Life in a Northern Town: FAMILY LETTER 04.12.15

Dear Loved Ones, 12 April 2015

This week turned into a total surprise with both sad and happy elements. Last Sunday we enjoyed a cozy, snowy Easter and General Conference. Sadly, we learned that my (Jamie’s) 28-year old "cousin" (our moms are best friends) Zach Gray passed away in his sleep Saturday. We began planning to attend his funeral in Utah to end our Spring Break.

Monday was still cold and slushy so we stayed home and did some sewing, reading, and laundry by the fire. For FHE we caught up on Book of Mormon reading since we'd missed that morning. We enjoyed watching a close game between Wisconsin and Duke for the NCAA Basketball championship. Duke won, go Blue Devils.

Tuesday we went to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. That night the missionaries came and had a super yummy Middle Eastern dinner with us. Wednesday we finished laundry and got packed for our trip to Utah. (PS: We watched "Israel: The Royal Tour" on Netflix and learned, among other things, that Bibi Netanyahu was once a foxy soccer star and military hero).

Thursday we drove to Utah, leaving at about 1pm and arriving at Nana's at 9:30pm. We missed Zach's viewing, but we made it to the funeral the next morning. It was such a beautiful service. Zach has been through a lot in his short life and influenced many people from all walks of life. He beat Hodgkin’s disease (lymphoma) as a teenager, and later an addiction with help from MATR services (rehabilitation) and his faith in Jesus Christ. He was just into his second year of sobriety and was about His father's business sharing his testimony and recovery and helping his friends. It was a great surprise to see my sister at the funeral. She is currently in treatment at MATR where Zach was, and a group of them came to honor him, so she was with us through the services and lunch. The meeting gave me renewed hope for her. I forget sometimes that the Atonement really is infinite, and the God really does forgive us 70 times 7...and Jesus can heal anything, in anyone.

Friday night my kids had a sleepover with their Petersen cousins in Lehi, Rich and I and the little boys slept at Nana's one more night. Saturday we got up early so we could take James to play with Cousin Maeby (Uncle Willy and Aunt Audrey showed him the time of his life—THANKS, guys!), and then picked up the other kids to head up to the Salt Lake Temple for the sealing of little Moxie to our friends Rob and Georgia, who have waited 20 years to become parents. It was such a beautiful experience. It was the most gorgeous spring day! There were dozens of weddings and millions of flowers...we loved it and we're so happy for our friends.

Saturday evening we met up with family and went to stay over with Uncle Sam, Aunt Kristen, Owen, and Gavin in Tooele. As usual, Kristen was the quintessential hostess. She gave us a warm welcome, delicious food, comfy beds, cousin playtime, and good company. My girls were a little bummed about spending their last spring break night away from their BFFs and big cousins, so we decided on a girl date with Aunt Kristen. Rich and Sam got all the boys to bed while we went to see Cinderella and got ice cream treats at The Mav. It was a really sweet, comforting, positive experience to end a rollercoaster week. Then we stayed up late talking with Kristen and Sam for a couple of hours. I love edifying sibling visits like that.

We want to Sacrament meeting Sunday morning then headed home to Montana, driving 10:30 am til 7pm. It was a peaceful trip, a sunny spring day, a happy ending to our break.

Heidi's 11th birthday is coming up Wednesday and we are so excited…we’ve got some fun surprises in store for her! Hope you all have a beautiful, spring-like week with no allergies (yeah, right!)

Love, Rich and Jamie and Family

PS: Middle Eastern Dinner Recipes!

Mediterranean Kebabs

1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt

1 TB olive oil

2 ts curry powder

2 ts paprika

1 ts onion powder

1/8 ts cinnamon

1/2 ts crushed red pepper

2 TB lemon juice

2 ts salt

1/2 ts freshly ground black pepper

1 ts minced garlic

3 pounds of meat

(I used cubed pork loin; boneless skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts work, too)

Large red onion cut into 1-inch squares

Combine the yogurt, olive oil, spices, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic in a medium mixing bowl.

Place the meat cubes in the bowl and cover with sauce. Let the meat marinade for at least one hour, overnight is ideal.

Thread the meat on to skewers, alternating with the red onions squares.( I used about 6 cubes of meat on 16 wooden skewers). Place the kebabs on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. From this point you can either broil the kebabs on high in your oven, 7-9 minutes, then turn over and broil another 7-9 minutes (til they start to brown)—OR—you can grill them. Just be sure to oil your grill and cook them for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

WE SERVED WITH:

· Spinach Salad with almonds, red onion slivers, and Orange vinaigrette

· Near East Brand Middle-Eastern Curry Couscous, prepared according to package directions with a half cup of chopped dried fruit and cashews stirred in to steam.

· A bowl of fresh tangerines

*****

Heidi (Eagle Mask), Niles (binoculars), Addie holding Ammon, and James holding an Eagle at Museum of the Rockies 4/7

James Pitching 4/8

Niles wanted a turn to bat at James' baseball practice 4/8

Roadtrip! 4/9

My sister Jill with Ammon and Me
at Zach's Funeral Lunch 4/10

Niles loves playing at Uncle Drew's House!
"JACK AND BEN!"

After the Bucherts' sealing on Saturday, we met up with our children at the Nauvoo Café on Temple Square.
Addie texted me the entire time we were in the temple panicking because the kids weren't behaving and they couldn't find a place to eat. UGH! We rushed out of the temple to find them and get them fed and missed visiting and photos with our friends...