Family Letter January 1999

Dear family:

Well, here goes a family letter, one of which I have not written for a long time! I guess I will start with news since I have absolutely nothing clever to say. Kent and Sharon are still alive. Good, enough of them! Kirt has moved to Logan and is going to school at USU. Good gravy, half the family is in Logan or Africa! He has just finished doing the Wizard Of Oz in Park City. How many of you hate that show? My kids are afraid of it. Michael and Sara say they are afraid of the witch and the monkeys and it gives them nightmares. Wimps. Andrea and Jarom go to work, Jarom also goes to school (lucky him!) and Andrea in a moment of shear abandonment won a $25 gift certificate. I mean this is big news! Of course, Heath and Kathy have the biggest news and that is the new baby, whom I haven't even seen, since I have been pretty steadily sick since Christmas (right now it is only a bronchial infection, but boy am I getting practice at coughing). The baby is a girl and they named her Lindsey. She is a pretty little thing and it was indeed a miracle. All of us are so happy and grateful and thankful with and for them. We are having a shower for Kathy and Allyson (don't get hasty, it's not Brenda's family's turn yet!) next week. Kathy gets 6 weeks leave. She doesn't want to have to go back. That is so hard. But the company has created a special job for her. It is 7-1 and so part time. Heath goes to work at 1:00 at Hunter High as a trainer. We'll have to see. He is working on his test for physical therapy or something along that line. He has passed two parts and barely missed the third. Keep praying for him. Brent and Teri came for Christmas and they all went to see Alison. And everybody that lives at their house. They are looking for a job here in Salt Lake or surrounding area, so if you see a job for a dang good lawyer who has been editor of the law review call them. Curtis was in an accident and wrecked their truck, but he was not hurt. They just go around singing and performing and being popular and important down there. Cheryl and kids are doing great. Justin has the priesthood now and is being so faithful to his duties and responsibilities it makes Grandma and Grandpa proud. Kyle got to go to Arizona to see Alison. And everyone who lives at her house.

Wayne is next. Melissa has taken up photography. She is doing so well. She has a beautiful camera; her teacher wants her to transfer into advanced and she is only a sophomore I think. Anyway, she is babysitting to earn the money for the camera and film and stuff. She's doing really well. Julie and Jeff have moved to California. Julie got a promotion with waste management and so they had to move. Good Job with good pay. Camille and Dustin are doing great. Dustin joined the reserves and has or is about to (by the time I finish this letter, I'm sure it will be past tense) finish basic. Amy and Scott are expecting a baby in March. And so are Shalese and Josh. My gosh the family is growing by leaps and bounds this year. Amy and Scott are still in South Carolina and Scott is driving long haul truck. The family will have a shower for Shalese and Marissa (Brads wife) sometime in March. The rest of Ware's family seem to be doing fine. Wayne is still teaching, and we are all so proud of him.

