Sorry for the delays in getting this posted but I hope you will enjoy the news, even if it is not breaking news.
Grant's News
March 4, 2012
This was Grant's week of training in the kitchen. The managers say they are impressed with how well he cooks since his only training is knowing the menu and watching the cooks. His biggest hurdle is knowing the difference between how well done meat is cooked. He can cook well done burgers and rare burgers, but struggles with anything in between. The other hurdle is not freaking out as the orders come in and timing his work so that the orders go out at appropriate times. Although he has enjoyed the change of pace and the opportunity to mingle with a new group of coworkers, some things will take some getting used to, like getting paid. Grant is used getting paid daily through his tips, so he feels poor right now because he hasn't received his first cook paycheck. Luckily, Grant still has some serving shifts so we're not rocking the boat too much at Hudson's. Otherwise, Grant's week was rather quiet and uneventful. He was able to spend Saturday evening hanging out with Logan, going to Culver's and then renting zombie movies.
The Pennsylvania Haws Family
March 4, 2012
Our week was quite busy.
Renata has been working and has been very happy with the chance to get out of the house everyday and have her own personal routine, let alone the spending cash. She also had ESL orientation this week and will begin ESL night classes on Monday 11 March. She is quite excited and ready to become an English speaker.
Felipe doubts how much English will help his mother and suggests that Spanish may be more important for communication in America. Felipe is working hard to learn English in his ESL classes but finds that his Spanish gets more training. Due to the number of Spanish speaking students in ESL, ESL classes are mostly in Spanish leaving other speaker doubly lost as they must learn Spanish to participate fully in the ESL program. He has been a good sport about it though and is just happy that he was able to start practicing with the soccer team each Monday evening. The soccer team was very welcoming and quite impressed with his soccer skills.
Lucas is doing well in Brazil and is still sure that the USA is not as cool as it looks on tv. Maybe cool was the wrong word, not as fun I suppose. He wants to continue in Brazil and is working hard to reach his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. We wish him the best and Renata and the boys look forward to visiting him in the summer.
Derick is progressing in his English development. This week was the first time that he got all of his spelling words right. As he had begun the alphabetization process in Brazil he had a different understanding of what sounds letters were suppose to make and that was causing some confusion for him at school. It appears that he is getting past that and is beginning to understand a little bit more of how to sound things out in English. Derick has been enjoying the US and especially that Mommy is working as that means that his toy budget is better than ever.
We went to an Aquarium in Camden, NJ a week ago. I have attached two images to this email and will send another later. We had a lot of fun with that. Renata loved walking through the shark tunnel, a glass tunnel going through the shark pool where she could see sharks up close. Derick especially loved the sting rays and was even able to feed a sardine to one. Felipe liked seeing the university in Philadelphia and it was neat to see him get excited about the idea of going to college, even though I know that the excitement is only that he will get to live on his own and hang out with college girls.
I have been busy. Work always has new surprises and different things to learn. One of my learning projects is trying to see what I can do with a new little computer called Raspberry Pi. Raspberry pi is a very small computer. It is about the size of a credit card and runs on a SD card for all of its hd space. It is not terribly powerful so you probably would not want to use it for your day to day computing. At the same time it only costs about $35 so there are many people in the world that might find it extremely interesting as an option for their first computer or as a computer for their kids. As for myself the interest lies in the ability to set up an array of lots of them and run heavy tasks spread out across the multiple computers. Idea being that one may not be terribly powerful but lots sure can be and if ten still costs less than the common computer it may be possible to set up something amazing for much less than buying one other computer. There are many other interesting things that one might do with a set of small, cheaper computers but there is still much to learn.
I hope that you week has been as pleasant and exciting as ours.
Love,
Jeff
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It has been a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend Logan went on a campout with his scout troop to Eagle Cave. It is a privately owned cave in Wisconsin. They have about 300 scouts each weekend camp in the cave. They have a terrific program that all the boys loved.
Lanette spent the weekend with one of her classmates, Autumn. Autumn's mother is one of the amazing people that foster kids with disabilities. Lanette and Autumn had a great time. This weekend we had some significant snow storms so Lanette enjoyed hearing the winds blow.
Mom and I had the opportunity to spend some time alone. We enjoyed a trip to the temple. It was a wonderful experience. We did the endowments for two of our ancestors that were born in the 18th century. I am cure they appreciate our efforts. We enjoyed time with Grant and I took Mom on a date to Chili's which a unusual treat since Chili's is not in Marshfield. We also spent a few minutes with Emily and a bit longer with Trent. That was a short but delightful visit.
We are looking forward to spring time and seeing Grant's flowers come up out of the now snow covered ground. We have plane tickets to go to Haley's baptism leaving on our 33rd anniversary and returning the next week. We love seeing our grandchildren even if it is just pictures. All and all I am feeling pretty lucky.
Love,
Dad
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
February 26, 2013
Well it has been all too long since I last compiled a family update. I apologize. Here is the latest updates for our family. Would you please send something each week that we can include in the family blog. Pictures are especially nice for Felipe, Lucas and Renata.
