Life in a Northern Town

Monday, April 23, 2018

FAMILY LETTER 04.22.18

Dear Loved Ones,

We’ve enjoyed a lovely week, most of it with Aunt Marti and Gram, and lots of dental appointments and sports stuff, and FIVE days in a row of sunshine. The weatherman says that all ends tonight, though! Monday 4/16 we just hung out at home, cleaned up from the weekend, wrote and received missionary letters, and got dinner ready. We got to host a play date with sweet little Benjamin Taxeira while his gifted mum, Natalie, took family photos for the Jones Family before Eden left. We had planned to play baseball for Family Home Evening, but a horrible cold sleety storm blew in and ruined our plans. Instead, we still had stadium brats and salad and for dinner, but afterward we had story time from The Friend and talked about how God is waiting to bless us when we choose to obey. Benjamin and Ammon and Niles had a blast together—we will have to get them together again. After FHE, Gram and I read for a bit and Auntie and the big kids went downstairs and watched “The Greatest Showman” (we love that show). I was so tired, I fell asleep with Ammon at 8-ish!

Tuesday 4/17 I had to take James to Bozeman for an 8:30am orthodontic consult. He will be getting braces on July 10^th to correct misalignment and overbite. It was a little soggy in Livingston when we woke up, but we drove over the pass and it was a total winter wonderland. Of course it melted off by noon in the bright sun, but it was so pretty! While I was gone Marti and Gram had an adventure when Gram missed her chair and Marti couldn’t pull her up. Luckily, Richard’s office is less than a mile away and he was able to come help really quick. They all laughed and laughed telling me about this adventure. I figure the one thing you must have as life rolls on and our bodies weaken is a sense of humor—we either laugh at the absurdity or cry in frustration, and laughing is way more fun!

Wednesday morning Addie and her seminary friends got up at 4am to say goodbye to Eden as she left to catch a 6:30 plane to the MTC (which she missed and ended up checking into the MTC in the evening—so funny). I had planned an outing with Gram and Marti for Wednesday morning. We got brunch at Gil’s then went over to Obsidian to have a look around. Grammy bought a cute, fluffy pair of slippers and Aunt Marti found a cowboy picture book by our cousin Howard Post in the toy section. At noon, we went and picked up Niles and James to go to the dentist to get sealants on their molars. After a Costco run and 75 minutes at the dentist, we grabbed Ammon at Rich’s office, and went to meet Heidi at home at 4pm (Addie is gone until 5:30 every night at track practice). We cooked up the pizza and some salmon patties on greens for the no gluten/low carb people. James had scouts, Niles had his first baseball practice, but the other kids didn’t have YM/YW because there was a Mega Mutual activity Friday night, so the girls caught up on homework and laundry. Niles is super excited about baseball and he practices almost every day. He wants to be a good batter (this is his first year of coach pitch) so he’s working really hard at all his skills. It’s so cute. I read with Gram and Marti in the living room in the evening, then went to lay by Ammy and fell asleep. I woke up to edit a paper for Adeline on Google Docs (I love that we can work on homework over our phones, she in the basement, I in my bed ;)

Thursday we got all the kids off to school and hung out at home getting Marti and Gram packed up. At 1 we picked up Ammon from preschool and drove to Bozeman. Marti wanted salmon at Olive Garden, so we ate a late lunch there and I took them to the airport at 4pm. They had a wheelchair ready for Gram and Ammon and I carried in their bags and they were off! We had such a good time with them, I’m so grateful for Ralph and Marti bringing Gram up. It will probably be her last trip, but it was awesome to have her with us. And the boys are totally in love with Uncle Ralph—he could move in with us and they’d be so happy! I got home from the airport at 5:30pm to have orange chicken dinner with the kids (Heidi and James made dinner). Rich was still on his way home from a meeting in Helena. I was supposed to head back to Bozeman at 6:30pm for a stake public affairs meeting, but Addie and Rich weren’t home and I was exhausted, so I decided to phone it in—literally. We all went to bed super early.