Brenda and Gary went to Cancun to celebrate their anniversary. I think it was the thirtieth one. Can't spell that word. Brenda had been sick, but the doctor gave her enough medicine to keep her from noticing the pain through the drug haze. Christopher and Allyson have not had the baby as I am writing this. (Note, from decorations at top I started this letter right at the first of the year and it is now the third of February). The doctor won't start Allyson. We had the shower last week and it was a good turn out and the girls got some really nice stuff. It was at Sharon's. We barely fit in there. Anyway, it is going to be a boy and they haven't named it yet. Chris has to go back to Russia on the 17th or 18th of this month and Allyson is supposed to go back on the t5 of March and the baby is supposed to be 6 weeks old by then to get a visa and passport. Things are not working out as planned. Now it is several days later (this is stupid, because with computers you can just insert anything you want, like this X, and it has no chronological order what so ever, and that is what is happening with this whole letter) and Chris and Allyson have an appointment to go and have a C-section this morning. After all Chris has to go back a week from now. Gail and I both did all our kids that way and really it is not that bad. We managed. Brad and Marrisa are expecting their baby in May I think. They don't know what it is and don't want to. They like surprises. Jennifer and Randy and Holly and Lee are doing fine. Holly is the young women's president in her ward. She says everyone else in that little town has had a chance. Both of the girls love living out in the country. How can we blame them? I loved it once upon a time too. Still would if I could find some country and still make a living. Jennifer is our family history person. I think only one person a generation has the spirit of Elijah. All of us did. Neal is doing great. He is working hard, pushing the other missionaries to measure up to their potential and may soon be made mayor by acclamation. Can't spell that word, either. I am not sure what your Mom and Dad have told you about us, but surely you know that we closed the Dairy Bar almost a year ago. Ralph is working for a man named Roger Morse. That business was sold, and so Ralph is not working right now. Still waiting for the other store to open. Getting on our nerves to. They move safes, vending machines and once in a while something else heavy. Sometimes we wonder if he bot that business for our blessing. 14e is trying to sell it. We are not interested in buying in, since we really feel like it doesn't make sufficient money even if it were run well, which it wasn't before and still isn't. Ralph and a man named Darrell, a good guy are running the business now and so it is doing some better. It has been a great blessing in our lives. We have really been glad to have the pretty steady work. (There was an insert in that last sentence.) I am working for a school, I am the 155 coordinator, I'm the guy who takes care of the bad kids. Really, I rather like it. I like helping kids who are having a hard time. I don't punish, I try to figure out what is going on and see if we can put some program in place that will help the students. I do have some pretty fun stories, but I refuse to write them out. I love the work, but the pay is poor. I am not going back to teaching until the kids are all gone, or unless Ralph says that is what we really have to do. We both want to have the opportunity to not have to have me work full time, unless I want to. The new store where Ralph is going to work is making some progress. It blew down once in a rather mild wind. That worries you doesn't it? I wish it was our own, but someday there may be something that will replace the Dairy Bar. For now, we are just grateful for all the wonderful blessings we do have. Mark and Anne are both doing very well. Mark is over his double whammy of Typhoid and Malaria and is back to work. Other than his time in the hospital he didn't lay around too long. However, try never to need quinine. He says taking that is like blowing off a firecracker by each ear and then stuffing cotton in. He went out before he was supposed to and got burned to a crisp, because the medicine makes you sensitive to the sun. He has lost a lot of weight. He will be home in 7 weeks! (March 3) It will feel great to just hug him. His mission of about 60 missionaries baptized over 800 this year. Mark usually has between 3-5 baptisms a month. Anne is working with elephants and giraffes in the background. She does go to animal parks on her p-days and she sent us a picture with giraffes running around behind her. She loves the work, but it is nowhere as productive (as far as numbers) as Mark's mission. The sister missionaries don't go into the black townships where the work is moving much more swiftly. Only the elders go there. But she was in Port Elizabeth for her first area and it is poor. They have had some Muslim riots there because of the bombing on Iraq. The President is rearranging all the districts and they were confined to quarters for a few days. Michael is working for Packard Bell, tech support. He is a senior and will graduate this year. He is planning on a mission after Y2K, so he and Mark will be here to laugh/rescue the world at the stroke of midnight. Sara is a sophomore, still 15 but practicing learning to drive. She has a job too. She was used to having her own money and making her own decisions when she worked for us at the store and she wanted that again. She works at Mayberries, which is a sandwich shop. No Sundays, and no late nights. I like that. A couple of funny stories about Sara. She was at work and gave this guy his change and he asked if she had 2 bits. He was a little older and dressed in construction clothes. She didn't understand what he said so she said, "Excuse me?" He asked again is she had two bits. She was lost so she looked him over and said, "I'm sorry, we don't sell drill bits." The guy and his friend burst out laughing. She had no idea what 2 bits was. She has a health teacher whom she doesn't like. He makes them walk around the building every day so that he won't have to teach. About a month ago when it got really cold she decided she wasn't going to walk. So, when he says let’s go walking she just leans over her desk, stares him down and says I am NOT going walking. He just looks at her. She says, "Do you know how cold it is out there?" He's stupid enough to ask her. "Seven million degrees below zero". The whole class is just backing away from her in case she is contagious. The teacher looks at her, goes into his office, comes back out and says, "I guess we won't go for a walk today." You smart aleck boys like Brent and Mark, do not try this. You will not get away with it,

