Levan Homestead

Sunday, July 19, 2020

June Misc.

Lionel and Linda Suazo celebrated their anniversary.

Mary found grizzly bear tracks! Rusty found baby chicks.

The temples are closed for most ordinances but still an inspiration.

We had snow on June 8th!

We mailed in our mission papers applying for

a call to Adam-ondi-Ahman on June 10th.

I had flowers in spite of the frost on June 9th.

I had my official four-wheeler driving lesson.

Bethany came back to Utah for a miscellaneous load and

we celebrated her 33rd birthday with dinner and a carrot cake.

June 3: Cherokee had her colt. He was bigger than his sisters before him and equally adorable. Bethany had been in California for Hannah’s baptism and was currently in Idaho trying to get their belonging organized.

June 4: Bethany was back for a final load which included all her animals. It looked like a Hillbilly caravan as three truck loads left with animals strapped to the flatbeds and stuffed into pet porters and trailers. Darrel and Kieth each took their trucks to help her out. As they drove out of the yard I was surprised by the mixed emotions. There were parts of the move I was so ready for and hope never to do again, and parts that left me so sad and empty that they are over. I prayed a silent prayer that they would be able to make it with their redneck load and they did. Darrel and Kieth unloaded and headed back to Utah.

June 6: Darrel and spent most of the day in the basement. It’s been a huge project to repaint everything, de-junk, reorganize and replace some items. Repainting the tub was perhaps the yuckiest project. The smell was almost unbearable, so we took turns and did it in shifts. It looks like a new tub. The bathroom was the final room to get a face lift.   We’re ready for summer company.

June 8: It was 42 degrees this morning and there was snow in the foothills!

June 9: We had a light frost overnight. The flowers around the house were fine and my 4 o’clocks survived. The vegetables in the garden that were taken can be replanted. We felt grateful that our yard fared so well.

June 12: Today was Bethany’s 33^rd birthday. She had planned to come for an odds and ends load, but Randel asked her to stay so they could celebrate together. I was grateful that it mattered that much to him. Elder Child’s called to let us know he had received our mission paper packet. He had already read through everything and seemed genuinely pleased. He made mention of Taylor serving in Sacramento California because his son-in-law is the current Mission President. That was a fun connection to make. In his words he said we were just what they were looking for and felt we could count on a call. However, he reminded us that he only recommends and the First Presidency issue that call. We can expect a call in October.

June 13: Jordan and Andrea drove down for a weekend visit and Bethany arrived for a final load. We had a birthday dinner for her, helped her load up and sent her on her way. Then the rest of us got on the 4 wheelers and went for a ride. It ended up being almost 3 hours and little Hyrum did amazingly well.

June 21: Today was Father’s Day. Although we have 10 children, we were here alone. Technology allowed us to see and hear from all ten which made it a lovely day. Ben and Sariah were engaged today!

June 25: I’ve enjoyed long sessions of working on my Dad’s history. Just after five the doorbell rang and there were the Elders. I had volunteered to feed them and had totally forgotten. It was quickly decided that the best option was to give them $20 to grab a subway sandwich on their way back into Nephi and then give us another chance to fix dinner on June 30. I remembered and planned for that day, but they called and cancelled an hour before dinner time. At first I was disappointed and frustrated, but then I just called Suazos to come down for dinner. We had a lovely visit. Then Darrel took the elders some dinner around 7:00 p.m. It turned out just fine.

June 27: Nathan Charles Shirley was baptized and confirmed today. We were able to join them in England on-line and it was such a thrill for us. Prior to the pandemic it would not have been possible.

June 29: Today we drove to Murray and met Bethany as she picked up Sarah-Jane and Hans from Heidi-Marie’s house. We had picked up two dressers from an ad on KSL for Bethany and made the exchange. The children seemed to have survived the 5 plus week ordeal quite well. With highly structured mornings, a three hour quiet/nap time every day, and early bedtimes they were so glad to see their mom.   We stopped at a nearby park for a quick snack and visit. Sarah just kept hugging Bethany and saying, “I love you so much! I just want to be with you! I’ve never been away from you so long. I missed you too much.” Hans just climbed up next to Grandpa and they had a good chat. I’ve had a tight spot in my stomach all month, and it felt so good to feel it relax and know the kids were with Bethany. We learned today that Heidi-Marie is pregnant and expecting a boy in the fall. I know this will be very difficult for her with her age and underlying health issues, but we felt grateful hoping this will make the need to have these children less.

A Small Miracle in this history project. (JUNE 2020)

Dad received a picture of his parents when they were younger. The picture had been in Uncle Vance’s possession until his passing. His wife, Carol, brought it to Dad. I scanned it and had copies made for Aunt Mary Lou and Aunt Judy. On our drive today, we took them each a framed copy and they were thrilled.

