The Jackson's of Albuquerque
Stacie and Kevin are enjoying Christmas in Provo, UT with the Jackson family. They flew in very early on Friday morning. They have enjoyed playing lots of games, going out to eat, and just enjoying each others' company. Today they especially enjoyed the opportunity to talk to Kevin's brother, Chris, who is serving his mission in Mexico. He is currently located right across the border in Nogales. Kevin's sister, Carolyn, is due within the next few weeks with her daughter Claire. Stacie and Carolyn enjoyed lots of baby bump moments where they bump each others' bellies sumo-wrestler-style. Everyone is encouraging little Claire to come out and play. Stacie and Kevin look forward to having so many cousins to play with little Henry.
The Haws Family of Colorado
This week was a bitter sweet week for us. On Monday Vanesa and her family left to Utah for the Holiday season. On Tuesday we took the girls to Chili’s thinking that it was going to be our last dinner with Andy for the next six months, when to our surprise we looked at his itinerary and realized that he did not have to leave until Thursday instead of Wednesday! Needless to say we were all very, very excited for the extra day with him. On Wednesday night into Thursday we had a very icy snow storm and were hoping that his plane was going to be delayed, unfortunately it was not and I had my first real experience driving on complete ice coming back from the airport. Obviously we made it back okay. After taking him to the airport I took the girls sledding to try and get our minds off of Andy having to go back. They loved sledding and our little neighbor Logan seemed to enjoy it also. On Saturday I took the girls sledding again and Haley thought it was fun to run and do a belly flop onto the sled to make her go faster. Sunday the girls opened up their presents from grandparents, and then we went to church and to Brother and Sister Stewarts house for dinner. Andy made it back safely and is staying busy with work.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
We had a wonderful but relatively snowless Christmas here in Wisconsin. Mom and I had a wonderful time distributing fruit baskets in people in our circle of friends. Our wish was that we could have had more baskets to distribute. The faces of the reciepents was wonderful. One person came to us the next day and told us that they rarely received anything from anyone. That made it very special. We also spent a delightful evening with a widow that lives out by the Eau Pleine flowage. Mom gave her a beautiful pink robe that was perfect.
We enjoyed church as a family. It was really good. Afterwards we opened presents. Some of the wonderful presents included a cooking skillet from Logan to Mom that he purchased with his egg money, a didgeridoo that Mom gave to Grant (for info on what a didgeridoo is please click the link provided).
http://www.chacha.com/askChaCha/What+is+didgeridoo%3F
I received a new subscription to ancestry.com while Emily received a ukelele and Lanette received disaster documentaries from Grant. It was lots of fun.
I have enjoyed the days off from work and time with our family. Today we went see "We bought a zoo". Except for some swearing it was a fun movie that I can recommend to all of you.
As the end of the year 2011 approaches I want to let each of you know how much we love you. Things that Mom and I are praying for this year include the safe arrival home of Andy. The move of Renata, Felipe, Lucas and Derick from Brazil to permanently join Jeff. That Grant will have a wonderful year as he continues to brighten our home. We pray that Julie & Jeff and Stacie & Kevin will be able to welcome healthy boys. That Emily will find a college that will bring her joy. That Lanette will be able to enjoy the transition into job opportunities while Logan will continue to grow up in light and truth. Mom and I love you each deeply and wish heavens greatest blessings on you.
Love,
Dad
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
December 19, 2011
The Haws Family of Colorado
This past week has flown by fast for us. On Tuesday Andy and I took Kayla to the doctors to find out she had a double ear infection…which explained why she was crying all night for the past couple of nights before. Later that day we watched Haley play her last basketball game, she did very good. Thursday Andy and I went on a date to Olive Garden. Friday we went to the ward party at church. Haley and Kayla did well playing their part in the nativity scene. Which later that night Melanie’s sister, husband and kids arrived which made Haley and Kayla very happy on Saturday morning when they woke up and found them here. Saturday we all went bowling and then of course Andy and Dewey headed off to the gun store, Wal-Mart and Lowes, but before then they enjoyed a “noisy” dinner with us at McDonalds. Sunday we all went to church. After church Andy and Dewey were supposed to be watching the kids but ended up falling asleep after turning on a movie for the kids. All in all it was a good week.
Grant's News
The beginning of Grant's week was fairly quiet. Sunday was a short day at work and so when he got home he made more soft gingersnaps for the family. Monday he found out that he was in second place at the restaurant for a month long contest of upselling appetizers, shakes, and desserts to guests. Grant takes a lot of pride in his job and his ability to acquire loyal regulars, so he was pleased that he was doing so well. He also had a contest this week between another coworker and him to see who could do more cleaning duties. Grant won. Tuesday he started a new book, "The Walking Drum" by Louis L'Amour which some of ya'll may remember from Mrs. Naegle's English class at Heritage Academy. The weekend was nuts at work with crazy long lists of guests waiting to sit down and crazy long waits for food to come out of the kitchen. Such are the holidays in the restaurant business.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
This week was the last week of the fall semester for Kevin. He is happy to have completed all of his courses. He felt that his finals went well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. On Thursday evening Kevin and Stacie celebrated Kevin's half-way mark (for his master's degree) by going out for pizza with some other graduate students. On Friday they went to a Christmas party at their friend Nick's house. Unfortunately they don't have any pictures to share of their impressive bad sweaters worn at the event.
On Saturday Kevin enjoyed golfing with his friends Justin & Nick. Meanwhile, Stacie enjoyed a baby shower with some friends. The baby shower was Harry Potter themed. Her favorite part was receiving a little, baby-sized sorting hat. This week Kevin and Stacie look forward to celebrating "early Christmas" on Monday evening and traveling to Utah on Thursday to celebrate "real Christmas" with the Jacksons.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
We have enjoyed a mild December with temperatures unseasonably warm. That is OK because I am working on a project in an outdoor shop and warmth is much appreciated. We had the opportunity to go to Winter Wonderland here in Marshfield. It is a wonderful light display held at our zoo. For those of you that remember the Bang Family. The light display was largely inspired by Brother Steve Bang. It has grown into a wonderful event combined with a great way to fill the food banks in the area.
Logan continues to raise his chickens but tragically has lost another bird this week. It is pretty amazing how dedicated he has been to his birds. He received his first class badge along with three merit badges at this weeks Court of Honor.
Lanette has been trying to recover from Dad and Mom's decision that we would not give her a doll for Christmas. We have also asked the school not to encourage "play" with dolls. That resulted in my new title as "doll snatcher". Apparently I have made it to the Internet. I hope that Grant's blog is not read by anyone with Child Protective Services in Wisconsin.
Emily has been out with friends a lot this week and I do not have much to update you on. She is playing to go to Chicago with some friends and one of their moms.
Mom and I really had a delightful evening going out to dinner with Brother and Sister Kolts. We enjoyed the opportunity to sit and talk for hours. They are good friends and we will miss them as they move out to Utah.
We enjoyed a family home evening tonight with a widow in our branch. She loves Jahzee. We also enjoyed singing Christmas songs together.
Finally many of you that called on Sunday noted that we did not have much time to talk. We were taking care of two little energetic boys. Wow, that was a long day but it was a blessing to them.
We love you all,
Dad
This past week has flown by fast for us. On Tuesday Andy and I took Kayla to the doctors to find out she had a double ear infection…which explained why she was crying all night for the past couple of nights before. Later that day we watched Haley play her last basketball game, she did very good. Thursday Andy and I went on a date to Olive Garden. Friday we went to the ward party at church. Haley and Kayla did well playing their part in the nativity scene. Which later that night Melanie’s sister, husband and kids arrived which made Haley and Kayla very happy on Saturday morning when they woke up and found them here. Saturday we all went bowling and then of course Andy and Dewey headed off to the gun store, Wal-Mart and Lowes, but before then they enjoyed a “noisy” dinner with us at McDonalds. Sunday we all went to church. After church Andy and Dewey were supposed to be watching the kids but ended up falling asleep after turning on a movie for the kids. All in all it was a good week.
Grant's News
The beginning of Grant's week was fairly quiet. Sunday was a short day at work and so when he got home he made more soft gingersnaps for the family. Monday he found out that he was in second place at the restaurant for a month long contest of upselling appetizers, shakes, and desserts to guests. Grant takes a lot of pride in his job and his ability to acquire loyal regulars, so he was pleased that he was doing so well. He also had a contest this week between another coworker and him to see who could do more cleaning duties. Grant won. Tuesday he started a new book, "The Walking Drum" by Louis L'Amour which some of ya'll may remember from Mrs. Naegle's English class at Heritage Academy. The weekend was nuts at work with crazy long lists of guests waiting to sit down and crazy long waits for food to come out of the kitchen. Such are the holidays in the restaurant business.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
This week was the last week of the fall semester for Kevin. He is happy to have completed all of his courses. He felt that his finals went well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. On Thursday evening Kevin and Stacie celebrated Kevin's half-way mark (for his master's degree) by going out for pizza with some other graduate students. On Friday they went to a Christmas party at their friend Nick's house. Unfortunately they don't have any pictures to share of their impressive bad sweaters worn at the event.
On Saturday Kevin enjoyed golfing with his friends Justin & Nick. Meanwhile, Stacie enjoyed a baby shower with some friends. The baby shower was Harry Potter themed. Her favorite part was receiving a little, baby-sized sorting hat. This week Kevin and Stacie look forward to celebrating "early Christmas" on Monday evening and traveling to Utah on Thursday to celebrate "real Christmas" with the Jacksons.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
We have enjoyed a mild December with temperatures unseasonably warm. That is OK because I am working on a project in an outdoor shop and warmth is much appreciated. We had the opportunity to go to Winter Wonderland here in Marshfield. It is a wonderful light display held at our zoo. For those of you that remember the Bang Family. The light display was largely inspired by Brother Steve Bang. It has grown into a wonderful event combined with a great way to fill the food banks in the area.
Logan continues to raise his chickens but tragically has lost another bird this week. It is pretty amazing how dedicated he has been to his birds. He received his first class badge along with three merit badges at this weeks Court of Honor.
Lanette has been trying to recover from Dad and Mom's decision that we would not give her a doll for Christmas. We have also asked the school not to encourage "play" with dolls. That resulted in my new title as "doll snatcher". Apparently I have made it to the Internet. I hope that Grant's blog is not read by anyone with Child Protective Services in Wisconsin.
Emily has been out with friends a lot this week and I do not have much to update you on. She is playing to go to Chicago with some friends and one of their moms.
Mom and I really had a delightful evening going out to dinner with Brother and Sister Kolts. We enjoyed the opportunity to sit and talk for hours. They are good friends and we will miss them as they move out to Utah.
We enjoyed a family home evening tonight with a widow in our branch. She loves Jahzee. We also enjoyed singing Christmas songs together.
Finally many of you that called on Sunday noted that we did not have much time to talk. We were taking care of two little energetic boys. Wow, that was a long day but it was a blessing to them.
We love you all,
Dad
Monday, December 12, 2011
December 12, 2011
The Colorado Haws Family
The past couple of weeks have been very exciting for us all. The first surprise that the girls had was having their Nana come to visit. Haley was excited because Nana was able to watch her play basketball. Kayla just had fun being her crazy self with Nana. Last Tuesday the girls had a sleepover with Nana while I went to a very important “meeting.” While with Nana the girls had a lot of fun decorating gingerbread and snow men ornaments. The next day when Kayla came home from school she was very, very excited and surprised to have Andy pick her up! She would not let go of him. Haley also was very excited and surprised to have Andy pick her up from school. She had a smile from ear to ear for hours! I was so glad that I was able to keep the secret of when Andy was coming home from the girls because the surprise turned out wonderful. On Wednesday we all went to Chili’s for dinner (Kayla’s request) for a welcome home dinner and a goodbye one for Nana. Saturday Andy took me to the Denver Temple and the girls to Target and Deseret Book. We decided to celebrate Christmas early because Andy has to leave back to Afghanistan on the December 21; Needless to say that the girls were okay with opening up their presents when we got home from the Temple. Sunday Andy help Kayla give a talk in primary on the birth of the Savior. I am sure that she did a great job. We are all very excited and grateful to have Andy here with us of course I don’t want him to go back but at least we will be on the second half of the countdown for his return home.
Grant's News
Grant had a busy week while Mom was in Colorado, between work and helping out around the house. On Tuesday, he became the family undertaker when one of Logan's chickens died. Logan was too sad and scared to take care of the dead chicken, so Grant removed it, dug it a grave, and with Logan they held a funeral service for the poor chicken. Grant got Saturday off, so he spent it with Lanette watching Polar Express and making gingersnaps. He also had the desire to switch up his hair-do, and so he shaved off the beard and bleached his hair. His Sunday morning regular guests were very shocked.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
This week was filled with studying and hard work for Kevin as he continues to prepare for his upcoming finals. He worked late several evenings assisting the woman that he tutors. On Wednesday evening Stacie & Kevin went out to eat with Kattia (the woman he tutors) & her husband, Martin. They shared some funny experiences, like the time Kattia ate three triple cheeseburgers right before going into labor with their son.
On Saturday Stacie & Kevin attended the second half of their child birthing course. They appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the risks and benefits of various medical interventions and to tour the hospital birthing center. The center is very nice and should be a good environment for them to deliver in. On that note, Stacie & Kevin were excited to finally decide on a name for their baby. His name will be Henry Owen Jackson.
Please keep Kevin in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult week of finals. He certainly looks forward to the holiday break, which should begin for him on Friday.
The Lane's of Virginia
Happy Birthday Daddio!
Well this week has been a busy but good one for us. Everyday the baby's kicks get stronger and Julie gets more symptoms of forthcoming popping :)! Yesterday, Sunday, everyone was coming up to Julie to tell her she looks like she is going to "pop" any day now.
Last Monday, we decorated a gingerbread house in honor of Christmas. The ingredients we had for it was stuff that we found on clearance for a dollar last year and lets just say they are so gross that they are not even flammable or just capable of melting. Julie tried to test it with a match and the icing did not even move!!! Needless to say it will not be on the holiday snack this year-purely decoration. We do not want any deaths in the family due to the inability for a perfectly functioning liver not to be able to process this alien material. In fact, if the world was to suddenly explode it is very likely that it would not even allow soot to attach to it.
Tuesday, we had our week 34 appointment. Alex is still measuring big and everything is looking really good for our situation so far. We are getting so antsy to meet the little guy and discover who he is and well even just to hold him. 9 months can feel like such a very long time sometimes! However we are now no more than 4 and half weeks from meeting the little guy! (If you did not know they will not let Julie go past her due date because of how the cord and the placenta attach.) Julie is pretty convinced though that he will come on his own sooner! She has been getting pretty nauseous through out the day which is one of those early symptoms of impending labor sometimes. Still we do not want him here before Christmas Eve! He can come with Santa and that will be just fine!