Lynn and Gail are doing fine. Also, Alive! Amanda and Jake are vigorously house hunting. Finances are limited. Jake's mom is willing to give them some help and that is great, but they still have not found the right thing. Amanda is pregnant you should know, and her baby is due in May. Lori has married a young man named Sage. They had a quiet little wedding at home. Lynn married them. She is still working at Tony Roma's. Kay is working at the same place and is looking at maybe moving into Grandma's upstairs when Amanda moves out. Rebecca will graduate, and she is working at Brookside Animal hospital and is first violin in the school orchestra. Paul is doing really well. They have a large teaching pool and believe they will experience some success. He is a little unhappy with his fiat. Pay attention Mark, you may want to write him: He feels like it is like living at Grandma's. Old. The lite switches are on the outside of the room, the washer and dryer that are in their apartment, the washer doesn't work real well The heat hasn't worked and it is starting to get cold. If s just old. You might get some letters here Paul! Anyway, he's not really complaining, just commenting. Re has a great comp and is really happy there.

Now Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa was in the hospital for 5 days with Bronchial Pneumonia. I spelled that word right! He is struggling with his stomach. Right now, he is wearing a hernia belt that Monte prescribed. There is a chance if it really is a hernia there will have to be surgery. Yuck, I think I can't go through that again. We need to remember him in our prayers, but also, we need to remember Grandma. It is so hard on her to drive back and forth, and worry, and do the vast majority of the care taking. They had a good Christmas. Now they have the nine o'clock Sunday meeting schedule and that is hard on all of us, and especially them. I have it to, and it's hard on me. I really think that is all there is to tell you.

Remember this is a family and we matter, individually and as a unit. I am redoing some scrap books and I have pictures of all you kids performing at the kid's Christmas family home evening and when I look at them I know how very much you all mean to me and the stuff that we have is worth holding on to. "rake care, love your brothers and sisters best, but don't lose cousins, because the more of us the better.

Ralph and Diana and Family

Christmas Letter 2017

Family History Letter 2017

Bateman Family History

July 2017

Kent and Sharon

We started the year planning on a big 3 week trip to Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Dubai with some of our missionary friends.  We love these people and decided if we were going to 'go'(die) these would be the people to be with.  It was scary to think about, but we were brave.  However, two weeks before we were scheduled to leave, Kent ended up in the hospital with blood clots in both lungs.  We didn't know if we could go, but the doctor cleared him and then my doctor scheduled a heart test before she would clear me to go.  Two days before we were to leave we got clearance for both of us, so we frantically packed and traveled on faith.

Awe the challenges of old people, we had a wonderful time, with a few bumps along the way but we returned home safe and sound but exhausted.  Some of the highlights were visiting Petra, of Indiana Jones fame, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, a Nile river Cruise, temples and the Pyramids of Giza outside of Cairo.  We ended our tour in Dubai in a luxurious hotel, a jeep safari thru the Sahara and a visit to the highest building in the world, sightseeing hundreds of historical places in between.  The trouble with traveling is you should go once to see it and go again to really experience it.  That certainly was a highlight.

We stay busy the rest of the time, going to doctors and working in the yard.  Our health is fair but we do just about anything we want so there's no complaints here.  We teach family home evening at the jail twice a month, a Sunday school class and Sharon is an advisor in young woman's.  We are happy and busy. Love you all.

