One year ago. . .

. . . I started this little blog. And I am glad I did. All the collected thoughts and memories that otherwise would have been enjoyed, but eventually would have faded away. It's super fun to look back and recall all of the good times that we have had.

Missionary Update

These pictures just make me want to cry!
But I don't, because I know he is where he needs to be. And the Lord is watching over him. And if you know Chad, you know that he sees all this as a Great Adventure!
Even the local creatures!

Study Time
Their VERY Humble Abode . . . ( think - he doesn't give me a lot of details regarding the pictures he sends...)

Local Creatures

Member Family

Off to Zone Conference . . .

Ok . . . just clean out your fridge a little more often!

Happy b-day Dad! Looks like you are all having fun there!

This week has been pretty slow but here’s an update. Jose STILL hasn’t gone to church! I’m getting tired of it. He says that he wants to go and he wants to be baptized but he never does. It’s like hearing a broken record at this point. I think we are going to stop going by until he goes to church by himself. We can’t keep this up.

Luis is doing good. He is still going to church and he has a lot of interest. We are going to try and get a baptismal date again this week.

Yesterday we had a cool experience. In sacrament meeting we had 2 people there that nobody knew. We went and talked to them, and it turns out that her son is in a catholic school and he has a project he has to do, - a comparison of the Mormons and the Catholics. So I went and grabbed a member to do divisions so my companion could stay with our investigators. They started out with a few questions, and soon they were amazed at the amount of pure knowledge that they received. We talked for about 2 hours about many different subjects. Then she told us that she wants to come back to church next week to learn more.

Maybe its not such a great idea of the catholic church to send their members to the Mormons to do a comparison. They might go out of business that way!

Chad

Birthday Photos

Since we were at the Ward campout on Mark's birthday, I bought a cake, smuggled it into the freezer, and managed to get it there without him seeing it. The camp's close proximity to our house (15 minutes) made this possible.

I decided to get the individual candles - thought this would be funny because there were so many of them!

But the joke was on me, because they were burning down and the wind was blowing them out before we could get them all lit . . .

Didn't help that he got a phone call when it was about time to blow them out!

Here he is NOT blowing them out. . . he is surveying the mess that the melted wax made all over the cake!

I'm pretty sure he had a good birthday!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Today is my Hubby's birthday! And yes, he does think it's pretty cool that it's on Pioneer Day.

He always jokes that the entire Church celebrates his birthday!

(Not really, of course, but it helps to think that, if anyone ever forgot his birthday. Which as far as I know, no one ever has!)

Today is also our Ward campout. Which means a lot of our friends will be gathering together to have a lot of fun. And, since he happens to be the "father" of our ward right now, I am planning a little something to celebrate . . .

Through the Years . . . sorry about the rough photos - my scanner isn't the greatest, I guess. And the photos are REALLY old!

My Senior Prom, 1982

Our little family, 1987

Family camping trip, 1991Mighty Hunter, around 1992

Pictures of today's celebration will be posted soon . . .

Random Pictures of Summertime . . .

At Coeur d'Alene Beach . . .

Evan Thomas - he's da man!
Doing what he does best - dumping sand all over everything!

Isaac LOVES to swim underwater

Evalie - hiding from the sun

My beautiful raspberries - getting all ripe and ready to eat, right off the vine! Yum!

Shaded from the hot sun under this beautiful tree . . . photo by Rachel!

At the park . . .

Ride 'em cowgirl!
Tom the duck-man

Helping Hands stake service project -

First and only time Mark has worn a yellow item of clothing . . . the work-smocks that everyone had to wear -

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

What is the best thing that you have done so far this summer?

By Small and Simple Things . . .

In my current situation as a bishop's wife, I have the opportunity of going to many baptisms, which he presides over.

Today we were attending the baptism of a sweet little 8-year-old girl. To take the time during which she was getting dressed after her baptism, the missionaries showed this video, which was produced by the California San Jose Mission:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSKUEVamgc0

Memories of missionaries who spent time in our home when my husband was ward mission leader, thoughts of my son who is currently serving in Rancagua, Chile, and the awesome spirit that filled the room all combined together had me completely melted into tears.