Grant's News
Grant has had a quiet week with work. He is looking forward to some changes at work that will allow him to cook, and hopefully add some more excitement to the normal routine. Lately Grant has been collecting seeds for the garden. It is still very much winter and the cabin fever of it all has Grant anxious to get back outside and work in the yard. He is excited for even slightly warmer whether so that the daffodils and crocus flowers will return.
News from Julie, Jeff and Alex
News from the Alaska Haws Family
I feel like I have been slacking on sending the family newsletter. During this past month Haley had lost her tooth, Kayla was able to join Pete the Cat Shoe Tying Club because she learned how to tie her shoes and last week we celebrated Kayla's 6th birthday! I felt really bad because we didn't have any matches or a lighter to light her candles so I told her to pretend it was lit and to blow it out...it seemed to work and she didn't mind. We still have about 18 inches of snow in the back yard with no melting in sight even though we have had the sun coming up by 8:15 and not going down until 6:00 every day. It is so nice to have the extra light during the day and very exciting to know summer will be here soon (well in four more months). I took the girls to the doctors for a check-up and Kayla officially weighs more than Haley and is a hair taller than her also. It looks like Haley will be getting the clothes handed down to her from Kayla now. Work is going good for Andy and he still thinks he wants to extend for three more years. I enjoy my tutoring job at the school. I love working with the students and most of all being able to see Haley and Kayla throughout the day.
News from Home
It has been a busy and wonderful time. Logan has been very active in basketball this winter. It is fun to watch him play. He scored several baskets in the tournament last Saturday. Logan has also decided to switch back to the Marshfield School System next year. Mom and Dad think that is a good idea. The high school offers an excellent academic background. Logan continues to raise his chickens. Now his is also snow shoveling a walk way in for a family in our area. He is trying out for a play at his school. We hope it he gets a great role.
Lanette has been enjoying friends. She has been with a group of girls two weeks ago. She had a great time. Last weekend she went to a new friend's home. Her name is Callie and she is wonderful, kind friend to Lanette. Lanette will be going to look at job opportunities this week.
Mom and I had a wonderful trip to the temple about ten days ago. We were able to do initiatories and endowments for a number of our ancestors. We enjoyed visiting Trent and Emily several weeks ago. and . They had a great time and enjoyed a meal at a great restaurant. We have started painting the house but have not made a terribly lot of progress but it will be finished soon enough.
I am including a email that I sent to Aunt Patsy about a potential family reunion. Please take a moment. We would like to have the reunion in 2014.
Love Dad
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Patsy and Steve,
Several years ago, Kellie and I went to a small town in central Pennsylvania called Freeburg. In the town is a dilapidated cemetery where a number of our Boyer ancestors are buried. It was fascinating to see the grave stones of Francis Augustus Boyer (1790-1876) and Anna Barbara Sell Boyer (1785-1865), who are our fourth great-grandparents. It was a joy to clean the headstones and to remove some of the grass around the burial sites: That experience has left a great impression on both of us. Recently Dona found an interested and wonderful article from a 1999 general conference by Elder Neuenschwander (April 1999) that references Mariah Catherine Boyer (granddaughter of Francis and Anna). Here is the excerpt that Dona sent, it is a wonderful talk emphasizing the importance of family heritage,
"In 1892 sisters of the Kolob Stake in Springville, Utah, wrote letters to their children and sealed them in a time capsule to be opened March 17, 1942, the centennial anniversary of the Relief Society. After recording a brief genealogy of her family reaching back to those who first joined the Church, Mariah Catherine Boyer wrote the following to her two children: “Dear children, when you read this, parents and grandparents will be sleeping in the silent tomb. Those hands that toiled so hard in love for you will toil no more, and those eyes that gazed in love and approbation on your innocent brows will see you no more, until we meet in heaven. Dear children, … may the bands of a sister and a brother’s love entwine your hearts. … Do right by your fellowmen, follow the dictates of your conscience, ask God to give you power to resist all temptations to do evil, and let it be said of you, ‘that the world is better for you having lived in it.’ Keep the commandments of God. May your paths in life be strewn with flowers, and may you at all times do right. May you never taste adversity. May the Spirit and blessings of God attend you at all times is the prayer of your mother. I will enclose the photographs of our family. Goodbye my dear children, until we meet.”2 These tender and beautiful words have now bridged six generations of a faithful family."
If you have time today consider reading the whole talk. It emphasizes the importance of family heritage and uniting the generations of a family together.
Here is a story from our family history about Augustus Sell Boyer and Catherine Houtz Boyer. Catherine is the first direct ancestor in our Boyer line to join the Church.
"The pain was unbearable and Augustus Sell Boyer took a large cleaver and clamped it on his aching tooth and pulled. He succeeded in breaking his jaw which became infected quickly and he realized he was going to die. He called his three brothers and asked them to each take one of his sons and keep and educate them until they were 21 years of age"
"He spoke to his wife telling her she had a good farm and could make a fair living for herself and three daughters [actually there were four]. After much pain and suffering and suffering he was laid to rest.
"Catherine Houtz Boyer, six [seven] children and a widow- with the loss of her husband and loneliness was horrible and hard to her to bear. She and her husband had not been satisfied with their religion and had been reading material regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jacob Houtz, brother of Catherine, had joined the Church and gone west. He came to visit his sister and she decided she and her family would go to Utah with him."
