Today was amazing!

Dearest Family,

Happy belated Birthday, Bryan!    His birthday was on last Thursday, February 1st!   And Happy Birthday, Kenya & Daeja!   They were 14 & 12 on Sunday!  This Grandma isn't doing so good lately, remembering birthdays!   I have two calendars but forget to look at either one of them!

Today was amazing!  We were able to do two trainings with new Stake Presidency's (8:30 to 10am and 4 to 5:30pm)!    On Thursday of this week we learned about a snowstorm which was to arrive on Sunday & last thru Monday, coming from the north, thru Billings & on into Wyoming!  We were able to still do the training over ZOOM! Technology is wonderful!   What a privilege it was to share the principles of FH with them!   And yes, the snow did arrive - we got 6-8" & Billings got more 10"+.  We were so blessed to be able to do this from home!  We attended two wards mid-day, L4 for Sacrament mtg and L2 for SS and Phd/RS time. Nice to be with our own stake saints!

We have had a great time this week training a new Stake Temple & Family History - Lead!   It is wonderful to see the excitement in this couple as they learn about this new calling in the church!  They are so excited to get started!

Also it was great to work with the Peter's in Sheridan!  Enjoyed helping them - but felt so bad for them!  We have had several days of very warm weather & where they live the snow melts on the hills above their home & runs into their basemant!  What a mess - wish we could have been there to help them!  Also enjoyed my Wednesday afternoon friend, Judy!  We have a great time learning about her family!  

 Chalin had surgery on Monday in Loveland, Colorado. It was necessary to put a plate in his cheek to hold the bone in place. Leanne had surgery on her ankle on Tuesday morning & they were able to return home that day!  All went well for both of them!  Dad & Rob enjoyed going to a Wyo Game & Fish fisheries meeting in Lovell on Wednesday evening.

Dad has lots of snow to move in the coming days. Plus its supposed to snow a bit each day this week and not get above 30'. We're praying for a nice weekend so we can go to Colstrip on Sat and Sun.

Love you all

Dad and Mom

What an amazing week - great activities to start the New Year!

Dearest Family,

Happy 1st Birthday Paisley & Brindle, Monday, Jan 8th!  Happy Birthday, Michelle next Sunday, January 14th!  

Love & prayers to Ethan!   He was in a fender bender!  Very blessed - lots of bruises, sore places & aches - car is totaled! 

What an amazing week - great activities to start the New Year!   We enjoyed so very much having Allen, Amber, Melvin, Ira, Leanne, Camille & Neil here!!!!! Played Ping Pong, colored, worked on hats a little, Monopoly card game, enjoyed Nacho's!  Was very cold outside, shucks, not able to go sledding.  So enjoy having them come visit!

In the evening we had a Flinch party - Rob had organized it & it was lots of fun!  Rob, Michelle, Josh, Krysta, Darece,Ken, Bo, McKenzea, Nathan, Bri!  Had a lot of fun - will have to keep doing it occasionally! Gdpa played with Athena and Conner.

On Tuesday evening, we attended the baptism of Elyssa Croft, she is the daughter of Jay & Trisha Croft.  She is 10 & was so excited for this special day! There was a special spirit there among the more than 60 family and friends who came. She is truly a latter-day pioneer! !

It was great to have 4 Zoom trainings this week. We have so enjoyed working with two couples who have been called as Stake Lead Consultants!  Both really have caught the vision of their calling & are letting the spirit guide them. Another sister/consultant shared with us a sweet experience.  She was wanting to help a young mother in her ward & the sister was just not interested, to busy, to difficult, etc, but  she finally gave in.  The first problem/success for the young mother was whenever she went into her tree she was linked to her step-father, not her father!  That was an easy thing for the consultant to fix & the sister's countenance began to change.  The consultant continued to help her on her smart phone, looking at her tree, adding hints, etc.  Several days later the young mother expressed how much she was enjoying doing her family history - she could even do it while her children napped!!!!

Today we visited one of the Lovell Wards,   Dad met with the Bishop & Counselor & I went to the FH center.  When we are visiting wards like this we try to find time to share the new FH Guidebook for leaders in Gospel Lib and the  FH Activity Report in LCR on LDS.org site. This is available to all ward & stake council members plus consultants!  Most do not even know it exists - has been available since May 2017! 

