Preparing the Missionary & Happy Birthday

It is almost a blurr to think back and write about  our week. We have had a lot to think about and do, but it all went well. Tuesday after the funeral  Dalan was suppose to see the orthodontist in IF before he left but we had our first real winter storm hit. It was snowing and blowing so we did not go out.  On Wed. we had to go to Pocky to take Bailey to the TMJ doctor. We also met Katie and Wes and kids there and had supper at Chiles. Then on Thursday we drove Dalan to IF to the orthodontist and did some shopping. Then on Friday it was Dalan's 19th birthday. Wow, hard to believe. We had been wanting to get together with the Green's and so we did that for his birthday. They cooked us an awesome meal and I made Dalan his favortie rainbow cake and frosting and we had a great evening. He is such a great kid. What do you get your son who is leaving on his mission in 5 days? He was thrilled with the jerky and ranch shaker and ranch dressing we got him. We also gave him a tie tack. He also got his MTC address: Elder Dalan James Lerwill
MTC Mailbo #137; AZ-Mesa 0504; 2005 N 900 E; Provo, UT 84604-1793.

Garry's Funeral April 5, 2010

Garry funeral was held on Monday April 5, 2010. It was right after General Conference week-end and Easter. How fitting it was to remember Christ and his wonderful gift that he has given us and to know that we will all be resurrected and live together with our families.  Death is not the end but a new beginning. The funeral was so nice and everyone did such a great job. What a tribute to Garry to have his children and their families participate in celebrating his life. I am sure he was very proud of everyone. My computer is still down so when it gets back to me I hope to be able to scan his program and put it in the blog. I also have a lot of good pictures I will add later.

 

Tender Mercies

It has been a very emotional week filled with tender mercies for our Heavenly Father. Garry passed away on Wednesday the 31st of March 2010. He has suffered so long and been such a strong person, never complaining. We are so happy that he can be well and feel good, speak, run, and not be in pain. We will really miss him! Through the whole experience this week we have been blessed to feel the spirit and be so comforted. I am so thankful for the wonderful knowledge we have and for the blessings of eternal families. Stacy and Dalan got to spend the day with Garry and Verna on Tuesday, and they feel real blessed to have had that experience. Funeral details have taken place in Rigby and Rexburg and we have been there everyday meeting with family. Stacy family is awesome and we have had an enjoyable time being together and talking and relating memories of Grandpa and Grandma. The viewing is Sunday evening and the funeral Monday morning at 11:00. It is also Conference week-end and Easter. It also was a blizzard here today and highway 32 and 33 were closed. I am so glad the funeral was not today. I hope the weather is better on Monday.  Next week will be so busy, Monday funeral, Tuesday Dalan has a orthodontic appointment in Rexburg, Wed. we have Dr. apt in Pocky for Bailey, Dalan's birthday is Friday and his farewell in on Sunday. WOW! Then we will leave on Tuesday for Provo to the MTC. We have been so busy we have not had time to think of him leaving. It is a blessing that Dalan gets to say his goodbyes to Grandpa before he leaves. We are thankful for that. He has had many spiritual blessing through out this last week that will really prepare him well for his mission. I know Grandpa is really proud of him!

Spring Break

Spring break for us this year was March21-27.  We left on Saturday and went to Twin Falls. We had a great time. Saturday night we went to Jackspot to the all you can eat seafood buffet. Cary and Stephanie and Kieran got to come with us.  It was so fun to see Kieran, he is such a good boy and we love him lots. We all ate our share of crab and shrimp. It was fun. Then on Sunday we went to church and had a relaxing afternoon eating and watching movies. On Monday, it snowed, so much for real spring like weather but it was still LOTS nicer than home weather. The boys could not decide wether to go biking or not but they did and they had a good time. The weather let up for them. Us girls went to town and did some shopping. It was fun. On Tuesday morning we left Macie and Stockton with Bailey, (Thanks Bailey so much!) and we went to the temple. It was really neat to do a session with all of us there. We need to do that more. We picked up pizza and took it to Bailey and kids and ate and then we packed our swimming bags and went to 1000 Springs in Hagerman and went swimming. It was a fun pool and we had a great time. We stopped at Balanced Rock on our way there. It was a fun day, Wednesday morning we packed and we left for home after lunch. It was really hard to come back to snow on the ground. I will have to add pictures later. Our computer is down and I can't download them. I am lucky to do this. I hope it all works.

Coping Strategy

 O.k. I have been meaning to put a picture of my latest craft and I have been waiting to get it framed and we have not had time to go into the shopto make it so here it is as of today. This is our way of counting down the 2 years of a mission. Doesn't 24 fast sunday's sound lots better than 730 days!! A friend of mine gave me this advice and I thought it was a great way to think, so I came up with a chart all of our own. When my two brothers served their missions we put a sticker on every day while they were gone! Here is my version.

It was fun to make. It is on canvas and so it has a real neat texture. Dalan helped paint it his favorite color orange. (This is even metallic orange) The little piece's around the edge are just gospel principles that Dalan will be teaching about. The star picture is of Arizona's State Flag. The bottom reads "I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".

Sweet Boys

Stacy and Dalan made us girls feel good at Valentine's Day. The red roses were for me and the salmond ones for Bailey. They were so beautiful. Thanks Guys, We Love You.

We Make A Great Team!

My family is awesome. Here is what we did with the family pictures we took up the ski hill road last week. I had a 20x30 poster made at Walmart, Stacy and I went to the shop last night and made a frame, Dalan and I went to Ards Paint and Glass and got glass, I painted the frame metalliac black and then glazed it with metalic orange, Stacy, Dalan, and I framed it and hung it. Bailey told us it looked good on the wall. (As you can see she has her nose in another book!) I think it turned out great! Can't beat the price either!

It will be our last family picture for 2 years! Ohhhh I can't think about that!!!