"Collecting her sons was a problem- they wanted to go with their mother but their uncles remembered their promise to their brother refused to release them to go with their mother. Finally the boys, Phillip age 12, John age 10 [our direct ancestor] and Frank age 8 persuaded them that they would run away and join their mother so they let them leave."
"The long trip was accomplished by covered wagon and team of horses. They had many terrifying experiences with the Indians but always were kind and gave them food. Catherine and her sons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one evening at a beautiful quiet spot on a river. They arrived in Utah on September 18 and stayed in Salt Lake City one winter."
"Coming to Springville the following spring, Catherine and her sons built a small cabin which she quickly made into a home for them and which was they loved and each one of the boys and girls appreciated. Catherine never was sorry for moving to the west. She never re-married. She loved the gospel and her children and reared each of them to be proud of their name, their church and their parents. She was honored and respected for her courage, her faith, and her constant humor and love of life"
(I am not sure of the author or the reason for the discrepancy in family number)
Freeburg is only about two hours or so from Steve and Dona's home. I would like to propose a family reunion in the summer of 2014 where we spend several days restoring the cemetery. I would, of course, contact the church to make sure that they are willing to permit us to do this service. Additionally, we could have fun together such as attending the Hershey Pennsylvania Amusement Park ( www.hersheypark.com).
The link below shows a church in the foreground. I believe that church owns the cemetery. You can see a few headstones. In the background is a second church.
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc14930.php
Kellie and I did not find Augustus Sell Boyer's grave site. At the cemetery there is a large pile of headstones that may contain his headstone. It would be wonderful to restore it to the proper location. We would love to have a memorable family reunion fixing the headstones of those who went before us, as well as a fun-filled trip to Hershey Amusement Park.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions.
Love,
Robert
Grant's News
Grant has had a quiet week with work. He is looking forward to some changes at work that will allow him to cook, and hopefully add some more excitement to the normal routine. Lately Grant has been collecting seeds for the garden. It is still very much winter and the cabin fever of it all has Grant anxious to get back outside and work in the yard. He is excited for even slightly warmer whether so that the daffodils and crocus flowers will return.
News from Julie, Jeff and Alex
Happy birthday,Henry!
This week for the Lanes was packed with trying to once again
get the house to look like a model home, even though it is requiring everything
to be put into boxes and then shoved
into every closet. We are hopeing to get
this all finished before the end of February.
Monday, we spent in Marshfield going to a discount store and
taking a well needed date without the baby. We went to Chips, the one by the
BBQ store. We also took Alex to Festival
foods so that he could push one of the child size carts around. He really loved
that until it was nap time and then nothing would make him happy.
I cannot remember what I mentioned about Jeff’s interview.
But here is his recount:
Jeff traveled down to Milwaukee to interview to become an
officer for the Air Force. He had a
series of three interviews while he was there, two unexpected. The first one was with a Captain that was
the longest. They asked him quite a bit
of questions about his background, at the end, when he asked to get a feel for how the interview went, the Captain said
he believes he can put together a competitive package. He then had a short interview with the
Colonel: Jeff believes he did well because the Colonel gave him advice of how
to improve his entrance essay. Then he
had the third and last one with the Tech Sergeant that he has been working with;
which he expected. He was mainly filling
out paper work with her. Over all he
thinks he has a good chance to have the opportunity to commission as an officer. Unfortunately, he probably won't find out
till late May or early June. Which is a little frustrating since we are
desperately looking for a job and would love to know what will be our
future—who doesn't want to know their future.
Alex is saying more and more words. He personality is coming
out and it is seeming to be filled with a bit of sass. He has become a huge fan
of music as he sleeps; in fact, yesterday, he began to wake up when a song had
an abnormally long introduction.
News from the Alaska Haws Family
I feel like I have been slacking on sending the family newsletter. During this past month Haley had lost her tooth, Kayla was able to join Pete the Cat Shoe Tying Club because she learned how to tie her shoes and last week we celebrated Kayla's 6th birthday! I felt really bad because we didn't have any matches or a lighter to light her candles so I told her to pretend it was lit and to blow it out...it seemed to work and she didn't mind. We still have about 18 inches of snow in the back yard with no melting in sight even though we have had the sun coming up by 8:15 and not going down until 6:00 every day. It is so nice to have the extra light during the day and very exciting to know summer will be here soon (well in four more months). I took the girls to the doctors for a check-up and Kayla officially weighs more than Haley and is a hair taller than her also. It looks like Haley will be getting the clothes handed down to her from Kayla now. Work is going good for Andy and he still thinks he wants to extend for three more years. I enjoy my tutoring job at the school. I love working with the students and most of all being able to see Haley and Kayla throughout the day.
News from Home
It has been a busy and wonderful time. Logan has been very active in basketball this winter. It is fun to watch him play. He scored several baskets in the tournament last Saturday. Logan has also decided to switch back to the Marshfield School System next year. Mom and Dad think that is a good idea. The high school offers an excellent academic background. Logan continues to raise his chickens. Now his is also snow shoveling a walk way in for a family in our area. He is trying out for a play at his school. We hope it he gets a great role.
Lanette has been enjoying friends. She has been with a group of girls two weeks ago. She had a great time. Last weekend she went to a new friend's home. Her name is Callie and she is wonderful, kind friend to Lanette. Lanette will be going to look at job opportunities this week.
