July 3, 2011

Melanie & the girls & News from Afghanistan

On Tuesday this past week my wonderful mom, beautiful niece Jorie, silly Haley and Kayla, and I traveled to Kansas to be with my sister Vanesa who had her baby boy (Lucas Ivan Tibbals) last Saturday. We had a lot of fun being here with her and her family. On Thursday we adventured off to the Wizard of Oz museum in Wamego. My mom and I were especially excited because every time that Andy and I had orders to travel across country my mom and I would pass the sign to go to the museum but was not able to stop. The museum was okay but I don’t think that we will be going there again. The girls have been having a lot of fun playing with their cousin Wyatt in the swimming pool and love being around their other cousin Jorie. Jorie has been a big help for all of us and we love having her here. I was able to hear from Andy this week. He says that he is staying busy with meetings and other work, but is ready to come home.

Grant's News

Grant had a somewhat uneventful week, not working, but spending a lot of time working on the yard and around the house. Last Sunday he was able to spend the day with his friends Amber and Calley, eating Chinese food and watching movies. One of his "time off" projects has
been learning to identify wildflowers that grow in the marsh and around the yard. A local website has weekly updates on wildlife in Wisconsin, so he gets a heads-up on what wildflowers to be looking for each week during the summer. His other project has been trying to convince Lanette that Julie will be naming her baby "Dolores Pumpernickel". Lanette has been less than thrilled with his time not working to say the least. This week he also was in contact with Hudson's, a local restaurant, and Grant will be starting work there soon. Monday morning he will have orientation.

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

Melanie and the girls were in Kansas but we felt like we were in Kansas ourselves. On Friday night Mom and I were sitting on the bed talking when all of a sudden we heard a very loud noise outside. I thought it was a car crash or something else. I ran outside and all of a sudden a large black object flew over my head. The trees in the marsh were nearly bending over in half. Apparently there was a very fast moving thunderstorm with winds up to 60 miles per hour. We suffered roof damage. We will be repairing that tomorrow. Most of us slept in the basement but Grant, the person least like to sleep through a storm, did not stir despite the storm.

Logan had the blessing of attending the temple to do baptisms for the dead on Saturday. I was able to baptize Logan for his ancestors and Mom also was baptized for numerous relatives and others. It is so nice to have both Mom and Logan doing baptisms since the people we are doing the work for our their ancestors. Some of the individuals that were given the blessing of baptism, confirmation and initiatories yesterday were born in the late 18th century. They had lived life in challenging circumstances. Probably their lives were much more difficult than ours but now they will have the opportunity to partake more fully of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Emily and Lanette had relatively uneventful weeks. Both enjoyed sleeping in on the weekends. Lanette attends school during the summer so her sleeping in days have been postponed. Emily has enjoyed a variety of activities with friends.

Mom has been doing a great deal to help me. She manned the brat barn on Friday in very hot weather as Logan and I worked on the scout fundraiser. She join us at the temple. She entertained and encouraged and continued to do all the things a mom needs to do.

I have worked some longer hours this week. It has been enjoyable. I am loving my garden, the early morning sunrises and the late night genealogy. It has been great to do things with my family. I must say that this is the best time of the year for me.

Love
Dad

The Lane's of Virginia

Monday, we heard the baby's heart beat at the docs office, we are now in the second trimester. Whoohoo! We made our announcement t-shirts for fhe.
Wednesday, we did lunch at BWW.

Friday, we got our rings back. They did it right this time, after three previous attempts, and we were not just being picky.

Saturday, we took our last pre-baby family pictures. If you would like to see them,let us know. If you decide to look you will see how big Julie is getting. Let's just say it is a good thing we are bringing it up tomorrow at the stake function because Julie's belly is really starting to show!!! Mom said she was big by the time 4 months roll around well Julie is right there with her at this rate.
Saturday afternoon, we went to a baptism to a girl that was in Julie's Sunday school class. It was soo great to see a kid so in love with the gospel! She really is a smart cookie!

Jeff did not feel so hot today, but I think he is starting to feel better!


Julie