Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas

It has been a very busy, happy holiday season. It is always wonderful to spend time with family and friends. We have so much to be grateful for as this year comes to a close.
Here are a few highlights of our times spent together.

Reading the Christmas story from Luke on Christmas Eve.

We spoke with Daren on Christmas Day. He sounds so good and is loving Virginia, the people and sharing the Gospel. We miss him but couldn't ask for a better gift than having a missionary.

We live close to both sets of Grandparents and love having them over to visit and eat. That is a wonderful blessing to all of us.

Our children are the most important thing to us. We love spending time with all of them. We were all very spoiled (or "loved" as Steph puts it) this year for Christmas.

Scott even built Rusty a new doghouse for his present.

Doug decided to surprise me with my own 4-wheeler for running around the farm. Then we found a boat unexpectedly and I made a deal on it. Needless to say, we have been blessed with more than enough. Although these THINGS aren't as important, we will enjoy them with the family. The boys can't wait to put the boat in water.

More Swimming

Swimming is officially over for this school year. We spent this weekend in Boise at the State Swimming Championships. There were 426 athletes from 44 high schools across the State of Idaho. Many of these swimmers compete year round on club teams and are very good. Scott had qualified to swim in 4 events which is the limit. He swam the backstroke in the medley relay, the 200 yard freestyle, the 100 yard backstroke, and the 400 yard relay. We were very proud of him. He took seconds of all of his times and swam very hard. The medley relay team placed 15th and the top 16 places swim in the finals on Saturday.
We had a very touching day on Saturday morning. There is a young man on Scott's swim team who has cerebral palsy. He has a hard time walking and you can see that he has had several surgeries. He has been swimming for 3 years and this is his last year. He doesn't use his legs, but he gives it every bit of energy he has and finishes. It isn't fast and he has never qualified to swim at State. The boys on the team wanted to give him a chance to swim at Boise, and so Scott gave up his spot for Saturday to allow him the chance. It was a touching moment when the crowd cheered as he struggled and finished.

Later they gave him a special award for his courage in trying. I was equally proud of Scott for stepping aside and not needing any recognition. He is a great boy!


Channel 8 News did a sports clip of the experience. I am attaching a copy of the video.

Swimming

Lately, if you try to find us on Saturdays you'll have to check at the pool. Scott has been swimming and he has meets every Saturday. Swimming is such a great sport and although it isn't the most exciting to watch we love being there to watch Scott. He practices almost every day as early as 5:30 on a couple mornings. Everyone is welcome on the team and everyone participates. Your biggest competition is to better your own times, and it's just great exercise. Those are just a few of the reasons we think it's a great activity. There's a young boy on Scott's team who has some physical disabilities. Each week he swims and I can really see the improvement. It takes everything he's got to complete his race, but his team and everyone else in the building are cheering him on. Scott has done well again this year and has qualified to go to the State swim meet in Boise in November. I'm excited to go on a ROAD TRIP!

It's hard to get a good picture because of the movement and water, but here are a few tries.


Relay Team Swimming the Backstroke

A Favorite Fall Treat

All of my boys have a love of fruit leather. Doug's mom is always making it and keeps a stash for when they visit. I will make a few rolls now and then especially in the fall when the apples are plentiful. Last week we bottled lots of applesauce and made some into fruit leather. I just spread about 2 cups of sauce on a plastic lined cookie sheet and dry in my convection oven on 170 degrees. It usually takes 5-8 hours. This year we even sauced some plums and dried them. It was gone in a flash. I want to send some to Daren. I might have to hide it.

All Is Safely Gathered In - Harvest

The Fall season means harvest for our family. It is the culmination of months

of hard work and hopefully a successful crop. We are constantly praying that we might see the benefits of our labors without any disasters of hail or fire. This was a good year

with a lot of early rains and mild weather. Doug spends long days cutting grain and the boys are always willing to help.

Scott was invaluable this year as he was the main trucker. Reed and Rod would join us after work to help whenever they were needed. Daren missed out this year, but we know he is engaged in another harvest.

It's a great feeling to have the grain in the bin and next years crop planted. We are grateful for the answers to our prayers.

Bittersweet

Yesterday was one of those days that you pray for but when it comes you aren't sure you want it. We took Daren to the Mission Training Center (MTC) in Provo. It was a long day of riding since we just dropped him off and drove back home. He was excited to get started and just a little nervous too. They have changed the procedure for new missionaries entering and there is no longer a meeting with the families. Instead we went to the parking lot across the street for a few minutes of pictures and good-byes. Then we drove across the street and unloaded his luggage at the curb, gave hugs and more good-byes and off he went. I think I prefer that to a large room of people crying.

After we were back on the freeway and headed for home, Scott noticed that he had left his scriptures in the back seat. We weren't sure how to get them to him, so instead of turning around we stopped in Tremonton and put them in the mail. Hopefully he gets them today or tomorrow. I'm sure he's lost without them. He will make a super missionary in Richmond Virginia, but I will really miss him. I've been a little homesick today and I know that will get better as soon as I get a letter. For now all we can do is pray for him and write letters.

