Joyeux Noel!

Remembering our favorite missionary this Christmas season!  Love you, Elder Shaffer!

What to Do with All Those Cranberries?

Jessica and I found a few recipes using cranberries and decided to try one for dessert today!  It was delish...a real keeper...one that I think we'll try again.

New England Cranberry Duff

Butter 8" square pan.  Put 1 1/2 cups cranberries in pan.  Pour 1/2 cup sugar over the berries.  Melt one cup of butter.  Set aside.  Put 2 eggs in bowl.  Beat with 1 cup sugar.  Beat for one minute.  Add 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Add butter.  Beat.  Pour over berries.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.  Cool.  Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream.  Yummers!

What Did We Do?

Although it was a beautiful week, weather wise, we spent most of our time indoors (of course!).  So what did we do all week?

We helped Jessica put up her Christmas decorations?

(A little early...heck, no!  They had Thanksgiving a long time ago in Canada!)

We made curtains for Porter's room and we finished the binding

on the quilt that Jessica made for his crib.

Brent painted Porter's room...changing it from pink and purple to

brown and green.  We're pretty sure he wouldn't have cared, but we did!

The boys took naps.

and more naps!

We had to run a few errands.

We attended a nice shower thrown by some of the dental students' wives.

After Porter's check up at the doctor,

we took him for show and tell at Jordan's school!

Jordan took us on a tour of his dental school.

We spent every second we could snuggling our cute new Porter!

We bathed, dressed, fed, burped, changed, rocked and held

our first new grandchild...what an amazing week!

We made curtains for Jessica's front room.  We used $10 worth of

burlap that Jordan and Brent found at Home Depot.  We folded down

the top of the burlap two times, attached an ID badge clip and then

hung them on the rod with big rings.  (No sewing required!)

Beautiful Canada Coastline

We took a drive over to Peggy's Cove.  It's beautiful!  Usually I picture beautiful, sandy beaches when I think of the ocean and coast line...but Peggy's Cove was completely different and completely amazing! 

Checking Off the Bucket List: Cranberry Picking

We saw a special on TV earlier in the week about the cranberry harvest.  Brent mentioned that while he was serving his mission in New England, he had always wanted to see how cranberries were harvested.  Today, Jordan drove us out to a cranberry farm near Lunenburg.  Brent, Jordan and I went out into the bog and picked a bucket of cranberries.  We also learned how the cranberries are harvested by flooding the bog, allowing the berries to float to the surface of the water.  The berries are then "vacuumed" up and washed before being packaged.  It didn't take too long for us to pick a pail full of cranberries. 

Go Aggies, Go Aggies, Hey, Hey, Hey!

Here's our newest Aggie all decked out for the big basketball game against BYU!  We stayed up late with Jessica and Jordan and watched the game.  It was definitely worth staying up late for...USU won...always a good thing when they win...but even better when they win BYU! 

Woo-hoo!! He's Here!!

Porter Jordan Argyle arrived safely into this world today!  We'll be taking a flight later on this afternoon to spend the week with Jessica, Jordan and PORTER in Nova Scotia.  We're so excited!  We're glad to have this new little "maple leaf" on our family tree.  Welcome, Porter!  (and thanks for making us grandparents!!)

Traditions

I love traditions.  I love holidays.  I love celebrations.  It's been interesting to see how we've had to adapt and change traditions along the way as our family has grown.  However, one holiday, that we can't ever seem to let slip past without a bit of fun is Halloween.  Throughout the years, we've had marvelous family Halloween parties!  This year we held our 11th annual pumpkin carving party with the Shaffer Family.  We enjoyed a yummy meal together and then spent some time carving pumpkins to welcome all (16 give or take) trick-or-treaters. 

It's a Small, Small World!

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.  However, this past week, I've been reminded a few times that we're all closer than we think.  At about 6:30 last Thursday morning, our telephone rang.  Generally, someone calling that early in the morning is calling to tell us that the cows are out.  But, to my surprise, it was Sister Weed (Bailey's mission president's wife) calling.  She said, "This is Sister Weed from West Africa."  I got a nervous feeling and immediately wondered what was wrong.  She said not to worry...she just needed Bailey's social security number (What 20 year old doesn't remember his social security number?) so they could go the the US embassy and get some more pages added to his passport.  Talking to her made it seem like Africa was just around the corner.

