To Brianne... Our Awesome Missionary!!!

Dear Brianne,

I am so excited for you to serve your mission.  What a tremendous blessing it is to serve our Heavenly Father.  After all he has done for each one of us, it is a privilege to share the gospel with others.

Katherine and I work with the Young Single Adults just like you in our stake.  We teach and plead with them to pursue one of three options in life.  We call it the 3M plan...

1.  Mission
2.  Means (Education or Training)
3.  Marriage

You have done all the right things by choosing to further your education and now serve a mission.  You make us all proud by choosing the right and doing those things which the prophets teach us will bring lasting happiness in our lives.

My service for you Brianne has been to recommit to helping our YSA in the stake to serve full time missions.  I used to teach a Mission Prep course when I was the Stake YM President.  Since our calling has changed to YSA, that Mission Prep course has fallen by the wayside.  I am starting the class again in January to help prepare our YSA to be the best missionaries they can be.

I want to share with you and our YSA the one key to missionary work.  If you want to be successful and reach the full measure of your missionary service, you must abide by this one key... OBEDIENCE!!!  If you obey ALL the mission rules, you will be find joy in your service.  If you are disobedient, you will not reach your full potential.  Obey the mission rules regardless if you like them or not.  Obey them regardless if you think they are stupid or not.  When you obey, you are eligible for all the blessing of heaven.  When you disobey, you basically are on your own.  True happiness comes from obedience.  This principle is relevant throughout our entire lives.

Lastly, some of us participated in a family "Biggest Loser" competition the past few months.  I was lucky enough to win by a very SLIM margin (no pun intended LOL).  Katherine and I decided a while ago that if I was the winner that I would donate my winnings to your mission fund.  So I am excited to tell you that we are sending you a check for the winnings!  Every missionary can use a little extra cash!!!

We love you Brianne and you are an excellent example to our kids.  Maisie, Lydia and Andrew are watching everything their older cousins do... so keep up the good work!!!

Love Uncle Ben...

To: Hannah From: Dixie

As I think about Hannah I think witty, funny and musical. Hannah is very talented musically so I decided to make people feel more welcomed and included by music. So when I started this year I met two exchange students one from Brazil named Maria and one from Switzerland named Michelle. Maria was a very cute shy girl who a lot of people had difficulty understanding her with her strong accent. Michelle didn't have a good host family that helped her progress in her time in America and also had very hard time in school translating everything and had many tears of missing her family and friends in Europe. I loved seeing them each day and helping them improve there English. so every day id listen to music with her and sing with both of them at school the popular American music. I also invited them both to every stake dance there was within this school year. the music I shared with them allowed them to see a culture difference and learn slang American terms to improve there modern English. it was also great seeing there lives steadily improve and developing world wide friendships. It was awesome thinking of Hannah while doing this and the untold effect music can have on people.

 

For my Lovely Libby from Mais

When I got your name and pictured you in my mind, I imagined you in your little Who Ville costume from like, a million years ago and you had a cup underneath your hair to make it super tall haha. I thought it was the cutest thing! Then I fast forwarded to the past couple times my family and I have visited and you almost always had a flower, headband, bow, clips, in your hair (or a cup). Soooooooooooooooo for my service I decided to make Hair bows and flowers for the little primary girls in my ward. I had fun making them and I enjoyed thinking about you in the process. They turned out super duper cute and the girls loved them:D Merry Christmas Libby

To Hawaii From Alaska

Dear Masie,

I thought of service I could do for Masie; I thought of things that would relate to her and things that I can do...most of them did not match up. Masie is always thinking of others and there is a woman in my new ward that reminds me of her, Sister Gage. Our two families have gotten very close and we have always been willing to help. I decided that I would serve her. She and I decided that I am a lot more organized than she is so I will be helping her organize her laundry room and her kitchen. I don't have pictures, I apologize. Merry Christmas Masie I love you! And not to brag but I probably live the closest to you now.

Love

Darcy Dittbrenner

Merry Christmas Ricky From Dillon

Dear Ricky,

     This is my first year to do this so sorry there are no pictures. I was scared at first so I didn't know what to do. So I thought for a long time and I got an idea. One morning I went to 3 houses and shoveled their driveway after it had snowed that night. They didn't shovel it at all so I did it for them and they didn't know it was me. I also had the opportunity to talk in sacrament meeting it was all about how acts of services bless us in our lives. In my talk I was able to use the example of our Christmas service blogs. I am glad I had the opportunity to think of Ricky this year.

       Love Dillon
    Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Spencer!

This year for our service I had my cousin Spencer. While he stayed with us in Hawaii I got to know him on a totally different level. Also this summer I spent a lot of time with him. The more time I spent with him the more I realized how optimistic and outgoing he is. So for my service I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try something new since I'm in high school. First I tried out for the soccer team. I made lots of new friends and loved the experience! Next I took up guitar lessons. I Am still taking guitar and love it! It is really difficult for me but I love the challenge. I know that Spencer is always open to knew things and willing to try different experiences. Hope your having a great Christmas! Love, Lydia 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axKpNf71Dwo

To Erik with Love...from Katherine

Erik is our go to guy when it comes to preparedness.  I have enjoyed following his Prep and be Ready Facebook and has inspired me to get my act together. This is the before picture of our 72 hour kits. Yes they are somewhere in there.