Cheryl and Richard

Richard remains busy as the Head Men's and Women's Golf Coach for SUU.  Although I have downsized my jobs and obligations working with Panguitch City, that time has quickly filled with running and keeping busy with the motel and I am still enjoy being the Drama Coach at Panguitch High School.  Justin is an audiologist and had the opportunity to go on a humanitarian trip to Amman, Jordan and help many people including many Syrian refugee children hear for the very first time!  Kyle graduated with his Master's of Occupational Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis and has started his clinical work. This will be finished in December and he can seek employment closer to home.  He and his wife Laren have two children, Michael 4 and Lia 2.  Laren is currently able to be a stay home mom.  Josh has quickly climbed the ladder with TJMaxx and was recently promoted to store manager in St. George.  He and his wife Juliana have two children, Connor 4 and Blake 1.  Juliana is also currently able to be a stay home mom. Breanne is the Office Manager for our motel (and we greatly depend on her).  Her husband Connor graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree.  He is currently working for the Forest Service and applying to go to Medical School.  They have one child Skyler 2 and Breanne is due to have their second, a girl on July 22.  

Brent and Terri

Hello everyone. I provide this letter out of equal parts love and gratitude for my sweet Auntie Diana and fear of disobeying my sweet Auntie Diana. Pretty sure that if we don't shape up, one of these days she will attach either me or Heath to her flagpole until we are ragged from flapping in the wind. Then we'll be taken down and tossed into the incinerator while all of you sing. We deserve that. Especially Heath.

I am still an attorney, and I still work for the government, which basically makes me the lowest form of human life. I did make up a good joke lately though. Here it is: What sound does a woodpecker make? A Log-a-rhythm. Haha! I slay me.

Terri my dear wife is still good-looking and attracted to me even though I am 50 years old. She has now been to Peru twice with her students, and will gladly show you how to make their national dish, Ceviche, which is raw fish fermented in lemon juice. Holy cow that stuff is yummy.

Zoe is close to graduating from Utah State with a degree in Psychology. Frankly I am tired of being told by her that I have narcissistic borderline personality disorder. However, she admits that is really not so bad because the worst thing that can result is occasionally tweeting a word like covfefe.

Sam struck a deal with the government that if he agrees to let people yell at him for three weeks and tell him that he is a !@*&@$# piece of human sludge, and then for several years afterward will march around the world in an eye-catching uniform trying to avoid getting killed, then the US Air Force will pay for his college. So, sweet deal. 

His awesome wife Caroline has agreed to this.

Daisy is my daughter. That is all you need to know. Only give her phone number out to young men that you want to die.  

Jeff is about 6' 10" and working for the summer at a scout camp, which is good because we can't afford to feed him anymore. So donate to your local friends of scouting drive. Helps us out a lot.

And finally, I miss grandma. 

Kirt and Jerry

It’s Oscar, 24-7-365.  Whether that’s for ill or for good; I guess we will see by his therapy bills later in life.

The year we lost Grandma-Cookie. 

Despite our joy that Grandma is no longer suffering, we (like most all of us, I suspect) miss her a lot.  And have some regrets about the amount of time we spent with her over the last several years. Our photo this year includes the day Grandma met Oscar.  Having just returned home from South Carolina after adoption finalization, we brought Oscar to Grandma’s 90^th Birthday Party. 

Oscar is a rambunctious and smart 4 ½ year old.  The Bateman-Rapiers continue to live in the Marmalade District of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood of Downtown Salt Lake City (say that three times fast).  Jerry is still running the most successful small-professional theatre company in the state, Plan-B Theatre Company and Kirt is in his 10^th year as CEO of the Davis Arts Council in Layton.

Oscar spent his last year at his current pre-school with an amazing and life-altering teacher, Miss Stephanie, at CCNS (Community Cooperative Nursery School) and will be moving to Open Classroom Pre-school this fall.  Although, because his birthday is in November, he won’t head to Kindergarten for another year. 