Mom and I had a wonderful trip to the temple about ten days ago. We were able to do initiatories and endowments for a number of our ancestors. We enjoyed visiting Trent and Emily several weeks ago. and . They had a great time and enjoyed a meal at a great restaurant. We have started painting the house but have not made a terribly lot of progress but it will be finished soon enough.
I am including a email that I sent to Aunt Patsy about a potential family reunion. Please take a moment. We would like to have the reunion in 2014.
Love Dad
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Patsy and Steve,
Several years ago, Kellie and I went to a small town in central Pennsylvania called Freeburg. In the town is a dilapidated cemetery where a number of our Boyer ancestors are buried. It was fascinating to see the grave stones of Francis Augustus Boyer (1790-1876) and Anna Barbara Sell Boyer (1785-1865), who are our fourth great-grandparents. It was a joy to clean the headstones and to remove some of the grass around the burial sites: That experience has left a great impression on both of us. Recently Dona found an interested and wonderful article from a 1999 general conference by Elder Neuenschwander (April 1999) that references Mariah Catherine Boyer (granddaughter of Francis and Anna). Here is the excerpt that Dona sent, it is a wonderful talk emphasizing the importance of family heritage,
"In 1892 sisters of the Kolob Stake in Springville, Utah, wrote letters to their children and sealed them in a time capsule to be opened March 17, 1942, the centennial anniversary of the Relief Society. After recording a brief genealogy of her family reaching back to those who first joined the Church, Mariah Catherine Boyer wrote the following to her two children: “Dear children, when you read this, parents and grandparents will be sleeping in the silent tomb. Those hands that toiled so hard in love for you will toil no more, and those eyes that gazed in love and approbation on your innocent brows will see you no more, until we meet in heaven. Dear children, … may the bands of a sister and a brother’s love entwine your hearts. … Do right by your fellowmen, follow the dictates of your conscience, ask God to give you power to resist all temptations to do evil, and let it be said of you, ‘that the world is better for you having lived in it.’ Keep the commandments of God. May your paths in life be strewn with flowers, and may you at all times do right. May you never taste adversity. May the Spirit and blessings of God attend you at all times is the prayer of your mother. I will enclose the photographs of our family. Goodbye my dear children, until we meet.”2 These tender and beautiful words have now bridged six generations of a faithful family."
If you have time today consider reading the whole talk. It emphasizes the importance of family heritage and uniting the generations of a family together.
Here is a story from our family history about Augustus Sell Boyer and Catherine Houtz Boyer. Catherine is the first direct ancestor in our Boyer line to join the Church.
"The pain was unbearable and Augustus Sell Boyer took a large cleaver and clamped it on his aching tooth and pulled. He succeeded in breaking his jaw which became infected quickly and he realized he was going to die. He called his three brothers and asked them to each take one of his sons and keep and educate them until they were 21 years of age"
"He spoke to his wife telling her she had a good farm and could make a fair living for herself and three daughters [actually there were four]. After much pain and suffering and suffering he was laid to rest.
"Catherine Houtz Boyer, six [seven] children and a widow- with the loss of her husband and loneliness was horrible and hard to her to bear. She and her husband had not been satisfied with their religion and had been reading material regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jacob Houtz, brother of Catherine, had joined the Church and gone west. He came to visit his sister and she decided she and her family would go to Utah with him."
"Collecting her sons was a problem- they wanted to go with their mother but their uncles remembered their promise to their brother refused to release them to go with their mother. Finally the boys, Phillip age 12, John age 10 [our direct ancestor] and Frank age 8 persuaded them that they would run away and join their mother so they let them leave."
"The long trip was accomplished by covered wagon and team of horses. They had many terrifying experiences with the Indians but always were kind and gave them food. Catherine and her sons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one evening at a beautiful quiet spot on a river. They arrived in Utah on September 18 and stayed in Salt Lake City one winter."
"Coming to Springville the following spring, Catherine and her sons built a small cabin which she quickly made into a home for them and which was they loved and each one of the boys and girls appreciated. Catherine never was sorry for moving to the west. She never re-married. She loved the gospel and her children and reared each of them to be proud of their name, their church and their parents. She was honored and respected for her courage, her faith, and her constant humor and love of life"
(I am not sure of the author or the reason for the discrepancy in family number)
Freeburg is only about two hours or so from Steve and Dona's home. I would like to propose a family reunion in the summer of 2014 where we spend several days restoring the cemetery. I would, of course, contact the church to make sure that they are willing to permit us to do this service. Additionally, we could have fun together such as attending the Hershey Pennsylvania Amusement Park ( www.hersheypark.com).
The link below shows a church in the foreground. I believe that church owns the cemetery. You can see a few headstones. In the background is a second church.
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc14930.php
Kellie and I did not find Augustus Sell Boyer's grave site. At the cemetery there is a large pile of headstones that may contain his headstone. It would be wonderful to restore it to the proper location. We would love to have a memorable family reunion fixing the headstones of those who went before us, as well as a fun-filled trip to Hershey Amusement Park.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions.
Love,
Robert
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
December 4, 2012
Happy Birthday to Derick and Julie!!!
