2/16

To get you ready for the rainy season---
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes
Will soon be turning red
Crying's not for me 'cause,
I'm never gonna stop the rain
By complaining,
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me
It won't be long
Till happiness
Steps up to greet me


Remember to put a sock full of rice in your shoes so they wick out the moisture and last a little longer. 
Pictures- Cross Country Skiing near Cress Creek, Porter and Olivia Gneighting at Winter Ball

2/16

Hi from Mom,

I haven't really fallen in love with the 9am schedule....Dad usually leaves for meetings early or is preparing for a talk, so I have to wake up extra early and be ready to get kids going early. And, everyone wants food....lots of food... breakfast, lunch and dinner and treats. When we go at 11 or 1pm I can get away with just one large meal a small breakfast and a snack. I think just not eating would be a better way to live. Then all the older guys take big afternoon naps like lions, with the younger children filling the floor with games and legos and tempting the lions out of their sleep with arguing or sometimes laughter. 

I love the story about the man who feeds you every Sunday. I am so grateful for his example. 

So the above paragraph should also include....I am so grateful for Sunday's to have everyone here, reading, playing and resting. I love going to church and being able to sub for anybody that needs it. Today I subbed for Pace's Sunday School class. I love having Dad around. He told his client that they don't work on Sunday, so they would pick back up on the rush job on Monday morning early. I love doing the dishes together, hearing Tad's crazy ideas, Porter's scientific insights, and teasing Pace. I love cuddling up with Drew and Davis and Sadie and reading with them. I love having time to write to you and catching up on Sunday stuff. And we are signed up to have the missionaries over to dinner next month. Ha Ha ..I have two personalities. 

Porter brought up an insight that I thought was valuable. It seems that good people quickly repent of things that may not have been fully their fault...but want to be clean and right with the Lord. He sighted several scriptural examples from the Old Testament. Sometimes they may see something inappropriate or do something unknowingly, but they repent and readjust their lives quickly. 

It is Porter's 17th birthday this week. Grandpa's was last Wednesday. Any good ideas for presents?

On Friday Dad took a half a day off work to go on a double date with me and  Jacksons. Steve ended up getting sick, but Stephanie, Breanne and Sarah came with us. We went to Pocatello to find a Yurt to cross country ski to for a future adventure. We didn't make it to the yurt, but had fun on another trail. Then because we had an extra pair of skis we decided to rent some for the younger kids and go Saturday with our family to the canal road below Cress Creek that is along the Snake River. We stopped and played games at Grandma Nikki's after. 

Porter went to the El Cheapo dance with Sadie (I forgot her last name....Abby's friend) on Saturday afternoon and night.. Colton went with Abby.  They went cross country skiing again...so he really got a day full of it. But it was a good day for it. El Cheapo is a new dance that they only announce the week of, then whoever gets asked has to pay for the date, but can only spend $20.16. 

Tad went to the Klondike Derby on Friday and Saturday. Their scout group has gone camping every month. Isaac, Brigham and Tad had lots of fun. 

Porter and I left the driveway on Saturday night with a sign in front of the car that says Llama Lover's lane.Llama Lover Parking Only. Violators will be spit on. We suspect this was a Becky and Brigham job. Tad had a smile from ear to ear. Tad is constantly telling us ideas of what he and Brigham are going to do. 

Pace applied for the Rigby Police Department Cadet program. He also signed up for spring soccer along with Porter. 

This Tuesday Grandma Nikki asked if we would drive her to a women's meeting at BYU-I with Sister Bednar. Elder Bednar is speaking at devotional in the day and she will go to that.  But this meeting is at night, so Grandma doesn't want to drive.  Sadie and I are excited we get to drive her and attend. 

Davis is really taking off in piano. He has 10 or more songs this week. Drew loves to practice too. 

This week is parent teacher conference.Yay.  I love this holiday. I get lots of presents. 

Next week I am going with Grandma and Grandpa to Bryce Canyon to a quilt retreat. I will take a class from her, sell her patterns and material kits and take another class to make some new quilted placemats. This week I will finish up getting patterns ready. 

Sadie High got her mission call to the band in Nauvoo. She is so excited. 

I saw Stetson's mom this week at a scout meeting. Stetson is in Moscow going to school. She said hi and asked how you were doing. Lots of people at the high school registration fair asked how you are doing. Hi from Mr. Rasmussen!! The Sound of Troy sang at our Martin's Cove kick-off fireside. 

We love you. You feel so far away, but now that I know how to make plantain fufu, I will make it and think of you. It is really easy! Stephanie and Amy tried making it too. We all like it. Be careful,  I gained a lot of weight during mochi season. Those carb balls can get you.

Last call for requests for your package. I will mail it on Tuesday. 

Love you, Mom

1/16

Hi.

We just finished dishes after lunch. Going to church at 9 am is sure nice, in that it gives us larger, unbroken periods of time on Sunday. Everyone is sitting around eating red hots and playing a game together. 

