Jan 4: Note from Stephanie Mitchell, Stake RS President: "So, the Sequim wards split and I lost a wonderful counselor to become a ward Relief Society president in Debbie King--so far she has not been relieved of the burden of Stake Enrichment councilor (sorry, Debbie) but I feel as if I've lost an arm...I say it often, and I truly mean it -- Thank you so very very much for the work you do, for the burdens you bear, for the women and families you serve and for the souls you save."
I will really miss these sisters. I feel that kindred spirit with them. Sometimes in this very busy world I think about the next life with no Time! Time is a barrier that drives me crazy. It will be sooooo wonderful to have no time so that we will have time for Everything!! Time to do and see and visit and give everything our best! I look forward to eternal friendships.
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| Winter Ball with Sean Mitchell |
The Sister's website that Aaron made for me is working so well. A sister had canning jars to give away and I posted it for her there and found takers! I'm so grateful to Aaron for this innovative way to share and connect and communicate!
We just heard Jen's friend, Vic (her mailman), is getting baptized!
Went to Allstate in Spokane to hear Andrew perform in the choir. He's sure got a beautiful voice and is well loved by his fellow classmates.
Andrea got set up to work with a school speech pathologist several times a week. She's so happy and excited about it! That's what she wants to be someday. I think she would do well in that field.
Andrew wrote a new song. It's on his website www.andrewtheking.com and it's called "The Perfect Song"
February
Went to Moscow with the jazz band for the music festival and got to visit Beans. Shar was with Mr. Fosket and the band for so many years and is still helpful to the band. It was so sweet as we were saying goodbye, Kayda cried with sadness but was trying to be brave and cheerful. She looked so sad and had tears running down her cheeks yet a big smile and even some giggles trying not to cry. So touching.
I got such a wonderful email from a lady who used to live here, Peggy Gross. She and her husband stored up food in preparation for
Y2K and then when it didn't happen, she, knowing that our members store food, called me to ask if we would like it. I explained the principle behind storing food and suggested she might want to keep it but she said no, she didn't want it. I got her address and we agreed to meet just before a homemaking meeting and I'd bring it to the church to give to sisters. I asked her if she'd like to join us. She thought that sounded fun and came. She enjoyed it so much that she kept coming to our activities and the sisters loved her. Several years ago Peggy and her husband moved to Vancouver and I continued occasional communication with her via email. She decided to look up the church and go to their homemaking meetings as well and a year later she was baptized! Well recently I was thrilled to get this message from her: "Who would have thought 4 years ago that I would be such an enthusiastic member. We have heeded the instructions of the prophet. We are now totally debt free and have both the 90 day supply and a year's storage. I thank God for all the wonderful people who were so patient and charitable with me up in Sequim, especially you."
March
Chris had a MRA board mtg in NY.
Chris was in Florida for a week for SSI conference.
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| Had such a fun RS birthday celebration. We made our pioneer hats out of paper bags. |
Andrea went with the Band to
Disneyland. She, now as a senior, was so excited to go to Medieval times and loved it.
I got released from my stake RS calling. (pheww! It's been a challenge being ward RS pres and in the stake as well.) In fact they called a whole new stake RS presidency. Sherrie Ball is the new president. I loved a thought she shared: "When you feel stressed out the world tells us to go on vacation and take some time out. The Gospel, however, tells us to take some time in! Time in the scriptures, in prayer, in service, in studying the words of the prophets."
We (Chris and I and twins) made a trip to Utah during spring break to visit Aaron and show Andrea around the BYU campus where she will be attending. She and Andrew got accepted into the summer semester at BYU-I but they turned it down, not wanted to go in the summertime when siblings are home. Andrew will be attending So. Virginia University. He scouted this all out on his own, sent in a recording of him singing and got a vocal scholarship! (We did take him many places though to check out, including the university in Victoria Canada.)
Also went to Idaho for Dad's 80th birthday party!! We also helped empty Mom Clarkes house and closed on the sale of it and Tami and Val got moved to IF. The weather was so nasty snowy, cold and blowing!
