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Monday, August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011

Please keep Jeff in your prayers. He is taking a difficult and very important exam on Tuesday.

The Lane's of Virginia

This week has mostly been filled with hours and hours of study.


There was an earthquake here, but the mountains shielded us quiet nicely. We did get to go camping on Friday. We left early due to the fact that we could not sleep and the toilets there we worse than going in the bushes. Luckily, it turned out to be a good call because Hurricane Irene's rain and wind hit us pretty hard. So we were fairly nice and dry all day long.


Tonight we had a spontaneous lasagna dinner outing at the park with some friends! That was quite nice!


Julie

News from Grant

It was a very slow week at work for Grant. With such nice weather and school starting next week, he suspects people are more interested in grilling at home than going out to eat. This coming weekend is the Central Wisconsin state fair and that will surely kill business as well. When at home Grant has been heckling the children about school starting. The pumpkins he grew this summer are starting to turn orange, which is perfect timing because the flowerpots on the front porch are dying down.


The Haws Family of Colorado and Afghanistan/Qatar

This week went by so fast that I can’t remember what we did besides a few things. Although it went by fast the best part of the week was being able to see Andy on Skype. He looks really good and is staying busy. The girls were very, very excited to talk to him. We are so grateful for modern technology. Haley had a few rough days at school, first losing her jacket which was found by her teacher, then the next day breaking her glasses on the playground. I am just thankful that we paid the extra $25 for insurance it was well worth it. The girls have been trying to beat the heat this week by playing in a tub full water (because it takes too long to blow up the swimming pool) and playing with water balloons. I also signed up Haley up for soccer which will be starting in the middle of September.

The Jackson's of Albuquerque

This week Kevin started off a new semester. He is already swamped with lots of homework, plus preparing for the classes he now teaches. However, he enjoys his students and the opportunity to work on campus. Stacie and Kevin started riding the bus to and from UNM. They are very happy to no longer pay the high prices for parking passes and gas. On Tuesday Stacie had to leave work because of the strong paint fumes in the building. She spent most of the afternoon getting paid to read Harry Potter in a nearby building. Needless to say that it was her favorite day of work yet.


On Thursday, Stacie volunteered to help judge for an event put on by her department called Olympiad. She enjoyed watching the on-campus residents play silly games, like one where they had to spin around with their foreheads on a bat which caused them to fall over repeatedly when trying to run back to their home bases. On Friday they completed some much needed grocery shopping and then returned home to watch some of their favorite television show, How I Met Your Mother. Late Friday night Stacie finished her summer reading of Harry Potter and started out on a highly recommended series, The Hunger Games. On Saturday Kevin worked on preparing a talk he was assigned to give in church about living a balanced, gospel-centered life while Stacie caught up on reading and sleep.

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

Everyone is excited for school to start. No one is more excited than Logan. Logan will have his first day on Tuesday. This coming week is Central Wisconsin Fair. Logan has entered one of his chickens in the fair. He has helped out set up pens and spread out hay. He has come to really love animals. He is also practicing for the soccer team. Practices start at 6:30 am so he is up early each day.

Emily has been having a lot of fun with friends as the summer comes to a close. She has been taking senior pictures this last week. Her friend, Mariah Kolts, has taken some really nice pictures that she has posted on Facebook.

Lanette had a great weekend at the Elmhorst family. She was able to participate in a birthday party for two of the Elmhorst grandchildren. She was able to go swimming and use a hottub as well. Needless to say she really enjoyed herself.

Mom has worked to get everything in order for the first school day. She is always looking for a way to make everyone's life better. Mom and I enjoyed putting up corn for the coming year. It was fun to work side-by-side with your mom. I was pretty proud of the corn in our garden. Tonight we enjoy corn on the cobb from our garden. That was great.

I was able to attend the temple on Tuesday night. I had an outreach clinic in Eau Claire which is about half way to the temple. After seeing my patients I drove to the Twin Cities. I arrived late to do an endowment session but even better than that, I was able to participate in the sealing of 7 of your ancestors to their parents. I love the promises of the temple. I frankly do not understand the power of those covenants but I sense in them a force that exceeds my most wonderful dreams.

