Letter 10 28 2017

And so the month of October comes to a close.

Mom and I went to Palm Desert this past week and stayed at the same Marriott resort where we when on vacation as a family when you were younger.  It was fun.  We were 4 hours outside of Mesa and I tried to get Mom to drive to Mesa and spy on Jacob and she almost went for it.  It would've been awesome to sneak around in Mesa and try to see Jacob but in the end, we were discouraged because Mom thought Jacob would be mad if he found out and she was also worried that he might also have Spidey senses and catch us.  Plus, it was a long drive.  Anyway, we decided to just hang out in Palm Springs.

We also had to give talks in church today; Mom on prayer and me on fasting.  Mom nailed it.  I've decided that she's a really good speaker and very articulate.

Palm Springs is interesting.  The aquifer below the desert feeds the original oasis but that valley is really intended by God to be a desert.  The point is that when something doesn't get watered daily, it dies.  We got off the plane and one of the first things we saw was an abandoned gold course.  It was a wasteland while everything else around it was green and beautiful.

Since I was talking about fasting, I got thinking about the constant nourishment we all need to stay alive.  It's true with our testimonies as well.  I'm sure you get the point.  Anyway, it's a great analogy and a powerful reminder.

Keep up the good work.  Stay honest and true to everything you know to be right.  Be good missionaries.

I love you,

Dad

We’ve been Boo’d👻

Dear Caleb and Jacob,

    Baxter seems to be doing better this week!  He still throws up a little but his loud breathing sounds a ton better.  We don't know what's been going on with him but he seems a a couple years younger at the moment.

    The first part of the week was CRAZY!  We had a grand opening concert Gala for the new concert hall so I had to go to 3 hour rehearsals both Monday and Tuesday and then the concert on Wednesday was super long.  Dad went to it and it really was a great one.  Kurt Bestor helped us out again.  On top of all that, I was in charge of getting all the refreshments and drinks for our Relief Society activity that same night.  It was good to get past the first half of the week but it all turned out well!

    It's been UEA fall break this last Thursday and Friday so the little girls have pretty much hung out with the Bulut family down at a Grandma and Grandpa Winkel's.  We were able to have Amy take our annual family photos.  It's also been the beginning of the pumpkin walk at Elk Ridge Park which means it's really hard to get in and out of our neighborhood through the police barricade.  (Can you tell we're not big fans of it?)

   Sydney has been working her heart and voice out preparing for the Green Canyon Idol which is next week.  The big bummer is, though, that Dad and I will be out of town, again!  (We'll be in Palm Springs California for Dad's Jone's Simkin's Retreat).  We missed it last year too!  Hopefully Adam or someone will be able to record it for us.  She's singing Elton John's "Yellow Brick Road" for her 1st song and if she makes it to round 2, she'll sing the young Michael Jackson's "Who's Loving You."  She's able to belt on both of them so it's going to be  A M A Z I N G ! !

    How was your week boys?  We want to hear all about it.  Hey, and if you have time, the kids would love for you to write back to them.  Even if it's just a little something. 😉

     We love you both soooo much!!  Have a Super week!

💕Mom

Dad grinding flour for pancakes

Sent from my iPhone

Lisa's Final Facebook Post

Letter 10 22 2017

Good day, good week, and good life to you.

I'm writing this early Monday morning because I have a new calling of Gospel Doctrine teaching in our ward and I spent the morning yesterday refining my thinking for the class.

When I was in college I worked for Lyman Brothers.  It was a good gig during the summer and allowed me to make enough money that I was able to get through college without borrowing.  The job was a summer job and consisted of working on forest fires.  When fires weren't burning, there was downtime where I basically did admin stuff around the shop.

Dave Lyman also had a cabin in Lemington, Utah, a place in the middle of Utah about 45 minutes Southwest of Nephi.  The cabin was a family relic that had passed down in the Lyman family.  I also spent time working on the cabin.  Dave's sister Lisa lived in Oak City which was about 10 minutes away from the cabin.  The Lyman family knew my Dad as they were growing up in Sugar City, Idaho, where Dad taught seminary for 10 years during my youth.  Lisa used to babysit me when I was a kid and I barely remembered her.  I did remember that so she was beautiful, talented, and spunky so we were excited to get to know each other again.  When Lisa was young, her parents divorced and she moved with her Dad to Oak City,  There she met her husband and got married as a young lady.

