Epistle to the Loganites

 Epistle to the Loganites

Each month the Thompson family joins together on Zoom and studies the “Come Follow Me” lesson for the week. We each take turns leading the discussion. Currently, we are studying the epistles from Paul found in 1 Corinthians. Mark invited us to write an epistle to a family member and explain how they emulate Christ in their lives. Here is my epistle. Just as Paul picked a location, I thought I would do the same.

What Dad, Mom and Mark have taught me as they follow Christ.

When I think of the examples of those who live at 483 West 400 North, various Christlike qualities are evident!

This experience plays over and over in my mind as I strive to be loving in my reactions to my family members. When I was in high school, one evening I pulled out of our driveway and backed into Craig Aston’s pick-up truck parked on the other side of the street. My actions left a large dent. I was so embarrassed and worried about the responses I would get. I went in and told Dad about the situation. He calmly told me that he would go talk with Craig and we would work it out. He handled it from there and didn’t make me feel stupid or incompetent. I felt loved and protected at that moment and have felt the same throughout my life.

Doing good, lifting where she stands and being diligent are some words to describe Mom. I’m not sure Mom has ever forgotten a birthday, if she has she is quick to make amends. She is consistent in delivering birthday greetings, in celebrating accomplishments, and in providing temple work for ancestors.  She keeps us connected as a family with her efforts. It’s something I don’t for granted anymore. Each time I receive a birthday card written with love and print a temple card, I am grateful for her presence in my life.

Mark stopped me last time I was in Logan to recite Martin Luther King’Jr’s speech. I don’t think I had ever taken the time to listen to his speech. It was motivating to hear Mark recite the speech and also inspiring to hear the content. Mark demonstrates a great desire to obtain knowledge. I have taken his example of goal setting and applied them to my own personal study habits. This past year I made good improvement towards being more consistent in studying and am on track to finish all four standard works by the end of the year! Also, I have always had an interest in geography. Following Mark’s appetite to learn, I can now identify all the countries, their capitals and their flags.

 

BYU Bound

On Wednesday, Matthew and I took the journey to Provo to drop him off so that he might start school at BYU. He was excited and nervous at the same time which I suppose is the case for all incoming freshman.  We met Camille, Jonathan and their family on campus and dined at the Wilkinson Center at Chick-fil-a. We arranged to meet up with cousin Audrey as she was also in Provo dropping off her son, Owen. Matthew is staying at the King Henry apartments with roommates who are all new to him. Clara Thompson is also on campus this semester. She is hoping to get admitted to the nursing program. 

Meeting the Wrights on campus

New apartment bedroom

Saying goodbye from his apartment porch

Before dropping Matthew off, we had visitors from New Jersey. Allan and his three oldest children flew to Utah and they made the rounds to Boise, Rexburg, Logan, Bountiful and Kaysville. While they were here, we attended church together, drove to Cave Falls, Mesa Falls and then had a hot dog roast at Warm River. They had such a good time playing in our backyard and playing in the water at Warm River. It was fun giving them a taste of Idaho. Allan left Marta and their new twins in Jersey City. Two little boys joined their family on July 13t. They were very healthy and basically full term. Their names are Connor and Matteo. 

My mom also traveled with Allan’s family. Dad stayed home as packing and traveling can be wearing on his 86 year old body. My parents are getting older. They don’t get around like they used to. My mom’s knees are wearing and making it difficult to walk and my Dad seems to be slower too. It’s sad to think about but i surely am grateful they have been with us 80+ years.

Cave Falls is just barely inside the boundaries of Yellowstone

Cave Falls

Picking wild raspberries at Mesa Falls

Mesa Falls

While we had visitors, we celebrated Cady’s 25th birthday. I made Chicken Curry, Pear Salad and Texas Sheetcake. 