Monday, August 22, 2011

August 22, 2011

I am sorry to get so far behind on the blog. We had a wonderful vacation to visit Jeff followed by visiting Julie and Jeff. I need to be off to work soon so I will give you details on our vacation in a later entry. I am sending now the news from our family spread throughout the world. Love Dad

Stacie' & Kevin's

8/15- 8/21

This week was a busy week for both Kevin & Stacie. Kevin spent the week in orientation preparing him to teach an introductory English course. For Stacie, the week was busy preparing and assisting with resident move-ins. However, they both enjoyed spending their evenings going out to dinner and watching movies together. On Thursday, Stacie lead out on a big project for work that she has been preparing for all summer. She was happy to see it succeed. On Saturday, Kevin was willing to come volunteer for her event, which she really appreciated. In the evening Stacie & Kevin had dinner with their friends, Jeramie, Clare, and Colleen. They were also joined by Kevin's professor, Dr. Domico. They enjoyed grilling and playing games all evening. They also enjoy playing with their friend's bulldog, Mycroft.

8/8- 8/14

This week was a busy and eventful one for both Kevin and Stacie. On Monday they enjoyed dinner with friends and then spent the evening helping Kevin pack for his trip to visit his family members in Utah. His brother-in-law, Brent, graduated from BYU this week with a Bachelor's in Geography. On Tuesday Stacie dropped Kevin off at the airport and then headed over for her first ultrasound appointment. Attached are pictures of their baby at 13 weeks. She was very happy to have the first opportunity to hear her baby's heartbeat, confirm that there is only one baby in there, and see a glimpse of their little one.


On Wednesday Kevin hiked to the Y with his dad. He enjoyed several opportunities to go hiking with his dad this week and looks forward to hiking more when his dad comes to visit in October. On Thursday he attended Brent's commencement ceremony and on Friday he attended the convocation ceremonies. He had another opportunity to go hiking with his dad and with his cousin, Cory. They hiked up Stewart Falls, which was beautiful with the cold waterfall at the end. In the evening his family enjoyed dinner at Tucanos, much to everyone else's jealousy (especially Stacie's). Meanwhile, in Albuquerque Stacie went to a doctor's appointment and then enjoyed a quiet evening at home scrapbooking.


On Saturday morning Stacie went out to a salon to get her haircut. She was looking forward to a bold transformation and certainly got it! Attached are pictures of her new haircut that is at least 10 inches shorter. She loves her new look and looks forward to taking less time to get ready in the morning (which Kevin surely appreciates too). Meanwhile, in Utah Kevin visited Salt Lake City with his family. They attended the Joseph Smith film and were surprised by some changes to the film. They also were able to walk around temple square and attend an organ practice in the old conference center.


Today Kevin was sad to leave his family, but happy to return home to Albuquerque. Stacie was very happy to have Kevin back home. They look forward to Kevin's last week before school begins.


Julie' & Jeff's News


This week has been busy with studies for Jeff's big test on the 30th. He has been working very hard on it and is beginning to see some good steps. We are hopeful that it will continue through the test. He is also hopeful for a possible management position that is opening up at his work since he is one of the senior employees with all the requirements, except one which he will have in a week most likely, that if it does open up he would be a leading candidate.


The baby's news is that it danced to "Coldplay" this week. Jeff and Julie got some gyros for their date night. All Julie has to say is... lamb.... YUM! OR pineapple pizza.. oh divinity! Although taco salad, at today's linger longer, was not such a good idea since it sent her running for the closest trash can in a crowded room.


Julie went to help her friend, Linda, at the fair with a special Olympics booth on Wednesday. Jeff joined her after his studies and had fun with the lively environment.




On Saturday, they went to an enchanted birthday party for their friend's 1 year old. They got some fairy wings and a knight's breast plate that went with the the theme of the fairy tea party. They were also graced with a phone call from Lanette whom was greatly concerned for the urgent need to use the bathroom, even though the closest bathroom they could get for her would be located in VA!



With many new move ins-in the ward Julie's primary and achievement day girls have grown quite large with more prospects to come. Apparently, James Madison University is extending its LDS population by hiring more and more professors that are moving into our ward. We are hopeful of it turning into the next BYU really soon! Although the dating pool here just got smaller since one of the three LDS boys here just got engaged to a new member. Emily is sure to get a few LDS professors when she comes out her next year!


Grant's News

Grant was excited to have the family get home this week from their vacation. The house was getting creepy so quiet. Plus, without Molly, rabbits were overrunning the yard. Work at Hudson's is going well, Grant is getting better shifts and is getting to know the other servers better. Unfortunately a bunch of servers are quitting with the start of the new school year, so he is sad that some of the people is has started enjoying working with won't be there soon.