I had a weird dream this morning. I was doing dishes when I turned and noticed you standing in the kitchen. As it is with dreams, I was surprised to see you here, since you were on a mission in Africa. You seemed a little down, so we gave you a hug, told you that we loved you, and lovingly sent you back out the door to your mission. My dream was probably just a result of the chili I ate on Saturday (since I’ve never had a dream that meant anything), but if you ever do get a little discouraged and need some encouragement, know that we love you and we’re proud of what you’re doing, that we know you will survive and learn great things from it, then get back out and go to work :)

I spoke in Lewisville 2 today. It was an interesting experience. My topic was The Rescue, Ministering and Home Teaching. I prepared my talk a week early, but just wasn’t feeling the inspiration on this topic. As I was driving into the parking lot, I had a series of thoughts that I knew would make the talk less awful. As I got into the chapel and started writing them down, I had a few other thoughts fall into place. I ended up giving a pretty different talk than what I had prepared, and it turned out much better than what I had prepared. 

Sometimes I wonder what we’re supposed to learn from the “last minute help” we get from Heavenly Father. I have had the occasional experience when I knew what I should say or do immediately, when things just fell into place and I felt guided from the outset. More frequently, however, it goes the other way and the real guidance comes at the end after I’ve tried other stuff. I don’t know what it is, but there’s probably a deep eternal principle there, if I could just figure it out.

This week’s advice: I don’t know if Nephi would have been ready to slay Laban before Laman was chased away, all their precious things were stolen, and they had run for their lives. Had they found Laban right off, would Nephi have been prepared to follow through with what the Lord needed him to do? I don’t think so. How many times are the things we try first actually the lessons that prepare us for the solution we needed to arrive at, but were unprepared to embrace until after the experience?  May have answered my own question from above.

Your mom is writing too, so this is just a supplement. We love you. Keep the faith. 

Dad

Here’s another entry for Faith & Evidences:

===============

Grandma Ormond’s Blessing

This is another one where I’ll state that I’m not sure that my experience reflects accurate doctrine, but it is accurate.

When we moved back to Idaho from school in California. we took the opportunity to visit Grandma Ormond frequently. She lived in a nursing home in Rexburg, and we would drop in with our kids or individually on a regular basis. Grandma had great longevity genes (related to Elder Perry) and a pleasant, amicable personality. At age 95, she had a serious fall, and the medical complications looked grim. In the hospital, she became unresponsive, and my Mom asked me to give here a blessing.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to give a priesthood blessing to someone in dire circumstances, it’s a weighty responsibility. I especially feel the need to KNOW what the Lord would have me say in the blessing when using his Priesthood. In this instance, I felt complete confidence that this was a minor issue, and blessed her that her doctors would be able to quickly treat her, and that she would regain her health. Within just a few days, the doctors realized that they had crossed a couple of medications which produced a negative side-effect (coma). They changed the medication, and she immediately pulled out and recovered. 

Fast forward a couple of years. Grandma had taken another hard fall one night as she tried to go to the bathroom, and had become unresponsive. My mother asked if I would come and give her a blessing. As I sat briefly with both of them in Grandma Ormond’s room, I felt that Grandma Ormond wouldn’t recover from this, and began to wonder how to give a blessing that releases someone from this life. As I laid my hands on her head, I felt something totally unexpected. I felt that I was standing in as proxy for my Grandpa Ormond, who was the rightful priesthood bearer to give this blessing. I knew that Grandma needed to be released from this life and that she would die very soon. I also felt my Grandfather’s impatience, as if there were important things that they two needed to be doing, almost as if her death were a formality that had been postponed long enough.

I don’t remember specifics of the blessing, other than I released her from this life by the authority of the Priesthood, and that my mom cried as I said it. After I finished, and sat with mom, Grandma Ormond’s breathing began to be more and more labored, and she passed away about 40 minutes later as we sat peacefully in her room. My mom was understandably emotional, commenting that now she was an orphan. It was an honest statement, without a hint of facetiousness. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen her vulnerable.

The experience was special to me, and together with experiences I’ve shared as a missionary, or when we received financial help from Grandma 5 years after she passed away, has made me wonder about our eternal relationships and how much influence our ancestors have in our lives here. It certainly felt as if familial ties were actually deepened here and in eternity. I’ve wondered if many of the events in our lives here operate under the direction of the priesthood, through our deceased ancestors as the ministering of angels. Regardless of the answers there, I have experienced the power of the Priesthood as I’ve been inspired to know things I could not otherwise know (the future), and to participate in eternally significant events. 

1/16 Perry the Platypus

Elder Nelson, 

Porter got a wedding announcement for Hayley Perry. He said you would know her. "Who, Katie Perry??" was heard in our house. 

Attached is Drew's original Perry the Platypus in lego style for you.

Drew went with me to the chiropractor. My neck has been kinked/hurting since New Year's Eve.I think it is a virus that has settled in my neck, but worse pain than I have had in a kinked neck before. I can't sleep laying down. I have never had my back and neck cracked like that. But, little relief yet. I will go back on Tuesday. 

Thanks for answering some questions.  And, thanks for your personal letter.  We loved it!!!  It was very inspiring. We read the scriptures, some for FHE and some for family scripture study. I loved seeing your handwriting again .  I will keep going...but I need a cheerleader sometimes.