What a powerful video! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, if you haven't already seen it . . .

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Also, I have posted an update on Zerin's blog. It includes his current address if you would like to contact him directly.

If anyone would like to post information or letters of encouragement on his blog, please email me at: favsis5bros@yahoo.com
Thanks!

Puppy Love, AKA Most Embarrassing Moment Ever. . .

I believe that every girl must have an unrequited crush at least once . . .

I once had a crush on a boy that several of my friends all liked. We were in the sixth grade, and "going with" a boy was the big thing. You didn't go anywhere with him, but it was known that you were boyfriend/girlfriend if a boy asked you to "go with" him.

One day this particular boy was paying quite a bit of attention to me during recess.

Eventually he pulled me aside - a little bit, but not enough for privacy, and said he wanted to ask me a question.

He said "will you go with me?" In that moment, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The sun was brighter, the birds sang more beautifully, etc. You get the picture.

So with my heart full of puppy love, I gratefully said "yes".

This boy burst out with the loudest "April Fools!" you ever heard. My friends all giggled. At me, or with embarrassment for me, I wasn't sure. Didn't matter.

Hu.mil.i.a.tion

I couldn't look at that boy without dying of embarrasment for the rest of the year.

Thankfully, that boy moved away before I entered Junior High, the mecca of all Embarrassing Moments.

What was your most embarrassing moment? (This post was all Emmy's idea . . . )

Water is the Theme...

Looking back to our trip to OR, I have noticed that where ever there is water . . .

. . . .you will find Tanner.

Bonus:

one of the reason's I call him my "monkey man"

Link to Elder Zerin Petersen's blog

As I had mentioned about a week ago, I have set up a blog to keep everyone posted on Zerin's progress.

Here is the link:

http://zerinpetersen.blogspot.com/

Starting tomorrow, I will begin doing regular updates on his progress.
So save the link, and check back . . .

Today is our Anniversary!

My husband and I have been married for 27 years. Hard to believe. Where has the time gone?

Started the day with a run (me) and a bike ride (him). Have no idea what the rest of the day has in store . . . but I'm sure it will be a good one!

Love you, honey

EFY - The Reason for the Oregon Trip . . .

Especially For Youth


For Rachel. . . .


(that, and a great visit with my parents, of course! . . .)


Rachel's EFY Group

AWESOME borrowed orange shoes. . .

Rachel and - Rachel, the owner of the Orange Shoes
Taylor, and the Forest Grove, OR, campus

(two years ago, when she performed in the BYU Idaho campus EFY Variety show, her picture was taken and is still being used for the promotional purposes. Way cool. Cuz Rachel says so. )

Here she is this year, singing in the Variety Show . . .

(Rachel's disclaimer - the night before the show was The Dance, where she generally sang at the top of her lungs all night and so she's a little hoarse - )

She has this posted on YouTube, and an art gallery in Spokane has invited her to come and sing - Way Cool!!

Elder Zerin Petersen

We've all heard about the rule of three's, right?

How life gets on a roll; maybe you write up 3 great sales in a row,

find 3 great deals in the grocery store,

or you manage to see 3 friends you haven't seen in a while, all in one week. . .

Then there is the bad stuff . . . the rule of three applies here, too.

In this past month, our ward (the local LDS church congregation) suffered the loss of three of our members. One person was quite elderly, lived a good long life, and was suffering from health issues. Another was a chronically ill man who had suffered quite extensively in his final years. The third was a dear friend to all who knew him, who died suddenly and tragically in a motocycle accident.

What do you do, how can you feel, when the fourth bad thing happens . . . ?

Is it an upset of the normal order of things, or is it the first of a new set of 3's?

I think it is time to pray for miracles . . .

