Sunday, February 21, 2016
Serving God
A copy of a talk I gave today in church:
We
are the people of God. Our purpose in
life is to learn to become like him.
What better way to learn that lesson, than by serving others with our
heart, mind and strength? As we serve, our hearts are opened and changed and
we learn how it is that God continues to love and serve us despite our
weaknesses and shortcomings. We learn to love as God loves.
I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that through him, we can change. We can become perfected (finished) even as our Father in Heaven is.
When I was little girl, about 10 years old, my mother became
very ill and was hospitalized. I didn’t
know it at the time, but she nearly died.
When she went to the hospital, I was left to care for my 3 brothers,
ages 12, 7 and 6 and my sister age 2.
I’m sure I was not left alone very long, but it was long enough that I
had already established a plan of how the care of my brothers and sisters would
happen, how I would prepare meals and feed them all and how the house would be
kept clean.
The Relief Society arrived at some point. My guess was that it truly was not more than
2 or 3 hours from when my mother had left.
I was doing the dishes when they arrived and they whisked in and began
to take over my “household”. I became very angry (I had quite a temper back
then) and yelled at them to “Get out!”
“I’m taking care of everyone just fine”, I told them. “I don’t need your help.” But being the sweet women they were and
wanting anxiously to serve my mother, whom they loved dearly, they did not
listen to me and continued to fix dinner, set the table, do the dishes, feed
the little kids and get everyone ready for bed.
I stormed to my room in a huff
and did not come down when dinner was ready, or for any other reason.
The Relief Society sisters left that evening, when Donna
McDaniel arrived. Donna was not quite
old enough for Relief Society, yet she already knew all there was to know about
serving a ten year old high strung girl.
She was 16 and had been my babysitter and friend for years. She came
into my room, where I unloaded all the injustices about these women coming in
uninvited when I was doing just fine.
Donna let me finish, then asked what I thought needed to be done
next. We made a plan together and she
stayed at our house for the next several days until my mother was home from the
hospital.
Fast forward 25 years later, when I was a young mother of
three little boys, ages 6, 4 and 1. Troy
and I had been put in charge of planning and carrying out a large stake youth
conference. On the Sunday before the youth conference, we met a final time with
the youth committee. At the end of the
meeting, one of the girls named Stacey Gardner (age 16) asked me if there was
anything thing else she could do to help me.
I told her no, that I just needed to get my house clean before we left
so that the babysitter would have a clean house. About 2 days before the conference, Troy was
out of town and I was feeling completely
overwhelmed with all the last minute tasks I needed to complete, along with
taking care of the boys (not to mention that I was 4 months pregnant…) I
remember praying and asking Heavenly Father to bless me to be able to
accomplish everything and clean my house.
Later that day, there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to find this girl Stacey
and about 8 other youth. “We are here to
clean your house,” they said. My tears
flowed. They cleaned the house, mowed the yard and entertained 3 boys while I
completed the final tasks for the youth conference.
I often reflect on these two experiences and other
experiences where I was served by someone.
I don’t fully understand why I was so against the Relief Society coming
into my house at the age of 10. Maybe it was because they did not ask me what
needed to be done, but just took over, assuming because I was ten I couldn’t do
anything. Sometimes I wonder if that is how I serve, taking over
what needs to be done without asking what really needs to be done. Always, a meal is welcome, but does the
person I am serving need time to talk?
Do they really need something else that I am not offering?
Jesus Christ taught in the New Testament that “Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment.”
How do we love the Lord with all our heart, souls and
minds? I loved the admonition at our
Regional Conference last week, where the speaker said the “Primary” answers are
always the answers, but they are so much more.
Pray, Attend Church, Read the Scriptures. We pray with “real intent” and
“with all the energy of our hearts”. We
attend church to renew sacred and important covenants each week as we strive to
become like our Heavenly Father. We
feast upon the words of Christ, which tell us all things that we should do.