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Mom and her siblings, Keith and Carole
and Dad on his 80th bday celebration |
April -
I really love this note from Aaron about General Conference: "On my mission, besides phone calls, conference was always the time that I felt closest to the family. I knew that somewhere in the world you guys were watching conference at the same time and when we would rise to sing the interlude music I would feel overpowering joy to sing with the saints - as I knew that my family was singing with me. :) So ever since the mission, every conference I think about you guys and during the priesthood session I remember back to pre mission days with Dad and Drew in our chapel." :)
14th Chris is gone to Woodbadge all week and I drove to Moscow because Payson Jacob Bean was born this day!! I got to go on a cool field trip with Jarom and Kaydance to a dairy farm. Was so fun!
I had to leave the twins home alone but they do well and Monro's across the street know about it if they need any help.
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| Kayda, Sadie and Jarom |
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| So exciting welcoming Payson Jacob Bean to the family |
22nd Today Andrew received a $1500 vocal scholarship from SVU! That is so exciting! He auditioned singing his own original piece and it's just beautiful.
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| Jr. Prom with Sean Mitchell |
While Andrea was at a baptism trip in Seattle, we went to Ellensburg with Andrew for the state solo competition. He got perfect scores from all the judges and great compliments. It was all thrilling.
May
Beauty and the Beast was going to open on the twins birthday but Isaac Bokelheid, who plays the candle stick (and nails it by the way) passed out in rehearsal and he has a brain tumor and had brain surgery. His recovery has been miraculous but they are postponing the start date especially for him. Andrea is so cute swooning after Gaston and Andrew plays the beast incredibly. His voice is just gorgeous and he practically made the girls cry in his solo! The audience waved their cell phones as he sang!
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| 18 Birthday!! |
The coolest thing happened for Andrew! A 5th Avenue talent scout was in the audience for opening night of the Beauty and the Beast and Andrew got nominated for Best Actor in a leading roll by the judges. He played the part of beast and was invited to perform a short segment on 5th Ave stage in Seattle. He did fantastic and the reaction of the audience of 2,500 says it all.
Here is a link for his performance: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2gkL8mPRwBr2fhRW9
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| Article on the 5th Ave performance |
Out of over 8,000 students in musical theater, he was one of only 8 nominated for Best Actor. Such an honor.
Poor Andrew has been suffering with a cold all through all this singing! He's been running on Mucinex, goldenseal, echinacea...even had him chew up garlic clove and rubbed his neck with BFC oil. Oh man what timing but he nailed it all.
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| Irrigation Festival parade |
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Aaron just making up such beautiful music -
how in the world does he do that?! |
Emily (and Amy) came to see Beauty & the Beast and headed home as we left for Moscow for Payson's baby blessing.
Chris had a business trip to LA the next day.
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| Payson's blessing day |
June
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| Sr Ball with Sean Mitchell |
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| A prince and princess dressed up for the Sr. Ball |
The end of the school year is always exhausting. Andrea and Andrew had end of year projects, senior papers and senior project that had to be presented before a board. They both got a 97 on their Senior Project! They both also performed in the state solo and ensemble, Andrea with flute and Andrew vocal and again they got great scores.
Andrea received a Memorial Scholarship Award from the Masonic Lodge Foundation for $1,000.00 payable to the college of her choice. We got to go to a lodge meeting where it was presented to her. She will be attending BYU in Provo and living in the same apt complex as Aaron. So cool! She received a full scholarship to BYU-I but she didn't like the track which included summertime so she turned it down.
The whole family (and a friend) gathered here for graduation. It was a house full for about 10 days. 13 people plus a dog (our cat was very unhappy). I loved it but phewwww! Jennifer's flight back to NY got canceled when she got to the airport so she ended up back home for 4 more days with us.
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| with Kevin Beck |
A couple days before Jen left, there was a death in our ward and so that has kept me busy (as RS Pres) A couple of their family members are staying with us for a few days. Besides that we seem to have 4 or 5 of the kids friends over here quite regularly so we always have a full house.
Andrea is working at Sawtooth for the summer. She went on a YSA retreat in Tacoma for a few days.
JULY
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| Our bounteous garden harvest!! |
Andrea and I played our flutes with the Sequim City Band for 4th of July.
Andrea: "Lol, I finally found out the downside of having such an amazing family. I never have any fun without you."
Aaron and Andrea went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and also did a little school shopping.
Andrea and I got to perform with our hula sisters at the Kapuna Festival in Seattle. Here's a couple photos from performances recently:
Andrea has been my hula sister for two years dancing
with Na Hula O Wahini Ilikea
What fun we have had together dancing twice a week
plus performances for luau's and festivals but mostly rest homes.
