Blessed

Well this past Saturday as most of you know there was a major earthquake in Chile. Of course many of you also know that Jon is currently serving his mission in the city of Santiago. The earthquake was centered approx. 150 miles to the south west of Santiago and being that close it did a lot of damage. Nothing near what happened in the city of Concepcion but major none the less. Communication was down for a couple of days but we heard back from him via email on Monday and he said that he as well as all of the missionaries in his mission had survived intact. In his email he said that he had experienced tremors before but this one kept it up and became worse. Being a boy from the land of hurricanes rather than earthquakes he woke up and headed for the bathroom. As he reached the doorway the sink had been torn from the wall and was blocking the doorway so he turned back and grabbed his companion and they knelt to pray and continued doing so until the quaking stopped. They then arose grabbed their wallets and headed down stairs and outside. (they live on the 5th floor.) He didn't say how long they stayed outside and they eventually went back inside. Well a casualty of the broken sink is that when the water came back on they weren't inside and the water sprayed out of the broken pipe and flooded their apartment! This then required them to try and clean up the mess, poor guys. Anyway both they, us and many other friends are glad that he is alright. Friends have sent links to some stories of others who went through this major event and it is interesting to read their accounts. An odd casualty of the quake is that the trumpet of the angel Moroni on top of the Santiago temple fell out of his mouth/hands. Other than that the building was untouched. Jon said that he wished that they had a 72 hour kit like we have been encouraged to keep down here. So there's some good advice as you never know when or where you might need what you have stored. I'm sure that they will be involved with a lot of service in and around their area with any who are in need. I'll pass on more info. as he gives it to us. Just glad that he is alright. If any of you are interested here is a link to his Mission's blog.

Let's get started

My daughter (Katie) helped me set this basic page up roughly two years ago and I have done nothing with it since. It is a quiet Saturday afternoon so I am going to try to start this . I enjoy reading other blog's and I am sure that others would enjoy reading mine.
The high point of our week is hearing from Jon who is currently serving a mission for our Church in Santiago, Chile. He is doing well and as you can see by the ticker on the sidebar he has about 7 months left. It has been a special experience having him serving as a missionary and you can see his personal growth as you read his letters. He is currently working in the Conchali sector of Santiago and is serving as the financial clerk in the mission office. Being in the southern hemisphere it is mid summer there and he says that it is very hot. Of course he grew up in South LA. but he says that the Chileans don't have much A/C so he just wilts. He has been enjoying things sent to him by our Ward (congregation) at Church as well as some sent by friends and also by his family. We had sent some mix and bake cookie mixes and he has mentioned how great it was to have some fresh baked cookies. However last week he said that because it takes so long to bake they (he and his companion) just mixed up a batch and ate the dough! Hey if it tastes good go right ahead. His Mom had also baked some special cookies for him and some of them were frosted and he says that he has trouble (friendly that is) keeping his companion out of them. All in all he is doing really well.
Last Saturday we hosted our granddaughter/Shelbelyn's birthday party. It's hard to believe that she has been with us for 3 years now. Being that we are back yard neighbors and owing to the fact that we had a big enough yard to fit the bounce house it was held here. It had just rained the day before so the ground was borderline soaked so we put down a big tarp at the entrance to the bounce house. It didn't rain on her b-day but it was quite cold with a bitter wind blowing. Of course the children were oblivious to the temperature and had a great time. The adults were the ones shivering as they watched. The theme was "The Little Mermaid" and her parents found a Disney Princess castle bounce house which was a perfect fit. Everyone gradually moved inside and we had the cake and presents. She is equally struck with both "Ariel" and "Kitty Hello" (actually Hello Kitty) and so her presents were centered on that. A good time was had buy all and she was totally excited about the whole thing. This past year she has become aware of and been able to get in to the spirit of celebrating which she did both at Christmas and her birthday. She is so much fun and whenever we want to visit it's just a short trip through the backyard to do so.
Andrea enjoys being a Mom and that alone would keep her busy enough but she is also the manager of a local shoe boutique called Shoe Fit's here in Houma. She likes it and of course what woman doesn't like shoes! She and Jeff have been married for about 6 years now. Jeff works for an offshore company but he hasn't been out to much lately. We had a family bonfire out at his families property a couple of weeks ago. It is kind of a continuation of a family tradition that I started with the children. I would collect cast out Christmas trees for several day and then we would set them on fire out by where I worked and watch them burn. It was followed by hot dogs and hot chocolate afterward.
Katie is still out in Utah and has a 2 year old son (Jordan) and is expecting another baby sometime in July. She has also started a new job this past year as a booking agent for Jet Blue airlines and is able to work at home which is really great for her. The other big perk is that she can fly whenever she wants and has been down here twice already. The latest trip was for a visit at Halloween so that the little cousin's could Trick or Treat together. We had a great visit. She has a great blog so check it out. I enjoy being able to keep up with my other grandchild through her blog.
Lauren is our last one who is semi at home. She is currently in her first year at Nicholls State University and is beginning her studies towards Nursing. She spends most of her time at school or afterward with a couple of friends. She is home most nights although she sometimes sleeps over at a friend of hers. She has fun playing with her niece whenever she is over here and it is fun to see the two of them together.
Stacy is currently a stay at home Mom. She has started in to quilting and gets together with several friends at least weekly to sew and talk. She has been up in Baton Rouge the last few days to help out around the house as her Mom had Carpal Tunnel surgery.
Ron has started a new job if you can believe it and doesn't go offshore anymore. The really odd thing for him is that he works in an office everyday! It has been quite an adjustment from working outside all of his working life. He still enjoys the outdoors and likes to go bayou browsing with his little boat. When the weather is right he also likes to go primitive camping. He just finds a likely ridge along a bayou and sets up camp for the night.
Well this has gone long enough but it gives me a starting point. Let me know if you have a blog as you visit and then I can keep up with you and your family too.
Of course I have to end with a big GO SAINTS wish for the big game tomorrow. If you are a full fledged member an adopted member or just a friend of the Who Dat nation you gotta cheer the team on to victory. This is even bigger than Mardi Gras.