I shared the same info with several consultants in the FHC  & also a Stake HC. I also shared it with the Stake RS President after another mtg which we attended tonight.  All are amazed & it opens their minds to things which we all can do!

We witnessed another special blessing now available to all church members - Self Reliance Services.  The Lord provides a way for us to accomplish His work by being able to take care of our physical, temporal, emotional and spiritual needs. The Atonement and the Holy Ghost team up with us to make it possible.  Rob is over this at the HC level and Darece has just been called as a group facilitator along with a dozen others from the stake. These folks provide direction to the groups over the 12 wk courses (eg: financial mgmt, find a better job, entrepreneurship, etc)  provided by the Church. Last night the Bakers, an Area Self Reliance Missionary couple did the training! 

We have our Billings stakes schedule well underway for the next 3-4 months plus where we will stay on the wkends. It's so exciting to work with these new leaders! 

We love you all,   keep up the great work & CTR     Our love,  Mom & Dad

Dearest Family!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!!        We have enjoyed so many special blessings this year!

Well, it has been some time since I have written!!!!  First we must catch up on Birthday Wishes - Happy Belated Birthday to Bri Grant on Sunday December 17,  Kenny's ? Birthday & Melvin's 13th Birthday were on Friday December 22!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Connor & Lindsay on Wednesday, January 3!  Happy Birthday to McKinzea Grant on Friday, January 5th!    Happy 1st Birthday Brindle & Paisley on January 8th, Monday!ew 

Congratulations to Krystina & Josh - Baby Saldana will arrive in late July!

These past three weeks have been amazing!

Enjoyed a safe & wonderful weekend in Billings, December 16-18,  Spoke in two wards on Sunday & did a two hour training that afternoon.  Went up Sat eve & home Monday a.m. Sure appreciate Bart and Lisa sharing their home with us!  A very icy weekend on the streets in Billings and  less so coming home.

The Christmas Season is the greatest! We have enjoyed so many special occasions; plus there has been snow most of Dec,  FHE with Bo, McKinzea & grandparents about Christmas stories & Traditions - a great Ward Christmas party - (we always love being at ward activities because we are visiting other wards so much and miss our ward family)

Christmas Eve dinner & program at the Grants.  The company was the best, the food was wonderful & we so enjoyed a special Christmas eve program!

It was great on Christmas day to talk to all of you!   We Zoomed with the Al's Family & Fikes!  We enjoyed having Rob & Michelle come by & visit! And we visited at the Grants on Christmas Day also!   It was great to visit with the Allen's also!

As we ponder this New Year's Eve our greatest blessings are all of you!   You are the greatest family & we love all of you so very much!

CTR as always, Mom & Dad

We have so appreciated phone calls from each of you!

Dearest Family,

  Happy 4th Anniversary on December 14th, Ryan & Rhonda!   On Saturday, December 16th; Happy 1st Birthday to little Cozy & Happy 51st Anniversary To my Sweetheart!  It has been amazing!  Looking forward to the eternities together!  

We have so appreciated phone calls from each of you!  It has been mostly a stay at home week - just beginning to venture out!  Physical therapy began on Wednesday & Friday!  They were kind to me!  All the muscles in the leg are beginning to return to normal after being stretch & moved to put in the new hip, socket & ball!  Our bodies are very amazing and so is medical science!  Every day there is improvement!  On Saturday we even ventured out to the funeral for Grace Anne Robertson, one of our neighbors!  

Dad has kept busy helping me, he is a very kind nurse & I am probably not the best patient!  I am not good at asking & telling him what I need - I think many of you may understand - others are "Just supposed to know"  I so very much appreciate his sweet & kind ways!  Every night & every day gets easier.......

We continue to teach with several ZOOM trainings this week! And Dad is always busy setting up our schedule for January!   There has been plenty of winterizing to do here at the home place & he has been working on that a little!  There was also a deer to cut up & that has been accomplished!  My accomplishment was the completion of the binding on the Hero's Quilt for Dad & I!    It looks amazing!

