I
know it is kind of strange getting a Christmas letter in mid-January,
but I do have a good excuse. I had this letter all typed up and was
planning on sending it as a New Year's letter the week of Christmas,
but Larry ended up in the hospital with his 6th pancreatic
attack. After a week's hospital stay they were finally able to
perform surgery and remove his gall bladder. He has been home a
little over a week and is still pretty frail, but seems to be doing a
lot better as far as digestion goes. We are hopeful that there will
be no more pancreatic attacks as they can be deadly and we are both
getting really sick of spending so much time at the hospital. We are
so grateful for everyone's prayers, love and support. Anyway, on with
our letter...
December
2013
Dear
Friends and Family:
Greetings
from Malad, ID!!! We hope this letter finds all of you happy and
well.
As
we reflect back on the past year we feel gratitude in our hearts. We
are especially grateful for the Lord's watchful eye over our lives
and the knowledge of the restored gospel and the peace it brings
especially during turbulent times. Everyone goes through a “refiner's
fire” at some point in their life and this has been one of those
year's for our family. We have had many angels come to our rescue
this past year and we are so grateful for each one.
Larry
and I started off the year by spending 3 days touring the Tarter Farm
& Ranch Equipment facilities in Dunville, KY. It was very
inspiring to see firsthand a family owned business that is living the
American dream since 1945. Not only are they founded on the solid
values of integrity, honesty, and quality, they are unlike many other
manufacturers in the industry as they maintain control of all phases
of manufacturing, from raw material purchase to final delivery.
Between
four hospital stays for pancreatic and shoulder and knee surgery,
Larry significantly expanded our grain business this year. He was
approached by a broker from back East about shipping and grinding
potatoes at our facilities. With the help of some ingenious friends
and family, we now have a process in place for grinding potatoes and
shipping them out on rail or truck. These potatoes are used to make
dog food. He is also serving as the 11 yr. old Scout leader and
enjoyed helping coach Enoch's football team.
I
have spent a large part of my year packing and unpacking, becoming an
expert on sicknesses and diseases that I knew little or nothing
about, and caring for our new baby. I relinquished most of my
bookkeeping duties at the store last summer so that I could focus my
time at home.
Dallin,
15, is now driving and spends a lot of time “chatting” with
girls. A goal that he set several years ago was to be a 4-time state
champion when he got to high school. He worked very hard to be in the
championship round at state this year. Six minutes of “mental
weakness” was all it took to have this dream shattered. He was
favored to win, as he had won the last 4 matches against his
opponent, but he went in unprepared and came out in 2nd
place. It was a crushing blow, but today he will tell you that he is
grateful that he lost because he learned a lot more from it than he
would have if he had won. His new goal is to be a 3-time state
champion.
Spencer,
14, is also a high school wrestler and just took 5th out
of 15 teams at the Malad tournament. Last Feb. Spencer was rushed to
Primary Children's by ambulance where he was diagnosed with Type I
diabetes. This has been a significant life altering diagnosis for
Spencer. We are so proud of him for the courage he has shown in
facing this horrible disease and the responsibility he has shown in
managing it. Dallin and Spencer also went on trek this year and
performed at our local theater in the musical “Everafter”.
Enoch,
12, was ordained a deacon in April. He is the “work-horse” of the
family and puts in 110% of whatever he sets out to do whether it be
school, football, baseball, piano, or helping Larry at the store. He
has been a lifesaver to Larry at the store this year while Larry has
been down because of his surgeries and the other boys have been busy
wrestling. His baseball team the “Malad Outlaws” played very well
in all of their tournaments and Enoch ended his personal season with
10 home runs. Enoch played running back and safety for the
“Seahawkes” traveling football team. They played very well also
and ended their season at the playoffs in the Holt Arena taking 2nd
place in the region.
In
March Larry & I flew back to Baltimore, MD with Ben, Bekah, &
Rachel for their 3 year A-T evaluation at John's Hopkin's Hospital.
Our suspicions that Ben & Bekah are doing exceptionally well with
their disease was confirmed. Unfortunately, our suspicions that
Rachel has A-T was also confirmed.
We
counted our blessings last month when the twins turned 10 as they are
still walking and walking quite well. A-T children are usually in
wheelchairs by age 10. They are now in the 4th grade and
have wonderful aides that help them excel in school.
Rachel,
3, a.k.a. “Ray-Ray” and “Minnie” is such a tease and loves
to perform and have FUN! While at a recent wrestling tournament she
followed the cheerleaders around thinking she was one of them and
performing the cheers with them. A man in the bleachers thought she
was so CUTE and gave her $1 to go and buy a treat.
Nathanael
Joseph joined our family on July 19th. He is very much a
people person and has warmed his way into all of our hearts. We had
the opportunity to share his blessing day with his cousin, Joseph,
who reported on his mission to Canada.
We hope that each of you find peace and hope in your lives this year by turning to the Savior. We are so grateful for him and celebrate his birth with much JOY! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
All
Our Love,
Larry, Jill, Dallin, Spencer, Enoch, Ben, Bekah, Rachel, and baby Nathan
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