Two out of 3 new missions announced in the world are in Africa. They are Democratic Republic of the Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission, and the Nigeria Owerri Mission.

You will be happy to know that Sadie is reading her scriptures everyday. The Activity Day girls are in the middle of a scripture challenge. And Davis is also reading his scriptures and saying his prayers as part of a cub scout challenge. Drew is right on top of saying his prayers at night, he even reminds Sadie to say her prayers at night.  

Pace surprised us today by answering Dustin's call and talking to him. I thought of Dustin when I was reading in Ether when the brother of Jared had been so diligent in praying, and had a lot of answered prayer, but then slacked off. 

14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord. 

I wonder if the Lord is trying to talk to us.....as much as Dustin calls, but it is not convenient or we don't think it is going to be anything new.  

Drew and Davis started piano lessons and Sadie and Pace are continuing. Drew, Davis and Sadie practice everyday. 

Porter signed up to take the ACT test in February. He is starting applications to colleges. Any advice?

I am getting quilt patterns and material ready for the quilt retreat in southern Utah with Grandma Johnson the first week of FEB. 

I can't remember if I told you or not, but Dad and I got called as Ma and Pa for the Martin's Cove Trek over Rocky Ridge in August.

Our neighbors Chris and Katelyn finished school and moved to Montana.

Sadie is doing a lesson on journals. What impact has keeping a journal had in your life? (You can be part of our FHE vicariously) The object lesson is cool.See article below if you have time.

I bought some plantain bananas.  Do you have any great recipes we can try? 

Do you have access to vanilla beans there? What spices do you have access to most? Have you tried the ginger tea for you GI troubles??? 

That is all the randomness I can think of right now. 

We love you!!! Thanks for working so hard and being so dedicated. 

Mom

hello, 

This is Sadie. Mom allowed me to write the letter this week.Tad,mom, and I are home from church sick today so there's really nothing else to do but wash dishes, but who wants to do that? Not me. 

     Mom wanted me to write about some of the funny things that we found written in your journal so here it goes:

Isaac:That peanut butter and squash sandwich was pretty good but I have to say, that BLT was awesome!!!

Mom: That "squash" was peach jam.

here's another:

Isaac: There are four ways I bug my brothers.

1.tease them

2. do annoying things over and over again(like tap a cup)

3.get something they want before them

4.call them tattle tellers, babies,wimps,etc.

sometimes we get alone but other times I have to use these strategies. And when they do these things to me I have to be mean. Sometimes it's good for them too.

Isaac: In the canal on Friday,when all the water was out except little puddles, we caught a rainbow trout about 9" long. We put it in the bathtub  but it died so we ate it. I had to clean out the insides with my thumb. ewww. the meat was yummy so that was good!!! I also had something else bloody this week. We beheaded chickens!!! One of the heads just kept on squawking for almost 2 whole minutes!!!

Anyway, every thing is going great here. Did you hear that they opened up some new missions in Africa? Totally awesome right?  Drew built a lego perry the platypus for you!

             love, Sadie

1/16 Dad's E-mail

Davis is running laps again. There has to be some way to capture energy from a whiny, complaining child… it’s definitely a renewable resource. Unlimited power.

I’ve been working long, long hours through Christmas again. I really wish I could take time off when all of the kids are out of school, but I also recognize the blessing it is to have work, and try to take it when it’s available. I went to work at 2amon New Year’s Eve, intending to end mid-day, but had some issues extend that and ended up working 14 hours that day. The good news is that starting at 2, I still got to spend the evening with everyone, and I wasn’t really that tired atmidnight, either. Sundays really are rejuvenating when you’re working extended hours.

Eric and I are the only ones left in Delorum at this point. We’ve split Pagoda Box off as it’s own venture, so we’ll see what happens :) Eric and I have learned some hard lessons about giving up too much control over the direction and focus of our business, so we are hopeful we’ll see it go differently this time. We may never see the money and time we’ve put into Pagoda Box come back, but we have enough work lined out to pay us through June by the end of February. We’re hoping to keep that trend going, double our salaries and expand this year. Your mom deserves so much more than that for sticking it out while we struggled our way through a tech start-up. In the end, there also seems to be a spiritual undercurrent in the split. We’ve both had promptings leading us in the same direction, although that direction is a little obscure. We’re taking the steps we can and trusting that more will come as we move forward. Interesting times. The wreck was a nice cherry on top.

It was great to talk with you over Christmas, and hopefully not too distracting. I had been out about 7 months before my first Christmas as a missionary, and it didn’t really phase me at all. I think it would have been harder earlier in my mission, so hopefully you’re strengthened, not distracted.

Tyrel and Evelyn are coming over to eat today. They weren’t at the New Years Day family party, so your mom checked with Grandma Nikki to see if there was some reason. Grandma hadn’t heard anything. After talking with Grandma, mom saw a post from Tyrel on Facebook which said, "I just want to thank you all for being wonderful examples of light. I've struggled, and still am, but I appreciate your kindness and faithfulness. I love you all.” Mom typed a quick message back, but he had deleted his Facebook account by the time she could type a response. So she called him.