So step one get organized.  I updated all our kits with awesome headlamps and first aid kits.  Also created name tags with photo id and contents label.  I got hooks to hang them on the peg board for easier access in case of emergency.

You can also see our water storage filled.  

I also helped our YSA do a 72 hr food kit in a milk jug.  So now they are prepared with a little something no matter where they are. 

Of course we did the same kit for the kids for FHE.

Next step is to get HAM and CERT certified.  2015!!  

Just wanted to add one more thing since our island is brimming with natural disasters. The east side of the island has been hit hard by hurricane Iselle, followed by lava flow taking out homes.  We picked up our family and went over with plenty food for the workers and those without power.  Followed by several hours of cleaning up the roads with a chainsaw and machete.  It was hot an humid but felt awesome helping those who had been devastated by the hurricane.

Much love to Erik who always makes me smile.  Aloha.  Katherine

To Elder Kenney (Bruce), From Wes

Bruce (Dad^2) has been an pillar of an example to all of us by providing service to so many people for so many years to family, neighbors, wards and friends, and now to strangers in Washington. I have the rest of my life to try to provide service equal to what he has given, so for this Christmas I will just have to start whittling away at that block.

For my service to Bruce, I found an opportunity to serve our own ward mission leader. Roland Bolman has been our ward mission leader for as long as I have been in this ward, and he works tirelessly to do his best in his calling, he is a great missionary moving the work forward! His wife also serves our ward with just as much zeal as the ward choir director. Between work, 3 kids and church callings, the Bolman's don't have a lot of time to spend on extra work projects. So when I found out that Emily Bolman was planning on building her husband a new closet, I immediately volunteered to help her build it. You see, for the past year, their closet has been out of commission and they have been using their kids closets to hang clothes and they have been living off the floor, putting all their other stuff on the floor. Emily wanted to surprise her husband Christmas morning, but she really wanted to give him the gift of the project, not the completed closet, so I have been working with her preparing the plans and getting supplies ready. My service project won't be completed until I go over and help Roland assemble, install and paint the closet. But just like all the service Bruce provides, is his service ever really over?

Thank you Bruce for taking me in as one of the family and loving me like one of your own, I love you as I love my own father (ironically his name is also Bruce).

Wes

Merry Christmas Dillon! From, Libby

This year I got Dillon for my Christmas service. As I sat and thought about what I could do, I remembered how friendly Dillon is to other people. So I decided that as I started my first year in Junior High I would try to become friends with as many people as possible. I would especially try to reach out to those who didn't have many or any friends. As school came to a start, there weren't many people who I saw that didn't have friends. I kept looking knowing that there has to be someone who doesn't have any friends, or may be in need of one. The first person I was able to make friends with was Emily. Emily was born deaf and had tried a few hearing aids but none of them were able to help her hear. After a while her parents were able to get her hearing aids that were surgically attached to her brain so she could hear. Emily is super funny and nice, but for whatever reasons not many kids wanted to be her friend. I started getting to know her, and be became quick friends. She told me that I changed her life with my kindness and that she was glad we were friends.

            Another person I reached out to was Tyra. Tyra is again nice but a little bigger. But with Tyra I quickly realized the reason she didn't have many friends was because it took a lot of patience to keep listening to her talk. Tyra is willing to talk about almost anything and everything. It gets to a point where it starts to get hard having a conversation with her because she just keeps going. But I knew that for that reason I need to be patient and all that much kinder. But after a while of having three classes together she slowly started talking a little bits less. (I think she ran out of things to talk about) But, the day before Christmas Break she told me that I have been the only person to be her friend for that long and how much she appreciated it.

            Now I know that if it weren't for this, I would not have been looking specifically for someone who needs a friend. I also want you to ask yourself, who are you missing out on being friends with? 

To Cindy from Erik, Christmas 2014

Christmas Service for Cindy

Cindy is a great aunt and sister-in-law.  She is so thoughtful.   Every niece and nephew gets a handwritten birthday card and McDonald's gift certificates for their birthday.  Our kids have always enjoyed their card and gift certificates from Cindy and Alex.

As my service "to Cindy" (not really for her but a service that honors her), I have purchased a stack of birthday cards and McDonalds gift certificates.  Following Cindy's example, I am sending my Patterson nieces and nephews a handwritten birthday card and gift certificates.  I am excited to follower Cindy's example!  I hope that I can build strong bonds with my nephews and nieces.   Thanks Cindy!!!

Erik

To Nicole from Cindy

We all know how hectic the holidays can be, especially for a full time working mom. So my act of service was to help my mother with Christmas preparations. I went shopping with her 4 different times over the last month, and wrapped ALL of her Christmas gifts.

Being able to do these things for my mom allowed her to focus on her other responsibilities such as work or being a wonderful grandma. Merry Christmas Nicole!

To Lydia, Love Jackson

This year for the family service project, I had my cousin Lydia. She lives in Hawaii, so I don't get to really socialize with her as much as my other cousins. But when I saw her this past summer at Bear Lake, I learned that she apparently likes thrift shopping. So I decided that I should go do volunteer work at Deseret Industries. Some of my sisters came with me. Brianne and Savannah went to the front of the store area to hang up clothes and put tags on them. Hannah sorted good clothes (good quality, not ripped) and bad clothes (ripped, stained, etc...). Then what I did was sort clothes and other toys and games. there would be these huge cardboard boxes with the top open. It would be filled with lots of random things. Then I would move them onto a trolley that would go to other sorting stations. I'm glad I did this and that I could be a great help to the D.I. I hope you like it!

