With All Our Love

Dear Tanner,

How was your week? You did NOT answer my housing questions last week...please do ;-) Your cousin Derek has decided to live in a house with another roommate. Your cousin Roger and his friend Lee decided to live in a house as well. However, the contract runs May to May, so you boys who aren't even off your missionaries would have to worry about selling the unused part of your contract to live there, or eat the cost. So I think we need to move on from having family find a place to live. The Cummings will be out in Utah soon, and could help us find appropriate housing. The other option is to spend one more year in Heritage, as a resident assistant, and enjoy the perks (like free housing and your own room) that come from living there. Any thoughts?

We loved hearing about all your weekly adventures...we are looking forward to even more! You have done a wonderful job keeping us informed of late...thank you! Have you had any problems with carnival in Londrina?

There are some situations in the world that might be of interest to you:

"KIEV/BALACLAVA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday condemned Russia's "incredible act of aggression" in Ukraine and threatened economic sanctions by the United States and allies to isolate Moscow, but called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. CNN reports that Russia’s upper house of Parliament voted unanimously Saturday to approve sending Russian military forces into Ukraine “amid mounting tensions in the country’s Crimea region and in defiance of warnings from Western powers.” ...Due to civil unrest in Ukraine, 23 missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dnepropetrovsk Mission have been removed from the Crimean peninsula. The missionaries have been transferred “to other areas as a precautionary measure."

"Engineers have started emergency procedures to stabilize a Washington dam after they found a 65-foot crack in the structure. The Wanapum Dam, a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River in Grant County, Wash., is still running after divers discovered a 65-foot crack that is 2-inches wide. The dam has not been evacuated and is still producing electricity for the central Washington region. Due to the severity of the problem, a crisis scenario plan has been implemented, meaning that the damage is significant enough that there is potential the dam could fail."

And my personal favorite, "ST. HELENA, Calif. (AP) — With California in the grips of drought, farmers throughout the state are using a mysterious and some say foolhardy tool for locating underground water: dowsers, or water witches. Practitioners of dowsing use rudimentary tools — usually copper sticks or wooden "divining rods" that resemble large wishbones — and what they describe as a natural energy to find water or minerals hidden deep underground. While both state and federal water scientists disapprove of dowsing, California "witchers" are busy as farmers seek to drill more groundwater wells due to the state's record drought that persists despite recent rain. The nation's fourth-largest wine maker, Bronco Wine Co., says it uses dowsers on its 40,000 acres of California vineyards, and dozens of smaller farmers and homeowners looking for wells on their property also pay for dowsers. Nationwide, the American Society of Dowsers, Inc. boasts dozens of local chapters, which meet annually at a conference." Yowsers for the dowsers!

Professor Able came to cub scouts for me and talked to the boys about "forestry" for one of their activity badges. He did a great job, showing slides of trees and leaves, giving the boys their own take home piece of tree ring, and demonstrating different types of wood and wood products.We're excited to have him come back in two weeks to teach "naturalist."

Wednesday the boys were out of school due to snow. That day they also received notification that their week long spring break had been cancelled. It was a day of no good news. The brake line cracked, and leaked, and had no brakes for Hunter while he was driving. Fortunately, he realized in a parking lot they were gone, and only went 10 MPH to get home. This was corrected Thursday. As was Dad's car, which I had put into the shop while he was out of town late Tuesday. This time it was the wheel bearings, wheel spindle, and brakes.

Hunter found out Thursday he was accepted to BYU. Here I was making all these plans,and never even thought to think that he wasn't in. He's already making mental lists of what he wants to bring, such as his telescope. He's very excited. Your 6'4" cousin Hannah decided she was going to be a Utah State Aggie, and will sign her division I basketball scholarship in April. We're all very excited to cheer her on, and she will be joined in Logan by your other cousin, Kayla.