AUGUST
Andrea went on the stake pioneer trek -
Andrew received his Eagle Scout award. We are very proud of him. His project was making school kits for children in Guatemala. He built a website as a form of advertising with materials needed and instructions for sewing school bags. He had donation boxes in the HS and spoke to students. Many helped assemble the school kits which were then sent to Guatemala.
We drove to Rexburg to visit mom and dad for a few days and then on to Provo to help Aaron and Andrea get settled into their apt...bought books, food and supplies etc. It's so cool that they are living in the same apartment building. Goodbyes were hard and tearful. Seeing our twins hug and cry goodbyes was so hard.
Chris and I and Andrew then flew to VA and we did the same again...got him settled in at Southern VA University in Buena Vista. We attended a parents orientation and with heavy hearts we parted. I think Andrew was ready to be on his own. We flew back to SLC and drove home to Sequim.
What an exhausting year. The twins were seniors and involved in everything! Every play, concert, state ensembles etc. Andrew indulged in new ways of thinking, embracing foreign ideas and religions which was mentally exhausting. Aaron struggled with being able to wake up and go to work. We had him tested by a prof. nutritionist and Dawn's bio resonance frequency reader. We found he was hypoglycemic and his blood levels would go so low while sleeping it registered as a coma! Charlee Sandell told him he needed more protein while at the same time Andrew has been a strict vegetarian. Meal planning gets complicated.
Two weeks after the college runs I went with Chris to Montreux Switzerland on Lake Geneva. He's there for the
ESOMAR congress. Very charming and beautiful. (See next page)
In those two weeks I think I was doing RS stuff everyday, visiting a couple widows, binging them food, helping a family pack and move and working out VT changes for October etc. I guess being so busy helped me not have time to feel sad and blue. Some good things though - It is quiet when we are wanting to sleep!! Also I can get my RS visits and business done without feeling so torn between service and children at home. Also no more lunches packed and getting kids out the door for early morning seminary! Yay!! That is a bit of a relief after 16 years.
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| It's just Chris, myself and our Nimbus kitty now |
Our garden has blessed us with abundance! We've harvested and passed out corn, plums and beans like crazy. Oh and squashes.
Andrew sings at SVU for Fading Point and they will be performing for Sheri Dew in a few weeks. Fading Point is SVU's version of BYU Ambassadors. Their bass graduated and the group fasted and prayed to find another that would do well. They held auditions but Andrew didn't try out because he heard that Freshman don't get in. Next day in choir, the teacher announced that Fading Point wanted a few more to audition before making their decision. Andrew was encouraged to try out, which he did, and they said he was the one! It's an honor and privilege to be able to sing with them. Andrew has tons of friends. He seems to be known by everyone. Andrew sends me wonderfully descriptive and hilarious texts about daily life at SVU. He is loving it there.
October
We took the Beans with us to Disneyland! It was in conjunction with Sawtooth business tutorial and we stayed at the Disney hotel. We had such a blast. Our rooms connected and we all played hard and the kids were so good.
A terrible thing happened for Andrew...someone broke into his room while he was at dinner and stole his laptop. It has been so very sickening for him. His school work and personal musical compositions are on it. He's been dealing with security and police who don't hold out any hope or seem to want to try and it's made him feel insecure.
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| So handsome. |
November
Squires lived with us for a whole week! They were getting new carpet, doors and trim in the house. The kids were very sweet.
In RS we began a month long project for the local woman's shelter after discovering there were 16 women and 14 children there. We called it "The Errand of Angels" and invited Dungeness Ward to join with us. We made quilts and comfort bags. Toiletries, clothing, bedding, toys, small games etc were all dontated. Our goal was 30 quilts and comfort bags but with all the helpers in both wards and some ladies in the community that heard about it and wanted to help, we doubled our goal and delivered 60 of each.
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| Andrew in NY |
We went to Utah and had Thanksgiving at Steels. It was so fun to have Emily, Aaron and Andrea there. It helped Drea who had been a little homesick.
December
Chris found an amazing fare to Hawaii so we snuck away for the weekdays ha ha. First week of December we went to Kauai. Nobody even knew we were away because we never missed a Sunday and at work Chris just told them we were getting away.
As RS, we put together 10 boxes with donated food items and cash cards from Safeway and Walmart and then distributed to needy families. The crochet club made 8 kitchen sets and donated them to widows in the ward.
