Happy Birthday, Gideon

Look what Grandpa has!

Christmas caroling to Grandma Peters before dinner and the party

Everyone loves birthdays.

He loves balls of any shape or size. This was perhaps his favorite gift.

Gideon is a pro at blowing out his candles!

Here's Ours

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas from the Bradley Ross Kids

Reunion

Brother and sister reunited after about 15 years. Grandma Peters is 91 and Uncle George is 88. Mom hadn't seen Jean or Janice, two of Uncle George's 6 kids, for many, many years. It was fun to see them again.

Cousins

Janice Davis is younger by four years and Jean Hansen and I are the same age. Janice and Mike live in St. George (Santa Clara) and Jean and Marlowe live in Payson very close to where we considered buying a house. Janice and I became friends when we were both at BYU. Jean wrote to us every month while we were on our mission. Jean looks a lot like her mother Stella.

George and I went to Uncle George's 86th birthday celebration before we went on our mission. The girls both remarked how much one of Jean's girl's daughter, Heidi, looks like me. She was at the party and I snapped a shot of her that I have been unable to find so I could post it.

Last football pics

State Champs

Mormon Helping Hands

Have you ever seen those media spots that show a natural disaster and a bunch of people in yellow t-shirts that say "Mormon Helping Hands"? Did you ever wonder about the propriety of that? I have. I've wondered if it wasn't a little too... boastful. A bit like the fellow who gives his donations to be seen of the world.

I just listened to Sharon Eubank talk about her work with LDS Humanitarian Services. She helped me understand.

They work really hard in the Humanitarian group to keep proselyting and humanitarian work strictly separated. We don't ever wanted to be perceived as providing help only as a door to get in missionaries, or else we will find that many people won't open the door at all.

So why the t-shirts? Aid organizations are encouraged to have t-shirts like that to help identify the members of the organization to other workers, to help gain access to affected areas, and to help volunteers find each other. Also, it is important for the church to build up a reputation for its ability to help, and to respond quickly, so that we can continue to have access to disaster areas in the future. So more than a proselyting tool, it is a tool to further our ability to contribute to humanitarian causes. In the official church guidelines for the program, we read that, "When used properly and consistently, it will become a recognized symbol of the Church’s good works."

Now you know.

Giving Thanks

To the Hannays, thanks a ton for a wonderful Thanksgiving visit! The food was delicious, the house cozy and beautiful, the conversation stimulating, and the laughs delightful! You are always so gracious in welcoming us into your home!
To Mom and Dad, it was great to see the both of you are hanging in there as you adjust to this new phase of life. We love having you back in the USA. The kids are missing you already.
To Laurene and Skip, you are both troopers for making your respective traveling sacrifices. The long drive and the short turnaround flights were appreciated in that we got to have you with us! Jack, it was awesome going to the temple with you!
To Michelle and John, be aware that our kids are already planning our next family trip in YOUR direction! They love you too much!
To Debbie, it is fabulous to see you so happy and healthy. What a difference a year makes. (Still waiting on that picture message. wink wink)
And last, but certainly not least, to Brad and Keryn, we are so grateful that you got up early, dragged your kids to Kim's, and joined us in the temple. We love being with you there! So far, we have had only one child succumb to the germs your children so kindly shared. We are hoping that will be all! (=
We are thankful for our big, loud, crazy, fun, exciting, hilarious, loving family!!!!!!!

An "Indian Ballerina Princess"

State Champions (Bingham 35, Davis 24)

Yay Ty! Congratulations!

(And you made Ezra's evening when you went over to say hi to him. Thanks for that!)

(Psssssst, News on Theo)

If you don't get on Facebook a ton, you may not have read what I posted about Theo. He ran a 50K this last weekend (yes, Fifty, not a typo) in Moab. That is about 31 miles for those of you like me who don't do the metric system. It was his favorite kind of race- long, crazy terrain (apparently there were ropes involved at one point!), and did I mention long. He hasn't been hardcore training lately, mostly running with his x-country team, but he really wanted to do an ultra. The one in Moab was ideal as he had a free weekend, (rare for him in the fall), and it was relatively close to Page. Otis tagged along and ran the 20 mile distance. Theo finished the race in 4:06, destroying the old record of 5:24. The race directors were a bit chagrined as he blew through the check points, maintained his blistering pace, and finished strong(ahead of the guy that won the 20 mile distance I might add)! (What is up with all the parenthesis in this post?! I digress.) He is very sore, but also very happy to have done so well. I sure do admire that guy! What a competitor, tough guy, stud! He is a keeper! (; (Don't tell him I wrote this, he will be uncomfortably modest about it all! hee-hee.)

Confusion

Heber wasn't quite sure what to do with his birthday cake.




He did finally get a little chocolate on his face.

Speaking again

We are speaking in our own ward on Sunday at 9:00 am. We have had to prepare a new talk for each time we have spoke since we have been home. I had hoped I could rerun one of the talks!

Life Spans

I couldn't resist posting this for you all, since I've done simpler versions of this calculation before.

Predicting Who Will Be Church President

Grandma Peters has arrived in Salt Lake

Brad headed for Laguna Woods early Wednesday morning and he was picked up at SNA by Wes and Jan. Everyone finished packing up Grandma's belongings and loaded them in a truck. Brad headed to Las Vegas to spend the night and the other three headed to a motel near the airport to spend the night in preparation for the Thursday flight to Salt Lake City.

Grandma traveled well and was very excited to be arriving at her new home. She couldn't believe her bedroom. She sat and watched while the Hannay's, Deb, and the Ross's helped unload the truck and start putting her belongings into her new room. Ezra chatted to her for several minutes to keep her company.