Grant's News
Grant's week was painfully slow at work, which was surprising since usually after Thanksgiving it gets pretty busy. On his days off Grant worked on decorating the house for Christmas. He is working on some homemade decorations for the Christmas tree, made from dried fruit.
The Wisconsin Haws
This week has been dominated by Logan's sports events. He had several basketball games. He has shot two three pointers including one tonight. It has been fun to see him participate in basketball this year. I surely never play enough basketball to even be considered on a basketball team. Logan also enjoyed having Cheyenna and Fiona Pilsner over on Saturday through Sunday. The girls live him Mexico City and Logan looks and acts like a brother to the girls. It was fun to have them over.
Lanette has been having difficulties with her Victor, tape recorder/MP3 player/all around entertainment. She ended up having to send the Victor in to be serviced. She is very distressed by this issue.
We enjoyed having Julie, Jeff and Alex over to our house on Sunday. We celebrated Julie's birthday and had a great meal. It was enjoyable to listen to the First Presidency Christmas broadcast together but I must admit that I was a bit drowsy after the meal we had enjoyed.
Mom has been working on Christmas projects, gifts and notions. She really wants to make this a very special Christmas. I have enjoyed doing lots of things. Mom and I spent the morning last Saturday with Sister Atwood. She is a dear wonderful friend that lifts our spirits.
We have been looking forward to Christmas and the countdown is in progress. Grant has decorated our home so nicely that we have a great Christmas atmosphere here. We hope you all have a great week.
Grant's News
Grant's week was painfully slow at work, which was surprising since usually after Thanksgiving it gets pretty busy. On his days off Grant worked on decorating the house for Christmas. He is working on some homemade decorations for the Christmas tree, made from dried fruit.
The Wisconsin Haws
This week has been dominated by Logan's sports events. He had several basketball games. He has shot two three pointers including one tonight. It has been fun to see him participate in basketball this year. I surely never play enough basketball to even be considered on a basketball team. Logan also enjoyed having Cheyenna and Fiona Pilsner over on Saturday through Sunday. The girls live him Mexico City and Logan looks and acts like a brother to the girls. It was fun to have them over.
Lanette has been having difficulties with her Victor, tape recorder/MP3 player/all around entertainment. She ended up having to send the Victor in to be serviced. She is very distressed by this issue.
We enjoyed having Julie, Jeff and Alex over to our house on Sunday. We celebrated Julie's birthday and had a great meal. It was enjoyable to listen to the First Presidency Christmas broadcast together but I must admit that I was a bit drowsy after the meal we had enjoyed.
Mom has been working on Christmas projects, gifts and notions. She really wants to make this a very special Christmas. I have enjoyed doing lots of things. Mom and I spent the morning last Saturday with Sister Atwood. She is a dear wonderful friend that lifts our spirits.
We have been looking forward to Christmas and the countdown is in progress. Grant has decorated our home so nicely that we have a great Christmas atmosphere here. We hope you all have a great week.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
November 27, 2012
The Alaska Haws Family
November 26, 2012
On Thursday Haley and Kayla were excited that they were able to finally put up the Christmas tree. They have already wrapped some presents from their toy box to put under it. Later that day we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at the church with members of the ward. On Friday on our way out to do some shopping we saw a moose in front of a neighbor's garage. It was crazy! Andy of course wished that he was able to shoot his guns on post, because that would have been a perfect shot (for those of you who may not know it is legal to shoot moose in Alaska, just not on post). About 3:00 am Saturday morning I was able to see the Northern Lights again. This time they were a lot brighter and more active. We can tell from week to week that our days have been getting shorter. Saturday the sun did not rise until 10:03 am and sat at 3:12 pm. We will be losing 6 minutes of sunlight a day until December 21 when we will have less than 3 hours of sunlight, but then we will start gaining 6 minutes a day. With not having as much sun it is a lot easier to sleep in. Kayla gave a talk in primary on Sunday about being a missionary now. I also received a calling in church to be a Young Woman advisor for the 14 and 15 year olds. I have not been in Young Women’s since I was a teenager, so I hope that I can be a good example to the girls I will be teaching as my Young Women teachers were to me. I am guessing that Andy will be getting a calling soon because they don’t keep you on the sidelines very long at church.
November 12, 2012
These past few weeks have been a little crazy between the girls going to different Halloween parties, gymnastics, and sledding. I also took Haley and Kayla to the eye doctor and to our surprise Kayla needed glasses! So now she is looking just as stylish as Haley is in her new eyewear. The best part of last week was having Andy arrive here safely. It only took him four days to drive from Fort Lee, VA to Fort Wainwright, AK. Of course if the girls and I were with him it would have taken two weeks. I should be starting work at the elementary school soon, but only while Haley and Kayla are in school. On Saturday Haley pulled out her top tooth by herself. Now that her tooth is missing she reminds me of Ellie off of the movie “Up” because of her missing tooth and also she keeps saying “You don’t talk much…I like you!” It has been a little chilly last week with the weather being in the negative 20’s, but we seem to get use to it.
The Pennsylvania Haws family
My apologies for always being behind. We have been very busy over the last several weeks since arriving in the US and I think that everything is progressing well.