Christmas found us with 14 people in the house and two dogs. Nimbus was not happy. Extra's were Jen's roommate Katie and her sister Lauren and Em's roommate Amy. Food issues were a bit overwhelming to me because Andrew and Lauren are strict vegetarians and Amy can't have any gluten. And Aaron is supposed to eat meat. I was a bit confused in the kitchen.
Jen is progressing on her dissertation. I'm thankful for her many talents and enthusiasm for education. I wish for her good health, focus and less TV.
Tom and Shar are doing well in Moscow with the three little darlings. I'm thankful they aren't too far away but wish they were closer. I wish them joy in their callings especially as mom and dad.
Emily is so fun to talk to and I'm thankful for her sense of humor that cheers the day. I wish her a positive direction that will bring fulfillment and peace of mind.
Aaron is enjoying his ward and classes and I'm thankful for his sincerity, his smile and smart computer mind that helps me and others. I wish for him good health, good dating and joy in his career path.
Andrea is doing well in school. I'm thankful for her gift of laughter and that she's been my hula sister. I wish for her happy feet and a smile from her heart.
Andrew is successful at SVU and I'm thankful he has friends and gets to sing with Fading Point. He went to Sojam (a cappella gathering with classes etc. in N Carolina) I
wish for him restoration of that which is lost.
I pray for my children from the depths of my heart. I look forward to that which will be someday. I wish for us time together forever.
We had all the family home for Thanksgiving including Jen and Em's roommates, Katie and Amy.
Recap of 2009
It's been a crazy, stressed, exhausting and wonderful year. My calling as RS pres. has been overwhelming at times and so many things I've had to put aside and I wonder if I'll ever finish them.
Chris' calling as HC over missionary work has also been quite demanding. We've had to find housing a couple times and gather supplies so new missionaries wouldn't come to a totally empty place. Chris meet in PA early before work every thurs morning and then has stake mtg that evening.
I am still RS president with Lorna Malmrose and Jennifer Howell as counselors. Nancy Goldstien is secretary. We are close and love working together.
Jennifer still lives in NY. Her health isn't the best, as she struggles with migraines, joints and so much body pain. She isn't progressing enough on her dissertation because of this and also because of a very strong personalitied roommate, Katie who has been very difficult and caused heartache for Jen. Jen is dating her mailman, Victor. Katie us jealous and causes great trouble over it.
Tom and Sharilyn, living in Moscow ID, had a new baby boy in April named Payson. He's very sweet and so good natured. Kaydance is in pre-school and Jarom in Kindergarden. He has several behavioral problems like a fear of toilets and any change in any routine. He's being tested through the charter school he's in. We feel blessed he was accepted in that school. Jarom is sooo smart! Academically he could be placed in 2nd grade but is behind socially. They believe he has ausbergers disorder.
Emily lives in SLC with roommate, Amy. Em was an advertising manager at the Chamber of commerce but quit because of a better job offer then the job offer was retracted due to them being victims of fraud. They had to let other employees go as well. She's still the Em we all love and adore but seems like she has anxiety that she won't share. Happy outside yet seems unhappy inside.
Aaron is at BYU studying information systems. He's struggled with blood sugar dropping so low in his sleep he would actually drop into a coma. (We took him to a nutritional specialist who figured this out and has put him on a protein diet which may be helping)
Andrea is at BYU and Andrew is at S Virginia U. Their senior year was very exhausting with scholarship notebooks and senior projects and concerts, recitals, competitions, plays and tons of friends calling and coming over daily. It was noisy so late at night and we were all sleep deprived. Andrea played lead role in Lizzy Bordon. She and I have been dancing in a hula halau for 2 years now. We love it so much and drew close together. It was sad for both of us when she had to say goodbye to hula and our hula sisters for a time. She is an gorgeous amazing dancer. She's doing well at BYU and made many friends. I love how she's happy and cheery & laughs easily and hard! She's studying Speech Pathology.
Andrew played Beast in Beauty and the Beast. He brought the crowds to tears in his solos and they even waved their lit cell phones. He was picked by a talent scut to perform on Seattle's 5th Ave stage. He really excelled in voice and got top scores in State competition. Andrew enjoys SVU. The singing group he is in travels and puts on firesides and youth conferences.
As we were becoming empty nesters I agonized a bit over it and the goodbyes were so painful but we have adjusted and found the quiet to be very welcomed.