Had a wonderful Sabbath day today - in our own ward - attending all of the meetings!   We enjoying being there!

Bob, Darece, Rena, JoAnn Walker, Clint Merritt PAC Cody hospital

From Dad

Thanks for your kind words Sweetheart! I'm grateful to have good health so I can be your personal nurse as well as all the other roles I enjoy being for you!  It's so wonderful to be together in the Lord! Yesterday we had the blessing of being together with our Bishop to declare our tithing status to the Common Judge in Israel for the 51st time. We had opportunity to bare our testimonies of paying a full tithe over our lives, both before and after marriage!  The Gospel is our life there is no Our life and the Lords style of life . . . only His Way for us!  Over the  years in day to day life I would be ask for my opinion on something . . . not what the Church said "My answer is still the same The Lord's answer and mine are the same, there can be no difference!"  We're so grateful to be in the Lord's service as the hastening of this work moves at an ever increasing pace.  It keeps us excited and engaged in doing our very best for Him!  We pray each day that all of you will remember who you are and the Lord's blessings in your lives. Grateful that you strive to be one with God!  Always, always remember the Lord's Atonement is for each of us, everyday to ease all burdens we only have to invite Him in! !  !  We know that His Atonement is real and it works miracles in our lives as we embrace it everyday.

Love you all Mom and Dad

Hope all is well with each of you!

Dearest Family!!

Happy 18th Birthday to Isaac on December 2 !!!!!

 It has been several weeks of not writing.  Hope all is well with each of you!  It has been so great to visit with many of you the past few days!  Thanks so much to my kids & others who are calling!   Things are going well with the hip replacement surgery. It was actually done on Wednesday at 3 PM, out of recovery & back in my room by 6 PM.It was a long night with lots of poking & prodding by wonderful nurses, even took my first walk that night - pretty amazing, huh?!?!   I'm getting around with a walker & each day there is less muscle pain.  Dad spent Wednesday night with some friends of ours in Cody then was back at the hospital 1st thing Thursday morning.  When it became evident that I wasn't going to get to come home that day, because of a bout with nausea, he returned to Lovell to present a FH lesson in our Stake to some Temple & Family History Consultants. Thanks you so much, Darece, for spending both nights with me in the hospital! We arrived home about 1:30pm on Friday!  All the muscles in that leg & hip have been really stretched & disturbed & it will take a little while to get them back to normal.

The week of November 19 was great!  We did a Stake Presidency Training & consultant training over in Burlington! And I visited a RS activity Meeting that was going on & talked about FH to several there. Also had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Rob & Michelle - a gluten free one with 8-10 friends that they had invited!  Dad & Rob did some Fat-tire Biking out at Coon Creek on Friday Morning. I'm so glad they can do that together!    On Saturday afternoon we headed to Billings, spent the night with Bart & Lisa Grant. Then Sunday early on to Forsyth Montana Branch, (it is 100 miles east of Billings)   It is a small branch and we got to speak in sacrament mtg and train during the next two hours.  It's so awesome to be with the Saints! ! ! We love it! ! !  We were back home at 6pm for supper. Another 400 mile weekend.

The week of November 26 started out with a bang!  Went to Cody early that day to have a last minute pre opt blood test done!  Then worked with a couple there until about noon!   Home, Had lunch, then in the rain we decided to run errands in town!  When we returned home there were 6-7 deer in the field & Dad still had one tag which he needed to fill.  He grabbed his orange hat, his gun & headed to the pigeon house - thats the best place to see that part of the field!  KER BANG!!!!!!  He filled that last tag an we have some delicious meat for winter!  We feel we were really blessed!!!

We have so appreciated friends bringing in goodies!   Today was great too!  Two of the Brethren brought the sacrament to us!   That was the climax of the day! The First Presidency Devotional this evening was great also!   

Love to all of you!   CTR  Mom & Dad

Dearest Family,

Another wonderful week!  Busy - but that is what it is all about!  

The deer is all cut up - such a good feeling to have that meat in the freezer.  Ken & Jason Croft stopped by, delivering a boat cover then visited for a few!