Wednesday we made chocolates to stick in the freezer for the nurses that will help deliver Alex. Since there is a good chance of him being born on Christmas Eve, Day, New Years Eve or Day we thought it would be the nice thing to do. The chocolates turned out really yummy and so me have to make more :)
Thursday, Julie had book club. She enjoyed talking to all the other women who just announce that they to are expecting this spring of summer. The really nice thing is that both wards here have lots of new babies either just born or will be born in the next year. Those potential friends will hopefully be great for Alex. Jeff had a hankering for our favorite date night spot, buffalo wild wings. We decided to go and that was enjoyable except the part where we had to move the car because of the silly layout of the tiny parking lot. (They get enough business from all the college students that they could build probably three parking lots is our guess because they are always packed with wait lines).
Friday, Julie had visiting teaching. We then packed some presents for those on the exchange lists and the parents.
Saturday, we posted the presents and then went shopping for the stocking "stuffers" for the mothers when they come out to meet Alex! We spent many hours trying to find the perfect things so hopefully they will be great. We also found two little balls to protect Jeff's hands for when Julie goes into labor- if you remember back when Julie sewed through her thumb--well she is a hand squeezer- they had to giver a screw driver then. Haha That night we went to the ward Christmas party which was a lot of fun. After we took some small presents to some friends that do not have hardly anything this Christmas. Jeff doorbell ditched them and then ran up the stairs of their apt complex rather than out the building's front door. All dressed in black, Julie hid in the car and giggled as she saw the husband bolt out and look around for a moving car. He searched the near by bushes and area but when he saw no one went inside. Jeff came out a little later and we felt victorious as we went home. This morning we saw a note from the wife to the public thanking whoever left them and telling her predictions for what was inside the packages. That was sooo much fun! Addicting really!
Sunday, we had a fairly normal day at church besides the fact that Julie was told that she like she is going to pop and when one of her students threaten to punch the baby because she made him take turns using the restroom (the boys in her class like to exert extra energy when they are in the bathroom). We then had hometeachers come. Jeff and Brother Logan gave Julie a blessing so that Brother Logan would not have to come out if we go into labor in the middle of the night. It was short and sweet and then Brother Logan's son said a really kind prayer for Julie and Alex when we said goodbye. It ended well.
Julie
The Wisconsin Haws Family
This has been a good week for us here in Wisconsin. I enjoyed a wonderful birthday. Mom, Logan and I attended the temple on Saturday. Mom was able to do initiatories while Logan and I did work in the baptistry. Mom suprised me beforehand with a new pair of white pants and belt. That was much appreciated. On arrival at home I was treated to a delicious meal featuring crab cakes. It was really good.
Logan's week included a performance with his school choir on Sunday and Monday. He has started voice lessons as of today. He loves to sing and serinades us on a regular basis. He was able to join friends for roller skating on Friday and has a pretty enjoyable week.
Lanette's week has been a bit frustrating for her. Dad (aka the doll catcher) has told her that we will not be buying dolls for Christmas. She does not like that answer but I am hoping we will be able to move onto some other topics in the new future. She is looking forward to visiting the Elmhorst family later this month when some of their illnesses subside.
Emily has been working hard in school. She did not make it home until nearly 10 pm tonight but was pleased with having caught up with all of her homework. She turned in her paperwork for graduation announcements. It is hard to believe that her senior year is almost half over.
Mom had a wonderful visit to Colorado to visit Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla. She had such a wonderful time. She is now looking forward to helping Julie and Stacie after their deliveries. Mom is such a super mom and super nana.
We love each of you and hope you have a wonderful week. Kevin, you will be in our prayers for sucess with your finals.
The past couple of weeks have been very exciting for us all. The first surprise that the girls had was having their Nana come to visit. Haley was excited because Nana was able to watch her play basketball. Kayla just had fun being her crazy self with Nana. Last Tuesday the girls had a sleepover with Nana while I went to a very important “meeting.” While with Nana the girls had a lot of fun decorating gingerbread and snow men ornaments. The next day when Kayla came home from school she was very, very excited and surprised to have Andy pick her up! She would not let go of him. Haley also was very excited and surprised to have Andy pick her up from school. She had a smile from ear to ear for hours! I was so glad that I was able to keep the secret of when Andy was coming home from the girls because the surprise turned out wonderful. On Wednesday we all went to Chili’s for dinner (Kayla’s request) for a welcome home dinner and a goodbye one for Nana. Saturday Andy took me to the Denver Temple and the girls to Target and Deseret Book. We decided to celebrate Christmas early because Andy has to leave back to Afghanistan on the December 21; Needless to say that the girls were okay with opening up their presents when we got home from the Temple. Sunday Andy help Kayla give a talk in primary on the birth of the Savior. I am sure that she did a great job. We are all very excited and grateful to have Andy here with us of course I don’t want him to go back but at least we will be on the second half of the countdown for his return home.
Grant's News
Grant had a busy week while Mom was in Colorado, between work and helping out around the house. On Tuesday, he became the family undertaker when one of Logan's chickens died. Logan was too sad and scared to take care of the dead chicken, so Grant removed it, dug it a grave, and with Logan they held a funeral service for the poor chicken. Grant got Saturday off, so he spent it with Lanette watching Polar Express and making gingersnaps. He also had the desire to switch up his hair-do, and so he shaved off the beard and bleached his hair. His Sunday morning regular guests were very shocked.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
This week was filled with studying and hard work for Kevin as he continues to prepare for his upcoming finals. He worked late several evenings assisting the woman that he tutors. On Wednesday evening Stacie & Kevin went out to eat with Kattia (the woman he tutors) & her husband, Martin. They shared some funny experiences, like the time Kattia ate three triple cheeseburgers right before going into labor with their son.
On Saturday Stacie & Kevin attended the second half of their child birthing course. They appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the risks and benefits of various medical interventions and to tour the hospital birthing center. The center is very nice and should be a good environment for them to deliver in. On that note, Stacie & Kevin were excited to finally decide on a name for their baby. His name will be Henry Owen Jackson.
Please keep Kevin in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult week of finals. He certainly looks forward to the holiday break, which should begin for him on Friday.
The Lane's of Virginia
Happy Birthday Daddio!
Well this week has been a busy but good one for us. Everyday the baby's kicks get stronger and Julie gets more symptoms of forthcoming popping :)! Yesterday, Sunday, everyone was coming up to Julie to tell her she looks like she is going to "pop" any day now.
Last Monday, we decorated a gingerbread house in honor of Christmas. The ingredients we had for it was stuff that we found on clearance for a dollar last year and lets just say they are so gross that they are not even flammable or just capable of melting. Julie tried to test it with a match and the icing did not even move!!! Needless to say it will not be on the holiday snack this year-purely decoration. We do not want any deaths in the family due to the inability for a perfectly functioning liver not to be able to process this alien material. In fact, if the world was to suddenly explode it is very likely that it would not even allow soot to attach to it.
Tuesday, we had our week 34 appointment. Alex is still measuring big and everything is looking really good for our situation so far. We are getting so antsy to meet the little guy and discover who he is and well even just to hold him. 9 months can feel like such a very long time sometimes! However we are now no more than 4 and half weeks from meeting the little guy! (If you did not know they will not let Julie go past her due date because of how the cord and the placenta attach.) Julie is pretty convinced though that he will come on his own sooner! She has been getting pretty nauseous through out the day which is one of those early symptoms of impending labor sometimes. Still we do not want him here before Christmas Eve! He can come with Santa and that will be just fine!
Wednesday we made chocolates to stick in the freezer for the nurses that will help deliver Alex. Since there is a good chance of him being born on Christmas Eve, Day, New Years Eve or Day we thought it would be the nice thing to do. The chocolates turned out really yummy and so me have to make more :)
Thursday, Julie had book club. She enjoyed talking to all the other women who just announce that they to are expecting this spring of summer. The really nice thing is that both wards here have lots of new babies either just born or will be born in the next year. Those potential friends will hopefully be great for Alex. Jeff had a hankering for our favorite date night spot, buffalo wild wings. We decided to go and that was enjoyable except the part where we had to move the car because of the silly layout of the tiny parking lot. (They get enough business from all the college students that they could build probably three parking lots is our guess because they are always packed with wait lines).
Friday, Julie had visiting teaching. We then packed some presents for those on the exchange lists and the parents.
Saturday, we posted the presents and then went shopping for the stocking "stuffers" for the mothers when they come out to meet Alex! We spent many hours trying to find the perfect things so hopefully they will be great. We also found two little balls to protect Jeff's hands for when Julie goes into labor- if you remember back when Julie sewed through her thumb--well she is a hand squeezer- they had to giver a screw driver then. Haha That night we went to the ward Christmas party which was a lot of fun. After we took some small presents to some friends that do not have hardly anything this Christmas. Jeff doorbell ditched them and then ran up the stairs of their apt complex rather than out the building's front door. All dressed in black, Julie hid in the car and giggled as she saw the husband bolt out and look around for a moving car. He searched the near by bushes and area but when he saw no one went inside. Jeff came out a little later and we felt victorious as we went home. This morning we saw a note from the wife to the public thanking whoever left them and telling her predictions for what was inside the packages. That was sooo much fun! Addicting really!
Sunday, we had a fairly normal day at church besides the fact that Julie was told that she like she is going to pop and when one of her students threaten to punch the baby because she made him take turns using the restroom (the boys in her class like to exert extra energy when they are in the bathroom). We then had hometeachers come. Jeff and Brother Logan gave Julie a blessing so that Brother Logan would not have to come out if we go into labor in the middle of the night. It was short and sweet and then Brother Logan's son said a really kind prayer for Julie and Alex when we said goodbye. It ended well.
Julie
The Wisconsin Haws Family
This has been a good week for us here in Wisconsin. I enjoyed a wonderful birthday. Mom, Logan and I attended the temple on Saturday. Mom was able to do initiatories while Logan and I did work in the baptistry. Mom suprised me beforehand with a new pair of white pants and belt. That was much appreciated. On arrival at home I was treated to a delicious meal featuring crab cakes. It was really good.
Logan's week included a performance with his school choir on Sunday and Monday. He has started voice lessons as of today. He loves to sing and serinades us on a regular basis. He was able to join friends for roller skating on Friday and has a pretty enjoyable week.
Lanette's week has been a bit frustrating for her. Dad (aka the doll catcher) has told her that we will not be buying dolls for Christmas. She does not like that answer but I am hoping we will be able to move onto some other topics in the new future. She is looking forward to visiting the Elmhorst family later this month when some of their illnesses subside.
Emily has been working hard in school. She did not make it home until nearly 10 pm tonight but was pleased with having caught up with all of her homework. She turned in her paperwork for graduation announcements. It is hard to believe that her senior year is almost half over.
Mom had a wonderful visit to Colorado to visit Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla. She had such a wonderful time. She is now looking forward to helping Julie and Stacie after their deliveries. Mom is such a super mom and super nana.
We love each of you and hope you have a wonderful week. Kevin, you will be in our prayers for sucess with your finals.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December 6, 2011
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
It was difficult to return to work and school after the nice break last week. However, with a busy weekend ahead the week still seemed to go quickly for Stacie & Kevin. Most evenings were spent doing homework or preparing for their ward Christmas activity. On Thursday Albuquerque was hit with the strong winds that affected most of the western states with winds reaching all the way up to 88 mph around the mountain passes near their home. Stacie & Kevin were thankful to come home and see that the worst damage was a missing window screen and lots of leaves bunched up next to the front door.
On Friday the weather let up and introduced the first snow flurries to the Albuquerque area. It snowed quite a bit more on Saturday, which added a holiday spirit to the ward Christmas activity that Stacie assisted the Relief Society in coordinating. Overall Saturday was a busy day for both Stacie and Kevin. After dropping off lots of Christmas decorations at the church, they headed over to the hospital for a childbirth course. Although watching graphic birth videos did little to relieve their fears, they did enjoy the relaxation and massage techniques taught. Afterwards they spent the afternoon decorating and preparing the church. The activity went well. It is a relief for Stacie to have the two big ward activities behind her.
Grant's News
Grant had a pretty quiet week. He started the week with some bartending shifts, which was a new position he started doing at Hudson's. He enjoyed it because he gets to take tables and bartend at the same time...which means more mulah. Grant has been reading "Revolutionary Road" this week, as well as starting a project called the "100 thing" project. It is based on the Tiny Houses he loves and it is the goal to only own 100 things. It is one of his goals for 2012 and will be a whole new experience in minimalism.
The Lane Family of Virginia
This week has been a mix of ups and downs. Monday was a little rough as we ran from one appointment to another at the hospital and the pediatricians. We also had some battles to fight with the lovely insurance company which basically informed us that Alex will need to be born before New Years in order for us to have any pre-paid deductible to apply towards Alex's birth.
Friday we had young marrieds which we enjoyed up to the point where we had to leave due to some lovely third trimester discomforts-haha. Oh the joy!
The rest of the week went rather smooth and quiet. Saturday, we had a friend over for cake, which was the yummiest death by chocolate cake, and met up with another couple for dinner at Applebee's. Julie was very surprised by a kindle that the parents generously gave her and a beautiful "Mom" locket her hubby dear gave to her. (It was her first "mom" inscribed or noted thing so it meant an extra something to her .) She has hardly even taken it off :)
Today we enjoyed the ability to sleep in a little and then played with Julie's new toy. At church Julie's primary kids had written "Happy Birthday" on the chalk board and then sweetly hid from her under their chairs as a birthday surprise. She was also presented with three of those funny shaped rubber bands with church pictures and symbols on them. After church we gobbled up some more yummy cake and then put the calories to our hips as we enjoyed a long nice nap. Jeff then made Julie his incredible wooo- the- girl veggie pizza and we enjoyed the Christmas devotional and giving Lanette a very hard time about wanting a real baby doll. We told her we could have Alex supply her with the real-filled-diapers- she did not think that was soo funny. I wonder why. Can we say glutton for punishment! :)
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Mom is spending some wonderful time with Melanie and the girls. We are all excited that Andy will be arriving home on Tuesday night. With all the crazy news from Afganistan I consider it a direct answer to our prayers that Andy's life has been protected. How my heart goes out to those people of Afganistan and to the families of American soldiers who have lost love ones in this war torn land.
We are doing OK back here at home. There is no doubt that life with Mom out of town is incomplete but Grant has done so much, Emily has helped drive Logan to important events and Logan and Lanette have stepped up. We cannot wait for Mom to come home but we are so happy that she can get time with Melanie, Andy and her darling granddaughters.
We went last night and got a star to complete our Christmas tree. We have enjoyed a beautiful snow that makes the trees look very winter-like. Logan's chickens are doing OK and keep on laying eggs. Our new roof is almost done and should be done by the end of the week.
