Dear Loved
Ones, 12
October 2014
I wish there were words to express
how edifying and uplifting the past two weeks have been. Certainly from Women’s
Conference on 9/27, to General Conference last weekend, and a joyful Sabbath
today, we have received so much strength and vision. But we’ve also enjoyed
happy times with family and friends, beautiful weather, productivity,
opportunities to serve, all adding to sense of hope and well-being in spite of
the chaos and tragedy happening around the world.
Monday 9/29 was back to the grind. I
did laundry and made potato salad for dinner with the Elders. We had a summer
BBQ dinner with burgers and salads, then they taught our FHE lesson about the
power of the Book of Mormon and challenged the whole family to read ad gain or
strengthen our testimonies of the book. Addie and I went to Community Choir and
then got hot cocoa at McD’s and worked on her math homework. Turns out I am no
help when it comes to positive and negative integers and practicing the order
of operations (thank heaven for the Khan Academy app!).
Tuesday 9/30 was Rich’s last Scout
Training day so it was just me and the kiddos at home. Addie had a he project
to work on, so I couldn’t attend James’ first Pack meeting, which made me sad.
He had a great time and is always working on his scout book. Wednesday was Activity
Days, and YM/YW, so I just had James, Niles and Ammon at home. They went to
sleep so nicely, I continued some sewing projects. Addie got her Personal
Progress all updated—she is doing awesome! Heidi is falling in love with church
basketball.
That weekend we were so happy to have
the Postum cousins with us from Helena. Amie was doing her doula training and
certification in Bozeman, so Matt brought the kids over on Friday after lunch.
He and Amie brought a yummy dinner of enchiladas, beans and rice. Amie got home
from her class at 6pm and we ate and watched old home videos from their wedding
and watched the kids play together. It was a perfect family night. Saturday
morning we had a smorgasbord of cereals and fruits and watched general
conference. The weather was so beautiful; we took lots of walks and trampoline
breaks. We had a sandwich bar for lunch and leftovers for dinner. Rich, Matt,
and Cody went to priesthood meeting while Amie and I took care of kids and
watched “Hook.” Sunday morning, Rich went all out on a big breakfast—YUM! We
were nice and full when Music & the Spoken Word came on at 9:30 and we
settled in for another day of conference (I collected notes/comments from
everyone, which I will put in another document). We had chicken noodle soup and
cheddar bay biscuits for dinner and sang Happy Birthday to Uncle Sam via
facebook. The Postums packed up and went home after dinner. Cody also had
Zecklin here for the weekend, so Matt and Amie took him back to his mom in
Helena. It was good cousin fun for everyone.
Watching conference during our favorite Elder Klebingat: Addie, Ammon, Zecklin, Cody, Matt's knee and Rich's knee. |
Conference Babies! Ammon & Zeck |
Emily and Niles going on a nature walk between Sunday sessions |
Niles and Emily collecting wildflowers for their nature bags. |
Sunday afternoon lego aftermath Beautiful chaos! |
Tuesday was our first night home
together as a family in a long time, so we did a project after dinner. We
cleaned and organized the play room and donated two trash bags full of toys.
The room looked great when we finished and it was nice to work together!
Wednesday Heidi joined Addie for a fun beehive activity where they painted
these cute wooden black cats for Halloween decorations. Rich and his scouts
came up with a wonderful fundraising idea. After taking inventory of all his
scout stuff, Rich realized that they really don’t have the camping gear they
should have and he has been filling in with his own equipment for years. So he
proposed to the bishopric that the troop purchase a small trailer and stock it
with camping gear. They composed a really nice fundraising letter for local
businesses (many of which are run by troop 524 alumni) and have already
received several commitments. I am so excited that Rich has this calling—it has
been fun to see inspiration and ideas come to him since he was set apart. I
believe he will work wonders for the troop and bless the lives of the deacons
in his group.
Thursday 10/9 sweet little Ammon
finally had his 4 month check-up—the day before he turned 5 months. He had
three shots and two of them made little injection site reactions on his right
leg. He was pretty sad and whiny on Thursday and Friday, so I just took those
two days to love on him. He is doing great, super healthy and happy and
developing well. He is 17lbs 12 oz and 27” long…average for a 10 month old (no
wonder my back hurts!) I sure feel blessed to be his mama!
Saturday 10/11 Terry Carter and I
hosted a belated Bridal shower for Stephanie Larson O’Dell (Mom & Dad, so
you know Carol O’Dell? She is Steph’s new mother in law and she was the life of
the party, I tell ya!). It was a cozy, overcast day and the party was over
lunch time. We had a fall theme (“Fall in Love”) with comfort food for lunch,
like my chicken noodle soup and mini-dutch apple pies, Terry’s wheat rolls and
pumpkin bars, and hot apple cider. I really enjoyed it. Afterward, I took a nap
with Ammon while Rich went out to the ranch to check on things and do some wood
work. Later, I took the kids out to roast hot dogs, brats, and s’mores with the
Jones Family. There just are no words
for the beauty of the fiery trees, the river, the mountains, the beautiful
sunset, and 13 gorgeous children at play, having a ball. Of course, we love
spending time with Robyn and Lope, so it was an all-around wonderful night. We
are doing our best to savor this breathtaking season.
Today’s church meeting was absolutely
wonderful from start to finish. We got a new Young Women’s presidency: Lynn
Moore as president, Robyn Tyner 1st counselor, Bonnie Speas 2nd
counselor, and Jenn Claar secretary, with Lynette Kapp as advisor/ Personal Progress
leader. The Elders Quorum Presidency gave inspired talks in Sacrament meeting
about being Christlike in our family relationships. The talks were a perfect
blend of doctrine and personal testimony. I just love Ryan Speas; he will do a
great job as Elders Quorum President. Relief Society lesson was so excellent,
about Loving all of God’s Children. Such a good discussion and so many great
quotes in that lesson! Here’s just one I loved: “…Through
the aid of the Holy Ghost, it is possible for us to stand united together
seeing eye to eye and overcoming our sins and imperfections. If we will do
this, respecting all the commandments of the Lord, we shall be a power in the
world for good; we shall overwhelm and overcome all evil, all opposition to the
truth, and bring to pass righteousness upon the face of the earth.” I love that thought! Reminds me of
the Christina Rossetti Christmas Poem:
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
LOVE shall be our token! By this
shall all men know we are HIS disciples.
So our love goes out to you! We are so grateful that our sweet niece Sariah is home from the hospital with a diagnosis and effective medication for ventricular tachycardia. Our prayers are with her for a strong heart and inspired doctors. We wish you all a happy week with lots of Indian Summer sun!
Love, Rich and
Jamie and Family
PS: From Facebook this week...
I watched this CES talk on Wednesday night...loved it! |
Throwback Thursday: My little Pumpkins, October 9, 2009 |
Retirement Plan! |
A Favorite Quote from Women's Conference |
LOL! |