okay so I didn't get the right picture. Now you can see Hna. Esparza's arm in a sling from her recent operation. AND you can see Dad almost being eaten by a bear!
I thought you might enjoy seeing pictures of those we associate with and I refer to in my e=mails. Here are pictures of our first presidency (Hna. Esparza has her arm in the sling, Hna. Treto has the reddish hair). And here is our new presidency (Hna. Garcia has the short dark hair and Hna. Lopez the more reddish color). SEE YOU ALL NEXT WEEK (OR SHORTLY THEREAFTER).
Here are a couple of more pictures. The one is our farewell dinner with our old presidency. You've heard me talk about the Tretos and Esparzas, now here they are.
Yesterday I went to the Salvation Army Orphanage with the Moss’ to assess the needs. I dragged the Moss’ into this because I learned that to access the Church’s Humanitarian Aid, if you have no humanitarian missionaries, there has to be a request from the mission president. The biggest need is for food, and milk is at the top of their list. When Uncle Bruce and Aunt Bev and Uncle John and Aunt Lynn served as humanitarian missionaries the Church provided 50Lb bags of powdered milk to the orphanages in Mongolia and Mozambique where they served. Hopefully, we can get that help here. I was very impressed with the director, Ana Maria Alcocer. She and her husband live there with the children (their own family is grown). There are five other helpers, two or three of which also live at the home.
I learned some interesting facts such as:
1) This is a “Children’s Home” not a true orphanage because these children can’t be adopted. All of these children have at least one relative, that person is just not able to care for the child because of poverty.
2) Abandoned and abused children who are able to be adopted are cared for by the government which has resources to cover expenses. This Salvation Army Children’s Home is funded by charity donations.
3) There are 22 boys and 16 girls from 5 months to 12 years of age. I asked what happens to them after they are 12 and she said they are old enough to work and if they have learned “obedience and respect” they are returned to their relative (it is enough to make a child not want to learn either principle).*
4) The school age children attend a local elementary school, where they do wear uniforms (you can see some of them wearing them in the pictures). There is a Woman’s Aid Society in Virginia which provides the uniforms and one pair of shoes for each child every year.
5) Although food is what is needed most, there is a need for pillows and bedspreads, toys and clothing. Any donations are welcome and what they can’t use themselves they sell at a bazaar and the money earned goes to buy food.
6) I was happy to see that things were clean and the rooms were painted and cheerful.
The children are darling and they loved having their picture taken. Enjoy the pictures (The picture of the sun I’m standing in front of was painted by the Mormon family that came last Christmas and we had for Christmas Eve overnight.
* Dad and I went downtown today to the big market. We stopped at Burger King to buy an ice cream cone. While Dad was ordering, a disheveled boy of about 12 or 13 came up to me and asked me for money to buy something to eat. His one eye was clouded and it looked like he couldn’t see out of it. His dusty face was tear stained. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a boy who had been turned out onto the street to fend for himself. We bought him a $9.00 whopper meal.
Will to Emma: "Emma, you have to get good grades in school?"
Emma: "Why?"
Will: "Because, if you do, you get to go to BYU and live in a hotel with all your friends, and if you don't you have to go to the University of Utah and live with Mom and Dad!"
kid quote:
Will to Emma: "Emma, you have to get good grades."
Emma: "Why?"
Will: "Because if you do, you get to go to BYU and live in a hotel with all your friends. If you get bad grades you have to live at home with Mom and Dad."
When I was courting Grandma Bentley she used to tell me I was what the girls at BYU sometimes referred to as a "hunk" or a "massive structure" and I took that to mean that she thought I was big, strong and athletic. With my customary sincerity, quiet modesty and agreeable nature I would often tell her how astute she was and that she could certainly count on me to protect her from any threat, uncluding the unwanted attentions of her former boyfriends (which, may I add, were numerous). most of them must have gotten the message that I was someone they should never mess with because I did not have to prove my manhood until a few months after we got married. We had recently moved into our first apartment and were just getting to sleep when someone tried to come through the front door, no more than ten feet from the hideaway bed where we were sleeping. I could barely see his heavy-set silhouette in the doorway. Expecting the worst, I waited until he was about six feet from our bed and then I suddenly leaped, karate-like, out of bed with the loudest, screaming roar I could muster, my chisled body in a fighting stance. The man panicked and stumbled out the door as fast as he could move. We later decided he was probably a fellow renter who had gotten drunk and became confused about how to get to his apartment, but after that we kept our door locked.
