Some of you have heard that Uncle Brad is in the hospital with some problems related to his Parkinsons disease. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Our love to the Johnson family!
Hi All
February was an uneventful month for us as I was still in the boot from my foot surgery and couldn't really go anywhere. It felt like house arrest. But the Mick took really good care of me. He did the washing (which he has been trying to do for a long time, but I wouldn't let him). He cooked the meals, with a little help from his daughters, and he kept the house nice and clean. He also spent a lot of time in the basement storage room organizing the food storage with rotating shelves. It really looks nice now and we can see what we have. Good deal! We had a nice, but short, visit with Joe and Gerry. We don't see them that often, so it was really nice having them with us. This is the first time Gerry was here that we didn't sew, but she hasn't gone back to Alaska yet, so maybe there is still time. Today is my big day, I go to the doctor and hopefully he will take the boot off and give me a little freedom. If you don't hear from me for a while it is because he didn't take it off and I am in deep depression. But I am thinking positive!.But all in all we are both healthy and strong and very blessed. We love our family and are so grateful for them.
Mom and Dad
Mom tried this banana bread and Carri's house while visiting and said it was the BEST banana bread she has ever tasted...maybe because of the yogurt? Try it and see for yourself.
CARRI’S BANANA BREAD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix dry ingredients together:
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ t. soda
½ t. salt
Mix together wet ingredients:
3 ripe bananas (1 1/2c) mashed with potato masher
¼ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
2 large eggs beaten
6 T butter - melted
1 t. vanilla
Nuts (optional) in batter or on top before baking
Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients together by folding. Do not beat.
Pour into oiled and floured large loaf pan.
Bake for 55 minutes.
Drs Jackson On the MOVE...
It seems as if our lives have been in flux for the past
several years. In line with this
Christine and I have decided to leave Gunnison, at least for a time, to pursue
an opportunity in Oregon.
April 15th will be last day working for Gunnison
Valley Hospital culminating a period of nearly 20 years. On April 22nd I will report to
prison…voluntarily, in order to work for the Bureau of Prisons in Sheridan
Oregon. We will be living in a beautiful
state in the midst of vineyard country where it is rumored to rain once in a
while.
This will be a hard transition for me personally, as I like
stability and security. The hardest
thing will be to move away from family and friends. Christine will join me when she retires from
her practice… at least she promised me she would. We are looking forward to living in the
“mission field” again.
Scott and Staci and the boys will stay in our house with
Christine so she is not alone and then we will explore selling the home.
We are excited about the change yet filled with some
trepidation.
Love ya John
Hello from the Holtrys
Hello family! I am SOOOO happy Kellie is starting the
Chronicles up again. I hope everyone has the time to participate because I
really miss hearing from everyone about their families exciting adventures. Our
family is, as I’m sure all of you – CRAZY BUSY! Sometimes I don’t know how or
why we get ourselves into all these crazy activities - but it’s all worth it.
Forgive me for the long entry but as you know we didn’t send out a Christmas
letter this year so this is kind of it.
Brent is just finishing up his last semester
of Law School. He graduates in May 18th. We would love for any and all of you
to come out for the main event. I’m sure it will be super exciting! ;) Brent
has done such an amazing job juggling a full time job, a full time school
schedule, a full time calling as YM President and oh yeah a full time job as
husband and father. I’m pretty sure he’s going to collapse from exhaustion
anytime now. He actually tried to get out of it all by getting himself in a
very serious motorcycle accident last year. We feel so blessed that he was OK
and his story of safety is truly a miracle. Thanks goodness for heavy Law
School Books and a trusty backpack. Who knew you could slide on your back on
one for 50 feet, hit a car and a median and just have some road rash.
After graduation he will be studying for the Bar this summer and
hopefully finding a job! Yay! He’s a great guy and we are all glad the last 3
years in Law School will soon be behind us.
