MOVING ON

Dear Family,

President Monsoon was in our neighborhood last week and visited Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch to the Church Emeritus.  The occasion was a half-hour visit celebrating Eldred's 105th birthday.  This is a picture that was in the Deseret News.

Elder Smith lives in our ward and comes to Church each Sunday, driving himself and his wife a few blocks to church. He got up last Sunday and gave his testimony; what a great example he has been..  I sit next to him in our Quorum meetings and he will turn and ask if I would ride up with him in this little elevator they have in our building.  Operated by a key and a little hooky, but it gets to the upper floor. I have been riding with him for several years.  He has given over 20,000 Patriarchal Blessings but he told me he released himself from giving them now.  He has been in our home a couple of times giving a fireside on the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  He has the clothes they were wearing at the time of the martyrdom and are still blood stained.

We have an older ward full of former mission presidents and Temple presidents and families who have lived in the same house for over 40 - 50 years.  Last Sunday I took a cane I bought in England when we lived near London.  It was slippery outside and I did not want to fall going through the muck.  When I sat in Sunday School, a man sat down beside me and announced he was 93 and he had a cane.  He looked at mine and after a few minutes said, "Do you want to duel with our canes?" "Whaaaat" was my reply.  "Let's have a duel with our canes!" I turned a little ring in my black carved cane and began to pull out the 4 foot steel sword that was in the cane and when he saw about 6 inches of it he said, "I do not want to have anything to do with you!" I guess old guys still like to fool around. Finally had a good use for that sword cane.

Here is something you don't see everyday.  Since my cardiac incident, I have been trying to go to Cardiac Rehab.  It is a slick place with modern exercise equipment, pretty nurses and monitoring equipment.  They put on the EKG leads and monitor, EKG, oxygen levels, blood pressure and hear rate.  Better than Baley's!  I drive them a little nuts always inquiring about the quality of the "T" waves on the EKG. I have been slowly working up the time and pace and feel pretty good today and did the longest time so far without any problems.  Doug came down from his hospital rounds and took this pic. Maybe I will be in pretty good shape for Busch Gardens and the kids in Tampa FL this week.

Al is waiting of the arrival of their eight baby that is any minute but one of her Ewes beat her to it. They went out to the barn and noticed that one of their three sheep had dropped a new lamb. She called for a "new lamb consult" Al and Paul and kids are really getting into it on their farm in Michigan.

We are trying to plan the reunion for this summer and with this large family, it is getting challenging.  Mom will send an email around asking for some preferences.

Next week sunny Florida, Busch Gardens, a little wild hog hunting stint on the Church ranch down there, some good old Gulf seafood, and fooling with the kids.

Love, Dad and Mom

FAMILY HOMNE EVENING IN DEER VALLEY AS JOHNNY GETS ENGAGED

Dear Family,

I started writing Blogs a few years ago and one of my first was a report on how Johnny H. received his Eagle Scout award complete with a large live Eagle for the ceremony.  Then there was his mission farewell, then his homecoming and now his engagement.

Cheryl and Paul invited everyone to the Deer Valley lodge for a dinner and overnight stay as it was a holiday the next day. Mike, Emily and Doug and all the kids came up and there was lots of room.

We celebrated Johnny's engagement to Jeanne Wylie  who comes from West Virginia and both are students in the same year at BYU.  There will be a May wedding in the Salt Lake Temple.

We had a nice dinner and it was very relaxing.  Hats off to Paul who is one of the most patient person I know who invites this gang there and then invites us again.

Well we sat around and this is what we call "blarbing" in style.  Don't look up the word in the dictionary as it is a family invention.  There were these great soft couches into which we all sank and it is relaxation to the nth degree.

Here we are gathered for a Family Home Evening. It was Sunday evening and just perfect.  In the far corner is the Opa with Jonathan.  The other little kids sat on the fireplace and were pretty good for most of the program.

The main part of the program was hearing from Johnny and Jeanne on the details of the engagement.  How did you meet?  What were your first impressions?  What about dating?  When did you know for sure?  Maybe those are personal but the stories are always fascinating how people come together.

We knew Johnny was a goner this last summer as he stayed in our house while he did an internship at the Huntsman Cancer Center.  He told us about a young lady he was dating and seemed not impressed that we also tried to line him up in the Singles Ward.  Jeanne was away on a study assignment in India and when she came back it was pretty much a done deal. She is a charming young lady who is majoring in neuro science and hopes to become an medical PA.  We look forward to May!

The kids are already calling Emily, "Grandma M" but that is a little premature.

