Hayley graduates from junior high with honors.

Last night, Neal and I drove out to Stansbury to see Hayley official graduate from junior high school.  Beyond my comprehension that she will be in high school next year!  Goodness.  Where does the time go.  I know that I say that often, but I think that almost every day.  It is exciting to see the grandchildren excelling in academics and other aspects of their lives.  Lynda Ann is an incredible mother and I hope she realizes what an amazing influence she is in her children's lives.  She is 10 times the mother I was - of that I am convinced.

Here are some pictures of Hayley as she walked across the stage to get her graduation certificate and her medallion for being an honor student.  We are so proud of you Hayley.  Keep following the example of your three older sisters academically and spiritually and the world will be yours! 

Mallory's Seminary Graduation

Mallory had her seminary graduation this evening.  I drove out by myself.  Neal had to attend Oscar's Eagle Scout Award.   So we had to divide and conquer.  Mallory looked darling in her new dress.  She said she was kind of happy and sad at the same time.  This is just the beginning of some very fun and exciting and spiritual adventures for her.  She is working on getting her missionary papers together and sent in.  She is a beautiful girl with a beautiful and very mature spirit.  I love this granddaughter of mine.

 A Gam moment!!  I bought Mallory a beautiful silver locket for graduation and had her initials engraved on the back.  When she opened it and looked at the back the initials engraved were E G!!  Good grief.  Don't ask me what in the world I did but I have to take accountability for that.  There is no way they would accidently put EG instead of MG.  I know when I was at Phillips & Co. I was trying to find her the initial M with a diamond in it like Emmi's.  They didn't have any so I settled for the locket and I'm sure I told them EG because I had Emmi on my mind!  My grandchildren will just have to put up with their Gam's silly mistakes.  I'm going to take it back and see if they can smooth out the initials and put the right ones in, if not, well .. . . . . .  not sure what I will do at this point.  We'll just have to wait and see. 

Entertaining

I'm certainly no rising Martha Stewart, but I do love entertaining and setting a beautiful table and serving good food.  It started when I was the Stake RS President and has become a tradition.  I'm no longer the stake RS President but the tradition goes on.  This year I invited President and Sister Little (Mike and Jan Little - current Stake President), President and Sister Parry (Jay and Vicki Parry - past stake president), Keith and Zona Smith (past and current stake clerk), President and Sister Springman (John and Chris Springman - past counselor for both Stake Presidents) and Dave and Linda Knight.  Linda was my Secretary in the stake RS Presidency and we have best of friends ever since. 

For dinner we had a tender loin roast with bake potatoes, creamed Brussel sprouts, a spring salad with apples, pears, craisins, cheese and a special home made dressing.  For dessert we had rice pudding with whipped cream on top.  The dinner was delicious and the company wonderful.  After dinner we had John and Chris show us some slides about their trip through Spain.

 Below is the group in Hawaiian shirts.  Neal wore one and so did Pres. Springman, Keith Smith and David Knight.  So Neal ran upstairs and provided a shirt for Pres. Little and Pres. Parry.  That called for a picture.  From left to right:  President Mike Little, President Jay Parry, Keith Smith, President John Springman, Neal and David Knight.

 then we decided we needed to have a picture of all of us so Neal ran next door and asked Danielle if she would be willing to come over and take a picture of all of us. 
From left to right, Maxfields, Springmans, Knights, Parry's, Little's and Smiths. 

 Neal was happy that all his planters we planted and the patio all put together and looking like summer. 

Bi-Polar

I titled this post Bi-polar because that is what Utah is when it comes to weather.  Bi-polar!  If there were pills for mother nature it would be good to feed them to her because she sure plays tricks on the State of Utah.  Usually after May 12th or Mother's Day, which ever comes first, one is safe to plant their flowers.  Not so this year.  This is what we woke up to on Wednesday morning.  We've had temperatures in the 70's.  But they dropped drastically as a cold front came through.  I was just leaving for work and had to stop and snap a picture.