I had contacted both of Dad’s sisters about the picture by sending a text with it attached. Mary Lou had mentioned that Grandma Marvin had a small orange container with old pictures in it. When she passed, Dad had taken the pictures. I asked him about them, and he had no recollection. When we returned to his house, he said he thought the pictures might be in the basement. His basement recently flooded and there’s nothing orderly down there at this point. He suggested they might be in the room west of the wash room. I felt rather sick. I walked down and checked a number of boxes with no success. As I walked into the big room where the flooding was worst, I said a silent prayer. I said, “Heavenly Father, if those pictures are here---help me find them.”

Immediately that thought came to look in Dad’s old file. I opened the top drawer. It was completely filed with folders but my eyes rested on three that were labeled “old pictures.” Dad and I went through them upstairs and it’s hard to describe how I feel about the treasures we found in those folder.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

May at a Glance

MAY AT A GLANCE

May 4: We got our solar panels back up today. It was good to see the power production rise steadily throughout the day. Our current power bill is $8.42 per month. That is the fee for a line with Rocky Mountain Power.

May 12: The first temples reopen for live ordinances by appointment. Payson was among them, but currently the Temple Presidency is handling all patrons.

May 19: Today was a memorable day! My friend Maggie Baum was released from prison. She, Rusty and Billy came by for lunch. Tears flowed freely as we embraced. We had a long visit while waiting for lunch to finish warming. Maggie helped me cut up the veggies for the salad. She said it was the first knife she had used in over five years. She opened the gifts we had wrapped in Christmas paper. Any new item was wrapped. I had also gathered a whole truck load of used items for our home and some from ward members wanting to wish her well. Her heart was touched. Billy said, “I know some who left prison without anything, including a friend.” Maggie has much more than that and I hope that will help her chart a straight and wise course for the rest of her life. That evening we had a casual front porch gathering so ward members could come and say good-by the Bethany and the kids before the move. We had steady visitors for three hours. Clearly, many love Bethany and feel invested in the happiness and success of this family. I feel asleep feeling true gratitude and joy that night.

May 21: We had Bethany and the kids up for a special breakfast. It was the last time they will be here as residents. It was bitter/sweet. Part of the past 4 ½ years I wish would never end, and part I hope to never have to repeat. For sure I find peace in knowing it is time for them to begin a new life away from this place of healing and sanctuary. I’m so grateful that we were able to help provide security, love, and assistance during this time, but I’m ready to take a seat further back in the theater. Bethany’s wings are strong now, where they were broken when she arrived. She will do well if she remains true to what she knows, has learned, and has covenanted to do. Tory picked the kids up at 9:00 a.m. Bethany had them clean and ready for photos. They said good-bye to the animals and were on their way. Bethany went back to packing and we began painting and re-doing the bedrooms in the basement.

May 20, 2020: Today was our 44^th wedding anniversary. It began with a gorgeous sunrise. I got a call that Mom’s book was ready for pick-up that morning. Nothing would have brought me more joy than seeing the final product. Darrel and I headed north for pick-up. We learned that Andy was promoted today and is now a Colonel and comes with a pay increase for them. Shellie reported a break-through in Brett’s recent struggle. We visited several family members on our way home as we delivered books. The order was for 82 books. I was so thrilled with the interest of so many other people who knew and loved my mom. We saw Aunt Mary Lou, Judy, Dick, Mark, Wendy, Kent, Kieth, and Dad. I had five ordered for two who decided they didn’t want them. Dad picked up that cost and we decided to give them to the granddaughters who bear Mom’s name. That idea excited me. MaKenzie Smith is one of those and she is struggling right now with home and family. I felt like the book my help her and believe in time it will. It was a nearly perfect day in my mind!

May Ended Well for us---Our mission papers had been in since April 28^th. We received a call from our Stake President, Doug Petersen, on Thursday, May 28. The missionary department had contacted him saying that at this point we had three options as far as serving a mission. 1) We could accept a call to serve in the Provo, Utah mission and serve from home as missionary and re-activation support. 2) We could receive a call to serve somewhere in the U.S. and serve remotely from home as a mission office couple, until it was safe to travel to the mission. This option would require contact by ZOOM meetings and at least moderate computer skills. 3) We could withdraw our papers, wait for the Covid19 dust to settle and resubmit them.

