9 February 2020

 Hi everybody! 

   Just a brief review of January:

4- We cleaned the church today, with Daris and Donna Howard.

6- Gran, Jocie, Jane, John and I went to Jim Hamilton's funeral. Our families have been friends since we moved in across from Jim and Marion in about 1965. He was born in 1928, like Granddad.

7- Gran's and Granddad's 70th anniversary!

15- While studying 1 Nephi 7, I came to "how is it that ye have forgotten . . .?" and was amazed all over again that Laman and Lemuel could forget lessons they had learned multiple times. But as I studied I recognized the same weakness in myself. I forget that I should limit sugar . . . for MANY reasons. But still, I have to learn it over and over again. It's always interesting to me how many times the word Remember is used in the scriptures . . . and sometimes even remember, remember! The scriptures really were written for me. :) 

16- Gran, Jocie and I went to Valeri Moses' funeral today. She is Jennifer's mother-in-law.

She is also a cousin of Kaye Adamson's. Their dad's were brothers, but they had grown up in different states and didn't really know each other. Reneta made the connection the first time Sterling came to a Pioneer Day parade/picnic in St. Anthony. 

19- Len and I went to Reed and Marcia Mecham's mission farewell today. They are going to Portugal in about 3 weeks. It was so nice to see them and all their kids. 

29- I gave blood and the phlebotomist hit a nerve; I've never had that happen before. It was like an electric shock from my elbow to my wrist. It was pretty terrible, but I made it through the donation. It didn't hurt much after the needle was removed, but it stayed prickly and tender. The next day it wasn't any better, certain movements with my arm will cause a ZAP, so I called the Red Cross to let them know. (It is slowly improving with ice and ibuprofen)

I hope you're all doing well. We've got lots of snow! But that's a good thing, right? Dad is keeping busy with the Sheriff's office and the Bishopric. Gran is good, she just finished a beautiful afgan for Karen and Marvin Bagley. They are always bringing us potatoes and carrots, etc. They were both so pleased and surprised with it! We bought the yarn, but Gran did all the work. 

Love to each of you, Mom/Johanna/Nana

Hey everyone-

 

Thanks for the email, Mom – it’s good to hear what’s happening in your life. I really like your comments about Laman and Lemuel. We have also found it interesting how (and repeatedly) quickly they have been to forget the things they had been taught, heard, and even seen. And we are no exception – we also forget the things we are taught as well. It’s amazing how we can allow the pressures of a busy life distract us from consistently making good sound decisions based on the things we know to be true – even stuff like abstaining from sugar, and all the other things that are so appetizing, but not at all good for our bodies. I guess we all get to keep on trying, which is good – it will make us all stronger in the long run.   

 

Anyway – sad to hear about your bad experience while giving blood. That sounds horrible! Hope you feel better sooner than later. I’ve never given blood before, and now I’m even less motivated to do it. I’m sure I’ll get in there someday…

 

A quick update from us on the past month:

 

We also have a lot of snow! No record breaking amounts, but there is a probably 2 ½ feet of snow on the deck and in the yard. The mound in the cul-de-sac is HUGE! The kids have all enjoyed spending time outside. The temps have been pretty (mid to upper 20’s) mild tho – none of the crazy polar vortex (-33 degrees) temps we had last winter.

We actually did get a new snow blower in the early part of January. It’s been sooo nice to have the past few storms! It starts perfectly every pull, and it throws the snow all the way across the front yard – good stuff!  

 

Natalie and the girls are still having lots of fun with the fish tank. We sometimes sit around and watch the fish longer than you’d think we would, but it’s not a bad way to pass the time and just enjoy each other’s company. Natalie has been super busy in her Primary Presidency calling. Seems like there was a lot to get done with the new year. Natalie has also joined a women’s volley ball team that plays every Thursday night at the Apple Valley Community Center. This is something that Nat really enjoys and has helped pass the long winter. I’ve never seen her play, but I hear she’s got a killer serve! We might join a coed league one of these days when the kids get to the age we can leave them home alone. Nat is still working a couple days a week at the gym as well as watching the Amott boys 4-5 days a month.

 

Maddie has been the birthday party queen for a while now, and especially this past month. She gets invited to so many birthday parties that sometimes we have to politely decline the invite, which can be a hard thing to do. There are four 3^rd grade classes in their school, and it seems like Maddie has friends in all of them. Maddie is continuing to push herself in learning the piano – she sounds more and more like a mature player all the time.