Adeline didn’t have school on Friday and neither did Ammon. Ad met her friends and they all rode to the temple with Robyn Jones, Rebecca Smith, and Vicki Denniston. The kids did baptisms, the moms did endowments, and they came home around 3pm. Even though there was no school, she still had track practice at 4pm, so I took her to do that. I worked on laundry, got blood work done, and got a haircut and highlights. The evening Rich took Niles to practice and the girls to meet up for the Mega Mutual and found out they needed a driver, so he drove a car full of kids to Bozeman and I picked up the ballers and got them some taco bell food for dinner and we came home and watched a movie together. Dad came home with the big kids, and they all had a blast at their game night, even though it was mostly our ward, hahaha.

Saturday 4/21 Addie got up early to catch the bus for a track meet in Belgrade. I decided to take Heidi and the little boys over to Belgrade to watch Addie and do some shopping while Rich and James worked on the VW. It was pretty fun—perfect day for a track meet, sunny and 70*. Addie threw discus and javelin and cheered on her friends (she is still on a minimal running schedule with tendonitis, such a bummer). Rich was happy to have the windows back in the bug, the new stereo installed, and the original interior carpet installed. It looks great! He did the new (authentic 1965-style) headliner and upholstery before we went to California, so now we just need to put it all back together and go on a date to the drive in! ;) Addie didn’t get home from her track meet until 8:30pm, then she turned around and went to hang out with Clara while she babysat at Jones.’ Heidi wore a cute new dress and went to party with Sophia. The boys were worn out and fell asleep during a movie. I took a hot soak and got ready for Sunday.

Sunday 4/22 was ward conference for us. My favorite President Hetherington presided and taught us, which was a treat. The YW sang their 2018 theme song, “Peace in Christ” during sacrament meeting and it was beautiful! Such a great song for our day—when there’s no peace on earth, there is peace in Christ. THAT is what is going to get us through the next decade or two for sure. President H shared a cool power point presentation during his Sunday School lesson on creating a family mission plan. He talked about The Whys of the gospel, and presented sobering stats about convert baptisms. The average baptism per missionary these days is something like 1.3 (!!!!) and MOST of those converts are found through member friends and family. He had us repeat the affirmation:” I am a missionary. I need the full-time missionaries to help me in my work” to help us internalize that paradigm shift. He read several scriptures to remind us that we are only accountable for building relationships and inviting. We cannot be responsible for outcomes—“God gives the increase” in his due time. But our willingness to open our mouths when prompted greatly increases the odds of someone using their agency to choose the covenant path. This is not news, but a powerful and motivating reminder to share the good news in word and deed at all times and in all things and places. I also got to teach the creation and Adam and Eve to the Sunbeam class during 3^rd hour. We took a walk in the sunshine to see all the things Jesus made for us. That’s pretty much the best way to spend a Sunday Earth Day, imho. ;)

That’s all the news from us. We hope you all have a great week and feel how much you are loved!

Love, Jamie and Rich and Family

Snowy Bozeman on Tuesday 4/17

Eden at the MTC 4/18

Post Book 4/18

Goodbye to Addie 4/19

Great Gram & Adeline 4/19

Addie & Aunt Marti 4/19

Ammon and Gram 4/19

Me-n-Gram 4/19

Goodbyes at the airport 4/19

Beautiful Saturday Track Meet in Belgrade 4/21

Heidi, Niles, Ammon, Addie 4/21

Miki and Addie 4/21

Brothers cheering on Addie 4/21

First competitive discus throw 4/21

Sunny downtown Bozeman 4/21

Heidi, Ammon, and Niles in the van Saturday 4/21

Monday, April 16, 2018

FAMILY LETTER 04.15.18

Dear Loved Ones,

Happy 14^th Birthday to our Lynners today! She has made it through a really hard year and we are super proud of her and love her so much! We have been celebrating her all weekend with friends over, plus Grandma Lyn and Aunt Marti and Uncle Ralph visiting…it’s a party.