Andy' & Melanie's News

8/15- 8/21

On Monday we went to meet Kayla and Haley’s teachers. Haley told me that she is old now because she is in first grade, as for me she is still our little Haley even though she is growing up quick. She started school on Tuesday and Kayla started Pre-K on Wednesday. They are both excited because we are carpooling with their friend Emma. Now that Kayla is going to school in the mornings I have a three hour break without kids. You would think I would be able to accomplish more things during that time but I have found myself getting very distracted when it comes to accomplishing tasks especially exercising. Andy moved from Kabul, Afghanistan this weekend to Qatar and the weather is extremely hot about 100-130 degrees and 100% humidity. He has to set up a shop from scratch because USAOF-A fuels have never set one up there before. Although he is in Qatar, he will be spending the majority of the time in Afghanistan doing the same job as before.

8/8- 8/14

This week the girls and I were soaking up the last few days of summer vacation. On Tuesday I was able to enjoy a session at the Denver temple while Haley and Kayla went to the zoo with their friend Emma and her family. On Wednesday we went to the library and then to the park with Haley’s friend Sydney. Haley has been a very good missionary to Sydney by telling her about primary and inviting her to church. She hasn’t come yet but we hope she will be able to come with us soon. It is truly amazing how a little child can have such a big influence on others. On Friday the girls and I spent the day at the Splash Pad with Sydney and her family. I was surprised that the girls actually wanted to stay for longer than one hour because the weather was not as warm as what it was forecasting. On Sunday I was grateful that Brother Stewart took my class while I went into the primary to hear Haley gave her talk. I heard from Andy on Monday, he said that they are going to be moving from Kabul so the address that I sent out last week is no longer the address for him. But when I get the new address I will send it out to everyone.

Jeff' and Renata's News


Our week went well.

I confess that I do not have a lot of news. Felipe. Lucas and Derick all sound well. Renata also appears to have enjoyed her week.

Today is father's day in Brazil. So to all the father's and especially the becoming fathers congratulations are in due.

Elsewhere know that we are well and wish the best to all.

Love,

Jeff


PLEASE REMEMBER THAT IT IS JEFF'S BIRTHDAY ON THE 31ST!!!!




Sunday, August 7, 2011

August 7, 2011

News from Melanie and the girls and news from Afghanistan

These past two weeks have been busy for us. First of all, the most exciting thing that happened was Haley and Kayla received a package from Andy that contained a jewelry box and a necklace for both. Haley told me that she is going to wear the necklace all the time to remind her of daddy. Even though they received the package, they still look in the mailbox everyday to see if he had sent them another one.

They were glad because I finally let them get their ears pierced. Haley did well, but the gun jammed when they were trying to pierce Kayla’s ears but Kayla was a trooper and let them finish.

I also took them to the end of summer party at the library where they had activities for them to do.

On Saturday we went to a birthday party at the splash pad. This time they actually liked playing in the water unlike last time we only stayed about ten minutes. Good thing it is free!

Andy is doing well and staying busy of course. I do have his address which I will include, but he has asked me to let everyone know to please not send anything that will require him to bring home because he already has four bags that he has to bring home with him and does not have any more room.

SSG Haws

USFOR-A/NKC

J-4

APO, AE 09356

News from the Haws Family of Wisconsin


Our family has been on the road this week. Emily and Logan flew out on Monday. Emily went to Palmyra for the especially for youth program. She had a wonderful time at EFY and made many new friends. She promised some pictures that I will add to the flickr account.

Logan flew out to Virginia to join Julie and Jeff. They have had a wonderful time. Julie has spent a lot of time planning out activities while Jeff has been a great big brother to Logan. They were able to go the Washington DC temple yesterday to do work for our ancestors.

Lanette came along with Mom and I on our long distance drive. We have had an enjoyable time. We had enjoyed the opportunity to go to Kirtland, Ohio. There is a special memory for Mom as we visited your ancestor's farm (Isaac & Lucy Morley). They were wonderful examples of faithful saints that sacrificed so much. We went on to Palmyra and then on down to Bethlehem, PA. In Palmyra Mom and I were able to attend the temple and do some of the temple work for ancestors. It is a beautiful temple so close to the sacred grove. Jeff has been a wonderful host to us. On Saturday evening we dined with Uncle Steven, Aunt Dona and Matthew. Today we were treated to a wonderful dinner and conversations at Matthew and Ginny's home. They have three adorable children. Tonight we had a skype conversation with Renata and the boys.

