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...

...but Rich caught this picture of them through the temple gates as we were leaving

And here is the beautiful FOREVER family!
Rob, Moxie, and Georgia Beeee
 

CHURCH SELFIES with Brother Sam in Tooele 4/12

  

Two peas in a pod, these cousins.
Sweetest boys ever.

Saying goodbye after church
Gavin, Owen and James

 

FAMILY LETTER 04.05.15

Dear Loved Ones:                                                    5 April 2015

 It feels like we’re having spring around here! We’ve had both warm, sunny days and cool, rainy days this week, which is exactly what makes stuff grow, right? However today, EASTER SUNDAY, we’re having a blizzard!

This week we had a Get-to-Know-You BBQ for James’ baseball team on Monday night, so we had a little Easter Family Night on Sunday night. The weather on Monday was a rare perfect sunny day with NO WIND and we had such a good time (except for the allergies afterward…time to start up daily rinsing again). We are excited for James to try baseball this year.

Tuesday was overcast and windy but we didn’t get much rain. I went to the new fancy, expanded Ace Hardware to pick up some gardening supplies.  I’ve never really studied what varieties of vegetables I should plant here and when to start them, so I read a bunch of stuff from MSU in March and planned what we hope will be a better garden this year. Tuesday night we had the Joneses over for some chicken curry and hanging out a bit before they leave for their Spring Break. It was a nice night.

 

Wednesday was supposed to be a reading and sewing day and we worked hard to be sure the house was clean Tuesday night so mommy could chill. HOWEVER, some toast got left in the toaster as the kids left for school and I went back to lay down by Ammon who was miraculously still sleeping. After he woke up and I opened our bedroom door about 45 minutes later, the house was full of smoke. The bread had caught on fire and burned out (Thanks, smoke alarms! You beep at 2am for no reason, but you’re silent during an actual fire. Nice.) So I spent the morning trying to get the smoke smell out of our house. It’s pretty nasty. Everybody went to Scouts/YW/ Activity Days except Mommy, Niles, and Ammon. We had baths and watched Peg Plus Cat (I LOVE that show) and planned our Weekend Menu.

Thursday was the last day of school until April 13^th. We had French Dips for dinner and watched a movie and decorated sugar cookies to take to people for Easter (unfortunate people who aren’t traveling on Spring Break like us ;)).

Friday the weather turned cold and rainy and stayed that way all weekend. The kids are on Spring Break until 4/13, and the weather is supposed to be horrible until next Friday. I’m trying to get creative keeping them busy indoors without eating us out of house and home! We had lots of Easter Prep on Friday, and a wonderful general conference over the weekend, so it’s off to a great start. It’s been relatively peaceful and full of good times and good food. We love our family so much and we are so grateful for Jesus’ Atonement!

 Happy, Happy Easter!

 

Love, Rich, Jamie, and Family

Flashback: flying kites at the soccer fields on 3/21
Niles

Addie, Heidi, Niles 3/21

James dodging the dragon kite 3/21

James with his Cub Scout friends at the Pinewood Derby 3/24

Family Night discussion 3/29
Based on THIS talk by Elder Hamula in October Conference
I loved the dual symbols he emphasized in paragraphs 7-9

Addie and Heidi and sisterlove at the park 3/30

Ammon loving the outdoors 3/30

Ammon reaching for birds flying by

Ammon and Mom at thepark 3/30

My Silly Niles Ninja Turtle 3/31

Two silly boys waking me up from a nap on 3/31

Easter Cookies! 4/3

Ammon at the window 4/4

Niles' Easter Chalk

Niles' Easter Chalk People
drawn during a sleet storm on Easter 4/5

Coconut cake with cream filling for Easter dinner...yum!

 

FAMILY LETTER 03.29.15

Dear Loved Ones:                                  

 What a wild week this has been! We take for granted how relatively peaceful our regular life is and how much we enjoy being home (and conversely, HATE running around in traffic and in stores, etc…I’ve become such a hermit!-J).

On Monday, Rich noticed there were a few Certified Pre-Owned Honda Odysseys at the Bozeman dealer, which seriously NEVER happens (we’ve been watching for 18 months), so he suggested we go check them out on his lunch break because he had to go to Bozeman to pick up the Scout Trailer anyway. So we went and ended up buying one of the vans right then because we knew it would go fast. It was a good deal, $30k miles, basic but luxurious compared to the old Caravan. So that was a pretty amazing surprise.

 

On Tuesday 3/24 I ran errands in Bozeman (picked up a Craigslist car seat for the new van since we don’t have built-in ones anymore, did office errands, etc.). That night we went to James’ first Pinewood Derby and it was a ton of fun! He came in third place over 10 races, and was only 6/100ths of a second behind the second place car…tight races, but the boys didn’t even care. They were just happy to be together and had so much fun racing their cars.

On Wednesday 3/25 we had a bit of a catch up day at home. Rich and Addie are the only ones who had to go up to the church.  Addie had her temple recommend interview then they had a combined activity to watch “Meet The Mormons.” I had some good snuggles with the kids here at home—we watched a Goosebumps movie at James’ request.

