April 2008

Hello Family, April 2008

This last month was relaxing and hectic at the same time. The relaxing process was our vacation in Segrove Beach. It is in the Florida panhandle between Destin and Panama City. We love to go to this area because the beaches are white powdery sand and the water is clear. The weather could not have been better. It rained the whole way down there but once we got there it was great the rest of the week. The kids love to go to the beach. Beth and I took long walks on the beach everyday. Cory and Christian decided that they were impervious to the sun. Cory, Mister “I don't burn I only tan, got fried on Thurs. because it was a little windy so you couldn't feel the burn as much. That same day Christian had put on sunscreen but not very well. He missed a few spots on his legs and his stomach. It is amazing how well sunscreen works. You can always find the spots where you missed. It was too bad because Friday was the best day of the week for the beach and water and the boys had to stay inside the whole day. By the time we left on Saturday Cory had started to blister on his face and chest. By Sunday he looked like a leper with skin falling off everywhere. But he has been diligent and kept Aloe and Neosporin on the places that were burned. Now you cannot even tell he was burned so bad. The place we stayed in was fantastic. It is the nicest place we have ever stayed on vacation. It was a town home that was three stories. The 1^st floor was the garage and a bedroom with a full bath and queensize bed. there was a door leading from this room right in to the swimming pool area. Chris and Cory stayed there. The 2^nd floor was living area that had the living room and kitchen. There was also another full bath there. The floors were all hardwood and travertine tile in the kitchen with Corion counter tops. The view from the living room was of the beach. The 3^rd floor was the Mater bedroom had a King size bed and a huge full bath with a large shower and jacuzzi tub. Alicia loved the tub. She took a jacuzzi bubble bath every day. The shower seemed huge to us because the one we have at home is not all that big. So when I stood in this shower I felt like a little kid. The neatest thing for Alicia was where she got to sleep. At the top of the stairs on the 3^rd floor to the left was a little nook just big enough for a twin mattress. So she got her own little space. We just loved it!!!

Now the hectic part. Lat year our Stake started a tradition of having a Spring Formal for the youth ages 16-18. It is an alternative to the Prom where they can come and have a nice dinner and dance with good music and modest dress. Well the Stake Presidency decided to issue Beth and I a “special appointment” to decorate for the Spring Formal this year. I guess they came to Brittany's reception and decided that we could decorate. The theme was “Evening in Paris”. So I decided that it would be cool to have a big Eiffel tower on the dance floor. Sometimes cool ideas are better left as ideas. But not me... Nooo. I made a 23 foot Eiffel tower decorated with lights. It was a lot of work but turned out great. Then we put twinkling lights across the ceiling. And set off an area of the floor as a cafe with small tables and an awning with a lighted sign that said “Cafe de Flore”. Nancy set a table where someone was making crepes. There was also a drink fountain and a chocolate fountain. To set it all off we downloaded several pictures of Paris sites and had them projected on a large screen. The dinner was before the dance at a different building. We had decorated the tables with a white table clothe and a black topper. There was a round mirror with a small Eiffel Tower on each table that had a tealight underneath. We added 3 more tealights to each table and then sprinkled silver start confetti all over the table. it turned out to be a really nice evening for the youth. I am glad it is over. It wasn't quite as hectic as the reception but came in a close second.

School is almost over and the kids are excited about that. Christian was asked to go to the Prom by a French foreign exchange student that is living with a family in our ward. He went with all of his good friends. He had a good time. They went to P.F. Changs for dinner and then the Prom was at Fernbank Science Museum. After that they went over to a friends house for a few hours.

Alicia has been going to the Orthodontist and has had an appliance in her mouth for a few months. She found out that she has to have a couple of baby teeth pulled to make more room while they straighten up her teeth. She is not happy about that.. But she has promised to be brave.

Can't wait to see everyone at the reunion!

Love,

Jeff, Beth, Christian, Cory and Alicia

February 2008

Hello Family, February 2008

We decided to make our Living Room back into a Living Room. For the past 6-7 years it has been a sewing / crap oops I mean craft room. For the last 6 months it was a storage room for wedding paraphernalia. So once we cleaned that out we decided to make the change. We moved everything up to Alicia's room and brought down the furniture, sofa, chair and table, that was in her room. Alicia's room is huge since it is the bonus room. So with half the room set up as the craft area she still has more room than the boy's do in their rooms. But as it always turns out it is more than just moving furniture. We took down a wallpaper border that was up and re-painted. We added crown molding and had to buy some new accessories. It looks better than it ever has since we moved in. We were going to paint the “dining room” which is really our exercise room at the same time but we ran out of time. Beth had a group of friends coming over for the evening. This became our motivation and deadline to get it all finished. It is funny how that seems to works so much better if you plan an event that gives you a deadline. I was still painting trim the day of but we got it finished. We will get back to the exercise room in due time.