It has been cold every day since.  Neal even covered all his patio pots last night so his newly planted flowers wouldn't freeze.  Good Grief!!  The furnace even kicked on last night and this morning.  And we turned our heated mattress pad on. 

Abby begins a new adventure

Abby decided that she wanted to have the opportunity and experience of raising a guide dog.  She and Lynda Ann went to classes to prepare and make sure this is a project she really wanted to undertake.  Abby even got to tend a couple full grown guide dogs and take them with her to school and to church.  It is a full time commitment of never being away from them.  She was selected and picked up her little puppy named Saint.  She became the official trainer on Mother's Day evening.  This is the picture of her and her yellow lab named Saint.

Beautiful puppy and lucky to have Abby as his trainer.  She will be great and Saint will be one lucky puppy.

Mother's Day

Neal was having his 5 year colonoscopy on Monday, the day after Mother's Day.  So, he would not be able to eat any solids.  Just liquids.  So we decided to celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday.  We had Maren and Greg and kids, Lynda, Jeff and kids and Mindy.  We had hamburgers and all the trimmings and I also made the watermelon ice cream.  It was a nice day.  The weather went from warm chilly and back to warm again.  Neal let Lynda, Maren and Mindy choose one of the patio planters to take home with them.  I also game them a sweet bread and a dishtowel that said "Mother's Day" on it. 

Lynda Ann gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers that is still looking fresh and beautiful.  Thanks Annie.  I'm still enjoying them. 

Sunday Tucker called and we talked for nearly an hour.  It was so good to hear his voice and spend some time getting caught up on all the family in California and here.  I love talking with Tucker and he always makes me happy and laugh. 

 Jamie sent me this collage along with these words:  "To one of my most favorite humans on the planet, happy mother's day!!  I love you!  I love how caring you are, how thoughtful, genuinely interested in people, observant, giving, talented, smart, fun, spontaneous, beautiful and open hearted!  I'm so lucky you're my mother in law and more importantly, my friend.  I miss you!!!"  Thank you Jamie for those very kind an beautiful words. 

Mother's Day Remembrance

Mindy sent these pictures and said, "Be prepared to cry."  She was right.  I did cry.  Mother's Day and Jeffrey's birthday is this Saturday.  I think about him always.  I wonder what he is doing, what are his assignments and who he spends most of his time with.  Just a peek beyond the veil would be interesting.  But maybe granted a peek, we would see have incredible it is that we would want to stay.  That's why no remembrance and no peeking :-)  I miss you, my son.  And I love you!  A happy birthday beyond the veil.  Is Grandma Ross making you a cake?  Make sure you know what ingredients she is using and substituting!  Tell her "Hi" for me, will you?  I miss her too.  Thanks for sending the pictures, Mindy.  :-)

Mr. Boston's celebrates his 7th birthday.

Maren sent us this cute picture of Boston with his card and money that Gam and Pa sent him.  Cute picture and cute boy.  Happy birthday, Mr. Boston.  We love you!!

Neal h!as begun the planting

Neal borrowed the Jeep and drove to Western Gardens to buy his flowers for all the patio pots to be planted.  He loves this part of the Spring and every year he looks forward to filling the pots with flowers and then watering them every night and every day checking on their progress. It is a floral garden by the time Fall makes its appearance.  He is just getting started and has a ways to go.

My surprise

I was sitting in my office and Royal DeLegge came in and asked me how long I had been with the county.  I thought he was giving me a bad time and I said something like, "Either too long or not long enough?"  He laughed and handed me a certificate of 15 years of service with a $150.00 bonus!  The bonus came at a perfect time.  I can use it for my trip to Canada.  So happy.

Mallory's first of many rewards

Last Tuesday evening, Mallory was awarded the medal and certificate of Career Technical Education.  She completed a course in Health Science Education.  We are so proud of her and her many achievements through her high school years.