 

Macy has decided she wants to get baptized, so we will be holding that event on Saturday, May 2^nd. Everyone on this email is invited! We completely understand the challenge of coming to Minnesota on the first weekend in May, so don’t feel bad if you can’t make it. We mostly want you to know it’s taking place and we’d love to have all of you here with us. Macy has made some really good friends this year that happen to live in our neighborhood, so she has been having regular play dates with them recently.  

 

Alida has been showing so much progress in her speech class that they may dismiss her at the end of this month, which will be a little sad. She has really grown to love going to speech, and it has been a great experience for her. She is attending a home taught pre school that meets once a week, so she will have that in the event speech class comes to an end. Alida is also coming along nicely in terms of reading, writing, and arithmetic. She counts way past 100, is reading short simple books, and is loving to do simple addition and subtraction. Thanks again to the Weavers for the game, Sleeping Queens – it has really made a difference for Alida.

 

Among other things, Bradley is becoming a racquet and paddle sport enthusiast! We play lots of pickle ball, table tennis, and real tennis. Brad was actually given a new tennis racquet from his uncle Tyler, and is looking forward to playing more tennis at the park just down the street from his house in Northglenn. I think there is a good chance he will join the tennis team at Mountain Range High School when he starts there next fall. And speaking of high school – Bradley applied, and was accepted, to the High School of Business at Mountain Range. This is a business focused curriculum that will last all four years of Bradley’s high school career and will give Brad the opportunity to graduate high school with 21 college credits in addition to his diploma. Brad is stoked! As many of you know – Bradley was born to do business – he will excel in this field for sure!

 

As for me, I try to spend my time doing good things in all areas of life, which is always a tough balance, especially considering how much I like to just chill and take the occasional nap. Haha! I’m very much enjoying watching these kids grow and develop – each one of them impresses me so much! While I enjoy each of them at their current ages, I can’t wait to see the amazing adults they will soon become. Time is flying by folks! We measure the kids every six (June and January) months on one of those boards you can put up behind the bathroom door or wherever. And, for the first time in several years – Alida was bumped from the top spot in terms of total growth. Bradley grew 2 1/8” in the previous 6 months, which was closely followed by Macy with growth of 1 7/8”. Maddie and Alida both grew about ½” in that same time period. I have a feeling Bradley will come in the top spot the next couple times we measure – we will see….  

 

Well, I’ve spent more time on this email than I thought I was going to. I started it completely blanked on what I was going to write, and now I’ve gone on too long!

 

Hope everyone is happy and healthy! Pics and commentary below.

 

 

 

Alida insisted on a cowgirl outfit one day in January – she wore it to work with Nat and at home. It was pretty cute.

 

 

With the holidays and some work travel, we haven’t been able to go on as many dates the past couple months, but Maddie and I went on a nice date in January. Pretty sure we ended up at Target for at least two hours after dinner at Culvers. Haha!

 

 

Me and the girls went to a new place for dinner one Saturday night in January – it was really good. Only downside was it was the night of a Vikings playoff game, so it was pretty noisy while the game was still going.

 

 

I had a great birthday – lots of love and great gifts! I even got to wear the birthday crown!

 

 

A super nice (Dow Crandall) sister in our ward made these blankets for the girls – they love them so much!

 

 

Another great day on the (Loveland) mountain for me and Ben and the boys. It’s crazy to see how good they are getting on skis! I’m not waiting very long anymore at the bottom….

 

 

And it wouldn’t be a good weekend if we didn’t get in some pickle ball at Lifetime. This time we got Ben and Joe to join us – good times!!

 

 

After another intense visit to Ace Eat Serve where the table tennis (Ben reigns supreme) competition is fierce, we strolled over closer to downtown and rented a Lyft scooter – just for a laugh. They go much faster than you’d think…

 

 

After church Brad and I struggled to find anything to do, so we killed some time at Jax where they have an indoor archery range.

 

 

Macy and me squeezed in a date toward the end of the month. Always a good time with this sweet girl. And, this girl is excited about getting some new front teeth – look at that great smile!

 

 

And, leave it to Alida to not only be a good chess player at the age of five, but she doesn’t care to play checkers at all – only chess!! Haha!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Samuel Humphries