The boys are in school and participating in the ESL programs. A major challenge for them is that the ESL programs provide a significant emphasis on Spanish speaking language learners. Of course the number of Spanish speaking immigrants is higher than Portuguese speakers so it makes sense but it provides only a second challenge for the boys as they must learn Spanish to better understand their English classes.
Derick finds the USA to be amazing and loves it. His favorite place is the Disney store at the mall and Renata fully supports visiting as she loves all of the dolls and stuffed animals. He is doing well in school and is possible a little advanced in math over his peers which is good as it will let him focus on English and reading a bit more.
Lucas has been doing well though he misses soccer. We have tried to contact different soccer coaches for club soccer in the area but have not received responses back. School has been going well and he has been learning English very quickly.
Felipe has had a tougher time at school. While Lucas is in 8th grade and gets to go to Middle School Felipe is in 9th and is in High School. There is quite a jump in expected responsibility between High School and Middle School and Felipe has been a bit more lost. To make things worse he Felipe did not have a math teacher at his school in Brazil for the last year and a half so he is behind on his math as well as his English. On a positive note, P.E. is swimming in an indoor pool and he is getting great swimming points. I have tried to see if he would like to participate on the swim team but have not gotten a response yet.
Renata is doing well. Sometimes she feels a little locked in and is trying to find things to do. She has been walking down to meet Felipe at school every day and they walk back together. I think that has been very special for both of them. Being the oldest often Felipe gets less attention and some one on one time is great.
We have ordered a replacement cable for our camera and I hope to send some pictures up in the next couple of days. We visited NYC a couple of weeks ago and have some fun pictures from that trip plus some others that would be fun to share.
Love
Jeff
The Wisconsin Haws Family
In the last couple of weeks we have enjoyed some wonderful days. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Julie, Jeff, Alex, Grant, Lanette, Logan, Mom and me. We enjoyed great food and time together. Later that day and for several days thereafter we delivered Thanksgiving dinners to wonderful people in our area. They were some of our favorites including Dave Drabek, Milda Atwood, Lueva McCrite and Joan McSweeney. We always come up the being uplifted by our friends.
During the last several weeks we have enjoyed time with Julie and Jeff. It is fun to see Alex walking around and chasing Molly. We look forward to the upcoming visits of Henry, Stacie and Kevin and the much hoped for visits of Jeff, Renata, Felipe, Lucas and Derick.
We have set out the Christmas lights and Grant has decorated the home interiors with a wonderful glowing Christmas spirit.
Lately we have enjoyed watching Logan play basketball with the Columbus Dons. I missed the big play but he recently shot a three pointer. It must have been great.
Lanette has been busy with school and attending Tiny Tigers. Right now the big distress, her Victor (recorder) is on the blink. She hopes to have it repaired before the Christmas holidays.
Thanks to those that have submitted their paragraph 2012 update. I hope to compose a Christmas newsletter to send out to our friends.
November 26, 2012
On Thursday Haley and Kayla were excited that they were able to finally put up the Christmas tree. They have already wrapped some presents from their toy box to put under it. Later that day we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at the church with members of the ward. On Friday on our way out to do some shopping we saw a moose in front of a neighbor's garage. It was crazy! Andy of course wished that he was able to shoot his guns on post, because that would have been a perfect shot (for those of you who may not know it is legal to shoot moose in Alaska, just not on post). About 3:00 am Saturday morning I was able to see the Northern Lights again. This time they were a lot brighter and more active. We can tell from week to week that our days have been getting shorter. Saturday the sun did not rise until 10:03 am and sat at 3:12 pm. We will be losing 6 minutes of sunlight a day until December 21 when we will have less than 3 hours of sunlight, but then we will start gaining 6 minutes a day. With not having as much sun it is a lot easier to sleep in. Kayla gave a talk in primary on Sunday about being a missionary now. I also received a calling in church to be a Young Woman advisor for the 14 and 15 year olds. I have not been in Young Women’s since I was a teenager, so I hope that I can be a good example to the girls I will be teaching as my Young Women teachers were to me. I am guessing that Andy will be getting a calling soon because they don’t keep you on the sidelines very long at church.
November 12, 2012
These past few weeks have been a little crazy between the girls going to different Halloween parties, gymnastics, and sledding. I also took Haley and Kayla to the eye doctor and to our surprise Kayla needed glasses! So now she is looking just as stylish as Haley is in her new eyewear. The best part of last week was having Andy arrive here safely. It only took him four days to drive from Fort Lee, VA to Fort Wainwright, AK. Of course if the girls and I were with him it would have taken two weeks. I should be starting work at the elementary school soon, but only while Haley and Kayla are in school. On Saturday Haley pulled out her top tooth by herself. Now that her tooth is missing she reminds me of Ellie off of the movie “Up” because of her missing tooth and also she keeps saying “You don’t talk much…I like you!” It has been a little chilly last week with the weather being in the negative 20’s, but we seem to get use to it.
The Pennsylvania Haws family
My apologies for always being behind. We have been very busy over the last several weeks since arriving in the US and I think that everything is progressing well.
The boys are in school and participating in the ESL programs. A major challenge for them is that the ESL programs provide a significant emphasis on Spanish speaking language learners. Of course the number of Spanish speaking immigrants is higher than Portuguese speakers so it makes sense but it provides only a second challenge for the boys as they must learn Spanish to better understand their English classes.