It was wonderful to hear that Derick and Lanette had great birthdays. Can you image a better gift for Derick. As my 54th birthday approaches I want to tell each of you how much you have made my life wonderful. I have continued to marvel at the sacrifice of my mom, Grandma Haws, to bring me to this earth even though pregnancy was a very difficult thing for her. Thank you Julie and Stacie for your sacrifice to make a home ready for two special spirits anxiously waiting to come to earth.
I love you,
Dad
It was difficult to return to work and school after the nice break last week. However, with a busy weekend ahead the week still seemed to go quickly for Stacie & Kevin. Most evenings were spent doing homework or preparing for their ward Christmas activity. On Thursday Albuquerque was hit with the strong winds that affected most of the western states with winds reaching all the way up to 88 mph around the mountain passes near their home. Stacie & Kevin were thankful to come home and see that the worst damage was a missing window screen and lots of leaves bunched up next to the front door.
On Friday the weather let up and introduced the first snow flurries to the Albuquerque area. It snowed quite a bit more on Saturday, which added a holiday spirit to the ward Christmas activity that Stacie assisted the Relief Society in coordinating. Overall Saturday was a busy day for both Stacie and Kevin. After dropping off lots of Christmas decorations at the church, they headed over to the hospital for a childbirth course. Although watching graphic birth videos did little to relieve their fears, they did enjoy the relaxation and massage techniques taught. Afterwards they spent the afternoon decorating and preparing the church. The activity went well. It is a relief for Stacie to have the two big ward activities behind her.
Grant's News
Grant had a pretty quiet week. He started the week with some bartending shifts, which was a new position he started doing at Hudson's. He enjoyed it because he gets to take tables and bartend at the same time...which means more mulah. Grant has been reading "Revolutionary Road" this week, as well as starting a project called the "100 thing" project. It is based on the Tiny Houses he loves and it is the goal to only own 100 things. It is one of his goals for 2012 and will be a whole new experience in minimalism.
The Lane Family of Virginia
This week has been a mix of ups and downs. Monday was a little rough as we ran from one appointment to another at the hospital and the pediatricians. We also had some battles to fight with the lovely insurance company which basically informed us that Alex will need to be born before New Years in order for us to have any pre-paid deductible to apply towards Alex's birth.
Friday we had young marrieds which we enjoyed up to the point where we had to leave due to some lovely third trimester discomforts-haha. Oh the joy!
The rest of the week went rather smooth and quiet. Saturday, we had a friend over for cake, which was the yummiest death by chocolate cake, and met up with another couple for dinner at Applebee's. Julie was very surprised by a kindle that the parents generously gave her and a beautiful "Mom" locket her hubby dear gave to her. (It was her first "mom" inscribed or noted thing so it meant an extra something to her .) She has hardly even taken it off :)
Today we enjoyed the ability to sleep in a little and then played with Julie's new toy. At church Julie's primary kids had written "Happy Birthday" on the chalk board and then sweetly hid from her under their chairs as a birthday surprise. She was also presented with three of those funny shaped rubber bands with church pictures and symbols on them. After church we gobbled up some more yummy cake and then put the calories to our hips as we enjoyed a long nice nap. Jeff then made Julie his incredible wooo- the- girl veggie pizza and we enjoyed the Christmas devotional and giving Lanette a very hard time about wanting a real baby doll. We told her we could have Alex supply her with the real-filled-diapers- she did not think that was soo funny. I wonder why. Can we say glutton for punishment! :)
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Mom is spending some wonderful time with Melanie and the girls. We are all excited that Andy will be arriving home on Tuesday night. With all the crazy news from Afganistan I consider it a direct answer to our prayers that Andy's life has been protected. How my heart goes out to those people of Afganistan and to the families of American soldiers who have lost love ones in this war torn land.
We are doing OK back here at home. There is no doubt that life with Mom out of town is incomplete but Grant has done so much, Emily has helped drive Logan to important events and Logan and Lanette have stepped up. We cannot wait for Mom to come home but we are so happy that she can get time with Melanie, Andy and her darling granddaughters.
We went last night and got a star to complete our Christmas tree. We have enjoyed a beautiful snow that makes the trees look very winter-like. Logan's chickens are doing OK and keep on laying eggs. Our new roof is almost done and should be done by the end of the week.
It was wonderful to hear that Derick and Lanette had great birthdays. Can you image a better gift for Derick. As my 54th birthday approaches I want to tell each of you how much you have made my life wonderful. I have continued to marvel at the sacrifice of my mom, Grandma Haws, to bring me to this earth even though pregnancy was a very difficult thing for her. Thank you Julie and Stacie for your sacrifice to make a home ready for two special spirits anxiously waiting to come to earth.
I love you,
Dad
Monday, November 28, 2011
November 28, 2011
Grant's News
The start of Grant's week was rather slow due to hunting season. Everyone was out hunting instead of coming in to the restaurant to eat. Thankfully, the restaurant was closed on Thanksgiving and he was able to spend the day with the family. Friday was a doozy of a day since there was no school and work was nuts. Grant refused to participate in Black Friday shopping. He is convinced that Black Friday should be renamed "Buy Nothing Day". On Saturday Grant spent some time pulling the Christmas decorations down from the attic and then putting up the Christmas stuff around the house. Over a couple of days this week, Grant watched a really interesting documentary called ";Life in a Day" and is a record of July 24, 2010 from the perspective of people around the world. It was really beautiful and spoke to the beauty of ordinary days and regular life, as well as how people around the world are so similar in our hopes and desires for our lives. He highly recommends it and you can watch the whole thing on Youtube.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
The week started out slow with the anticipation of the holidays and very few people at work or school. However, after 5:00pm on Wednesday the week started to look up. Stacie & Kevin hosted their annual pie party on Wednesday night. Thankfully there were no bacon milkshakes this year. On Thursday Kevin went running while Stacie watched the Macys' Thanksgiving Day Parade. In the afternoon they headed over to a fellow graduate student's house for their Thanksgiving feast. Afterwards they were very excited to go and see The Muppets movie, which they have been long-awaiting. Of course, they loved it.
On Friday Stacie ventured out into the retail world to pick up some fabric from Hobby Lobby. Thankfully Albuquerque is big enough that the Black Friday shoppers didn't make a huge difference in the traffic. While Kevin went to tutor a student, Stacie had some friends over to work on her baby shower invitations. The baby shower will be Harry Potter themed and she is very excited about the cute, baby-wizard-themed invitations. In the evening Kevin & Stacie enjoyed eating pizza and cuddling together to watch a movie at home. Afterwards Kevin enjoyed a ten mile run, boosted by the calories from a pie party and Thanksgiving dinner.
On Saturday Kevin visited his old friends from the YMCA. Stacie headed over to a private sewing lesson and enjoyed learning how to use a pattern. She spent the rest of the afternoon sewing a baby blanket and Kevin's Christmas present. Meanwhile, Kevin returned to tutoring his student. In the evening they went out for some hamburgers and watched another movie together. They will be sad to return to work and school on Monday, but were grateful for the quiet time they could spend together over the long weekend.
The International Haws FamilyIn general our week has gone well.
Felipe suffered his first break-up this week. He and a girl from the neighborhood have been communicating online as she was not permitted to see him but even that has come to an end and Felipe spent a couple of days in recovery mode. He now appears to be well and to have had the opportunity to learn a vital lesson, love can hurt.
Lucas' love is soccer. Though inanimate as it may be even this love can hurt. This week Lucas has been a little sick mostly, I think, because he has tried to take the idea of eat, drink, sleep soccer seriously and has forgotten that a little real food, water and rest can go a long way to helping your body through the soccer day.
Both Felipe and Lucas are coming down to the last few weeks of school. Finals will be the week that I arrive so big-bad Jeff will be there to help them cram for those.
Derick has been well. He is very excited that I will be arriving on hist birthday, next Sunday December 4. We have lots of plans for catching up on the time lost while I have been away.
Renata has been especially busy preparing things for my arrival. Besides caring for the boys she has been trying to make sure the house is perfect. She has also been trying to care for my plants. We have a couple o been trying to keep it that way while the arriving summer heat has been working against her.
My week went well. I had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Steven, Aunt Dona, Matthew and his family and Stephanie. Besides that I had some time to get out on Friday and Saturday to pick up some things that I wanted to take down for Renata and the boys. I also finished a book that I was reading by the title of: Justice - What's the right thing to do. It was a very fun book on political philosophy that I would recommend to anyone interested. The author is Michael Sandell, a Harvard professor, that has a course on the same subject. His course can be watched via YouTube or iTunes.
That is all that I have by the way of news.
I hope that your week has gone so well.
Jeff
Love
The Lane's of Virginia
Monday, for FHE we baked some pumpkin pie and an apple tart. Both turned out quite yummy!
Tuesday, we took dinner to a family in need. This family had a baby recently. The mother was at 25 weeks in her pregnancy and had a heart attack during her labor. The baby had to be transported to a hospital an hour away. They have four other kids and well they could just use an extra meal to say the least.
Wednesday we saw Alex.He is currently 4 lb 3 oz and is getting cuter every time, even though the ultrasounds show his bones and make him look scary. His kicks are hurting more since the water bag has now maxed out and he is getting stronger and bigger everyday. Alex is getting hair and likes to play with his toes (see pics). There is a picture where you can see his feet and if you look carefully you will see how he is playing with his toes. Most babies do not find their toes until later so we were so proud of the cute factor and the ahh its a baby moment for us.Those lovely Braxton hicks are occurring now from time to time. Jeff gets teased if he gets too excited :) He is going to make a very cute daddy. He has got the biggest heart and wants so badly to be a good one! He will read to Alex and say hello every chance he can.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, Jeff played in the church turkey bowl and had a lot of fun. Julie cheered him on from the sidelines. We then came home and made a veggie platter, bagel top finger munchies and a peach pie. We then gussied up and went to our OBGYN's house for a turkey dinner. We enjoyed the food and the company! The host and hostess shared lots of fun stories; including, how they keep their pets in the freezer when they die. Apparently, it is common among doctors to keep pictures or samples of the weird things they come across because our OBGYN was teased about having pictures of uterus-es or placentas that look weird on his iPod. Doctors- the weirdos! wink wink
Friday, we went to check out the black Friday sales. We were disappointed to see that the only really great sales were for TVs that we could not afford, but we did find a Kindle for Julie's birthday that she is aching to get her hands on and salivating over what books she is going to read. We played some video games to enjoy some last free time. We also rented "Hoodwinked too" and enjoyed that, but prefer the first one.
Saturday,33 Weeks in the pregnancy! NO More than 7 weeks left to we get to hold Alex! We hung draft protection plastic in some more windows and re watched the rental since Julie fell asleep in the middle and missed most of it- something about her being pregnant and in the last part of her pregnancy seems to make her want to eat, sleep, run to the bathroom, repeat- at any given moment. Jeff's Christmas presents that Julie ordered on e-bay came in the mail so we spent a chunk of the day testing those out to make sure sure that we did not have to return any. Much to Jeff's delight and joy. Julie then tortured him with making him put them away until Christmas. Mwhahaha
Today when we went to church we were surprised when they released Julie from the one calling she could keep with the baby coming. It sounded like they wanted to keep Julie in the primary teacher position, but Jeff teaches Elder's so one of us have to be released. So most likely Julie will be released here soon from all of her callings.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Thanksgiving dinner seemed so quiet with only six of us but we had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time. We enjoyed parade and then watch the Green Bay Packers easily win their eleventh win this season. Mom was disappointed with the lack of snow but that did not keep Logan and dad from skiing on Saturday.
Lanette and Mom had a good time together on Saturday as the Lanette learned to make Macaroni and Cheese together. Lanette really likes to learn to make things for herself.
Emily has spent a lot of time with friends this last week. She is getting tired of her job of Chips but I think most of us did not look at our first teenage job as the best job of our career.
Mom, Logan, Emily and I all tried out shopping at midnight of Black Friday. That was my first and last experience with that craziness. I think that Mom and Logan agree. As for Emily, I think she enjoyed the socializing more than the shopping so I suspect she will be out at Black Friday some day in the future.
We love you and hope you have a great week.
Dad
The start of Grant's week was rather slow due to hunting season. Everyone was out hunting instead of coming in to the restaurant to eat. Thankfully, the restaurant was closed on Thanksgiving and he was able to spend the day with the family. Friday was a doozy of a day since there was no school and work was nuts. Grant refused to participate in Black Friday shopping. He is convinced that Black Friday should be renamed "Buy Nothing Day". On Saturday Grant spent some time pulling the Christmas decorations down from the attic and then putting up the Christmas stuff around the house. Over a couple of days this week, Grant watched a really interesting documentary called ";Life in a Day" and is a record of July 24, 2010 from the perspective of people around the world. It was really beautiful and spoke to the beauty of ordinary days and regular life, as well as how people around the world are so similar in our hopes and desires for our lives. He highly recommends it and you can watch the whole thing on Youtube.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
The week started out slow with the anticipation of the holidays and very few people at work or school. However, after 5:00pm on Wednesday the week started to look up. Stacie & Kevin hosted their annual pie party on Wednesday night. Thankfully there were no bacon milkshakes this year. On Thursday Kevin went running while Stacie watched the Macys' Thanksgiving Day Parade. In the afternoon they headed over to a fellow graduate student's house for their Thanksgiving feast. Afterwards they were very excited to go and see The Muppets movie, which they have been long-awaiting. Of course, they loved it.
On Friday Stacie ventured out into the retail world to pick up some fabric from Hobby Lobby. Thankfully Albuquerque is big enough that the Black Friday shoppers didn't make a huge difference in the traffic. While Kevin went to tutor a student, Stacie had some friends over to work on her baby shower invitations. The baby shower will be Harry Potter themed and she is very excited about the cute, baby-wizard-themed invitations. In the evening Kevin & Stacie enjoyed eating pizza and cuddling together to watch a movie at home. Afterwards Kevin enjoyed a ten mile run, boosted by the calories from a pie party and Thanksgiving dinner.
On Saturday Kevin visited his old friends from the YMCA. Stacie headed over to a private sewing lesson and enjoyed learning how to use a pattern. She spent the rest of the afternoon sewing a baby blanket and Kevin's Christmas present. Meanwhile, Kevin returned to tutoring his student. In the evening they went out for some hamburgers and watched another movie together. They will be sad to return to work and school on Monday, but were grateful for the quiet time they could spend together over the long weekend.
The International Haws FamilyIn general our week has gone well.
Felipe suffered his first break-up this week. He and a girl from the neighborhood have been communicating online as she was not permitted to see him but even that has come to an end and Felipe spent a couple of days in recovery mode. He now appears to be well and to have had the opportunity to learn a vital lesson, love can hurt.
Lucas' love is soccer. Though inanimate as it may be even this love can hurt. This week Lucas has been a little sick mostly, I think, because he has tried to take the idea of eat, drink, sleep soccer seriously and has forgotten that a little real food, water and rest can go a long way to helping your body through the soccer day.