Josh will be turning 16 in May and holy cow –
it.is.weird. I can’t believe I have a kid that old. He has his learners permit
and even though he’s a pretty good driver, I am not a good passenger. Usually
our drives end up with us in a screaming match while I threaten him that he
will probably never be allowed to get his license. It’s the controlling part of
me…It’s so scary to give that up. What am I going to do when he gets his
license and actually leaves the house in the car…by himself? I don’t know. I
can’t think about it. The good part will be that he can drive himself to his
gazillion after school activities. He just finished up with the school play.
Two of his good friends wrote, produced and directed it for their Senior
Project at school and it turned out so well. Here are a few photos from it:
He’s also involved in Competitive Water Polo at Sierra
College and is on the High School Swim Team. He just learned to play Water Polo
last Fall. Never having played it before and at the beginning of the season he
was moved up to Varsity. He was stoked to get a Letterman Jacket as a
Sophomore.
He is also involved in a Stake Musical for church called
Savior of the World. That is happening this month and we are looking forward to
seeing it.
Hannah is 10 and in 5th grade – She is
involved in many things as well. She was in the school play “Sleeping Beauty”
last Fall and did and amazing job as Maleficent’s Raven. Her “CAW” got a big
laugh every time she let it out. I think people were surprised such a loud
sound came from such a little girl! She also went back to Soccer last fall and
WOW. She did great. I think the girls who play soccer are so much more
competitive than the boys. It’s crazy to see how determined they were. They had
a great season too! She got to be a “Rigger” on the Balclutha Sailing Ship for
a school overnighter. Her 5
th grade class went to the San Francisco
Bay harbor and “ran the ship” for the night even hoisting their teacher Kim
very high in the air using only rope and chair. They made her promise no
homework for a month in order for them to let her down.
Hannah is also taking Piano Lessons and is in a children’s
choir. She has a very beautiful little voice and still loves to sing her heart
out….all the time…much to her brothers chagrin.
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Jackson is 6 and in first grade! How times
flies. He’s in school all day and loves it. He reads extremely well and has a
good time at school. He is quite the social butterfly and definitely the
ladies’ man. He’s been kissed several times by girls already. On the first day
of school he and a girl were holding hands and I told him he shouldn’t be doing
that and he got so upset. He said he didn’t want to hurt the little girls
feelings by telling her he couldn’t hold hands. Pretty suave huh. I still put
the kibosh on it! He also played soccer last year for the second year in a row
and loved it. He also participated in a primary talent show and did a Tahitian
dance with a couple of his friends whose dad is Samoan and taught them the
dance. He did pretty darn good. He’s the only kid left that will snuggle with
me and I love it.
Jen I’ve been keeping busy with all of the above things
therefore there is nothing for me to report! Well, I guess there are a few
things. As I hope you all know and subscribe- Kel and I started a Blog and an
Etsy store called Chocolates for Breakfast last year. Con and Car are honorary
members also. We invite you to check them out if you haven’t yet. We like to
post craft ideas, Young Women and other church ideas, Decorating ideas,
Recipe’s etc. It’s pretty fun. In the Etsy store we sell some fun things. Con
sells her cute quilts, and Kel and I sell Apothecary Jars and Dessert Pedestals
and other misc. things. It’s been pretty fun.
Well I think that’s all for this month. It’s been pretty
crazy around here but like I said I am SO happy that we can all keep in touch
on a monthly basis. I’m grateful to Kel for taking the time out of her crazy
busy schedule to put this together for us to enjoy.
Love to you all
Jen, Brent and the rest of the Holtry gang.
Good News from
Gunnison
Our family is enjoying being back in Gunnison. It has been a nice change
to be so close to family! You can't get much closer than having Grandpa
and Grandma upstairs! The boys have loved living with their Grandparents
and getting to see them and spend time with them on a daily basis. It
helps that they have a huge backyard and a hot tub. William is loving attending
Gunnison Valley Elementary school where he is in the same class as Jet
Hill. The two of them have quickly become best friends. Adam goes
to a local preschool run by a very nice lady and her daughter. He has
visited the post office and rode a fire truck for special field trips. He
is the only boy in a class of ten girls, but doesn't seem to mind. Jacob
recently turned one. He has just started to show an interest in
walking. He has been plagued with ear infections and so will be getting
ear tubes put in, courtesy of Grandma Jackson. Scott is doing well
working at ACT where he is learning some new skills. He hopes that he'll
soon be put to work in the area of his expertise (law). Staci is getting
reacquainted with the small town life. She has started up a playgroup in
the ward and was just called to be a cub scout leader. We are happy and
grateful for our many blessings, which include, you, our wonderful family!