When my boys were little I used to let them try to beat me in wrestling, a sport in which I lettered in high school and took two physical education classes in college. I would teach them wrestling holds and then lie on the floor and let them get any hold they wanted before we started wrestling, but they could not keep me down until after they became teenagers. I also ran distance events in high school and used to jog a lot until I was called on a mission to Argentina at age fifty-five. One time, when Rick was about eleven years old, I took him with me on a 13 mile run up Mill Creek Canyon and back. Amazingly, he kept up with me all the way, but after that I could never get him to jog with me again. I wonder why?
After the mission, I had to quit jogging because it was too hard on my knees and ankles, but Mom and I began a practice of walking for about an hour most mornings. We still do it, but it has not been enough to avoid a growing pot belly or to keep my weight from gradually increasing about a pound or so per year, perhaps because of my Paul Bunyun appetite, together with the sedentary lawyer lifestyle I had before my retirement last year.
I am now even more of a "hunk" and a "massive structure" than I was when I courted Grandma, but not in the way I want to be, especially when I look at the difference it can make in my health and ability to feel good and be an active participate in the lives of my children, grandkids and maybe even my great-grandkids. After years of making New Years resolutions to get in shape and lose weight that I did not keep, with Grandma's help I'm finally making some significant changes.
Mom and I are eating smaller meals consisting mostly of healthy foods like salads, fruits and vegetables. Breakfast is usually fresh fruit or high fiber cold cereal. We drink a lot of purified water, usually with a twist of lime. Once in a while we go out to eat because we like the local food, but we usually do not order as much now and we seldom drink anything but water. We pretty much avoid foods like pizza, pop, sweets and rich desserts.
As indicated, we go walking together most mornings and we also exercise separately. Grandma rides a stationary bike at home and I go to the gym at a local university most days for an hour or so for a workout that usually includes weight-lifting and exercises on machines for almost every part of the body. Some days I even jog a bit on the treadmill machine. I typically burn about 400 calories per session. We also have a swimming pool close to our house. I still don't feel very strong compared to how I used to feel when wrestled and played football in high school, but I'm a long way from where I was just a few months ago. Best of all, I feel a lot better and my stomach is getting flatter. Oh yeah, today I weighed less than I have for more than five years.
Anybody under 16 want to wrestle? Elijah? Israel? Levi? Lincoln? Brigham? Joshua? Will? Samuel? Peter? Jacob? Thomas? All of you at the same time?
Papito
Please forgive the sad hair day. I'm sick and today is officially a P.J. day so there was absolutely zero effort on the hair front. We are really having a great time here now. Zach and I discovered miles and miles of trails that follow the river here through the forest. It's biking and hiking. There's lots of beautiful scenery all over here. I'll get some more pictures for you. There are more pictures and information on my blog site at www.zachandmary.blogspot.com
I hope everyones doing great. We sure love you all. Love, Mary
In place of a "kid quote" I have a cute "Dad quote." We were watching the old, old 1930's "King Kong" classic movie in Spanish on TV when Dad stated, "It is a little unbelievable in a way."
Marisa, thanks for the great pictures! We love being able to keep up on the happenings with everyones pictures! FOUR weeks from today we'll be home!!!
Sorry for the delay with the pictures. Rick asked me to post a long time ago, but life has been super busy. See you all very soon, Marisa
A day at the zoo with cousins
Our sweet birthday girl
A day in the life of super hero Brigham
Cora in her ballet performance of Tarantella
Lincoln riding the bus to summer school
We are traveling on a small country road through the most beautiful scenery. This part of
We left the temple yesterday in time to make it the city of
As is his forte, Elder Mickelsen had all of us riveted to the scriptures as he taught exciting insights. He talked about God’s work and glory, the three degrees of glory and asked the question which kingdom would have the most inhabitants? To many peoples surprise he said the Celestial. I hadn’t realized that over half the people that have ever been born during the world’s history have died before the age of 8, and therefore are automatically saved, plus those pure souls who live, but are never “accountable.” All those, plus, Pres. Snow also made the statement that “I believe that when the gospel is preached to the spirits in prison…there will be very few indeed of those spirits who will not gladly receive the gospel.” At one point last night he invited the zone leaders up to ask him the baptismal interview questions, and he bore his powerful testimony on each principle.