Matt, our brother-in-law, works at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake.  Last week, he spotted Elder Sitati, the area seventy over the Benin Cotonou Mission and other African missions.  Elder Sitati had just visited Bailey's mission a couple of weeks ago.  Matt went up and introduced himself and visited with Elder Sitati about Bailey.  Where Bailey is serving as an assistant to the president, he had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with Elder Sitati, so he was able to talk to Matt a little bit about Bailey.  We were grateful Matt had taken the time to go up and speak to him.  (Plus...Matt's a suck-up...we all know it...right, Matt?)

And, last, but not least, we skyped Jess and Jordan for our traditional Conference Sunday Brunch of omelets and crepes.  It was almost like they were right here with us.  I'm so glad for technology that allows us to stay better connected.  What a blessing.

High Priests' Group Camp-out

We just had our ward's "2nd Annual High Priests' Group Camp-out."  Brent and the other members of the presidency have spent lots of time and effort in preparation...and it paid off.  Everyone loved the few days spent together.  We had some great firesides, good meals and fun activities.  Our ward members are amazing.  We are certainly blessed to live in a ward where we have such faithful examples. 

Oh...What a Beautiful Morning

Just look what a beautiful sight we woke up to.  That's all.  Just beautiful.

One Last Party

We tried to fit everything in before Jessica and Jordan left for their Canadian Adventure...so we had to have one last get-together in their honor.  We invited everyone up for dinner.  We roasted hotdogs, enjoyed yummy food and played some games.  Our favorite new game...KUBB (rhymes with tube) was a hit!  The boys challenged the girls to a few rounds...and they would've kept on going if it hadn't have gotten dark!  I love how all of the cousins are such good friends...what a blessing!  (And...little "K"...loved the smores!)

Love Our Girls

Don't you just hate it when you show up somewhere and someone else is wearing the exact same thing that you are?  Sunday afternoon, both Jessica and Whitney changed out of their dresses into something a little comfy and walked into the kitchen to see the other one wearing the same thing! 

Even though they are very different, (they each have their own unique talents, strengths and abilities) they are alike in the fact that they are our girls.  Our "pride and joy."  Our best friends.  Our examples.  Oh...we sure do love them. 

I secretly wish that our family was like the fictional Walton Family on the TV show, "The Waltons."  I love it when everyone's home!  Perhaps I was born a generation or two too late. 

Photos from Bailey

We were sure excited to receive a photo card that Bailey sent home with Elder Geisler.  Thought we'd post a few of his pictures.  Can't wait to hear all about them!  We updated all of the photos on his shutterfly page.

Link to Africa

Today we went to listen to Elder Geisler's homecoming address.  He served as one of Bailey's companions in Africa.  Bailey loved serving with him and learned so much from him.  It was so much fun to hear about some of his experiences and to spend some time visiting with him about his mission.  We also were able to meet Elders Cannon, Cunningham and Carver.  They, too, served in the same mission.  We learned more about the gospel, people and customs of Africa and enjoyed spending time with each of them.  What a great time!

Brent, Elder Carver, Elder Cannon, Elder Geisler, Elder Cunningham, Colleen

Brent, Elder Geisler, Colleen

It's a Boy

Tonight we attended a baby shower for Jessica.  Everyone was so kind and thoughtful and she received so many nice things for the baby.  Jessica and Jordan leave in just a couple of weeks for Nova Scotia...so even though the baby isn't due to arrive until November, we're trying to get all of the fun preparations done before they take off.

One of the funny moments of the night was when Kayt was saying goodbye.  She had been very excited to come to the party for the baby, but was a little confused that she didn't get to see the baby.  She told her mom that she wanted to see the baby.  KayDee explained that the baby was still in Jessica's tummy.  So, when Kayt jumped on Jessica's lap to give her a kiss goodbye, she quickly pulled out Jessica's shirt and looked down to "see" the baby.  It was helarious!

Jessica, Brent and I spent some time on Tuesday witnessing Angel Moroni being placed on the Brigham City Temple.  We waited in the rain...which actually wasn't too bad because it kept it nice and cool.  There were lots of people there; it was estimated to be a crowd of nearly 5,000.  It was originally scheduled to take place at noon, but due to strong winds, it was delayed.

We went across the street to Ricardo's and ordered some lunch and while we were waiting for our lunch, one of our friends got a text saying that the winds had died down enough and they were going forward.  We told the waitress that we'd be right back...and the funny thing was...everyone else in the restaurant did the very same thing.