Another way we show our love to Heavenly Father is by
service. Let’s look at the story in the
New Testament in John, chapter 21. The
Savior had just been resurrected. He
went to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where he saw Peter and some fisherman
as they fished off the shore of Galilee. He called out to them and asked if
they were having any success. They said
no, and He told them to cast their nets on the other side. They did and then
drew in the nets, overflowing with fish.
Afterward, as they dined on the fish, The Savior said to Peter, “Son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” (Meaning all the fish they had just
caught.) “Lovest thou me more than
these?” They were poor. They could take
the fish and sell them.. for money, do something with them.
Peter said, “Thou knowest that I love thee.” And the Savior
said to Peter, “Feed my lambs.”
Then the second time, the Savior said to Peter, “Lovest thou
me?” and Peter then was grieved because the Savior had asked him the second
time, and the Savior said, “Feed my sheep.”
Then the third time He asked him, “Lovest thou me?... Feed
my sheep.”
Elder David B Haight asked:
“What are we doing [to feed His sheep]? How do we demonstrate to the
Savior the love we have for Him?
Wouldn’t it be through our obedience and through our service and what we
do with the time that we have?” (Elder
David B Haight, Love and Service, April, 1999).
And how do we serve God?
The scripture in Mosiah 2:17 gives exact instructions: “When ye are in
the service of your fellow men, ye are only in the service of your God.” We serve God by serving each other. Loving each other. Looking out for each others and understanding
what needs to be done. We build and
support each other as we each face trials and difficult times in our lives. We
look beyond our families and friends and ward members. We look out to the world and ask “What can I
do?” And we do it.
What are we doing to “Feed His Sheep?” There was a video on
social media a few years ago. I think it
was called “Look up.” It showed people
walking, heads down, looking at their screens, their phones. I loved the message “Look up”. Look around you. Smile at a stranger. Speak to someone you don’t know. Look up.
Look around. Ask Heavenly Father
to help you change your thoughts, feelings and actions so that they will
reflect your love for Him and His son.
As a young girl, my father was mostly inactive. He had many
other issues that we could not see at the time.
He did not attend my Merrie Miss Daddy Daughter nights. He couldn’t escort me in the Junior Miss
Pageant, when all the other girls had Daddy’s that did. But there were amazing Christ-like people in
my little branch who stepped up. One family friend became my father for the
evening for the Daddy Daughter event.
Other men helped my brothers in their activities and sports. My uncle Brent became a second father to me,
always counseling me to have a smile on my face and a skip in my step. Although my father’s inactivity was a huge
burden to my mother and a trial to my family, we were blessed by the service of
others.
How do we help others endure their trials and feel the love
of Jesus Christ in their lives? Elder Eyring said in October 2012, We can make
that “possible by
being slow to judge those going through trials. Most people carrying heavy
loads begin to doubt themselves and their own worth. We lighten their loads as
we are patient with their weaknesses and celebrate whatever goodness we can see
in them. The Lord does that. And we could follow His example—He the greatest
nurturer of all.” (Elder Eyring, The Caregiver, October 2012)
I
saw a post the other day that said “Getting rid of the negative people in your
life is the first step to loving yourself.” If I had shut my father out of my
life, how would I have ever grown in my own testimony of the Savior, the
atonement and charity? The real first
step to loving your self is seeing yourself through the Saviors eyes and then
seeing others through His eyes.
And
when we see others through the eyes of the Savior, then we have reached
charity. Then we feel the Lords love
surround us as we lift and bless our family members, friends, co-workers and
strangers.
No
wonder the first and greatest commandment to love God with all our hearts,
minds and mights is immediately followed by the second.
“And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
President Uchtdorf said, “Those who wholeheartedly turn
their lives over to the Savior and serve God and fellowman discover a richness
and fullness to life that the selfish and egotistic will never
experience.” (Uchtdorf, Are You Sleeping
Through the Restoration”, April 2014).
I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that through him, we can change. We can become perfected (finished) even as our Father in Heaven is.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
YW The Musical
My daughters are so talented. The wrote this skit for New Beginnings, directed it and acted in it.
Click on the Link below so you can watch it.