Brittany is enjoying married life. She is really busy. She discovered that if she dropped her French minor that she can graduate in December. It was a no-brainer decision for her. So that was exciting news. She is getting burned out on school and is ready to be done. She and Michael are also going to be running an ice cream shop that is opening up in Provo. It is called Sub-Zero. She and Michael have been working at the one in Orem for awhile and the owner wanted to open another one in Provo. So they have been working to get that opened on March 1^st. So you guys that are in Provo area stop by and have a scoop.

The new store will be taking a Ben and Jerry's location in Brigham's Landing (click for map), which is at the intersection of University Parkway and Freedom Boulevard. So they will be busy. They are going to stay in Provo over the summer to work. I will be going out to Salt Lake in March for work and will get to see them. I can't wait.

Christian continues to work and save. He has had his interview with the Bishop and just needs to talk with the Stake President. So we should know something in the next few weeks about where he will be serving. He has started taking Mission Prep and Temple Prep classes. It is starting to hit him and he is getting a little nervous. I think once he gets his call he will feel more comfortable. Not that he still won't be nervous. He still says he wants to go to New Zealand but we will see. One of the guys in his mission prep class is going there. So he has his fingers crossed.

Cory's rec-league basketball team came in 3^rd place. They played hard and lost only by a couple of points. He had a good time and it was a great experience for him. It gave him much better experience than just playing church ball. Their church team came in second. It was a tough loss. The way the tournament worked out they had a bye the first round but ended up playing two games back to back for the championship. In the championship game they only had 6 players and the other team had at least 15 players. They were able to substitute and keep their players fresh. We just wore out at the end. But again it was fun! Cory is looking forward to next year and is planning on working hard at getting better. He is almost finished writing up his Eagle Project to submit it for approval. once this is done he can start driving. he has had his permit for about 4 months now but the arrangement was that he could not practice driving until he turns in his Eagle Project proposal. So we are cl

ose. That means he may be driving soon....

Alicia is doing great. She misses Brittany a lot. But she is enjoying our new puppy. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that we got a new puppy. It is a Yorkie/Bichon mix. So you can say she is a Yoshon or a Borkie we are not sure which is correct. Her name is Sophie. She is cute as a button. She still pees and poops all the time but at least she is cute when she does it.(ha,ha). She actually has been doing well in that area. It helps having another dog that shows her t

he ropes. It is funny how a couple of months before Brittany left for college we got Jasmine. Now that Christian is leaving in a couple of months we got Sophie. Cory said the other day, “When I leave can you get a big dog? I want a big dog to represent me not some little puny dog.” We made no promises.

All else is well!

Love,

Jeff, Beth, Christian, Cory and Alicia (and the rest of the litter)

January 2008

Hello Family, January 2008

One down three to go. We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Brittany is now a married woman. I cannot believe that I have a daughter that is married. I am getting old. I know I always sound like I am the first one to ever go through these things. But it still is hard to believe. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and such a solemn ceremony. Brittany looked beautiful in her dress. She was so excited that she was able to wear her dress in the temple. She was afraid that it may have been too ornate. It was cold and overcast outside. But we were told it actually made for better pictures.

Then on to the reception. We worked hard on the decorations but it was worth it. There was not anything that I thought could have or should have gone different. it was one of those rare times when everything went as planned. Some one told us we should decorate for weddings as a profe

ssion. I told them over my dead body. We were so blessed to have so many people helping. Thanks to Nancy and her family and Eric and his family. We could not have done it wit

hout their help. Everything ended around 9:30 and we sent the newly weds of to their honeymoon in Mexico. That is when our fun began. We were making our last trip home from the church at around 1:00 am. We were exhausted but relieved that it was all over.

They were gone for a week and then came back and spent another week with us. It was fun to see them as a married couple. I have to admit it was a little strange that he did not have to go downstairs to the couch at night. Anyway.....

They are now in their new 1 bedroom basement, young, poor, married couple apartment. Over the winter break a pipe burst in their bedroom. So when they got there the carpet was all pulled up and the wall had a fresh coat of sheetrock mud and tape. It took them another week to finish up. So the first week in their first apartment they had to sleep on a mattress on the floor of the living room. So they have a great story to tell their children about when they first got married. So they are back in classes and hitting the books. I asked Brittany if she felt any different. She said it still the same she just doesn't have to go somewhere else at the end of the day. She is happy and that is all we can ask for.

