Another two years...

This is the first Sunday since we left Benjamin at the MTC in Provo...and I've only started crying randomly a few times. It seems a little weird to not have him around. He did spend 8 months at BYU last year, but we had Richard, Nickie, Sadie and Mason living here, so it didn't seem empty in the house, but now it's just Robert, Brian and me living in our big house... this will take some getting used to!

The Stouts came over on Sunday to say goodbye to Ben and then he was set apart by President Hicken on Tuesday. Lots of people came over earlier that night to say their goodbyes ...

We had a great day on Wednesday... Ben, Brian, Robert & I flew to Salt Lake City and visited at Richard & Nickie's for a little while. Then we drove to Provo where we met Kelli, Adam and Vanessa and David (Robert's brother) for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. Lindsay had school and wasn't able to be with us, but we were able to see her later in the day. It was so nice to spend some time visiting and being together as a family before saying goodbye for two years.

After lunch we took Ben to the MTC and dropped him off. Literally. We pulled up to the curb at marker 25, took his luggage out of the car, hugged him a couple of times, said our goodbyes then watched him walk off toward the MTC main entrance with a couple of other elders.

I actually liked it a lot. We had a nice morning with him, then we said our goodbyes and left. No meeting to build up all the emotions in and no "door" for him to disappear through!

Ben is a sweet boy with a wonderful testimony and he will be an awesome missionary.

The people of Chile are lucky to have him for 2 years! We will miss him, but we will pray for him and he will have a wonderful, life-changing experience as he serves a faithful and rewarding mission.

Birthdays and Scouts!

Robert and Janet and George and Janet went to California for a Western Region Conference for Wood Badge Course Directors and staff. Janet (Keene) was in charge of it this year and asked George and Robert to do a presentation. It went really well and it was a fun trip. I always learn so much at Scout meetings and we got to see some old friends, too!

I wonder why Ben got all those ties for his birthday?

It sure is nice to have a helper when opening gifts!

this post is for Richard, my son, who left his aquarium here when he and Nickie moved to Utah and said, "have fun with it, Mom!" I do love the aquarium, but I don't keep it up as well as you would probably like, Richard! I had to take out the really awesome piece of driftwood you put in, as you know, because it was getting a bad fungus in it. I'm still working to get all of that out of the tank. Dad helped me to change the water last week, and that has helped to clear the water a lot, I added some new plants and fish. I love watching them eat and chase each other! Anyway, these pictures are for you so you can see how it's looking these days. Enjoy Richard!





























these are a little fuzzy, but you know how fish are!

Halloween Fun

We had some great looking Jack-O-Lanterns this year, courtesy of Brian

Last weekend was so much fun! Lindsay came home for the weekend because she was singing in Sacrament meeting for her good friend, Brian, who just returned home from his mission. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday night and had a great time! We celebrated at Kimber & Ryan's new house. Lindsay is in Esthetician School in Salt Lake City, so we also did quite a bit of waxing over the weekend. Lindsay has to practice on somebody!

Lindsay with baby Noah
We also got some very exciting news over the weekend...
Kimber and Ryan are expecting their first baby! She is due in late June and we are all very excited for them. This will be grandchild # 14 for us!

October

This is the one year anniversary of my father’s passing and Lindsay’s birthday. Also I had my Woodbadge beading tonight along with Ralph Willet. A day filled with mixed emotions... I love my dad and I miss him. He had the funniest sense of humor and loved to make other people laugh. He was thoughtful of other’s needs and would help out his friends at the drop of a hat. He loved my mom more than anything in the world and was fiercely devoted to the principles of the gospel, to the Savior and to the church that he joined over 40 years ago.

I am grateful to him for being my father and for the way in which he and my mother raised me. I owe them a lot.

Lindsay is such a fun person! She recently cut her hair and it suits her so well! I just love it. Robert and I sent her a poster for her birthday through Kathy Thurgood and her Thur-goodies business in Orem. She loved it!

I’ve wanted to be Woodbadge trained for over 6 years and I’m finally there! We had our ceremony tonight and I am now officially a Bobwhite. I love it. George and Janet were there, Greg and Patti, who MC’d the ceremony, and from my patrol... Justin, Kris, Brian (who came from Flagstaff) and Ralph, who was also beaded. Robert presented us with our beads and Bryan Colby, our troop guide, presented us with our neckerchief and woggle. Brian’s uncle, Joel Skinner also came, along with Edell Washburn from another troop. It was great. Woo Hooo!

This month Brian also had his Wisdom Teeth removed. He actually did quite well and was up and around later in the day. In fact, he went to a party that night. Oh, to be young again!

And this month, Catherine and I had a "Sleepover with Grandma" night. She did her best to stay awake, but she finally fell asleep in my bed...

On My Way

Yesterday I finished my last ticket item for my Wood Badge course that I took back in May. I’m very excited to be finished because now I can be awarded my beads! At the end of this month Ralph Willet and I will have our beads presented to us at a ceremony. Ralph was on my course and in my patrol and finished his ticket just before me. I think we are the first two Bobwhites to receive their beads from our course. GO BOBWHITES!!

Today was the second day of General Conference. It happens every 6 months...I think it can't possibly get better than the last session, but it does. After the second session today, our family discussed the talks that made an impression on us and the principles that were mentioned and the ways in which we were taught. Elder Holland's talk was mentioned several times. What a powerful testimony he shared of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Elder Bednar's talk of the familiar scenes from their family were all too familiar to our own experience and, of course, President Monson's talk about service was a favorite, too. We learned of love and service and changed hearts and how we have to nourish them. How we love listening to the General Authorities and their testimonies and the words that they share with us. It is the highlight of our year. Lindsay had the opportunity to attend two sessions of General Conference this year and she enjoyed it immensely.

We had family members over to our home to watch Conference and have dinner and the following are some pictures of the family as we watched Conference. An all around great weekend!

Brian & Ben watching Conference...

Ethan likes to climb and he spent a lot of time climbing up Grandma and up onto the chair...

Kimber, Ethan and Catherine playing.

Kisses from Dakota

Fall has arrived...

Well, as many of you know, we had a garden this past summer. Our garden is still there, but with the heat, we haven't been reaping much of anything lately, except for the weeds. But a few months ago, we had a mystery plant growing and I was very excited to learn that it was a pumpkin plant! I don't remember planting it, but it got there somehow!

We harvested two pie pumpkins from that plant and I was hoping to keep them until October/November to use in decorating the house, but I noticed today that they had started to get a little soft... so we will be cooking them before it's too late and we will enjoy them as bread... So, I guess for us that means that Fall is officially here! Have a happy Fall everyone!

a day to remember the sacrifices made by others so that we can be free...

I will not forget

Mission Call!

Elder Benjamin Heagle Reeves has been called to serve in the

Chile Concepcion South Mission

for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He will report to the Provo, Utah MTC on November 18, 2009.

Several of us were on our cell phones with other family members who couldn't be here, but lots of his friends came over to see him open his call. We are so excited for Ben and this opportunity he has to serve the Lord for two years. He only has ten weeks to prepare! Oh my! We will be busy, busy, busy for the next ten weeks! We know that this will be a wonderful experience for him and that he will grow immensely as he serves the people in Chile.