YW The Musical
Click on the Link below so you can watch it.
YW The Musical
Monday, February 8, 2016
What's Currently in My Head
A few days ago, someone shared a news story of a kid in England who played online video games and met someone online who eventually killed him. Then, the person who shared this story posted, "This is why there will never be video games or anything like it in my house."
Now, while this news story is tragic and while I commend the young mother for wanting to protect her little family, I have a little issue with the statement "This is why there will never be video games or anything like it in my house."
It's mostly the statement "NEVER". Maybe it's just me. "NEVER" has blown up in my face all the time, but here it is. I said, "We will never have a TV." Then my mom gave us an old black and white one... then she gave us her old colored one... then we bought one. On the bright side, we've "NEVER" had more than 2 TV's in our house. Oh, take that back. We had three. But the kids NEVER had one in their bedrooms. Oh, wait, take that back. Dallin bought a TV at a yardsale and put it in his bedroom.
I said, "We will never have video games in our house." Except at Thanksgiving, we would rent a Nintendo and a couple of games (Goldeneye was the boy's favorite.) And the boys had Gameboys. And the boys wanted an Xbox. So the boys saved their own money and bought themselves an Xbox. But they NEVER played any games that were rated higher than E10. Except that when they became teenagers, they could rent the T games. But we NEVER had any M games in our house. Until someone snuck one in (Robbie... or Dallin...). When we found out, we banned the game. For a while, til it came back. Then we banned it again. And again. Heck, over Christmas Halo came in the house again. What the heck.
I said, "We will NEVER have a cat in the house." Guess what. We now have two. And I'm allergic. But about 6 years ago, Fleas got cold in the winter. And she came in and played on the bed in the office until she warmed up and then she went back out side. She did this for days, then weeks, until summer. But the next winter it started again. Now Fleas is 11 years old. She likes to be in Jordon's room. She doesn't go outside much. She has a litter box in the garage. Then my husband thought it would be a great idea to get a kitty for Charli and Cami and Cadie. That's cat #2. I'm hoping she will migrate to being an outdoor cat when winter is over.
In the end, it's probably good that we had a TV, so that we could teach the kids to be picky about what they watch. They aren't perfect, but they have the foundation, which will serve them the rest of their lives. And getting an Xbox turned out OK. The boys learned lessons about hard work, responsibility and making good choices in games. Apparently, the still have a hard time respecting our rules, but they have a foundation and they will get it one day, right. And the cat helps my girls be responsible and gives companionship to the lonely.
And by the way, I have NEVER smoked a cigarette or touched a sip of alcohol. (Except that one time we were in Hawaii and ordered virgin Pina Colada's... which were not virgin, if you know what I mean.)
Now, while this news story is tragic and while I commend the young mother for wanting to protect her little family, I have a little issue with the statement "This is why there will never be video games or anything like it in my house."
It's mostly the statement "NEVER". Maybe it's just me. "NEVER" has blown up in my face all the time, but here it is. I said, "We will never have a TV." Then my mom gave us an old black and white one... then she gave us her old colored one... then we bought one. On the bright side, we've "NEVER" had more than 2 TV's in our house. Oh, take that back. We had three. But the kids NEVER had one in their bedrooms. Oh, wait, take that back. Dallin bought a TV at a yardsale and put it in his bedroom.
I said, "We will never have video games in our house." Except at Thanksgiving, we would rent a Nintendo and a couple of games (Goldeneye was the boy's favorite.) And the boys had Gameboys. And the boys wanted an Xbox. So the boys saved their own money and bought themselves an Xbox. But they NEVER played any games that were rated higher than E10. Except that when they became teenagers, they could rent the T games. But we NEVER had any M games in our house. Until someone snuck one in (Robbie... or Dallin...). When we found out, we banned the game. For a while, til it came back. Then we banned it again. And again. Heck, over Christmas Halo came in the house again. What the heck.