We had a very spiritual meeting in Cody with Temple & Family History Consultants & High Priest Group Leaders - all learning about using Consultant planner & how to help others have a one on one experience!  Had a great group!  Later in the week we had a great evening with the new Lovell Wyoming Stake Presidency reviewing the new FH processes and callings for FH!  We will be meeting with the 2 new stake presidencies in Billings in a month or so once they get their  organizations done. It's a BIG job to organize a HC and all the auxiliary leaderships at the stake level!  Dad had that to help with in 1900 with Pres Sessions and Peterson!

Thanks, Rob for stopping by & visiting with Dad on Friday Afternoon.    Darece & I departed Friday at 4:30 a.m. for Cody & our flight to Salt Lake City, the beginning of her Christmas Present of a Time Out For Women with her sisters!  Thanks for the invite to go along!   We had an amazing time,   Darece, Joy, Vicki & Me!!!!   thought I'd include a few one liners from the various speakers we enjoyed with a theme of "ARISE" We got back home by 2pm Sunday.

"Covenant Keepers are Miracle Makers!"

"Service turns on the light!"

"Seek the lite so that we can be the light!"

"Holy Habits! Righteous Routines!"

from the developers of a blog!     "Look UP more than We look DOWN!"

"Post with a purpose"

"Remember that everyone's ministry is different."

"Hard to have faith in something that is easy"

Speakers included: Sheri Dew, Tim Ballard, Brad Wilcox, Hillary Weeks, Elaine S Dalton, Cade & Carrian Cheney, & Emily Watts!

And the amazing music of Nathan Pacheco & the City of Enoch!

And most of all we just enjoyed being together! And we even enjoyed a special visit with Connor, Lindsay, Paisley & Brindle!!!!!!!!

Dad had a nice Sabbath day today getting ask on the spot to take 15 min  in SS Class to share whats new in FH with the group. We are  always ready for such times

since we prepare each day to stay on top of our calling. He concluded with having the group goto FS Tree app and do the Relatives Around Me where it scans those in the room and shows how you may be related. He had 21 relationships as did most of the others.  The BEST part of yesterday was to be TOGETHER with your Honey!

Love you all

Mom and Dad

Chalin was the featured speaker & told us all about his mission

Dearest Family,

     Happy 2nd Birthday, Lucy on Friday, October 20!

What an amazing way to start the Week!!!!  Monday Night - our family had a FHE together!  Rob, Michelle, at their home, Vicki, Bryan & Chris in SLC, Darece, Ken, Talon, Mattis, Kenny, Rosie, & girls, & Bob & I; all at Darece's, Allen & Family in Worland & the Fikes in Laramie!   Chalin was the featured speaker & told us all about his mission - even showed us slides!    It was wonderful - we did it over our computers using ZOOM!  We loved seeing all who were there!  Vicki did take a minute to report on Cozy & Kirena!  Both are doing great!   Kirena has reached 33 weeks in her pregancy which is great!

We would suggest doing a group Family council mtg once a month over Zoom for those who can make it. Maybe we could rotate which of the five of our kids would be in charge that night to provide the prayers and a thought to share then spend the remain of the time sharing whats going on in each family. Keep it to an hour. We would always be the presenter for the Zoom mtg. So nice too SEE & HEAR everyone this way! ! Whats your feelings?  Suggest a night for it too?

We have done Zoom FH trg meetings with people in Moorcroft, Cody, Belgrade & Sheridan!  We live in an age of amazing technology -  being used for both good & bad!

Saturday aft we traveled to Sheridan, over the mountain, it was a beautiful fall day!  Spent the night there at Workman's then early this a.m.  went to Gillette.  Spoke in two wards there & also met with the Stake President! Several shared some special FH experiences after meetings which they had had!  What a blessing it is for each of us to find a loved one, get to know them & perform the sacred ordinances for them!

We encourage all to process some hints, index or add a memory each day since FH should be personal worship just like our daily prayers and scripture study!

Dads been scouting for deer since the season is open here until Dec 1st. Not alot around but some nice ones coming into the orchard and field. We enjoy eating the venison!  We have a deer mice infestation in the shop now and have trapped 16 last week. Sure nice to have warmer drier harvesting weather for the farmers. 

Love you all & CTR    Mom & Dad