Message from Mom, Etc.

Dear Family,

Count your many blessings... name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. I enjoyed many messages from Conference this weekend, but this one jumped out and grabbed me with new meaning. After all the complaining we tend to do, imagine taking time out to count our many blessings. What a surprise to suddenly realize all the many blessings our Heavenly Father has given us. Look at our health and strength, our huge family full of wonderful people who love us, all our many comforts that have always kept us so well provided for, and countless other blessings that we take for granted every day. We have so much to be thankful for that when we stop to count it all, it's hard to remember anything significantly negative. If we take note of simple blessings the Lord provides every day, imagine the wealth of testimony we can share with our little children. These kids can go out in the world with a new strength and determination to be the very best at all they do. They can know that Heavenly Father supports them in righteousness. Who can ever doubt the constant presence of God in our lives when we count our many blessings... name then one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

P.S. Dad wonders if you all heard what President Monson said about Milo and Megan's hair in the Priesthood session.

Love & prayers, Mom

Melanie & Andy

Memory Map by Kambri Atwood

When I came home from a camp I had been at for a week my parents said they had to tell me something.

I wanted to know what it was they were going to tell me. I was anxious.

Then they told me that we were going to move in the next few weeks.

I was greatly shocked and surprised, but ready to start a new adventure.

I started telling all my friends and cousins that we were going to move once again. They were excited and saddened that I was going to leave.

I was indifferent, confused, and a tiny bit worried. I was eager to explore my soon to be home!

My friends were psyched for me, but depressed that I was departing them.

I was a little troubled about moving. What if I never made friends? What if I didn't like Bellevue?

When I came home from my friend's house I saw my mom packing with the boxes she had recently bought.

Were we really moving so soon? I knew we were leaving promptly,but not that soon!

When I asked my dad when about we were going to move he said in two weeks or less.

I was very startled. I thought we would shortly, but not this shortly!

I rushed to tell all my friends good-bye and warn them that I was fleeing so early.

I couldn't wait to move to Bellevue but I was still a little bit nervous and scared.

I started stuffing boxes with the stuff in my room that night. We were almost done boxing up the whole house!

I was largely motivated to move. I wanted to meet new people and test out a new school.

The movers came and loaded the burdening furniture within the next few days, and we left.

I was a bit unhappy with losing my newly acquainted friends but was pleased with the fact I would make more.

We moved into our new house that is half the size of the old, but that doesn't matter... I still love it.

I was having fun, meeting new kids and making friends as fast as ever! I was like a bowling ball going at the pins... I was on a roll!!!

Martha & Jeremy

October 2007

Wednesday is our designated music lesson day. Since both our hubbies were gone all day, Becca and I planned an all-day extravaganza. We began by letting our kids terrorize two different craft stores. Looking back, I can not believe we took six kids, 5 years and younger, into two craft stores. It was successful. If you count that there were no potty accidents or blood spilt. There was plenty of about everything else that six kids-combined-together-into-two-shopping-carts-and-a-stroller happened. We did manage to walk away with some projects to tackle. The next stop was my house. We did our music lessons with the kids and then began to work on making some bulletin boards. While we were busily working away, the kids decided to save the world. Jonathan dressed up as Mr. Incredible. Lyle was Spiderman. Stelli was Spidergirl - Spiderman's sidekick, according to Lyle. Hyrum, loyal to his trains, stayed in his regular train garb. They played and played while Becca and I pretended to stay busy taping papers on our bulletin boards. Before we knew it, 7:00 hit and the kids reminded us they didn't have any dinner yet. We ended the day with grilled cheese sandwiches and cookies. There were only enough cookies for the adults, but the kids never noticed. By 8:00, we were tired out although the kids kept trying to convince us they were ready to play again. As we wrestled Becca's kids into her car and kept mine from getting into her car, I was reminded of our own childhood days. I had to smile thinking about all the times we protested when it was time to leave our own cousins' house. What fun. I walked back to the house with my kids laughing fondly. I shut the door and began to herd my kids upstairs. Meanwhile, Becca was not laughing; she could not find her car keys. About seven minutes later I got a call from an exasperated lady asking me if I knew where her keys were. It took me a minute to identify the voice as Becca's. I checked my pants pockets, and oops, there they were. I met Becca at the door, passed over her keys and got to say one more good-bye. What a fun day!

Take care, Love, The Tanners

Becca & Nick

We've lived in St. David for a whole year now and it's funny to see how life has changed. I don't get out as much as I used to, and when I do the only places I go now are the grocery store and Wal-Mart, and my husband works the Wal-Mart. We go out to eat less than once a month. We've been to the movies twice and we've watched about six movies maybe less at home. We spend at least one whole day a week with family, usually more. Most of our income pays for our dirt. I eat more candy and got my first two cavities. I feel guilty for how much time I spend just playing at home while Nick is out working. I'm always thinking about what to jar next. I don't think I'll be able to resist the urge to wear cowgirl boots and jeans much longer. Dust on the ceiling fan doesn't bother me as much as it used to. Our internet service is slow. Country music makes me cry and being pregnant doesn't stress me out. Watching my husband drive big machines makes me feel so proud, even prouder when the kids can tag along. Not a whole lot changes around here except for the occasional season. I think the transformation is almost complete; I've become a hick from the sticks, again.