I said, "We will NEVER have a cat in the house." Guess what. We now have two. And I'm allergic. But about 6 years ago, Fleas got cold in the winter. And she came in and played on the bed in the office until she warmed up and then she went back out side. She did this for days, then weeks, until summer. But the next winter it started again. Now Fleas is 11 years old. She likes to be in Jordon's room. She doesn't go outside much. She has a litter box in the garage. Then my husband thought it would be a great idea to get a kitty for Charli and Cami and Cadie. That's cat #2. I'm hoping she will migrate to being an outdoor cat when winter is over.
In the end, it's probably good that we had a TV, so that we could teach the kids to be picky about what they watch. They aren't perfect, but they have the foundation, which will serve them the rest of their lives. And getting an Xbox turned out OK. The boys learned lessons about hard work, responsibility and making good choices in games. Apparently, the still have a hard time respecting our rules, but they have a foundation and they will get it one day, right. And the cat helps my girls be responsible and gives companionship to the lonely.
And by the way, I have NEVER smoked a cigarette or touched a sip of alcohol. (Except that one time we were in Hawaii and ordered virgin Pina Colada's... which were not virgin, if you know what I mean.)
Saturday, January 16, 2016
"If I'd known... I might've done more..."
Last night, Troy and I went to see "Concussion", a movie based on the work of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a doctor who challenged the NFL on concussions and traumatic brain injury in players of football. In the movie, the disease is named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. It was a good movie, and would definitely be worth watching if you have a child playing football.
One line from the movie really bothered me though. An estranged wife of one of the former players who had died from CTE (suicide) said, "If I'd known he had CTE, I might have done more to help him..." The player had shown violence, heavy drinking, mood swings, anger. The former football player eventually committed suicide. All of this is characteristic of CTE. But it is also characteristic of mental illness in general.
On the outside, we have been conditioned to believe that someone who has it all (money, fame and fortune) and then starts "going crazy", with unjust anger towards those he loves, mood swings and violence has just "lost it". The fame (or as in the cases of former football players, the lack of fame) has gone to their head. We might say "mental illness", but because it comes on so unexpectedly, we might not even think it is really any type of mental illness. And so we marvel at their path of self-destruction and pat ourselves on the back that we would never go down that path.
And truthfully, we do this with all types of mental illness. We don't understand it. We don't know what to do with it. We think of the homeless... "They should just get a job." We think of the violent..."They watched too many video games. We think of those who commit suicide... "They had so much going for them... why on earth would they have done that?"
I guess that is what bothers me so much about the line in the movie. "If I'd known it was CTE, I might have done more to help him..." Because you thought he was mentally ill, you ran away? You didn't try to understand? You didn't try to help him? I get that this is a movie, and I don't know that his wife actually even said those words, but isn't that what often happens? When we get a diagnosis, we feel like there is a cure. But guess what, there isn't a cure for CTE and there was nothing else anyone could have done for those struggling with it but love them and try to understand them. Instead, the wife left him and he became homeless and crazy on the streets.
And that's how it is with mental illnesses. There isn't a "cure". You can medicate some symptoms. But you can't make it go away. Did you know that when people commit suicide, often they sincerely and deeply feel that the world will be better off with out them. They aren't thinking about how much it will hurt a family member. They aren't trying to hurt us. They only believe that the world would be better off if they weren't there.
I just think that we as a people need to do a better job at understanding all mental illnesses. I know (first hand) how difficult it is to live with someone struggling with a mental illness. I know how difficult it is to find help. The runaround from therapists and doctors. Or from the person themselves, who don't want to believe anything is wrong with them.
This was a great series of articles in USA Today regarding the treatment of the mentally ill:
http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/nation/2014/05/12/mental-health-system-crisis/7746535/
I don't know how to finish this... My heart breaks for those who have family members in the middle of a struggle with any type of mental illness. Where does this fit in Heavenly Father's plan for us? Why are there not more answers?
My only advice? Love them for who they are. Learn who they are. Learn how their brains function. Try to understand their point of view and how they view the points around them. It's ok to be angry at dumb choices, but don't let that anger define you or your relationship with the mentally ill. Use your energy to advocate for better and more accessible services.