Derick finds the USA to be amazing and loves it. His favorite place is the Disney store at the mall and Renata fully supports visiting as she loves all of the dolls and stuffed animals. He is doing well in school and is possible a little advanced in math over his peers which is good as it will let him focus on English and reading a bit more.
Lucas has been doing well though he misses soccer. We have tried to contact different soccer coaches for club soccer in the area but have not received responses back. School has been going well and he has been learning English very quickly.
Felipe has had a tougher time at school. While Lucas is in 8th grade and gets to go to Middle School Felipe is in 9th and is in High School. There is quite a jump in expected responsibility between High School and Middle School and Felipe has been a bit more lost. To make things worse he Felipe did not have a math teacher at his school in Brazil for the last year and a half so he is behind on his math as well as his English. On a positive note, P.E. is swimming in an indoor pool and he is getting great swimming points. I have tried to see if he would like to participate on the swim team but have not gotten a response yet.
Renata is doing well. Sometimes she feels a little locked in and is trying to find things to do. She has been walking down to meet Felipe at school every day and they walk back together. I think that has been very special for both of them. Being the oldest often Felipe gets less attention and some one on one time is great.
We have ordered a replacement cable for our camera and I hope to send some pictures up in the next couple of days. We visited NYC a couple of weeks ago and have some fun pictures from that trip plus some others that would be fun to share.
Love
Jeff
The Wisconsin Haws Family
In the last couple of weeks we have enjoyed some wonderful days. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Julie, Jeff, Alex, Grant, Lanette, Logan, Mom and me. We enjoyed great food and time together. Later that day and for several days thereafter we delivered Thanksgiving dinners to wonderful people in our area. They were some of our favorites including Dave Drabek, Milda Atwood, Lueva McCrite and Joan McSweeney. We always come up the being uplifted by our friends.
During the last several weeks we have enjoyed time with Julie and Jeff. It is fun to see Alex walking around and chasing Molly. We look forward to the upcoming visits of Henry, Stacie and Kevin and the much hoped for visits of Jeff, Renata, Felipe, Lucas and Derick.
We have set out the Christmas lights and Grant has decorated the home interiors with a wonderful glowing Christmas spirit.
Lately we have enjoyed watching Logan play basketball with the Columbus Dons. I missed the big play but he recently shot a three pointer. It must have been great.
Lanette has been busy with school and attending Tiny Tigers. Right now the big distress, her Victor (recorder) is on the blink. She hopes to have it repaired before the Christmas holidays.
Thanks to those that have submitted their paragraph 2012 update. I hope to compose a Christmas newsletter to send out to our friends.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
23 October 2012
The Alaska Haws Family
These past couple of weeks we have been averaging a chilly 15-20 degrees during the day. We also have about 4 inches of snow on the ground and a lot of ice on the road. Haley and Kayla had a lot of fun sledding down the hill by our house. However, they don’t have as much fun when I make them walk home from school in their bulky snowsuits. I was able to see and take a picture of the amazing northern lights a couple of weeks ago; it has beautiful shades of green and purple. From what others have told me, we get to see the aurora borealis quite a bit even though we live in town. Andy has a couple of weeks left until he is finished with school. He has been asked to speak at an AIT graduation on Tuesday, so on top of his school work he had to prepare a speech for the graduation. We are all ready for him to be up here with us.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
Kevin and Stacie were sad to say goodbye to Scott and Chandra on Monday, but so thankful for the wonderful visit. On Wednesday Kevin presented a paper at a colloquium for the department on the Tremulous Hand of Worcester. On Friday Henry's daycare hosted their once-a-month "Parents Night Out," which Kevin and Stacie were happy to take advantage of. While Henry enjoyed extra play time at school, Stacie and Kevin went out for pizza and shakes with their friends Clare and Jeramie. On Saturday Henry had his last swimming lesson. He has gained a lot of great skills through the class and Stacie couldn't be more proud. On Saturday afternoon the Jacksons headed to the other side of the mountain for a family hike. The changing leaves were beautiful; although, Henry couldn't resist eating one, which he threw up all over Stacie (admittedly, it made them laugh).
Grant's News
Grant has had a bumpy road lately at work since now all the pregnant ladies are on maternity leave. That means he is working with a lot of newer employees, which can be frustrating, but it is also a lot of fun to find new work buddies. He has been working a lot of "Expo" shifts, which is the job of putting orders together and sending them out. The job requires knowing the menu perfectly and being able to manage a restaurant full of orders going to the right places. Otherwise, he has a quiet week and had fun today working on his Halloween costume. He is going to be a ghost and was spray painting old clothes with metallic paint to look "shimmery".
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Tonight Logan and Grant are carving pumpkins. It is a lot of fun to see the carving going on.
This week has been a relatively quite week. It was Stake Conference which was very good. Elder Rhodes of the Seventy was the General Authority at the conference. A lot of wonderful teaching was given with a special emphasis on sharing the Book of Mormon with our friends, preparing our youth for missions and the power of prayer.
Lanette was the high bidder on a baby think it over. She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the doll in the mail. We will be sure and send a picture when it arrives.
Logan has started basketball. He is really enjoying it. His first game is this Thursday. It will be fun to watch him play. He is the first Haws since your mom to play basketball on a school team.