To Alyssa From Rick

This year I was able to serve Alyssa for my Christmas gift. When I thought about what to do I thought of a few things that I could do, but over the summer it became clear to me what to do. I was at EFY and just quietly thinking to myself before a class what a good service would be. When the class started, it just so happened that the class was all about doing family history work. And with that came my revelation about what I should do more in my life and for my Christmas service. I knew Alyssa was her ward youth family search expert and in my class I felt the spirit tell me I need to do a lot more family history work so i decided to A) set up my own account on family search and B) do some work on the family search website. Since then I've tried to spend some time every Sunday online indexing names. Its definitley not what I expected, and its not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I hope to be able to continue working on my goal and I'm thankful I was able to serve Alyssa.

Merry Christmas Grandma!! from Casey

This year I had the great honor of doing a service in behalf of Grandma! As we all know Grandma is a women of many talents and can basically do anything. It took me some time to decide what attribute of Grandmas I wanted to emulate and serve with. Well my original plan was to plan and host a party with my friends. Unfortunately last minute my friends want to go somewhere else a little more central to everyone else so we decided to move the location. We still had a good time at that party with everyone but it didn't feel full. So after that I decided to serve others by cooking, because as we all know Grandma is a fantastic cook! What I did was made chocolate chip cookies and delivered them to people who I knew were in the need of some Christmas cheer!

To Lexi from Brianne

Merry Christmas Lexi!

This year for Christmas, when I got Lexi, I was really excited. If there was one person who I would conciser my role model, it would be Lexi. (Next to her would be Lauren and Rick, so the Patterson family is just high on my list apparently)

Obviously when anyone ever thinks of Lexi, you think "missionary" because she just served the Lord in Costa Rica for 18 months, so obviously, I'll get my mission call, and call it my service for the year....

just kidding. :)

When I think of Lexi, I think of yellow personality galore. She loves to play, so I figured I'd do something a little more playful. I know Lexi also loves to sing. Driving in the car with her, singing with the radio, I always wished I could sing like Lex.

So this year I thought I'd do something that matched her personality. My mom and I made a bunch of cookies, three different types, and then I dragged my siblings along to deliver them while we went Christmas caroling. People were so excited when we came up to the door step, and if you ask my siblings, at first they hated the idea, but in the end we all had a lot of fun.

Thanks for being such a good example in my life Lex. I love you so much. You're influence and push for me to go on my mission is a blessing. You've always encouraged me, and it's needed. :) Keep being great :)

to Dixie D. from Spencer

When I got Dixie, it didn't take much thought to what I should do for my service.  For as long as I have known her, Dixie is constantly so cheerful and friendly always brightening up the room.  This year I tried to make an extra effort to include others in group activities and meet new people then befriend them.  Because of this, I now know and is friends with thirty-nine people I probably wouldn't have made an effort to reach out to. Most are from school, others from work.  Some of these people now that I know them, I wonder how I ever lived without their awesome personalities and their sense of humors.  With meeting each new person I always make sure to get their birthday, favorite hobbies, and other interests so that I can truly know them.  To be honest, usually I would rather just stick to my friends that I already had and "random people" would always annoy me.  But with this service in honor of Dixie I now know; with a little time to get to know them you can befriend most people.  I will try to continue this service and meet new people and reach out to others.

To Katherine, Love Liz

Dear Katherine,

For as long as I have known you I have seen many talents and passions you have. One that often sticks out for me is your love for your siblings. I love to see you with your sisters. What a wonderful family you come from.

Ever since I received your name this year, I knew I wanted to do something for one of your sisters. You live so far away from them and I know you miss them terribly. I didn't know what I would do or which one I would choose, but I had all summer to think about it.

By September I had decided to do something for your sister Anne. She and I are close in age and I knew she had recently been through a divorce and would probably appreciate some help. I don't live near her, so I knew I couldn't do anything to serve her directly. Finally I decided on sending her spiritually uplifting messages in the mail and (hopefully) help her see how much her Heavenly Father loves her.

I was leary at first because I didn't know enough about what was going on in her personal life to feel like I knew what approach to take. But, I let the Holy Ghost guide me in finding what she needed. It took me awhile to find her address (I tried asking my brother but he proved to be very preoccupied with work and family responsibilities -- too busy to help me!) But I finally got it - thanks to Deborah’s help. I told her what I was planning on doing and she encouraged me to go forward with the plan.

So I started sending Anne some talks I found online at LDS.org and hoped for the best. I would send her one a week at first. Then after a few weeks I decided I wanted to incorporate General Conference somehow, so I made some cards with my favorite conference messages. Before I knew it, I had done quite a bit. I decided to make it complete by doing a card for each of the 12 Apostles and the 1st Presidency. In the end, I think I made 20 cards (I’ll be sending you a set in the mail but I didn't get it done in time to send to Hawaii before Christmas).

Throughout the last few months of the year, I made sure to include Anne and her family in my personal prayers, I put her name on the temple rolls each month, and fasted for her regularly. Each time I did these things, I also thought of you and wanted you to be blessed in the same ways.

