Stoddard's

We went on an adventure to see Becky and Roy's land in Southern Alberta.

It is very close to the Waterton National Park so you can easily see

the beautiful mountains, go on long walks, hikes and of course fishing is close by. 

Over the last year they have torn down buildings, gone through many things in old sheds, taken numerous trips to the dump, fixed up tractors and other farm equipment, and rolled in the mud placing pipes under the new temporary trailer home and more.

It is amazing to realize all the hard work and efforts that have been done.

 Becky and Roy are great stewards over that which they have been given.

We wish them the best as they build their dreams, and may they continue to enjoy the memories together as they go throughout the process.

Montana Wedding

The wedding in Montana was a nice Fairbanks family reunion as well as a time for widening our family ties with new family that were so beautifully warm and welcoming. Jeremiah and Tara are a really nice fit for each other and really wanted to make it a fun weekend for everyone. Thursday afternoon we arrived at Snowbowl Lodge and Dad and I went to set up the Grand tent for the cousins to sleep in. (It reminds me of a tent off of Harry Potter) 

The weather was beautiful. They had their wedding rehearsal that afternoon and then a family dinner. After dinner that night they had a variety show in which they sang together as Jeremiah played his guitar. So Becky, Lori, Steve and I got up and sang a little “the hills are alive”…Steve got the audience participation in singing “ahahah”…”with Jeremiah and Tara” “ahahaha” and then we broke into the Jeremy bat song and danced around. Uncle Jason told the story of Rindercella, Amy sang, Brett gave good advice we all participated in a rain song…what a fun way for people to get to know each other.

 On Friday we all had time for a little shopping, early in the afternoon there was a brief water fight activity planned, Family pictures were taken at 4:30, The Wedding was at 7:00pm with a dinner and dance to follow. Jeremiah and Tara had taken some dance lessons together and performed a dance for everyone. They cut the cake together and dished to all their guests instead of having a receiving line. The dancing was crazy and the weekend was a great success. 

Many thanks to all those who made the weekend amazing.

Nana's Visit

We were very blessed to have Nana time this summer at such important junctures in the lives of each of us here in the desert crew. My floors have never been cleaner at the Resort. Steves shirts and our pillowcases are nicely pressed and the puppies a little more spoiled.

We love our NANA!

THANK YOU

for

being you!

Remembering 2007

This is a time of great reflections of the Past.

A time of great preparations for the Future.

A time to be fully present in the Now.

Today is part of Eternity.

Melchizedek Priesthood

Christopher recieve's the Melchezedek Priesthood today.

Timothie has been preparing to turn in her mission papers this week.

Her decision is made and I can now tell people...

 She will be a "Timothie amazing kind of missionary."

What a very special time in our lives, to share these milestones with our children.

This has indeed been very special Mother's Day!

One I will always remember and cherish.

Everything Christmas

Today we took down the Christmas Tree and decorations...I was going to wait until the new year until I realized there may not be the needed time to get everything back into storage before everything starts back up again and were back at full speed ahead. Today I put myself to getting some things ready for the new school year - there is more to do as I finish up here...so pitter patter I better get at er.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Each time Thanksgiving roles around I feel like I am cooking a turkey for the first time...trying to remember how long to cook it and what I did last year. I can't say that we have ever had a bad turkey but I can say that this years turkey was definitely one of the best. Steve cooked it in our roaster after he marinated it in a brine overnight (in a big bucket as it thawed) So not only was it a bonus not to have to stick my hand in the thing and prep it....It was moist and had great flavor due to Steve's adventurous spirit in the kitchen. The boys did a super job of putting up the Christmas trees while I prepared all the other fixings for our feast.

Speaking of Turkeys' check out how easy it is to get a photo around here! I could keep on trying to take more but it just wouldn't help.

Timothie had to work this holiday so we missed her a bunch. I think we may wait on the decorating of the tree for her return home so we can do that together. She is a good little decorator of the Christmas Trees. We just need to find her a great job closer to home.

We realize that next year will look much different around here with the potential missionaries to be over the next 3 years...so we are cherishing all that we can...as we look forward with faith.

Home

.

So we just got Christopher back home from a wonderful school trip to New York and Boston. You can see he loved his time in the NBA store at Time Square. He also loved going to the Theatre to see Wicked. It was amazing he said. We were also blessed that Timothie could take time off of work and bring her homework home for a weekend visit. Timothie had to go back to her college town on Sunday afternoon where we had a big fish fry so Steve could share his fishing skills with the family it was a yummy family time! Look Nana I made your brownies.

We We We all the way Home

We woke up Sunday Morning and Steve said how about we go see Timothie for the day. So we quickly got ready for an earlier church and left to see our girl in her college town. Timothie gives the best hugs ever! It is so fun to hear the stories our children share when we are all together. This has been a very difficult season in our lives but we do know that a HOME is where WE are, and the times when we are all together are so precious. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all. We are FAMILY!

A tender mercy - the Family getaway

Fred and Wilma had a chance to go to LA this weekend with the kids. Steve had planned the trip with Timothie for my birthday and then it just started working out that the kids would be available to go as well. We spent the day at Universal Studios and the next day at the beach. It may seem odd to put Mikes toe in there but it prevented him from working and allowed us to go. He has to have part of the nail removed on Friday. I may try to add more photos later ...TTFN

San Diego

So we are very blessed to have a visitor from the great white north. Litttle Mama.

Doubly blessed to visit with Timothie

Triple blessed to fly to San Diego with Mom to spend a few days with her sister Peggy's family.
While we were there....we went shopping, eat ice cream, black licorice, salad, cup cakes and birdnests. We played a game, read, watched a so you think you can dance...

but best of all was seeing everyone again. My cousins made special efforts to bring their families for a family dinner friday night.

We had a lot of really great chats. Laughed and Learned.

This could be a new family tradition! ?