Mom has been getting the van ready to gift to Jeff and Renata. We are very excited for them to arrive in the States. Mom will be driving out to Pennsylvania to meet them and then will fly back afterwards. Mom is getting things ready for Emily's wedding. I think the veil and dress is all ready. Julie is working on the bouquet.
We hope that you each have a wonderful week.
Love,
Dad
These past couple of weeks we have been averaging a chilly 15-20 degrees during the day. We also have about 4 inches of snow on the ground and a lot of ice on the road. Haley and Kayla had a lot of fun sledding down the hill by our house. However, they don’t have as much fun when I make them walk home from school in their bulky snowsuits. I was able to see and take a picture of the amazing northern lights a couple of weeks ago; it has beautiful shades of green and purple. From what others have told me, we get to see the aurora borealis quite a bit even though we live in town. Andy has a couple of weeks left until he is finished with school. He has been asked to speak at an AIT graduation on Tuesday, so on top of his school work he had to prepare a speech for the graduation. We are all ready for him to be up here with us.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
Kevin and Stacie were sad to say goodbye to Scott and Chandra on Monday, but so thankful for the wonderful visit. On Wednesday Kevin presented a paper at a colloquium for the department on the Tremulous Hand of Worcester. On Friday Henry's daycare hosted their once-a-month "Parents Night Out," which Kevin and Stacie were happy to take advantage of. While Henry enjoyed extra play time at school, Stacie and Kevin went out for pizza and shakes with their friends Clare and Jeramie. On Saturday Henry had his last swimming lesson. He has gained a lot of great skills through the class and Stacie couldn't be more proud. On Saturday afternoon the Jacksons headed to the other side of the mountain for a family hike. The changing leaves were beautiful; although, Henry couldn't resist eating one, which he threw up all over Stacie (admittedly, it made them laugh).
Grant's News
Grant has had a bumpy road lately at work since now all the pregnant ladies are on maternity leave. That means he is working with a lot of newer employees, which can be frustrating, but it is also a lot of fun to find new work buddies. He has been working a lot of "Expo" shifts, which is the job of putting orders together and sending them out. The job requires knowing the menu perfectly and being able to manage a restaurant full of orders going to the right places. Otherwise, he has a quiet week and had fun today working on his Halloween costume. He is going to be a ghost and was spray painting old clothes with metallic paint to look "shimmery".
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Tonight Logan and Grant are carving pumpkins. It is a lot of fun to see the carving going on.
This week has been a relatively quite week. It was Stake Conference which was very good. Elder Rhodes of the Seventy was the General Authority at the conference. A lot of wonderful teaching was given with a special emphasis on sharing the Book of Mormon with our friends, preparing our youth for missions and the power of prayer.
Lanette was the high bidder on a baby think it over. She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the doll in the mail. We will be sure and send a picture when it arrives.
Logan has started basketball. He is really enjoying it. His first game is this Thursday. It will be fun to watch him play. He is the first Haws since your mom to play basketball on a school team.
Mom has been getting the van ready to gift to Jeff and Renata. We are very excited for them to arrive in the States. Mom will be driving out to Pennsylvania to meet them and then will fly back afterwards. Mom is getting things ready for Emily's wedding. I think the veil and dress is all ready. Julie is working on the bouquet.
We hope that you each have a wonderful week.
Love,
Dad
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Christmas Info
Hey Pops. Stacie was asking about Christmas and the whole "Homemade" plan for this year. Here is the list of who is giving to who. Mom and I brainstormed a bit this afternoon so we have some ideas if anyone doesn't know what to do. The rules are just that each kid needs to put together something not directly store bought. So it doesn't necessarily have to be 100% homemade, but something each kid and their family has worked on. Below are some websites with ideas. Nothing extravagant or expensive, just something more thoughtful than just going to the store and picking something random out. If you could post this on the family blog that would be great.
Andy and Melanie are giving to Jeff and Renata
Jeff and Renata are giving to Logan
Grant is giving to Traconas
Lanes are giving Jacksons
Jacksons are giving to Lanette
Lanette is giving to Grant
Traconas are giving to Andy and Melanie
Logan is giving to the Lanes
Christmas Info
Hey Pops. Stacie was asking about Christmas and the whole "Homemade" plan for this year. Here is the list of who is giving to who. Mom and I brainstormed a bit this afternoon so we have some ideas if anyone doesn't know what to do. The rules are just that each kid needs to put together something not directly store bought. So it doesn't necessarily have to be 100% homemade, but something each kid and their family has worked on. Below are some websites with ideas. Nothing extravagant or expensive, just something more thoughtful than just going to the store and picking something random out. If you could post this on the family blog that would be great.
Andy and Melanie are giving to Jeff and Renata
Jeff and Renata are giving to Logan
Grant is giving to Traconas
Lanes are giving Jacksons
Jacksons are giving to Lanette
Lanette is giving to Grant
Traconas are giving to Andy and Melanie
Logan is giving to the Lanes
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/11/13/a-do-it-yourself-christmas-34-great-gifts-you-can-make-yourself/
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/giftstomake/tp/HomeMadeGiftIdeas.htm
http://www.moneyhelpforchristians.com/christmas-gift-ideas-personalized-gifts/
Snapfish.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)