Matthew Home Again

At the end of his senior year, Matthew was called to serve a mission to Sydney, Australia. He had so much excitement to serve and we were all excited for him to share the gospel in the same country where my Dad served his mission. When it was time for Matthew to leave, Australia's borders still closed from the COVID pandemic. They were one of the last countries to open up. Matthew received a temporary call to the Charlotte North Carolina mission. Again it was special call since my parents served their senior mission in the same mission. He spent about 8 months in North Carolina and then flew to Sydney. Both experiences were a tremendous growing experience for Matthew in the gospel and also as an individual. It has been so great having him home. He has been working and then spending his nights trying to plan his future. He says that his mission taught him to plan his days, months and lifelong goals. I loved his last letter that he sent to his family and friends before his return home. Here are his words and testimony:

“This is my last week as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The most humbling experience I have had in my lifetime and I am eternally grateful. Serving a mission is not an easy thing, and people know that, but the thing that I wish i could help youth in the church understand is that serving a mission changes the course and perspective of life. You go from being focused on what you are and where you are going in high school to, how can I help every person I talk to today feel the light of christ in their lives. It's all about serving the people around you and seeing their progression! Missions are a daunting thing!! But if I'm being honest as I've realized in the last couple weeks, life is even more daunting!! And what better way to give ourselves a head start in life than serving Jesus Christ fully. Not being worried about yourself but those around you.”

The originals: Matthew, Catherine, Kirsten, Julie, David, Sarah. Camille, and Spencer

Our growing family: Caleb, Catherine, Matthew, Spencer, Adelyn, Kirsten, Sarah, Poppy, Lottie, Julie, David, Camille, Lincoln, Heidi and Jonathan. (Missing Ben, William and Eleanor)

More family who attended: Sara Jane, Mary, Anna, Scott, Clara,  Grandma and Grandpa Thompson and in the front Hannah and Peter.

At Idaho Falls Airport

Friends who welcomed Matthew home: Landon Drake, Dylan Lewis, Mike, Julie and Tanner Severn

School Begins 2023

School started at Madison this week. Dave is on his 29th year of teaching. We have been at Madison for about 24 years and after all that time we finally have all the music filed away in a very orderly manner. It took two weeks of sorting and purging but we finished the day before Dave had a faculty meeting in his room. Dave made a big pile of music to discard or as the district says “put it in surplus”, we emptied all of the files then reorganized them, and we put away many, many pieces of music. It was a huge project and at times it felt as if we would never finish. The efforts we made will make a big difference for Dave. He will spend much less time looking for music. Things will be much easier to find because there is significant less clutter. It’s a big improvement! 

Lincoln started 1st grade on Monday. When Camille talked to his teacher today, she said Lincoln has so much imagination. It’s true, he does like to find opportunity to put himself in an adventure, or pretend to be an animal or get lost in time. He has yet to understand the concept of being late. Camille is trying to teach him that it is to everyone’s benefit when he arrives on time to school. 

I have been doing yoga each morning. I started after I visited the doctor about my back. Each morning I would wake up to a lot of back pain. He suggested either doing exercises or getting an MRI. I chose the first and it has made a huge difference!

Eleanor Ophelia's Blessing Day

 Sometimes I forget about this blog but I have been thinking about it recently and thought I might as well make some effort to record our lives. I'll start with last weekend. Caleb and Catherine are living in Moscow, Idaho where Caleb is attending medical school. This summer they spent two months in Seattle while Caleb participated in a research project. When they finished the project, they headed to California and used their previously purchased Disneyland tickets. After spending a few days there they drove back to Idaho and arrived on Friday. Saturday we celebrated William's 3rd birthday and on Sunday Eleanor was given a name and a blessing by Caleb.

Back in February, Catherine was recovering from COVID-19 and was quite sick. When she called the doctor hoping for an appointment they told her they would be unable to see her because of her symptoms. Caleb pushed forward with insistence that she be checked. They agreed to check and see if the baby was doing ok. During the test, they found that Catherine had a very thin cervix, was contracting and starting to dilate. It was an emergency situation so they flew her in the helicopter from Moscow to Spokane. Caleb was able to travel with her. She was put on immediate bedrest at 23 weeks. Catherine ended up spending one month in the hospital and then accompanied by her father-in-law was driven to Rexburg where she remained on bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy. Eleanor Ophelia was born on May 10 in Madi hospital in Rexburg, ID. She was born at 37 weeks and was a very healthy newborn. 

Finally, this past weekend she was able to receive her baby blessing. We gathered in the Relief Society Room in the the Mill Hollow Ward Building after church.

