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Sunday, July 29, 2012

July 29, 2012

Grant's News

Grant had a great ten days with Stacie, Kevin, Henry, Brent, Claire, and Carolyn in Albuquerque. The trip included adventures to the zoo, a baseball game, Santa Fe, and lots of time playing with the two babies. He was very grateful to spend so much time with such awesome people. Grant flew back early Saturday morning and has been spending the weekend resting before he heads back to work on Monday.

The Jackson's of Albuquerque


From July 22nd- late entry

Stacie, Kevin and Henry are giddy with excitement about having Grant and the Hirzes arrive this upcoming week. Work has been increasingly stressful for Stacie, so she especially looks forward to taking a week off to spend time with people she loves. This past week the Jackson's enjoyed eating lots of apricots falling from their neighbor's tree. They recently purchased a Bumbo seat to help strengthen Henry's back and they were glad when it finally arrived. Henry isn't thrilled about it, but he'll warm up to it eventually. Henry still has a cough, but it looks like he is close to recovering.

From July 29th

The Jacksons enjoyed a wonderful week with Grant and the Hirzes. In between trips to the zoo and Santa Fe, they enjoyed playing games, talking, and laughing together. Also, while together both babies reached milestones; Claire Hirz turned 6 months old and Henry turned 5 months old. On Wednesday they were all sorry to say goodbye to the Hirzes, but grateful to continue enjoying time with Grant.

On Thursday they introduced Henry to his first solid- avocado. Henry loved it and kept reaching for more. Stacie and Kevin are excited to help him discover new foods. They also enjoyed a trip with Grant to the Bosque (forest) by the Rio Grande. Then on Friday they took Henry to get professional pictures taken at the mall. It'll be a few weeks until they can share the pictures, but they guarantee that Henry looks very cute.

Kevin and Stacie were sad to say goodbye to Grant on Saturday, but were very thankful for the wonderful time they spent together. They are now counting down until the grandparents can come visit! In the meantime enjoy the many, many pictures that they have shared.

The Colorado Haws Family

These past few weeks have been very busy for us. We had a couple of birthday’s that we went to and finished off the girls swimming lessons. We also have been trying to get things taking care of for our move to Alaska…right now it seems to be at a stop until we get the official orders so we can set up transportation. Despite all of the stress from moving we had a wonderful week. We were able to enjoy some time with Andy’s family in Nauvoo, IL (a church history site). It was very peaceful to be in that area. We learned more about what the saints had to go through, and how they built the beautiful Nauvoo temple and then were driven out by the angry mobs and again had to leave everything that they had to head west after the Prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith was martyred in Carthage, IL. Being in Nauvoo had made me very grateful for those before me who kept the faith and never gave up even with all the hardships that they had to face.

The Wisconsin Haws Family

Lanette had an absolutely great time this last week. She stayed at the Elmhorst family and did all sorts of fun things. She treated them to dinner at A & W. She learned that "Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Tea" was really good. Grant has had a great time teasing her about the tea. She enjoyed meeting new people, attending a birthday party, watched movies and all sorts of other things.

Logan, Mom and I had an absolutely wonderful time in Nauvoo. We met up with Julie, Jeff & Alex along with Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla in Ft Madison on Friday night. Before we arrived they had a great time swimming.  On Saturday we moved into our cabin in Nauvoo. Julie, Jeff, Logan and me were privileged to do baptisms for the dead. Jeff did the baptisms and I helped with confirmations. We were able to do the work for a number of our ancestors. That evening we were able to attend the pageant. It was amazing.

On Sunday we attended church and later enjoyed dinner together. Julie, Jeff and Alex had to take off to return to Wisconsin.  The rest of us went to Carthage and enjoyed a really great musical "fireside" called "And the story goes on..."  The performers were excellent and I could picture many of you as performers in such an exhilarating performance.

