October 31, 2011

The Lane's of Virginia

Monday, we worked on our halloween costumes- whoos from The Grinch that Stole Christmas.
Tuesday, we got knocked out by angry circus midgets because we cannot remember or we choose not to remember what went on that day.
Wednesday, Jeff saw the baby move on the outside for the first time and that was sooo cool!
Thursday, Jeff's brother came home from his mission in Charlotte, NC. We also had another doctors appointment- our first bi weekly appointment-- and it went well. The baby's heart beat was 140 bpm. Julie was really excited because she is losing weight while the baby is gaining weight. Way to lose weight.
Friday, we went to young married institute to find out it was pushed forward a week. We also went to the grocery store and were bombarded by the tons of people rushing to get food because it had begun to snow and was predicted to get worse.
Saturday, we got up early and went on our first winter walk. It was beautiful, but the winter weather came too quick and killed many trees. After that we went to out second birthing class in Woodstock, VA. Julie took some cool photos as we were driving there of the weather. A semi nearly killed us when he sprayed us with pure snow since he did not have the dirt mats and was going to fast. Luckily, we live to tell the tale. When we got back we went to the supposedly cancelled ward party with the neighbor boy, Jon. Although the children there still cleared us of every scrap of candy we brought. Whohoo!
Today, Jeff came into primary to assist in memorizing lines for the primary program. We then skyped his parents so they could see the baby's room. (It is not done yet, but there are pictures).

NC. We also had another doctors appointment- our first bi weekly appointment-- and it went well. The baby's heart beat was 140 bpm. Julie was really excited because she is losing weight while the baby is gaining weight. Way to lose weight.
Friday, we went to young married institute to find out it was pushed forward a week. We also went to the grocery store and were bombarded by the tons of people rushing to get food because it had begun to snow and was predicted to get worse.
Saturday, we got up early and went on our first winter walk. It was beautiful, but the winter weather came too quick and killed many trees. After that we went to out second birthing class inWoodstock, VA. Julie took some cool photos as we were driving there of the weather. A semi nearly killed us when he sprayed us with pure snow since he did not have the dirt mats and was going to fast. Luckily, we live to tell the tale. When we got back we went to the supposedly cancelled ward party with the neighbor boy, Jon. Although the children there still cleared us of every scrap of candy we brought. Whohoo!
Today, Jeff came into primary to assist in memorizing lines for the primary program. We then skyped his parents so they could see the baby's room. (It is not done yet, but there are pictures).

The Haws Family of Colorado and Afghanistan

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

This week was a busy week for Stacie and Kevin with the Ward Halloween Activity to prepare. Stacie has been called as their ward "Activities Coordinator", a calling created to help the ward auxiliaries with planning activities. So most of their evenings were spent making reminder calls, sewing bean bags, and sorting decorations. However, they enjoyed some down time too. On Monday they went out to eat with their friends Jeramie and Nick. On Wednesday Kevin was able to come over and eat lunch with Stacie. They enjoyed getting sandwiches delivered from a nearby restaurant. Stacie has tried not to spend all of her money on sandwich deliveries, but really enjoys having her lunch brought to her. Of course, Kevin enjoyed watching the world series throughout the week, even if the Rangers didn't win after all.

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

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.

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.

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

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

October 2, 2011

Grant's News

This week started with Grant reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to get in the Halloween mood. Wednesday morning Grant worked on planting bulbs in the flower beds for spring. He added more tulip, daffodil, and crocus bulbs to the flower beds. Thursday he drove out to the Mead Wildlife Preserve, halfway between Stevens Point and Marshfield, and went for a hike to see the pretty autumn leaves. Saturday was especially busy at the restaurant due to Marshfield's Homecoming Dance.

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

This week Logan had a visit by two of his best friends. They use to live closeby but have moved recently to Chicago. Logan was so excited that they could drop by. He had a great time. He had soccer games on Monday and Tuesday. His team won both of them.

Emily had homecoming this last weekend. She and her friend Emily Wolfe sang a duet together. She is looking forward to a trip to Green Bay to check out the campus there.

Lanette spend the weekend with the Elmhorst family. She soon may change her last name to Elmhorst at this rate. It is place that she really enjoys and sometimes it gives her an opportunity to "spread her wings".

Mom and I are working on refinancing our home. Interest rates are low and we need a new roof. We hopefully will be able to refinance things by the end of October. I have been very busy with work. Part of the reason for that is that I have had a resident working with me this last month. That always adds at least an extra two hours to my work day. He was from Napal so I did learn some interesting things.

Logan, Mom and I spent a wonderful weekend watching conference. I needed to hear so much of the guidance. I have set the goal of reading the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I invite you to join me in this opportunity.

Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Dad