Jerry and Oscar returned from visiting the Rapiers in Arizona in June (while Kirt had to work).  No other major trips this year except the several back and forth to Levan whenever we can.

Despite some challenges and minor difficulties, the Bateman-Rapier family is very grateful to have health, lots of love, a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, gainful employment, and a support network of hundreds of loving friends.

Love,  Kirt W Bateman (41), Jerry L. Rapier (45), Oscar G. Bateman-Rapier (4)

Gary and Brenda

Our report begins on July 20, 1916, our arrival home from our two-year mission.

Our first goal at home was to get our upstairs rooms redecorated (paint, wallpaper and carpet about 20 years old). To help us get a jumpstart on the project, our kids spent one day in the initial steps—clearing two of the three bedrooms of everything and putting all of that stuff in the third bedroom (destined to become an efficient home office) ripping down wallpaper and tearing up carpet, and wallpaper off bathroom walls.  At this writing (June 17, almost a year from our arrival home date) the two bedrooms (now filled with all the stuff from the office) and the bathroom are done. Only a few weeks ago, we painted the office and installed the new carpet.  The two beautiful new bedrooms are still filled with stuff.  What could have caused this terrible delay? you may ask. Here are the sequential events of this full year:

·         Unpack, put away, inspect house and gardens (lots of work ahead). Talks in Sacrament meeting. We have still not unpacked boxes that were stored in the sewing room.

·         Interwoven throughout the remaining summer and fall months was helping with Mom, who needed quite a bit of care, and Diana and Ralph certainly needed respite. Mom’s care was a big deal, requiring many hours per week, despite the help coming from Hospice.  Without Hospice, we literally could not have done what was required. Diana and I (and husbands) learned an enormous amount, including different perspectives about our elderly parents trying to stay in their own homes until the day of death. There is much to be said about the advantages of a Care Center or Assisted Care.

·         I did a true house cleaning on the main floor rooms, especially the kitchen

·         We hired kids in the ward to help us get gardens cleared a little, trees pruned, etc.

·         October Conference week: we hosted our good friends Mike and Chris Roberts, from New Zealand, who had been called as Mission President and Matron in the New Zealand Temple. We had shared our first 20 months in Hawaii with the Roberts.

·         October 19: I had a total shoulder replacement surgery, right shoulder. I had learned while in Hawaii that the joint was partially worn away, so the surgery was a reversed total replacement. Crazy, huh?  Physical therapy followed for 12 weeks until the end of the year.

·         Thanksgiving at Brad and Myrissa’s in Boise. (Thankfully)

·         We hosted two young families from Mongolia (students at BYUH) for two weeks during December. These days were shared with two other missionary couples who live in Utah Valley.

·         Throughout these weeks and days, Mom continued to decline. She also continued to want the medications that would sustain her life.

·         We fit our own children’s families’ Christmas celebrations (all individual gatherings) in the spaces in between. We did not see Brad’s or Neal’s families for Christmas this year.

·         Sunday, January 8, 2017, noon.  Mom passed away, finally relieved of the many discomforts she had been enduring. We followed a typical check list of all the things that must be done.  Funeral was the following Saturday, January 14^th.

·         In February, Gary became really sick and weak. It was a GI bleed; he had lost about half his blood without knowing it.  Two days and nights in the hospital.  He also saw a lung specialist for the terrible cough he has had for 20 years; it is a nasty combination of viruses in his lungs. This is unusual, but it the virus lies dormant or mostly so for years, then jumps up into full force.  He is under treatment for both conditions. He has full oxygen count now, better strength and color, but he is not cleared by either doctor as being “cured.”