On Monday Melanie and Mom enjoyed temple service while we got ready and later joined them in fun activities in Nauvoo including a horse drawn wagon ride through Old Nauvoo. We had fun at the Browning Gun shop, the brickyard and the a midday children's play. That evening we traveled to Carthage and toured the Carthage Jail and then ate pizza together.

Tuesday included an opportunity to ride a horse drawn carriage ride around the perimeter of Old Nauvoo. The narrator was a spirit filled wonderful senior missionary. We were all touched by his testimony. Later we went to the Blacksmith shop and toured the stores of modern day Nauvoo. That evening we watched a play then headed home to our cabin after a terrific meal together at a Mexican restaurant.

That evening I thought a great deal about the meaning of family. I considered the individuals in our own family tree that had waited so long to have the sealing work done. I had in my possession the sealing card for a couple that was dated back to my research work in Higley, Arizona. I knew that they wanted to be sealed as an eternal family. That feeling propelled Mom and I to go to the temple again on Wednesday morning to do the sealing for some of our ancestors. The temple was an amazing place and was the crowning jewel of Nauvoo.  I surely appreciate your help in getting this work done for our ancestors. I feel a constant drive to do more for the salvation of our ancestors. Thank you for your help.

After leaving the temple, Mom, Logan and I did a couple of more things and headed home. We had a few missed roads and ended up in Marshfield after Melanie and Andy and the girls were home.

We enjoyed having Emily over for a night. She is working very hard. Logan and I enjoyed lunch at her restaurant on Saturday. Today we enjoyed dinner with Julie, Jeff and Alex.

Love,

Dad

Thursday, July 19, 2012

July 19, 2012

The Haws Family of Brazil


Mom and Dad,

And they're off! Felipe and Lucas have left for a week and a half at
soccer tournaments. That is the big news for the two of them. Both seem
to be doing well and phone conversation suggests that they would prefer
that we called less and just let them have fun.

Derick has been doubly spoiled during with the absence of his brothers.
On Saturday we went to see Ice Age 4 in 3D in the movie theater. The 3D
movie was quite fun. Following the move we did hamburgers and brought
home a neat toy. The toy was a dinosaur clad in clay that we had to use
wooden finger-picks and brushes to clear the clay and uncover the
dinosaur. While Derick and I found our first archaeological dig to be
great fun, Renata decided it was messy and ruled out the hopes of having
another dig.

Renata is doing well. She has been busy as always and missing the boys
while they are gone. Renata's sister is dating and Renata's joy is the
game of cupid and listening to the excitement of her sister's stories.

For me things are going well. At work I am going through a bit of
growing pains as we have set up too many routines and I need to rebuild
some to better manage the computer resources.

Outside of work I have had the chance to learn lots of new things. I
ditched the high costs of Windows and Apple when I came to Brazil
turning to Linux as an alternative. I used Ubuntu since I arrived and
confess that I thought it much better than Windows or Apple. Feeling
adventurous I moved from Ubuntu to a different version of Linux called
Fedora. I continue impressed. I am not sure which version I prefer.
Ubuntu is certainly easier for the non-programmer but Fedora offers some
added simplicity for the power-user (myself). For now I will continue
with Fedora but I might revert back to Ubuntu in the near future.
My suggestion for the week, if you are fed up with having all of the
viruses and headaches of your Windows machine, it might be time to try
Linux. If you are interested you might try out Ubuntu. Highly
recommended.

That is all for me.

Love,
Jeff



The Jackson Family


Stacie, Kevin and Henry are giddy with excitement about having Grant and the Hirzes arrive this upcoming week. Work has been increasingly stressful for Stacie, so she especially looks forward to taking a week off to spend time with people she loves. This past week the Jackson's enjoyed eating lots of apricots falling from their neighbor's tree. They recently purchased a Bumbo seat to help strengthen Henry's back and they were glad when it finally arrived. Henry isn't thrilled about it, but he'll warm up to it eventually. Henry still has a cough, but it looks like he is close to recovering.