I hope you  are happy for my choice of service. In closing, I want to give Anne one last message. . .

Dear Anne,

It is my Christmas wish this year to help deliver a message from our loving Heavenly Father who wants you to know how much He loves you. He knows you and has angels working near you to bring you blessings. As you move forward in your life and teach your children the doctrines of the Gospel, you will find peace and joy. My own testimony of this fact has strengthened for myself through this opportunity to serve you and Katherine in this endeavor and I am so thankful for that!

Please enjoy these music videos as my final message to you - they are some of my favorites.

Merry Christmas to Anne and to Katherine! I love you both!

Love, Liz

Merry Christmas to Casey from Alex

2 in  a row! Well Casey, this year I got to know you a little bit better and came up with something I think you would appreciate.

I know you're a fan of Real Salt Lake (at least, according to your Facebook) and having served your mission in London, I know that you have at least a little bit of a traveling spirit within you. So, here is your gift.

Soccer is the worlds most popular sport. Unfortunately for many, they can't afford a standard ball, or even if they can, the only places to play tend to have sharp debris that may ruin any good solid soccer ball. There is group of people who have come together for the purpose of encouraging play in remote 3rd world countries. This group has solved the problem of a poppable ball. It's made from super durable foam, but also behaves just like a standard soccer ball when kicked and hit etc. So even if it hits or rolls into glass or jagged metal, or the mouth of a lion, its the ball that takes a lickin' and keeps on kickin'!

This group has also made it possible to deliver to these incredibly remote areas, and through them I have purchased a ball in Casey's name. So for Christmas somewhere, there is a group of kids that had no ball, but have received a package with Casey's name on it, that will provide a means for these children to have something to play with.

Merry Christmas Casey!

Merry Christmas, Cristina!!! Love, Lauren

This year I had Cristina for the Christmas service and I wanted to do something in her behalf that would really have benefitted her!

What I did was I babysat for free for three different moms with babies, since I knew the coming of sweet Baby Dana brought its own set of trials for Cris.  It was really fun and I know that the moms all appreciated it so much!  Here are some pictures of some of the cute babies on the babysitting days

For Alex-Service 2014

This year has been pretty nuts for me time wise, and I'm hoping Alex, you'll be the first to understand why!  When I first got Alex's name I started to think about what I could do.  I thought about how he was working so hard on fixing up his new home.  I thought maybe I could help someone in the same position with a construction project, but quickly realized that I have zero skills to offer there.  Plus, if I'd had the skills and the time to help someone else with that- I should have been helping Alex!  What else could I do?  Well...Alex would soon be moving into his new home...maybe I could look to help someone else who is moving?  The first opportunity came when I overheard a single sister in our ward say that she had to move classrooms within her school after an addition had been built on.  It's not exactly the same move Alex was making, but a move nonetheless.  I approached her (Lisa) and asked if I could help.
 She was very grateful and so we made a plan.  I met her at the school on a Saturday in August and helped her move into her new classroom.

Libby, Spencer and Erik were kind enough to come along with me.  Spencer moved boxes, Erik hung clocks and bulletin boards on the wall while Libby and I unloaded boxes onto shelves and into cupboards.  We alphabetized her books in her classroom library, sorted and organized her art supplies and stapled things to the wall.  We made a major dent in the project after the afternoon was done.  She still had to go back the next few days, but had a lot of it done for her.  

Two months later Lisa announced that she was moving out of the ward.  Once again I had the opportunity to serve her and this time at least she was moving houses like Alex was moving!  I went in on another Saturday this fall and helped her pack up her fragile things and books.  I had saved some moving boxes for her and brought those along.  We got most of her bedroom and front moved packed up that day.  The next day the Elder's Quorum arrived to help her move and I went in with cleaning supplies behind them to clean up each room.  I kept hoping that someone was doing this for Cindy because I know what a wreck things can look like when all your stuff is out!  

I'm so happy for Cindy and Alex and their beautiful new home!  I wish I'd had more time to help them on their project, but was happy I could serve someone else in a like manner.  Merry Christmas Alex!  I love you!

Merry Christmas David! Love, Laura

Dear David,

It has been a pleasure to serve you this year.  I decided I wanted to type up your journals and share them with the family as my service project.  I have felt you closer to me as I read each entry.  

You make me laugh with so many of the stories you tell—your extravagant dates at the ranch, and screaming about bugs your first weeks in Mexico.  You did a great job capturing a lot of who you really are in your journal entries.   Jumping around from one topic to another, sharing some of your deepest thoughts, I can almost hear your voice talking to me through the pages.  Sometimes it has made me miss you so much, I’ve had to take a little break from typing them every now and then. 

You started keeping a journal in the fall of 1993 just before your 14^th birthday.   

Here is an idea of what many of the entries are like:

September 1993I can't believe it's been a week. It's gone by quickly. I have had a nice time at school and today I was ordained president of the Deacons quorum. There is a lot of responsibility in that. I'm doing nicely in my classes and today Brian, (Liz's boyfriend) and Brian's parents will be joining us for dinner. Sorry there wasn't much to say, bye.

----Sorry that last week wasn't very exciting but I can't think of what to really say. Booooring!!!! There really isn't anything to talk about except for I made some progress on my Eagle Scout project which is making three rocking horses and rocking chairs for two hospitals and one homeless shelter.