Scott, Staci and boys
--Read more about this cute family at their Jackson Five family blog--look for their link at the side of Jackson Chronicles blog.
A Little Look at Life in Vernal
Hi everyone! I am so glad we're doing this again! I'll start by telling a little bit about what life looks like for us right now.
Stephen works nights at a boarding school. He makes sure the kids stay in bed an not run away! They also have him maintaining their network and computers. So he often works in the morning, as well. He does his best to provide for our family. We ARE, however, very open to taking employment elsewhere. We're out to find him some better hours.
I spend much of my time as a taxi driver, taking the children to all of their appointments and classes. I also work on family history and visit the Temple each week. Best. Thing. Ever. This last week, I was privileged to help clean the Temple. The ladies there told stories of how, some years, they were nervous that they would not be able to get it all done. But that the Lord always sends help. There was a day where a car full of ladies came from Grand Junction. They didn't get the memo that the Temple was closed. They were more than happy to help clean, instead. Another day, some Japanese sisters came to the Temple to do a session, but, of course, it was closed. They also were willing to help clean. And it just so happened that they were all maids in Japan! They were able to get the work done. While I was there, one of my tasks was to clean the oxen below the baptismal font. I felt very honored and humbled that I was able to be down there. Climbing down that huge ladder was well worth it!
Sarah goes to two preschools and tumbling. Since beginning her tumbling class, she has started to speak at school and her speech has improved at home. Two days a week, I drive her 30 miles to Vernal to our district preschool. They use High/SCOPE and she really responds well. On two different days, I take her to the preschool at USU, here in Roosevelt. She loves it there, too, and is able to just enjoy herself since it so play based. Sarah can count to 20, name her shapes and colors and is very good at sorting and classifying. Her time on my lap at ward choir is starting to show. She now tries to sing alto whenever we sing nursery rhymes and other songs.
David has challenged every idea I've ever had for baby proofing. He can climb on anything! He's getting so big and can do all sorts of things. He counts to three and he knows that C comes after B. He loves his sister and loves to play in the same room. He has a cute growly laugh that I love and he makes us all happy every day. He is incredibly good natured and I have a hard time staying mad for long. He likes to go go go and plays hard all day, but takes fabulous two hour naps and sleeps twelve hours at night. He is a dream child.
Love to all, Stephen, Michelle, Sarah and David
Theater Family busy and soon to be on stage
The Warenski family is alive and well. We live at the Merit Academy theater but it is good fun. Cierra just finished her basketball season as the star of her team. Merit is really looking forward to getting her next year as she practiced with the team a couple of times and they were impressed. Nate is working hard to be
great in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. He is the lead and is doing a wonderful job. Mikaila ia working hard. Any questions about garage doors or how to program an opener? Just give her a call. She can probably set you up with a good deal if you need anything, too. And me? I just work, work, work. Thank
goodness I like what I'm doing. Anyway, all is well. Come see Joseph the end of March. Nate as lead, Cierra on stage crew and I'm the assistant director. Maybe we can get Mik there, too!
