Mission Christmas Conference

My Stake President asked me and my counselors to organize lunch for the Northern Utah Ogden mission's Christmas Conference.  It was busy, crazy and so much fun.  The missionaries have so much enthusiasm for the gospel and they love to serve!  They are absolutely radiant and carry an amazing spirit of happiness that is contagious.  So glad we had this opportunity.  

We used linens, real plates, sliverware, etc.  Served a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

About 135 attended.  There were Elders, sisters and senior couples.  After lunch, they invited the RS sisters who helped prepare the lunch to come up to the mic and introduce ourselves.  After which, they all stood and faced us and sang "Called to Serve".  It was powerful!

Sisters having some girl time.

The kitchen crew.  Most of these ladies are missionary moms and they were so excited to lend a helping hand.

Trip to Disneyland

RUSS -- these are for you, bro!  Well....it all started when Rebecca put her name in a drawing at a new little sandwich shop here in Logan.  30 days later they drew her name out of the hat and ...walla -- she had 4 all expense paid tickets to Disneyland.  She asked Wes if he wanted to come along and they invited me and Miss.  Tami came along to use up the airline ticket Miss didn't use.  Needless to say, we had a blast!

Nate and Quincy's BIG Day

Greetings Everyone...

I needed a reminder to post these photos of the Wedding Day (thank you RUSS!) I get so involved with work and everything that I forget we have this great blog for sharing! Alan took these candid shots of the happenings. A professional photographer took others that will be added to another post later. It was a blustery day as Christopher Robin would have said, windy and rainy. But nothing can dampen the spirits of 2 people in love who want to spend their lives together. So we all braved a little Idaho weather for a few hours to celebrate with Nate and Quincy.

We had a nice prime rib dinner at Stockman's on Friday night to get acquainted and kick off the next day. These were taken before most of the dinner party arrived. We welcomed close to 45 in all. Quincy's grandparents (the Carters - on the right, and Grandma Caldwell-Jennings across from them) are pictured below with Mom and Dad and Leilani. I believe that Jer's family is seated at the end of that table.

Quincy is pictured above (dressed to kill!), while Leilani, Mike and Lana, Nate, Val and Grandma Barnard are waiting patiently for others to arrive.

Saturday was the Wedding Day; the events took place at the LDS Stake Center on Pioneer Road in Blackfoot. Nate is pictured below. Possible contemplating his last moments as a single man. 

Quincy arrived amid dreadful wind and rain. She obviously has a lot on her mind -- Dad (Val Carter) is standing by to help where he can.

Quincy's boots (above) wait outside the doors of the cultural hall while she is trying to figure out the sound system inside. She ends up wearing these boots under her designer gown; that alone tells you just how down to earth she is! ♥

Quincy's mom (Heather Carter) is a veritable whirlwind... as you can see from the photo above as she races like a blur to the dressing room to assist Quincy.

The ceremony was beautiful and was officiated by a family friend, Bishop Bob Cox. I think they tried to sort out the counsel from the metaphors of hunting and fishing, and they were good sports about it.  (Bishop Cox just finished his last round of cancer treatment; he was diagnosed a year ago with stage 4 mesothelioma.) Quincy's darling nephew was the ring bearer for the happy couple.

Following the ceremony, we took a break for a bite of lunch and to set up for the reception to be held that evening.

The refreshment table was lovely. Quincy's mom is a chocolatier and she made delicious chocolate-dipped cake balls. There were platters of lots of kinds of cookies that Quincy herself and others in her family had baked for refreshments. They were served with Chocolate, Strawberry, and plain white MILK! How fun is that?! All the tables were decorated with a darling, rustic flair that really shows off Quincy's style. Quincy created the cake stand and platters cut from logs.

Nate and Quincy (and a short line that included parents) greeted hundreds of friends and family members offering loving and encouraging words. Everyone was so generous; Nate and Quincy were overwhelmed as they opened gifts the next day.

Nate's surprise gift to Quincy was a honeymoon trip to Hawaii. They are there right now enjoying the sun and taking a break from good ole Idaho and North Dakota November. 

We appreciate all of you --- those who came and those who didn't make it. Your support and love is felt where ever you are, please know that! Family is everything and we feel so blessed to be able to count Nate and Quincy as an important part of ours! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all! 'Hope to see you soon! 

Much Love, C.

Fun at the Girl's Weekend

Hey all - I posted some of these already on FB, but know that some of you don't do FB, so wanted to share them here.  This past weekend some of us were able to get together in Logan.  We had moms, sisters, aunts, cousins, nieces, daughters......you name it.  We played hard, ate lots of good food, and went home happy. Let's do it again soon!

McKenna, Lani, Dianne (lovely new scarf from Char), and Abby

Kaylee and Abby.....pals

Libby and Whitney...peas in a pod

Mary Dawn and Mallori

 

McKenna and Lisa

G'ma and Lani

Mary Dawn and Aunt Joan

The sewing crew

Corinne trying to work, but Dianne wants to play.

Mary Dawn's bag of surprises :) and G'ma

LaBretta hard a work...busy bee.

Girls in the hood......we bad ;)

Libby and Lisa putting a pillow case together

Beautiful Tribute to Jessie

Wes posted this beautiful tribute to Jessie on his Facebook the morning after she slipped away....(Wes, please forgive me for sharing this without asking your permission.) I have learned some things from Jessie as she made her journey -- what a powerhouse of love and generosity she was.

When I woke up this morning the last thing on my mind was birthday wishes and wanted to take a minute and tell everyone thank you. The love and support that has been shown to myself and my family during this difficult time has been overflowing and heartfelt. I've known for the last 25 years how incredible Jessie was, but didn't realize that she had touched so many other people as well. For those of you who didn't have the opportunity to know her let me tell you what you missed. She was what I like to call a participant in the parade of life. There are those people who are content being spectators. Not Jess she was determined to taste, touch, smell and see all the world had to offer. She appeared fearless. Don't get me wrong she had her fears but she rarely "let em see her sweat". I cherish those moments that we shared when she needed that reassuring "we'll figure it out Jess" or simply an non judgmental shoulder to lean on. People were drawn to her because of her positive attitude and her incredible zest for life. She had an amazing capacity to love, and at the same time wasn't afraid to let you know when she felt you had made a mistake. She had an incredible sense of humor and impeccable timing always able to lighten the mood in a tense situation. She was more concerned with the well being of others above her own. She was that person that chose to care for others when they could no longer care for themselves. And she loved doing it. I could go on and on but this is a glimpse to you of the Jessie that I know and love. My memories of her from the time she born and would take naps laying on my chest to when she was playing drums with the pots and pans in the kitchen with her casted broken arm to the time she and I bought her college car to a couple weeks ago as I carried her down the stairs from her bath with her head on my shoulder and said to me " don't worry dad it's gonna to be ok it's almost over" kissing me on the cheek as if to console me. Those are what I hold close to my heart and know that they can never be taken from me. I've always said to her "I love you more than you'll ever know"... Well there's no doubt in my mind that she now knows how deep and endless my love for her is and will continue to be.

I love you Jessie Gene!! Infinity x infinity plus one!!