It turns out he’s headed back into rehab tomorrow. As I’ve pondered that today, I have the feeling I need to take a bigger role in his life, and that Heavenly Father is working with him. There seem to be some spiritual things happening around this experience. I’ve certainly had a flurry of thoughts about him today, some of which feel inspired. We’ll see how it goes. It’s complicated by Evelyn and her stance on all things spiritual. I’ll keep you posted. He has a long way to go before he’s mastered the issues he’s facing, but the point of the gospel is that people can change. 

This week’s advice: The same as last week’s advice over the phone, but with a slight clarification. I heard echoed in your tone about other missionaries my own mission experience. I was shocked at the level of disobedience and immaturity in certain (most) missionaries. If you can learn from someone else’s experience, here is an insight: YOU have to learn to really love and lift those around you, even if you feel critical of motives, actions, spirituality, obedience, etc. The burden is on YOU to learn, live and love the second half of the 2 great commandments. If missionaries drive you crazy, how hard will it be for you to love ‘all men’?  1 John is especially pointed on the subject, and good to ponder. It will deepen your consecration if you can master both halves of Christ’s instructions. Think Brother Fivas, without the donuts. 

 Here’s another installment for Faith & Evidences:

Grandma Ormond’s Spending Habits

At the outset, I’ll state that I’m not sure that my interpretation of the following is accurate doctrine. 

As an author and contributor to outdoor magazines, my Grandpa Ormond made more money that most of his neighbors, and certainly more than my farmer parents. He saved and invested well, which allowed Grandma Ormond to live comfortably off interest for the 20 years after his death. 

When we were young married students raising a family in California on not much money, Grandma Ormond was conscious of our plight and periodically sent a few hundred dollars, usually at times when we desperately needed it. She helped us through the expenses of having children, Karie staying home as a mom, and my going to school full-time. When we moved back here, we were grateful for the chance to visit her frequently in the nursing home, as one small expression of our thanks. When she died about 8 years ago, I was privileged to be the one to release her from this life through a priesthood blessing, which was a very sweet, and unique experience. 

Fast forward to a couple of years ago as we were trying to fund Pagoda Box on yet another cycle of “only 2 more months before we’re finished building”. We had exhausted our savings and were coming to the edge of closing the doors on our business. We lived that year on about half of what we paid our newest, unmarried employees (joy’s of ownership) and had pretty much spent our last savings. At work, we had arranged a large client project, but it wasn’t slated to begin for another month, and to make payroll for our employees, Mom and I didn’t take a check yet again. We didn’t know what we were going to do. 

That’s when the letter from Grandma Ormond arrived in the mail with a check for exactly the amount we needed to make it through the month. It turns out, Grandma Nikki and Aunt Brenda found an unclaimed investment that was not settled upon Grandma’s death. They went through the proper channels to have it released to the estate, and distributed the check between all Grandma Ormond’s grandchildren with the somewhat cryptic note. To everyone else, it was a nice gift. To us, it was personalized from Grandma. She was still sending money just when we needed it. 

Doctrinally, I don’t know if deceased ancestors have power or influence on our behalf, or if Heavenly Father used the circumstance to bless us in a timely manner, but I certainly felt the influence of our eternal family. I suspect there is often a greater connection than we recognize. We should watch for those.

1/16 Broham

Elder Nelson,

     This is Porter, checking up on his broham. This week was full of a lot of parties and socializing... your favorite! On Wednesday, we went over to the 'other' Nelson's and rode around on their new snowmobiles! Mom brought a lot of hot chocolate and we had cookies, which was awesome after a long day of sledding! Once we got home, Tad and Brigham convinced our mothers separately that we needed a movie night, so we went over and watched the Hobbit while the younger kids watched the Minions. On New Year's Eve, we stayed up till midnight at the Fullmer's party, which was fun. We got to meet Jacob Fullmer's Fiancee, Laura Jemmett. Yep, that was a shock for us too. On New Year's Day, we had the annual Nelson volleyball tournament, which was really fun, especially because we brought the Ping Pong table, which sucked away all the little kids! Dad is still walking, which was a big surprise. haha! Mom however hurt her neck somehow... we're not quite sure what happened, but she was confined to the couch all of yesterday, ensuring that she couldn't escape Davis, which consequently resulted in him spending the rest of the day outside as punishment. (he was sent to exile at 12:00) Last night, we celebrated Pace's birthday, which he now decided was in January... sounds suspicious. ;) Anyway, we played Volleyball at the church with all of his friends. We also got to meet Savannah Floyd there! 

Porter is off with dad and the other boys to help Brenda Stoddard dig a broken water line out......so this is Mom now.

I think I told you before, but Matt Jensen is home until ...... March, waiting for his shoulder to heal. I haven't talk to him, but I can imagine how hard it would be to not be on a mission, not working, not back into life, but not gone either. 