Tomorrow we will be heading off to Philadelphia. It is great to be able to enjoy time together.


From Jeff
It has been nice to have Mom, Dad, Emily and Lanette here.

News from home has been positive. Renata was able to collect and send the documents that I need to proceed with immigration papers this week.

Felipe's news is that he is enjoying life. He has been trying to surf, but the water is just a little too cool just yet for that. Skateboarding is a good second, but gets pushed aside by girls who apparently are the ultimate first.

Lucas has been playing soccer very well. He is participating in some special tournaments that are being watched heavily by professional scouts. Last week was also his 13th birthday that was met with much fun and excitment.

Derick is happy. He continues to play and have fun day after day. Life never seems to let him down. His comment was that it is not that cold and that if Felipe won't get in the water he will.

Renata appear to be well. She has sent some pictures that I have loaded to the Flickr account.

As for myself all continues well at work and I have enjoyed being up here.

Jeff

Monday, August 1, 2011

Updates to July 31st blog contribution

I am adding a picture and note from Julie and Jeff as well as pictures from Grant. Enjoy.

The Lanes of Virginia

Congrats to the new future parents!

The last few weeks have been preparing for the family, tests and other obligations. We are looking forward to all who are coming.

We have our next doctors appointment this week so hopefully we will be able to tell you all the gender next time. Jeff painted a changing table that we got from a friend. It now matches a rocking chair that we made last summer for our former apartment deck. (see picture).

Jeff has been working really hard on an upcoming test preparation.

Julie

Sunday, July 31, 2011

July 31, 2011

Last week I did not post anything to the blog. I was at scout camp without internet connections. So here is the blog updates a week late but still great to have.


The Jackson's of Albuquerque

This week was pleasantly stormy in Albuquerque. Kevin hopes that with the added rainfall the state will open up the mountain trails soon. On Monday Stacie and Kevin enjoyed FHE and a round of Harry Potter Guess Who. They also started working on a Harry Potter party set for the end of the month. On Wednesday Kevin enjoyed playing golf with his friend Nick. Afterwards Stacie joined them for pizza. Although it rained heavily on Wednesday, it was nothing compared to their stormy experience on Friday. After work Kevin and Stacie went to Costco to grab a bite to eat. While walking around the store lightening and thunder started to shake the building. They strategically positioned themselves in the baking section of the store to insure that if they were stuck in their for a while, they could eat their way out.


On Saturday Stacie started her second sewing project. Although her first attempt outside of class resulted in a bit of a mess, she was excited to see that her second and third turned out to be alright. She is sewing more tote bags and attached is a picture of her project. In the evening Stacie and Kevin were excited to attend their first baseball game together. They purchased tickets as part of the UNM Staff Appreciation month. Albuquerque has a minor league baseball team called the Isotopes. Attached are pictures of the game.


The International Haws Family

My ever horrible habit of not contributing has worsened during my time here alone, this week however I am early.

I have a couple of fun stories/comments that I thought I would share.

Derick has repeatedly had the funny idea that he could break the web-cam and come through my side of the computer as if it were some sort of transport system. Renata even had to stop him from trying to step on it a few days ago. I enjoyed hearing that very much and was more pleased that his attempts had failed.

Felipe, Lucas and Derick have enjoyed having their aunt and uncle return to live near them. Mom and Dad met their aunt, Tais. She was pregnant when they visited and now has a boy that everyone enjoys playing with. Derick loves little kids and continuously asks for a little brother, Felipe enjoys the children of others and continues to dream of being an only child, Lucas just sees soccer balls.

Another fun story occurred yesterday as Renata tried to prepare a small treat for the kids. In Brazil they like to eat canned peaches with a heavy table cream on top. When preparing the snack as she accidentally poured white spaghetti sauce over the peaches instead of the white table cream, the boxes have similar size and the product is of similar color. To make matters worse Felipe and Lucas ate while attentively watching tv and did not notice the difference in taste. Only after did Renata go to clean up and notice the package she had opened. All quickly felt nuascious and complain for the rest of the evening, but like most small inconveniences they make for good stories after the pain is gone.

My week was pleasant. Work has kept me busy and I enjoy it very much.

