Handy cousin lunch!

Well I'm new to blogging, so it's taken me a while to get this post up. The last weekend in January, the Handy girl cousins all got together-minus a few-and we went to lunch at Paradise Bakery in Sugarhouse. It was so wonderful just to be able to see each other and we caught up on everyone's lives-babies, graduation, missions, college, work, etc. We're so lucky to be Handys and it's fun that we can all be friends! We hope to make having lunch a tradition so stay tuned for the next date! Love you girls!

Grow Old With Me

Rabbi Ben Ezra

By

Robert Browning

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith “A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust god: see all nor be afraid.”

Once before I posted a you tube of this fantastic and charming "older" couple that had been posted on you tube following a trip (checkup) to the Mayo for their annual check ups. The you tube posting made them quite a you tube favorite and apparently as well at the Mayo Clinic.
Here are Marlow (91 years) and Fran (88) Cowan again as they entertained bystanders at that Mayo on February 24, 2010.
I mean if these clips don't bring a smile to your face, nothing will!
My goal: to be just like Fran Cowan: playing and smiling at least to my 88th birthday as she is doing with her husband! Now if I could only get Kirk to play with me (OK, I've got to teach him first!).










Here's to you, Dad:

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

After watching this on lds.org, I thought what a wonderful message Elder Bednar shared with us. I hope that you, too, will feel of his message and recognize those tender mercies that we each receive in our life.



The Tender Mercies of the Lord

Andrea Bocelli and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Lords Prayer

This is absolutely beautiful! Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUm_OwfF_bQ&feature=player_embedded

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRAN!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO FRAN!! Guess how very, very old she is??? With all the black decorations, can you guess??

We love you Fran!!!

Merry Christmas

The annual family Christmas party was at Steve and Holly's this year. We had a great time with lots of good food. What a great family we have and how blessed we are to love each other and to be good friends. We had everyone there except Katelyn and her family, all the Sanders family, Max and Alex. We missed you all!

Maddi, Fran, Brock & Cole.

Dad/Grandpa George, Steve, Holly, Mark & Megan.


Rachel & Cruz.

McKenzie, Maddi & Merri.

Elaine, Kathleen & Preston.

Beckett with Brett, Kallie, Lauren & Stephanie in background.

Christmas morning at the Jones house.

Cole, McKenzie & Brock

Brock

Cole

McKenzie & Brock

Raymond

McKenzie

Yikes! Scary!!!

Cole, McKenzie & Brock

Cole & Brock with their levi quilts McKenzie made for each of them.

THANKSGIVING FUN!!

We had a fun Thanksgiving Day spent with family, friends and good food. Even though there was no mom's fruit salad, homemade dressing or pumpkin pie we had a great time. Elaine and Lexie came down for dinner and then we went over to Fran's for pie, games and lots of laughs. We are so thankful for everything we have. We live in a great community and are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives and to be surrounded by family and friends.

It is also that time of year to begin putting up Chirstmas decorations. Putting the lights on the house is not Raymonds favorite thing to do so this year he enlisted Brock to help out.

Cole and Max after Viewmont and Highland played each other last week.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, thank you to all of you who have influenced me and my family. Thank you for your love and support in all that my family does. Thank you for the relationship that we have not only by being related directly through our heritage, but for the relationship of love and friendship that we have as well. I feel so grateful for each and every one of you...my family and hope and pray for your well being, safety, and happiness. Thank you for being part of my life. I love you!
I wish each of you a grateful season of thanksgiving.
Please enjoy this link of "In the Spirit of Thanksgiving."

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Mission End

Oh my family! Well here we are:  my last e-mail. We had a wonderful week. Wonderful! We found a couple of new potentials that seem really good. Sister Cooprider is staying in this area still and training. I'm excited for them as they have many new people that we have set appointments with them to teach. It's weird to know I won't be a part of that, but it's alright...I guess!  We had our two wonderful baptisms this weekend of Jenny and Ashley! It went really really well and was just a really nice day for them. I think it was really great for their Dad too. I know eventually he will have the desire and he will receive an answer that he needs to be baptized.

There are so many changes I feel coming up in the mission and coming up in these areas. It just makes you want to be here for all of it! But I suppose it always feels like things are changing and great things are about to happen when you're about to leave! But it has been so amazing and wonderful to see the progress that has happened in the Anaheim 2nd ward and the Anaheim 

Last week we, Sister Brown, President and Sister Watrous and I, went to the temple and that was wonderful!. Last February we went to the temple and all wrote little letters-to ourselves sort of, about what kind of mission we wanted to have, and what we wanted to do and were going to learn. And then we were given those back while we were at the temple, so we could read them again. It was interesting, it doesn't feel like too long ago, but I know that I've (hopefully) grown since then. But it's still pretty odd to read the things that I said then, and to even see at that point how I had grown; I'm not sure how, but it seems like it. Our mission conference was really great. But geez, it's sort of unfair to have an inspiring mission conference right before you leave! Sang "Called to Serve" for the last time. Weird! Saturday morning I had my last interview with President. He renews our temple recommends, and then goes over all the info that mission presidents are supposed to say I guess. And he added in his own advice, and then he gives us a blessing. He's just such a great man. He is super humble and obedient and faithful. He really has been an amazing example for all the missionaries.

Today we're teaching one last lesson. Well, one last lesson for me with Raichel Goodyear. Remember I mentioned her once? She was golden, and sooo ready and we passed her onto some elders in another singles ward. Well, long story, she's back to being taught be us. We haven't seen her since September, and she wanted to be taught today. Fine by me! I'll do my last baptismal invitation as a missionary! I am so excited!

Well, I'll just say it. I LOVE being a missionary! It's been the best 18 months! And even though I really don't know what to expect after this, and I am a little anxious, I'm excited to see how life is just going to keep getting better. You know, I'm pretty lucky. I really am. I feel like I am blessed just over and over and over again and every year is better than the last! It's amazing to see how you really do become a missionary. Not just doing missionary things, but being a missionary. I'm so grateful for the things I've experienced and learned. Irreplaceable! My testimony of the gospel has just grown sooo much deeper. I have learned how to study the scriptures, to feast upon them! To love them! And I expect it to continue! If there's been a theme to what I've learned on the mission and what I've tried to teach others, it's love. It is the love our Heavenly Father has for us, and how everything he does is for our happiness. We just have to recognize it and act on it. I LOVE being a missionary! I am excited to see all of my little family again! I love you all so much and thank you so much for everything you've done for me! The love, the prayers, the letters! I love you! See you soon! Ah!

Love,
Emily

OCTOBER!!

A few pictures of the last week in October. Cole finished up his high school football career. His team finished tied for 2nd in the region but lost in the first round of the state playoffs. Cole loves, loves, loves football and is disappointed they didn't go farther in the playoffs. He worked his tail off this year and played great this season despite injuring his knee twice. Hopefully he can continue to play beyond high school - stay tuned.......... It's hard to believe his senior season is over - it seems like yesterday he was playing sophomore ball.

Cole and Grandpa George

Happy Halloween!! Brock and his friends dressed as up and just cruised around the neighborhood. They didn't know what they were dressing up as at first and then decided they were the "Mormon Mafia". What? Go figure.

Cole went the high school dance on Halloween night. The whole group he went with dressed up as pirates. He was supposed to be "Smee" from Peter Pan.