Monday, August 4, 2014

August 2014

ELDER AND SISTER NIELSON

Dearest Family,

     What a month it has been!  I hope that you have fun catching up on each other's news.  With every month that passes I realize more and more what a treasure my family is to me.  All of your little ones will someday be your best friends too.  And I hope that you will be best friends to each other.  I think the fall schedule is real now but I'm still not positive.  We are teaching Book of Mormon and the marriage class for pretty sure.  The other one is up in the air at the moment.  I think we probably won't teach it.  But we will know soon because our first class starts in the middle of August! We teach for 15 weeks and then have a break for Christmas.  Then we teach for 15 more weeks and we are done!

     I want you all to know that in spite of all of our little problems we are glad we are here.  And we are glad that we have each other.  It is so good for us to be sharing this challenge.  I know that my testimony has been strengthened. I am so glad that we have the Gospel in our lives.  I'm thankful that we have opportunities to serve in the great work of the Lord.  I know that He loves us and that He is moving us toward the highest happiness that we will allow Him to bring us to. I am so pleased with my children and my wonderful in-law children that I love just like my own.  I adore all of my grandchildren and I'm so thankful that they all have good parents.  Keep raising them good because they will carry you in your old age! 

     I don't have anything in the way of news that you don't get anyway.  Dail's blog is growing all the time.  He is having fun with it.  You are likely to get more pictures etc. than you even want. Today in Duke Gardens he was stopping to take pictures about every 20 feet! I think it is fun for him to do though, even though he keeps including pictures of me!  Stay close to each other and close to the Lord.

    I love you,
         Mom

BENGES

I'm back. So I can share my news. If I can remember it.

Isaac and Gideon just returned from their high adventure trip for the priests to Island Park. Gideon came back with a swollen and damaged left hand from an ATV accident, but a helmet saved his head from being crushed. So, I think all is well (although they immediately ran off to play ultimate somewhere so we haven't talked much).

Miriam also returned from YW's camp today. Joshua and I (and a couple of mice) spent one night with them and it was fun. Wednesday evening was the highlight as we commuted over to Huntsville for dinner in the park and then a concert, where I learned that the Nashville Tribute Band is very awesome.

The music reminds me of something kinda cool: watch my relatives, the Redhead Express, in their latest music video if you'd like. These gals' father is my second cousin and a friend who didn't live too far from me in Western Idaho. Fun.

Next week Andrew heads to Wyoming for Scout camp for a week. Whooo!

Lucy went to a one day adventure for Activity Days at Camp Kiesel yesterday.

SOTW is moving along, devouring our time. I doubt it will be professional, but we pray that the spirit will be there and that some lives can be touched. We have tickets available again--I think--for a showing for friends and family of our stake only at stake.northridgeproductions.org on August 21st. That will effectively be our final dress rehearsal. (I just checked online: 87 tickets left. There should be other nights available now, too, at tickets.northridgeproductions.org if you want to give it a try.)

And, of course, if any of you want to come up here to tour the temple and need a place to stay or hang out, let us know!

And, Isaac is just now starting is mission paperwork/computerwork. Exciting!

We took a couple of days to trash a neighbors tent trailer and visit Dinosaurland in Vernal and it's environs at the beginning of the month, and we loved seeing many of you on July 4th. 

And I think that covers it! Take care and God speed!

The Benge Family

NIELSON, C

Not a lot of update from the Charles-and-Bryonyleses. Bry has been working on looking for another job. We're at a plateau (for a bit at least) on the fertility thing. We'll probably do some sort of online fundraiser in the near future. We're too stressed about it to make decisions I think, which puts us in a stall.

We're really, really enjoying working at the temple. It's just so great to go there every Saturday. It's been very nice.

Here are some other Ask Gramps posts I've done since the last newsletter. Since we don't have much other news, here's some stuff to read:

*Here's my original answer before someone else wanted to change it, and I didn't care enough to not let them:

Erika,

Not only can we still pray for needed and desired things, but we are commanded to -- always (3 Nephi 18:19).

However, Proverbs 29:9 states "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination."

Does this mean stop praying if you are a sinner? Of course not. If that were true then none of us would every pray. Sinners are commanded to pray too. But when we do pray we should do so with an attitude of "hearing the law" and, of course, doing our best to follow it (which is part of the meaning of "hearing" it). If we purposefully and blatantly disregard the law, refusing to do as the Lord wills while selfishly begging for our needs and desires to be satisfied, we may run the risk of our prayers becoming abominations to the Lord. But I do not think we need fear this be the case because of weaknesses and mistakes in spite of our best intentions and efforts.

As to your scripture reading question -- yes, you would not increase the spirit in your life as much as if you applied those things taught. Would it be okay? That question can't be answered simply. Certainly the reading is okay. Certainly the lack of application is not okay.

None of us are perfect. But we are commanded to be perfect. That means we do what we can to be perfect in spite of the fact that we will fall short. It does not mean it is okay not to try.

Finally, we must remember the law of the harvest. We will reap what we sow. A person who vacuums their living room every day but never vacuums the bedroom cannot expect their bedroom floor to remain clean in spite of their diligence in the living room.