First Rainbow of the year

I was at the gym walking the track when all of a sudden the Heaven's opened and the rain and hail came down in all its fury. As I walked the track on one side of the gym you could look out the windows and see nothing but black clouds but on the other side of the gym, looking out the window I could see the sun shining.  I knew right then that we were in for a incredibly gorgeous rainbow.  I left the gym about 10 minutes later.  The major part of the storm had past and we were just getting sprinkles.  As I headed East and neared our home I looked up toward Mt. Olympus and sure enough, there was the most beautiful rainbow that stretched from one side of Mt. Olympus to the other side.  It was so beautiful, I had to send a prayer to Heaven thanking Heavenly Father for the beauties of nature and for sending us the rainbow. 

As usual, I can't get the whole rainbow with my phone camera but I think you can imagine that rainbow stretching clear over the mountains and down the other side.  Absolutely gorgeous!  How can anyone deny there is a God in the Heavens.

Mallory begins processing her mission papers.

I was sitting in gospel doctrine when I got this message from Mallory. 
"It's official!  I've started my Mission papers!!!"  She has been counting down for months to be able to start her papers for her mission.  I text her back and said, "You make me teary.  I'm so proud of you and excited for you.  I LOVE you so much.  What a great example you are to me and the whole family!!!  You will be so blessed and bring so many blessings to your parents and siblings by serving the Lord."

We are so excited for the decision Mallory is making to serve the Lord.

A boat in the dumpster?!!

Friday evening we were out in Stansbury.  Neal had the day off and wanted to play golf with Jeff and I took a 1/2 day off and went out with him.  While Jeff and Neal golfed, Annie and I ran errands and visited.  Annie fixed us some dinner and then we played a game of Shanghi and prepared to head home.  As we were leaving we saw across the street to the neighbors a lot of activity.  Annie's neighbors had bought an old ski boat and dug a hole in their back yard and put the boat in the hole for his kids.  The children played in it for about 2 years and then the fun wore off as they grew older.  When the huge dumpsters were delivered  to the neighborhood, they decided this would be the time to get rid of it.  Now, I don't know of anyone who has ever loaded a ski boat into a dumpster!   Emmi pulled their suburvan over to give them light and it took two trucks to pull the boat into the dumpster.  Annie said that everyone cheered when it finally was in the dumpster.  It did get caught on one corner and they had to get a saw to chop the corner off.  Annie said it was very entertaining.  Oh, they had to take the end of the dumpster off to slide the boat on and then put the panel back on.  I'm just sure the guys who hauled that dumpster off and emptied it were so surprised.  Below a picture of the boat being dragged onto the dumpster.

You can see the jack under the boat they used to lift the boat off the ground.  Amazingf!

Family Update

I don't do a family update very often because I feel like the kids should be keep their own history.  I feel like they should but I don't think any of them are.  I can't tell everything going on in their lives but I can give a short update.

Mindy and the kids have struggled a lot since Jeffrey has been gone.  However, Mindy is a strong individual and has been able to pull things together.  She has been given a couple promotions and is making enough money to support her and the kids.  She just bought a home and seems to be settled and mostly happy.  I know she misses Jeffrey greatly but has risen to the challenge with dignity of being a single mom. Maddie is working full time at a call center and seems to like the job and the hours.  Ryan has a girl friend that he spends most of his time with and will be finishing up high school next year.  Grayson has struggled with school and I think has been doing home schooling until Mindy finds a school best suited for his needs.  CJ, we just found out, is engaged and will be getting married in a couple months.  Justin is working and still single as of this writing.  Ryan may be our only hope for great grandchildren from the Jeff Hintze line.

Lynda Ann is working in the emergency room 3 nights a week.  Jeff is working for Fidelity.  Emmi is now a senior at BYU.  She is working full time at Dugway.  She did that last summer and they wanted her back again this summer with a raise.  She works Mon. thru Thur. and has 3 days off.  They give her a brand new truck to drive back and forth.  Pretty nice.  Mallory is completely her high school years this May, graduating with honors and awards from high school and seminary.  She is preparing to go on a mission in the fall of this year.  She will be sending in her papers come June.  Abby will be having a new adventure this year.  She has been training to be a guide dog trainer.  She will be getting a yellow lab puppy the middle of May.  She is also in all the honors programs at Stansbury High School.  Hayley will be graduating from junior high in May and will begin her high school years in the fall.  She is an avid reader.  You never see Hayley without a book in her hand.  Andrew just turned 12 and is passing the sacrament each Sunday.  He is involved in scouting - much to his grandpa's happiness.  He will begin his junior high school in the fall. 

