14 May 2017

 Hello everyone,

   Just a few quick thoughts... Aimee, how did your first RS lesson go a couple of weeks ago? I've meant to ask you. And Heidi, how did it go, speaking in Sacrament meeting today? I wish I could have been there for both of those. 

   Anne will be 15 this week!!! Oh sweet girl; we all love you so much and love watching your life unfold. You have so many wonderful times ahead...enjoy! :)

   Ben, thanks so much for sharing those pictures (treasures) with us. Some great memories there. I remember at his funeral, you said that Uncle Alex had been such a good example to you of what an uncle should be...you've always lived up to that. 

   Sam, your summer sounds busy and memorable. I'll be looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing all about your travels. I'm so glad we're part of your plans! 

   Work is going well; we've had low census recently, but an unusual number of psych and/or attempted suicide patients. Dad has also noticed a high number of domestic violence calls at the Sheriff's office. This isn't unusual during the Holidays, but it does seem odd for this time of year. Satan sure seems to be working overtime. I often find myself thinking that so many of the problems people have could be avoided if they and their families were living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even families that sort of live it could find the solutions they need if they would live it more fully. This is a wonderful life, but it has many challenges; I feel sad for those whose choices make things even harder. I'm not meaning to preach...but living the teachings of Christ seems to me, the only way to make it through. 

   I think of you so often; yes, each one of you. I know that your lives are even busier than ours and ours seem crazy busy! I pray each day that you will have the blessings you need in your lives, even though I don't know what those may be, I know that Heavenly Father knows, so I just leave it in His hands. Like President Hinckley used to say, "It will all work out."

   I look forward to letters from any of you; we'd all like to know how you're doing.

   Much love, Mom/Johanna/Nana

Hello Everyone!

And Happy Mother's Day to all of you fabulous Mom's in our family!!! 

Ben, I loved the pictures you sent last week.  The letter too!  And that picture of you holding Stephen just makes me cry.  It meant SO MUCH to me that you would come all that way to see him.  Thank you again!!!

Mom, my RS lesson went really well.  I was super nervous!  But Cecily caught me in the hall just before I went in to Relief Society and reminded me that everyone in there is on my side and that they love me.  And she was right!  I hardly had to talk at all!  Everyone had such great comments!  I based my lesson on two sentences from Neill F. Marriott's talk from April 2016 called What Shall We Do? She said, “We build the kingdom when we nurture others.  However, the first child of God we must build up in the restored gospel is ourselves. “  So I asked the sister 3 questions.  1)What does it mean to love yourself with Christ-like love? 2)What keeps you from loving yourself? 3)How do you overcome those things?  This Sunday, I wasn't at all nervous to go to Relief Society!  It was great!

Now on to the rest of the family!  Stephen made a big Porsche emblem at school in his shop class.  He's been working on it for quite a while, and it turned out great!  It's hanging on his bedroom wall now.  He got to use a plasma cutter to cut it out.  It's made of sheet metal, so it's pretty heavy duty.

On Saturday the 6th I took all the kids but Stephen on the Be Like Mike Ride.  It's just a nice bike ride on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene's to remember our neighbor, Mike Dixon, who passed away three years ago now.  We started at Heyburn State Park and rode to the little town of Harrison, ID where we had a picnic and got ice cream at an amazing little ice cream shop there.  It's about 20 miles round trip, and is all along the edge of Lake Coeur d'Alene.  It was a little chilly this year, but we still had a great time!  Stephen was working at a Christmas Tree Farm, planting new trees and fertilizing little ones.  And James was getting other projects done around the house so that he could start the driveway this week.

Spencer has really taken off on his bike this week.  I pulled him in the bike trailer on the Mike Ride, but at home he is LOVING riding his bike.  He will bike around and around the triangle.  He and I biked the few blocks to the park the other day.  He will be ready to bike to school with me in the fall, or maybe we'll just walk.  I really loved walking the other kids to school.  I do think he'll be ready for the Mike Ride next year though!

Noah and I had a quick date up to Moscow Mountain on Friday.  Noah mountain biked and I ran and we had a really nice time together! 