Likewise, diligence at homework may keep one's grades up, but will not keep one healthy if they eat nothing but donuts.

And prayer alone is insufficient. Prayer is only part of the requirement set for blessings we seek. D&C 130:20-21

Quote

20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

 21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Gramps

Later I found this that also supported my thinking. Alma 34:28

And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

JOHNSON

Dear Family,

A big hello from the Johnson family. Ummm. . . Yah, that about sums up all the news. We are all still alive, and doing about the same things that we always do. Contemplating this situation is making me feel a little depressed. Although I should be rejoicing. We are all healthy. We all have more clothes than we can manage to get folded and put away. We have a fridge full of food (some that probably is growing mold and needs to be thrown out). We have one car in the garage, and one in the shop getting fixed. We have a front door and a back door, and one of them actually stays closed without having to turn the deadbolt. We have a pretty good life, even if it doesn't make for fabulous newsletter content.

And if I were more creative I might even be able to entertain you with descriptions of our mundane lives. I could tell you that Mike has been shaving his head every Sunday, which means that by Tuesday he has grown a nice rim of Velcro around his head. I don't think that a hurricane could blow the hat off his head on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

I could tell you how we spent several hours one day trying to invent our own version of Qwirkle with Popsicle sticks--since we don't have Qwirkle. It was a flop. But I'm sure we learned important things from that endeavor.

I could tell you about the deep doctrine that Mike and I are learning from having the opportunity to substitute for Sadie's primary class. (Out of the mouth of babes . . .) I could tell you whose grandpa died, but now he is back alive, and whose cousin's dog is so old that she will bite you if you pet her. I could even tell you which adorable, sweet child suddenly starts calling the other class members a stupid-face for no apparent reason--and right in the middle of an inspiring lesson on kindness. But those might be the kinds of things it is better just to keep to yourself.

So, instead of trying to be creative with news, I will just assure you all that you are very dear to us, and we hope to get to see you again someday.

Love,
The Johnsons

HARDMAN

Hardmans just got back from Disneyland!!! We had a great time, and roasted in a lot of lines. The good and the bad of it is as follows: Abby took a tumble down a hill on her scooter the day before we left, and skidded all along the road and scraped up her face, arm, hip and tore up her toe. She was hurting pretty bad, but the good part of it was that we rented her a wheel chair and then we got into all the rides quicker. So, thanks Abby, for taking one for the team! We have nick named her Scabby Abby.

We got to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel, which is the hotel that opens into California Adventure Park, because Steve's work had their big convention there and paid for our room. That was awesome. When we got tired in the day, we just hopped on the monorail and went home to sleep for a bit. We rented a car, so we drove two cars, and Char drove one and Steve drove the other because I hate to drive in strange places with crazy traffic, and we all know how stellar is my sense of direction. Char did awesome, and now she knows her way all around the Disneyland roads.

We made it home safe and sound ready to take on the world again--or whatever.
Love you all! 

NIELSON, J

Liz is due in less than two months.  She's getting increasingly uncomfortable in her pregnancy, but you wouldn't know it by how upbeat she stays.  John is finally done (well, almost done) with crunch times at work and will be able to take some time off to help get ready for the new baby's arrival.  Lucy went to girl's camp this year and came home as excited as a jumping bean in a burrito.  Alice loves playing Inifinity and asks Daddy to play with her when he gets home from a full week of making it.  Dora is really excited for the new baby as well.  She denies this, of course, but it is a scientific fact!

NIELSON, S

Marigold walks everywhere now with great confidence. Her speaking is limited to “Da-da” but says it with many nuances in meaning, with most variations leaning toward some sort of demand.

The kids have started school again, and Daisy is starting kindergarten this year with them. Marilyn is beginning with a unit on what Daisy calls the “Resolutionary War.”

Marilyn has been working on “Blurb” books to cover our family history/photo memories for the last several years. This is usually a big project that takes a month or two of dedicated evenings.

Sam has decided to take a job teaching full-time in the Animation program at BYU. He’ll be resigning from Avalanche at the end of August and starting at BYU just a few days later. We’re excited about the opportunities and life changes that will come along with the new job 

HUNT

This month Gwen wanted to change our last name to Ancient Dragon and have me purchase her a dragon costume that she could wear every day until she outgrew it. Well we weren't going to change our name so she settled for having me call her that instead. I told her I wouldn't be able to remember to call her Ancient Dragon so she made name tag so I wouldn't forget.

She also has been getting nonfiction library books about animals, motorcycles, exercise, and mummies. I guess she wants to learn about a little of everything. She even said that she wanted to tell her classmates all about the mummies in a report. So she had me write down some facts of her.

We took Ella swimming and she tried to head out on her own. It's hard to hold onto her when she's trying to push out with her feet. I got a good workout. Also one day at the park she didn't want to do anything except walk over to the library and play with some of the toys they have there. She also keeps us very busy all day long keeping out of naughty stuff. She'll climbs up things now and learned how to climb out of her crib so we got her, her own bed to sleep in, which she seems to like very much.