The stress of the trip and her overall health caused her to be admitted to the ER on Friday night about 11:30 pm. (Jan, George and I were able to attend Ty's game and cheer the Miner's to victory). We finally had her situated in her room by 5:00 am and headed home to get some shut eye.

She is doing well today. We visited her on the way to take Wes and Jan to the airport and then again this afternoon. She will be in 2-7 days depending on how quickly she stabilizes and loses the fever.

Football!

I just saw the live update for Ty's game today against Syracuse--it's the third quarter, and the score is Bingham 38-Syracuse 3. Heh. Kim was right, this was the game to skip. We're definitely going to next Friday's game against (probably) Alta, who is leading Cottonwood 37 to 6 in their third quarter.

So, what are Bingham's colors? What is Ty's number? We want to dress appropriately for next week, and maybe bring a sign or two!

Reunion Reset in 2010

We are sure enjoying our visit with Grandma and Grandpa Ross. While they have been here, we got to talking about our annual Ross Reunion. Technically, we have run through all of the siblings (Deb got off easy with Lauren's wedding! (-; ) So, do we start over again? My thought was, we have been on the Wasatch front the last two years. What do you guys think about going in together to get a houseboat on Lake Powell? Although the days of Forever Resorts freebies are but a sweet memory, we could all plan ahead and maybe chip in resources to make it happen. If the Hannays and Gillelands are willing to bring their boats, I would be happy to coordinate the planning efforts down here with reservations, meal planning and the like. The Ross boys and Deb's help with execution of the event would be great. One big concerted effort...What are your thoughts? Make a comment in the lovely comment section that is now functional! Love it! Love you!

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Fact of the Day

One third of companies on the Mormon Trail had no fatalities. 7% of companies suffered over half of the fatalities. Did you know that?

Happy Halloween!

And so it begins

http://www.uhsaa.org/football/2009/5Abrack.pdf

Today is the first game of the tournament Ty has been practicing for for the last 10 years. GOOD LUCK, PLAY HARD, WE LOVE YOU!

Six

50th HS Reunion

I had a great time at my reunion. Dad was a good sport through it all. They didn't do all the "most children", "grandchildren", etc. like they did at the 40th. The only prize was for the person who came the farthest to the reunion. The people at my table encouraged me to stand up and report even though we really came from SL. I won! Elizabeth Dahl Evans is with me. She and Brian are headed to Florida on a 6 month mission at the beginning of November.

There were about 500 graduates in my class. We had over 100 people at the reunion, of course, that counted spouses. Many came without a spouse, well over half. There were 2 couples at our table and 4 without their spouse. I was abke to visit with many people that either didn't come to the 40th or I didn't get to visit with them at that time. We had more visiting time for this reunion and we used it to the max.

Dad and I went to Olive Garden with Jan and Wes, and Alan and Connie while we were visiting Mom in Laguna Woods. She is all packed and ready to come on November 5th.

Double Digits

Happy Birthday Elise!

Great Minds

Just to show that great kids think alike, check out these two entries posted just minutes apart:

Claire Cooks (Laurene)
My New Favorite Cooking Show (Keryn)

Children of Eden

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for BYU's production of the totally fun Broadway musical, Children of Eden. (Same guy that did the music for Wicked, Stephen Schwartz.) While not even close to doctrinally correct, it is a thoughtful look at the relationships between parents and children, tracing the story of the creation, the fall of Adam, and Noah's flood.

I've probably purchased fewer than five CDs in my life. This was one of them.

Keryn and I are going to try to purchase tickets for a Saturday matinee on Nov. 21. Anyone else interested in coming? Even if you don't drop in for the same show we're going to see, I think you'd totally love the show. I sure did when I saw the last BYU production of it while I was still a student. (The community theater production I saw later left something to be desired.) If the choreography of the animals getting onto the ark is anything like the last time, it will be awesome, and amazing what they can do with a limited cast.

Autumn Mountains

Mission Report

We will be speaking in the River Ridge 6th ward (Kim's ward) this Sunday at 1:00 pm. We report to the high council at 3:15 the same day. We are in the new River Ridge 9th ward that meets at 9:00 am so we will also attend our own block. It will seem like a marathon. We have been attending a two hour block for a year. However, we would go an hour early to set up and the feed the missionaries after the block so it will probably even out!

Thoughts and Feelings

Life still doesn’t seem real. I can’t believe we are home. Suddenly Tobago seems so far away, yet my thoughts are still there wondering if there was bread for the sacrament, who taught the classes, did Alison and Maria make it to sacrament meeting, did Perez get the job, etc.

It was so hard to leave. I didn’t feel like we were finished yet. But then, when are you ever finished?

It was awesome to have so many of you at the airport and at our house at 11 pm when we arrived Wednesday night. It meant a lot to us. We have missed all of you considerably.

A special thanks for your prayers on our behalf. The Lord truly watched over us and angels went before us on so many occasions. I will miss the extra guidance and protection that come with the call to be a missionary. I grew so much in unexpected ways and realize I still have so far to go. We still need your prayers.

We appreciated the blogs and emails from you. We have a greater appreciation for the heritage and blessing that come by our citizenship in the US. The gospel is so strong and vibrant here. The blessing of the temple are easily available here. It was wonderful to be able to feel of your spirits and thoughts through those emails and blogs.

Pictures or Words

We loved Keryns blog about Grandma and Grandpa coming home! We would love some pictures or some other thoughts about it:) We wish we were there with all of you to share this happy time. Unfortunately we couldn't get there. Thanks. We love you guys!