Both Felipe and Lucas are coming down to the last few weeks of school. Finals will be the week that I arrive so big-bad Jeff will be there to help them cram for those.
Derick has been well. He is very excited that I will be arriving on hist birthday, next Sunday December 4. We have lots of plans for catching up on the time lost while I have been away.
Renata has been especially busy preparing things for my arrival. Besides caring for the boys she has been trying to make sure the house is perfect. She has also been trying to care for my plants. We have a couple o been trying to keep it that way while the arriving summer heat has been working against her.
My week went well. I had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Steven, Aunt Dona, Matthew and his family and Stephanie. Besides that I had some time to get out on Friday and Saturday to pick up some things that I wanted to take down for Renata and the boys. I also finished a book that I was reading by the title of: Justice - What's the right thing to do. It was a very fun book on political philosophy that I would recommend to anyone interested. The author is Michael Sandell, a Harvard professor, that has a course on the same subject. His course can be watched via YouTube or iTunes.
That is all that I have by the way of news.
I hope that your week has gone so well.
Jeff
Love
The Lane's of Virginia
Monday, for FHE we baked some pumpkin pie and an apple tart. Both turned out quite yummy!
Tuesday, we took dinner to a family in need. This family had a baby recently. The mother was at 25 weeks in her pregnancy and had a heart attack during her labor. The baby had to be transported to a hospital an hour away. They have four other kids and well they could just use an extra meal to say the least.
Wednesday we saw Alex.He is currently 4 lb 3 oz and is getting cuter every time, even though the ultrasounds show his bones and make him look scary. His kicks are hurting more since the water bag has now maxed out and he is getting stronger and bigger everyday. Alex is getting hair and likes to play with his toes (see pics). There is a picture where you can see his feet and if you look carefully you will see how he is playing with his toes. Most babies do not find their toes until later so we were so proud of the cute factor and the ahh its a baby moment for us.Those lovely Braxton hicks are occurring now from time to time. Jeff gets teased if he gets too excited :) He is going to make a very cute daddy. He has got the biggest heart and wants so badly to be a good one! He will read to Alex and say hello every chance he can.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, Jeff played in the church turkey bowl and had a lot of fun. Julie cheered him on from the sidelines. We then came home and made a veggie platter, bagel top finger munchies and a peach pie. We then gussied up and went to our OBGYN's house for a turkey dinner. We enjoyed the food and the company! The host and hostess shared lots of fun stories; including, how they keep their pets in the freezer when they die. Apparently, it is common among doctors to keep pictures or samples of the weird things they come across because our OBGYN was teased about having pictures of uterus-es or placentas that look weird on his iPod. Doctors- the weirdos! wink wink
Friday, we went to check out the black Friday sales. We were disappointed to see that the only really great sales were for TVs that we could not afford, but we did find a Kindle for Julie's birthday that she is aching to get her hands on and salivating over what books she is going to read. We played some video games to enjoy some last free time. We also rented "Hoodwinked too" and enjoyed that, but prefer the first one.
Saturday,33 Weeks in the pregnancy! NO More than 7 weeks left to we get to hold Alex! We hung draft protection plastic in some more windows and re watched the rental since Julie fell asleep in the middle and missed most of it- something about her being pregnant and in the last part of her pregnancy seems to make her want to eat, sleep, run to the bathroom, repeat- at any given moment. Jeff's Christmas presents that Julie ordered on e-bay came in the mail so we spent a chunk of the day testing those out to make sure sure that we did not have to return any. Much to Jeff's delight and joy. Julie then tortured him with making him put them away until Christmas. Mwhahaha
Today when we went to church we were surprised when they released Julie from the one calling she could keep with the baby coming. It sounded like they wanted to keep Julie in the primary teacher position, but Jeff teaches Elder's so one of us have to be released. So most likely Julie will be released here soon from all of her callings.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Thanksgiving dinner seemed so quiet with only six of us but we had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time. We enjoyed parade and then watch the Green Bay Packers easily win their eleventh win this season. Mom was disappointed with the lack of snow but that did not keep Logan and dad from skiing on Saturday.
Lanette and Mom had a good time together on Saturday as the Lanette learned to make Macaroni and Cheese together. Lanette really likes to learn to make things for herself.
Emily has spent a lot of time with friends this last week. She is getting tired of her job of Chips but I think most of us did not look at our first teenage job as the best job of our career.
Mom, Logan, Emily and I all tried out shopping at midnight of Black Friday. That was my first and last experience with that craziness. I think that Mom and Logan agree. As for Emily, I think she enjoyed the socializing more than the shopping so I suspect she will be out at Black Friday some day in the future.
We love you and hope you have a great week.
Dad
Monday, November 21, 2011
November 21, 2011
Grant's News
On Monday at the restuarant, they held a Veterans Eat Free Event, which made Grant's Monday very busy. He served from open until the dinner shift started and then volunteered to cover working the dish pit for the rest of the evening. It's kind of a nasty job, but also somewhat relaxing since you just chill back there, work alone, and listen to music. The rest of Grant's week was spent working on cleaning duties at work that no one has time to do, or is willing to do. All while still serving, usually as the only server in the restaurant. The weekend brought a huge slow-down to Grant's work as a result of deer hunting season starting and then a Packers game on Sunday.
News from the Lane's of Virginia
FHE we started to hang some draft-plastic on the windows. We had forgotten about some food on the stove and were particularly grateful for Julie's pregnancy super-sniffer nose because our normally over-active fire alarm did not go off and almost cause us to have an unsupervised fire. Julie had visiting teaching that morning. It was a really cool experience.
Tuesday, was a quiet night.
Wednesday, Julie had achievement days. Her girls performed some skits and commercials that they have prepared. Jeff worked extra hours. Julie had visiting teaching that morning.
Thursday, Julie went to Charlottesville with a friend. Unexpectedly, her friend ended up giving her a homemade-quilt that created a set with one Julie had already made for Alex. Jeff got some more extra hours. He wants to take off black Friday;hence, the hours. We ran into a friend at the grocery store. Julie had her visiting teachers come that morning.
Friday, Julie babysat for her friend and then we had our last birth class and then we picked up some pizza and watch "Radio" Jeff has been wanting to watch that one for a while, so he was particularly excited.
Saturday, Jeff worked half the day and then he wanted to go window shopping to pre-eye-out costs for black Friday. When we got back we decorated our tree. Julie had some more of those fun pregnancy tears that Jeff was very patient and kind through.
Today, we went to the other ward. We brought a corsage to thank Linda for the baby shower (She is the primary president and they were doing the primary program today). Afterwards, we went to the hospital we are planning on having Alex at -- to tour it. We think it is really nice. There are two rooms for each mother: the first room, the labor and delivery room is really nice. It is big and has a jacuzzi that Julie is really hoping that she will get to use. The other room is just a standard hospital room that they let you recover in,. The nice part about that is that it is a private room. We are really lucky to have such a nice hospital! Jeff's eyes nearly popped out when he saw that a simple soda was a $1.40 in their vending machines. We need to pack some snacks so we will not go broke!
News from the Haws Family of Colorado and Afganistan
This week the girls have been busy with schooland were getting ready for their Thanksgiving vacation. On Monday Kayla played with Emma,which she seems to always enjoy. On Tuesday Haley started basketball for intramurals. Wednesday I helped with reading in Haley’s class. Friday I took Haley to the doctors because she is still having stomach problems. The doctor had decided to get some blood tests and refer her to a gastroenterologist. When Haley was getting her blood test she was such a trooper and didn’t even cry when they stuck the needle in her. She thought it was awesome to see her blood go into a tube. Even though she was a trooper she still has my genes and ended up fainting towards the end. Needless to say we need to go back on Tuesday and finish the rest of the blood work which is okay with Haley because she thinks it’s cool. On Saturday I helped the girls put up the Christmas tree. I let the girls decorate it by themselves; so far it has been redecorated about 30 different times in less than 24 hours. Andy is doing well, staying busy and is doing a lot of driving mainly taking people to and from the airport.
News from the Jackson's of Albuquerque
The weeks continue to fly by with work and school. Kevin & Stacie look forward to spending some time together this upcoming week since it felt like they had little time together over the
past week. On Tuesday Kevin's college roommate, Stephen Potter, visited them as he was in town for a business meeting. They enjoyed going out to dinner with him and catching up. On Wednesday Kevin enjoyed making catapults with the webelos. On Thursday and Friday evening Stacie went visiting teaching. After her visiting teaching appointment on Friday she met up with Kevin & Nick at a bookstore to attend a book signing put on by one of the history professors from UNM.
On Saturday morning Stacie had her hair cut. It turned out much shorter than anticipated and is now shorter than Kevin's hair. In the afternoon Kevin went golfing with his friends Nick, Justin and Colleen. Afterwards several friends met up at their house for cake since it was Nick's birthday. They enjoyed spending the evening with their friends. They look forward to spending more time with their friends this week for their annual pie party and for Thanksgiving.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Tonight we made Thanksgiving Turkeys that listed some of our blessings on the individual feathers. Grant introduced us to that tradition last year. It has been fun. This last week we have been involved in a variety of activities. Mom, Grant and I went out shopping for new Christmas decorations for our front lawn because we cannot decorate along the rain gutters. (We are hoping for a new roof soon). Then on Saturday Logan and I set them up. I like them. There are two Christmas trees and lighted shrubs between them. We will have to send a picture. We put lights in the chicken tractor and the hens appear to have approved by giving us a bounteous number of eggs. We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving while Mom, Logan and Emily plan on taking on the Black Friday rush.
Sunday was a wonderful and sad day all in one. The Kolts family is moving out of our branch. They shared their testimonies to the branch that reinforced to me what terrific people they are. They have been like a pioneer family for the gospel in Wisconsin. We will miss them. Mom and I had the opportunity of visiting Sister Atwood, our 96 year old friend, in the hospital on Sunday along with a young lady that from our branch that was hospitalized in the pediatric unit.
Snow has started to fall in Wisconsin and I think the one can be pretty certain that it will be a white Christmas in the Upper Midwest.
Love,
Dad
On Monday at the restuarant, they held a Veterans Eat Free Event, which made Grant's Monday very busy. He served from open until the dinner shift started and then volunteered to cover working the dish pit for the rest of the evening. It's kind of a nasty job, but also somewhat relaxing since you just chill back there, work alone, and listen to music. The rest of Grant's week was spent working on cleaning duties at work that no one has time to do, or is willing to do. All while still serving, usually as the only server in the restaurant. The weekend brought a huge slow-down to Grant's work as a result of deer hunting season starting and then a Packers game on Sunday.
News from the Lane's of Virginia
FHE we started to hang some draft-plastic on the windows. We had forgotten about some food on the stove and were particularly grateful for Julie's pregnancy super-sniffer nose because our normally over-active fire alarm did not go off and almost cause us to have an unsupervised fire. Julie had visiting teaching that morning. It was a really cool experience.
Tuesday, was a quiet night.
Wednesday, Julie had achievement days. Her girls performed some skits and commercials that they have prepared. Jeff worked extra hours. Julie had visiting teaching that morning.
Thursday, Julie went to Charlottesville with a friend. Unexpectedly, her friend ended up giving her a homemade-quilt that created a set with one Julie had already made for Alex. Jeff got some more extra hours. He wants to take off black Friday;hence, the hours. We ran into a friend at the grocery store. Julie had her visiting teachers come that morning.
Friday, Julie babysat for her friend and then we had our last birth class and then we picked up some pizza and watch "Radio" Jeff has been wanting to watch that one for a while, so he was particularly excited.
Saturday, Jeff worked half the day and then he wanted to go window shopping to pre-eye-out costs for black Friday. When we got back we decorated our tree. Julie had some more of those fun pregnancy tears that Jeff was very patient and kind through.
Today, we went to the other ward. We brought a corsage to thank Linda for the baby shower (She is the primary president and they were doing the primary program today). Afterwards, we went to the hospital we are planning on having Alex at -- to tour it. We think it is really nice. There are two rooms for each mother: the first room, the labor and delivery room is really nice. It is big and has a jacuzzi that Julie is really hoping that she will get to use. The other room is just a standard hospital room that they let you recover in,. The nice part about that is that it is a private room. We are really lucky to have such a nice hospital! Jeff's eyes nearly popped out when he saw that a simple soda was a $1.40 in their vending machines. We need to pack some snacks so we will not go broke!
News from the Haws Family of Colorado and Afganistan
This week the girls have been busy with schooland were getting ready for their Thanksgiving vacation. On Monday Kayla played with Emma,which she seems to always enjoy. On Tuesday Haley started basketball for intramurals. Wednesday I helped with reading in Haley’s class. Friday I took Haley to the doctors because she is still having stomach problems. The doctor had decided to get some blood tests and refer her to a gastroenterologist. When Haley was getting her blood test she was such a trooper and didn’t even cry when they stuck the needle in her. She thought it was awesome to see her blood go into a tube. Even though she was a trooper she still has my genes and ended up fainting towards the end. Needless to say we need to go back on Tuesday and finish the rest of the blood work which is okay with Haley because she thinks it’s cool. On Saturday I helped the girls put up the Christmas tree. I let the girls decorate it by themselves; so far it has been redecorated about 30 different times in less than 24 hours. Andy is doing well, staying busy and is doing a lot of driving mainly taking people to and from the airport.
News from the Jackson's of Albuquerque
The weeks continue to fly by with work and school. Kevin & Stacie look forward to spending some time together this upcoming week since it felt like they had little time together over the
past week. On Tuesday Kevin's college roommate, Stephen Potter, visited them as he was in town for a business meeting. They enjoyed going out to dinner with him and catching up. On Wednesday Kevin enjoyed making catapults with the webelos. On Thursday and Friday evening Stacie went visiting teaching. After her visiting teaching appointment on Friday she met up with Kevin & Nick at a bookstore to attend a book signing put on by one of the history professors from UNM.
On Saturday morning Stacie had her hair cut. It turned out much shorter than anticipated and is now shorter than Kevin's hair. In the afternoon Kevin went golfing with his friends Nick, Justin and Colleen. Afterwards several friends met up at their house for cake since it was Nick's birthday. They enjoyed spending the evening with their friends. They look forward to spending more time with their friends this week for their annual pie party and for Thanksgiving.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Tonight we made Thanksgiving Turkeys that listed some of our blessings on the individual feathers. Grant introduced us to that tradition last year. It has been fun. This last week we have been involved in a variety of activities. Mom, Grant and I went out shopping for new Christmas decorations for our front lawn because we cannot decorate along the rain gutters. (We are hoping for a new roof soon). Then on Saturday Logan and I set them up. I like them. There are two Christmas trees and lighted shrubs between them. We will have to send a picture. We put lights in the chicken tractor and the hens appear to have approved by giving us a bounteous number of eggs. We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving while Mom, Logan and Emily plan on taking on the Black Friday rush.