---This week I finished learning the alphabet in keyboarding and completed my Eagle project and now all I have to do for my eagle is have a board of review.
This week I really started to realize how much the Scriptures help me. I might be thinking too highly of myself but at the time being life is great. I'm the Deacons president, I've all but got my Eagle, doing great in all my classes except PE and I've got a great family.
I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father and I'm gaining a testimony that he loves me and at the church and scriptures are true. I'm thankful for my family, friends, Scout troop, deacons and deacon’s leaders and church leaders. Now I've just got to work on some self-esteem issues. Nothing to worry about.

Because you were so good at keeping a personal history, 

(with 7 journals) this project has taken longer than anticipated.  Of course your wonderful handwriting didn’t slow things down a bit either.  (ahhhh…..note to self, type up my own journals so my posterity doesn’t have to decipher my handwriting at a later date…) 

I’m sorry to say that I’ve only made it through the first two journals which cover the high school years through the first 2 months on your mission.  There are so many great stories and treasures of testimony that I look forward to reading and typing up the rest of the journals soon. 

One of my favorite parts of your High School journal is reading about your summers at the Ranch.  It has been fun to see it through your eyes and feel of the love you have for that beautiful place (and all the girls in Orderville).  I know it was a major part of your life and you loved growing closer to your Aunts, Grandparents and Cousins there:

August 6, 1996
Today is fast Sunday and my last day here at the ranch. How depressing. The activity on Tuesday was a major hit. It was spectacular. We talked Mike B into letting us use his speakers and we use Dixie's stereo and we had a great sound system up there. We had to plug it into a noisy old generator we drug up there with a quad but it was okay because we could hear the music over its noisy engine. And there was swimming, boating, volleyball, dancing and eating. Both words were up there. There was probably me, 6 other guys and about 35 other girls! Yes!

6/30/1997
Last night me and Julia Hicks were the only ones on the entire ranch!  We were really scared of ghosts and stuff, which made it lots of fun up in our barn.  After watching Titanic we talked for 4 hours about problems and spiritual experiences.  It was really deep and awesome.  I probably spent 2 hours talking about advice for High School, how to make friends and to always smile and say "hi".  It was the most detailed I had ever talked to someone about my theories on socialism.
We also talked about how cool it would be when all of the cousins kids (like mine and Julia's) were as close as me and my cousins.  So that all of my kids, Jake's kids, Johnny's kids, Laura's kids, Ben's kids--everyone--being first and second cousins alike, would know and love each other like I know and love my 1st cousins.  And how awesome it will be when all 250 of us have reunions at Clear Creek Ranch, the world famous family reunion get away resort.  And how us, the owners, will hold our own reunions there, how big our talent shows would be, and how at every testimony meeting we would talk about how grateful we were for Jim Bodell and his hard work, and Maydene Bodell and her loving spirit, and how none of this would be possible if it weren't for them. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

It was great to read more about your spiritual side on your mission.  Lots of entries about your testimony and how it was growing, (and lots about how much you missed Amber Judkins…)  I especially love how you ended that journal with this funny story and then your brief testimony.  I’ll let your entry be the final words of this post, but know that I love you so much, I’m grateful for your example of being an awesome journal writer, and I want to be just like you!!

Merry Christmas David,

I love you,

Laura

You had been in Mexico for 11 days when you wrote this:

 2/20/1999
It’s only between 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning right now, but I’m too scared to use the bathroom right now.  I’ll tell you why in a second, so I’m writing in my journal.
Last night, I had a funny experience, that I know will never be as funny when I try to re-tell it or write it down as when it really happened, but I’m gonna write it anyway.  I was in the process of changing into my PJs in my room, when all of the sudden there’s this huge cockroach sitting on my floor.  Now, I hate cockroaches.  I don’t know why, I’ve probably only ever seen 2 in the USA my whole life—maybe just from the movies, like Men in Black—is from where I’m scared.
Right at this moment, this crazy song starts playing on Elder Ramirez’s stereo.  He has this tape of Hymns we listen to, and I don’t know why, but there’s this zany circus like song in the middle, and it came on.  Then, the chase began.  I felt too mean to squish him, so I wanted to capture him and take him outside.  So, I found a box, and with the circus music accompanying us, chased him around my room, through my stuff and luggage.  I caught him 3-4 times, but he was too quick and I couldn’t shut the lid on him.  But finally he wasn’t quick enough, and BAM! He was mine!
I realized that my box had multiple holes big enough from him to easily slide through, and while I was holding it, all I could do was imagine him making his way out of the box, up my arm, and into my shirt.  I seriously would have died right there, and the obituary and ads in the Tribune would be pretty embarrassing for my family.
So I decided I needed to get rid of this box quick.  So I started running around in circles in the kitchen, circus music playing along trying to decide where to take the box.  It took me a second to realize the only logical answer and the whole purpose of my conquest-outside!
So I dart for the front door, forgetting everything my companion told me about staying in your room while in garments—so the outside world won’t see them.  So I get 5 feet from the door, box in hand ready to throw, when I remember the huge fiesta that’s going on literally right outside our front door.  That’s when I remember I was only half way through getting changed into PJs before this extravaganza began, and looked up to see out our front window-- all the people, and I don’t know how many were looking right back.  Doh!
Well, images of a tickling sensation of something up my arm and into my shirt didn’t leave me standing dumbfounded in my underwear in full light in front of my audience for one more second.  I darted back for the only other option—the back door!  Upon reaching it, I remembered one problem—how difficult it is to open, even when both hands are free, and seeing that I only had one, I couldn’t imagine how I could possibly get it ajar, just cause it was such a tight fit with the lock and usually took me quite a while of jiggling and pulling to open it.
So I started panicking, running in circles in our kitchen again, handling the box like a hot potato, with the circus song still going.  I started thinking about how ugly the critter was, with his long antennas, and was suddenly motivated to do something fast.  For a second, I thought the front door with all those people watching would have to do.  But when I got halfway there, I couldn’t bear the thought of all those people watching me, in my underwear, burst out of the front door, screaming like a little girl, as if the house were on fire, and through away a single little harmless cockroach.  I knew by this time that my cockroach must soon be finding one of the holes, so I hurriedly ran to the back door, and with all the adrenaline pumping through my blood, single handedly yanked open the door in one pull.  I quickly opened my box to toss my victim into the weeds, but he wasn’t there!  As you can imagine, my imagination started running wild with all the places he could be right now, paying close attention to all the places where I really didn’t want him to be.
I did a quick body check, and when I found I was clean, I decided to would go back and finish changing.  On the way to the room—augh---there he was--in the kitchen!  And with my circus music our chase continued.  Eventually I ended up sweeping him out the back door, with the box rather than using it to pick him up.  It was safer that way.  And as soon as he was out, I took a deep breath, and the song ended.  Just as if it was out of a movie.
I went to bed last night feeling pretty good about myself and my accomplishment, thinking I had just rid the world of cockroaches, but as I would find out later this morning, well, let’s just say I wasn’t as successful as I had thought…..(to be continued)……
I woke up this morning to the rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo next door, well, it was actually my alarm clock, but the roosters were cock-a-doodle-dooing also.  I said my prayer and did my pushups, and headed for the bathroom.  I drowsily flipped on the light (which only works when it wants to, about half the time) and beheld a scene from straight out of an Indian Jones movie.  No more than 2 inches from where my fingers had just flipped the switch, perched about 15 black cockroaches, varying from the size of my friend the night before, up to the length of 4 inches long.  I was frozen with fear, and literally didn’t move for at least 5-7 minutes, standing in the doorway, clueless as to what I should do.   Eventually I slowly backed away, and started writing in my journal about last night, waiting for Elder Ramirez to wake up and do something about it.  After writing for a while, I started thinking about how foolish I was acting, and that I should go do something about it myself.  So I headed back to the bathroom, thinking about what I would do.  There was no way I was going to have a 15 minute chase with each one like last night and save their lives, but the thought of their 3D corpses crunching under my shoe was unbearable.  Maybe, I thought, I’d be inspired what to do when I got there.  Upon arriving, I saw a cockroach crawling up the door, so I swatted him off.  No sooner had I swatted him off, than he opened a huge pair of wings and flew straight at my face!  I think I screamed and woke up Elder Ramirez.  After that, there was no way I was going to do anything about it, so I whined and cried until Elder Ramirez went and torched them with his spray and lighter.  Oh yeah, he cooked em’ good.  And once again, I thought we had seen the end of “las cucarachas”.  But once again, I had a surprise waiting for me…..(to be continued)…….
So later today, I went to go to the bathroom.  While in the bathroom, I heard this faint scratching sound.  Well, I thought it was Elder Ramirez since he had been teasing me about the cockroaches all day, ever since this morning.  I was going to yell something to him, like “ya, really funny!” when all of the sudden out of a tiny, hole in the wall next to me, emerged 5-6 tiny white cockroaches!  Oh no!  There’s a nest, and they’re starting to hatch!  Once again, I was wrong when I thought the world had been saved from the ugly crunchy critters, but I found out that our problems were just beginning.  Apparently our wall is  some kinda new breeding ground for ‘em, and it’s full of babies, larva, and who knows what else.  My hero once again torched all that were in full view, but I have this funny feeling there’s many more surprises hiding inside our bathroom wall.  Elder Ramirez says we need to buy some kind of poison for them.  I’ll let you know how it goes…
Let me close this book with a few thoughts.  My life really is great.  All though I myself am far from perfect, I dare say that my life is pretty darn close to being perfect.  Everything is exactly how and where I want it right now.  I don’t have any major problems, or anything.  I love the mission field.  I’m still adjusting to the people, language, food, lifestyle, schedule, companion and what not, but I know everything is going to be just perfect.  I also know that any hard times I do go through, will just be the Lord smoothing out my rough spots, turning me into a smooth, slick, polished rock.  It’ll all be for my own good.  Besides, it’s like something said to me recently, which hit me hard, and it’s also something that I’m constantly reminded of here in Campeche, because all the little boys here are constantly flying their kites they make out of garbage.  What I was told was “Remember, a kite only flies against the wind.”