Lisa was loved by all the young women in Oak City and tried to set me up with everyone one of them.  I went on more dates when I was at the cabin than any other time during the year.  One night, she had me over for dinner and after we finished, she started to talk about her marriage, and her life...  

She married a guy who was a true country bumpkin and soon after they were married and she was pregnant with their first baby, she had the sinking feeling that she'd made a mistake.  Although he has a nice guy, it became painfully apparent that she would be stuck in Oak City, living a life that was more like her nightmare instead of her dreams.  He had a job at the local cement company, making a nominal salary and working graveyards, which meant that he slept all day and they didn't have much time together.  To her frustration, he was content and happy with his life while she was very much alone and felt trapped.  They had no money and no prospects for anything better.

Lisa's family had moved to Oak City when her parent divorced and for a time she felt that she should follow suit and it would be better for her to end the marriage, move to civilization, and hit the restart button.  She spent years dealing with the frustration of her shattered dreams and the only solace she had was that her immediate family was close.  That started to end when her brothers moved out and her Dad's health began to fail.  During this time, she became his primary caregiver.  A few days before he died, they had a conversation that changed her outlook on life.  He could tell she wasn't happy with her situation and asked her what she thought it meant when Abraham was shown in vision the "Noble and Great" ones.  He then told her that she could take a noble and great course with her life and make the best of her situation, or she could continue to be frustrated and take a course that would only lead to unhappiness.  He challenged her to become Noble and Great and honor the birthright she'd been given.  Then he died...

These final conversations with her Dad changed her life.  When I met her, nothing had changed in her life situation.  Lavelle still worked graveyards at the cement factory and they still didn't have any money.  He was thrilled with his life.  The difference is that Lisa was profoundly happy.  She had made a paradise for herself in the middle of nowhere Utah.  It all had to good with the decisions she chose to make as relating to her outlook on life.  She had taken the Noble and Great course and had been blessed as a result.

My approach to life is to live each day like Lisa.  I'll close it with this...

Nov. 4, 1958 ~ Oct. 6, 2017

Lisa Lyman Nielson, age 58, passed away at her home on Friday, October 6, 2017 from an aggressive form of cancer.

She was born November 4, 1958 in Rexburg, Idaho to Asael and LaDee Fikstad Lyman. She enjoyed very much being raised with five brothers. She wrote a poem about brothers that partly reads, "Life will bring unending joys but if I had my druthers, I'd wish for all I know and love at least a dozen brothers." She graduated from Sugar Salem High School in 1977, and attended Ricks College. Lisa loved her high school days and her classmates all of her life. She married LaVelle William Nielson on August 3, 1979 in the Manti LDS Temple. The lived and raised their four children at Fool Creek Flat and Oak City, Utah.

She is survived by her loving husband: LaVelle; their children: Eli (Lacey), Jacob (Fran), Cody (Erica), Kjersti (Jordan); 12 grandchildren: Ace, Sam, Adi, Meg, Bostyn, Quincy, Lilly, Beth, Jane, Katelyn, Scarlett, and Emmalyn. Oh how she loves those kids.

What do you say about a woman like Lisa? She is faithful, wise, headstrong, valiant, compassionate, multi-talented, courageous, slightly irreverent, loving, but mostly just plain awesome.

Lisa, we love you. We miss you.

Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, October 14, at 11:00 a.m., at the Oak City LDS Chapel, 35 East Center Street, Oak City. Viewings will be held at the Oak City LDS Church on both Friday evening, 6:00-8:00 PM; and Saturday morning, 9:30-10:40 a.m., prior to the service. Burial will be in the Oak City Cemetery. Condolences may be left at www.nicklemortuary.com

The only ride of the week

Letter 10 15 2017

Caleb and Jacob:

Another week in the books.  What did you accomplish this week?  Are you closer to reaching your goals?

This week has been one-sided for me with the tax deadline on Monday.  I haven't been very well rounded so I'm looking forward to getting the deadline behind me and then moving forward with more balance.  I had one of my trusted associates have a baby so that put me behind and this deadline has been tough as a result.