Sunday was a wonderful and sad day all in one. The Kolts family is moving out of our branch. They shared their testimonies to the branch that reinforced to me what terrific people they are. They have been like a pioneer family for the gospel in Wisconsin. We will miss them. Mom and I had the opportunity of visiting Sister Atwood, our 96 year old friend, in the hospital on Sunday along with a young lady that from our branch that was hospitalized in the pediatric unit.
Snow has started to fall in Wisconsin and I think the one can be pretty certain that it will be a white Christmas in the Upper Midwest.
Love,
Dad
Sunday, November 13, 2011
November 13, 2011
Grant News
Grant had a pretty busy week at work. This week he had a menu proficiency exam at work which asked a ton of questions of different menu items and what is in them. He was excited to hear that he got a 96% on the test...although he is still unsure exactly what the Spamwich technically is. Grant found some time to go to Thimbleberry Bookstore, a used bookstore a block down from the restaurant and find some great, cheap books. On Friday night he and Lanette had some good laughs about what hurricanes would be like with particular names. Grant found a place online where you can see what they will name future hurricanes. Lanette is pretty sure Hurricane Grace would make a mess (Grace is one of the Elmhorst's toddlers.)
The International Haws Family
Things in Brazil sound fun. Renata had a very good birthday last week. And now shows the world what it is like to be beautiful even after three boys and thirty-two years. Her birthday was on the 5th and was full of supportive visits from friends, which made her quite happy.
Felipe is getting ready for his birthday this week. He turns 15 on the 17th and seems to believe that he is much older and shoulbe granted more freedom. That motion was quickly vetoed. Still he is excited for his birthday.
Lucas continues to do well in soccer and along with Felipe is busy as the school year comes to a close.
Derick has had a tough week as the PlayStation is broken. Apparently he lost and decided to knock it on the ground. When I went to scold all I could see was myself at sixteen head-butting my motorcycle and found myself at a loss for words. Derick's misery is soon to end as he and Mommy are going to get a new PlayStation later on this week.
Derick has another exciting adventure that is getting underway. Derick will be going on a crab/crawdad hunt tonight with Renata's stepfather. I am excited for this, while I am not sure how this will work with Derick in the swamp with grandpa for the better part of the night I think that it will be an adventure not soon forgotten and something neat that he can learn about while in Brazil. Needless to say those types of adventures will be much less frequent once he comes to the states.
My week has gone well.A t work I continue busy working wiht a database of weather data. While it may sound simple, weather data has posed many new challenges and different opportunities to learn.
Outside of work I thought that I would search to udnerstand the cosmos and started a book called "Fear of Physics" after the first three chapters I found myself terrified of physics and set the book aside for a while. I then moved to a book called "Justice." A Harvard professor, Michael Sandell, who has a class ont he same subject on YouTube that youc an watch if you are interested, wrote the book. He covers some of the area of political philosophy. The first was on Utilitarianism, which was interesting and raised several questions in me. It has been a fun challenge.
That pretty well. sums up the activities of our week. I hope yours were equally enjoyable.
Love,
Jeff
The Jacksons of Albuquerque
This week was a busy one for Stacie & Kevin, beginning at the end of last week. Kevin's homework has been steadily increasing with the end of the semester growing nearer. He was frustrated recently when his group finished a difficult and time-consuming translation only to discover that they had done the wrong section of the poem. Thankfully his professor extended their deadline so they could complete the correct translation. He has also been busy with increased grading and tutoring responsibilities.
Last Sunday Stacie's busyness started with the commencement of the annual conference for the Association of Intermountain Housing Officers. Her department has been preparing to host the conference for several months and had quite a bit of work to perform at the event. However, she made some great contacts at various companies and was honored to be nominated for the Most Outstanding Entry-Level Professional in the region. She also enjoyed the opportunity to network with other individuals from across the region and visit with some employees she knew from BYU.
The rest of their week was spent in semi-recovery from the busyness of staying out late for the conference each night. On Wednesday they were lucky enough to be able to go to campus a few hours later than normal. On Thursday Stacie started training a new assistant which should be a huge help to her during her maternity leave. On Friday night Kevin & Stacie went out to Tucanos with their friends Justin & Julie to celebrate Justin's birthday. They also spent last night at Justin & Julie's house eating soup & playing games. It was a nice way to end their week.
The Lane's of Virginia
This FHE we studied up the candidates
for our elections on Tuesday!
for our elections on Tuesday!
Tuesday we voted!
Wednesday, Julie had her
final exam for her Human Development in Infancy course! She feels really good
about it, so hopefully that will work out for her. Afterwards, we went to a
local Mexican restaurant for lunch.
final exam for her Human Development in Infancy course! She feels really good
about it, so hopefully that will work out for her. Afterwards, we went to a
local Mexican restaurant for lunch.
Thursday, Jeff got his Patent Agent Certificate, so he can now practice in his own business if that should become an option. We also got to hear Alex's heartbeat which sounded much quieter than
normal, but when the doctor measured him last time he was on the small side and
this time he was on the big side, Julie is guessing he gained two pounds since
our last visit two weeks ago. We are also guessing that he is going to be
getting some of those tall Lane genes. We are so excited to see him at our next
visit the day before Thanksgiving! We are now 31 weeks! Yeah! At our doctor's
visit we were able to get a lot of peace of mind; since, we decided to take a
birth class with a recommended instructor who is a strong advocate of the Ina
May Gaskin's view of birthing Experience and began to feel a lot of distress
about our particular situation with the marginal cord placenta. (Marginal cord
placenta is where the placenta and umbilical meet up can cause a starvation,
rupture and suffocation of the baby if the proper precautions are not taken)
Anyways, the doctor listened to our preferences and fears and was able to put
our minds at ease to a degree. We are very grateful to have had such a wonderful
OBGYN office in our lives with these health issues!
normal, but when the doctor measured him last time he was on the small side and
this time he was on the big side, Julie is guessing he gained two pounds since
our last visit two weeks ago. We are also guessing that he is going to be
getting some of those tall Lane genes. We are so excited to see him at our next
visit the day before Thanksgiving! We are now 31 weeks! Yeah! At our doctor's
visit we were able to get a lot of peace of mind; since, we decided to take a
birth class with a recommended instructor who is a strong advocate of the Ina
May Gaskin's view of birthing Experience and began to feel a lot of distress
about our particular situation with the marginal cord placenta. (Marginal cord
placenta is where the placenta and umbilical meet up can cause a starvation,
rupture and suffocation of the baby if the proper precautions are not taken)
Anyways, the doctor listened to our preferences and fears and was able to put
our minds at ease to a degree. We are very grateful to have had such a wonderful
OBGYN office in our lives with these health issues!
Thursday evening, Jeff started to come down with a bug,
but we still celebrated his success!
but we still celebrated his success!
Friday, Julie started to get Jeff's bug. Jeff was feeling a little better and decided to change the oil in the car. Julie also cut Jeff's hair and he shaved. It was kind of weird going back to that
style but a nice change. Julie is thinking of cutting her hair but is unsure of
how to do it.
style but a nice change. Julie is thinking of cutting her hair but is unsure of
how to do it.
Saturday, we went to the temple sniffles and all. It was stake temple day. It was cool to meet with the
stake in the temple. We are also very grateful for the additional opportunity to
get to go to the temple as a couple before Little Alex comes. On the way home we
stopped at Panda Express.
stake in the temple. We are also very grateful for the additional opportunity to
get to go to the temple as a couple before Little Alex comes. On the way home we
stopped at Panda Express.
Sunday, Jeff taught elder's
quorum about the second coming while Julie watched the primary practice for
next's primary program.
quorum about the second coming while Julie watched the primary practice for
next's primary program.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
The big news in the Haws home is that Mom, Logan and I put up a snow fence in the front yard. I think it is very cool but I have received all sort of harrassment from Grant. Emily just shakes her head and I just grin at my beautiful snow fence. Grant promises to take a picture for the family newsletter.
Mom and I were able to attend the temple on Saturday. We were able to do an endowment session and sealing session. It is so nice to get some more of the work done for our ancestors but it seems that as soon as some work is completed there is more to do. I surely appreciate the efforts in our family to do this vital work.
Logan had a piano party with her piano teacher and other students. He really enjoys his teacher. He loves to sing and dance around the home. It always brings a smile to our face. His chickens have been slowing down with their production but it may be because Molly bite off the tail feathers of one of the birds. I think they are protesting the dog brutality by not laying eggs.
Emily and Lanette had Veteran's day off last Friday. Both enjoyed the extra sleep and free time. Emily continues to look at college opportunities and is leaning towards University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She is waiting to hear back from the University of Minnesota and James Madison. If she is accepted at these schools it may make the decision a bit more difficult.
Lanette had plans to go to work in a daycare on Friday but the plans feel through. That was a disappointment as you might expect. On Tuesday I attended a seminar with her on a work/study program for next year. It may be a wonderful opportunity for Lanette.
Mom was delighted to see the first snowflakes of the season this week. The snow did not last long but I suspect that we will have snow on the ground soon enough. We are prepared for it now with a snowblower, shovels and plenty of warm clothes. Mom makes the best hot chocolate in the world. That is probably my favorite part of coming in after cleaning the driveway.
As for me, I have really enjoyed the watching the geese fly overhead. Mom and I have spent some time at the Wildwood Park watching the buffalo, the geese and the wolves. It is amazing to see these different animals. I miss the spring flowers and my garden but I know that spring will bring new opportunities to plant again. It will also bring surprises from all of Grant's hidden bulbs.
Love,
Dad
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
November 8, 2011
Happy Birthday to Renata on November 5th. Felipe's birthday will be on November 17th.
Grant's News
Grant didn't have to work Sunday night so he made pumpkin pancakes for dinner for the family. Monday he went to work as a zombie for Halloween and later that evening went to his friend Kaley's house and passed out candy with their friends, Jordan and Jessica. Tuesday Grant and Logan held an execution service for the jack-o-lanterns. They took turns launching them into the compost pile. There were no survivors. Grant worked most of the rest of the week, but Saturday morning he didn't work so he kidnapped Lanette and they went and got fried cheese curds and bacon cheeseburgers at Hudson's.
The Colorado & Afghanistan Haws Family
This past week for Halloween Haley was a vampire while Kayla wanted to be a super girl with her friend Emma. Haley and Kayla both celebrated Halloween by having activities and parties in their classrooms. On Monday Haley’s school also had their Renaissance Assembly where Haley received a certificate for doing well in her class. Later that night I took the girls trick-or-treating. I think we went to every house in the neighborhood. The girls got so much candy that it will probably last them until next Halloween. On Wednesday I kept Kayla home from school and didn’t take Haley until noon because of the roads being complete ice. Drivers were sliding down the hill that we have to go on to take them to school…why they didn’t cancel school is a very good question. On Saturday I helped with the Super Saturday activity for Relief Society at church which went very well. All of the planning and hard work paid off. On Sunday Kayla gave a talk in primary which she was very excited about. Andy has been staying very busy and working long hours. We are all looking forward for him coming home next month for R & R.
The Lane's of Virginia
This week for FHE we were made homemade, fresh apple muffins which we took to people who gave us large amounts of babystuff. We also rewarded the one trick or treater at our house with a gigantic lollipop.Tuesday we worked on the car lights which had broken. Wednesday was achievement days- we worked on some commercials and skits the girls have written. Julie was also having a rather emotional day and so we walked to the church together. Thursday was quiet. Friday we went on a date to Cici's Pizza and got things ready for Saturday's events. Saturday we had our birthing instructor come to our apartment. She taught us lots of birthing positions that aid in child birth. She also gave us some advice about how to deal with the threats of induction that some of the doctor's have made at us. We then met up with some friends and went to stake conference. Sunday we got up and went to go to stake conference. Julie was having some hip pain and put a hot sock on it. That or the car caused Julie to almost black out which was weird. So we came home gave her a minute to recoup and then headed down to stake conference again. When we got home we talked to Logan for a while about his auditions. We are really proud of his efforts and wish him luck for his next one.
The Haws Family of Marshfield
Not a lot of news here in Marshfield. We set up the home for the first snow of the year. I ran the snow blower for a while to make sure that it will start up promptly when I need it. So let it snow. Mom's joints have been bothering her so hopefully things will it be hard on her joints Mom really loves the snow.
Logan and I had the opportunity to go to the National Railroad Museum with the Boy Scouts on Saturday. It was really good. Logan earned the railroading merit badge. Unfortunately, Brother Taylor developed appendicitis during our trip and that definitely added to our excitement.
Lanette had a great time with Grant on Saturday. It was so kind of Grant to take Lanette out to lunch. She was so excited to go with him. She is looking forward to spending some time with her friend, Nona, at the daycare center.
Emily has come back home. Mom spent a lot of time to make her room comfortable for her. We are glad to have her home with us.
Mom has continued to be busy with all sorts of things. Her big excitement today was finding a Bethlehem Star at St Vincent de Paul. We had priced them on our trip to visit Jeff. They were quite expensive so we did not think we could afford them but leave it to Mom and now we have a star for our home.
We hope that you will have a wonderful week. Our prayers are with you.
Dad
Grant's News
Grant didn't have to work Sunday night so he made pumpkin pancakes for dinner for the family. Monday he went to work as a zombie for Halloween and later that evening went to his friend Kaley's house and passed out candy with their friends, Jordan and Jessica. Tuesday Grant and Logan held an execution service for the jack-o-lanterns. They took turns launching them into the compost pile. There were no survivors. Grant worked most of the rest of the week, but Saturday morning he didn't work so he kidnapped Lanette and they went and got fried cheese curds and bacon cheeseburgers at Hudson's.
The Colorado & Afghanistan Haws Family
This past week for Halloween Haley was a vampire while Kayla wanted to be a super girl with her friend Emma. Haley and Kayla both celebrated Halloween by having activities and parties in their classrooms. On Monday Haley’s school also had their Renaissance Assembly where Haley received a certificate for doing well in her class. Later that night I took the girls trick-or-treating. I think we went to every house in the neighborhood. The girls got so much candy that it will probably last them until next Halloween. On Wednesday I kept Kayla home from school and didn’t take Haley until noon because of the roads being complete ice. Drivers were sliding down the hill that we have to go on to take them to school…why they didn’t cancel school is a very good question. On Saturday I helped with the Super Saturday activity for Relief Society at church which went very well. All of the planning and hard work paid off. On Sunday Kayla gave a talk in primary which she was very excited about. Andy has been staying very busy and working long hours. We are all looking forward for him coming home next month for R & R.
