Sunday, March 29, 2015

Steve & Liz Poelman Family



Before Easter we hosted an extended family gathering to see Stephen and Liz Simmons and their two children Matthew and Julia.  Julia has just completed her mission to Mesa and they wanted to return to meet people, etc before they head out to be Mission President in Singapore and also to help our children and grandchildren  get to know them better. We learned all about their calling and anticipated service, how they are learning Malay since Malaysia is part of their mission and the miracles that have surrounded their call.What an adventure they have ahead of them...flying almost 100% on the time to accommodate the massive geography of their responsibilities!
We will be routing for these two and their orphaned children (one more on a mission)while they are gone. This is their introduction to "empty nesting  Kind of a stark transition! ". All the family will be in our prayers.

Adult Poelman Cousins

Saturday, March 14, 2015

And a New Year Begins














I made some New Year's resolutions and realize that I didn't keep them very well the first day of the New Year.. My greatest desire is to have control over my choices and make decisions in accordance with my value system. The things I would like to change are 1. Make food less of a priority in my life and  2. Focus more on others and their needs and be more in tune with listening in my conversations and 3. Making those interactions more meaningful by discussing things on a deeper level that have meaning to the person I'm talking with.

I need to truly see people and focus more on them. I do pray regularly for others and am very concerned and sincere. However in my interactions I think I get to caught up with what's going on and don't give enough attention to the needs of those around me. My heros are Angela and Shawni. They never talk about themselves but ask good questions that help others to share. I want to do that naturally but will need to think about it and practice it to accomplish that.

Carol Lynn and I had lunch at Crackers with Lynn Wieneke...enjoyed a great visit.

David & Shawni and their family took us to dinner as a Christmas gift!  It was great to have that time together to share stories of both China and Africa since we had not had time together since before we left for Africa.  We only saw them briefly in the airport as we arrived home and they flew out for a semester in China the same day.  We missed them soooo much and are grateful to have them home!


It's fun to take the little ones to the park and we seem to make it to the ice cream store before returning home. Now every time I visit Steve's children, Bennett asks if we can go to the park.  If I say "Not today" he then asks, "Can we get ice cream?"

Annie's Jimmy and Steve's Bennett


Of course, one thing these boys LOVE to do is play games or watch a movie on my iPad. I rarely let them do it, but sometimes we make it a treat and they do it.  I watched these boys overnight and loved it!

Andrew & Jimmy engrossed

Bathtime for Luke.  Don't you just love towel babies?
 The kids got out of school early one day and I took a bunch to the park...had to borrow Laurie's car to get them all there... Once there some liked to play on the equipment while others built sand castles, complete with motes and water.  These girls preferred to try out some new hairstyles they learned on pinterest.  I think they have outgrown the park but LOVE to be together.  Sure hope they never outgrow that!
Laurie's Ava; Christy's Annie Jo and Steve's Hallie


I was thrilled to be invited by David and Shawni to attend "Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Coat" at the Grady Gammage Auditorium and was delighted to learn that three of the girls would also be going.  It was their first time to see the play, so we worked together to piece together the story so they would be prepared.  We all loved it!

This is our sweet Lucy





Every Sunday I get to spend time with this cutie so his parents can enjoy church (one advantage to living by Nana)
He's a happy little guy and seems to enjoy being here.  I love that he knows us well and is so responsive.  Our treasured Sunday study time will resume once he is old enough to go to nursery (End of April) But for the time being we are loving this special opportunity to bind one-on-one.

It's amazing how different the grandchildren are when their parents are not there.  I love having them all to myself


We REALLY enjoy visitors, especially from Idaho!

Bob with BYU Idaho associates

In about 1978 we were asked if we would consider having an Indian placement student in our home. Woody Kaye Jr, a 16 year old Navajo boy joined our family and comes at least yearly to visit and get a fresh supply of oranges.  We had such a great visit with him and his wife, Irene, this year.
They are concerned parents and loving friends.  We wish them well!



David and Shawni had an opportunity to go to Hawaii.  We were delighted to have some extra time with their 5 children.  It was such a pleasant experience and felt good to be able to help out ("be needed") and to have this special one-on-one time with them. They have spent the last 4+ months in China and we missed them terribly!  
It was totally a breeze as they went to school every day which gave us an opportunity to try out the new Top Golf facility near by and accomplish other personal tasks.  Then when they returned they took turns cooking us dinner.  Now, there is no "down side" to such an opportunity to "help out".
It was fun to visit with them and basically see them come and go!
Thanks kids. You are the best!

A little extra fun bowling on family night!
Elle, Grace, Claire fixing dinner - delicious!
 We love to gather as a family on Sunday evenings to celebrate birthdays!  Everyone is far too involved on the actual birthday having their own fun with family and friends and people are not as available. But somehow Sunday evenings lend themselves so well to "gathering" and we love doing it. Often a text will go out late in the afternoon that someone is open to hosting such a gathering and family members respond. It's amazing how many are available at that time.  We LOVE this tradition of unplanned family gatherings.  They occur often and include all who can attend.

Hallie, Ava, Lucy, Nana, Claire and Annie Jo
(Not a great picture but I love it!)

Add caption
Hallie, Ava, Lucy, Nana, Claire and Annie Jo
(Not a great picture but I love it!)
Jaylee's 16th Birthday - Love you girl!


One night in January we had 5 little girls sleepover.  When we refurnished our home after family moved out, we made sure we had lots of beds.  This room has come in handy for these girls who LOVE to be together.  Lucy was happy to have a big bed to herself in the next room.  I love Nana Sleepovers!