mike and ruth

We look forward with anticipation the changes in the world that spring brings every year to our part of the country. With spring comes the promise of new life including beautiful flowers and new leaves on the trees, green hillsides, family gardens, and weeds. The weeds represent the things we need to take care of in our lives that would possibly otherwise “take over” and change our direction or our appearances and circumstances to something other than what we might have chosen ourselves. Let’s be diligent about keeping order in the things we do to keep ourselves on the pathway we want to follow.

David and Tamara and their family will be visiting for a few days this week as they come to pay their respects to his grandfather who passed away recently, and participate in his funeral services. We extend our condolences to his family and are saddened by their loss. We will be happy to see them and hope we can find some time to do a few things together while they are here for a short time. It was very fun having Devin and Emily and their family here, in addition to Robyn and Eric and their girls during the Christmas holidays.

We also look forward every spring to General Conference and the stirring spiritual messages we anticipate receiving at the hands of those who will be participating in Conference. We hope everyone will take the opportunity to be uplifted by the positive and inspiring counsel and guidance given at the conference proceedings.

We visited the Draper Utah temple today with Devin and Emily and their family, and Grandma Hill. It was a beautiful experience. The photo shown here is from http://www.ldschurchtemples.com, where photos of all of the LDS Temples may be seen and downloaded for your enjoyment.

A view of the temple from the east, with the south part of the valley behind it.

We are so blessed to be grandparents, it is great fun! We don’t get to see some of them very often so when they do come it is extra special. Here are a few photos from their last visit. They are now visiting other relative for a few days but will be back this weekend. We can hardly wait!

Andrew with his Great-Grandma Hill

Our newest grandson, Peter William

Oh January 28, 1949 Oscar Hendriksen and Dorothy Kennard were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Dad says he had a car that was a convertible and they had snow on their laps. They have seen many things throughout their lives and we are grateful they are still with us. Congraulations on 60 wonderful years! We look forward to celebrating with you soon. This is the time of your lives to enjoy your progeny and try to leave the worry and stress of life to others while go through the twilight season of your lives. We love you!

This has been one of the colder winters we have had for a long time. We have seen more snow than we have seen since the 2002 Olympics, and that year it snowed in December and January but not in February until a few days before the Olympics began. The snow came this year with a vengeance. Someone we know prayed for a white Christmas; well that prayer was certainly answered! We have the remains of that white Christmas still on the lawns and roofs, but most has been removed from the streets and sidewalks.

The change of seasons is a beautiful thing that we enjoy in the mountainous parts of the country while those near the coasts enjoy their own version of the changes of season with temperate climates that are much the same most of the year. This year we had a beautiful autumn that lasted several weeks instead of days as it has in recent memory. This new year we look forward with hope that the issues we face will be overcome somehow by those daring to invest in the future of our country and in the talents and skills of the people of the country. We are grateful to have so many friends and neighbors that display kindness and patience. Would that more of us might take that example to heart and be the kind of people we would like to befriend ourselves.

We hear that we are going to once again add to the list of our grandchildren this coming fall, as Charlotte and Andrew announce that they are expecting parents. The excitement of this announcement is tempered by the health concerns of Grandma Hill, for whom we pray daily and hope she feels better. Also Grandpa and Grandma Hendriksen are in our prayers as Grandma can no longer fill her role as one of our parents, but is now is as a child and must be taken care of very carefully. We remember each of you including Buzz and Susan with your health concerns. There are others including sisters and brothers who have difficulties in their lives. Oh, how we long for you to know we are concerned for you and pray for your deliverance from your difficulties! The coming Spring is looked forward to more than it has been for many years, as the renewal and promise of a brighter future it represents comes to be a part of our environment. Be well everyone!

We are most grateful for kindnesses extended to us and to our family during the holiday season. It was such an exciting time for us to have almost all of our children here at one time or another during the Christmas and New Year Holidays. Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and deeds, for being here to spend time with, and for just being YOU! We love our family so much and are very proud of the accomplishments of each one.

We really missed Tamara and her family and though we didn’t have a chance to call them in the “thick of things” we were able to visit after the New Year celebration. Eric drove back to Ohio and took some gift items from family members back to Tamara’s family. Thank you Eric! Hopefully your girls are now getting used to their “regular” schedule and are able to sleep better now.

We received word of a new grandson last night, little Peter William was born in Rexburg at 6:25 p.m. Congratulations to Devin and Emily and the rest of their family! Three boys and a girl now, Claire is going to be anxious for a sister! We are thrilled for them and look forward to meeting this little guy soon.