Our Report - The Tale of the PenGwynn Family

A few days ago (the 23rd to be exact) we found this family stuck in a snow bank, out of work, out of food, and in need of a good home. As they explained their situation to us, we knew exactly where we had to send them.
We just happen to know some people that would take good care of them. So we directed them to the Justin Jenks Family to join the other penguin people, where we were sure they would be in good hands. And we were right - they were accepted and welcomed and given a great place to live amongst others of their kind.
And, the Jenks family has shared some delicious fish with us, so we know they will be fed well. Finding this family a home was a highlight of our Christmas preparations. It's a memory that will last a very long time. Thanks to the Jenks family for inspiring such a fun activity for our family. We really did have a lot of fun. And, thanks for the smoked salmon and cheese.

You'll find the PenGwynn family and their new home if you visit the Jenks Family blog listed in the right column.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.(A Christmas Carol / Charles Dickens)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Let us keep Christmas the old fashioned way,
with love in our hearts on this glorious day!

It's a great day and wii are having fun!


JOY TO THE WORLD!

Christmas Eve!

Wrapped Gifts!
More Creating! (Shhh! It's still a secret till tomorrow :)
Cooking.
Planning.
Trying to not get to anxious to begin opening gifts.
Watching the clock - more anxious to talk to Michael.
Fun.
Family.
Friends.
Eating.
Visiting.
Playing.
Terry and Anthony even spent a little time working on the deck.
Watching Christmas shows.
Still enjoying the day.

Our visit with Michael was great! It's hard to put into words the joy one feels about how they feel as they visit with their missionary son. There is great joy!
He had an enjoyable time playing Santa Christmas morning.
It's a most interesting and unique Christmas for him. They don't really celebrate because they are not a very Christian country. All businesses and schools were open as normal. But, come new years day they will really have a big blow out, and maybe for days.

We opened a few gifts, including our traditional pjs. I did a great job this year with getting the correct sizes :) - the pants are all good, but the older boys shirts are all tooooooo big. Gangsta style! :) Great memories huh?!?!?!?

Wednesday, 23

Full day indeed! Much like the day before.

A day filled with Family, Friends, and Fun;

Shopping,

Planning,
Creating,
Making Santa deliveries, and
Getting ready for Santa to come :)

Oh!, even some work on the deck.

And, Chase made us some yummy smores popcorn!

Tuesday, 22nd

Today was a full day!
Some of us went Christmas shopping.
Some went to the dentist (that would be BJo - a couple weeks ago she fell and hit her teeth, knocking one backward and breaking another one off. The dentist fixed the broken tooth and repositioned the other, but it was beginning to turn color and causing some pain/discomfort, which meant the root was dying and she needed a root canal. So she had her first root canal today, and all is well. "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" was not her slogan, but she is happy to be able to have her two front teeth. ;)
Some stayed home and mopped the kitchen floor for me.
Some worked on the deck in the afternoon.
Some delivered Santa gifts and bon bons to a couple neighbors.
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! (Even though our snow has melted.)

PS. We even received some delicious treats ourselves. Thanks to our family and friends for those special treats!!!!

Monday, 21st

Today the guys worked on the deck, and the gals worked on all the fixin's for a turkey dinner. We all enjoyed the dinner after a long day of work.

We're making our list and checking it twice.
We hope that this week brings many things nice.

Surely it will - things like:
- family togetherness
- friends and neighbors
- serving and giving
- listening to Christmas songs
- watching Christmas movies
- baking and eating
- finishing our individual reading of the Book of Mormon before the end of the year
- even building our deck...

and so much more, like
- talking to Elder Michael Hebdon on Christmas Eve.
We usually get to talk to our missionary sons on Christmas day, but we get to talk to him a day earlier because of the difference in the time zone he is in. We look forward to it.

I'm afraid this week is going to go by too fast. I'm going to try to savor every minute of it. I just love the Christmas time of year and all that it represents.

"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus" (Neal A. Maxwell)

Happy Holidays!

There has been a lot going on that has kept us "running" and trying to get everything accomplished. I feel bad that I haven't blogged much this month.

This Christmas newsletter has been done for a couple weeks, but I've been wanting to buy some nice envelopes to put them in. Alas, I'm just using some leftover envelopes and regular envelopes. At least they are finally getting sent.

A Shepherd's Story

I was a simple shepherd
Up high on a distant hill
When this most wonderful thing happened
Oh, how I remember it still.

We’d had a long day of our labors
In the early fresh spring sun
And were happy to be relaxing
Pleased with the work we had done.

The sheep had all been safely folded
Prepared and ready for night
But when the sun settled downward
The sky remained fully light.