That's it. That's my thought.
One line from the movie really bothered me though. An estranged wife of one of the former players who had died from CTE (suicide) said, "If I'd known he had CTE, I might have done more to help him..." The player had shown violence, heavy drinking, mood swings, anger. The former football player eventually committed suicide. All of this is characteristic of CTE. But it is also characteristic of mental illness in general.
On the outside, we have been conditioned to believe that someone who has it all (money, fame and fortune) and then starts "going crazy", with unjust anger towards those he loves, mood swings and violence has just "lost it". The fame (or as in the cases of former football players, the lack of fame) has gone to their head. We might say "mental illness", but because it comes on so unexpectedly, we might not even think it is really any type of mental illness. And so we marvel at their path of self-destruction and pat ourselves on the back that we would never go down that path.
And truthfully, we do this with all types of mental illness. We don't understand it. We don't know what to do with it. We think of the homeless... "They should just get a job." We think of the violent..."They watched too many video games. We think of those who commit suicide... "They had so much going for them... why on earth would they have done that?"
I guess that is what bothers me so much about the line in the movie. "If I'd known it was CTE, I might have done more to help him..." Because you thought he was mentally ill, you ran away? You didn't try to understand? You didn't try to help him? I get that this is a movie, and I don't know that his wife actually even said those words, but isn't that what often happens? When we get a diagnosis, we feel like there is a cure. But guess what, there isn't a cure for CTE and there was nothing else anyone could have done for those struggling with it but love them and try to understand them. Instead, the wife left him and he became homeless and crazy on the streets.
And that's how it is with mental illnesses. There isn't a "cure". You can medicate some symptoms. But you can't make it go away. Did you know that when people commit suicide, often they sincerely and deeply feel that the world will be better off with out them. They aren't thinking about how much it will hurt a family member. They aren't trying to hurt us. They only believe that the world would be better off if they weren't there.
I just think that we as a people need to do a better job at understanding all mental illnesses. I know (first hand) how difficult it is to live with someone struggling with a mental illness. I know how difficult it is to find help. The runaround from therapists and doctors. Or from the person themselves, who don't want to believe anything is wrong with them.
This was a great series of articles in USA Today regarding the treatment of the mentally ill:
http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/nation/2014/05/12/mental-health-system-crisis/7746535/
I don't know how to finish this... My heart breaks for those who have family members in the middle of a struggle with any type of mental illness. Where does this fit in Heavenly Father's plan for us? Why are there not more answers?
My only advice? Love them for who they are. Learn who they are. Learn how their brains function. Try to understand their point of view and how they view the points around them. It's ok to be angry at dumb choices, but don't let that anger define you or your relationship with the mentally ill. Use your energy to advocate for better and more accessible services.
That's it. That's my thought.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Happy New Year
An update on the Bise family:
Since the annual sending out of a Christmas card and family Christmas letter failed to materialize again this year, I will note it here for those who are interested.
First of all, we moved. We still live in Newman Lake, but we finally built a house on the farm. We moved the day after Christmas 2014 and sold our home sweet home on the lake. The kids have missed the old house some, but Troy and I have not missed it very much at all. It was an amazing home to raise the kids in, but being built in 1937, it had a lot of kinks.
Our Christmas season officially began here in the Spokane/CDA region with a massive windstorm, which hit us on November 17th. Winds blew steadily at over 80 mph, enough to be compared to hurricane force winds. Power was knocked out to almost 1,000,000 customers, including us. We were lucky. Our power was only out for 4 days. Many friends and neighbors had their power out for 9 days.
My nephew posted a Facebook entry on how important it is that we learn to live off the grid in the case of our U.S. power system being taken out by bad guys. The post suggested turning off your power for a week and seeing what you would need to survive. Well, I can tell you that you need water. You need heat. And you need the internet.
