I didn't have to drive the bus on Katie's birthday, so I
went up just after noon to let the celebrating begin! 1/19/15
This is the new "motorcycle" Luke got for Christmas.
He and his mom put it together earlier in the day.
Katie is enjoying a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday"
by phone. Can you tell who the call is from?
Tyler got Katie a "Big Momma" chair for her birthday.
He also brought her flowers!
He also brought her flowers!
Katie special ordered cheesecake for her birthday.
Can you guess who is working on the candles?
The whole family: Katie, Tyler, Leia, and Luke--closely supervised by Uncle Neldon.
We didn't apply for a burn permit, but we should have
now that it takes more than one box to do the job. :)
We had dinner together and then sang, "Happy Birthday to you!"
This is Katie in her BIG MOMMA chair.
She is about to open a gift.
LEVAN HOMESTEAD
NEWS: January 2015
Dad: Ah… Hi! I’m yo’ Daddy--- aka Grandpa. Yes I’m back at
the keyboard, typing for hours to get my family new letter in first so I can
get the gold star. It will look good on my forehead. And now for the
real thing… at the first of the month we [mom, Andrea, Matt & I] went to
Barefoot in the park at the Hale Theater. It was very funny. We enjoyed it very
much. Mom and I were able to watch one of Katie’s volley ball games, that was
on a Wednesday. It was like old times.
We have missed most of her games because they are usually played on Thursday,
and we are tied up with the twelve steep program on that night. Katie still has
it and can play good even in her condition.
On the 16th, , Mom and I took Grandma Anna to the temple
between bus runs. We’ve made it a monthly tradition. We enjoy taking her and
she likes to go with us. We had our
Stake Conference and they released Pres. Stowell and put in Doug Peterson, Troy
Rindlisbacker, and Stoney Brooks, so we have another great Stake Presidency. We
have been in a plant shut down for the last two weeks and I hope we are done
with it this week. My swing shift partner got hurt on last Friday. He ran his
hand through the end mill and it took off his middle finger on his right hand
and skinned the back of his hand. Holman put him back together as good as he
could. He is doing better now. Well,
that is about it for January. Love ya
all! Be Safe! Dad
Mom: January 2015 was the warmest,
driest January on record, but it has made my evening walks with Abby quite
enjoyable. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kaleb, Amy, Katie and Caden! January 5th
dawned and the house felt very empty and quiet after our holiday company. It took a couple of days to adjust. Luckily, the Mellor kids came for a visit on
the 11th while their mom and dad went to a Mellor family
viewing. We had popcorn in every room of
the house when they left, but we had a great time playing and singing. We kicked off the R.S. in Relief society with
a new theme: “One Drop at a Time” and a new degree from our University of
Celestial Arts: “Womanhood 301,” and the 11:00 o’clock schedule, which I
love. Our UCA graduation for 2014 was
wonderful. We had great support from ward and stake leaders and our graduates
experienced inspired growth. My first
lesson this year in R.S. was “A woman with vision understands the power of
Motherhood.” It was well received.
We
found frequent occasions to be with Andrea and Matt. Each one brought new
concerns for me. I have spent many hours
counseling with Andrea and have been so grateful for her open communication,
her gift of faith, and her ability to receive and trust inspiration. The past week has been a whirlwind. When she decided that she should serve a
mission, an urgent feeling came with it.
Therefore, I prayed we’d be able to fit everything within the Lord’s
time table and it all came together this week! It has been a tangible
experience with the Lord’s interest in the details of our lives and His ability
to direct us on a daily basis. There is
no question in my mind that Andrea is on the right track and I’m so excited to
see where she goes!
Two
other awesome things happened this month.
Uncle Kent was asked to write up an account of Grandma Marvin’s life to
include in the Payson Temple Dedication book.
She is one of the “Meet the Mormons” chosen to represent the people of
this new temple district. I’ve been
helping him a little with that. What a
blessing and an honor! I was asked to
serve on a committee to plan, prepare and feed the prophet and other visiting
authorities at the Payson Temple dedication. My partner is my sister, Mary! Our
assignment is a box dinner to send home with them at the end of the day. (June
7th)
Andrea: In light of my recent
announcement, I am sure you have all been anxiously awaiting this month's
newsletter. Well, here it is. I started the month by flying out to Sacramento
to see Matt and meet his family. It was a lot of fun! We stayed at his Mom's
and I got to meet his aunt and uncle and their family. While we were there we
saw “Into The Woods”, the monarch butterfly migration, and the Redwood Forest.
We came back super late that Saturday and didn’t get home until 5:00 a.m.
Sunday morning. We went down to Levan that afternoon to see Colton and Malea
before they headed back to Texas. Then it was back to the grindstone and real
life. I went back to work and Matt dived into the new semester. I'm not exactly
sure what day it was, but I did have the thought that I might serve a mission.
However, I quickly dismissed it because I was dating someone and I didn't feel
like that would be fair to him. Things were progressing there and everything
was going great, but something was just off. I couldn't shake it. Then
everything came to a climax the 28th. I decided that I was going to call things
off with Matt. I planned to talk to him that Friday. With that I opened up my
mind to the possibility of serving a mission. Friday came around and things
didn't go like I thought they would. There was a lot of drama and tears but on
the other side of it, Matt and I both agreed that I need to go on a mission. So
that Sunday I talked to my bishop, who was very surprised, and he authorized me
to start working on my papers Monday. Monday morning Mom made a few calls,
moved the world, and ultimately made it possible for me to have my papers done
in just six days. I made and appointment with my Bishop and Stake President for
Sunday the first and as far as I know my papers went in that night. As far as
Matt and I are concerned, he has offered to help me prepare for my mission. We
are making an effort to follow the schedule, get up at 6:30 and go to bed at
10:30, and we committed to reading 10 pages in the Book of Mormon every day. We
also made a goal to go to the temple once a week. So that is about where I
stand now. I love you all!
