A thanksgiving tradition

Our 20 year old tradition of making a Thanksgiving Day Gingerbread House was happy to welcome Lindsey back this year for the first time in 5 years. In the early years, even though the houses were much more modest, we had many caved in roofs and other engineering problems. Over the years we have learned a lot and this year ....

I think we got most elements working right! Lindsey is more detail oriented than Katie and me, so it turned out especially well, I think.

Everyone and everything else tends to get ignored while the girls work on our house ...
but WE are having a good time!

Traditions are part of what make the holidays so personal to all of us.
This picture makes me feel cozy, and so grateful that I have a REAL home that is
warm and cozy this cold time of year.

Here's what I've been up to!

Up close and personal with Franklin's knee replacement...doesn't that look pleasant.

Here's what it looks like on the inside. No wonder it hurts like $#%&!

Franklin has been bone on bone in this knee for a long time as a result of degeneration post ACL surgery 30-some years ago. Finally, after years of hoping some easy solution would be invented, he finally went for the new knee. He did this a lot for me.

After 4 days in the hospital, he's been home now for almost a week. This visit from Bella on Halloween was probably one of the few bright spots during what has been a very challenging and painful time. (Here he is strapped into his torture machine).

I took this the morning of his surgery...out the window of the Park City IHC hospital where he had his surgery. I'm hoping, just like this picture, there are some good days ahead.

Busy day for Kate

Very exciting that Katie qualified for STATE in X-Country! She's steadily improved this season and was #5 on her team, with the top 7 being able to complete at State (the poster on the garage was from supportive friends)

The state course is at Sugarhouse Park. Just a beautiful fall day!

She ran a great race, had a great time and was supported by great friends.

And then she finished off the day with the fall choir concert. The songs from Les Mis were wonderful. Every activity Dad & I see her in now has this bittersweet element...kind of like fall turning into winter.

Brother Luman D. Lewis

The internet is certainly an amazing thing. I can hardly imagine what life was like before I had instant access to so much. I could explore that thought for awhile, but this post is about something Franklin found when he was playing around the other night. Among other things, he 'googled' the name of his dad, Luman Doyle Lewis...and came across a devotional given by an economics professor at BYU Hawaii in 2004 that told a detailed story from during the Vietnam War in which Grandpa played a central role! His talk was titled "This Great and Amazing Church". Here is the complete talk but below is the excerpt that talks about Franklin's dad!

" During the years of the Vietnam War, I received orders to Taiwan, the Republic of China. This would be a remote assignment, meaning that I would go without my family. This assignment, although not entirely unexpected, was heartbreaking to me. We had four little children, including an eight week old baby girl, that I would leave behind for 15 months of military duty.

I made a covenant with the Lord. Heavenly Father, I promise to do all I can to build up the kingdom in Taiwan. Please take care of my little family while I am away and please bless me to have the strength to bear this separation.

I left my family in Utah and flew from Salt Lake City to McCord Air Force Base in Washington State where I boarded a military aircraft. I shed tears when I bid farewell to my wife and four little children at the Salt Lake Airport. I was emotional as my flight left McCord Air Force Base. But the depths of sadness came to me when, After transferring aircraft in Taipei, we landed in a C-130 aircraft on an airfield at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taiwan to begin my new assignment. I was half way around the world from the people I loved. My eight week old daughter would be 17 months old when I would see her again. I would miss Christmas with my family, I would miss five birthdays, I would miss Thanksgiving, I would miss our anniversary. Brother Russell was a sad Brother Russell that day.

I had to find a friend. And my emotional health required that I find my friend quickly. During in-processing, I asked for the name of the LDS contact on base. I was told that Senior Master Sargeant Luman D. Lewis, from Bossier City, Louisiana was on record as the leader of the Mormons.

I was not on that base sixty minutes before I had Brother Lewis on the phone. Brother Lewis, this is Stephen Russell. I just arrived on base. I'm missing my family and I want to have contact with the Church. Brother Lewis responded, "Welcome to CCK Brother Russell. Our little Church group consistes of seven other lonely guys just like you. We all miss our families. We gather every evening at 7:00 in my dorm room. We find if we stick together, we all stay out of trouble."

