A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Dear Family,

April is a big month for birthdays in our family; we have 19.  So there are birthday parties galore.

Of course, one of the big ones is Opa's on April 11th.  We had a celebration with those who were still in town and not off on a spring school break,  Mike, Cheryl and Paul, Suz and Scott, Cathy and Pete came over for the celebration.

As you can see, we brought in Lobsters for the occasion.  I think New England Lobster is a heavenly food and my absolute favorite.  We have always celebrated with this wonderful product of the sea.  We had Harmon's order them in and they were alive and fresh and not too expensive compared to flying them in from Lobster Guy.

Before cooking the lobsters, I always like to chase any kid in the house  trying to get them to have the lobster take a little walk on their backs. They all run faster than I can now.

Here is Timmy in a bit of a shock as he checks out the live lobster.  I have to wear my Mission apron and of course the chef's hat.  Natalie, (now Sister Hickey), remembered I offered to give her a dollar if she would hold a live lobster when we lived in Michigan.

Cheryl and Mom had the salmon and the rest had lobster and there were so many cooing and "immmmm" sounds around the table.  Everyone had such a good time and there was abundant joy on this occasion.

Suz made the best Mexican cake.. can't think of the name but it is Mexican. Not scrap of it left.  I celebrated 13 years since my open heart surgery with aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting done on my birthday in 2001.  Birthdays are lucky days and I planned it that way.

 At this time I am grateful for life and the extension of life.  It has been such a blessing to see the grandkids grow up and blossom. I also appreciated the almost 80 "Happy Birthdays" on Facebook. That was a surprise. I feel enormously grateful and blessed.

Love to you all,

Dad

MORE CONFERENCE EVENTS; OUR PRIESTHOOD GET TOGETHER

Dear Family,

General Conference has been great.  I always wonder how they knew I needed to hear what was taught.

We went to the General priesthood meeting in our Stake House.  John came up as did Mike and Doug. Here we are before our post Priesthood Meeting barbecue.  Here are Mike, Nate, Spence, Michael, with Joseph, John, Opa and Doug behind. Fewer numbers this time as Jake and Douglas are on their missions.  The kids all take notes during Priesthood Meeting and are quizzed during our dinner.

I smoked three racks of ribs for the occasion and here are Michael, Spence, Doug, and Nate with a pile of ribs.  The boys were anxious to get to the review before they forgot.  They all did well and could summarize all talks.  It is hard to pick out one talk from another but I thought the talk by Elder Oaks was especially note worthy discussing a tricky question.  This talk need to be studied.

The Sunday session was also outstanding and especially uplifting. So wonderful to experience Conference.


MORE REUNION PICTURES

Here is a shot of the couple who get the Trachtenmode prize.  Here are Becky (Bequiss Christensen, now Fairbanks) and her husband James.  Becky served in Austria and was one of those super sister missionaries.  James served in the Dominican Republic.  He got the authentic Bavarian Lederhose from a brother.  James sings  in the Tabernacle Choir and we spotted him on TV during conference.  He has his own dental practice in the valley.  Becky is busy as a social worker.

Here is a "Selfie" that the little girl took of herself and her mother, Kristi DeMille Spackman.  We took our missionary picture with my Leica M9 mounted on a tripod with the shutter set on delayed release.  This little girl watched the process, and after the group picture was over, ran to the camera, took a chair and touched off the shutter.  Kristi ran forward to prevent a knock over of the camera but when they saw the blinking red light, dashed in front for this shot.  The focus was set for beyond but this is a pretty good picture.  Lots of fun and good tines at the reunion.

Well, study the talks of conference and see where something might apply.  We have great leaders.

Love to all,

Mom and Dad

MISSIONARY REUNION 2014

Dear Family,

We had our missionary reunion on the Friday before General Conference.  This year it will be nine hears since we returned from Germany. The numbers of those attending these reunions have been smaller in the last couple of years as many have moved away for work or education.



When we announced the reunion, there were about 40 that indicated they would come.  We ordered food and I thought we should order a little more.  Mom worked hard on the house and yard to get it ready and set a great table with tons of goodies.

A great group arrived and some we have not seen for several years.  They brought their children who had a blast with the stuffed animals and all the toys downstairs.  I was surprised at the number who came and we think there was over 90 in attendance including some little kids. Brett Lameroux was a great help in getting the word out.  The picture above represents only some of those who attended.
I have never wanted to duplicate a church meeting with these reunions but next time we might have a little program,  We sang a couple of German hymns and mostly had a diner and visited constantly. It was so great to see these former missionaries who have moved on in life with education and individual families.  They enjoyed seeing one another again and there was a good spirit in the gathering.


Here are three former sister missionaries, Heidi Hinman-Perez (a certified landscape artist), Julie Hardy (nurse at Intermountain Health), and Shalayne Davis who will get her law degree in Richmond, VA this month.  Very talented group.

When I saw this large group of former missionaries, I remembered  their work and devotion.  The memory of their long hours studying, finding, and teaching  reminds me of the scripture in Mosiah 15, which I believe refers to our missionaries

 16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!

 17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!

How beautiful upon the mountains are indeed the feet of our fine missionaries.  

Love, Mom and Dad

BOYS IN A BOX

Dear Family,

We bought a new recliner and it came in a huge box.  Mom wanted to keep the box for the kids, knowing that often the box is better than the toy it held.

John came over with his boys and soon we had two others.  Here is the
"Little Gang of 4-5 Year Olds" There is Johnny in front, Grant, Garret and Timmy. It is impossible to take a serious picture of these guys.

John cut windows in the box and they were in there for a long time.  So great to see this all

Love, Dad