The Wisconsin Haws Family

This is kind of strange preparing this blog update. Lanette is gone to the Elmhorsts. Grant is with Stacie & Kevin (and Henry, Carolyn, Brent & Clare).  Julie, Jeff and Alex are in Nauvoo. And Molly is at the kennel. Logan, Mom and I ate a very quiet dinner. We had one pizza and lots of left overs. This is really weird. We will be taking off soon to go to Nauvoo. It will be a wonderful chance to see family and perhaps friends (maybe the McKendricks). I need a break from work and Mom and Logan can use some fun.

This past week was wonderful because we had several good and much needed rain showers. The garden and lawn very much appreciate the rain. I must have saved several hours in watering time. My garden is looking pretty good and we are anticipating a good harvest. I do love to go out to the garden early in the morning and enjoy the bird's songs and the cool breeze. This Saturday we attended a branch picnic called heritage days on Saturday and later I was able to help a bit with painting at Julie and Jeff's.

I have been doing quite a bit of family history work this week so that we can do the temple work for our ancestors this week in Nauvoo. At work I have called Jeff for help on computer stuff. Reading his recommendation on computers makes me think that Linux may be my next move.

Mom has been working in her room trying to get it the way she wants. Logan enjoyed a back to school picnic. It was a good opportunity to spend time with friends. He has redecorated his room and had a wonderful time doing it. He is very proud of it.

We enjoyed having Emily over on Sunday.

We love each of you and hope that this finds you happy and safe.

Love,

Dad





Wednesday, July 11, 2012

July 11, 2012

The Haws Family of Angra

Mom and Dad,

With a little spare time I thought that I would write a short note on our week.

The boys just went through the last week of testing for the semester. Wednesday begins winter break, yes that was winter I said. Winter break will last until the end of the month and I already feel tired.

Felipe and Lucas should be going to soccer tournaments. Felipe will be playing in Rio and Lucas will be participating in try-outs in São Paulo at a professional team. Both are excited.

Derick is pleased to get a break from school. He has done well and is a very good student.

Renata has been busy. Several of us have been sick on and off over the last couple of weeks and Renata has been overwhelmed trying to take care of everyone.

As to myself, I have been having a lot of fun at work. There are several interesting projects that I have been working on. I had been working through weather data for some time, now that those applications are stable I have been working on a distribution system for managing the increasing number of reports that are being sent. I have also been working on expanding our current set up so that I can manage more computers easily. These tasks have been exciting for me and have taught me to think in very different ways than I had a few months ago. I am very pleased.

That is all from us. We are well and hope you are too.

Love,
Jeff


Grant's News

Grant had a bit of a bumpy week at work. Nothing catastrophic, just a couple of rough days. A friend from work has been gone for the last week on vacation and that throws him off his groove a bit. Otherwise, Grant was excited to be off work the 4th of July, because working in a restaurant over a big grilling day is kind of cruddy. No business at all. So he was thankful to get the spend the day at home relaxing rather than guarding an empty restaurant. Thanks to the hot and muggy weather, the wildflowers here are springing up all over the place. Some of the wildflowers are over a month early. And of course, Grant was excited for July 5th, the official start of back to school sales at stores.

The Haws Family of Colorado

This past week we have been trying to stay busy doing activities as a family. On Monday we went to a Sesame Street play put on by the USO. It was kind of ironic that we went to it because it was about moving to new places and meeting new people. On Wednesday we went swimming to celebrate the 4th of July since they had cancelled all of the other celebrations around town due to the fire. On Thursday we enjoyed the morning at the zoo. The girls were excited because they were able to see the gorillas eating. Saturday Haley and Kayla made a Penske truck at home depot. Luckily we went in the morning, because by the afternoon it was pouring down rain. It also poured down rain after church on Sunday. We are very grateful for the rain even if it does come down all at once.

