2014

. . . . .  to all our friends and loved ones

We have had a very full but different year.  We are still dealing with Jim’s cancer.  Even though the cancer is gone, he still has to take the medication with all of its side effects.  In taking a test to check on the cancer, they saw a nodule on his thyroid and so he had part of his thyroid taken out - it was a very successful operation and the nodule was benign. His Pet Scans are all clear.  Then the Oncologist told him that now he could get his hip replaced if he wanted to.  He had the operation and all went well.  Five months later I had my hip replacement surgery and all went well with that operation.
We traveled to Bakersfield, CA where our son, Jason was put in as the 1st Counselor in the Silver Creek Ward Bishopric.  Always enjoy being with family and especially those grand kids.
We have gone to the Gilbert & Phoenix temple open houses and dedications.  We are so happy to now have five temples in Arizona.
We got a new bishopric in our Taylor 3rd Ward.  Also, we got a new Snowflake Arizona temple presidency.  Our grandson got married in The Gila Valley temple. Our 22nd grandchild Taylor Lynn was born in Bakersfield, CA.
We lost our brother -in-law this year.  It is a very sad thing for our family.  He is the first one to pass away of my brothers & sisters and their spouses.
We flew to the Maner Reunion in Cle Elum, Washington with Chad & Luann, our granddaughters’ Jennifer, Jodie and Jilli.  We had a wonderful time there.  But the flight going to the reunion was very unique especially being our grand daughters’ first flight.  Our plane in Phoenix broke down and so we got rerouted through Las Vegas with only a few hours to sleep.  Our granddaughters took it all in stride.   
We went to the McCleve Reunion at Willow Park in Lehi, Utah.  It is so good to get to be with our family members.  Both reunions were very well organized and well attended with a lot of fun, entertainment, visiting and good food.
We celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary by going on a trip to Southern Arizona and found the house that Kathie’s parents lived in when she was a baby in Douglas.  We visited Tombstone, St. David, Bisbee, Benson, Elfrida, Willcox, Douglas and Chiricahua National Monument - a fun trip.
Jim is serving as our Stake Patriarch and Kathie is the Scribe.  It keeps us busy and is a very enjoyable but challenging responsibility.  We both still work in the Snowflake AZ temple but Kathie is on leave because of her hip operation and Jim serves on Wednesday morning.  Kathie is anxious to return.
We rejoice in the knowledge of our Savior and the wonderful atonement.  We are thankful for so many blessings of health, family, friends, freedoms, the restoration of the gospel, living prophets & apostles, and our faith in the Savior especially at this time of the year.
We hope you have had a good year and this coming year will be even better. 

 Love,
Jim & Kathie

Season's Greetings 2013

                                        
  Dear Family & Friends,
This year has been a memorable year for us.  We are grateful for the many blessings that we have received.
In February Jim was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer in both lungs when going for a Pre-Op chest x-ray for a hip operation.  Our Bishop asked the ward and the Stake President asked the stake to pray and fast for his recovery.  Miracles do happen.  Now the cancer is in complete remission.  We are very thankful for the faith and prayers of family, friends and all who supported us at this trying time.
We thank Heavenly Father on a daily basis for this wonderful miracle.  Jim continues to be on the medication which has side effects.  However, we have been blessed to be able to continue with the patriarchal blessings and working in the Snowflake temple.  We are very grateful to be able to continue with our church service.  This has been a very trying time in our life and we are blessed to feel the peace that comes through the atonement of our Savior.
We have traveled to be with family on important dates.  We flew to Seattle Washington for the blessing of our grandson Weston and the baptism of our granddaughter Lindsey.  Then to Springfield Oregon for the baptism of our grandson Jackson and grandson Javan's ordination to an Elder and receiving his patriarchal blessing.  We were also pleased to congratulate our son-in-law Scott on his graduation from Brigham Young University Idaho.  We drove to Salt Lake for the wedding and reception of our niece Melissa.  Traveled to the Gila Valley to see our first great-grandchild Kinley Ann Maner baby of J.R., our oldest grandson and Kalli.  She is the cutest little baby.  In celebrating our forty- seventh wedding anniversary, we went to The Lion King in the Arizona State University Gammage Auditorium. In August we went to Sky Harbor to see our 2nd grandson, J.T. come home from his mission to Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West. My how the time goes by so fast. We finally for the first time went to see the Grand Falls near Leupp out of Winslow.  It was amazing.  After seeing it, we wondered why it has taken us so long to go and see it.  Some of its other names are Chocolate or Mud Falls and we can see why - it only runs during 


spring run- off or summer floods and looks like liquid mud.  Jim was honored in March to be asked to baptize a good friend Mike.  It was a very wonderful occasion.
The death of our Aunt Viola saddened us.  She has always been a special aunt to us and we have done many things on a regular basis with her.  She is certainly missed.
We had a wonderful event in July in the Snowflake Arizona temple with the marriage of our daughter Luann to Chad Crosby from Eagar.  They were congratulated by many friends and family at their receptions in Snowflake and Eagar.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Love,
Jim & Kathie

2007 Christmas letter

Jim and Kathie in front of the Hong Kong temple ----->









Dear Family and Friends,
We hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas season. It has been a good year for us. We are thankful for the blessings our family has received.

Scott, Lashelle & Jackson went to the Portland Oregon temple to be sealed. Three of Lashelle's cousins, Keith & Jerry Stewart & Kevin Chapple, were able to come and it meant alot. It was a joyous occasion for all of us.

We were blessed to have 3 new grandchildren born this year:

--Kylan Darius Gray(son of Lisa and Kyle), was born in Springfield, Oregon on May 8. Kathie flew up to help with Lisa and the baby and then Jim and Luann drove to Oregon for his blessing.

--Katelyn Marie Maner (daughter of Justin & Jenn) was born in Kansas on May 24. They moved to Utah for Justin to get his Masters at BYU. We went to Utah for her blessing.

--Brooklyn Rose Maner (daughter of Jason and Melody) was born on Oct 12 in Lehi, Utah. We went to her blessing and also attended the family Thanksgiving dinner.

Other important family events that happened this year are:

--We attended the graduation of Jimmie where he received his Master’s Degree from Grand Canyon College.

--Our granddaughter Jodie Lyn Maner (daughter of Jimmie & Jill) was baptized in Heber, AZ on Dec. 15.

In October, we had an unexpected opportunity to fly back to Jim’s mission field in Hong Kong. This was a once in a lifetime trip for us. It came about because our former Stake President and his wife, Norris and Fawnette Baldwin, went on a mission to Hong Kong. Elder Baldwin talked to the Hong Kong temple matron and asked her if she remembered Elder Maner. Jim and his companion contacted her in Hong Kong 44 years ago. We were able to stay with President and Sister Tai. The Tais, K.Y. and Flora, were so very kind and helpful to us. Jim says you don’t have to die to go to heaven. Going back to Hong Kong after all these years was like going to heaven. Seeing all the changes in the Church since he left was an emotional experience. It was absolutely an amazing trip. We enjoyed all the places that we were able to visit in Hong Kong. The temple is beautiful. We rode on every public transportation that they have and still walked and walked a lot. It was wonderful to associate with some of the people that Jim knew while on his mission. They were all so very kind to us.

We are grateful for our knowledge of the atonement. May each of us find the peace that comes through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jim & Kathie

Jim & Kathie at the floating restaurant in Aberdeen