We will travel to Florida and see how the old ticker does down there for a few days.  We plan to take Kaley and the two boys to Busch Gardens a lot.  This will be a good year!

May Heaven bless you all,  Mom and Dad

GREAT HOLIDAYS

Dear Family,

We had a wonderful holiday season .  We had the Christmas Eve Celebration with our traditional Nativity reenactment. Here is a picture of the nativity players.  Johnny was the camel and brought in all three wise men on his back. Doug, Emily, Mike and their families and Madeline B. all came.  I read fro the scriptures on my iPad.and also commented of gift giving.  Everyone did a good job,

We had a dinner of standing rib roast and all brought the side dishes and it was great.

Emily wanted to play the "White Elephant" game that we used to do.  We used wrap up outrageous gifts that were neatly wrapped and we took turns choosing a gift from a great pile in the center if the room.  This time Mom wrapped up things from the lost and found collection. Here everyone is laughing as Nate choose a high heel shoe.  The most coveted gift was a large jar of Maple Syrup from the Franklin Cider Mills that Doug brought,

It was a lot of fun.  On Christmas after church we drove around to visit the families.  All were in pajamas even after church! Here is Doug and their Nerf Gun Xmas.  They even had a Nerf bazooka gun I think would knock over bowling pins.  We went down to Mapleton and saw Emily and Mike and their families later in the afternoon. still all were in pajamas.  Everyone had a great Xmas.

Meanwhile in Michigan. Al's kids gathered around in fancy pajamas.  Thought they all looked so great.  Al is expecting their eight child at the end of the month and they do not know whether it is a boy or a girl.

We also had visits from former missionaries.  Here is Jake Gertson
who brought a very nice young lady by. I advised him, "Er sollte weiter machen!" She is a peach. He has a graduate degree in hospital administration and works in New York City. He was one of our great missionaries who served in the office and in Austria.

Shalayne Davis dropped by with her parents.  Shalayne was one of our great sister missionaries in Germany,  She has a Masters degree and is currently in Virginia in law school.  I was I'm;ressed that she absolutely loved studying law.  She had also taught at the MTC and worked in the Provo Temple when she was there.  We had such outstanding Missionaries.

Mary Cox came by with her father after a day of skiing.  We keep meeting Mary everywhere we go; we saw her in Berlin and in Boston.  She is getting her Phd in German economic history at Oxford university in England.  This year she is actually teaching a course at Oxford and that is super impressive.  We never tire of seeing our special missionaries.

Well this post is an accomplishment of sorts.  This is the first post on my new Mac pro laptop.  I have used a PC for over 30 years and finally made the break.  I gave a stake fireside in the Grantsville Stake on Sunday.  It was packed back into the cultural hall and I used the new Mac bool.  I could not believe how easy it was to hook up to the projector which it immediately recognized.  The power point program on the Mac showed me the current slide, the notes to the slide, the nest slide and how long  I had been talking.  Mom gave a talks well and it was a wonderful evening.

This brings us up to date and we love you all and wish you the best in the New Year.  May go to Florida if I feel better.

Love, Dad and Mom

TEMPLE SQUARE

Dear Family,

We had another day of great visits.  Brett Miller, wife and two children came up to say hello.  He was one of our great missionaries in Nirenberg and is currently completing vetnary school in Wisconsin. It was grea to meet his  wife  and his children.

Mike, Rayanne and all their kids came up as well.  It was another wonderful visit.  Mike and Rayanne helped Mom with the Christmas card list, some of the kids spent time in Oma's craft room.

Mike took us all down to Crown Burger for dinner. Salt Lake is packed at Christmas time; there is so much going on.  Traffic is heavy and there is no parking.  We found a spot right in front of the Temple Gates and went into the Square.  It was jam packed!

Above you see a picture that Rachel took of the Salt Lake Temple at night.  It was cold and slightly snowing.  The lights were everywhere and beautiful.  Here is a picture of the group, Oma and Opa, Mike, Rayanne and Family. It was a great pre Christmas night! I was bundled up with my Austrian hat, coat and German scarf just like on our mission.

 There is a ton of activity on Temple Square.  The Church does such a wonderful job of providing seasonal spirit. There was a huge nativity scen with lights and music. There were meetings and musical events in almost every building including the Tabernacle.  While the gals went on an extended walk checking out the lights, Mike and I slipped into the nearest Visitors Center to get warm.  There was this great presentation going on by the Bountiful Bells, a group that has been entertaining for 20 years playing Christmas carols with their bells.  The place was packed with families and there was good cheer in the air.