The Lane's of Virginia
This week for FHE we were made homemade, fresh apple muffins which we took to people who gave us large amounts of babystuff. We also rewarded the one trick or treater at our house with a gigantic lollipop.Tuesday we worked on the car lights which had broken. Wednesday was achievement days- we worked on some commercials and skits the girls have written. Julie was also having a rather emotional day and so we walked to the church together. Thursday was quiet. Friday we went on a date to Cici's Pizza and got things ready for Saturday's events. Saturday we had our birthing instructor come to our apartment. She taught us lots of birthing positions that aid in child birth. She also gave us some advice about how to deal with the threats of induction that some of the doctor's have made at us. We then met up with some friends and went to stake conference. Sunday we got up and went to go to stake conference. Julie was having some hip pain and put a hot sock on it. That or the car caused Julie to almost black out which was weird. So we came home gave her a minute to recoup and then headed down to stake conference again. When we got home we talked to Logan for a while about his auditions. We are really proud of his efforts and wish him luck for his next one.
The Haws Family of Marshfield
Not a lot of news here in Marshfield. We set up the home for the first snow of the year. I ran the snow blower for a while to make sure that it will start up promptly when I need it. So let it snow. Mom's joints have been bothering her so hopefully things will it be hard on her joints Mom really loves the snow.
Logan and I had the opportunity to go to the National Railroad Museum with the Boy Scouts on Saturday. It was really good. Logan earned the railroading merit badge. Unfortunately, Brother Taylor developed appendicitis during our trip and that definitely added to our excitement.
Lanette had a great time with Grant on Saturday. It was so kind of Grant to take Lanette out to lunch. She was so excited to go with him. She is looking forward to spending some time with her friend, Nona, at the daycare center.
Emily has come back home. Mom spent a lot of time to make her room comfortable for her. We are glad to have her home with us.
Mom has continued to be busy with all sorts of things. Her big excitement today was finding a Bethlehem Star at St Vincent de Paul. We had priced them on our trip to visit Jeff. They were quite expensive so we did not think we could afford them but leave it to Mom and now we have a star for our home.
We hope that you will have a wonderful week. Our prayers are with you.
Dad
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Christmas Names
Christmas gift list
Andy and Melanie are giving to Logan
Jeff and Renata are giving to Emily
Grant is giving to Jeff and Julie
Jeff and Julie are giving to Lanette
Stacie and Kevin are giving to Grant
Lanette is giving to Andy and Melanie
Emily is giving to Stacie and Kevin
Logan is giving to Jeff and Renata
Andy and Melanie are giving to Logan
Jeff and Renata are giving to Emily
Grant is giving to Jeff and Julie
Jeff and Julie are giving to Lanette
Stacie and Kevin are giving to Grant
Lanette is giving to Andy and Melanie
Emily is giving to Stacie and Kevin
Logan is giving to Jeff and Renata
Monday, October 31, 2011
October 31, 2011
These past couple of weeks has been a little crazy. Kayla had a bad case of strep but has finally gotten back to her old self again. Because of Kayla being sick last Saturday my friend took Haley to the Halloween party at church and had a great time. Haley and Kayla’s friends Emma and Ammon were kind enough to share their candy Kayla which brightened up her night. Last Sunday Haley and Kayla participated in the primary program at church; they both sang and did their parts very well. This past Wednesday we were hit with the first snow storm of the season (it wasn’t as bad as back east), but of course I was panicking because I do not like to drive in the snow, but luckily the snow on the road had melted. The girls were very excited to be able to wear their snow boots, hats and gloves. Kayla and I thought we were successful in building a snowman until we went inside to get a carrot for the nose and came back out only to see that it had already fallen over! Needless to say Kayla was a little disappointed. After a few days of really cold weather I was able to take the girls to the library and park on Saturday to get some fresh air. Andy made it safely back to Qatar from Aghanistan. The cold weather in Afghanistan made it very hard for him to walk on his foot, so when he got back to Qatar he was able to see a different doctor which told him that he will be needing physical therapy for his foot.
Grant's News
Monday night Grant made a special "spooky dinner' for the family. It included zombie brains, snake bread, werewolf flesh, and dirt pie. Afterwards he carved pumpkins with the family. Much of the rest of the week was spent at work or reading Bram Stoker's "Dracula". On Thursday night he watched scary movies with Lanette and Logan. They watched "When a Stranger Calls" which Lanette and Logan both enjoyed and were sufficiently freaked out by. Saturday was a crazy day the restaurant. A bird flew into the power line and started on fire. As a result, the restaurant lost power about hour and a half....on a Saturday afternoon. Grant did not have fun. They had to bust out the old school credit card imprint machine and could only serve cold sandwiches and salads. Luckily, all power returned before the dinner rush. There is just one crispy bird outside of Hudson's.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
On Saturday Stacie worked on the ward activity preparations while Kevin went to campus to study for his Latin course. They had a couple hours before the activity to walk around Goodwill with Nick. Then they headed over to the church to start decorating. They were very thankful for the help of so many ward members. The activity went well and they even had the chance to spend some time with their friends Jim & Sarah, who stopped by the activity with their daughter Charlotte. Jim took a Latin course with Kevin over the summer. They look forward to spending more time with their family next weekend. Tonight they look forward to having the missionaries over for a Halloween-themed dinner.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
I am sorry this newsletter is a bit goofy with different fonts and other changes. I have had problems with our home computer. I hope you will enjoy the newsletter anyway.
Well for news of the last week, Logan and Lanette were out of school on Thursday and Friday. That gave them some nice down time. Lanette did enjoy the fall birthday party celebration with the Elmhorst. Mom helped provide a gift for Nona. Nona is a very awesome member of the Elmhorst clan that has been so kind to Lanette. Logan had the opportunity of going over to his friend's house and doing some things together. Both Lanette and Logan had a great time with Grant's special Halloween Dinner. It was fun to carve pumpkins together. We had a lot of fun laughing together.
On Halloween night Lanette and Dad went out trick or treating while Logan went with friends. We have more than enough candy now. Uncle Steven will be very happy with the abundance of chocolate in the Halloween treats.
Emily join Mom, Grant, Lanette and Logan for Sunday dinner. Everyone enjoyed having her at home.
I went to Charlotte, North Carolina last week. It was for a board review course. I have to recertify in pediatric nephrology on a every 10 year basis. It is becoming more complicated each year and so ongoing preparation is important. I have never been to North Carolina for any significant amount of time. It was very beautiful and I enjoyed my time there. I was able to attend the temple in South Carolina on the day for the meeting started. That was delightful and very meaningful to me. Mom enjoyed attending the St Paul temple last Wednesday. It has been wonderful to know that so many of our ancestors have been released from the spirit prison. Thank you to each of you for your efforts. It is very important.
During my visit to North Carolina I had the opportunity to meet up with several friends from across the nation. The pediatric nephrology community is pretty small and many of us know each other.
Well, I hope you will have a wonderful week. Please consider fasting this weekend with a desire that we can be united as a family. It would be wonderful to have Renata, Felipe, Lucas and Derick all join us here.
Love, Dad
Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 23, 2011
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
On Monday Kevin & Stacie had to say goodbye to the last of their visitors, Scott & Chandra. They enjoyed having breakfast together before Kevin dropped off his parents at the airport. Although it was sad to end their vacation, they are thankful to have Grant, Scott & Chandra visit them last week. A few pictures from their time together are attached.
On Tuesday evening Stacie headed home early so she could visit some sisters with her visiting teaching companion. This week Stacie has been reading from the new "Daughters of my Kingdom" book released by the General Relief Society presidency. She has been humbled and inspired by the examples of great relief society sisters who have made sacrifices to serve others.
On Wednesday Stacie and Kevin attended a doctor's appointment. Stacie was surprised when she realized that she is already at six months. Hopefully the time continues to fly by until their baby arrives. Unlike their last visit, the doctor was able to find the baby's heart immediately- much to his parents' relief. In the evening Stacie headed to the church with Kevin to empty out the Activities closet, the contents of which are now piled up in their garage (much to their disdain). On Friday & Saturday Kevin assisted with an international conference of medievalism. He enjoyed listening in on some lectures and assisting with the AV. In the evening, Stacie & Kevin enjoyed watching baseball and westerns together (two of Kevin's favorite things). They also were happy to see that their stroller arrived and only took a few minutes to assemble.
The Lane's of Virginia
Monday, we had a very boring FHE as we had to resign up for a new insurance plan. Whoohoo.
Throughout the days of this week Julie wrote a research paper.
Wednesday, Achievement days we had a Halloween party where they girls also brought their favorite ghost stories and treats!
Thursday, Julie had visiting teaching
Friday, said good bye to a coworker and closed building.
Saturday, we took back some clothes back that we did not need that we will use the money for a booster chair for Alex. We also got him a much needed rubber ducky!
Later Jeff helped with the ward service project to repaint a house. While he was getting painted .... I mean painting, Julie worked on her research paper which she later completed and sent in. Thanks to Dad and Jeff for their help editing. We celebrated by buy a pizza from our favorite pizza place, Italian Touch. We also had a babysitting opportunity canceled.
Sunday, we worked on figuring out what we would like to dress up as for Halloween.
Pictures are from Logan's trip out here and also from when everyone else joined us, elders quorum shooting event, a relief society activity where Julie made flower hair clips, Alex's babyshower party, and lollipop Sunday :)
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It has been a busy week for us here in Wisconsin. Yesterday Logan and I went to do several service projects. The Aaronic Priesthood young men finished painting the Elmhorst's swing set. Then we went over to the Bates and raked leaves. Both families were very thankful. Today Logan did a great job of helping a take care of two very energetic boys during Stake Conference so that their relatively newly baptized mom could listen to Stake Conference.
Lanette has essentially completely recovered from her wisdom teeth extractions. She can be quite funny. Tonight Grant mimicked Lanette and we all had a wonderful laugh including Lanette at some of her idiosyncrasies. Dinner time tonight was especially funny as Grant recounted his work experiences and we laughed about the funny things that make us a family.
Emily has been gone much of this week but we are happy that she is staying with some really good people.
Mom has had some days that she is not feeling well but seems in good spirits tonight. Mom and I went to Stake Conference for the adults last night and then enjoyed dinner together. Mom is making plans to visit Melanie and the girls for about a week in November-December. She will be able to spend a couple of days with Andy during his time there. Melanie shared with us the stories of the poverty of Afghanistan. It is hard for any of us to understand what it is like to live without knowing if there will be food to eat or shelter.
I have been working extra hard this week. On Thursday I hardly was able to sleep all night due to an ill child with a kidney transplant. I had to work all the next day and it brought back memories of past years. I have also been taking care of a 10 year old child with acute renal failure. She too is getting better. The beauty of my job are the parents and the children as they express their gratitude for the little contribution I make to their child's recovery. This week I will be going on Thursday to Charlotte, North Carolina for a meeting. I may be passing Jeff Lane's brother Josh as he comes home from his mission in North Carolina on the same day.
On Monday Kevin & Stacie had to say goodbye to the last of their visitors, Scott & Chandra. They enjoyed having breakfast together before Kevin dropped off his parents at the airport. Although it was sad to end their vacation, they are thankful to have Grant, Scott & Chandra visit them last week. A few pictures from their time together are attached.
On Tuesday evening Stacie headed home early so she could visit some sisters with her visiting teaching companion. This week Stacie has been reading from the new "Daughters of my Kingdom" book released by the General Relief Society presidency. She has been humbled and inspired by the examples of great relief society sisters who have made sacrifices to serve others.
On Wednesday Stacie and Kevin attended a doctor's appointment. Stacie was surprised when she realized that she is already at six months. Hopefully the time continues to fly by until their baby arrives. Unlike their last visit, the doctor was able to find the baby's heart immediately- much to his parents' relief. In the evening Stacie headed to the church with Kevin to empty out the Activities closet, the contents of which are now piled up in their garage (much to their disdain). On Friday & Saturday Kevin assisted with an international conference of medievalism. He enjoyed listening in on some lectures and assisting with the AV. In the evening, Stacie & Kevin enjoyed watching baseball and westerns together (two of Kevin's favorite things). They also were happy to see that their stroller arrived and only took a few minutes to assemble.
The Lane's of Virginia
Monday, we had a very boring FHE as we had to resign up for a new insurance plan. Whoohoo.
Throughout the days of this week Julie wrote a research paper.
Wednesday, Achievement days we had a Halloween party where they girls also brought their favorite ghost stories and treats!
Thursday, Julie had visiting teaching
Friday, said good bye to a coworker and closed building.
Saturday, we took back some clothes back that we did not need that we will use the money for a booster chair for Alex. We also got him a much needed rubber ducky!
Later Jeff helped with the ward service project to repaint a house. While he was getting painted .... I mean painting, Julie worked on her research paper which she later completed and sent in. Thanks to Dad and Jeff for their help editing. We celebrated by buy a pizza from our favorite pizza place, Italian Touch. We also had a babysitting opportunity canceled.
Sunday, we worked on figuring out what we would like to dress up as for Halloween.
Pictures are from Logan's trip out here and also from when everyone else joined us, elders quorum shooting event, a relief society activity where Julie made flower hair clips, Alex's babyshower party, and lollipop Sunday :)
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It has been a busy week for us here in Wisconsin. Yesterday Logan and I went to do several service projects. The Aaronic Priesthood young men finished painting the Elmhorst's swing set. Then we went over to the Bates and raked leaves. Both families were very thankful. Today Logan did a great job of helping a take care of two very energetic boys during Stake Conference so that their relatively newly baptized mom could listen to Stake Conference.
Lanette has essentially completely recovered from her wisdom teeth extractions. She can be quite funny. Tonight Grant mimicked Lanette and we all had a wonderful laugh including Lanette at some of her idiosyncrasies. Dinner time tonight was especially funny as Grant recounted his work experiences and we laughed about the funny things that make us a family.
Emily has been gone much of this week but we are happy that she is staying with some really good people.
Mom has had some days that she is not feeling well but seems in good spirits tonight. Mom and I went to Stake Conference for the adults last night and then enjoyed dinner together. Mom is making plans to visit Melanie and the girls for about a week in November-December. She will be able to spend a couple of days with Andy during his time there. Melanie shared with us the stories of the poverty of Afghanistan. It is hard for any of us to understand what it is like to live without knowing if there will be food to eat or shelter.
I have been working extra hard this week. On Thursday I hardly was able to sleep all night due to an ill child with a kidney transplant. I had to work all the next day and it brought back memories of past years. I have also been taking care of a 10 year old child with acute renal failure. She too is getting better. The beauty of my job are the parents and the children as they express their gratitude for the little contribution I make to their child's recovery. This week I will be going on Thursday to Charlotte, North Carolina for a meeting. I may be passing Jeff Lane's brother Josh as he comes home from his mission in North Carolina on the same day.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
October 19, 2011- a bit late
I am sorry that this letter is so late. I hope that you will enjoy it anyway. Love, Dad
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
This week was an exciting week for Stacie and Kevin since Kevin's parents and Grant were able to visit them in Albuquerque. Scott, Chandra and Grant all flew in on Wednesday evening since Kevin was off of work and school for fall break. Unfortunately, Stacie had to work on Thursday. However, she was excited to attend a conference designed specifically for administrative support professionals. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang took a trip over to Santa Fe. They enjoyed walking around the shops in Old Town, visiting a cathedral, and eating lunch at a French bakery.