Abe keeps busy with work and treating a few of his nieces and nephews with a play at the Shakespeare Festival. They had a deal for family day where the tickets went pretty cheap. It was fun to go as a family. We went to Comedy of Errors. It was just as funny as I remembered. I helped the In-laws and participated in a yard sale. Abe and I got $70 from it. But it was a lot of work. I had a fun visit with Kari this month which I enjoyed very much and learned a new game to play which I taught my in-laws. They like it too. Well that about sums it up.

FROYD

It's a boy, or so they tell us. Now we just have to figure out exactly how to prepare for that. Now we get to think of names. Woo hoo. My pregnancy has also taken a turn for the worst this past month. My pain level has shot through the roof, particularly whenever the baby moves it feels like I'm being clawed by hot coals. Apparently it's fairly common in pregnancies with fibromyalgia. And it's supposed to get worse, yay (and yes that's sarcasm).

Oh, and we may have to move. We applied for low income housing before we decided to move in with grandma, but figured it wouldn't really matter for a while since they told us it was at least a 3 year waiting list. Well, suddenly it's not. We have jumped to the head of the line, but we can't live in Provo, so we may have to move or lose this opportunity. Since we've been worrying about how in the world we would squeeze a crib in with Naya, not to mention how to baby proof this house, it may be an excellent opportunity. Especially if we get into the apartment that we want to which is located almost exactly between Christy's, Kari's and Mom's. So that may be happening. How and when we don't know, but we may call everyone available to help us. We're not exactly able to do what we need to get this done by ourselves. If and when that happens we'll let you know.

Sandin's still trying to get the right anxiety meds, we'll see how that goes.

Naya starts school in three short weeks. I hope we get everything done that we need to with that. She's excited, mostly because I think she's bored a lot. Especially on days when Sandin and I are both down. Poor girl.

ADAMS

Michael DID get a 4.0 on his Master's/Masters'-- Ah, forget it; when in doubt, skip the apostrophe: Masters Degree. (obviously I DON'T have a Masters'.... let's not start that again!! MBA! Sheesh!)  In fact, he got 100% on his capstone project!  We were thrilled and went  to Hibachi Grill to celebrate. Evelyn spent the whole time cowering under the table from the fire. But the food was good, so we couldn't spank her too much...

Michael has still been waiting to hear back about the raise he asked for over four months ago. We decided that must be a bad sign, in spite of his boss claiming they were working out the details. So Michael starting job hunting. As you all know, job hunting is usually just a formula for going bald. Just as Michael was about to throw up his arms in defeat and join the Air Force as an officer, he received some rather unexpected news. Kirby, Michael's current Project Manager, sent in his resignation  letter. Michael was crushed, because everyone in our family loves Kirby for all the free days off that he awards Michael for a job-well-done.

After dealing with the initial disappointment and the resulting determination to find a different job, we realized that meant there was an open position in the company. Kirby had recommended Chris (Michael's coworker and friend) for the position, but Michael turned in his resume' (pretend that's an accent over the 'e') and showed off his new MBA and other accolades.

Four anxious, nail-biting days later, Michael's boss called him and let him know that Michael is the new project manager! So we've been celebrating that too, in spite of the fact that we have no idea of any of the details including pay raise. The company let us know that Human Resources would get back to us with all that information sometime in August. Michael doesn't officially begin the position until the end of August.

And that's the big news. If you want, you can skip the rest. :D

Pamela is doing all the same stuff as last month with no real change except that she is finally recovered from her blasted cold! Yippeee! Life is that much better without a squeaky voice and foggy head!

Evelyn decided she can swim, and spends most of her afternoons trying to give her mother a heart attach by inhaling way more chlorine water than is healthy. (Most of you got a dose of her craziness on the Fourth of July party when she made the discovery.) 

This week we were on a business trip up in Ogden. Evelyn never gets much sleep when we're all living in the same hotel room. When she is tired, she gets very wiggly. As Joshua describes her, she is "a blob of quickness," going from one insane stunt to the next. She came home looking like a toddler again, with her forehead covered with goose-eggs and bruises. I'm glad she still has bangs to hide her Quasimodo forehead.

I wanted to thank everyone who helped out with the 4th of July party. It turned out very nicely, with perhaps a bit of a pizza overkill. I loved seeing most of you, and hope you enjoyed yourselves too.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

I have been having weird cravings with this pregnancy. But mostly I crave fruits and veggies by the bucketload. I really wanted something with breakfast, not the best time for veggies, so I looked to see what I had in the fruit department.The only thing I had in my bare fridge/freezer, was an open bag of blueberries. So this is what I made up. I put it over French toast, but I'm sure it would also enhance waffles, pancakes, german pancakes, or crepes. It really did turn out delicious, so please try it.

Blueberry Syrup

2 c. blueberries, frozen, though I'm sure fresh would work too
1 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 T. lemon juice
Pinch of kosher salt (opt.)

Bring to boil and boil 30 min. stirring occasionally.


Additional recipe suggestions: A few days after making this recipe we made crepes. I mixed 2 T. sour cream with 1 T. pwd. sugar and put it in the middle with the blueberry syrup. It was super delicious. Of course Linaya loves blueberries. The sour cream adds a bit of tart to the whole thing.
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