 

Thursday 3/26 I cleaned up our flower bed, then after preschool, Niles and I put up Easter decorations. Niles got to meet a big dinosaur at preschool that day and his mind was on dinos the rest of the day! That night was very eventful. Aaron Roberts came to stay with us while he was getting his job and housing in order so his family can move back here from Idaho this summer. They left last summer, but know they belong here, so they are coming back and we are happy about that since our kids were good friends. He joined us and The Joneses and Grandma Melin for dinner at Heidi’s Fifth Grade Restaurant fundraiser. The kids worked with their teachers and local businesses to plan a menu and get food donations for this dinner. Then they sold tickets and worked in the kitchen and as hosts and servers and busboys to earn money for a cultural exchange with native kids from their sister school in Pryor Montana (Crow and Northern Cheyenne).  At the end of the year they will host a dinner for their friends with the money they earned form this dinner. It was delicious and tons of fun. After the dinner we watched the Arizona-Xavier Sweet 16 game…it was close, but AZ pulled it off. Addie got ready for her big field trip to Billings for the State Science Fair.

Friday 3/27 Addie left for the science fair, I did errands in Bozeman AGAIN, and Rich took me on a date to the movies to see “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (for the elderly and beautiful).” I loved both the first and second movies—highly recommended. I love me some Indian dance numbers!

Saturday morning Kelsey Gray came over to babysit while we (Rich and Jamie) got up early (6:45) and headed to Billings. We picked up Addie from the Science Fair and took her and Lincoln Jeffrey over to the temple and joined the youth to do baptisms for over 200 family names prepared by our ward. It was sweet! We had some Café Rio lunch and headed home in the APOCALYPSE. There was a 70-80 mph wind with a dust storm and a wildfire on both sides of the interstate with horrible smoke lots of areas of zero visibility, plus a 5-car pileup crash. It was truly a miracle that seven cars full of temple attendees came through that storm safely. We made it home by 3:40, picked up Heidi and Grandma and Jordyn Yarborough, and drove to Bozeman for Women’s Conference (dinner and broadcast starting at 4:30pm). It was so sweet to be there with my girls and be reminded of all we can do as women. I felt so grateful that we were all safe and together.

Sunday 3/29 we were so happy to see Grandpa Melin at sacrament meeting with his new knee! Tomorrow marks two weeks since his surgery and he is doing well. He had some swelling and redness, so they gave him antibiotics and he is healing better. Today was our Fast and Testimony meeting, and it was also Papa Bill’s 90^th birthday. I bore my testimony of how losing him helped me to appreciate resurrection more than ever, and that because of Jesus all our darkest “Good Fridays” are followed by joyful Easter Sundays. Sister Jones bore testimony comparing Helaman 5:12 with the miracle that happened yesterday. She bore testimony to the youth that because they had chosen to do the Savior’s work on a Saturday morning—they had built their foundation on His rock—they were literally saved from the storm. I join her in hoping that the kids always remember that day and the symbolism of it: we will be safe from whatever storms come our way when we build on The Rock.

“And now, my sons [and daughters], remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” –Helaman 5:12*

We know that it’s true and rejoice in this season to ponder and praise the infinite atonement of Christ. We wish you all a peaceful week, a JOYFUL Easter, and Happy Birthday to Samantha Melin and Aunt Amie Post this week! We love you so much (and we’re sorry your cards might be late since Saturday was Armageddon! J).

Love, Rich, Jamie, and Family

*PS: After studying last conference again this month, I believe that this scripture is the main message God wanted us to have last October. There’s a storm a-comin’, but we have no need to fear when trust and rely on our Savior.

Our new van 03.23

Mom's Taxi 03.24

James with his Derby trophy and Sister Jeffrey

Rich, Ammon, Grandma, Kennedy Lowe, and Addie o3.24

Proud Pinewood Derby Racer 03.24

Niles with a Dino at School 03.26

Gettin' our Easter on 03.26

My Easter Decoration Helper 03.26

Date Night! 03.27

Apocalypse on I-90, Saturday on the way home from the temple

More Apocalyse 03.28

The Fire near Columbus, Montana 03.28

A shot from "Oklahoma" at The Shane Center. The show closes this weekend after a three week run.
In this pic you can see Mike, Petry, Kirk Mills, Scott Denniston, and Mark Mills from our ward.

Ammon at church in Addie's Glasses--BABY NERD!

Mommy and Ammon 03.29

Addie, Ammon, Heidi, Niles, Mom, and James releasing balloons at the soccer field
to celebrate Papa Bill's 90th birthday 03.29.15

Addie, Ammon, Heidi, Niles, Mom, and James-balloon head.

FAMILY LETTER 03.22.15

Dear Loved Ones,                                                                                                          

 

We had a lovely week, hope you did, too! When we left off last week we were headed to the Joneses’ house for Korean Tacos and it was super fun and delicious. Brother Jones made Korean Beef in the slow cooker and had all kinds of delicious toppings including I-Ho’s kimchi. We loved it! I’m including a recipe for a simpler version that we’ve been making.