Tucker had to start a new job again this year but seems to be doing well.  Jamie is teaching full time at the schools and says she really likes it.  The girls, Jordyn Lyn, Lexi and Peyton are 100 per cent involved in dancing, winning all kids of rewards and medals.  We are sorry they live so far away.  We don't get to see them dance - only on a video - which we are happy to see.  All three are doing well in school.

Maren still working at the hospital and Greg working for Delta.  Maren loves Cross Fit and running.  Jaden will graduate this year from high school and is hoping to be recruited to a college for football.  Taylor has excelled in the drill team winning awards and achieving scholastically.  She will begin her senior year this fall.  Brock and Boston are happy cute boys full of energy and fun to be around. 

Lyndsy - not sure where to begin.  Lyndsy and James are divorced.  James is remarried and living in the home that he and Lyndsy bought.  Lyndsy has changed her whole life style.  She wants nothing to do with the church and has moved to the very worldly side of life.  James has the kids full time and Lyndsy gets them on the weekends.  James has River back in school and in counseling and he is doing so well.  He is at the top of his class in math and his reading has improved greatly.  We are grateful that James has him back in school and on a regular schedule.  Desmond seems to be happy and doing well with James and James wife.  I could write volumes on Lyndsy and what has taken place the last two years but it is her story and her journey and I'm sure her story will be very different from mine.

Spencer is still living in Colorado and Derek in China. 

And that is that is the short readers digest of the family update.

Jamie's 40th birthday

Today is Jamie's 40th birthday.  Neal and I called her this morning and sang Happy Birthday to her.  I'm sure this isn't a birthday that she will remember with any fondness.  She was taken to the hospital yesterday with a swollen leg.  Apparently she bruised her knees very badly 5 weeks ago chasing after Rusty, then she twisted her right ankle two weeks ago and it was incredibly slow to heal and stayed swollen.  Last week at the dance competition she got a latex infection when she put some tape on her leg to help keep her ankle stable.  The picture is what her leg looks like now.

She is in a lot of pain and her muscles in her arm and jaw are cramping up.  According to Tucker, the hospital ran a bunch of tests and drew blood.  The blood work came back clear.  The doctor put her on strong antibiotics and told her that she needed to rest and keep her leg elevated until the swelling went down and the antibiotics had a chance to do the job.  What a way to spend your birthday.

I sent some chocolate covered strawberries to Jamie for her birthday and she text me and said she got them yesterday just after she got home from the hospital and it brightened up a really hard day. 

We are so grateful that she is doing better and wish her good days ahead.  We LOVE you Jamie and wish you a very happy birthday! 

A date with Neal

While Annie and the girls and I were shopping and lunching with Susan and Lila in Provo, Neal drove out to Stansbury and went golfing with Jeff and then on the way back he stopped and had a pedicure.  He invited me to come get one, but I had just had mine done and they didn't need it just yet.  He got home about 6:00 and we left for the theater to see The Zookeepers Wife.  It was an excellent movie and a true story about a couple who owned a Jew in Poland and helped hide over 300 Jews from extermination.  I would totally recommend it. 

On the way home we stopped and did some shopping and I bought this Dahlia in memory of my mother.  This was her favorite flower besides Poppies.  Neal and I have tried to plant them in the pots outside but they never seem to do well so I'm going to just leave them in the pop they are in right now and keep it inside so that it doesn't get the hot sun from patio.  I also think Neal watered them too much.  They like to get completely dry before soaking them each time.  It is a beautiful plant and I look at it and think of mother.  I miss her.