One of the construction workers blew an air horn, symbolizing Angel Moroni's trumpet, and away he went.  We are really excited to see the progress of the temple and look forward to its completion.  Each month, our family is participating in a bunch of challenges...we call it the "Shaffer Family Brigham City Temple Challenge."  These challenges are hopefully preparing us to be more spiritually prepared for the opening of the temple.  (Plus...there are monthly motivational prizes given...who doesn't love a prize?)

4th of July...Traditions!

When I think of the 4th of July, I think of traditions.  Each year, our family joins Brent's parents up to Lava for a few days with all of the Shaffer Family.  This year, everyone who lives close enough, came up for some part of the holiday weekend.  The kids love spending time with each other, their cousins and with Grandpa and Grandma.  Our family was excited to discover that the city of Lava has a disc golf course.  They were able to try it out a couple of times during the weekend.

Things That Matter Most

"Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior."  -Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf

What a great message this video has for all of us...especially those of us who try to pack way too much into a day!  Things That Matter Most

Tribute to Our Dad!

Here's a little tribute to our wonderful dad...written by Bailey!

I thought this week since it's Father's Day that I would share just a few of the many lessons that I learned from dad.

1. If you are going to do something, do it well.

I learned this from working on the farm and especially in the shop with dad.  Sometimes it drove me crazy that everything had to be perfect, but in the end I wouldn't want it any other way. We would measure, then do it again and then cut and cut just a little bit shorter just to make sure that everything would fit perfectly. I have seen the importance of that over the past couple of years that I have been on my own. There have been times, especially at school, when I didn't do my best and later regretted it.  If I had always looked to dad's example and did my best, my GPA would have been a little better.

2. Getting mad gets you no where.

I cannot once remember dad yelling at me.... not once. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have a dad like that until I came here. In Africa, people seem to really love to chastize and use their power, but dad always tried to understand how I felt before he acted. If I broke something, he never got mad. He just said, "It's okay, it happens, let's go fix it." There are some people that I never wanted to make mad because I was scared of them,  Although dad never got mad at me, I still never wanted to disappoint him because it killed me to disappoint him.  Thanks, dad, for never, never, never getting mad at me.

And...last...but not least...

3. Have fun!

Even the shop could wait if we got a good snow storm!

Love This!

I love this song!  Its message is absolutely perfect.  ENJOY!

Whenever You're In Trouble

A Beautiful Sight

We just spent a couple of days  camping up at Willow Flats.  Although the Cub River was running exceedingly high, the campground was so beautiful.  Because of all the moisture, everything is so green and lush.  We had a great time relaxing, hiking and spending time together.  Definitely worth the drive!

Happy Mother's Day!

Simply put, Mother's Day was the greatest!  It started, bright and early with a Mother's Day phone call from Bailey (aka "Elder Shaffer").  Jessica, Jordan, Whitney, grandmas, grandpa, aunts, uncles and a couple of cousins arrived and it wasn't long before we were talking with him.  We put all of the phones on speaker and chatted away.  Bailey's been serving his mission in Africa for 11 months now, and while I love his weekly emails...his call was the best.  We enjoyed one fabulous hour together! You'd think I'd be used to him being gone, but I still miss him like crazy.  There is no where in the world I rather have him be, but this mom sure hopes the second year of his mission goes by fast!

I love that our children are all the best of friends.  I love that they truly look out for one another, love each other, do such nice things for each other and have such a great time whenever they are together.  All five of them are remarkable examples to us...we are so blessed to be their parents.

Love our AGGIES!!

Today was a great day.  We were able to attend Whitney's graduation from Utah State University.  As parents, we are very proud of her accomplishment.  It's been fun to see our children  work so hard to increase their knowledge and develop skills they will need in the future.  Pres. Hinckley continually stressed the importance of acquiring as much education as possible.  We have all certainly been blessed to have the opportunities to access education throughout our lives.   I also know that besides our attendance today that there was an unseen angel watching the events.  Grandpa Allen would've been so proud!

Women's Conference

Earlier this year we bought tickets for the guys to all go to the snowcross.  So, we thought it would be fun to try something for the gals!  We decided on purchasing tickets for all of us to go to Women's Conference at BYU.  Whit and I headed down to Provo Wednesday night after work.  We checked into a motel that I'd booked online...what a mistake I'd made.  It was HORRIBLE...SCARY...DISGUSTING and THE CREEPIEST THING EVER!  When "Mr. Creeper" walked around the corner and told us that he'd be available if we needed any help, we looked at each other and decided that we weren't staying there.  We headed out, and luckily, were able to book a room at the Provo Marriot  I know, I wasted my money, but at least we felt safe.  Whit took some photos to prove how scary the place was...we didn't think that anyone would believe us. 