·         January through June:  With the boys’ help, we eight kids and spouses cleared out Mom’s house—100 years of saved documents, boxes, zippers, cotton balls, Neosporin,  twist ties, corks, coats, spools of thread, dental floss, 18 or 20 bottles of lotion, 20 calculators from organizations asking for money, and all manner of clutter.  Then all the outbuildings of trashy stuff.  Alverson’s, the metals recyclers, give only 2 or 3 cents a lb. for metals. We pulled out enough throw-away metals (5 pickup loads) to profit $60! We used it to pay some of the hired help, which we had to have.  Couldn’t have been done without them.

·         Legal and financial matters.  Many of those required professional help!

·         Sybil’s house is currently on contract, but not closed.

·         In the same manner as my right shoulder, I had gone too long with a failing right hip.  Easiest of all joint replacements, I chose May 1 for that surgery.  All went well, and I was released to go home three days later.  Upon exiting the car at home, another bone in the hip snapped in two! The next day was a second surgery, followed by four weeks in Aspen Ridge Rehab, and another four here at home, all eight weeks incontinent and  in a wheelchair, with no weight on the right leg,  June 21 is the eight-week deadline for the fracture; I think it will show in x-ray that it is healed. The incontinence issue improving, but not back to normal just yet.

Our two mission years’ experiences were from heaven, but this last eleven months have been really hard!

Chris and Allyson

2017 will go down in the books as our family’s toughest year to date.  We’ve had an awful time….which means we’ve grown a lot and learned important lessons and have learned to focus on the wonderful blessings we have (of which we have many). 

Chris spent the entire year (from last July till now) in Baghdad with his work while Allyson and the kids spent the year at home in Wellsville Utah.  We learned that life is pretty miserable while separated.  We learned how much we depend on each other for reinforcements.  It would have been a memorably tough year even if we were together.  Allyson independently and heroically managed all the family crises while Chris pulled his hair out from across the globe in helpless frustration.  Between a twice-flooded basement, denied insurance claims, two new teenage drivers, a graduating senior, an Eagle Scout saga, and a full-time job, Allyson has both proven her superpowers and earned an endless coupon book for spa treatments.

Through it all, we have learned to rely on each other and on our Heavenly Father who continually blesses us despite our unworthiness most of the time.  Our family is closer than ever, drawn together by difficult trial and growth.  We’re glad this year is over but will remember it a year of growth for all of us.  

The family is now off to Lisbon, Portugal where they will be for the next 4 years.  There is an open invitation to anyone who wants to come for a visit! 

Brad and Myrissa

Last summer, my boys decided that while they enjoyed life on the small farm we moved to three years ago in Kuna Idaho, they did not enjoy the constant work that went along with it. Logan and Gabriel were both in high school and had challenging courses and extracurricular activities that made it hard for them to spend much time helping me.

So Myrissa and I decided that it was time to make a change from the farm life and move into Boise, closer to where the boys had been going to school and frankly, closer to everything. We enjoy it, but I must admit that I do miss many things about our little farm (not including the endless supply of cheat grass and thistles!). Much to my family's chagrin, I have the garden beds full of vegetables and a chicken coop where the basketball court should be. 

As they say, you can take the man out of the farm but you can't take the farm out of the man. It's funny how you find so much truth in a cliché country song.

Myrissa is teaching high school theater and the kids love her. Logan has graduated and is heading off to BYU Idaho in the fall. Gabriel is starting his senior year after finishing his junior year with a 4.1 GPA. Addison will be in ninth grade and has an early jump on his future career as a standup comedian. Tanner is our resident artist/scientist, constantly creating and experimenting, and will be headed into the seventh grade. I am still working as an engineer, nerdier than ever, but enjoying life.

Neal and Lori

The Neal Jeppson family has had a good year! We are completing our second year in San Antonio and are loving it here. Meg finished 6th grade which is in middle school here, Kate finished 4th, and Avery survived Kindergarten! Lincoln is 18 months and full of energy! I know a lot of you knew Neal when he was little and I am guessing he was the same way. Not cool! Maybe I am not used to boys or something but this kid never stops! He is also bald, like Neal, and they look identical. Its adorable. I, Lori, and loving staying home with the kiddos and learning about balance and mindfulness. We love visitors so if y'all are ever in Texas please come see us!