James and Stephen were very busy on Friday breaking up our driveway with a jackhammer.  It will be a while before we have a new driveway finished, but it will be so nice! 

Stephen spoke in Sacrament meeting today.  I'll attach a copy of what he wrote.  It was a great talk!  I really enjoyed it, and several people told me afterwards how impressed they were.  And Annie was set apart as the Mia Maid president today. 

Today Noah gave me the fanciest card I have ever received!  It was a card with a light in it, shining behind some strawberries which he had drawn.  And the light was powered by a circuit that he made himself! 

Sorry for such a long email and so many pictures!  Lots of love to all of you!!!

Aimee

Mother's Day

Today I have been asked to speak about how my parents/Mother have

helped me through my struggles. But first I would like to share with you what we

have been taught about Mothers. In the October 2015 general conference, Elder

Jeffrey R. Holland gave a talk entitled “Behold Thy Mother”. The title is quoted

from the book of John. At this time, Jesus is being crucified on the cross. “Now

there stood by the cross of Jesus his Mother, and his Mother's sister, Mary the

wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw this mother,

and the disciple standing by, whom he loved,... then saith he to the

disciple(John), “Behold Thy Mother”.” Jesus knew how important mothers were

and still are. He speaks these words to not only john but to us all. “Behold Thy

Mother!”

Elder Holland says in his talk “Today I declare from this pulpit what has

been said here before: that no love in mortality comes closer to approximating

the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her

child.” We have been taught that our mothers are one of the most precious and

special Blessings that we will ever receive. Elder holland also shared an excerpt

from a letter that he received from a young mother, that I will share with you.

“How is it that a human being can love a child so deeply that you willingly

give up a major portion of your freedom for it? How can mortal love be so strong

that you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability, anxiety, and

heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same? What kind of mortal

love can make you feel, once you have a child, that your life is never, ever your

own again? Maternal love has to be divine. There is no other explanation for it.

What mothers do is an essential element of Christ’s work. Knowing that should

be enough to tell us the impact of such love will range between unbearable and

transcendent, over and over again, until with the safety and salvation of the very

last child on earth, we can then say with Jesus, Father! I have finished the work

which thou gavest me to do.”

I would like to quote from the book of proverbs chapter 31. “Who can find

a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. She openeth her mouth with

wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” I know that my mother is such

a woman. Over my entire life she has cared for me in every way. I was hungered

and she gave me meat, I was thirsty and she gave me drink, I was naked and

she clothed me, I was sick and she visited me. And most important of all, when I

was lost, she gave me love. And I want to thank her for that.

I want to thank all mothers. The task of raising us kids and teens is a truly

daunting task. We are far from perfect and are more than a handful or two. I

know that when I am babysitting for my parents, the house sometimes is a wreck.

I can't concentrate on all the kids at once and everyone wants something. Most

of the time, somebody is arguing and i certainly get frustrated and angry

sometimes when I cannot control the situation. I have no idea how my Mother

does this all day and doesn't dread waking in the morning. Maybe she does but if

so, she hides it wonderfully.

There are so many quotes on mothers out there so I chose a few of my

favorites to share today. “Mother: noun: One person that does the work of twenty.

For free.” And “A mother is a person seeing there are only four pieces of pie for

five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”

I would like to challenge everyone to now treat every day, as mother's day.

One day a year is not near enough time to thank her for all that she has done.

Remember what your mother has done for you and who she has helped you to

become. She is the greatest blessing you will ever receive. I would like to end

with Elder Holland's words.

“To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future, I say, “Thank

you. Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for

demonstrating the pure love of Christ.” To Mother Eve, to Sarah, Rebekah, and

Rachel, to Mary of Nazareth, and to a Mother in Heaven, I say, “Thank you for

your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity.” To all mothers in every

circumstance, including those who struggle—and all will—I say, “Be peaceful.

Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are. In fact,

you are saviors on Mount Zion, and like the Master you follow, your love ‘never

faileth. ” I can pay no higher tribute to anyone.

And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.