Guys,
There are some funny entrees this time around. I forgot about the other branch of the family. It's scary to think that all those combinations are within Mom and Dad's genetic possibilities. It's a miracle that all of us came through with very few deformities. (My mis-shapen head, Dave's baldness, Steve, etc...) The other one that really got me chorkeling was Dan's "Mutual of Omaha" experience.
Similar experience: We have two birds nests in our yard this year. The one in the back yard is a robins nest that is pretty close to the ground within a thick vine thing in our back yard. Knowing Lincoln's penchant for animal and for egg, I showed him the nest. (Mistake) He immediately went over and got a baseball bat to try to knock down the nest. For the next week we had the domestic equivalent of a stake-out to keep the nest safe. Long story short, despite our efforts let's just say that there will be 3 less robins in colorado this year. -Not really funny.
It looks like I am not going to deploy after all. It may happen next year, but it's going to be nice to be around. We love you guys. Marisa is going to post some pictures in the next couple days.
Love,
RMCLBL and Clyde.
P.S.- Clyde has a slightly different percent body fat than his distant wolf predecessors. The lambs would be safe with us.
Maybe it's all the fresh air up here?. . . or maybe it's the proximity to nature?. . . I would like to tell you about one of my more genius ideas as of late that David Stew reminded me of when he came here last week. On the ranch here we have some sheep. They were bred anciently in Barbados and look sort of like deer from far away, rather cheek (and expensive) I might add. My father-in-law bought three of them to eat down the vegetation that grows comparatively like Dad's back hair. . .very impressive! It became necessary to capture them after we had originally let them roam for a time on a isolated hill down in the front of the property. Because my dog Keena is such a well behaved, handsome, regal, majestic, lovable, you get the idea, hybrid wolfdog, it dawned on me that she would be a perfect working sheepdog and that I could employ her efforts to help round up the gentle beasts, thus saving the hassle of chasing after them. So off we went entering the gate and trying to sneak up on the three sheep. Keena, bless her heart, did a wonderful job frightening the sheep and as soon as they laid their eyes on her. They screamed murder as it were and ran! Keena showed impressive speed for an eleven year old (that's 77 years in dog age mind you) and soon had disappeared around the far side of the hill in hot pursuit. I meanwhile ran to head them off the opposite way, ready to tackle the ewe, after which I would lead her to the trailer and the two young lambs would reluctantly follow behind. Sure enough, here they came! All was going according to plan, and after I subdued the mother and was in the process of wrestling her over to the trailer, a funny thought came to my mind. It said the following: "That's funny, your trusty sheepdog should have been coming around the corner by now. And where is the second lamb?" I froze. The shock of what was most likely happening on the far side of the hill took a few moments to work it's way into the actual thinking parts of my small brain. Eventually, the combination of "Wild America" and the Nephite annihilation computed! Sprinting around the hill I prepared myself for a scene not unlike that of Mormon's final battle, only worse. Behold, the wolf with it's prize. Lucky for me Keena was not raised by wolves, but rather by loving humans who didn't consume much mutton. Somehow she did not exactly know what to do with such a large animal. She did the damage of course and the poor lamb nearly kicked the bucket with shock, but she has since survived and is now affectionately and fittingly named "Tripod." It didn't do any good to scold the sheepdog. She was doing what wolves do best. I instead received 40 lashings for one of my more genius ideas. I hope you enjoyed. We'll see you in July.
Love Uncle Dan, Rach, Josie, another little baby girl due Oct. 13th, and the sheepdog.