Last night we went with the Darin and Shelli, Tyler and Denise, Danie, and Jonathan to the American West Heritage center.  I pushed Danie through the corn maze and that was an adventure.  Wheel chairs are not meant to go off road.  I'm not sure if you know but she broke her foot on a rope swing in a lapse of judgement (she held Lincoln in one arm and tried to hold the swing with the other).  Anyway, after the corn maze we went to Shelli and Darin's house and had supper.

After supper we sat around and talked.  It was fun to share memories of our youth and laugh at things that happened to us.  I remember when I was about ready to go on my mission, Mom and Dad were gone and the kids ran Denise into me.  She had swallowed a marble and couldn't breathe.  I remember laying her little body over my arm and whacking her on the back and then reaching into her throat to get the marble out.  I'm confident I saved her life that day.  Anyway, I was thinking about that and wondering what memories you have with your brothers and sisters that will tie you together later in life.  You owe it to yourself and to them to cement your memories with each other in such a way that you are close as you get older.

This week promises to start with a bang (the deadline tomorrow) and then taper off as I have a few days before Mom and I head to Palm Desert next week (for the Jones Simkins partner retreat).

Have a great week.  I have great feelings about how you are doing.  Keep it up.

Dad

Pictures from the top of Birch Canyon

Catchin’ up!

Dear Caleb and Jacob,

This was a week of "catch up" for all of us. We had Stake Conference this morning so this afternoon, we plan to fill it by catching up on all the Conference Sessions that we missed from last weekend. We've been looking forward to this!

Sydney auditioned for the Green Canyon Idol but doesn't know yet if she's in it. She is slated to sing The National Anthem at this coming Friday night's football game.

Adam tried out for the Green Canyon swim team this week and made it. He's pretty excited but it is going to require a lot of work...even for us since he has to get up at 5:00 a.m. and we have to drive him to the Sky View pool at 5:30 am every morning. Then he has dry land practice every day after school as well!

Samantha has a lot of time on her bus commute to Providence so she is able to make a lot of new friends. She is definitely having a better experience at that new school than I thought she would.

Sariah is a quick learner on the violin. Even after being gone for a week, she has been able to keep up with everyone else. It's so fun to watch her and listen to her little rhymes and things to help them learn the strings.

It seems to have been a better week for Baxter but he still throws up occasionally. Maybe it's just part of getting old.

The old Kent Concert Hall at the university where we used to have our American Festival Chorus concerts got an expensive overhaul this last year. It is now called the Daine's Concert Hall. We'll be having most of our concerts there from now on. It is really cool and the acoustics are much better but I'm going to miss the pd Concert Hall for sentimental reasons. Oh well... We're rehearsing there now for our upcoming Grand opening Gala (concert) where they will dedicate it next week.

Well, there goes another week in the Gibbons' life. I hope yours was awesome and wish you the best for the week ahead!

Dad's been pretty busy this week with his corporate tax deadline which is coming up on October 15. We haven't seen him much, but we can't complain because we were able to spend a week with him earlier!

Love forever,
Mom

Letter 10 08 2017

It's fall.  The days are getting short and the weather is turning cold.  One night last week the East wind blew all night and Mom and I couldn't sleep.  The other day I drove to work in the fog and it felt like January for a few minutes.  I say bring it on.  I just need some time to get the garden ready for winter and I also want to compost some leaves this year.  Time is what I need and It's not on my side.

Accountants live from deadline to deadline.  This week is the final week for the individual filing deadline and I'm slammed as a result.  Once this deadline is behind us, we get to look forward to year-end.  It takes a lot of energy to stay geared-up for the constant barrage of taxes.

Today was Stake conference and the visiting authority had some good thoughts.  He told the story of from Dieter Uchdorf where a person worked in customer service at a garden shop.  Among the many service requests she took was one where someone had planted zucchini and expected squash to grow.

I've always liked Galations 6:7 when Paul says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."  

I grew up in Cove, Utah among some fine farmers.  I remember watching the different fields of barley and being impressed that some farmers could get much more yield than others.  Often the fields were adjacent to each other and would have quite different results.  Some of those farmers had been farming for enough seasons that whatever they touched seemed to work.  In other words, they had the benefit of life experience.