  

Today Tyrel and Evelyn are coming to dinner today.  It is Pace's unobserved birthday dinner. Tyrel posted this yesterday on the Nelson Family Facebook page "

I just want to thank you all for being wonderful examples of light. I've struggled, and still am, but I appreciate your kindness and faithfulness. I love you all." Then he deleted his facebook page, so I txtd him and he asked if he could call back. He talked to me for a bout 20 min. He is headed back into rehab on Monday in Boise. They didn't come to the Nelson party but wanted to come eat dinner and play games tonight.  This week for family scripture study we read John 9 about Christ healing the blind man.  It struck me that the blind man never saw Christ until a while after the miracle. I wonder if he was praying for a lifetime to be healed or if he had given up. In the church bible video it looks like he is in his 50s. When Christ asked him to wash in the pool, he had enough faith to try it.  He was asked to wash in the pool and probably saw his own reflection first. It was like he was a new man with new confidence. He bore a very powerful response to the Pharisees in John 9. https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/jesus-heals-a-man-born-blind?lang=eng In Sunday School we studied about the three witnesses/8 witnesses and someone brought up those who weren't witnesses, like Brigham Young, John Taylor and others who didn't see the plates still had unshakable testimonies. Seeing doesn't always lead to knowing. Reading, acting on faith, asking questions and receiving personal revelation leads to unshakable testimony. These two quotes about the Book of Mormon also stuck out to me. President Ezra Taft Benson: “The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. (See 2 Ne. 3:12.) It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1975, 94–95; or Ensign, May 1975, 64). “There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. … When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6; orEnsign, Nov. 1986, 7). I think these quotes support you request that all of us read our scriptures. Tad reported that one way he improved this past year was to read his scriptures.  Do you have more motivation to help us improve personal or family scripture study? If you have time tell us... Have you seen any wildlife yet? Do you always e-mail from an internet cafe?  What else do you do on p-day? How is laundry? How many missionaries are in your zone? How large of an area do you cover? companionship/district/zone I have had a couple of African people request friendship on facebook. The first was while you were in the MTC so I declined.  The second is Eve Laplante. Do you know her? Let me know if there is someone I should friend...because I wouldn't feel inclined unless you knew them fairly well.  We love you, Mom (and Porter) p.s. Sorry we don't have any fun pictures this week.  Here is your sock from Christmas though. It will be here in two years. We will just keep adding to it.

Attachments area

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12/28/15 Christmas Highlights

Dec. 28, 2015

Elder Nelson,

First of all I have to say, we loved hearing your voice!! Thanks for calling. It was a wonderful Christmas gift to hear about your desires to be a consecrated missionary.

Some of our Christmas highlights. ...

An awesome piano recital sing along at the Rigby Gardens (Assisted Living). Laura and Rebecca work miracles with the kids. Drew and Davis will start in Jan.

Playing at Flips
Redeeming coupons in Idaho Falls. Pace, Porter and Tad went to the Martian.
Playing in the snow at Nelson's behind their snowmobiles. 

Making friends and neighbors a lamb hat costume to add to their nativity costumes. It was the second installment after the beards. Next year.....donkey? wisemen?

Having Dad alive after his accident! He did't see a truck backing out with a snowmobile trailer due to a semi parked in front of the Taylor's house on the Menan-Lorenzo Hwy. He steered hard right, hit the front right corners of the trailer and back right of the truck before going in between a telephone pole and mailbox , landing in a small irrigation ditch. He was going 10 miles under the speed limit. Miracle for dad. The car is totaled. He has been working from 5am-7pmish on a big project. He went to work by 5 the next morning and hasn't been a bit sore.
Opening some family presents Christmas Eve  (Grandma Nikki is not doing her Christmas Eve get together anymore....so we have to start our own traditions) and eating African Chicken and hot chocolate,  playing Exploding Kittens and Sushi Go card games.
Giving Porter Rice Krispie cleats and some money for some real cleats.
Giving Pace a sleep and activity wrist tracker. He checks it constantly.
Drew's reaction to Porter's gift.....a remote control car.
Sledding with Adriel and Yuki and Mike's family. The older guys made a jump with a padded landing. There was a video crew and lots of slow motion replays.
Watching the new Starwars. Even I went and liked it a lot ....but hated watching the other movie trailers beforehand. ..yuck. Sadie loved that the main character was a girl.  There is a new black actor as the other main character.
The hot tub under a star studded sky and full moon.  Drew still loves to swim.
Forgetting the suitcase with everyone's Sunday Clothes, going to DI so that we could go to church....making the Sabbath a delight.
Gyoza, and other assorted appetizers for dinner. Naoko supplying Tim Tam slams for dessert....and of course Aggie Ice Cream for all the December/Jan birthdays. Naoko fits right in. If feels like she has been in our family for a long time. We ate fun Japanese candy including some GHANA chocolate. Davis and Drew loved the treat table....tooo much.
Tuning 4 Ukeles to follow Molly ' s lead at the family party, singing I Lava You. Grandma and Grandpa wore their Hawaiian garb. Everyone has been singing it for a week now...I even hear dad hum it.
Grandma's bingo game. Drew got a Starwars Hotwheel car from 1982 in it's original package. Dad's heart sank when he opened the pristine package before anyone knew. ...after looking it up, there are 4 available on Amazon for $6. 35 each.
White elephant gifts. At one point Mike and Molly had matching reindeer antlers.
Fun laughing, playing, eating and doing lots of dishes as a family.