On Friday Stacie was able to join them for the entire day as they made their annual trip to Tucanos, which is always much anticipated. Afterwards they had a nice walk through the Bosque, which is a wooded area along the Rio Grande. It was nice to see the leaves changing. Kevin and Scott then went out to play golf with some of Kevin's friends while Chandra, Grant and Stacie visited Hobby Lobby, a bookstore, Anthropologie and Trader Joes. In the evening, Scott baked sourdough bread and they enjoyed watching episodes from Modern Family together.
On Saturday Kevin, Scott and Grant decided to hike up the Sandia Mountains on the La Luz trail, a trail that Dad, Emily & Kevin climbed during their visit last year. Meanwhile, Stacie & Chandra enjoyed shopping and getting pedicures together. After lunch Stacie & Chandra took the tramway up to the top of the mountain. Chandra, who is terrified of heights, did a great job. Kevin, Scott and Grant finally made it to the top of the mountain and joined Stacie & Chandra for the trip down the tram. It was very cramped and hot on the way down and they were all afraid of getting sick. However, the views of the mountains with all the changing colors was beautiful. In the evening they had dinner together and then played some Harry Potter Clue.
Today they attended church together. Kevin taught a wonderful lesson in Sunday School, which Scott, Chandra and Grant were excited to attend. Kevin was also assigned to teach in Elder's Quorum, but Grant had to head over to the airport so Stacie & Chandra took him for his departing flight. Although it was hard to say goodbye, Stacie was very grateful for the time she got to spend with her brother. In the evening Kevin & Stacie's friend Nick joined them for dinner and helped them turn off their swamp cooler. They enjoyed the rest of the evening together. Stacie & Kevin are sad to see Scott & Chandra go tomorrow morning but are thankful for the time they could spend with their family.
The Colorado & Afganistan Haws Family
On Monday we went to the neighbor’s house to do a Halloween activity since the girls had a day off of school for Columbus Day. Haley and Kayla both were the mummy statues for the wrapping race. On Tuesday Kayla didn’t have school so she and I went to a couple of stores to “window shop” and then came home just in time to talk with Andy on Skype. It was also Haley’s last day of soccer where she played in a tournament and her team won! Wednesday I was able to visit a couple of sisters on my visiting teaching route. Thursday I was able to enjoy the day at the temple while Kayla played with her friend Emma. Friday Haley got her new glasses. We were also able to find Kayla a pink Super Girl costume and Haley a Vampire costume for Halloween. Hopefully neither one will change their mind again of what they want to be. Andy has had a rough week only because on Monday he was playing soccer and landed on the ball and twisted his ankle which in turn caused three fractures in his foot. The doctor that he went to did not supply him with anything to help his foot i.e. a splint, boot, ace bandage or even any medication for the pain. Needless to say he is still in a lot of pain. He also wanted me to mention that even though he had a hurt foot he was still able to score a goal after it had happened. Andy will be flying back to Afghanistan from Qatar this week to check all the fueling and brief others.
The Lane's of Virginia
This Monday we went to the temple to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! We did an endowment and sealing session. We visited the red-headed Wendy for lunch and then went to mall next door and just meandered through until we decided to go home and have a nice quiet night.
Tuesday, Julie had enrichment where she made a few really cute hair clips for herself, since Jeff said no bows or flowers for Alex:) Something about him being a boy.
Wednesday, kicked off the new "Psych" tv season. We also worked on the new insurance complications that have come up since his work is being a booogger!
Thursday, Julie worked on her last homework assignment for her class as Jeff was helpful to her around the kitchen- scrambling eggs for Julie's egg wontons.
Friday, Julie started her research paper and then had her baby shower in the evening. Jeff joined Julie at the end of it to come help open presents which made his day! He had fun with that part. The party was lots of fun and the Hartmans did a wonderful job decorating for it. At the shower they played pop each others bellies (balloons) and matching with related candy bar treats like gushers for water breaking match and rasinets for dirty diapers. Gross but we did not think it up just laughed with it :)
The next morning we went to Applebees because someone had given us some fundraiser tickets to it. We did a little shopping with the random gifts cards-for the baby of course :)- to kill some time before we went the Barnum and Bailey Circus in Charlottesville. Even though we had bought the cheapest tickets we ended up with some of the best seats in the house- which was awesome! After a very long wait to get out of the parking lot, because of the circus crowd and UVA's football crowd, we grabbed some food and then drove the scenic way home- lets just say FALL HERE IS BREATH TAKING! When we got home we got some of the other major essentials off the baby-list. Which probably relieved a hundred pounds of stress off our shoulders, since we have really been worried about finding enough time and money to do that before the baby comes- with school, work and many other obligations.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
This last week Grant and I flew the coop. Grant went to visit the Jackson's while I went to a convention in Minneapolis. Meanwhile Mom maintained the place. As each of you know Lanette had her wisdom teeth out. She did amazingly well. Thanks for the kind calls and efforts that each of you extended to Lanette.
Molly probably had the hardest time this last week. She has been very whiney and clingy. Mom was about to drop her off at the Humane Society but as of now she is still here.
Mom continues to grow more excited each day for the upcoming arrival of grandchildren. She hopes to be able to visit each of you in the coming year. We very dearly miss Jeff's family and hope that they will be able to make it here to the States soon.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
This week was an exciting week for Stacie and Kevin since Kevin's parents and Grant were able to visit them in Albuquerque. Scott, Chandra and Grant all flew in on Wednesday evening since Kevin was off of work and school for fall break. Unfortunately, Stacie had to work on Thursday. However, she was excited to attend a conference designed specifically for administrative support professionals. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang took a trip over to Santa Fe. They enjoyed walking around the shops in Old Town, visiting a cathedral, and eating lunch at a French bakery.
On Friday Stacie was able to join them for the entire day as they made their annual trip to Tucanos, which is always much anticipated. Afterwards they had a nice walk through the Bosque, which is a wooded area along the Rio Grande. It was nice to see the leaves changing. Kevin and Scott then went out to play golf with some of Kevin's friends while Chandra, Grant and Stacie visited Hobby Lobby, a bookstore, Anthropologie and Trader Joes. In the evening, Scott baked sourdough bread and they enjoyed watching episodes from Modern Family together.
On Saturday Kevin, Scott and Grant decided to hike up the Sandia Mountains on the La Luz trail, a trail that Dad, Emily & Kevin climbed during their visit last year. Meanwhile, Stacie & Chandra enjoyed shopping and getting pedicures together. After lunch Stacie & Chandra took the tramway up to the top of the mountain. Chandra, who is terrified of heights, did a great job. Kevin, Scott and Grant finally made it to the top of the mountain and joined Stacie & Chandra for the trip down the tram. It was very cramped and hot on the way down and they were all afraid of getting sick. However, the views of the mountains with all the changing colors was beautiful. In the evening they had dinner together and then played some Harry Potter Clue.
Today they attended church together. Kevin taught a wonderful lesson in Sunday School, which Scott, Chandra and Grant were excited to attend. Kevin was also assigned to teach in Elder's Quorum, but Grant had to head over to the airport so Stacie & Chandra took him for his departing flight. Although it was hard to say goodbye, Stacie was very grateful for the time she got to spend with her brother. In the evening Kevin & Stacie's friend Nick joined them for dinner and helped them turn off their swamp cooler. They enjoyed the rest of the evening together. Stacie & Kevin are sad to see Scott & Chandra go tomorrow morning but are thankful for the time they could spend with their family.
The Colorado & Afganistan Haws Family
On Monday we went to the neighbor’s house to do a Halloween activity since the girls had a day off of school for Columbus Day. Haley and Kayla both were the mummy statues for the wrapping race. On Tuesday Kayla didn’t have school so she and I went to a couple of stores to “window shop” and then came home just in time to talk with Andy on Skype. It was also Haley’s last day of soccer where she played in a tournament and her team won! Wednesday I was able to visit a couple of sisters on my visiting teaching route. Thursday I was able to enjoy the day at the temple while Kayla played with her friend Emma. Friday Haley got her new glasses. We were also able to find Kayla a pink Super Girl costume and Haley a Vampire costume for Halloween. Hopefully neither one will change their mind again of what they want to be. Andy has had a rough week only because on Monday he was playing soccer and landed on the ball and twisted his ankle which in turn caused three fractures in his foot. The doctor that he went to did not supply him with anything to help his foot i.e. a splint, boot, ace bandage or even any medication for the pain. Needless to say he is still in a lot of pain. He also wanted me to mention that even though he had a hurt foot he was still able to score a goal after it had happened. Andy will be flying back to Afghanistan from Qatar this week to check all the fueling and brief others.
The Lane's of Virginia
This Monday we went to the temple to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! We did an endowment and sealing session. We visited the red-headed Wendy for lunch and then went to mall next door and just meandered through until we decided to go home and have a nice quiet night.
Tuesday, Julie had enrichment where she made a few really cute hair clips for herself, since Jeff said no bows or flowers for Alex:) Something about him being a boy.
Wednesday, kicked off the new "Psych" tv season. We also worked on the new insurance complications that have come up since his work is being a booogger!
Thursday, Julie worked on her last homework assignment for her class as Jeff was helpful to her around the kitchen- scrambling eggs for Julie's egg wontons.
Friday, Julie started her research paper and then had her baby shower in the evening. Jeff joined Julie at the end of it to come help open presents which made his day! He had fun with that part. The party was lots of fun and the Hartmans did a wonderful job decorating for it. At the shower they played pop each others bellies (balloons) and matching with related candy bar treats like gushers for water breaking match and rasinets for dirty diapers. Gross but we did not think it up just laughed with it :)
The next morning we went to Applebees because someone had given us some fundraiser tickets to it. We did a little shopping with the random gifts cards-for the baby of course :)- to kill some time before we went the Barnum and Bailey Circus in Charlottesville. Even though we had bought the cheapest tickets we ended up with some of the best seats in the house- which was awesome! After a very long wait to get out of the parking lot, because of the circus crowd and UVA's football crowd, we grabbed some food and then drove the scenic way home- lets just say FALL HERE IS BREATH TAKING! When we got home we got some of the other major essentials off the baby-list. Which probably relieved a hundred pounds of stress off our shoulders, since we have really been worried about finding enough time and money to do that before the baby comes- with school, work and many other obligations.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
This last week Grant and I flew the coop. Grant went to visit the Jackson's while I went to a convention in Minneapolis. Meanwhile Mom maintained the place. As each of you know Lanette had her wisdom teeth out. She did amazingly well. Thanks for the kind calls and efforts that each of you extended to Lanette.
Molly probably had the hardest time this last week. She has been very whiney and clingy. Mom was about to drop her off at the Humane Society but as of now she is still here.
Mom continues to grow more excited each day for the upcoming arrival of grandchildren. She hopes to be able to visit each of you in the coming year. We very dearly miss Jeff's family and hope that they will be able to make it here to the States soon.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
October 10, 2011
Grant's News
Grant had a pretty quiet week as a result of a very full work schedule. They are definitely trying to milk all the shifts possible out of him before he leaves for vacation next week. On one of his nights off he made the family his famous Garlic Mizithra, a pasta dish that includes bacon, mushrooms, and browned butter. Grant has spent his free time this week mostly reading. He read The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Zen of Zombie (a particularly enlightening book) and then a Cleopatra biography. He is looking forward to flying out to Albuquerque on Wednesday to Stacie, Kevin, and Kevin's parents. His main regret is that he won't be at home to tease Lanette after she gets her wisdom teeth out.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
It was a wet and chilly week in Albuquerque, which meant bad news for the world-famous Balloon Fiesta. Stacie and Kevin tried several times to attend the many events but between the rain, the cold, and traffic it never worked out. However, their calendars are already marked for next year.
Apart from trying to see the hot air balloons, Stacie and Kevin kept busy over the weekend. They were able to visit a children's consignment sale and purchased lots of clothes and gear for their baby. In the afternoon they planted some hyacinth and daffodil bulbs, which they look forward to seeing grow in the spring. In the evening they had dinner with their friends Jim and Sarah. Jim took a course over the summer with Kevin. Since Jim and Sarah have a little 4 month old girl, they were able to give some great advice to Stacie & Kevin.
Today Stacie taught Sunday School, she looks forward to having Kevin teach next week while Grant, Chandra and Scott are in town. They are excited to see Grant and enjoy their fall break.
The Lane's of Virginia
This last week has been a great week for us.
Monday we went to buy a first year of life book for baby and found one for years 1-5 from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It seems like a great book and according to Dad it is pretty good source. We are already delving into as much as possible, which Julie's studies for her ending course are keeping her really busy, so she cannot seem to find enough time for everything she would like,
Wednesday was achievement days for Julie. She brought doughnuts for the girls and helped them memorize some articles of faith. After stuffing their faces the girls all successfully memorized their work.
Friday Jeff got a free pizza lunch at work which he seemed to enjoy. He made a wife very happy when he brought her home some left overs. We then went to Target to take back a pair of baby pants that we ended up not needing since a friend of ours gave us all her old new born clothes.
Saturday, WE MADE IT TO OUR THIRD TRIMESTER!!!! We had our first birthing class in the afternoon. Before that Julie went to a baby-welcoming party for her Russian friend. After the class we went to get some of our favorite Chinese dumplings! They were soo good! We topped off the wonderful day with the victorious Texas A&M game!
Last night Julie woke up to a very active baby! Today we went early to get some baby-shower contributions to the Linda Hartman- the woman who is putting on the party. The shower is this upcoming week. Julie is excited for it but a little apprehensive since people are calling and dropping-like-flies in coming. It has been disheartening that no one can make it . She really hopes that some of the others will still be able to make it to the party.