Jessica joined us later on Wednesday night.  We headed to the conference on Thursday, bright and early.  The next two days were filled with opportunities to listen to council from several church leaders as well as attend classes given by various members and hear some wonderfully uplifting music.  We also were able to participate in the Errand of Angels service project.  We helped make little knit caps that will be given to newborns to help keep them warm.  We learned so much about being stronger, more faithful relief society sisters.  It was a great couple of days.  We think we'll make it a tradition...except...next time...someone else is in charge of making the accommodations! 

Spring Break!

Officially, right now, I'm the only one that's "in school," but it's still lots of fun for everyone to enjoy a short trip away for spring break.  We took the trailer out to the City of Rocks for the long weekend.  Although we set up camp in the middle of a snowstorm, it ended up being great weather.  We did lots of hiking, played games, enjoyed some fun foods, watched movies and had lots of fun together.  It's great to get away.  We made the rule of "NO TECHNOLOGY ALLOWED" (except for the movies) and even made David follow the rule.  We are so blessed with such a great family.  We LOVE spending time with them.

Breakfast at Tiffany's!

We had lots of fun planning and throwing a bridal shower for Lindsey (Westin's fiance).  We got the idea for the shower from the movie, "Breakfast at Tiffany's."  We tied big "diamond" rings onto everyone's invitation and encouraged them to come dressed in their little black dress and to make sure that they gave the bride-to-be a gift that included a little "bling" on it. 

It was fun to meet Lindsey's family and enjoy the company of all of the Shaffer gals.  We shared some laughs, chatted and showered Lindsey with gifts for their new home.  We all enjoyed some yummy breakfast food and amazing cupcakes for refreshments.  We're happy to welcome Lindsey to the family!

Come What May & Love It

April Fool's Get Together!

We decided to have a get together with all of the parents of our Hampton Ford Ward missionaries and servicemen...and what better day than April Fool's?  We had a great dinner...grilled burgers, baked beans, chips and yummy salads...but better than the food was the great company!  It was so much fun to get caught up on the "boys."  They are all having such amazing experiences.  It's incredible to think that just about a year ago, they were all still right here in our little part of the world, and now, they are all over the world!  We sure do love the Hesses, the Allens, the Smiths and the Hunters!  We're so blessed to have each of these families in our lives.

The Moms

  Tonya, Margaret, Gloria, Joann and Colleen

and...the Dads...

Matt, Brent, Kay, Vaugh and Andy

A New Country...Again!

We were very surprised to get Bailey's email today and to find out that he is no longer in Togo.  He was driven to the border today and picked up by the senior couple serving in Benin.  He is now serving in Cotonou Benin and is very excited about it.  So...now it's time for us to learn more about another country.  (We just BARELY hung up the Togo flag outside!)

So...Benin is a developing country and is located right between Togo and Nigeria.  The city where Bailey is, is located right near the ocean.  There are only three branches of the church in all of Benin...so there is a lot of work to do.  There are about 9 million people in the country.  It is a tropical, sub-saharan nation and highly dependent on agriculture.  The annual rainfall is about 51 inches and the country has two rainy seasons and two dry seasons per year.  The average temperature ranges from 75 to 85 degrees, with very high humidity.  If he's lucky, Bailey will see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos and monkeys!

There are about 42 African ethnic groups that live in the country and the literacy rate is below 40%.  Women are particulary subject to illiteracy.  AND...I won't write about all of the scary things I read!  (More reasons for us all to keep Bailey in our prayers.)  :) 

                                



Little Neighbor Girls...All Grown Up!

We went to a baby shower today for Trisha…one of “little neighbor girls.”  She’s having a baby in April.  We’ve been blessed with a wonderful support system of neighbors, family and friends.  It’s a great place to raise a family! It’s hard to believe how fast time has gone by and now our little neighbor girls are becoming moms and having families.  Trisha will be a wonderful mother!  (And…we are getting old!)

High Priest Group Fireside

Brent had the opportunity to organize a fireside for our ward’s high priest group. He called Brother and Sister Bailey and invited them to be the speakers at the fireside. They served in Bailey’s mission. (They left just as Bailey arrived last August.) We held the fireside in our home. There was a wonderful turn out!   The Baileys did a beautiful job sharing their testimonies of senior couples serving a mission. They have a tremendous spirit about them and we loved every minute of their talks. We can’t wait to serve a mission.  Following the Baileys presentation, Ivan and Brent scooped up some ice cream for sundaes. It was a great night. Our ward is the BEST!