The Colorado and Afganistan Haws Family

This week was an okay week. On Monday, we had a little bit of car trouble but everything turned out okay, and I am grateful that we have Brother and Sister Stewart and others at church to rescue us when we need help. On Tuesday I was able to adventure off to the commissary while Haley and Kayla went to play at Emma’s house. It was nice to go without the extra hands trying to grab things or extra legs trying to go to the next isle without me, but as nice as it was it turned out to be kind of boring without them. On Wednesday to beat the heat we went to the library and then to the swimming pool. The swimming pool was much too crowed but Haley and Kayla didn’t mind. I really liked the kid pool for the girls because they were able touch the bottom and safely have their head above the water. Haley thought jumping off the side into the pool without any help was the funnest part; Kayla however decided to cling to me the whole time. On Thursday I took the girls to see a magician at the High School. They thought it was pretty neat to see all of the tricks that he could do especially watching the elephant disappear and a rabbit appear in a cage. On Saturday we were able to attend a baptism of one of our friends who was in our ward in Hopewell, Virginia. I am glad that I was able to take the girls to the baptism to so they could see how one is baptized and the importance of it. On Sunday Kayla gave the prayer and a talk in primary which was a paragraph from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” It was good that she was assigned this one because it was a good reminder of how important the family unit is. It sounds like Andy has been staying very busy. Here is his contribution to the news letter. I finished these past two weeks with a total of 69 missions completed, which means I will be doing about 140 missions per month plus 2.5 billion dollars of fuel accountability per month. That is great numbers for my NCOER. Again thank you for all of your continual prayers.

The Wisconsin Haws Family

Logan and I spent the week at Boy Scout camp. We had a great time. Logan worked on four merit badges and completed two of them. He is ready to advance to the rank of second class and should be able to go on to first class in the next month or so. He was a pleasure to spend the week with and is a good example to his peers (and me). Logan is leaving this week to visit Julie and Jeff. It is a delayed and much awaiting birthday gift. He is very excited. Today was a special surprise as the Pilsner family came from Mexico to visit. Cheyenne and Fiona are very special friends.

Emily was able to earn her driver's license this week. It was with great personal joy that she drove to work and other activities. Emily is leaving today to go to Palmyra, New York for EFY. She will be gone for two weeks. One week for EFY and the second week to visit family.

Lanette had a great weekend visiting friends (the Elmhorst family). She enjoyed the opportunity to sleep in a bit . She will be traveling with mom and I as we go to Palmyra to pick up Emily and then to travel on to see others. Mom has worked on contacting the school for the Blind in Pennsylvania so that we can find some activities that will fit Lanette's interests.

Mom will be traveling to Madison tonight. She will get Logan and Emily on their airline flights. She has been doing some major revisions in the kitchen eliminating clutter and tidying up before our trip. In addition she has been a major help to me in getting all things in order for scout camp.

My week has been spent primarily with the scouts. It was a beautiful camp set in the north woods of Wisconsin. The camp is full of white and red pine, oak and maples. It is beside a beauty lake called Crystal Lake that is essentially reserved for the scouts. The loons and eagles populate the sky and water ways along with turtles and plenty of fish. It is really an amazing place.

I look forward with excitement to the upcoming days of visitng family and friends. I look forward to seeing the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of our great country. It promises to be some wonderful moments. I express my appreciation to people like your grandfathers and Andy that have help to protect America and make it a free land. Despite my frustration with our leaders I still prize America as the greatest country that has been established.

Love,

Dad

Monday, July 18, 2011

July 18, 2011

News from Colorado & Afganistan

Even though not much had happened this week it went by pretty fast. I took the girls and Wyatt to the park and a couple of times to McDonalds to play (I was grateful for the air conditioning). On Saturday Vanesa and Dewey came to pick up Wyatt. Again we were all sad to see them go. I only heard from Andy once this week but had informed me that he is the Command U.S. Force Afghanistan (USFOR-A) Fuel NCOIC, was picked up to do Combat Drive Team not Master Driver, and also he finally got his side arm/secondary weapon (9MM), which he was very excited to get.


The Jackson's of Albuquerque

Stacie and Kevin are happy to finally have internet up at their new home so that they can participate in the family blog.