I went to Brother Lewis's room that night. I find it challenging to describe the peace that came to me when I saw his Latter-Day Saint smile, when I felt his firm Latter-day Saint hand shake, and when I saw Latter-day Saint things in his room. There were photos of his family and of temples. I saw copies of the Ensign magazine and the Church News on his table. The scriptures were on his pillow. I knew that I was with my friend, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Brother Lewis served the eight of us in his room that night vanilla ice cream floating in grape juice. I had never heard of grape juice floats before or since. That was an unusual combination. But I got used to it. Brother Lewis served us grape juice floats every evening.

Night after night, we'd meet at Brother Lewis's room. We would review the news of the day, share stories from home, eat ice cream floating in grape juice, play games, or go to a movie or a ball game. Sometimes we'd go to town. But we would always go as a group, because we knew that being away from our wives, there was safety in numbers.

I honestly don't know how I could have survived socially or spiritually were it not for President Lewis and the LDS Serviceman's group at CCK, Taiwan. Even today, whenever I encounter grape juice, my mind goes back to a dorm room in Taiwan 34 years ago, and I am reminded of what a great friend I have in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This great and amazing church is a blessed source of enrichment, of comfort, of security to its members."

The internet may be amazing, but there is nothing as amazing as the impact we, as individuals, can have in the lives of others. WOW!

Counting Blessings

Last week my 89 year old Daddy came to visit us. I am grateful that he is healthy enough to get to the LA Airport and fly here to see us on his own. He loves the outdoors, so it was the PERFECT week to enjoy the beautiful fall colors of Utah. Three days in a row we took drives and a walk to enjoy the beautiful fall. If he hadn't been here, I probably wouldn't have taken the time away from work, etc. to get out...so I'm grateful I did...it was
amazingly beautiful.

Not everything about living in 'happy valley' is my favorite, but I do love living where so much beauty is just minutes from my door.

Our jaunts included walking at Cascade Springs, driving the Alpine Loop, walking up at Sundance and riding the lift, going up to Squaw Peak and Hope Campground.

Fall is such a fleeting season so I'm glad to have been able to breathe it in at its peak!
Love you Daddy!

A wonderful trip....

It's been a few weeks since we were in Washington to see Austin, Lizzy, Tyler and Kai...a very busy few weeks. But I wanted to post some pictures of our visit. It was wonderful and I think Franklin and I learned that even if we can only squeeze in a few days, it is so totally worth it.

Here we are with #1 and #2 granddaughters. They are such fun girls. Tyler was turning 5, and we timed our visit to be there for her birthday....we surprised her at preschool which was a real treat for us.

We squeezed a lot into a few days. On Monday afternoon we went to the Puyallup Fair...which we have been too numerous times and just love. It is a GREAT fair. Last time we went it was raining but today was beautiful

These piglets were just a few days old. Oh my, what a brood. Franklin said I should take this picture for Lindsey (who will be nursing only one baby in about three months).

Tyler and I made a special birthday cake. She worked really hard with me...you can see the concentration in her face.

She also worked hard on the potholder project. She enjoys projects like this that require concentration and small motor coordination, I think.

Then there is 3 year old Kai. She wants to do EVERYTHING Tyler does...and more.

Austin and Lizzy live in home in a beautiful community outside the small town of Yelm. The homes are basically in the woods and there are wonderful trails around the lake and such fabulous places to explore and play just a short walk from home. I love visiting, and I also love getting a glimpse into all the good things about their life there...good neighbors, good friends and a really lovely community.

Last but not least, I must say I look sharp in their Mini-cooper, which I adore. It actually has enough leg room for Austin and really helps with the cost of his commute to work and school. I am so grateful for family and how my joy has multiplied with the marriage of children and the coming of grandchildren. Getting old isn't quite so bad, when this kind of love comes with it!

SUBWAY 2009

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