has grown over the years!

In our 25 years of marriage we've had 7 kids, moved 12 times (including 5 countries, 3 states, and 7 cities), visited 29 countries, and made countless memories.

We went out to dinner at The Keg for some steak, shrimp, and cheesecake.

Leonard gave me this beautiful sunshine ring, and I think it goes great with my moon and star ring.

I wrote the 25th edition of my So Now What? letter to him and made him a playlist of songs for every year we've known each other.

1993- Fields of Gold, Sting

1994- Crazy, Aerosmith

1995- Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie & The Blowfish

1996- Sittin' Up In My Room, Brandy

1997- I Love You Always Forever, Donna Lewis

1998- This Kiss, Faith Hill

1999- Kiss Me, Sixpence None The Richer

2000- My Best Friend, Tim McGraw

2001- Thank You, Dido

2002- A Thousand Miles, Vanessa Carlton

2003- The Game Of Love, Santana & Michelle Branch

2004- With You, Jessica Simpson

2005- You And Me, Lifehouse

2006- Far Away, Nickelback

2007- Bubbly, Colbie Caillat

2008- Love Like This, Natasha Bedingfield & Sean Kingston

2009- The Only Exception, Paramore

2010- Teenage Dream, Katy Perry

2011- I Would Do Anything For You, Foster The People

2012- Home, Phillip Phillips

2013- Adore You, Miley Cyrus

2014- You & I Forever, Jessica Ware

2015- Like I'm Gonna Lose You, Meghan Trainor & John Legend

2016- Pillowtalk, Zayn

2017- Something Just Like This, The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

2018- What Lovers Do, Maroon 5 & SZA

2019- Lover, Taylor Swift & Shawn Mendes

2020- Stuck With U, Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber

2021- Tweety, Raveena

2022- Room For 2, Benson Boone

Updates-

2023- Waves of Blue, Majid Jordan

2024- Norther Wind, City & Colour

(this song came out in 2011, but we saw him in concert in 2024 so it counts, ha ha)

2024 bonus- Too Sweet, Hozier (since this song actually came out in 2024 ;)

2025- Ordinary, Alex Warren

And I wanted to add a song for each year of our lives (starting in utero)-

1974- I Will Always Love You, Dolly Parton

1975- You Sexy Thing, Hot Chocolate

1976- Still the One, Orleans

1977-Best of My Love, The Emotions

1978- You're the One that I Want, John Travolta & Olivia Newton John

1979- Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen

1980- You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC

1981- Endless Love, Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

1982- Only You, Yazoo

1983- Faithfully, Journey

1984- Somebody, Depeche Mode

1985- Crazy for You, Madonna

1986- Take My Breath Away, Berlin

1987- Lips Like Sugar, Echo & The Bunnymen

1988- Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison

1989- I Drove All Night, Cyndi Lauper

Bonus- Pure, The Lightning Seeds

1990- More Than Words, Extreme

1991- Something to Talk About, Bonnie Raitt

1992- These Are Days, 10,000 Maniacs

1993 bonus- Fade Into You, Mazzy Star

May 2022

Noé Place Like Disney

The Princesses

I had so much fun with these birds in BC!

Sheri is the Princess of Sleep

Mary is the Princess of Showers

Renée is the Princess of Technology

I am the Princess of Photos

and Jackie is the Queen of Laughter

I also have to record that we saw bald eagles, sea otters, and even a black bear!  I saw artwork that said, "To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles."  This trip was proof of the many miracles of life!

I hope we can do trips like this often!

 

Stanley Park * Golden Ears National Park * Vancouver Temple