We went back to the car, back home where we warmed up with hot chocolate.  It was such a wonderful visit with Mike and his family.

Christmas Eve celebration at our home in two nights with the Nativity and traditional Christmas Eve dinner.  Clara wondered if I would wear my Lederhose.

Love and Cheer, Opa and Oma

CATHY AND PETE HAVE A NEW LITTLE GUY

Dear Family,

Cathy delivered her new baby yesterday and here you see Mom and little guy dressed in Xmas cheer not long after the delivery.  Cathy did well and the boy, Henrie Mc Entire O. is healthy and strong and Cathy beaming with this great Xmas gift.

This is Cathy's fourth child.  We saw all the others in the hospital and they are excited!  It is our 75th grandchild! and we are thrilled as well.

Here is little guy.  Lots of comments who he looks like, it is early but one can't help but notice the nose and the hint of a furrowed brow.  We are so thrilled for this new addition and feel so blessed as a family.

The Xmas season is full upon us.  We still had visitors this last week.  Roy and three boys drove down from Colorado.  They stayed at Doug s and by reports, there was not a lot of sleeping going on there as all romped and played.  Roy came over and fixed some equipment and helped Mom with her Mac computer as she was trying to get the Xmas card organized.  Doug, Roy and I had some great time together as we pursued hobbies.

Roy, Emily, John and family, Cheryl, Paul and kids, Mike, Rayanne and family, Cathy. Pete and kids all came up last Sunday for the blessing of Doug and Christina's baby, Elena Stephanie.  We all gathered in church and after the Blessing, Doug gave a Christmas talk in Church.  We went to Doug's after and had one of those  great mini get togethers.  Christina had a great buffet with everyone bringing their specialty treat.

Mom and I headed to a Single Adult Ward where we gave our  Xmas talks.  It was a full Sunday!  I am up more and in better shape than last week although I have not started in the Temple yet.

Next big family event is on Saturday night with our Xmas Eve gathering, Nativity and dinner.  Santa may make a surprise early visit.

We are so grateful for our blessing at this time of the year, for life, new life and the love we have in the family.

Alles Gute und eine frohe Weihnachtzeit wuenschen Oma und Opa!

ITS LOOKING A LOT MORE LIKE XMAS

Dear Family,

We have been busy so I have delayed in writing.  Well the Xmas tree is up and our Salzburg Creche is in the front hall and it looks like Xmas is coming. We have yet to try and get out the cards.

Our Christmas is ongoing much like the German variety.  Something is going on daily and there is joy in the air.  We get Christmas presents constantly, early and it is great.  Jeff sent down six fresh Maine Lobsters and we had lobster rolls, lobster salads, and steamed lobsters and it was great.

 Cheryl gave us an early Xmas ;present with two tickets on the second row to the West Ballet performance of the Nutcracker. It is a professional ballet company but uses students as well in their performances.  We had four granddaughters in that performance.  Cheryl had Annabelle, Mary Clare, Lauren, and Olivia performing.  Here is a Ballet West photo showing two of them.  Olivia was the youngest child and she is such a dynamic performer, smiling dancing, cocking her head and just enjoying herself.  She and Lauren were onstage for almost the entire first act. Mary Clare was the red mouse and the first child out under the skirt and Annabelle was one of the servants bringing in the cake.  It was a great performance.

We had visits from Michigan.  Bryan came back to visit clients of his business and Becca came up (who is his comptroller) and Sandpointe Consulting had a business meeting in the dining room.

Paul F. works for a Salt Lake firm but lives in central Michigan. He came back for end of year end meetings and they all stayed over.  Here is a picture of all of us with Mom and Dad wearing their new Michigan vests. It is so great to have these ongoing reunions.

We started out the month celebrating John's 30th birthday. It hardly seems like 30 years have gone by since Mom came home from the hospital with the twins, John and Julie  That was such a great event and I thought of my sitting in the waiting oom at Beaumont Hospital.  They did not let fathers in the OR in those days and I walked the room getting concerned over how long it was taking and hoped there was not a problem..  Mom got very large during that pregnancy but the obstetrician assured me he only heard one heart sound and he did not believe in ultrasound.  So the nurse came in breathless and said, "Follow me!" and we hurried to the newborn nursery and she said, "Here is your new daughter and turning to a second bassinet, and here is your new son!".  It is hard to believe nowadays that twins were not expected.;  So we wish John a happy birthday and remember that great day.