Now being a shepherd in charge of the flock
To take good care and to keep
I wondered how this night I would manage
To take proper care of the sheep.

Would the animals react adversely
To such an uncommon a sight?
No, they were all content and peaceful
And showing not the least bit of fright.

We knew then this was the wonder
Predicted by prophets of past
That on the blessed tomorrow
The Savior would be born at last.

To the earth we then fell in reverence
Beholding with wonder and awe
And pondering, each one down deep in his heart
The many signs that we saw.

One sign we know most revealing
Which we noticed in the sky afar
Was the brilliance of a new illumination
The bright and a new shining star.

Then reverently as if to settle
Our minds on this wondrous thing
The angels proclaimed, “Alleluia”
Hosannas to us they did sing.

Jesus is born in Bethlehem
The whole of the world to save
To offer us all His salvation
To release each one from the grave.

The “Prince of Peace he shall be
To each, to one, and to all
The only one who is able
To redeem mankind from the fall.

A King, a Son living on earth
To accomplish His Father in Heaven’s will
To do all He was sent forth to do
And yet to be a God still.

The words of the prophets were right and correct
In fact, they had all been fulfilled
And I wondered at all of the prophecies
And how Samuel the Lamanite thrilled

A true man of God, a prophet was he
As were Abinadi, Nephi, and the rest
They had all told God’s words unceasing
And had all well completed their test.

Yes, the angels, the angels told us
He was born in a land cross the sea
In a stable out back was delivered
In a manger of straw lay He.

But here in the New World, America
We too hold claim to His birth
For truly He was freely given
To all the inhabitants of earth.

by Terry Dec 1990

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SKYLER!

WOW! 22 years old today!

Happy December!

The count down begins!

Thanksgiving 2009

Over the river and thru the woods, to grandmothers house we went...

The food was great and we enjoyed it ...

But,

"It's not so much what's on the table that matters, as what's on the chairs."

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We enjoyed the company, played games, and visited with each other...

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We gave mom and dad their Christmas gifts, because we weren't going to be together for Christmas...

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AND, we learned how to put a straw thru a potato... (can you?)

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We had a great Thanksgiving!

A Night at the Oscars

Here is BrittanyJo, Wednesday night, before we left for the Oscars (or the Young Women Evening of Excellence where they share some of the goals they have been working on).

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Here she is being introduced.

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With the Bishop, after receiving her Oscar award. (The cutest award ever - Mrs. Butterworths syrup jar, sprayed gold.)

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After the event, with some friends - Charisty, BJo, Seila, & Becca. Aren't they beautiful!!!! Inside and out!

We Love Michael!

Michael sent us a memory card full of photos. It was fun to see them. There were many and I can't officially explain any of them, but want to share a few here. I decided to narrow it down to one each - person, place and thing. That's about the extent of how I can explain them. (I have since added some names to some of the photos because Michael has emailed and shared them with us.)

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Yuki-kun - just got baptized that night.

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The gate into the Shuri Castle.

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We can certainly tell he is in the right place! :) But we knew that already!
He is still in Oroku, Okinawa.

Bonus Photo! This photo includes person, place, AND thing!

There is a choice you have to make,
In everything you do.
And you must always keep in mind,
the choice you make, makes you.

A great weekend!

We've had a great weekend!

Gregory and Adena came Thursday night, Jenny and her girls came Friday night, we've had a few visits from Wayne and Robyn (Dana's parents) and many wonderful guests on Sunday.

We finished our first coat of paint all around the house.

We spent most of Saturday juicing apples. The work load was constant, but not too stressful since we had a lot of people (parts of 7 families helping). There was a lot to be done, and it was work, but some of the work was even kinda fun. We ended up with about 250 gallons of juice and some awesome memories. We send a special thanks to the Jenks family for their friendship and kindness.

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After our busy day we wondered if we would rather stay home, but we ventured out and participated in the trunk-or-treat at the church. It's fun to give, and it was fun to see the costumes, and we enjoyed being together. Then we went trick-or-treating to one special home for Grandma's popcorn balls. It was a full, but a great day!

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Auger was blessed Sunday. We had family and friends come for dinner after church and enjoyed everyone's company. We are so grateful for our family and our friends and for the love and support they give to us. We almost forgot to take pictures, but we did get a few.

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And some of the fun will continue! Many have gone home, but Gregory's family will be here a few more days. It's been fun to watch Brayden and Tawny and see how they have grown.

We're keepin' busy, so I'll take only a couple minutes to post this morning. Here are a few of the things we've been investing time in as of late:

Trying to take some pictures for Chase - Sr. Picture time!

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Making blankets for a service project BrittanyJo has planned.