Today we are back home. It is cleaning day. We will go to the Fullmer's New Year's Eve and then to the Nelson Volleyball party on New Year's Day.

It felt so good to laugh, play and talk with family. There is nothing better. It was so uplifting and healing. We felt sad to be away from family members who are far away, and who feel far away because of other reasons. There is a prayer in my heart to be able to have a gathering place for all of you to be able to come back to. I also am praying that Dad would like that too. Sometimes when life is stressful it is easy to want to be by yourself, but when you can share your burden with others who love you Heaven feels really close. 

I am checking on sending the Mapleline and Vanilla. Let us know what we can send in the padded envelope for Elder Antwi. I wont send it until mid Jan. 

I am sending lots of pictures in several e-mails. 

We lava you!!

Mom

12/20/15 READ. THE. BOOK OF MORMON. EVERY. DAY.

Isaac,

I have watched Book of Mormon stories, because I couldn't read. I watched 5 each day, every day this week.  I started with Nephi. And today I watched about the Nephites and Lamanites fighting together. Helaman was there leader.

Helaman said that his men were his sons. and his sons said that Helamen was their  dad. Helaman's sons fought good and none of them died. Some of them were hurt. 

I am glad that I watch them everyday. I will try again this week. I can't read, so I just watched them.  Thank you for telling me. 

Love Drew

PS I asked Santa for a real tiger. (Even though I know he is not real). He was surprised. 

Hey, 

This is Sadie. I took up your challenge to read the scriptures every day this week and I did it. It also helped me do other things daily like brush my teeth, say my prayers, go to bed on time, and a lot more. thanks for challenging me!!!

I love you and miss you,

  Sadie

snow, snow, snow,

How are you getting warm weather but we have snow and lots of it. 

Well we went out with the Jacksons  up to Bear Gulch and went sledding. mom and Sadie went cross country skiing while we slid around on the back of Jacksons van.We had a yellow sled at the end of the train, a bob sled with runners and steering in the middle, and last we had a tobogan in front that held three people.

I liked to sled on the tobogan so you almost never saw me off of it. I also liked the yellow sled which would swerve a lot but every time I got on the rope would snap.

There was one time when my sled flipped over and I fell off but Sarah, on the bob sled, held on when flipped over and did a full circle.

I only read my scriptures 2 times .The hardest part for me is remembering. How did you remember to read your scriptures when you were 8? Playing Monopoly Deal is funner for me.

 have fun and be safe . davis

Dear Isaac,

I was gone when they sent the  other letter I have been trying to read my scriptures i cant say i am perfect but i did read them 5 out of 7 times.

Tad

Isaac,

I read my scriptures everyday this week. Right now I am in 3rd Nephi. I love reading about his visit to the Nephites. Right now I am trying to figure out how to help those that are poor and in need without being able to really change their lives, fix their problems, and I often feel empty after trying. I feel so inadequate in this area right now, especially in relation to Megan's situation. Christ was able to help so many people one on one. He was truly compassionate and was able to heal. 3 Nephi 17:5-9 

Another piece of the puzzle that has stuck with me is when he visited the Nephites he took notice of the people and the lacking in capacity, yet desire they had to help their friends and family who were sick and needy. He tarried a little longer and had them bring them, and he healed them. 

I also read more about the Law of Sacrifice that was discontinued with the coming of Jesus Christ. Before Christ it entailed a sin, burnt and peace offering. The sin offering  taking care of the unintentional, and unconscious sins as well as crimes after punishment had been made. The burnt offering was the burning of the whole animal, and signifying the obligation to surrender our commitment to the Lord.  The Peace offering signifying peace with God and the only offering where the family would eat the sacrificial meal. It was an ordinance...like the sacrament performed as a duty and with thankfulness. The order is significant....atonement, sanctification, and fellowship with the Lord. Even God followed the law of sacrifice, asking us to do what he would do. 

I feel that the Sabbath is a delight, but I wish I felt a "delight" in my service to others.  I do to my family most all of the time and visiting teaching sisters who don't have complicated lives... but the hard cases are plowing me over. Still pondering these things 3 Nephi 17:2-3.

Tomorrow night is the first piano recital for Pace and Sadie.Lora is having it at an assisted living home in Rigby. The 3 months of piano lessons have worked great. Lora and Rebecca are fun teachers. Sadie practices so much she drives us crazy. Pace has practiced a few days in a row one week. The deal is if they practice every day, I pay for lessons. If it is only 3-4 times a  week, we both pay half. If there is no practice they pay for the next 3 months. Sadie and Pace both decided to continue. Davis wants to start in January and they said Drew could take for free because he is so cute. Drew is excited. 

My Christmas present was being able to be outside in the snow yesterday. We went to Bear Gulch. The Jackson's met us there. It was a perfect day... a little warmer, fresh snow, mountains and pine trees, family, friends, cross country skiing, exercise, leaving the cares of the world behind.

We love you!!!!! 

We will be home on Christmas morning excited to talk to you. We are leaving for Grandma and Grandpa's at about noon.  