I was also tied up over the weekend.  I was having a bit of chest discomfort and went into the emergency ward on Friday.  Doug paved the way and had some of his office there as well to make things a bit easier.and lined up the cardiologist.  The EKG showed changes so on Saturday, I was whisked up to the cath lab and had a coronary cauterization. Three of the five bypasses that were put in ten years ago were open but one was stenotic so they placed a stent to open the narrowing.  So I got out of giving the Priesthood lesson on Sunday, got better and they let me go home the next day.  I am home taking it a bit easy.  I guess the best Xmas gift I could get is a continuance of life and for that we are grateful.  Will be back in the swing of things by the weekend as we speak in a Single Adult Ward on Sunday.

Next big event will be the traditional Christmas Eve gathering/dinner and celebration.

Love you all at this special season.

Mom and Dad

THANKSGIVING AND ROB AND EVA'S VISIT

Dear Family,

We had a riotous Thanksgiving Holiday.  Rob, Eva with family, Anna, Julia, Luke and new baby Elena came down from Spokane for a  weekend visit and it was really fun to have them here. Here is Rob with Anna, Julia and Luke stocking up on canned fizzy drinks.  They had the downstairs apartment.

They came in late Wednesday night.  Thursday morning Rob and I got up;and stuffed the turkey with our signature oyster dressing.  It was a two man job and licking the fingers was great.  It was a good oyster dressing this year.  We had three turkeys for dinner; we did a 25 pound turkey with oyster dressing baked in a turkey bag, Doug brought over two deep fried Emeril's Cajun flavored turkeys and there was only a little form one of the deep friend turkeys left after the wave of eaters cleaned up the works.  We had 32 for dinner; Doug and his family, Mike and his family, Emily and her gang were there and Cathy and all her family came down from Bountiful. Paul and Cheryl and kids came for dessert upping the total to 42.

Everyone brought there favorite side dishes and it was a joyous feast.  There were yams of all varities, mashed potatoes, great gravy, vegetables of all kids, Raspberry jello salad which did not last long, dozens of rolls and two varieties of stuffing.  It was great and we thank all those who contributed.

I gave thanks for Family, Faith and the blessing we all enjoy.  We had to set up a long line for the food.  See the video.  This year we had the Moms go through first and the Dad's helped the little one fill their plates.  We used to time how long it took to put away and three day planned and prepared dinner, but this year everyone tool their time and we had an enjoyable time at the table.

There were great desserts with pies of all kinds some made by the grand kids and they were good. There was lots of Oberschlag, Rob and Eva brought apple pies from Washington, famous for their apples.

Following the great meal, they guys went to the park for the yearly football game.  It was the Dad's, Uncles, one returned missionaries against all the kids.  Even with generousness bending of the rules (cheating) those fast little guys whooped the older Uncles.  There were the competitive board games and then a great and totally fun.  Thanks to Mom, all the Moms and all those who brought great treats. Doug has the deep fried turkey down pat.

Friday, Rob and I got up early and took Luke and Johnny to Cabelas for the Black Friday sales.  It was packed.  The kids like going to Cabelas and we restrained ourselves from any big purchase.  We hurried back and I took Rob to the UoU Colorado football game.  We spoke with Elder Oaks who was in the next box.  Utah did terrible and lost.  We hurried home and Mom, Rob, Eva, the girls  drove up to Ogden to see Cheryl's kids, Annabelle, Maryclair, Loren and Olivia performed in a professional ballet, The Nutcracker. They did very well and it goes on for a couple of weeks.

Saturday morning, Cheryl made a big reservation down at the Grand American Hotel for their Xmas breakfast.  It was great.  We did not stay for the photo shoot but here is a picture of Cheryl with here family and Herr and Frau Klaus









We hurried home to watch the Michigan Ohio State football game which is the game of the year for Mightn't fans.  The word fan comes from fanatic and that describes those Michigan supporters. Doug and Douglas and the guys came over and we watched the game on the large downstairs TV.  It was an exciting game and I managed to catch the guys blarbing on the couch.  This is at the point of a Michigan score that was taken back.  Rob went a little nuts. Michigan won for the first time in a few years and there were some happy campers.

Following the game, we headed for the pistol range and had a great shooting  time with the 45's.  Spence had a 22 and did well. Wall to wall fun,

Sunday we went to Doug's ward as he was giving a talk.  He was the last speaker and was left 5 minutes. We went to Cheryl's for a brunch that was tasty. We took Rob, Eva and the kids to the Airport late in the evening.  This was a great Thanksgiving Holiday and it is so fun to be with the family.  This is only a part of having "joy and rejoicing in your posterity".  There is a deeper and more eternal meaning but what we have here is awfully good!

Love, Dad and Mom