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Painting the exterior of the house. This is about a year late, but the farm work is complete and this project needed done, so we keep hoping the weather holds out long enough for us to complete this project. We should get one coat on it all, but from there, we are not sure, it will probably be next year before we get the second coat on it.

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Gregory and Adena came last night, so the fun has begun.

Here is (Uncle) Anthony and Tawny -

There's more coming up - we've got apple juicin' and Halloween, and more family time, and a special day dedicated to Auger (hope to see you Sunday!), so we'll post some more later.

Special Occasion / Invite

This coming Sunday, November 1st, is a special day for us. Thomas and Dana will be blessing Auger, our third grandchild. We invite you to join us for this special occasion.
Sacrament Mtg starts at 11:30, and then dinner at our house after meetings.
The meal will be provided, but if you wish, you may bring a dessert.
We look forward to this great weekend, and are happy to be able to see our other grandchildren (and their parents :) as they plan to come visit for this event.
We are making plans for a great visit.

RSVP requested, but not required! Just send us an email or leave us a comment to let us know if you and your family will be able to make it. It will help us know for sure how much food to make and how many chairs to set out. We hope to see you there!

Saturday (17th) -

Columbia Basin Marching Band Festival was held here in Royal, our school being the hosts. Chase was a major help to Mr Rowley and also participated with the RHS choir in singing the opening anthem. Connor and Chase participated in with the RHS band, Skyler and BrittanyJo helped as "band guide", working in the concession stand, and as a "judge runner". We watched the shows and Anthony took the only photo possible, since the battery died.

Sunday (18th) -

Our nephew, Jeremy Luster, is going to Ghana Africa on a mission for the church. I believe he leaves today (Thursday). He spoke at Sacrament mtg Sunday, and we wanted to attend, say good-bye, give him a hug and tell him we love him. So, we got up at 3:15 that morning and got ready for church, drove to Longview, attended their meetings, and had a nice lunch and visit with the family, then drove home. It was a great day, and worth it all.

When we arrived home I immediately went to the computer and wrote to Michael. It was worrying me so much to not have it done before then, because of our time difference, but it turned out kinda fun. I got onto our email and saw that he had written, telling me he was there to write and wondering where I was. It had come only a few minutes before I got on, so I quickly emailed that I was now writing and I'd be sending it soon, but to for sure know that we love him. I sent that email and then continued with a second one. He then sent a second email telling me he received the first, and knew that I would be writing, and that he would be around for another hour or so. (I guess they had other things to do in the area.) I continued writing and sent his email to him. It was fun to be online at the same time, but I was especially grateful that he had not come and gone, unable to read an email from me this week. This was a tender mercy indeed.

Monday (19th) - (I know some have been waiting patiently for this post, please forgive me for being so slow with getting it out)

Terry had a doctor appointment. She (Dr. Smith) says that the blood work is digressing (which we knew would be the case, because of how he feels), but that it was not necessary to begin treatments immediately. She expects that he will probably start sometime the beginning of next year or hopefully into the early spring. His next appointment is in January, but he is to call her if he feels he cannot wait that long.

He is having some worsening symptoms, but we are please that overall he is feeling pretty good. He was able to work this fall and accomplish a lot, so we cannot complain. (At least I don't complain about that, but I'm sure I need to work on not complaining about other things :).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER, DARRYL!!!!!
It was great to see you this last weekend! Thanks for coming!

RHS Band performance -
During half time at the football game Friday night. (My camera doesn't take very nice "night shots", but that is the only way we can use the camera at night, so I guess we are stuck with what we get.) This first photo has Connor at the right, still wearing his cast, but trying to play what he can on the sax.

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This next photo is after the performance, as they were introducing the seniors. Chase is a senior this year, and it's the first year he has played the tuba/sousa phone (or however that is spelled). He does a great job.

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Family gathering -

We had company come Saturday to join with us as we celebrated Skyler's return. They spent some time at the foos ball table. Connor, Aaron, Chase and Anthony.

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Katelyn, Kenadi, Skyler.

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We were joined by many other family members Sunday, and it was a lovely day. Spencer, Kalei, Amber (and surely Adyson is there too), Kamaile.

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Let's see..., in this photo I think we have Linda and Troy, Jake and Conner, Kevin, Dana and Auger, Thomas, Chase and Kenadi, Portia and Jaden.

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This photo includes Carter and Aubree.

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Around the table we find Christopher, Brian, Ron, Gelene, and Darryl.

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Here's Skyler! It's late Sunday evening and things are slowly unwinding.

We really had a great day and thank everyone who came to be with us on this special day. We love our family!