 

Monday 3/16 was Grandpa Melin’s knee replacement surgery in Billings and it went well. We had self-sufficiency Family Night where we learned to clean bathrooms and sort laundry. We also locked all of the internet enabled devices in the safe and put parental controls on the desktop since screen time privileges have been abused lately. I’m attaching a great little “Tech Rules” poster we found online. There is a great article that goes with it if you’re interested, at sunshineandhurricanesdotcom.  We also had a lesson on a better way to apologize (can you tell we’ve had some tumultuous times enforcing the rules around here?). A good apology should say, in a nutshell, this: I am sorry for___; It was wrong because ___; In the future I will___; Will you forgive me? (You can find the whole lesson at cuppacocoa.com/a-better-way-to-say-sorry—it is excellent!).  Family Night was actually pretty well received and life has been much more peaceful with the restrictions.

 

Tuesday 3/17 was St. Paddy’s Day and we planned absolutely nothing to celebrate. James and Niles had dental appointments in the afternoon—James had 2 molars extracted and spacers put in, in hopes that his molars will grow in straight with no crowding and no orthodontia. Niles just had a cleaning and fluoride treatment, no cavities or weak spots. That night we went to Heidi’s band concert where she played her snare drum with the 5^th grade band. We did have homemade Shamrock shakes to celebrate St. Paddy’s after the concert.

 

Wednesday 3/18 we all headed up to the church. Addie’s Beehive class went to the library and talked about their favorite books. Rich led a Court of Honor for his scouts. I subbed for the Activity Days leader and pitched a tent facing the first presidency. We read about King Benjamin’s people, how they pitched their tents and listened to his words, then changed their behavior. We shared some conference packets/bingo games, then played Apples to Apples in the tent and ate S’mores cookie bars (made with Golden Grahams—Jamie’s childhood favorite). Everyone enjoyed their activities.

 

Thursday 3/19 I finally heard from my doc. On facebook I said, “I finally talked with my PCP today about my Brain MRI/ angiogram results. She said there are no tumors, no signs of stroke, but "abnormalities" spotted by the radiologist she wants a neurologist to follow-up on. My bp was 140/90 today, not coming down but not scary, and I've lost 6 pounds since February 27th. So more waiting. But I'm not dying.” So that was good news. Thursday night Addie had her Science Fair at school.  Her project was chosen for the State Science Fair in Billings next weekend. Also, Arizona won their first MARCH MADNESS GAME against Texas Southern. YAY!

 

Friday 3/20 Jamie worked most of the day on the memorial video for Steve Bierle. You may have heard of him in the news last week when he drowned off the California coast saving his son from the ocean. I cried on and off most of the day; it was hard to see a family lose their dad who was our same age. Rich put a new ice maker in our refrigerator and changed the brakes on the van on his lunch break. Yeah, he’s awesome. That night was homemade pizza night and we watched Night at the Museum 3.

 

Saturday 3/21 Rich and James finished up James’ Pinewood Derby car for the races on 3/24. Jamie finished up the video and delivered it to the funeral home, then did some fruitless thrifting. Rich took some of the kids to Bozeman to check out the newly decaled scout trailer while Jamie made dinner for the missionaries and watched basketball games. Rich also took the kids to fly kites after Bozeman, then we grilled burgers and had a noisy, crazy dinner with the Elders (I blame the wild children on the wild wind). Arizona won their second game against Ohio State, so we’re SWEET 16, yo! Addie and Heidi went to see “Oklahoma” with the Jones girls.

 

Sunday 3/22 was a sweet Sabbath: choir practice, high council speakers, seeing our sweet Jordyn home from her mission to Tucson, wrestling Ammon. Grandma Melin had us over for dinner to cheer up Grandpa. The day was absolutely glorious—sunny and warm! It’s pretty brown out there, but it was fun to see the sweet little newborn Angus calves down the valley—so tiny! And so many deer running around the ranch. (Ammon wore some spring clothes, it was so warm! >>)

 

Today Lexi Melin turns six, and Ellie Mullins and Max Craft have birthdays, too (I mentioned that last week, but they are coming up this Tuesday and Wednesday. And we will let balloons go for Papa Bill’s birthday next Sunday. So many fun times ahead…we love this time of year! We wish you a wonderful week, full of SPRING energy and happy moments.

Love, Rich and Jamie and Family

Rich and Lope enjoying Korean Tacos 03.15

Korean Tacos!

Heidi and her pal Sophia took some selfies last weekend

Niles Selfie!

Heidi and Addie in new spring clothes 03.17

Family Night 03.16

Fifth Grade Band Concert 03.17

Heidi the Percussionist 03.17

Activity Days Campout 03.18

The Bierle Family lost their Dad last weekend in a drowning
 accident off the California coast.His memorial was this weekend.
They're in our prayers.

Ammon sporting some warm-weather clothes in Sunday 03.22...SUNNY DAY!