Busy Weekend

Friday evening Neal and I entertained Keith and Zona Smith and John and Chris Springman.  Both husbands were in the stake presidency when I was serving as the stake relief society president.  We have wanted to get the group together since I've been released and this was the first night we were able to do this.  The two couples got together often and played Rook.  We were anxious to get them together with us and teach them how to play 6-handed Rook. 

We had a delicious dinner of Chinese Haystacks and then played Rook.  I have to add here that Neal was carrying the hot chicken sauce that goes on the haystacks and he dropped the bowl!!  He actually caught it and was able to get the bowl to land on the bar.  We had the chicken sauce running down the side of the bar and some had splattered all over the floor.  It was a mess to clean up.  We lost about 2 cups of sauce but still had enough for dinner. 

It was a fun evening and they seemed to really enjoy playing Rook with 6 instead of 4.  I believe the winner for the evening was John Springman.  He seemed to get all the hands.  One hand that was dealt to him he was able to call his partners and then just lay down the hand and declare!  We had two 360 hands dealt that night.

Saturday morning I met Annie, Abby and Mallory at Home Depot on 21st South.  We then drove to Orem to meet Susan and Lila for our Mother's Day get-together.  We met at ShopKo and from there went to Chili's for lunch.  Lunch was delicious and we had a wonderful visit and many laughs.  Lots of reminiscing.  We also exchanged Mother's Day presents.  Susan gave me two Spode Christmas bowls, some darling flour sack dish towels and a card with $50.00 Talbot money! 

 Lila Mae gave me some Giorgio perfume and a Jackie Evancho CD. 

 The gingerbread man is hand stitched in the middle of the towel.  I'll be afraid to use them for fear I'll wear them out from use and washing. 

 I have to tell the story about the red ribbon.  I ran downstairs to get ribbon and a couple boxes to wrap the presents.  I came upstairs and proceeded to wrap the presents.  I put Susans present in one of the boxes I had found downstairs and wrapped it.  I look around for the ribbon that I had brought upstairs and couldn't find it anywhere.  Good Grief!!  I look all over on the counters, the floor, every place I could think of and couldn't find the stupid ribbon.  I finally had to stop and replay in my mind what I had done with the ribbon when I was downstairs.  It dawned on me that I had thrown the ribbon in the box to bring it upstairs and forgot to take it out!  I put Susan's clogs in the box on top the ribbon and wrapped it!  So when I gave Susan the present I told her that I wanted the ribbon back.  We had a good laugh over that one! 

Email for Judith Lee

I arrived at work this morning and immediately checked in with my email hoping that there would actually be a response to my email sent to the family of Jeff's birth mom.  Nothing came back.  I was a little disappointed but I need to be patient.  If I'm supposed to do her temple work then it will happen eventually.  This is the letter I sent and will be sending until I get a response from someone out there:

Dear family member of Judith:

I am writing this email in hopes of finding and getting a response from a family member of Judith Lee Prichard Werner.  My name is Jeannine Maxfield and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

On May 20, 1968 a little boy was born to Judith.  For circumstances that only she knew and understood, she made the decision to give the baby up for adoption.  My husband and I were blessed to be given the opportunity to adopt this little boy when he was just 3 days old and raise him as our own.  We had him for 48 wonderful years.  He passed away unexpectedly on January 28, 2016.  He accomplished much in his short life.  Marriage, children and a PHD in medicine.  Judith would have been proud of him as were we.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons).  Because our beliefs are centered around families, genealogy, and doing temple work for those who are deceased, I am writing you.  I have always had a deep love and gratitude for Judith for giving me the opportunity to be a mother.  I know her decision must have been the hardest decision she ever made in her life.  Since Jeffrey's death my interest in finding Judith became a high priority.  I was saddened when I learned that, she too, had passed away at a young age.

I would very much like, vicariously, to do her temple work bur cannot do that without permission from a blood relative.  This is why I'm reaching out to Judith's family, hoping that one or all of you will respond to my email and that I might have permission to move forward with Jeffrey's birth mother and researching his ancestry.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email.  I hope to hear from you and want to reaffirm how grateful I am and the love I have for Judith and her great gift to me.

