Marguerite

Sharon, Thanks for posting the details. Here are some pictures of the days events. Maggie is beautiful and healthy.
Love Steve

Welcome Marguerite

Dear Marguerite Magdalene Bentley #24,Grandma and Grandpa took this
picture this morning in front of the temple in honor of your coming to
earth today. We thought it the second best thing to being with you in
person. We love you and look forward to holding you in our arms in
August. Hugs and Kisses, Forever Grandma and Grandpa Bentley

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There is one more of us

Dear Bentley Siblings, Parents and Cousins:

 

Steve just called me and asked me to spread the news that

Marguerite Magdalene Bentley

was born at

9:05 a.m.

 

She looks the most like Israel and still has dark eyes and a "squishy" face as Steve put it :)

 

She is 19 1/8 inches, 6 lbs and 10 ounces and beautiful

 

Rachel sounded really well.  She says she can't feel her toes yet as the medicine is still wearing off.  She is happy to talk to anyone who would like to wish her well. 

Her cell number is:  719-359-1693

 

We are so happy for you guys!

 

Love, Sharon

Mother's Day

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3 pictures for you

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Fun Day

Fun day today. We got up early and decided it was time for us to take
an adventure drive. So we headed north to Estacion Manuel, and then
north east to Aldama, and then straight east to Barra de Tordo (about
100 miles) where there is an amazingly beautiful, beach on the Gulf
Coast. We walked two hours along the lonely shore picking up sea
stones and shells. It was glorious. I splashed barefoot while Dad
stayed on higher ground keeping his feet and pants dry.
On our way we passed a garbage dump with huge buzzards/vultures
circling overhead. They were spectacular. We thought we'd snap a
photo on our return, but when we passed again on our way home they
were gone. I'm sorry Dan I can't send you the picture of you to
identify the birds.
I'm including a picture from when we went to dinner with the Lopez'
and the Briones. It is so wonderful having our newest counselor and
his wife. They are so "normal" and such a joy to serve with.
As for Mothers Day, it was great. I was so glad that the Primary
children sang in Church and that they presented every woman with a
flower. It was almost like being at home. I got to talk on the phone
to all of you and even got a saxophone/cello serenade of "Love at
Home" from Elijah and Israel. It was fantastic boys! Thanks. Note
the picture of me with my roses, plus, Dad is taking me to dinner
tonight

--
Wendy W. Bentley

Dear Family,

I've decided to embrace Oregon and whatever it has to offer me. To do so I bought a fishing license and have been steelhead fishing three times in the last week and will go bowhunting this fall. Rachel and I had a big BBQ last night to celebrate no more school. It was fun. We had a campfire in front of our house and a bunch of friends over. It would have been better if you all could have been there. Sometimes it's hard to be far away from those you love the most. But we are happy that we are close to Rachel's family. They are kind and considerate and bend over backwards to make living here a good situation for us. I am hopeful that I'll get a job here in Portland as a flight instructor in the coming month or so. I will most likely take a seasonal position up at the Mount St. Helens visitor's center in Washington as a helicopter loader. It's not great pay, but it's a "foot in the door" and you can't beat the environment of the volcano. If you havn't been up here since 1980, you are missing out. The volcano lost its top 2,000 ft. The most impressive thing about the eruption are the lahars, aka: "volcano barf" or pyroclastic flows that annialate everything in their path. Lahars are a superheated mix of poison gas, molten rock, glacial ice melt, boulders, trees and ash that splash down the mountain at 200 mph and consume everything. The eruption was so powerful that it mowed down millions of 200 ft. tall trees. Snapping them like toothpics. http://www.maniacworld.com/erupting-volcano.htm You should come up and see. The oldest trees on the entire mountain are now 29 years old and the resulting forest is very bizzarre. Should make for a cool summer. Hope all is well and happy mother's day to all mothers including beast mothers Keena and Jimmy's female lizard Brutis and anyone else who would like to claim the title.... (no hands please).

Love Dan, Rach, Jose, Vi and Beast Mother Magoo

comments by Sharon

Thanks for making mom's memories a reality.  I also inherited the "french horse" moving furniture bug.  I, however, live in mom's house and get the help of mom's "moving men".  I know she didn't have those when we were kids, but they are great.  I moved Sam and Peter's room around a bit yesterday.  Matt knows about once a month (or more) he'll get a call and I'll say, "I have a surprise for you."  That means, furniture has been moved.  Mom used to say, "Moving furniture made it possible so she didn't have to move houses."  Anyway, Mary, I'm sure you will get it done.  Have fun playing with Karalee.