On Monday a few of their friends came over to see their new home and to share dinner together. They were happy to be able to use their grill in their own backyard for the first time in over a year. Stacie is definitely looking forward to more of Kevin's culinary creations. On Thursday Stacie left work early to attend a doctor's appointment. She enjoyed having the rest of the afternoon off to work on cub scout awards and tidying up the house. On Friday Stacie's new replacement to cover her old position at work was able to start working. She was excited because it has been over a month since the new employee was hired and Stacie has been waiting anxiously to have her begin. Kevin took his midterm for his Latin class and was happy to report that he felt like he had done well. In the evening Kevin and Stacie attended their last cub scout pack meeting for their old ward. They enjoyed playing water balloon volleyball and ultimate frisbee with the boys.


Kevin spent most of the morning on Saturday cleaning the old apartment. Kevin and Stacie were determined to be out of the apartment by the end of the day. He picked up Stacie part way through the day and she helped him finish the task. They were happy to finally turn in their keys. In the evening they went out to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. They were happy to discover a small theater less than five minutes away from their new house. They liked the movie, but mostly enjoyed the opportunity to be together for the evening. Tonight they plan on having dinner with their friend's mom, since it is her birthday and she is home alone. They also look forward to a week completely settled into their new house. Pictures to come!

Grant's News

Grant got suckered into attending his friend Amber's Mary Kay party last Sunday, but luckily ended up getting a foot scrub out of it. The rest of the week Grant was working at Hudson's. They were expecting to be busy due to a Farm Technology Conference in town, but it turned out pretty slow. He attended the midnight showing of Harry Potter with Logan, Emily, and Mom on Thursday night. On Friday Grant and Emily swapped rooms; Grant was hoping the quiet basement might improve his sleep issues. On Saturday he spent the day painting over the orange and purple walls. He is pretty happy with the outcome.

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

This was a good week for Logan. He had a soccer tournament on Saturday and did very well. It was great to watch him play. The heat and humidity was pretty intense but Logan made it through the weather pretty good. On Sunday a new family joined our branch. To Logan's delight their son is thirteen. It is great to have a deacon's quorum of two.

Emily is beginning to look more seriously at colleges. She is visiting the University of Minnesota with Mom today. As Grant mentioned in his section Emily attended the Harry Potter movie along with Grant, Logan and Mom. Everyone had a good time.

Lanette had the opportunity to attend with her school several activities including a trip to the cheese factory in Rudolph, Wisconsin. Many of you have been there. They have great ice cream and cheese curds which Lanette enjoyed. Summer school will be out soon and then Lanette will be coming with Mom and Dad as the solo child out on vacation. We will be picking up Emily at EFY in Palmyra and Logan in Virginia.

Mom has continued to be busy with her many duties. She finished painting the deck. It looks amazing. She attended Harry Potter with her kids while her husband snored away at home. She is on her way as this blog contribution is written to visit the University of Minnesota with Emily.

I am working with Logan to prepare for scout camp this coming week. It will be fun and I am looking forward to the time with Logan. I have enjoyed Logan's games, riding my bike to work and gardening. I continue to feel like I am a very lucky person with some of the richest blessings that Heavenly Father can bestow on anyone.

Have a wonderful week. Love, Dad

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Weekly update from Melanie

It was a wonderful couple of weeks spending time in Kansas with my sister and her family. On Wednesday, my mom, Jorie, Haley, Kayla, Wyatt and I headed back to Colorado and I have to say that the kids did wonderful considering the long drive that we had. On Friday we all went to the Garden of the Gods to see the awesome rock formations then to Hobby Lobby where my mom was able to get some cool decorations for her house, like the outhouse sign, (Bob and Kellie know what I am talking about.) On Saturday I was able to take in a session at the Denver temple with my mom while my niece watched the kids. It was so wonderful to be on the temple grounds with the family. Sunday I was set apart as an assistant to the weekly meeting leader. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is an assistant enrichment leader. I am grateful for the calling because I think it will keep me busy while Andy is gone. On Monday we said good-bye to my mom and Jorie. It was great having them here. It was really good to get to know my niece more. She has a beautiful spirit about her and is a very loving daughter of our heavenly father. Haley, Kayla, and Wyatt were sad to see them go they kept asking when they are coming back. We heard from Andy a couple of times this past week. He is doing well even though he has had another job added onto him. Someone had caught wind of how he used to be the master driver in the past, so they decided to let him be the master driver now which he doesn’t mind because it lets him get back into doing his primary MOS (job). Thank you for all of the prayers and please continue to keep praying for his safety.