Love, Mom

12/13/15

We just got home from the 1st Presidency’s Christmas Devotional. Elder Uchtdorf shared a story about a man from Africa who got a wheelchair from the LDS missionaries, and was so grateful. It was a cool story, and a great start to the Christmas Season. This week for family home evening, we made a gingerbread nativity. Each of us was assigned to make one character or type of characters (I had shepherds and sheep). Drew and mom were supposed to team up for Mary, but Drew kind of took over. She ended up looking a lot like sea turtle roadkill. We probably won’t send a picture, as it’s probably sacrilegious. 

Today was fast Sunday, so the newsletter went out with paragraphs from 3 of your letters. Your letters were so short, we had to splice all 3 together to fill the space :) Just kidding. We just chose the most representative paragraphs. Lots of people stopped us to say how much they enjoyed reading. Keep it up.

DREW: Drew wants you to know we’re going to have a bunch of presents. Paul Hill’s great-grandson, Peter (age 3), moved into the ward. Paul moved to Ririe with his daughter, so his granddaughter and her husband from Washington moved into his house. So now Drew has a new friend. Drew has also been giving hugs from the advent calendar, but he can’t get a treat for hugging you, so we’ll have to leave that one in the drawer until you get back.

DAVIS: Davis was sent to bed early for being a pain to his mother. You’re probably missing that. On the bright side, he is speaking Chinese in public (on occasion), which is a significant shift. 

TAD: Tad would like to get a new trombone this summer, and is hoping to fund the venture by raising 15 sheep. He and Brigham have big ideas, but are short on plans. We’ll see what comes of that. Tad, Porter and Pace have been making blow dart guns from drinking straws, finishing nails and q-tips. Porter made a trombone-themed blow dart gun, but Tad topped that with a mounted laser sighted, accurate up to 3 inches. Tad also claimed Grandpa Johnson’s anvil in the ‘great garage give-away’. Davis sleeps with stuffed animals. Tad sleeps with metal objects given to him by Johnson relatives. (Right now, he is trying to play pingpong with a bean bag). 

SADIE: We have departed from our traditional “anything the kids made in school” Christmas Tree decorations this year. Sadie asked mom if they could color coordinate the ornaments, so the tree looks really fun this year. It has glass balls, blue and green mesh ribbon, white birds, white angels, and big green bloom looking flowers. It’s really pretty, and probably marks the beginning of a new era in our home where estrogen plays a larger role in our lives. 

PACE: Tad Haight told Pace that it looked like he had a "bouffant” going. Pace said, “what’s a bouffant” so Tad Googled pictures of the women’s hairstyle from the 60’s, and told Pace, some of them made it hard to walk through a doorway. We give Pace a hard time about his vertical approach to styling his hair. Pace has Mr. Johnson in school, who remembers having you in class. He said you’re a “good kid”. It turns out Abby Nelson is Pace’s seminary companion, and she told him that on Black Friday she took Harrison Moon (dressed in a bear costume) to terrorize the people camped in tents outside the stores in Idaho Falls. Good times. Probably best to avoid the Cabela’s crowd.

PORTER: Porter went to winter ball with Olivia Gneiting (boy’s choice tee shirt dance). He teamed up with Colton, Harrison, Braden, Jacob and Zach to take their dates to watch a movie in the civil defense caves and sledding at the sand dunes. They were going to take their dates to the Grant 2nd Ward Christmas Party for dinner (does a date get cheaper?), but ran out of time. Later, while the other couples on the date built gingerbread houses, he and his date built a gingerbread arch. He’s hopeless, but did get his application in for the ISAS program (Idaho NASA Engineer Training). The Jeep has been vandalized. We’re not sure how long it’s been this way, but there is a BYU sticker on top of the Thule. We suspect Jared…

MOM: Mom finished a quilt from my old jeans and button-up shirts this week. It’s designed for outdoors and picnics. This week, we also called a plumber repair our outdoor faucet, which split when the water froze. It turns out, you’re supposed to remove hoses from the outdoor faucets before winter. Mom knows that now (I had put the hoses away once, but one of them snuck back to the house). That’s a little piece of helpful advice you can pass out to all of your new friends in Africa.

DAD: We mostly finished the cabinet in the Mud Room. A little hardware and some paint, and we will have doubled the value of our house. We’ve finally split Delorum from Pagoda Box. I felt the need to move on, and finally felt that the timing was right. Pagoda Box is nearly at a ‘break-even’ state, so we put everyone but Eric and I into that business, and we’ll start again. It felt like a prompting. We’ll see what comes of it. Thanks for your letters. Thanks for your friends. Thanks for being willing and worthy to serve. 

This week’s advice: Look for examples of good missionaries in the scriptures (Son’s of Mosiah, Alma, Enoch, Nephi & Lehi, etc.), find the scriptures that detail why they were good, and learn from the best.

Let us know if you want longer, shorter, more spiritual, other? letters.

Love Dad

12/6/15 The Good, the Bad and the.....Ugly (sweater season)

Here it is.... the Good, and the Bad, 

The good news is Dad and I went on a date to Comedy Frenzy last night (way way funny) with Eric and Heidi Greybill, then saw some of the student art show at BYU-I. It was fun seeing the graphic design student's work with Eric and Dad.