Camille and Dustin

The Haights continue to strive forward every day despite regular trials and hard roads. After Dad's death, there were some difficult transitions that created some family division, but we are finally beginning to come back together, for the most part anyway.  However, for me personally, losing grandma this year took a heavy toll. Part of me felt like I lost that final link to our father. I know it is an irrational thought, but that is where my heart first wanted to take me. I am not sure I can truly express the depth of my emotions toward all of the Batemans that have reached out to me and my other siblings to help keep that connection alive and strong. It has meant so much. It is a strange thing to be parentless. Even though I am a grown adult the urge for parental guidance is still there. I have a certain truth that without my faith for greater things to come, and my family I would crumble. 

My children continue to grow and change faster than I would like, but every day they still amaze me. Kalie has made the choice to drop swim team in favor of more college courses. It is her final year of high school and that realization is a difficult one for her mother. She will be one math class short of her associate's degree when she graduates. She is already trying to find an online class to get that math class done as well. She is making plans for Southern California University to study film. She still wants to be a director. She obtained her first job this year at the movie theater and loves having her own income and a few free movies. 

Cassidy is exploring her talent as an artist more than ever before. She still plays soccer and since she is a freshman this year, she is trying out for the Salem Hills High School team. She spent a week at the school soccer camp and looks like she will make the JV team! She is excited. Cassidy is dead set on going to BYU in a few years and when I asked what she would go for she said, "Soccer." I reminded her she had to actually take classes to play. Now she is considering graphic design, classical art, or some other art major. She still has time to work all that out though. 

Emily still loves Irish dance but has taken up mixed martial arts for a little while. She saw her younger sister Aspen loving it and wanted to give it a go, to which Aspen said, "You know you have to hit people and you can't cry."  Emmy is my gentle girl always has been. She is not fond of the sparring as Aspen predicted, but she is loving the class and I love the self-defense they teach. They are also very good at helping to build confidence. She loves music and still plays the piano which I love hearing. She will be 11 years old this July and cannot wait for Young Women's next year. 

Aspen will be eight in December and has taken to martial arts like a fish in water. It took a few different activities to find her niche, but I think she is there. She went to her second tournament and managed 3 gold medals in sparring, and 1 silver in forms and 1 silver board breaking. (Not the same boards black belts use.) The divisions are broken up by sex, weight, age, and two belt ranges. As a mother, I worried for her opponent when she knocked a girl down with a snap kick, but Dustin was thrilled. There is the difference between men and women for you. 

Kendra is becoming a little artist too. She loves having Cassidy teach her things and at 4 years old really tries hard to pay attention. Her efforts will last for ten minutes then she moves on to her own ideas. She really can spend all day at the table with some project or another. She loves playdough, coloring, and learning letters. 

Dustin and I are still happy down here in Salem. It is good to be closer to the family and seeing most of you more often has been so fun. The highlights of the year for us have been my recent book release of The Truth of Victory.  Also, our visit to FanX where we got to meet Jason Mamoa among others of our favorite nerddom shows and books, and most importantly our 19 year anniversary this July. It has been a good year. 

Ralph and Diana

The one item that will mark this year for us is that Mom/Grandma Sybil passed away on January 8^th.  I am thankful for some tender moments at the last that will stay in my memory and sweeten her passing.  I, Diana, am surprised at how much I think about her; Friday afternoons when it is time to do her hair, Saturday morning breakfasts that I want to share with her, questions I wish I had known to ask about her life, her letters, her recipes.  I miss her.