I spent three days this week helping Dr. Stan-the-Man's wife, as she is in pre-term labor, and trying to keep the baby in for a few more weeks. I've watched her kids, taken them to story time at the library, and cleaned her house. Friday I took two other ladies with me, and we folded and put away mountains of wash, swept and washed her floors, cleaned her kitchen and bathrooms, and did the dishes and made lunch. It was an Herculean effort but made so easy with plenty of willing hands. One lady which was there, said in church how she had been praying for an opportunity to serve, and five minutes later was speaking with me about her piano lessons and learned about this need. Prayers are definitely answered, and we are definitely answers to prayers.

Your father and I went with the missionaries again to visit the neighbors. This time your math teacher was there, first time she's been in town for a visit. He talked about how he had read 2 Nephi chapters 28 and 29, and had to really think about the verse that said, "And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." He took the time to look up every cross reference that was listed for both chapters! He's amazing. Then he went on to finish the book and start Jacob. He had one question about his reading, that could be answered by reading Alama 43, and that's the last seminary lesson I taught. Coincidence? I think not. We'll be going back, again! Dad was telling him how he use to be an Avon boy. His mother was a consultant, and he would help her deliver orders, as well as the flyers and lipstick and perfume samples. Dropping off these samples in the neighborhoods earned him a lot of brazen comments that were the bane of his delivery days. I've never heard this story before, and laughed and laughed. I loved getting Avon samples when I was younger, and told him I would have married him sooner if he had shown up on my doorstep with lipstick samples ;-)

I hope you can read or print the email on Ranger. Due to his passing, and your father conducting today's church meeting, he talked about Ranger a little bit, and wove the principles he was sharing into his testimony. I won't be able to do it justice, but he spoke about him being a friend to our family, and the things he did for us, and wondered what we should be doing for others, and how ultimately the Savior set the perfect example. The funny thing was, his story caused EVERY other person to stand and share an animal story! Dad was feeling a little uncomfortable. He had no idea it would set the "theme" of the meeting, but most were appropriate ;-)

Porter was ordained a priest today in his class, and Cooper came to get myself and the younger boys so they could witness as well. You'll be so proud of him and how far along he has come in his maturation process ;-) He was dressed in a suit, with a matching sweater vest, tie and socks. He does like to look dapper! He even told the men, "Leave the hair how you found out." Too funny! And, as he is now 16, I've got to get him interested in getting his permit, and driving!

I think the only ones I haven't mentioned in this letter are the three youngest. Sawyer has had a quiet week, no games, a couple of practices, and no injuries. Not so for your cousin Josh. He was rock climbing, fell, and broke both his wrists last night. Remember him in your prayers. Miller brought home a nasty school bug, and had to be taken outside in frigid temperatures to help with his croup. Remember getting that? He's getting better, but hasn't been in school for a couple of days. And Breyer? She is going through a preening stage. She wants to spend time everyday combing my hair, blow drying it, putting on concealing powder, and rubbing on lotion. She did not learn this from me! And when I'm done, she'll do herself. Dad finally had to hide the hair dryer, as she uses it so much, and her hair isn't even wet!

This evening we're fortunate to have storm Titan swing through the tri state area. It's snowing ice, covering everything in sparkling, frozen drops of water. It's beautiful but very dangerous. In fact right now an accident has happened at 11 p.m. tonight right on the main road by our house. What a mess. School has already been cancelled, and we're pretty sure we won't be going Tuesday either. The boys have already missed eleven days of school this year, and lost their week long spring break formerly scheduled in March. It's been a long, relentless winter, much colder, and busier. The outlook for March is "much colder than normal." But we have a warm house for which we're grateful and an ability to keep it warm. Hopefully you're finding ways to keep yourself cool.

I was reading in Alma 39:12, "Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to destruction." How thankful I am that I do not have to command you to do good. You already are doing good, and help us choose to do good as well. Have a wonderful week, keep up the faith, and endure to the end!

Much love,

Mom and Dad