Love to all! Connie, Mik, Nate and Cierra
Serving in the Dominican Republic
Christine, John, Brad and Melissa had the opportunity to go on a humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic in late January. It was one of the greatest experiences we've ever had and certainly one of the most humbling. John and Christine were able to use their Spanish speaking skills and wow all the doctors and dentists who needed translators. We spent a total of 5 days in the D.R. and have many memories to show for it. We went with a group of 50 people and one of the valuable lessons we learned from this was to not go visit the local temple in a 3rd world country at night. (see http://www.abc4.com/s/yPjw35jIwEWLQdm8_dmyCw.cspx#.UQbl8zonIiM.gmail). John was able to do multiple procedures of removing lymphomas out of peoples arms and stomachs and was looked to as the senior doctor of the group. Christine was able to see a lot of the pregnant women and little children who had parasites. She was definitely the most approachable and patient doctor who had the tender heart to make a point to see everyone possible. By far the greatest opportunity for me was the experience I gained. I was able to first watch procedures and diagnoses of patients then actually perform them myself. Melissa was a great help in the dental arena and then in the medical field for nurse duties as she dipped peoples urine and checked their blood pressures. We spend 3 days in the city and 2 days in the mountains. Christine and Melissa, and a few other women who went, made t-shirt dresses to hand out while we were there. Some people donated ties, white Sunday shirts, baby toys, and hygiene kits to hand out as well. Our favorite experience was the last day when we were up at the local LDS church in an impoverished little town in the mountains. We were able to help the local members out. The events that occurred that day will be forever locked in my heart as I think about those people. The Elder's quorum president took us to "his house" for lunch that day and we ate yet again the staples of the D.R., chicken and rice. Many people commented on how beautiful his house was, which was the equivalent to the size of many houses here in the U.S. "Wow these people must be really well off if they are living here of all places in such a little dirty town where most residences are cement apartments," said the majority of our group. Well, they left after they ate, but the president requested that my mom stick around to examine their little newborn baby so we did. I stuck around with her for fear of what happened previously a few days earlier to other members of our group, (I would feel bad indeed if someone tried to rob my mom and instead was hounded to death by her kindness :) so Melissa and I stuck with her as the rest of the group left. As we walked along the side of the house I conversed with the president and he motioned to the house and said, "The family that lives here should be back sometime later this week. We just watch their house for them." He led us to a small dilapidated shed that stood behind the house and as we stepped down the 3 small steps that led in the house we peered inside and saw his small baby and his wife sitting on the bed; a bed that filled up 3 quarters of his entire house with the other quarter being occupied by a toilet and a crib. How touched I felt, I cannot begin to describe. This man, his wife and child living in a shack much smaller than my little apartment kitchen just fed 50 ignorant people who would have no idea of the sacrifice he went through to host a meal of such size. Discipleship and consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ can be found in much humbler circumstances than what we are living in. I will always feel so grateful for the lesson a 5'3" Elder's Quorum President from the Dominican Republic taught me that day.
March Madness
Dear
Family,
March
is the best month of the year! On March
1st Jake reminds us that this is his favorite month and it has all the
best holidays…his birthday, St. Patrick’s Day and this year Easter! Also the month that most fishing streams and
reservoirs open from the long winters nap.
I look forward to March for the bit of spring peeking out from under the
snow.
We
experienced a whole lot of spring while visiting St. George last month. I now understand why some people go south for
the winter. Our visit to a warm and
wonderful place was a bit of heaven when we really needed it. Kate’s choir festival at Dixie College was
amazing. Her choir was the only
children’s choir invited to sing at this festival. All the other choirs performing were college
aged kids from all over the state. It
was impressive. Kate’s choir received a
standing ovation at the end of their performance. The only choir to receive one. I believe it was because the college aged
kids wanted to be kind and encouraging.
And it worked, the little choir beamed as they exited the stage. Kate’s best memory…she loved playing in the
swimming pool at the hotel with all her friends.
While
Kate performed and received instruction from some very important teachers and
musicians, Jake and Kels found a fishing hole right in the center of town. It was a man-made reservoir that was stocked
with huge fish. I don’t think Jake has
ever caught as many fish before as he did those two glorious days. He even ran into a few fishing buddies from
his favorite spots up Spanish Fork canyon.
These buddies are snowbirds that escape the cold to their condos in St.
George for the winter. Jake’s wondering
why he doesn’t have a condo in St. George.
While
Kate and I were waiting for the boys to finish up at the fishing hole we had
the opportunity to tour some of the historical homes in St. George. We visited the St. George Tabernacle and its
beautiful spiral staircases. Kate stood reverently
at the large tabernacle pulpit, the pulpit that all of the prophets of the
church (except for Joseph Smith) stood.