Troy bought the last available generator at North 40 the morning after the windstorm. We had already wired our new home to take a generator. Because our water is run through the barn electricity, we did have to move the generator daily to turn on the water, water the animals, shower and fill up our jugs. We had been trying to install our woodburning stove since August, but one mishap after another slowed dow the install. The chimney wasn't built to code, parts were missing, etc. So not having heat was the worst part of the 4 day outage (we did run small space heaters in 2 bedrooms with the generator.)
We survived that and moved on... except that the Sunday before Christmas, it started snowing. And snowing. Until almost 3 feet of snow had fallen. The trees were heavy. The trees started snapping. The power went out again. First on Tuesday for about 4 hours. Then on Wednesday from noon till 7 pm. Then on Thursday, Christmas eve, it went out at 12:30 am and was out until 9 pm. But this time we had heat and WiFi and we were happy. Again, many of our friends and neighbors were without power Christmas day and beyond.
So here's the news on the kids:
Robbie and Kate had a baby this year! We are grandparents of darling, adorable Finnick Thiel Bise, born in April. Lucky for us, Robbie did his internship in Liberty Lake and the three of them moved in with us in August and stayed with us until last week. We adored having a baby in the house (and loved having Rob and Kate with us too.) It was so fun to get to know this little guy and watch his personality develop. Kate graduated from BYU-I last December and Robbie will graduate in July.
Dallin is serving a 2 year mission for our church in the Chicago area. He will be home in April, 2016. We have missed him, but love hearing from him on a weekly basis. He has loved serving as a missionary, helping people in so many ways. Although he's been in some scary and difficult situations, his faith and testimony of the Savior have increased. What a blessing it is to serve as a missionary.
Jordon graduated from High School in June. He worked two jobs all summer and saved enough money to pay for his first year at college. He survived the first semester at BYU-I just fine, learning how to grocery shop, do laundry and take care of himself! Because of the large number of kids attending BYU-I, the school uses a track system to allow the greatest number of enrollees possible. Jordon is on the Fall/Spring track, so he will stay here until April, when Spring semester begins. Luckily, a family friend had a job opening, so he will be able to work and save more money!
Cadie and Charli are Juniors this year. They enrolled in Running Start, allowing them to attend the local community college full time with credits transferring to the high school for graduation. They both ran track last spring and Cross Country again this fall.
Cadie has become very interested in photography and has done several photo shoots for friends to help develop her skills. She also enjoys music and especially musical theatre.
Charli spent a lot of time iceskating last winter and is hoping to start that back up in January. She also enjoys writing, creating and Twenty-one Pilots (her very favorite band).
Cami is 10 this year. She is in 4th grade. She is the friendliest kid you'll ever meet. She has no enemies and loves everyone around her. She loves to be creative and has a teacher this year that is inspiring her to write stories. She also loves animals and got a pony of her own for her birthday.
Troy has been working for the Lexmark for the past 4-5 years. In his free time, he loves farming, growing a garden and getting his fruit trees to produce. He enjoys raising his 8 cows, 2 bulls and 1 steer. He works hard and works smart for our family and we are so thankful for him.
I started working this year, thinking that I should get some work experience using my degree. I walked into the most amazing job and was hired pretty much on the spot. I am a Family Service Coordinator for ECEAP (Washington's Head Start) at a Child Development Center. I work with super low income families helping them to set goals and meet their needs.
I think that is all. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful area and be surrounded with our amazing family and good friends and neighbors. We are truly blessed.
Since the annual sending out of a Christmas card and family Christmas letter failed to materialize again this year, I will note it here for those who are interested.
First of all, we moved. We still live in Newman Lake, but we finally built a house on the farm. We moved the day after Christmas 2014 and sold our home sweet home on the lake. The kids have missed the old house some, but Troy and I have not missed it very much at all. It was an amazing home to raise the kids in, but being built in 1937, it had a lot of kinks.
 |
| The new home: 12532 N. McCoy Rd, Newman Lake, WA |
Our Christmas season officially began here in the Spokane/CDA region with a massive windstorm, which hit us on November 17th. Winds blew steadily at over 80 mph, enough to be compared to hurricane force winds. Power was knocked out to almost 1,000,000 customers, including us. We were lucky. Our power was only out for 4 days. Many friends and neighbors had their power out for 9 days.