This week began with a pretty good Monday (4/9). I woke Monday morning ready to get back on the ball and get stuff done. I finally put the suitcases away and finished all the laundry. I attended the Parent Advisory meeting for the middle and high schools and was able to send some good info to the California Melins about next school year because we found out last weekend they are moving here! We super excited. I did a bunch of errands and got home in time to greet kids and make kahlua pork and cabbage for dinner. I snuck over to wish Miss Elanor Jones a happy 11^th birthday and cheer her up since her beloved big sis is leaving on a mission next week and she is reeeeally going to miss her. Grandma and Grandpa Melin joined us for dinner back at home and brought a delicious fruit salad. Afterward we shared pictures from California with them for Family Home Evening. That evening I got a message from Rod Casper, Rhett’s dad, about an experience he’d had recently. He called and shared a sacred experience with me about Erin’s work in the Spirit World with other ancestors from his family. It was sweet that he wanted me and Heidi Egan to know about it.

On Tuesday 4/10, I took Heidi to school, then went to the chiropractor, then I finally made myself go to Bozeman and get groceries at Costco and get some fun gifts for Heidi’s birthday. Unfortunately while I was there, winter came back. It got cold and rainy, and then the rain turned to slush by Thursday…argh! That afternoon I changed beds and did laundry and food prep in preparation for Mayberrys and Gram arriving Thursday. I did more of the same on Wednesday, trying to catch up on laundry and get the fridge and bathrooms cleaned up. I didn’t feel great so I had my family help me before and after dinner, then they headed to scouts and young women and I went to bed with the little guys.

Thursday 4/12 I had some writing to finish and last minute preparation for guests. As I was running errands around 9am, it began to snow in enormous wet flakes/blobs. It was dumping faster and long than I have ever seen. Luckily the earth was still pretty warm from recent sunny days, so the snow wasn’t accumulating as much as it does in winter (or we would have been in big trouble). It was during this hullaballoo that Aunt Marti, Uncle Ralph, and Grandma Lyn arrived at the Bozeman airport from Arizona (96*!). Driving through Bozeman Pass in that mess was quite the change of scenery for them. It was so great to have them with us! They got to our house around 3pm. They greeted the kids coming home from school, then took naps until about 6pm. Poor Adeline had track practice until 5:30, then she had to catch a bus with her choir to go compete at regionals at 6:30. We all squeezed in some dinner together before she had to leave, but then she came home an hour later because the bus couldn’t get over Bozeman Pass. They had gone back to PHS and recorded their performance and submitted it online (hooray for tech!). So we all had a nice visit as a family. Cute Uncle Ralph played airplanes and stuffed animals with the boys, so they are in love with him!

On Friday morning, Marti and Ralph came and read scriptures with us, then they drove down to Rexburg for Natasha’s (their adopted missionary ‘daughter’ from Ukraine) and my brother Michael’s college graduations---so super proud of Michael and his sweet family. I stayed at home and took care of Grandma Lyn and Ammon. Cute little Raef Johnson came over to play for a few hours, then Naomi took him and Ammon to her house for a few hours to play. I visited with Grandma, and we read quietly and I had some time to prepare myself to speak in church on Sunday. Naomi brought Ammon home about the same time the other kids got home from school. They all had snacks and chilled for a while. Addie called us to come pick her up from track at 5pm, so Grandma and I took a little drive and went to get her. All the snow and most of the moisture had melted and evaporated by then and it was a glorious, sunny evening. We came home and had a yummy teriyaki chicken with Asian salad and crab puffs. I made some cookies for Eden’s farewell Open House, as well as some low carb-high protein oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that Gram could enjoy on her low glycemic diabetic diet. Everyone went to bed pretty early for a Friday night.