The countdown is on. Christian has started putting in his mission papers. We have got all of his Doctor, Dental stuff out of the way. He has had every immunization that he needs in this country. The dentist said that he has no wisdom teeth on the bottom and the two on the top are so small and far up that they won't pose any problems in the next couple of years and maybe never. So we hope that he will not have to have them removed. he is getting excited and nervous. he is anxious to find out where he is going. Right now he spends most of his time at Nancy's business working and saving his money.

Cory has been working out and practicing basketball. he is wanting to try out for football next fall. They have just started conditioning practices every day after school. He has also joined a Rec League basketball team. this has been good for him because he gets a lot of playing time with boys who are more experienced players. This has really helped his confidence and he has gotten a lot better than when he started.

Alicia is getting so big. She loves to play with her friends on either side of us. She is so outgoing and friendly. I has no trouble making friends. Because to her everyone is her friend. She is able to play with any on that is older or younger than her. She just loves to play. So it has been a blessing that we have several kids that live so close by.

We had a wonderful snowstorm over the weekend. It was still above freezing so it didn't stick well at all. But it sure was pretty. It snowed all day long. Alicia was in heaven. The last time we had significant snow she was only 3 and she doesn't remember it. The kids are hoping that we will get another one soon that sticks tis time. It was enough to make a small snowman and throw a few snowballs. I know that those who are in Utah and Wisconsin are rolling your eyes right now but hey we don't get snow around here very often and it is a big deal. (ha,ha).

Christmas was a little strange because we did not go to North Carolina. It is the first time in 22 years that we have not celebrated Christmas in NC. But Santa still found us though. That was a relief to Alicia. She was a little concerned. We assured her that he would find out where she was. After the wedding Christmas was a breeze and was actually quite relaxing. It was good to see everyone that came to the wedding.

I hope all have a Great and Happy New Year!!!!

Love,

Jeff, Beth, Christian, Cory and Alicia. ( Brittany is own her own now)

I cannot believe how fast time flies. Matthew and Brett have returned from missions and Brittany is getting married. We have been looking at old photos and have come across pictures of the three of them together throughout the years. It seems just like yesterday that they were all just little kids. I look at them and they keep growing but I don't feel any older.

The wedding is now under 45 days. Brittany and Michael will be coming home for Thanksgiving. We can't wait to see them again. They have had a busy semester so far. I think that they are looking forward to the break and a little R&R. Don't know how much “rest” they will get. We have a number of things planned. Brittany has an eye appointment, hair appointment and a bridal shower just to name a few. They will get in early on Wed. morning. They are on two different flights. Brittany gets in after midnight and Michael doesn't get in until around 5:00 am. So Brittany is going to wait for him at the airport until he gets there and then we will pick them both up. It will be fun to have them here with us. They are working on getting everything set up on their end for married life. We only have a few details left on our end. The invitations should be ordered this week.

Christian has started working full time for Nancy at their emissions business. He has enjoyed the life of leisure but is ready to start earning good money again. He is hoping that he will have saved enough for his mission by the time he leaves. He will be putting in his papers after the first of the year. He can't believe that it is so close. He was recently called as the secretary of the Stake Young Mens Presidency. He was surprised with getting a stake calling but is looking forward to the challenge.

Cory is starting basketball with a rec-league. He is excited about getting to play more basketball. It will last until early February next year. He is hoping it will help him get better for when he plays church ball. He has been practicing a lot on our goal out front. There have been a couple of Eagle projects over the last few weeks. I have been gently encouraging (riding like a wet horse) him about the need to get his under way. We agreed to let him get his learners permit but he is not allowed to drive until he gets him project written up. Now he knows that he will not be able to get his license until he gets his Eagle. So he has a project in mind he just needs to get the OK from the park where he wants to do it. So I will continue to “gently remind” him about it.

Alicia is looking forward to her baptism this month. She is so excited about it. She has asked Michael to speak at the baptism. This will be one more exciting thing that Brittany gets to be apart of when she is here. Alicia insisted that we wait until Brittany could be there. Mom and Shirley will be coming down as well. It will be a great to have everyone there. She finished up soccer for the year. She has no idea who won. It wasn't her team. I don't think they even keep track of wins and losses. The only important thing to her is that at the end she gets a trophy and a pizza party.