Other than that we had the car stolen out of our garage while we were going back and forth carrying in the groceries.  We no longer leave the keys in the car even in the garage!  To make up for the nasty feelings we had about the car thief, we painted pretty much the whole upstairs.  Ralph is still serving in the high priests group, and I am still teaching primary.  Both of us are content and thankful for all of our blessings including our immediate and extended family and for the church and the gospel.  We can’t think how we could pass through the vagaries of life without our faith in Jesus Christ. 

We love you all and are thankful to belong to such a noble family! 

Anne and Mike

The summer of 2016, the Sampsons decided to count their blessings...the hard way...again.  This time it was up over the Notch past Wall Lake in the Uintahs.  First blessing: that we brought a first aid kit (came in handy when Jonathan almost chopped off his thumb), second, that we did get to see some fish (unfortunately, mostly not on the end of our fishing line) and, last, that some wonderful person created Benydryl (it was extremely helpful for the itching associated with the, literally, 40+ mosquito bites on a certain mommy's derriere).  In all seriousness, though, we are truly thankful for the beauty of the earth and strong, healthy bodies that allow us to see even just the smallest part of all of God's creations!

Other notable things we're thankful for during the past 12 months are:

#1  That we were able to find Ella's map.  Truly, she might not have made it to her 11th birthday!  I mean, who would paddle pirate ships through Blue Raspberry Lemonade Lake and who would comfort the lions, tigers and cats that can't make it to the Animal Castle on Fridays because of the Cat Detour River and just who, tell me, could explore the Marsh River Maze without that map?

#2 That Jonathan bore his testimony in church again after years of declining to.  He totally made up for those years, however, when he warmly greeted the unfamiliar congregation with, "Aloha, Brothers and Sisters!"  He confided to me afterwards that he felt prompted that if he would bear his testimony, he would do well in the upcoming Pokemon Regional Tournament.  Good enough for me!

#3 That Daniel successfully navigated his way through several complex social situations.  Mostly they were solved by treating the hallways of the junior high like the freeway and weaving in and out of the fast lane, but he was also able to stand up for a classmate being bullied, stay friendly with someone who was contributing to the bullying after telling him to stop, and report the bullying appropriately to the proper person.

Christmas Eve 2016 brought a sweet blessing for the Sampson family.  For 12 years we have spent Christmas Eve with Grandma Bateman.  This past year was no exception, only it was more tender, more poignant, more exquisite as we served Grandma a meal, sang Christmas carols with her, gave her a gift, and wished her Merry Christmas and goodnight as we left.  To me it felt like an early goodbye.

Since Grandma's passing, I've had the opportunity to be involved a little in sorting through some of the boxes of family history she left.  What a thrilling legacy we have through Grandma, and Grandpa too!  It's exciting to read journals, histories, and letters and feel like I know not just Grandma, but her mother, father, and the other people important to her.

Sara and Dustin

Our family is growing bigger but happily, not in number. We have two boys in school who are learning to speak Chinese and two younger children not yet in school who sometimes sound like they are speaking Chinese. Dustin has been at his job with CH2M for two years and is putting in extra hours and extra effort in hopes of getting some upward movement. He is also, after four long years serving in the young men’s organization, now the Young Men’s President! It is a difficult calling to fulfill and we are all anxiously hoping our ward boundaries change in order to get more youth and more help. I am cleaning house, doing laundry, reading stories and running errands. It’s a hard calling for me to fulfill and we are anxiously hoping my efforts pay off in the long run. Dustin and I are healthy and happy and glad to be able to work each day, good or bad. As I raise my family I am reminded of how lucky I am to have come from a long line of strong, hard working mothers. I will miss Grandma, and I am glad at least a couple of my kids knew her well enough to miss her too. She was tough, smart, charitable and dedicated. She taught my mother to have these same qualities and more. My mother tried her best to instill those same qualities in me and I’m currently trying to beat them into my daughter as wellJ. I was blessed to enjoy many short visits with Grandma, reading to her and helping her through her last couple years. But, the true blessing is the legacy she leaves in the families she raised. I’m lucky to be one of them!