After some thought, we felt that serving from home would be difficult. The distractions and demands of being home would be difficult and did not fit what either of us had pictured as full time service. We felt even friends, neighbors and family would find it difficult to consider us full-time missionaries from home, making their contacts and expectations more demanding than we may need to focus wholly on missionary service. As we leaned towards withdrawing our papers for a time, a thought came to me to contact my cousin, Kathy Losee, to see if our names were still on the list of those to be considered for service at Adam-Ondi-Ahman. I called her on May 29^th. Within ten minutes she reported that LaMar had contacted Elder Sheldon F. Child, who is over the Adam-Ondi-Ahman mission as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and President in the North America East Area. Elder Child reported that there was one vacancy left to fill for March 2021. The call and recommendation placed us at the top of the list. The next morning we received a call from Elder Child. He asked a few questions and allowed us to ask a few of our own. After a 10 minute phone chat we hung up knowing all we needed to do to withdraw our papers and use them to apply for service as couple missionaries in Adam-Ondi- Ahman. A hard copy of our papers will be submitted to Elder Child, who will then submit them to the First Presidency. As Mission President to the Jerusalem and Adam-Ondi-Ahman mission, President Nelson approves his own missionaries. If we are approved to serve, our official call will come in October. We also initiated another chat with our Stake President who offered request that the missionary department return our papers to the Stake so copies can be made and submitted quickly.

It amazed me how quickly details came together on May 30, which was Randel’s 38^th birthday and Hannah’s baptism day, in California. We were able to join that special event via Duo Google.

May 30^th was also the end of the drama with our recent bed purchase. The ad on KSL appeared to be from a Mattress Warehouse in Orem, who was over-stocked and selling at reduced prices to bring in needed income because of the Covid19’s impact on them. Having just made some purchases from a similar warehouse ad in SLC, we were not prepared to deal with this con-artist scammer, who really had a storage unit where he buys used mattresses from who knows where and sells them. We purchased what we thought was a new mattress, still inside the protective plastic cover. As he pulled the bed, we didn’t see anything but the top and even laid on it briefly. I let him know that buying a used mattress was similar being to buying a used toothbrush in my mind. There was no indication that this mattress was less than new. He also sold us a used box spring with some small tears that I was sure I could mend for the price. He filled our need for a metal frame and we were on our way. It wasn’t long before we realized the frame was missing parts, so Darrel made a trip back the next day to replace it. I was not happy when the replacement had a broken foot. By then I had mended the holes and we were ready to open mattress. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the bottom of the mattress was distressed, dirty and had deep holes in it. I let the seller know we would be returned all merchandise the next day for a full refund. Bethany and Randel had to get by on a full-sized bed another night.

By the next morning I not heard back from the seller. As I pressed for a time to return the bed, it was clear he was not going to be cooperative, although he claimed he would refund our money upon return.

I felt frustrated as I finished sewing the final 50 medical masks I had agreed to sew for the Church’s “Five Million Mask” project. The thought came to me to contact this man using Darrel’s phone and arrange a time. I mentioned seeing his ad on KSL and our need for a queen-sized bed. Gene was evasive, saying we’d need an appointment, which was not the case the prior two days. We reported we’d be in the area between 2:00-2:30 p.m. Once we arrived I went to the front door and found it locked up like Fort Knox. Darrel drove around back and found Gene spraying another used mattress for sale. Gene was not at all happy to see him, but Darrel unloaded the bed, box spring and frame. He told Gene I was waiting at the front door and he could refund our money through Venmo. Gene was fuming as he opened the door. He went through the motions of sending money. He even showed me the picture associated with my account to be sure it was the right one. Sadly, no money came although I heard the electronic sound that a payment had been sent. By Saturday morning, there was no money and no word, so I sent a text to inform Gene that the “drama” was not over and we were not “done with it.” He assured me the money had been drafted from his account and suggested I contact Venmo. I asked for a screen shot verifying such a draft, but it never came. I learned throughout the day that a Venmo payment for $345 would be adjusted quickly according to the amount available from the sender’s account. It was clear the payment had been sent from an empty account. By night fall, I felt impressed to contact Gene once again. I expressed my feelings of being scammed and my disappointment that any appeal to integrity had failed. I informed him that I would begin contacting agencies designed to expose dishonest businesses and help reclaim what he owed if the full amount was not in my account by Monday at noon. The response was immediate, and within 30 minutes the money hit my account! The learning experience was over and we had been guided in successfully working with a crook! I was truly grateful.

Sunday, March 31 dawned quietly, and a bit over-cast. We went leisurely about getting ready for the day and getting Bethany’s animals cared for while she is in California for the baptism. Just as I was ready to do my hair for our Sunday Worship service, Colton called for a video chat. I was surprised by the early hour, but excited to hear from them. He said hello and then turned the camera on Malea, who was holding her new baby. I was stunned. The baby wasn’t due for three weeks, but there she was and both looked healthy and beautiful. Fern Neva Potter had been born early that morning in San Antonio Texas. She weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz and was 19 inches long, with lots of dark hair and long eye lashes. Malea was a trooper and the ordeal is over! What a wonderful surprise and a perfect ending to the month of May.

Later that day we met with Lionel and Linda’s family for a dinner in honor of their 48^th anniversary. It was lovely to be with their family. Sarah Hunt helped me with a small gift to honor their love and their day.