To Liz From Cristina

This year I got Liz' name. Honestly this year it's been a hard one and between going to pregnancy and  having a baby and all the problems I had after I didn't really have time to serve others but I was blessed to be served by many angels here on earth and on the other side. I just want Liz to know how much I love her and much I admire her. I know everybody has trials and to me her trials are being well taking care of by her, her strength and attitude amazes me. Last time I had a deep chat with her was when I was at the hospital and she was there with me. We talked and I was so happy she was there for me. She was serving me by bringing some comfort and strength when I most needed. Every time I will see on tv how moms home school their kids it will make me think on her. She has a big heart and so much love for her kids that she is doing what is best for them and I admire that. So this year she also help me with my depression and anxiety by telling me what she does to keep her mind busy. She showed me her folder with things she does, like reading the scripture and more. I have my own notebook and I do the same. So thank you Liz for serving me and teaching me that I am not alone and I can count on you. I love you and I am glad I am part of your family.

Although we were told who we should serve I also wanted to serve my husband Dave. This year I felt him so close to me and he was able to give me some messages for my kids and even when each Christmas gets harder I also decided to smile and think about him and enjoy my new family because I know he wants me to be happy. When I hold my baby makes me love him more because I know that those 2 were good friends before she came to earth. This year I was able to get over my fear with ambulances and hospital as I was the one in need and a week ago, wes and I help a young boy that was in a very bad car accident. I saw how much the paramedics did for me and it brought closure to me. I know that my Dave was in good hands and they did all they could to save him.  I love him and I feel honored he chose me to be his eternal companion and I can't wait to the day I get to see him and be in his arms again! Merry Christmas!

To Wes - from Issaquah, Washington Love, Mom

Wes, Wes Wes - from Issaquah, Washington

How do I love thee

Let me count the ways

A good husband

A daddy

A son

All came to us thru tragedy

But as a blessing in disguise

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

I looked for opportunities

To do kindness

To catch a person in need

Maybe earthly

Or maybe in spirit

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

A Primary President wanting to make copies

Of conference activities for the children

The price was too dear

So I asked her to let me pay

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

An opportunity to make a difference

In the life of someone not blessed

With the means to attend a conference

So I paid with no regrets

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

During the summer

A shopping trip

For a few that would love something new

To wear to school the first day back

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

Fall came and a new opportunity

To grow and become more humble

Through service at the Humanitarian Center

Brought new insights to me

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

Later in the year

As the holidays approached

A little girl here as a refugee from Senegal

Tried to tell her mother they needed a turkey

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

Another sister with challenges

Her physical body did not allow

Her the  privelage of working hard

So medication was almost impossible

You smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

The Christmas wish  of the little girl from Senegal

Was a baby doll with a dress

And oh, dear Santa, make her black like me

In this new world in which we live

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

As may be gathered from the notes above

All of these acts required money

Not huge amounts - but just enough

That I could act in your stead

Instead of your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

I was in a position to help

Another in their time of need

And now, our Wes from Issaquah

We are far from our home

As we are serving our fellowmen

Not far from your Issaquah

For

Your smile

Your hugs

Your words of reassurance

Thank you

Love, Mom

To Kevin, Love Lexi

My Uncle Kevin is the definition of high standards in my book.

From his family, to his career, to his service to god,

Kevin is always setting the bar high for himself and inviting others to become more like Christ. 

When I found out I had Kevin to serve this year, at first I felt a little intimidated.

"What could I possibly do that would be anywhere near a Kevin level of excellence?" 

At first the obvious answer came. 

Kevin worked several years as a bishop in his family ward, 

and you better believe that I had done TOOOOOONS of service for varies bishops in Costa Rica, 

but as I brain stormed with his wife, we realized that there is so much more to Kevin then "he was a bishop".

We both tried to come up with ideas of things that would honor other aspects of Kevins life.

One thing that my Uncle Kevin and I have in common was that we have both served as full time missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints speaking the Spanish language.

I remember the first time I realized that my Uncle Kevin spoke Spanish. 

I was impressed when we first met our "fresh from Mexico" Cristina, who didn't speak a lick of English, 

and Kevin sat down and had (what appeared to be) and very loving and caring conversation, 

100% in Spanish. 

No miming, no speaking slow English, just a quality talk about her and her life.

My Uncle Kevin understood how hard it was to be somewhere where the language felt difficult, and how easy it was to feel alone and frustrated. 

This memory made me think of a time when I felt frustrated with my language abilities, and time I prayed and worked so hard, but felt like I was always disappointing myself. A place where I would have loved to have had someone extend an "Uncle Kevin" arm of friendship on my own language territory to get to know the "real me" not just the "nit wit who doesn't understand what we are saying in front of her".

Of coarse, the beginning of my mission.

Luckily for me, I live about 2 blocks away from the Missionary Training Center. A place where new fresh missionaries enter with and excited gleam in their eye, only to have that gleam turn into tears in about 24 hours as they wonder if they will ever "get this language down". A place where loving encouragement is ALWAYS needed. 

(The day I personally entered the MTC as a full-time missionary)

I decided that my service to Kevin would be to Volunteer at the Teaching Resource Center. A place where members of the church can be taught short, spiritual messages from missionaries in the language that the missionary is trying to learn.  As I decided on the idea I became very excited. A good way to still be involved in the missionary spirit and atmosphere, and to serve someone for my Uncle Kevin.