The Haws Family of Colorado and Afganistan
This has been a busy, busy week for the girls and I mainly running around. On Monday I was able to help in Kayla’s class at school. It was really nice to be able to see what Kayla does in her class and see how sweet she is to her classmates. On Monday afternoon I picked Haley up early for an eye appointment. The doctor said that she needed new glasses (a stronger prescription) which made Haley sad because she really liked the way her glasses looked. The doctor said that if Kayla’s eyes are the same next year as they are now she will need glasses also. On Tuesday I went with Kayla to the pumpkin patch and then later caught up with Haley’s class to be with Haley at the pumpkin patch. I was really glad that they were both in the same place. On Wednesday I volunteered in Haley’s class during reading time. On Thursday I went with the Relief Society to the Denver Temple. I was also able to bring a non-member friend Lisa to the Temple and show her the Christ statue that is in the visitor center. Just seeing the statue almost brought her to tears. She was also amazed of how beautiful the outside of the temple was. I was grateful for being able to bring Lisa to the temple, and to just have her on the temple grounds so she could also feel the peace that the temple brings. On Friday Kayla and I surprised Haley by showing up to eat lunch with her. On Saturday we woke up to some snow on the ground. Kayla was very excited, Haley and I on the other hand not so much. Luckily, it all melted and warmed up by noon. Sunday we went to church and Haley and Kayla practiced their primary program. They are very excited to have me hear all the songs that they have practiced in church. I was only able to talk to Andy a couple of times this week because he has been very busy doing his job and another person’s job while they are on R & R. Hopefully by next week things will calm down a little.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It is really delightful to read about your lives each week in the family newsletter. To update you on news from Jeff, Matthew and he went to Valley Forge yesterday for a bike tour. He tells me that they had an absolutely great time. He is working hard and enjoying it. Still waiting on the OK to proceed with the immigration plans for his family. Please keep Jeff and Renata in your prayers. It will be a very lonely Christmas for Jeff if his family is not able to join him here in the States.
From here at home we have enjoyed watching Logan play soccer. His team won their two games this week. He will have his final game of the season this coming week. He earned his first class badge today. That is very exciting. On Saturday he went on a service project with his fellow Aaronic Priesthood holders, the missionaries and adult leaders to paint a very large swing set. It was fun to see the boys working together.
Emily had the opportunity of going to Green Bay on Friday through Saturday to tour the school. She is interested in Green Bay as an option for new year. She was received acceptance letters this week from both Green Bay and Utah State University so she can breath a sigh of relief about the issue of acceptance into a college. The next hurdle will be paying for the schooling.
Lanette anxiously awaits her wisdom teeth being extracted this week. She has fretted and worried about this for weeks. We all will be relieved to know that his is over and that she is on the road to recovering. Lanette is making some nice progress in school and we hope to see her suceed in her goals of independance.
Mom and I have spent some wonderful time together. We found out that both of us had set the goal to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. We have been discussing some of the beautiful verses together. Mom helped with transportation and pizza for the young men's service project. That was invaluable. On Friday she picked me up at noon and we went for lunchtime drive to see some of the beautiful fall colors. That was delightful. We had a wonderful time.
Thank you all for your prayers and your goodness.
Love,
Dad
Grant had a pretty quiet week as a result of a very full work schedule. They are definitely trying to milk all the shifts possible out of him before he leaves for vacation next week. On one of his nights off he made the family his famous Garlic Mizithra, a pasta dish that includes bacon, mushrooms, and browned butter. Grant has spent his free time this week mostly reading. He read The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Zen of Zombie (a particularly enlightening book) and then a Cleopatra biography. He is looking forward to flying out to Albuquerque on Wednesday to Stacie, Kevin, and Kevin's parents. His main regret is that he won't be at home to tease Lanette after she gets her wisdom teeth out.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
It was a wet and chilly week in Albuquerque, which meant bad news for the world-famous Balloon Fiesta. Stacie and Kevin tried several times to attend the many events but between the rain, the cold, and traffic it never worked out. However, their calendars are already marked for next year.
Apart from trying to see the hot air balloons, Stacie and Kevin kept busy over the weekend. They were able to visit a children's consignment sale and purchased lots of clothes and gear for their baby. In the afternoon they planted some hyacinth and daffodil bulbs, which they look forward to seeing grow in the spring. In the evening they had dinner with their friends Jim and Sarah. Jim took a course over the summer with Kevin. Since Jim and Sarah have a little 4 month old girl, they were able to give some great advice to Stacie & Kevin.
Today Stacie taught Sunday School, she looks forward to having Kevin teach next week while Grant, Chandra and Scott are in town. They are excited to see Grant and enjoy their fall break.
The Lane's of Virginia
This last week has been a great week for us.
Monday we went to buy a first year of life book for baby and found one for years 1-5 from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It seems like a great book and according to Dad it is pretty good source. We are already delving into as much as possible, which Julie's studies for her ending course are keeping her really busy, so she cannot seem to find enough time for everything she would like,
Wednesday was achievement days for Julie. She brought doughnuts for the girls and helped them memorize some articles of faith. After stuffing their faces the girls all successfully memorized their work.
Friday Jeff got a free pizza lunch at work which he seemed to enjoy. He made a wife very happy when he brought her home some left overs. We then went to Target to take back a pair of baby pants that we ended up not needing since a friend of ours gave us all her old new born clothes.
Saturday, WE MADE IT TO OUR THIRD TRIMESTER!!!! We had our first birthing class in the afternoon. Before that Julie went to a baby-welcoming party for her Russian friend. After the class we went to get some of our favorite Chinese dumplings! They were soo good! We topped off the wonderful day with the victorious Texas A&M game!
Last night Julie woke up to a very active baby! Today we went early to get some baby-shower contributions to the Linda Hartman- the woman who is putting on the party. The shower is this upcoming week. Julie is excited for it but a little apprehensive since people are calling and dropping-like-flies in coming. It has been disheartening that no one can make it . She really hopes that some of the others will still be able to make it to the party.
The Haws Family of Colorado and Afganistan
This has been a busy, busy week for the girls and I mainly running around. On Monday I was able to help in Kayla’s class at school. It was really nice to be able to see what Kayla does in her class and see how sweet she is to her classmates. On Monday afternoon I picked Haley up early for an eye appointment. The doctor said that she needed new glasses (a stronger prescription) which made Haley sad because she really liked the way her glasses looked. The doctor said that if Kayla’s eyes are the same next year as they are now she will need glasses also. On Tuesday I went with Kayla to the pumpkin patch and then later caught up with Haley’s class to be with Haley at the pumpkin patch. I was really glad that they were both in the same place. On Wednesday I volunteered in Haley’s class during reading time. On Thursday I went with the Relief Society to the Denver Temple. I was also able to bring a non-member friend Lisa to the Temple and show her the Christ statue that is in the visitor center. Just seeing the statue almost brought her to tears. She was also amazed of how beautiful the outside of the temple was. I was grateful for being able to bring Lisa to the temple, and to just have her on the temple grounds so she could also feel the peace that the temple brings. On Friday Kayla and I surprised Haley by showing up to eat lunch with her. On Saturday we woke up to some snow on the ground. Kayla was very excited, Haley and I on the other hand not so much. Luckily, it all melted and warmed up by noon. Sunday we went to church and Haley and Kayla practiced their primary program. They are very excited to have me hear all the songs that they have practiced in church. I was only able to talk to Andy a couple of times this week because he has been very busy doing his job and another person’s job while they are on R & R. Hopefully by next week things will calm down a little.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It is really delightful to read about your lives each week in the family newsletter. To update you on news from Jeff, Matthew and he went to Valley Forge yesterday for a bike tour. He tells me that they had an absolutely great time. He is working hard and enjoying it. Still waiting on the OK to proceed with the immigration plans for his family. Please keep Jeff and Renata in your prayers. It will be a very lonely Christmas for Jeff if his family is not able to join him here in the States.
From here at home we have enjoyed watching Logan play soccer. His team won their two games this week. He will have his final game of the season this coming week. He earned his first class badge today. That is very exciting. On Saturday he went on a service project with his fellow Aaronic Priesthood holders, the missionaries and adult leaders to paint a very large swing set. It was fun to see the boys working together.
Emily had the opportunity of going to Green Bay on Friday through Saturday to tour the school. She is interested in Green Bay as an option for new year. She was received acceptance letters this week from both Green Bay and Utah State University so she can breath a sigh of relief about the issue of acceptance into a college. The next hurdle will be paying for the schooling.
Lanette anxiously awaits her wisdom teeth being extracted this week. She has fretted and worried about this for weeks. We all will be relieved to know that his is over and that she is on the road to recovering. Lanette is making some nice progress in school and we hope to see her suceed in her goals of independance.
Mom and I have spent some wonderful time together. We found out that both of us had set the goal to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. We have been discussing some of the beautiful verses together. Mom helped with transportation and pizza for the young men's service project. That was invaluable. On Friday she picked me up at noon and we went for lunchtime drive to see some of the beautiful fall colors. That was delightful. We had a wonderful time.
Thank you all for your prayers and your goodness.
Love,
Dad
Monday, October 3, 2011
October 3, 2011
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
Last weekend Stacie really struggled for sleep. On Monday morning she decided to stay home to try and rest. She enjoyed the opportunity to get some extra sleep and Kevin was very happy to come home to cookies. On Thursday Kevin went out to lunch with his friend, Nick. They ordered mango habanero wings which were mixed incorrectly and turned out to be incredibly hot. Stacie is convinced that it was the cosmos telling them that they shouldn't go out without her. In the evening, Kevin and Stacie visited Burlington Coat Factory to shop the baby section. They found a nice stroller that they are excited to save up to purchase.
On Friday Stacie was excited to spend lunch with Kevin. They enjoyed a deal at the residence hall cafeteria together before Kevin headed back to class. They also enjoyed spending the weekend together, listening to conference and preparing their nursery. They look forward to going to an ultrasound together tomorrow morning. It'll be Kevin's first chance to see their baby and they look forward to the anatomical exam where they measure the baby's every feature. Stacie has sent in a picture of her progress and is excited to say that she is half way through her pregnancy.
The Lane's of Virginia
We kicked off this week with going to visit an older friend of ours who is having some health problems for fhe, We played some Chinese checkers with him. He seemed to have fun. After Julie's lungs were hurting her like she was incurring another bronchitis spell, but Jeff gave her a blessing and she was blessed to feel well immediately. It was a very wonderful experience for her.
Thursday we got to see Alexander! He seems to be doing well! He is getting some needed fat on him. We are very grateful that every day brings us closer to a healthy baby. Alex has gotten more than his share of clothing this week thanks to Grandma, Mom, and 2 friends. We are hoping that we will not have to get too much more_ if anything. We also had the cool experience of getting to feel the length of his head and body really easily through Julie's skin. He also loved the MOTAB's music and danced through conference performances. We also got a mobile that we had found on ebay for 8 bucks! It has a musical piece and everything, but the best part is that Alex will get to look at the faces of the animals instead of their derriers! We were really happy about that fact since butts are not the cutest things to look at to us.
Thursday Jeff got a hankering for donuts so we gave in to our sweet teeth and got some tasty morsels! We ran into another friend who is about to have a baby when we went to go get them and stopped to talk to her for a little bit.
Friday we found out that our favorite, local, Mexican restaurant closed this week. We found another one that was also good but much more pricey. OH well :( We watched BYU beat up Utah State on the football field. It was a great game,oh so frustrating and yet fulfilling. We also stopped by our neighbors home to invite them to join us for conference.
Saturday, we were able to pick up some old baby clothes from a family in the ward. Julie was extra happy because they were nice brand name ones that were in great condition. After, we watched the first session of conference and then caught the tail end of the TAMU game. Unfortunately, they did not win but it was still good to see them play. The second half of conference was enjoyable too. Jeff went to the priesthood meeting and then we stopped by Wally World to get some forgotten groceries.
Today we took a walk to relieve some of those lovely not-so-cheerful hormones that pregnancy brings to Julie. We then made a some cinnamon snails and cocoa for breakfast as it is very cold, but not quite like WI but we were at mid 80's earlier this week. It dropped about 30+/_ degrees. Jeff finished our Halloween pumpkin and helped Julie with some baby educational folders. Julie made a missionary finger puppet during the conference too. We both really enjoyed the talks and enjoyed having time to have Jeff home. We enjoyed Grant's Cafe Rio pork burritos with some friends tonight. The burritos turned out really great!
Julie
Last weekend Stacie really struggled for sleep. On Monday morning she decided to stay home to try and rest. She enjoyed the opportunity to get some extra sleep and Kevin was very happy to come home to cookies. On Thursday Kevin went out to lunch with his friend, Nick. They ordered mango habanero wings which were mixed incorrectly and turned out to be incredibly hot. Stacie is convinced that it was the cosmos telling them that they shouldn't go out without her. In the evening, Kevin and Stacie visited Burlington Coat Factory to shop the baby section. They found a nice stroller that they are excited to save up to purchase.
On Friday Stacie was excited to spend lunch with Kevin. They enjoyed a deal at the residence hall cafeteria together before Kevin headed back to class. They also enjoyed spending the weekend together, listening to conference and preparing their nursery. They look forward to going to an ultrasound together tomorrow morning. It'll be Kevin's first chance to see their baby and they look forward to the anatomical exam where they measure the baby's every feature. Stacie has sent in a picture of her progress and is excited to say that she is half way through her pregnancy.
The Lane's of Virginia
We kicked off this week with going to visit an older friend of ours who is having some health problems for fhe, We played some Chinese checkers with him. He seemed to have fun. After Julie's lungs were hurting her like she was incurring another bronchitis spell, but Jeff gave her a blessing and she was blessed to feel well immediately. It was a very wonderful experience for her.
Thursday we got to see Alexander! He seems to be doing well! He is getting some needed fat on him. We are very grateful that every day brings us closer to a healthy baby. Alex has gotten more than his share of clothing this week thanks to Grandma, Mom, and 2 friends. We are hoping that we will not have to get too much more_ if anything. We also had the cool experience of getting to feel the length of his head and body really easily through Julie's skin. He also loved the MOTAB's music and danced through conference performances. We also got a mobile that we had found on ebay for 8 bucks! It has a musical piece and everything, but the best part is that Alex will get to look at the faces of the animals instead of their derriers! We were really happy about that fact since butts are not the cutest things to look at to us.
Thursday Jeff got a hankering for donuts so we gave in to our sweet teeth and got some tasty morsels! We ran into another friend who is about to have a baby when we went to go get them and stopped to talk to her for a little bit.
Friday we found out that our favorite, local, Mexican restaurant closed this week. We found another one that was also good but much more pricey. OH well :( We watched BYU beat up Utah State on the football field. It was a great game,oh so frustrating and yet fulfilling. We also stopped by our neighbors home to invite them to join us for conference.
Saturday, we were able to pick up some old baby clothes from a family in the ward. Julie was extra happy because they were nice brand name ones that were in great condition. After, we watched the first session of conference and then caught the tail end of the TAMU game. Unfortunately, they did not win but it was still good to see them play. The second half of conference was enjoyable too. Jeff went to the priesthood meeting and then we stopped by Wally World to get some forgotten groceries.
Today we took a walk to relieve some of those lovely not-so-cheerful hormones that pregnancy brings to Julie. We then made a some cinnamon snails and cocoa for breakfast as it is very cold, but not quite like WI but we were at mid 80's earlier this week. It dropped about 30+/_ degrees. Jeff finished our Halloween pumpkin and helped Julie with some baby educational folders. Julie made a missionary finger puppet during the conference too. We both really enjoyed the talks and enjoyed having time to have Jeff home. We enjoyed Grant's Cafe Rio pork burritos with some friends tonight. The burritos turned out really great!
Julie
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