The Jackson Family of Albuquerque

Kevin, Stacie and Henry has a wonderful week and enjoyed extra time together on Wednesday, since Stacie had the day off of work. They celebrated Canada Day and Independence Day with grilling. On Saturday Kevin was grateful to take some time to golf with his friends. Stacie spent lots of time snuggling Henry. The Jacksons are counting down the days until Grant arrives, along with Carolyn, Brent and Claire Hirz.

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

Wisconsin continues to swelter in the heat. Thankful it is a bit cooler but this week compared to last but heat is heat and we specialize in humidity. We could really use some rain for the crops but my garden appreciates the fact that hoses can bring water when the clouds don't.

We have enjoyed soccer games and family time this last few days. On the 4th we went to the branch pancake breakfast. Later that day Logan, Lanette and I went over to Julie and Jeff's to do some painting and helping out. Logan mowed the lawn and Lanette helped hold Alex. It worked out pretty well. That evening we can home to a delicious meal that Grant and Mom had waiting for us.

Logan's final soccer game was last night. They lost but overall they had a very successful season. Logan will be joining the Columbus soccer program in a few weeks so it is nice to have a break for awhile from practices and games.

One of the fun things we have been doing is eating healthier and exercising more. I know that I feel better and I hope everyone else is too.

We are all looking forward to vacations. Grant will be off to Albuquerque. Lanette will stay here. Yes, of course, with the Elmhorst family. Logan, Kellie and I will be off to Nauvoo to meet up with Julie, Jeff, Alex and Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla. It will be great to be together and we look forward to seeing all of you during the coming year.

Love,

Dad


Monday, July 2, 2012

July 2, 2012

Happy 4th of July. What a privilege it is to live in our land of freedom and opportunity. 


The Jackson's of Albuquerque

The Jacksons were all infected with colds this week. Last week Stacie became ill and unfortunately she passed t on to Kevin and Henry. On Tuesday Henry had his 4 month check up where he weighed in at 13 lbs, 11 oz and measured at 25 inches tall. He is developing well and smiling more and more each day.

On Thursday Kevin's summer course ended and Stacie, Kevin and Henry went to a barbecue at their friend Nick's house with Kevin's classmates. Friday was Henry's last day at day care for a little while. Kevin is excited to spend the next month and a half with his buddy. On Saturday Kevin helped a couple people from the ward move and Stacie made lots of cookies. Today they will celebrate Canada Day with some grilling. This morning they were excited to witness Henry rolling over for the first time.


The Haws Family of Wisconsin

It has been sizzling here in the great midwest. Thankfully we have not lost power like the Washington D.C. region. It has been a busy week last week with Logan having soccer games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Their team won all of them. Logan has several games this week and a tournament on July 14th to round out his busy soccer season. He made some really nice plays.

Lanette has been attending school Monday through Friday. On Mondays and Thursdays she has stayed to work at the day care. This week one of the senior citizens gave her a bracelet that she really enjoys. She is very excited about spending time at the Elmhorst home in mid July. Lanette is pretty certain the the North Pole is melting this week and the the Day After Tomorrow is sure to happen in 2012.

Emily came to visit this week. She is working hard and becoming excited about Trent and her upcoming wedding. The date is pretty much set in stone for October 30th. She plans on keeping the plans very simple. Mom and her bought the wedding dress today online so things are going forward step by step.

We have a new car. Mom and I bought the car on Friday night. It is a Mazda CX-7 which is a cross over vehicle. Mom loves the buttons and sunroof. She picked it out and did the lion share of the paperwork and figuring out how to get it into our budget.

Mom and I had the privilege of meeting Julie and Jeff at the temple on Saturday. We were able to accomplish a great deal of work for our family including initiatories done by Mom, an endowment done by me and sealings done by Julie, Jeff and me. Mom enjoyed her grandmotherly opportunity to watch Alex while Julie and Jeff enjoyed the blessing of the temple. We really have a wonderful temple here in St Paul which a delightful temple president and matron. They welcome us going in and leaving and always make us feel important.