How's it going. Nice to see the relatives have dropped in, Dad are they from your's or mom's side of the family? Anyhow, we here in Col. Springs have been doing well. We have had Rachel's friend and 4 kids staying with us for a week, and next week Rachel's Brother and 3 kids are staying with us for another week so we are basically the bed and breakfast of the town. By the way, Rick, Can I rent a room in your basement for the next week? With all the business, we haven't really figured out the summer schedules, however kids have found the public pool and have been spending almost every day there. Rachel is migrating back to her lost love of politics. If it isn't fox news for her, it is the drudge report or Shawn Hannidy giving us the latest scoop on the "Obama-nation" or some other soundbite that happens to be ticking everyone off. Francesca has started to walk a bit, but is mostly too scared to take more than a few steps. She is cute however. Let's see, I recently gave a talk in stake conference on Families--- It went resonably well. Here is a quote by President Eyring from the talk.
"...scripture study works well only if your children know you love the scriptures and they also know as individuals that you love them. Then whatever pattern you have will work. If scripture study is forced for either them or you, if your children feel pushed, or if you don’t really love the scriptures yourself, then scripture study doesn’t have as much power."
I like that because it is not really how you read, or when you read, but that as you read you let your kids know that it is important. We love you all and we are looking forward to seeing each of you in July.
Love, SREILCF in Colorado
Soooooo...Here's what we've been up to:
- Went to Hawaii. Highly recommend it. I'm changing my name to Leilani so that I can be as happy and mellow as the islanders, do you think it'll work?
- Came back and the Williams Crew made a pit stop at our house on the way to Canada (aka paradise). So fun that they're going to be here now, hooray!
- Dave went to Nike to do some consulting and was able to hang out with Dan, Rach, and the little Josie girl. Good times. Came back with fancy Nike thingies so we can get all tough.
- Jakey can now climb steps and I"m no longer in the doghouse after leaving on the trip (when I first got back he wouldn't look at me. Although he was fine with Dave, go figure. Ah the double standards).
- Maddie is a pro at putting her baby brother to sleep and wrote an awesome essay for school where there was a Prince, a Princess, and a Dragon, but instead of the Prince saivng the Princess from utter destruction, the Dragon ate them both. Circle of life and all of that.
- Josh is a Pokemon expert and can still lift his gargantuan baby brother, which will come in serious handy after my surgery since I won't be able to lift. Tender Mercies. :)
Quotes:
Uh, I have none. I guess it's time we let you know. We've all gone mute, tragically.
Have a good month everyone.
DKJMJ
Hellow Bentley Family!! We were recently doing DNA testing and found a partial match with your family, with a link to this blog site. It feels so good to be in contact with long lost relatives! Just to catch you up on what has been going on with us... The Twins! Jicky and Jandi, Ohhh aren't they adorable! We have watched them grow up since they were little tykes. We have always dressed them identically and the girls really love their good looks. They are always flurting after Kom and maron's boyfriends. Kom has really blossomed in the past year. She is now going to school to be a beautician. She has yet to be married. Our handsome Dane is so smart. He has a brain just like a steel trap. He really wants to find someone to marry, but so far no luck, although the dogs are fond of him. Maron has decided to become a hygenist. She loves to smile and can almost smile ear to ear. Manji is such a handsome little person. We have only had to shave the little tyke once (Ithink she has Maron's smile). Staddy has been working on keeping both eyes open while reading and is doing a good job. Wommy has been greatful to have recently found the fountian of youth. She has been working on keeping her eyebrows thinned, and we think she is stunning. We love you all and hope that we can get together at your next family reunion!!!
Staddy, Wommy and the surly 6 (Dane, Kom, Jicky, Jandi, Maron and Manji)
Peter's 1st Birthday party (He's inside). The kids you don't recognize are on the other side of the family.
Just after Matt and Sam caught a 12 inch fish. Going for two!
Playing fire engines.
Peter is crying in this picture, but later learned to like his Tonka Truck Helmet and being strapped down.
Eliza and Katie at our last fling up the canyon.We’ve had a wonderful weekend. When we arrived to open the temple yesterday morning before 6:00 a.m. two buses were already in the parking lot. The wonderful saints from Papantla had traveled all night to spend the day in the temple. We hurried to change into our temple clothes and welcome them into the house of the Lord.
There were three people coming to receive their endowments, one family to be sealed, and a good group of young people to do baptisms. One, dear, sister, Hna. Gonzalez de Jimenez had brought the names of her father, two brothers and her son to have their temple work done. She told me how her son had died twelve years ago when he was just 23 years old. With tears in her eyes she watched as the young men of her Stake entered the water and were baptized for her loved ones.