Like I said, not a whole lot changes around here but Lissy has learned a new trick. She likes to stand. That seems to be her only desire, well, and going through my beautiful kitchen cupboards. I don't think walking has become a consideration for her yet. She still likes to tickle and yesterday she tickled Elizabeth, saying, "Ticka, ticka, tickle." Jonathan's schoolteacher always has a compliment about him and I haven't been anywhere with Estelle where she hasn't been told how adorable she is with all her curls. Nick loves his new job at Wal-Mart. Life is good. Hmmm, I hope I didn't just curse it, and I hope this isn't a calm before the storm.

We'll be in touch,

Love Becca

McKay & Keresa

The boy can walk! Jackson finally started walking. I guess it just took him turning 1. Since turning 1 a couple days ago, he has really become a little man instead of a baby. He can walk, he pays attention and responds in conversation, and a lot of other fun personality things.

Jackson's birthday came and went. It was a fun Spiderman bash. He got a Spiderman cake, Spiderman ball, and a Spiderman doll. He also got some hand puppets. They have those at our nursery and he really likes them. Also he received gifts and cards from his grandparents. Sydney was as excited as he was. She opened a card for him (when we weren't paying attention) and shouted, "Jackson got a card! And he likes it!" Then she handed it over and went for another present, but we stopped her. Jackson learned how to hold up one finger when we ask him how old he is.

After the birthday there wasn't a lot of time to play with presents before bed, so we went to bed without cleaning up the fun from the front room. The next morning when Keresa brought Jackson out, he saw all the presents and mess and fun to play in and he got an excited look on his face and held up his finger as if to say, "I'm one! And these are my presents! And I want to play with them!"

We went for a drive and Sydney had us pull over to pick a leaf off a tree. It was a really big leaf. Bigger than a beach towel.

The other day when Sydney was acting up, Keresa asked her if she would like to have a spank on her butt (she usually says bum, but she was getting pretty upset with Sydney, so instead she said butt). Sydney noticed the new word, and with her head cocked and in an interested voice said, "butt? My butt? Butt. You going to spank my butt. Hmm, butt?" over and over so many things that it made Keresa start laughing and she had to send Sydney to me to receive the spank.

Keresa had a stake meeting in September for RS, so we thought we would make a day of it and bring the whole family. It was a 2 and a half hour drive to get to our stake center. When we got there, there was a nursery, so I went in there with the kids. The ladies in charge looked at me with disgust and said dads could wait out in the foyer for the meetings to end. So I walked out there to see a few other disoriented and bewildered dads. But before long we were all settled into the couches with our laptops or Harry Potter books, doing things that dads do.

As much as I thought Grundy Virginia might not impact me, it has already left its mark on me. A mark I will carry forever. A mark about 7 inches long with 9 little pinhole marks on either side of it. That's right my appendix burst, is out, and I am fully recovered. Even more amazing than surviving a ruptured appendix is that I survived missing a week and a half of school. I am finally 100% caught up with that too. And just in time I might add. We had our first big paper due this weekend. It was a fun assignment: the teacher gave us a potential hypothetical client, then gave us 4 cases and 4 laws and told us to apply them to the hypo and write a memo advising whether we should take the case or not. It was hard, but fun.

I had a test today, a midterm. After the test a kid asked me how I thought I did on it. I told him I thought I did okay, but that I almost missed the essay on the back. He freaked! Ha Ha SUCKA!! That sort of trick is way funnier in this uptight law school atmosphere!

Other than that, life as usual.

MK KGW SRW JGW

Matthias & Megan

Dear Family,

So we're in the midst of week 7 and also in the midst of exams. I guess they're pretty much all done now. It was the second midterm for some classes and the first for others. And I guess we're coming out relatively unscathed with only a few meltdowns, fair grades for the most part, and plenty of Polar Peach Eegee's to keep us going. I guess now that we're in October, the new flavor at Eegee's is Cherry Cider. School certainly keeps us busy with not a whole lot else to do. Well, I take that back. I'm currently rehearsing with a volunteer orchestra to perform an original oritorio called Bethlehem this Christmas. It spans most of the Tucson Stakes as official sponsors of the event. It includes a full orchestra, a full choir, and some theatrics. As far as I know, members of the choir don't necessarily have lines like in a play, but there are distinct characters for solos and minimal sets and stuff like that. But the best part is that it's all original by a man named Michael Turnbloom getting his PhD in choral conducting. He's a really talented guy and it's really neat to have him, the composer, rehearsing and conducting us. I'm using a borrowed trombone from one of my buddies who just happened to have an old trombone in his closet. It's nothing like my old bone, which is currently trapped in a vortex in between space and time, but it toots right along with me as much as I remember how. Michael is also conducting the institute chorale, of which Megan and I are a part.

Last week, Megan and I prepared and gave a talk to our Sunday school class about living prophets and apostles and conference. We tried to transfer to them some of our enthusiasm about how super awesome it is that there is a living prophet on the earth who receives revelation straight from God and how he's going to speak to us this weekend! If that's not awesome, then I'm not sure what is. Also we challenged them to prepare for the conference by thinking about a question or a doubt or a trial they have in their lives, and to pray to Heavenly Father that the answer be revealed through his prophets and apostles in conference, and we promised them that it would happen. One of our students is an investigator girl who comes with one of the young men and I was secretly hoping that she would have a question something along the lines of, "Should I join this church and get baptized?" Because I'm sure that if she went into conference pondering that question, she would definitely receive a positive confirmation. We plan on spending conference with Megan's family eating monkey bread and scones. Spiritual and physical feasting!

We love you!

Con Amor, Matthias and Megan