Most sincerely,

Jeannine Maxfield

P.S.  A little more about us.  My husband and I have 7 children.  The two oldest, Jeffrey and Lynda Ann were adopted.  Lynda Ann has also done research on her birth parents. 

Finding Jeff's birth mother - Judith Lee Prichard Henderson Werner

I contacted my cousin, Sandy, in Seattle and gave her what information I had about Jeffrey's birth mom.  She did some research and was able to come up with a little more information.  I went on line the next day and tried to do more research with what she had given me, but quickly realized that I know very, very little about how to research names.  I mentioned to Susan that I wished I knew someone that I could hire to do the research for me.  She suggested her friend, Jane's husband Paul.  She said the he is a professional research specialist and if I gave him what information I had he might be able to give me some leads.  I need to contact a living blood relative of Jeff's birth mother that will give me permission to do her temple work. 

I gave the information to Paul who immediately went to work and the very next day sent me an email with volumns of names, a few phone numbers, addresses and even neighbors that might be a resource for me to contact.

He said that he found a living relative name Denise Werner and her address and phone number.  He also sent me 24 pages full of names and addresses, some phone numbers and a few email addresses.  Last night I put the phone number in my cell and sat there for about 10 minutes just looking at it wondering if I really had the courage to hit call.  I finally did.  I was almost releaved when no one answered and yet a little disappointed.  I don't answer phone numbers that I don't recognize so wasn't all that surprised.  I left a message telling them my name and where I was calling from and that I was looking for a living relative of Judith Lee Prichard Henderson Werner and asked them if they would call me back.  I called again later that evening but still no answer.  I did the same again this morning with no answer but leaving another message.

I decided that I wasn't going to get anyone to call me back so I made a list of all the email addresses that Paul had found and I wrote a letter (which I will post tomorrow) and sent it to the first 16 people on the list.  8 of the emails came back undeliverable but 8 went through.  So now we play the waiting game.  I will give this first set of emails until next Monday and see if I get any response and then if I don't I will go to the next group of 16 and try again.  I will keep trying until I have exhausted all the emails and then I will compose a letter similar to the email message and I will send letters to all the addresses that Paul found.  Someone out there has to be willing to at least respond to my request whether it be a negative or a positive. 

I'm excited and yet apprehensive about what I'm doing.  I certainly don't want to hurt anyone by giving information that people in Judith's family may not be aware of.  I will up date my blog as the days go by so that I have a complete record of this journey I'm on. 

I want to be able to Judith's temple work for her but cannot do it unless the church gets permission from someone in her family. 

Easter Sunday

Mallory and I both were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting today.  Our meetings are from 9 to 11, her meetings from 11 to 2!  Now there was a tender mercy.  I was able to fulfil my responsibilities of speaking and leading the choir and then Neal and I were able to head out to hear Mallory speak in her meeting.  She did an amazing job and is going to make an incredible missionary.  I can't believe how confident she has become being in front of people and sharing her testimony and knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We were so proud of her.  She gave a beautiful talk and I notice that her mom and dad were both dabbing their eyes along with me.  We were all touched by the spirit and our testimonies strengthened. 

After the meeting Annie invited us over to her home for dinner.  What a beautiful Easter Sunday.

A couple more Easter pictures

It was great to have Mindy, Grayson and Maddie come for dinner.  Mindy and Grayson stayed for the egg contest.  Mindy has a busy schedule ahead of her.  She will be traveling for the next two weeks.  She also shared some news about CJ.  He is engaged and will be getting married sometime this summer.  Congratulations CJ!

Abby receives notice about her guide dog.

Abby has been chosen to take care of, raise and train a guide dog.  She was given the yellow balloons with a card telling her that she would be receiving a yellow lab puppy in the middle of May.  All she knows is that the puppy will have a name beginning with the letter S.  Apparently every litter of puppies are all named with the beginning same letter of the alphabet.  Abby has been going to classes and learning all she needs to know about raising a guide dog.  Right now she is tending a 5 month old guide dog names Patronis.  What a name!