The sessions were full and the hours flew past. We left at 4:00 to get Dad to the priesthood session of the Chairel Stake Conference at 5:00 where he was speaking. He spoke again in the adult session last night and did a great job. There was a wonderful children’s choir all dressed in white who sang a sweet medley of primary songs. This stake is so active that today they had to have two sessions so that there was enough room for everyone. I wasn’t scheduled to speak at any of the meetings so I was completely relaxed. As it turned out, they called on me at both morning sessions. I bore my testimony about the fact that families can be forever; and told the story of seven year old, Sofia Guerra, her sudden death, and what a comfort it is to her parents to know they can be together again because they have been sealed in the temple. As is the custom here their were beautiful fresh flowers decorating the podium and along the banisters. There was an impressive stake choir that sang the prelude and postlude as well as two special numbers during the conferences. The pianist is one of our former missionary sons.
After conference the stake presidency (their wives) had prepared a meal for us of fruit, salad and sandwiches. It was fun to sit with their families and visit. We do feel like we are making some dear friendships and that our lives have been so enriched by this experience, as it has with each of our missions.
Sweet sisters keep giving me gifts. Saturday Hna. Alvarez knitted the top of a towel to look like ladies dress (you have to see it to understand). Hna. Gomez made little cardboard slippers to hold my match boxes. Hna. Pena gave me a beautiful white fringed shawl and brown, glass jewelry.
Two weeks ago we ate dinner and had FHE with the Blancos. Tomorrow we’ve been invited to the home of Pablo and Marta Mendez. Their 16 year old son is a fabulous musician who plays 6 instruments. In the Tampico Conference last week he played a cello solo, and a piano piece as preludes to the different sessions.
June is going to be an interesting month as so many of our temple workers are leaving on vacations. Three of my coordinators are gone now: Hna. Perez will be in New York until August 1st with her daughter. Hna. Blanco went a week ago to Orizaba to visit family. While there her husband began to hemoridge and was put into the hospital. The doctors say they can’t travel for at least two weeks. Hna. Briones told me yesterday that her husband is scheduled for surgery in Mexico City in a week and will be in the hospital there five days before they can return. We are going to be a bit short handed especially since Hna. Esparza (one of my assistants) has her surgery this Friday and won’t be able to return for at least a week, so. We had hoped to have new counselors and assistants in place by now. I’m concerned because Hna. Lopez, the wife of one of the men, leaves Tuesday to see a new grandbaby in Baja California and won’t return until the first of July. Oh well, it keeps life interesting, and the Lord always works things out for me. I love you, Mom
Well, I’ve got to admit I can’t believe we are all here and the last week has come and gone. The only way I can sort out anything to tell is by doing a timeline of events. WARNING: this is long.
May 16 - Zach practiced general dentistry for the last time and said goodbye to his staff and patients.
May 23 - Packed up the GI-NORMOUS moving truck with the help of Pop, Jim (Calkins), Charlie, Zach’s Dad, and the one ward member that showed up on time. Other ward members came but we were finished. I can’t thank Kathy and Sharon enough for coming over in the morning and afternoon to clean my apartment and for Teresa and Zach’s Mom for taking care of Kaitlyn for about the whole week. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
May 24 - Left SLC at 4 am (thought it would be 3 am but you know how that goes) Set off on I-80 towards Omaha. We made it there at 9 pm. Kaitlyn was a traveling angel. Zach’s Mom and Dad made the drive with us and talk about LIFE SAVING. It’s a good thing the moving truck could only go about 65 because we stopped and gave Kaitlyn so many breaks that our mini-van driving time was worse then theirs.
May 25 - We left Omaha at 8 am (we needed to recover from the previous day) and drove straight through to Detroit which incredibly enough took us until Midnight! Poor Dave and Kar stayed up for us and had their basement set up better than the Hilton, it was such a great way to finish off 2 long days of driving. Kaitlyn did great again but I had a heart attack when we stopped for lunch and after changing her pants I was putting things away and Kate fell out of the car right on her face on the asphalt. Of course she got over it in a few minutes, although the left side of her face is still healing, I on the other hand am still shaken up from being right there and having it happen. I’m sure it won’t be the last time.