The bad news is it doesn't happen everyday (but it was super fun to laugh and a great date for $4).

The good news is Porter and Dad got to go on an exclusive tour with Uncle Darrell to the inner parts of the INL on Friday. Uncle Darrell is working on the battery for the 2020 Mars mission now.  woohoo

The bad new is Dad stood on concrete all day and is walking like an old farmer and needs me to put his socks on. 

The good news is that Porter, Tad, Brigham, and I went to the FLL competition on Saturday and judged. 

The bad news is I accidentally took Dad's wallet with me.  He had to drive down to Idaho Falls to get it. He ended up buying the EXTRA big bags of cereal for Christmas in revenge.

The bad news is that a very emotional Pace told us on Friday night how he just doesn't like being with our family, doesn't feel loved. We are weird and no fun. 

The good news is that I didn't feel at all offended, but instead overjoyed. He really opened up, is hitting those growing milestones. He even asked to play ping pong after and is so happy today???

The good news is Pace got to go help with Shop with a Cop in Rexburg on Saturday. 70 police cars took 70 kids down main street in Rexburg with their sirens at 6am, ate breakfast at McDonalds and shopped at Walmart for their families. Pace helped hand out present bags with the Venture Scout group. He was in uniform and looked like the main actor on Night at the Museum. 

The good news is Dad picked up some great design jobs that will keep them busy for the next few months. He's doing a big job with the ProPeat fertilizer.  

The bad news is he has to work a lot the next month to get them all done.

The good news is that I have all the Christmas shopping done. 

The bad news is that each child just started telling me in earnest what they would like for Christmas.

The bad news is Porter lost control on black ice at Norma Ackerman's curve and did a 360 before Jazz band. 

The ??? news is that officer Mike Miller was over and told us how the black ice was bad and he lost control on Norma Ackerman's curve, so Porter didn't feel so bad. There have been a handful of rollovers in the area because of the temp warming up, raining, then freezing by morning. 

The good news is that it is snowing tonight, 1-3". Yeah!!! And more snow is in the forcast this week.

The good news is that Tad got his Star rank tonight along with 4 merit badges.  Tad has a great scout group with great leaders. Brother Asper has taken them camping every month. 

The other good scout news is we had a wicked, awesome, powerful dodgeball game at our cub scout pack meeting. The way to a cub scouts heart.

The bad news is that Lauren Alvarez has brain cancer. (news from Porter)

The good news is our ward party was Friday with a walk through Bethlehem (the youth doing a scene in each room) and breakfast for dinner. Porter was Herod, Tad was the angel visiting Joseph, and Pace was a shepherd. My cub scouts commented that it was the best dinner ever.

The other good news is before we left we prayed that we would be able to know who to sit by and talk to, and what to say. We ended up sitting by Amy Marsden (Brenda Poole's daughter). Her boy is one of my cub scouts. She's not active, is usually very, very quiet, but nice. She talked my ear off at the Christmas Party!!!

The almost back to good news is that Matt Jensen hurt his shoulder at the MTC and had to come home for surgery, but is on the mends and will go back out soon.

The bad news is that Trump is still running for president.

The bad news is still Trump running for president.

(I sent you his latest big news item regarding Muslims and the Church's statement in regards to pluralism)

The bad news is that there are ugly sweaters everywhere, even Porter has one now. 

The good news is we are really excited to hear your voice in two weeks!!!

The bad news is we really don't know how it all is going to work,so let us know when you find out .....when and how and all that stuff. We may be here or we may be in Nibley. We aren't sure yet, but we will have the phone with us.Let us know if we need to do anything to make it easy for you. 

Other random stuff

--Guess which younger brother said this.

"It's not that I get annoyed with everyone. It's just that they have annoying traits."

"I'm just articulating this....I mean, how many people do you know that have annoying traits? ......... Everyone"

One thing that has improved my Sabbath day observance, the quality of my fast, and the sacrament in my life, has been taking the time to write down in my calendar book what I am fasting for. I make sure to leave enough room to them write down impressions I receive in the next few weeks about it. I add to the list if I am worrying about something or feeling especially inadequate. Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them, and strengthens us in our weaknesses. It helped me so much today in dealing with the situation with Meghan. 

BTW Elder Grace is being transferred this week. He said to say hi. 

We enjoyed getting a letter from Elder Antwi.  We pray for you both multiple times every day.

We aren't the only ones. Brother Johnson interviewed me

for my temple recommend and before he started he took 20 min. telling me how much their family loves your letters. They feel like you are family and feel like you are their missionary, mostly because their sons didn't go on missions. So they love living it through you. You are such a good example to Marcie and have been so good to her. They pray for you and Jared by name morning and night. Beverly sends me an e-mail almost every time I send one out thanking me for passing it on. You are loved. 

We love you......even though you feel so far away......and the weeks seem so long. I maybe starting to miss you (sniff sniff). Sadie hung up your stocking and Drew put a candy cane in it for you today. 

Have a wonderful week!!

Love, Mom