Unfortunately the process has become a little more difficult than when I was a missionary. An application was required to be processed before I could enter, and it has taken longer than I had hoped to get a couple of weeks of TRC time in before the Christmas holiday. With the delay in my application, I am on track to begin my volunteer time with the Lord's Army at the beginning on the new 2015 year. I am personally committed to visiting TRC at least once a month to uplift and be spiritually edified by the new missionaries before they head to "el campo misional". 

I am grateful for Kevin, and his example to me. Love you Uncle Kev! 

Christmas Service 2014 To Ben-- Love, Dad

Christmas Service 2014

Boy did I get it easy OR hard depending on how you look at it.

When I received my assigned name for the year - wahoo!!!  

I've got this one covered. Quite literally - covered in paint!

My person was Ben --- how could I serve another in his stead?

I know one of Ben's frustrations at living so far from family is that he isn't around to help in our family's repair and remodel projects as they come around.

So when Alex & Cindy got their new little home and I knew I would be heavily involved in that, I thought I could count it as my gift of service for my son, Ben.

It was a lot of hard work and it took us about six months of working afternoons, evenings and Saturdays. Lots and lots of people pitched in with their individual expertise to help make the house at 9151 Sandy Creek Circle a true home for Alex's  little family. Love you, Ben - I'm sure proud of you and your  family - Dad

(Doing a home remodel project with Ben, Christmas 2012)

Cool Beans! To Lauren from Kevan

Cool Beans!

Last year, I was introduced to one of Emma’s favorite books, Wonder.  It tells a fictional story of a boy named August, who was born with a severely deformed face.  He finally works up the courage to attend grade school for the first time in the fifth grade.  As would be expected, this experience was met with significant challenges from kids making fun of him, to being horrified by him, to simply ignoring him.

As a reader, we can all relate to poor August and his desire to fit in.  In one small chapter enters my hero.  Her name is Summer.  But for those of you who know her, you can call her Lauren.  She notices August left to sit by himself as he eats his lunch.

“Hey, is this seat taken?”

I looked up, and a girl I never saw before was standing across from my table with a lunch tray full of food.  She had long wavy brown hair, and wore a brown T-shirt with a purple peace sign on it.

“Uh, no,” I said.

She put her lunch tray on the table, plopped her backpack on the floor, and sat down across from me.  She started to eat the mac and cheese on her plate.

“Ugh,” she said after swallowing the first bite.  “I should have brought a sandwich like you did.”

“Yeah,” I said nodding.

“My name is Summer, by the way.  What’s yours?”

“August.”

“Cool,” she said.

“Summer!” Another girl came over to the table carrying a tray.  “Why are you sitting here? Come back to the table.”

“It was too crowded,” Summer answered her.  “Come sit here. There’s more room.”

The other girl looked confused for a second.  I realized she had been one of the girls I had caught looking at me just a few minutes earlier: hand cupped over her mouth, whispering.  I guess Summer had been one of the girls at that table, too.

“Never mind,” said the girl, leaving.

Summer looked at me, shrugged-smiled, and took another bite of her mac and cheese.

“Hey, our names kind of match,” she said as she chewed. 

I guess she could tell I didn’t know what she meant.

“Summer?  August?” she said, smiling, her eyes open wide, as she waited for me to get it.

“Oh yeah,” I said after a second.

“We can make this the ‘summer only’ lunch table,” she said.  “Only kids with summer names can sit here.

……

By the end of lunch, we had come up with a whole list of names of kids and teachers who could sit at our table if they wanted.  Most of the names weren’t actually summer names, but they were names that had some kind of connection to summer.

“But if someone doesn’t have a summer name and wants to sit with us,” she said very seriously, “we’ll still let them if they’re nice, okay?”

“Okay.”  I nodded. “Even if it’s a winter name.”

“Cool beans,” she answered, giving me a thumbs-up.

So, does anyone remember who showed up with the loaded jar of jelly bellies (aka cool beans) to share with everyone at the Kenney Family Reunion?  Yep, that’s right.  It was Lauren.

As my service to Lauren Schow for Christmas this year, I decided to have our family imitate her ability to serve others in countless small, yet significant ways.  For family home evening, we read the chapter about Summer and how she looked for the one person sitting alone at the lunch table.  Despite what her friends thought or said, she made that one person the most important in her world at that moment.  Which, in turn, really did mean the world to the person she was helping.

Our kids were challenged to find similar “cool beans” moments at school, at church, with neighborhood kids, and all around them.  Whenever they came home with a cool beans moment, they could choose ten jelly bellies (beans) to eat from our Lauren inspired jelly belly jar.  They could also take ten real beans and put them in our collective service jar.  Once that jar was full, there would be a special family activity to celebrate having filled it (still to be determined).

The very first week, each of our kids had stories of helping others.  They ranged from sitting by the one kid who was alone on the school bus, playing with a neighborhood kid who needed a friend, giving a hug to someone being bullied, to playing with the kid no one would play with at recess.  On some days, our kids came home telling us about multiple cool beans moments they had that day.

This has evolved to now starting our family home evenings each week with a “cool beans minute,” allowing anyone who wants to the opportunity to share a cools beans moment they had earlier in the week.

Through this experience, I have come to learn even more that Christ rarely reaches out to others through formal service projects, large donations, or even big, life-changing experiences.  Instead, His method is more often through the simple cool beans efforts of others.  Thank you Lauren for showing our family how to touch the lives of countless others through some simple cool beans.