My nephew posted a Facebook entry on how important it is that we learn to live off the grid in the case of our U.S. power system being taken out by bad guys. The post suggested turning off your power for a week and seeing what you would need to survive. Well, I can tell you that you need water. You need heat. And you need the internet.
Troy bought the last available generator at North 40 the morning after the windstorm. We had already wired our new home to take a generator. Because our water is run through the barn electricity, we did have to move the generator daily to turn on the water, water the animals, shower and fill up our jugs. We had been trying to install our woodburning stove since August, but one mishap after another slowed dow the install. The chimney wasn't built to code, parts were missing, etc. So not having heat was the worst part of the 4 day outage (we did run small space heaters in 2 bedrooms with the generator.)
We survived that and moved on... except that the Sunday before Christmas, it started snowing. And snowing. Until almost 3 feet of snow had fallen. The trees were heavy. The trees started snapping. The power went out again. First on Tuesday for about 4 hours. Then on Wednesday from noon till 7 pm. Then on Thursday, Christmas eve, it went out at 12:30 am and was out until 9 pm. But this time we had heat and WiFi and we were happy. Again, many of our friends and neighbors were without power Christmas day and beyond.
So here's the news on the kids:
Robbie and Kate had a baby this year! We are grandparents of darling, adorable Finnick Thiel Bise, born in April. Lucky for us, Robbie did his internship in Liberty Lake and the three of them moved in with us in August and stayed with us until last week. We adored having a baby in the house (and loved having Rob and Kate with us too.) It was so fun to get to know this little guy and watch his personality develop. Kate graduated from BYU-I last December and Robbie will graduate in July.
Dallin is serving a 2 year mission for our church in the Chicago area. He will be home in April, 2016. We have missed him, but love hearing from him on a weekly basis. He has loved serving as a missionary, helping people in so many ways. Although he's been in some scary and difficult situations, his faith and testimony of the Savior have increased. What a blessing it is to serve as a missionary.
Jordon graduated from High School in June. He worked two jobs all summer and saved enough money to pay for his first year at college. He survived the first semester at BYU-I just fine, learning how to grocery shop, do laundry and take care of himself! Because of the large number of kids attending BYU-I, the school uses a track system to allow the greatest number of enrollees possible. Jordon is on the Fall/Spring track, so he will stay here until April, when Spring semester begins. Luckily, a family friend had a job opening, so he will be able to work and save more money!
Cadie and Charli are Juniors this year. They enrolled in Running Start, allowing them to attend the local community college full time with credits transferring to the high school for graduation. They both ran track last spring and Cross Country again this fall.
Cadie has become very interested in photography and has done several photo shoots for friends to help develop her skills. She also enjoys music and especially musical theatre.
Charli spent a lot of time iceskating last winter and is hoping to start that back up in January. She also enjoys writing, creating and Twenty-one Pilots (her very favorite band).
Cami is 10 this year. She is in 4th grade. She is the friendliest kid you'll ever meet. She has no enemies and loves everyone around her. She loves to be creative and has a teacher this year that is inspiring her to write stories. She also loves animals and got a pony of her own for her birthday.
Troy has been working for the Lexmark for the past 4-5 years. In his free time, he loves farming, growing a garden and getting his fruit trees to produce. He enjoys raising his 8 cows, 2 bulls and 1 steer. He works hard and works smart for our family and we are so thankful for him.
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| Troy meets Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel |
I started working this year, thinking that I should get some work experience using my degree. I walked into the most amazing job and was hired pretty much on the spot. I am a Family Service Coordinator for ECEAP (Washington's Head Start) at a Child Development Center. I work with super low income families helping them to set goals and meet their needs.
I think that is all. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful area and be surrounded with our amazing family and good friends and neighbors. We are truly blessed.
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| Hugh and Sharron come visit and meet Red, the cow. |
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| Collier Family reunion in Lincoln City, OR (PC Kalli) |
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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