May 26 - We slept in until 9 am and left around 10 to head for the border. Luckily we didn’t look too suspicious and after a 45 minute meeting with the customs agent about all of our visas and other paperwork they let us through around 1:30. We drove to our new city of LONDON. On the drive in we passed every major store we are used to seeing in SLC. There really isn’t any visible sign that we’re in another country besides the speed limit being in Kilometers. We found our way to Platt’s Lane where we live and pulled up to our town home and… it was not what I expected. The exteriors are older and ours looked pretty shabby, the yards hadn’t been cared for and there were tall weeds around. The playground across the street looked old and faded and I thought “well at least this isn’t the inside.” Now, let me just say that I made the mistake of conjuring up in my mind what it would be like based on our experience in Omaha and the pictures I found on the internet. I also had the floor plan from the management and made the mistake of picturing it MUCH bigger than it really is. So that’s a preface. I walked through it and went upstairs and the 3 bedrooms are more like 2 bedrooms and a 3rd space we’ve affectionately named “Mary’s Walk-in Closet” because it’s so small and our master bedroom is too small for our dresser so it had to go in the 3rd one. The basement is 2x4’s and cement, not finished at all. I saw the whole thing, went upstairs in the bathroom and started bawling. It was a great cry. I really needed it too. Packing, moving away, driving 3 days, little sleep, stress, etc plus the added disappointment of my new home feeling more like a mouse cage welled up and I was out of commission for 5 minutes. The beauty of hitting my low point right at the start is it’s all gotten better from there. While we moved in and I directed traffic, Mom put the kitchen together, Kar took over as full-time babysitter for Kate, Zach and Dad and Dave had their hands full with the entire truck’s contents. We couldn’t have done it without Dave and Kar coming to help. Kar also served as our PR rep. By the time she left, she’d met all of our neighbors and introduced us all.
May 27-28 - We spent unpacking and working out the details of money, school insurance, etc. Which are still not resolved but in the works.
May 29 - WE TOOK OFF! We decided we all needed a break and drove to Niagara Falls and Palmyra for a 2 day trip. For the record, Niagara Falls is tons cooler than I expected it to be. It’s HUGE and the Canadian side was so well manicured and looked more like how clean and pristine the church keeps all of their buildings and facilities. What a cool place. We went on the Maid of the Mist right up to the falls complete with a drenching when we got there. Kaitlyn screamed her head off the whole time but it served to wear her out and she slept for the next couple hours. We had so much fun in Niagara that we only made it to Rochester and found a hotel.
May 30 - Palmyra trip. There is such an incredible spirit at the church history sites there. Mostly felt for me when we walked through the sacred grove. We all had an great experience. Even Kaitlyn was overcome by the peace and fell asleep for the morning. When we were done it was already 3 pm and we decided to head for home. 2/3 of the way there at the junction for Toronto I hear “Why don’t we just go to Toronto?” That’s all it took. We headed off to Toronto and found a hotel. We are a little crazy.
May 31 - TORONTO. It’s not as big as NYC even though that’s what all the Canadian’s refer to when they try to give us a comparison. Not that I’ve been to NYC but Toronto just feels open even in the heart of the city. We all decided it feels A LOT like San Francisco, complete with China town, Greek town, India town, Tour boats, a castle, a huge Beach, and it wasn’t a degree warmer than 70 the whole time there. We had a great time looking around and seeing the sites. We got home at 7 pm and hit the sack for the most part.
June 1 - Today! We went to our ward which is small but strong. There are 2 families that live here in Platt’s Lane that we’re getting together with for FHE tomorrow night. I’m not sure how many callings we’ll both get, it looks like they need the help. I guess we’ll find out next week. We’re on our way for a walk since it’s turned sunny and a little warmer for the first time all week. Zach starts his first day of school at 9 am tomorrow morning! Wish us luck. We do have great neightbors and I'm excited to get to know everyone and everything better.
I’d love to hear from any one and I’ll try to do a better job updating instead of the crazy long e-mail. Our info is:
TELEPHONE: 801-738-0212 (yes it’s a UTAH number)
ADDRESS: 568 Platt’s Lane London, ON N6G-3B1 Canada
Love you all!