Other news -

Connor got his cast off and the pins removed. He is wearing a removable cast that was formed around his thumb and hand to help keep it from getting injured again. It is not completely healed yet, so we have to be very careful with it. He can remove the "cast" for showering and is happy to be able to let that hand/arm breathe, and, he got to finally clip his thumbnail!!!!!

Here are the pins for those who might be interested (they are sitting in a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the first photo, and in the second photo I set one on a notebook).

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I measured this one and it was over 2 inches long.

The removable cast also allows Connor to move the thumb and try to get it into motion again. It doesn't move much, so some physical therapy is required. Luckily he can do this on his own unless it just isn't doing any good. We are confident he can do it :)

Here is the photo of his thumb. You can see the three reddish colored spots on his thumb (one to the left and two to the right), those are where the pins were inserted. He can hardly wait to be normal again!!! :) His skin is kinda icky right now.

Many thanks to the doctors for their knowledge and handiwork and helping us repair our bodies to almost as good as before! (I just wish we didn't have to wait an hour in the waiting room before seeing them.)

October Greetings and Invites!

Happy October to all !!!! Fall is in the air!!!!
We can feel the chill in the air and the anticipation of a fire in the fireplace and hot chocolate to help keep us warm. Hopefully there will be some time to juice apples before it gets too cold.


There is anticipation of a couple other things too, and we extend an invitation to each of you to come share in our special events of the month.

Sunday, the 11th - Skyler will speak at Sacrament Mtg.
Sac. Mtg starts at 11:30, with other meetings following, then
We will gather at our home for dinner. (dinner usually ends up being no earlier than 3:30)

Sunday, Nov. 1st - Auger will be blessed at Sacrament Mtg.
Sac. Mtg at 11:30 as above, and then
We will gather at our home for dinner. (same as above)

We would love to have you come join us!!!!!
If you can come please leave us a comment or email us with a "we can come" message so I can have an idea of how many people to cook for. BUT, don't stay away if you forget to RSVP - I'll be sure to make extras to account for that.

This is such a special season for us as we celebrate these two events. We truly are thankful for the blessings we have been given.

We know that Skyler was a great missionary and we are grateful for his sacrifice to serve the Lord for two years. There is such a wonderful feeling to know that our sons are doing as the Lord would have them do. He has completed that full time service, and has returned to us and we receive him with open arms and grateful hearts. Please come share in our celebration of his good work and honorable return.

Thomas and Dana are the proud parents of (and Terry and I are the proud grandparents of) Auger Wayne Hebdon. We are so happy that the Lord has sent this special little spirit to join our family. We love him and would be excited to have you come join with us as we celebrate his arrival.

One more thing this season; this very weekend - General Conference. These meetings are so inspiring. I love each one of them. One might wonder how possible it would be to sit through so many hours of meetings, but it is not as difficult as it might sound. In fact, I usually feel a bit sad when the last session is complete, because I will have to wait 6 months before I can do this again. There is such a beautiful Spirit that accompanies each speaker, and they teach and testify of a loving Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and I know that what they speak is truth that is meant to bless our lives. If you'd like, you may join us for these too. We usually have a very casual attire and relaxed atmosphere, but the Spirit is strong! If you wish to view it from your own home, you can find them on Dish Network BYUTV channel 9403, at 9:00 and 1:00 each day Saturday and Sunday (4 different meetings).

This Autumn season just leads right in to a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday. Our Thanksgivings are always more enjoyable if we have our harvest in, so we will be working hard and strong on that for a few more weeks.

We hope you have a great season with whatever it is that keeps you busy!

Harvest time!

This is what I see as I look out my back door - silage harvest is happening here. That's not all though, down the road a ways there is another harvest taking place - there we will find a combine in the field of beans. Sooooo much to do! The guys are happy to have Skyler here to help drive truck, but Skyler is not fond of that job and feels that he has a bit to learn, though he is willing to give it his best effort to help out in a time of need.

Terry taught seminary, came home and chopped silage while the others drove the trucks, then after lunch he went to harvest the beans and left Thomas to run the chopper and Skyler and Adelfo to drive the trucks. It was a late night, but one small field of beans is complete, with possibly 3 more to go.
It's fun to hear the trucks go by, because it means that all the equipment is working well and the harvest will not drag on. I worry if it gets quiet for too long.

The Royal Court

Our HS homecoming game was last night and we enjoyed some good half time entertainment - there were some great fireworks and we got to meet the class royalty. Connor was the sophomore "prince" this year. Here he is, #72, complete with his cast and jersey. He is not playing football, but he does attend the practices and games, and his name continues to show up on the roster. He'll be back! ASAP (unfortunately, I think that means next season.)