Monday we received word that a good friend of my son, Chad, and one of the missionaries from our ward, Elder Zerin Petersen, had been injured in what anyone would describe as a freak accident. A split second action, without time to think of the consequences, and a young man's path was changed from missionary service, to being the recipient of an outpouring of love and service. This vibrant young man, neck broken, spinal cord injured, is now lying in a hospital bed. Our faith and love and prayers hold the hope that he will recover from this injury.

Our stake, (the regional LDS congregations made up of a groups of wards) and the two stakes that are in the Colorado Springs Mission boundaries, will be fasting in his behalf this Sunday.

There are a few amazing details to this story:

This young man is the son of the Boy Scouts of America executive in our area. As you would expect, he was raised to enjoy the Scouting program and all it has to offer. He is an Eagle Scout, with all of his Palms earned, and has taken many First Aid courses along the way. He was also trained and taught as a Lifeguard at Scout Camp, and taught others to be lifeguards as well.

As soon as he landed on his neck he tried to get up. He immediately collapsed and realized that he had a spinal cord injury. Would he have known that without the training that he had received? Likely he would have not.

He called out to the other missionaries that were present and rushing to his aid and said "I have a spinal injury. Don't touch me!" Clear thinking by this amazing young man likely saved his life and himself from further injury.

My husband, upon receiving a call about the accident, rushed out to the Boy Scout camp where his parents, Chris and Mari-Beth Petersen, and his brother, Javan, work during the summer, to deliver the horrifying news. With a heavy heart he told the shocked parents the information he had been given. Elder Petersen's parents, rushed home, packed, and flew out to Denver early the next morning.

A little information about this young man's parents. Chris Petersen, works as the regional executive of the Boy Scouts of America in our area. There are young men throughout the Northwest and and the state of Alaska that have, with the support of his wife, Mari-Beth, been affected by the work that he does. Chris has touched the lives of literally thousands of young men and helped them grow into knowledgeable, hardworking, and productive young men. He works long hours during nine months of the year, and in the summers he lives, in a small, dusty cabin at Boy Scout camp, and directs the activities that occur there. As his children have grown, they and his wife have joined him to work there during the summers as well. He is also known as "Abe", and if you have ever met him, you would know exactly why.

The members, missionaries, and the mission Presidency of the Colorado Springs mission and the Denver area have pulled together to coordinate housing, transportation, and everything else that the Petersen's might be in need of during their stay. This may seem a miracle in itself, but to members of the Church and the people that care about the Petersen's and the LDS missionaries, this is the way we look after and take care of each other. We are blessed to be a part of a loving ward family, and members of a church that considers one another to be brothers and sisters; literally, a family.

Another amazing detail - the Denver/Colorado Springs area is home of the Swedish Medical Center, a Level One trauma center and ranks among the top Neuroscience programs. It is also designated as a Neuroscience Center of Excellence (COE). Adjacent to the hospital is the Craig Hospital, which is an internationally known leader of spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation. One of the world's best neurosurgeons operated on Elder Petersen. There is no better place for him to be in the country, and quite possibly in the world, for him to be to get the care that he now needs.

His recovery will take some time. At this point he can move very little, and has only some sensation in his hands. There has been trama to his spinal cord, and the swelling to the spinal cord from the injury and the surgery to repair the vertibrae (C4) is the most critical factor right now. Four to five months has been mentioned for his stay in Colorado for physical therapy.

There has been an outpouring of people wanting to help. Their home needs some work that they have not had the time or money to do, and modifications will likely be needed to made their home wheelchair accessible.

I have received permission from his mother to set up a blog to keep everyone updated on his progress. The link to this blog is http://zerinpetersen.blogspot.com/. It will provide information to those who are interested in his progress, and possibilities of service - done confidentially without their knowing anything about it - for this amazing family.

Please keep Elder Zerin Petersen in yours prayers, and if you can, please join us in the fast for his recovery this Sunday, July 5

Thank you

The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints

Lakeland 2nd Ward

Rathdrum, Idaho

and the Colorado Springs, Colorado Mission