We have been feeling the pangs of having older cars. We have been repairing one after another it seems over the past few weeks. The truck has over 200,000 miles and the van is knocking at the door of this same mark. But so far it has not been anything major and we have been able to keep ahead of it. We are hoping they will last us a few more years.

That's all for now!

Hello Family, September 2007

Well, we finally got to meet Michael in person. We picked him up at the airport around 5:00 am on Sunday. We paraded him around at church for everyone to meet him. That night he got a stomach virus and was throwing up all evening. Beth was afraid it was her cooking but no one else got sick. What a way to meet the future in-laws. Fortunately it was gone by morning and he was back at 100% by the end of the next day. The neat thing was that Christian was ordained an Elder on Sunday and he got to assist me in giving Michael a blessing on his very first day. What a great opportunity! We really like Michael. We are glad to have him joining our family.
I know that some if not most of you have done this before but It is a LONG... LONG .. .drive from Atlanta to Provo UT. Brittany, Michael and I drove her car out there so she could have it to drive this semester. We left on Thursday and arrived at Memphis that night. We spent a couple of nights there. I took the chance to meet with my customer in Memphis. Michael showed Brittany around Memphis where he grew up. So it worked out great. Then we left Saturday morning. for Utah. I think that they should combine Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma into to one single state. They all look the same. Flat, dry and boring! They can call it ARKANSLAHOMA. I could not believe that we had to pay to drive there. It cost us about $15.00 in tolls just for the privilege. We arrived in Denver at about 4:00am. We had arranged to meet Tom and Devin around 6:30 for breakfast. We arrived earlier than we thought so we found the the nearest parking lot and took time to catch a couple hours of much needed sleep. I drove during the day and Micheal drove at night. It was good to see Tom and Devin. I haven't seen them in a few years. Tom hasn't changed but Devin is all grown up. After a good breakfast we hit the road again. We finally arrived in Provo around 5:00pm. I got to meet Michael's mother, sister and brother-in law and get to know them. That night Brittany went to her new apartment and I went to stay at Rick and Berta's house. It was great to spend a couple of days there. I have only had dinner with them before. I got to dust off my Spanish and talk a lot with Berta. What a wonderful couple they make. Brittany is now all settled in and ready to start classes again. Well she is starting classes, I don't know if she is ready. I do know one thing, she is glad to not be working full time.

Christian has one more weekend of Lifeguarding left. He has been trying to to find another job. He is going to work for a man in the ward who has a construction business. This is not his first choice but it is a job. He will do this until something better comes along. He has been called to be the boys volleyball coach. They had their first game today. They won one game and lost two. But they had fun.

Cory is tired of not having any money and is trying to find a job. But there are not many places that hire 15 year olds. But he is still looking. He is getting used to waking up early for seminary. The only thing is that he gets tired by 9:00 at night. so if he has to stay up for homework or something he is wiped out the next day. Cory was a little concerned about High School and whether it would be more difficult. But he seems to have stepped up to the challenge off the bat and is making good grades.

Alicia got to go to a sleepover with several of the neighbor kids. She had a ball. They stayed up and watched movies and played. then they all “camped” out in the living room in sleeping bags. She was tired but loved it. She was so excited. She exclaimed to Beth that this was the “best day of her life”. She is already begging to have another one. She loves her new school and teacher. She is doing real well.

Welcome to our blog. Little about our family. Brittany is the oldest. She is starting her Junior year at college. She is engaged to Michael Lenahan. They are getting married this Christmas. We are all looking forward to the big day. No one more than Brittany and Michael though. We all had the chance to meet him for the first time last week. He came to stay with us for a week. It was wonderful to get to know him better and we welcome him with open arms as an addition to the family.

Christian is finishing up the summer as a lifeguard. He graduated from High School last year and has been working all summer. He is looking for work now that the summer is over. He is going to work for a year until next spring when he turns 19. He will then put in his papers for his mission for the church. He is looking forward to this and can't wait to turn 19.

Cory just started High School. He is excited about the transition into the new school. He has had a recent growth spurt and is now well on his way to getting taller than everyone in the family. he likes sports and cars and can't wait to get his learners permit and then his license when he turns 16.

Alicia is the youngest and turns 8 soon. She is excited because this means that she will get baptized and also start Achievement Day girls. She started her second season of soccer this fall and loves it. She is definitely an outdoors person. She loves to play out side with friends.

Beth and Jeff have been married for 21 years and look forward to many more wonderful years. It has been hard to believe how fast the years go by and are looking forward to the changes in the family that will be coming this year and beyond.