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!