Braden, Chrissy and Allred, John Allred, Deann Clark, Grace and Nanette Allred, Catherine, Eleanor, Caleb and William Allred, Sue Anne and Kent Thompson, Tamera Wood, Lincoln, Jonathan, Heidi, and Camille Wright, Dave and Julie Hinck, Spencer and Cady Hinck holding Adelyn Wright.

Eleanor's blessing day

Catherine's blessing day

We gathered at our home after the blessing. We served grain bowls copying an idea from John and Kim that they used at our Thompson reunion. It was a hit. I put a lot of effort into making a nice meal for the occasion. Camille helped me a lot and I was so appreciative.

Photo #1: The Allred family in our back yard after the blessing. #2 Four generations with Kent me, Sue Anne and Eleanor. #3 Grandma Wood holding Eleanor with Catherine, A cherished photo of me and my parents. and the Allred family in the Relief Society Room

New house on Memorial Weekend

Last Friday, we loaded into two cars and traveled to Utah. We hadn't seen our family members that live away from Rexburg since December. Most importantly, Spencer hadn't seen anyone outside of Rexburg since coming home from his mission. With the restrictions of coronavirus being less rigid, 

we thought it was a good time to take a road trip. We were all anxious to have a little time away.

We drove our minivan and car. We included Catherine, William, Sarah, Poppy and myself and then Dave, Spencer and Matthew. We needed to travel in two carsto allow room for all the baby equipment and our return trips were at different times. Caleb joined us for Sunday and Monday.

On Thursday, Camille and Jonathan had just moved from their first home to a new home a few miles south. They had been looking for a home with less stairs and a bit more space. There old address was 11444 South 150 East in Draper and now their new address is 618 East Beaumont Way also in Draper. Because of coronavirus, they hired a company to move them. By the time we arrived on Friday night, they were all moved and were beginning the stages of unpacking. While there, we helped them get a little more settled. Catherine and Sarah arranged the pantry. The men put together shelves for the garage and did a little yard work. I cooked all the meals and we all helped with the cute grandbabies so that Camille and Jonathan could focus on unpacking.

It was really fun to spend time with our family. Besides unpacking, we played a few games, went to the park, flew a kite, did our Sunday home worship together and collectively visited visited three cemeteries on Memorial Day. Ben stayed home to work and of course, Kirsten was in DC. Matthew had been scheduled to be in California on his orchestra Disneyland trip so it was nice to have a little getaway.

Lincoln gets some time with Spencer.

All the babies remarkedly direct their attention to the camera.

To help Matthew have a little Disney in his life, we bought the game Disney Code Names and enjoyed refreshing ourselves on the Disney characters.

Poppy and Spencer

Camille's home provides a lot of fun toys for the babies.

Lincoln loved reading books with Spencer.

While there, we had our first ever zoom meet with the Thompson family. The babies said hello.

Lincoln and Grandpa had a successfully flew kites.

Lincoln and the kite.

The granddaughters and Camille say hello.

The van, packed with the girls and babies, returned to Rexburg on Tuesday. On our way home we stopped in Logan and Smithfield to say hello to our parents. The men returned on Wednesday and also made a stop to see our parents. Dave and the boys helped grandma Wood with some small chores. Grandma Wood has been recovering from a small stroke that occurred on March 27th. Luckily the effects have been able to dissipate for the most part and she seems to be able to resume taking care of her needs since having the stroke. It was so nice to spend a weekend with family. Kirsten sent a picture of her Memorial Day plate that she prepared for her and her roommate, Catherine

William and Caleb at a South Ogden cemetery where Caleb's older sister, Natalie is buried. She died as an infant

Grandpa Clyde Fleming Sarah Viola Thompson are buried in the Holladay Memorial Cemetery in Utah. We took the opportunity to visit this spot on Memorial Day.  In this picture we have myself, a granddaughter, Camille, Spencer, Matthew, Sarah and Catherine, five of their great-grandchildren, and Adelyn, Lincoln, Poppy and William, four of their great-great grandchildren. 

The first weekend that all the grandchildren were together since Christmas.

Adding Dave to the picture.

Now adding Jonathan.

Burrell, a dear friend of Jonathan and Camille, passed away  about 3 years ago from a fall while hiking. He is also buried in the Holladay area.

Lincoln and Adelyn loved having visitors to play with. 

Enjoying a visit with Grandpa and Grandma Thompson.

We also enjoyed our visit in Logan.