On Saturday, Rich got up early and took Addie to meet the bus at 6:20am to go to the regional Solo & Ensemble festival. I stayed home with Gram and the little boys, Rich took James to see Addie’s performance at 9am. He sent me a video of it; the judges sounded really impressed and Addie’s trio (Addie, Izzi Petry, and Brianna Pittman) received the highest marks (1). Super proud! Heidi had birthday brunch plans with a friend, but they fell through, so Gram and I took her and the little boys to lunch at noon. She chose Rib & Chop House for calamari and BLTs. I had a little steak with salad and Gram had chicken salad lettuce wraps. They brought Heidi a big birthday dessert which she lovingly shared with her little brothers. We came home after lunch and Rich and James were home. We all relaxed for a bit, then I ran to pick up Addie and grab some strawberries for Eden’s thing. When we got home at 2:30, the Dixons had stopped by for a minute, visiting from Boise with Baby Laney. Of course all our kids were over the moon to see Laney again—she’s so cute toddling around. We sure love them! Addie had plans to go to Chico with her friends at 3:30, and Heidi had plans to go out with her friend Kara on a birthday date in Bozeman, so I rested for a little bit. I got up and tried to put some thoughts together for my talk. I made some tacos for late dinner—the boys didn’t want to come in from playing baseball! We finally ate around 7pm, and Aunt Marti and Uncle Ralph got back from Rexburg just in time to join us. We cleaned up dinner, then wrapped gifts and decorated for Heidi, and got our clothes and stuff ready for Sunday and said good night. The teenagers watched “the Greatest Showman” at Dennistons, then crashed around 11pm.

Sunday 4/15 was Heidi’s 14^th birthday. We woke up and bustled around getting ready for church. Gram chose to stay home, so the priests brought her sacrament during Sunday school. We got there on time and I got to sit on the stand with my fellow speakers, Eden Jones and Sydnie Denniston. Many high school kids showed up to hear Eden speak—I told her she was being a missionary already! There was a wonderful spirit in the meeting as we all spoke about Making and Keeping Covenants & Ordinances. That Spirit helped us all to do well on our talks. Eden bore a powerful testimony and played a beautiful piano number. I was so grateful to be a part of a great meeting. It was nice to sit with Auntie in Sunday school and Relief Society--great lessons all day! After church we ate leftover pizza and rested. I got refreshments ready to take to Jones’ (fruit infused water, a selection of teas and organic honey, and gingersnaps) and delivered them around 3 so we could take our time celebrating Heidi’s birthday, then head to Eden’s Open House from 6-9ish. Grandpa and Grandma Melin joined us and had a good visit with Gram and the Mayberrys afterward. Heidi had requested authentic ramen for her birthday dinner, so I made some and it was a hit. She also requested a DQ ice cream cake, so dessert was easy. She opened her gifts, and loved the sweet cards, the new clothes, new ukulele, and new art supplies she received. She put on one of her new outfits and we headed over to the Jones’ house. When we drove up, there was a regular hootenanny happening in the yard, with guitars and singing, and kids coloring with sidewalk chalk and playing tag. Inside loved ones were gathered chatting, hugging, more singing, eating good food, etc. We visited for about an hour, then Heidi and Ammon were ready to go home. So I took them and Rich back to the house, while Niles, James, and Adeline continued to play with Jones friends. I visited with Gram and Mayberrys and said goodbye to my in laws around 8pm, then headed back to Jones’ to fetch my kids, which took another hour or so of cat-herding, hugging, weeping, etc. It was a lovely night and we feel so blessed by rich relationships with our people here, as well as our fabulous extended family. We are so super excited for Sister Jones and her mission to Nauvoo. Woo-hoo!

We love and miss you all. We wish you a happy week.

Love, Jamie and Rich and Family

Sam and Maggie Egan on 4/11/18,
the day Maggie entered the MTC.

FLASHBACK to 2001: I just love this pic from our wedding day in 2001
I'm kissing my niece Melanie who is a mama now, and Baby Ally (in Angie's arms)
is off to college in the fall. My bridesmaids Cousin Candace, and sisters Angie,
Sara, & Amy are all mamas now, too. Time files!