Redfish and THE RING

We just spent another awesome summer week at Redfish Lake. This is our 5th year joining the Black Family to play in the water, catch some sun on the beach, bike ride to the store for ice cream, and lots of good food. The time just seems to fly by while we are there.
This year we had the entire family together again after a couple years while Rod was on his mission and before Daren leaves on his mission. It was so much fun to see everyone playing and laughing together. FAMILY really is what LIFE IS ALL ABOUT.
One experience will be a story that will be retold for years to come. On Saturday we awoke early and had breakfast before heading to the lake. It was Daren's 19th birthday and we had a great time soaking in the sun. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time. That evening it was hamburgers and as we were preparing the cobbler for the birthday, Stephanie asked Rod what he had done with her ring. She had taken it off at the beach that morning to apply sunscreen and handed it to Rod. He had placed it in the cup holder of her camp chair and thought she had known. The mood instantly dropped and silence fell over all of us as we realized that the wedding ring was gone. I remembered gathering all of the garbage as we left the beach and feeling a bump, so we jumped in the pickup and headed for the beach. I dug through the dumpster to find our sack of garbage (luckily it was an Arby's sack and easy to identify). NO luck! While I was sifting through garbage, others were on the beach digging through the sand. I checked the lost and found at the restaurant and others were going through the pickups and chairs back at camp. It was starting to get dark and we knew we wouldn't be able to see anything that night. We retired to camp and MANY prayers were uttered that night that we might find the ring.

It was a long, sleepless night. I tossed and turned and thought about any possibility of finding the ring. The possibility was slim since it might be at the beach. As we had gathered the chairs they had been dragged across the beach and one and slipped out of the bag going up the path. It could have remained with the chair until we set them up again at camp. We knew the ring could be anywhere and probably lost for good.

When it was finally light enough outside, Doug and I got up and gathered a collection of possible tools (colander, deep fat fryer spoon, plastic bowl and nail to punch holes) and headed to the beach. I took the camera because I had taken a picture of Rod and Steph the day before and thought it might help us with a location. The best tool turned out to be the fryer scoop and I started digging. The most I found was an unrecognizable nickel and a shiny dime. Doug took over the scoop and I started to just sift through the sand with my hands. We talked about possibly driving to Ketchum and finding a store with a metal detector. Doug decided to walk the path and I resumed sifting with the scoop. We had been searching a 10 square foot area and I kept uttering a simple prayer to guide me where to look. Doug came back and I decided to keep scooping until we left. I sat back for a minute to rest, but stuck the scoop on the other side of me and shook. I couldn't believe the sound - it was a clinking. Usually it was bark or small rocks left in the scoop as the sand drained out, but this time a shiny ring remained. A dozen emotions rushed through me - relief, unbelief, gratitude, and awe. Tears filled my eyes and I knew that prayers had been answered. (It still brings tears to my eyes) We were anxious to return to camp and share the good news, but first we stopped to give one last prayer of thanks as we sat on the beach alone in the morning shadows. It was a very memorable experience and we know that Heavenly Father loves us and does answer our prayers.

Rockwood Reunion

We had a great time with all of the family at the Rockwood Reunion. Everyone gathered at Lava Hot Springs for swimming, tubing, games, visiting, and of course lots of eating. It is so fun to see the kids and how much they have grown. Their smiles make the day picture perfect. Thanks to Kent and Shellie's family for organizing the event.

Scott is 16 - WOW!

My baby boy turned SIXTEEN on June 30th. It is really hard for me to believe that he is that old. We took him to "Red Robin" for lunch. I mentioned him being the birthday boy to the hostess and he got just a little upset with me. Lunch was good and the company great, but no birthday song and so I asked the waitress again. She came back to the table with an ice cream sundae, balloons, and some co-workers. I thought they would just sing, BUT she did a SHOUT OUT to the entire restaurant telling them it was Scott's birthday and he was turning sweet 16. Everyone clapped and then they did a birthday rap. It was a lot of fun. Scott turned a few shades of RED and said he'd get even with me. It will be a birthday he won't forget.

Later he went to the lake with the teacher's quorum and then had banana pudding with everyone. He got a new fly fishing rod and can't wait for his brothers to take him on a fishing trip.

I'm so glad we have Scott in our family. He is one very special boy!

Family, Friends, Farm, and FUN

The past couple weekends the boys have brought friends to the farm for riding, cookouts, and bonfires. We really enjoy spending time with our kids and their friends. Here are just a few of the pictures of their adventures.

Reed and his friends went 4-wheeling and found a few mud holes to play in.

Daren stacked wood for a big bonfire. His friends shot skeet before roasting hotdogs and smores.

I DID IT!

My mom is always creating beautiful pieced quilts. She spends hours at her sewing machine and we have all been the recipients of these exquisite creations. I always wanted to learn or at least attempt to make something, so over a year ago I bought material to make a table runner (start small right?). It's a good thing it was small. It has taken quite a while, but I finally finished it! It really made me appreciate the time my mother takes to make something so beautiful, and I don't think I'm ready to tackle anything larger, at least for a few more years.

Relief Society Enrichment Luau

Our ward had a fun, entertaining, and uplifting enrichment night on Thursday. Monica, Karri and the committee always put on a great night. It was decorated so cute with palm trees, surf boards, a tiki hut and all. We ate grilled pineapple chicken, fruit, and a yummy fruit slush. Following dinner Sister Jane Trane, a new sister in our ward, spoke to us on "Finding Joy In The Journey". She was so much fun and had everyone laughing. I think we all left wanting to just let go and have fun. Hopefully the ward sisters won't be too upset I added a few snapshots of some of our funny "ta dah" moments.