Finally, Mom is in the RS presidency in our ward.  When they recently split the stake, there was some ecclesiastical gerrymandering that went on so that each ward ended up with certain problems.  Our problem was that we inherited a trailer park.  I'm sure you know from your missions how people in trailer parks live (sorry to generalize).  These are good people who instead of turning right, turned left and now they inherit the consequences of their actions.

In life, you don't have the benefit of life experience.  You gain experience through trial and error.  Just remember that in the important things, you have scriptural instructions.  Right now you are sowing in deep spiritual barley.  I hope that you will read the scriptures from the perspective that they provide a roadmap for living your life and that you will commit to live and upright life until you to pass from this earth.

I have a great week. I love you,

Dad

Awesome two weeks

Dear brothers,

I have not written to you for a long time but let me first start out with the basic thing. We went to Lake Powell and it was awesome! We watched all movies that we like. We bought avatar, then we also watched the The best two years. Lake Powell was great. Sydney invited three friends. We went cliff jumping. I found a bunch of shells. They in the front of the boat still while it's being winterized. I wish you could come to Lake Powell with us. Maybe next year you might be able to. But other than Lake Powell, it what is an awesome week for me. You might not have known but I've been playing the violin for some time. It's really awesome and since we were gone at Lake Powell for a week, I had to go to lab classes to help me catch up but I already knew everything. I also had parent teacher conference on Thursday. Thursday was also a half-day. Friday, we had a full day off school. It was awesome! Well that was technically my week.

I love you guys and see you soon.

Sariah


Sent from my iPhone

Pictures

🚲The Best Two Years

Dear Caleb & Jacob,

I can't believe it's been a week already. I hope you two have had a successful and happy one! We got back home from Lake Powell last night and found that the colors have changed to Fall here in Northern Utah, and it seems to have happened overnight. It just goes to show, a lot can happen in a week. We had a great time! Dad seemed to be able to actually enjoy this vacation because he was able to balance work, play and relaxation! It was nice to see that he wasn't stressed and anxious to get back after just s few days. He has officially fallen in love with Lake Powell and probably wants to make it an a annual thing if you guys are up for that. We had a couple small issues with the houseboat we stayed on at the Marina but they didn't keep us from thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Everyone got along swimmingly, no pun intended. 😉 It rained one day but it was still enjoyable. That late afternoon, we all got in the boat with blankets and drove 25 minutes past the dam to what they call Antelope Point where we ate yummy brick oven pizza at the floating restaurant there. That will probably become a tradition too! Then we got back to the houseboat before it got too dark. We watched the movie "The Best Two Years" again, in honor of you two!

Baxter and Snitch decided to stick around to see if we'd come back. Or maybe, it's because Baxter isn't at his best or perhaps it's because they had frequent visitors to remind them that they're loved, thanks to Grandma & Grandpa and our neighbors.

I hate to see this letter so short but when you're in the same small space for a whole week and doing basically the same thing every day, there's no a whole lot of variety to write about. We think and pray about ALL THE TIME!! Have a SUPER day and week!

Love,
Mom

Letter 10 01 2017

Another week is in the books...  This was a fun week with the family.  We decided to take a late fall trip to Lake Powell, gambling that the weather would hold.  Hold it did and so fun was had by all.

Lake Powell is a beautiful place.  This year we decided to venture further than Warm Creek Bay and so spent our time mainly in Padre Bay.  What a place.  There is something spiritual about the red sandstone formations that causes me to contemplate life and my own small place in the universe.  I told Mom that the more I'm at Lake Powell, the more I love being there.

With the family on the move, we listened to what we could get from conference on the internet which wasn't much.  Once we hit I-15 I was able to listen to three sessions of conference back-to-back.  I was quite interested in Elder Oaks as he talked about the Proclamation on Family and the revelatory process that was employed by the Quorum of the Twelve in its creation.  It sounds like it took a lot of time to get right.  Compare that to Joseph Smith as he translated the Book of Mormon; it was basically one time through before completion.  The Prophet was amazing and his ability to tap into revelation even more so.

One more comment on your letters.  It is wonderful to get your letters each week and read them every Monday night as a family.  The kids all act like it's no big deal but I know your letters are having an influence for good on our family.  Thank you.

I love you both.  Keep up the good work.

Dad