We visited Brigham Young’s home and sat in the same room where the
temple ordinances were revealed and written.
We walked the St. George temple grounds.
What a beautiful temple framed by the red rock cliffs of Southern Utah. That
was my most favorite part of the weekend trip.
Our
St. George trip was our last comfortable, lots-of-space-in-the-car drive. We’ve traded in Lafonda (Connie’s nickname
for our suburban). The suburban served
us well but was starting to eat oil as well as the $100 gas bill each week we’ve gone from enjoying lots of space to the Hamster car. (Look for the fun
commercial advertising a KIA Soul). Jake
calls it the SWAG Wagon. It’s got all
the bells and whistles in one tight little space. We are hoping the car makes it up the snow
covered mountain road that we live on.
If not we’ll be doing some daily hiking.
The gas mileage is amazing, especially compared to the Suburban. Dad is a little concerned that the new car is
not a Toyota but we still have our Camry and it’s still going strong…we hope
for a long time. Jake has become quite
attached to the Camry fishing car. Kind
of reminds us of Grandpa Chatfield’s fishing car. The trunk was always prepared with fishing
gear and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Kels
made a quick trip to Las Vegas last month to visit his mom. She was having some health problems and Kels
wanted to make sure (in person) that she was ok. We appreciate Margaret and Steve’s (Kelsey’s
sister and brother-in-law) kind and watchful care of mom. She looks to be doing much better now. One of Lois’ greatest concerns is that she be
healthy enough to teach her Primary class on Sundays. She is a GREAT Primary teacher and the kids
depend and look forward to her being there.
Lucky children.
Basketball
season is complete. Kate’s team received
the highest award possible from the Jr. Jazz.
They lost all of their games except for one pre-season game and when given
the award said that they showed great sportsmanship--always cheerful, always
positive, continually had fun and the team parents were awesome! Our team was invited to attend the Jr. Jazz
Party at the Energy Solutions Arena on March 26th. Lots of Jazz players and coaches will be
there to party with the crowd. A nice
award for some very nice girls. The team
awarded and thanked Jake for his coaching support and encouragement with a HUGE
bag of donuts. Jake devoured the donuts
and thought maybe he might try his hand at coaching again one day.
Now
we’re on to Volleyball and Baseball.
Never ends!...thank goodness.
Along
with most of the seniors at Springville High School, Bianca is getting
graduation fever. We keep telling her to
hang in there, finish strong…just a few short months and then it’s all
over…until college!
We
love you all and look forward to hearing from all of you!
Kellie,
Kels, and kids
FINNtastic Updates
Hello Family!
I thought we'd update you all on Finn and his progression. I
can't believe it but he is going to be 1 in a month and a half, his first year
of life has been quite the adventure. Last month we had a 48 hour EEG done
which tests for seizures and other abnormal activity in the brain. The results
came back as abnormal but they don't think he's having seizures, possibly just
some brain misfires. We took him off his seizure medication and he's a lot more
active because the meds made him sleepy. The doctors are still unsure what his
prognosis is and there aren't really any more tests we can to except for a
spinal tap and a muscle test which we may do in a couple months. We are going
to Chicago to visit Noah's family at the end of this month and we are going to
see a neurologist there who specializes in delayed development and epilepsy,
we're crossing our fingers for some answers from her.
As of late, his head control is getting a little better. He
can hold it up for longer periods of time, it's just a little wobbly. He loves
to be sitting upright now on either someones lap or on his own on the couch. He
loves his solid foods, he has always been a great eater, sweet potatoes are his
favorite! We are continuing with both physical therapy and visual therapy 3
times a month and that his been helping Finn a lot. Lately he has been having
some stomach issues which causes him to cry a lot, we're hoping to get that
figured out so he can be a bit happier.
We love our Finny so much and we are so proud of him and the
progression he's made within the last couple months. We are grateful for all
your thoughts and prayers and we'll keep you updated on Finn's journey. We love
you! Allyssa, Noah and Finn
Thanks to all who contributed to our March newsletter. Deadline for April newsletter is March 31st. Looking forward to hearing from all of you!
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