 

By the way, I am reading some of dad's journals.  I'm on 1973 and it is FASCINATING!  Mom and dad just bought the Brookburn house.  He's talking about the neighbors and first impressions, he tells us about his job and he is becoming "someone" in the firm.  I love hearing about his three boys, his amazing wife, and his relationship with his parents.  Seriously, it is very fun to learn about.  Maybe you guys will take the chance to read some.  He has at least everyday since 1973.  Take your pick!

 

Sharon

memories

Wow, I love the fact that Mary can remember me being a whizz around the old homestead and whipping the house into shape fast moving furniture and creating a "alacabam" razzel dazzel miracle!  The truth I'm afraid is that for every room I got cleaned I left a disaster somewhere else------------ Ahhhhhh (the spa type ahhh) I'm sure glad that with age your memories seem to fade out on the negative. But, your article has inspired me to do a bit of furniture pushing right here in Tampico!  Haha and now I've your Dad trapped into helping me!!! I'm glad you, Kar and the kids can have a play day at the border.  Good luck with that basement project before Zach gets home (put on a good old movie.  It will help).  Love Mom

Zach's not the only Maniac (remeber the commercial?)

I decided to have a lawn picnic on Saturday to do something fun while Zach was gone. It ended up being us eating cheese crackers. Does that still count? Me thinks.

Liza's so big. She sits up, rolls over, is trying to crawl, and LOVES her blue soother. She's always happy and has giggles. Can't wait for you to meet her.

Peek-a-Boo!!! Who do you think she looks like?

Pre-Peek-a-boo. :) Wrong order. Flexible isn't she?

Here are the beans on Easter Sunday. Ahhhh.

Hi Family!!!

I've been a slacker on the BBB. My Apoligies. I have a basement that is a complete disaster - like Class 5 tornado - but this seems like a more interesting thing to do. :) Ahh, procrastination. So it's official: I've defiantly inherited Mom's re-arrange gene. I just wish I inherited the gene that likes to FINISH the re-arranging. It's a problem. I remember coming home from school multiple times to find that my bedroom was no longer in the basement but in fact moved up a floor and visa-versa. That means that Mom would also move a couple other peoples rooms in the process. Who helped her with this??? I know she's a little French horse and everything but MOM, you have arms, legs, abs, and buns of steel to do those projects. I'm sure she almost always did it at home by herself between breakfast and lunch. The best part is she would have placed all of my "treasures" up on a shelf with care and my room would never (an this is definatly true) look better. Spotless. All in a school day.

SO, Zach is in Boston for the American Association of Orthodontics conference (woot, woot! First one ever) for 5 days and what do I do? I'm going for the project. I really wanted to switch around the girls rooms but decided against it and instead decided to takle the BASEMENT. I got the urge around 6:30 at night. This is already a problem! I had just enough time to make an ENORMOUS mess and then needed to put the girls to sleep. I got in my PJ'S and somehow never found my way back to the basement. Aye-yaye-yaye. I have 3 days left and my excitement to do it is leaking out of me a lot quicker than that. It must be done before Zach gets back though since that's where he studies. I'm really hoping to pull of a WENDY and have it spick and span and so perfect that the only thing left to say is "Ahhhhh!" (not a screaming type Ahhh, but more of a Spa type Ahhh. FYI) So my goal is to accomplish in 5 days what Mom can do with her pinky finger in 5 hours. Wish me luck.

Speaking of Luck: Luckily I won't be doing any tidying of of the sort tomorrow because Kar and Jake are rondesvou-ing with Me, Liza, and Kaite at the US/Canadian border for some R&R. We have lots of plans. Toenail polish, chick flick, Walmart, Children zoned out at their own television, you know. We have a friend that lives at the border we're hooking up with for our girls day out. We can't wait. It feeds my procrastination bug for the basement. This way I can produce an incredible whip it together finish right before Zach gets back. Good plan I think.

I'll have Zach write about his escapades in Boston. It's apparently an amazing city (thanks to Dad for filling me in on all the historical tid-bits today.) Gracias! I'll be praying for you Rachel! Good luck and Steve: every full-term pregnant lady NEEDS a foot massage and some toe nail polish. Take care of that for me, will you? Thanks. (you don't HAVE to do it yourself, send the woman to a spa for an hour if needs be.) I've decided at full term I will ALWAYS get a pedicure. Best therapy for my prego happiness at that point. It's the only time I ever go, but at that point, there's no stopping me.

LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!!! Mares

Still here, still there

Just a quick update as I suspect that we'll have more to tell in a couple weeks.   Steve finished up work on this past Thursday.  Sometimes it seemed that the day would never come, but it has.  He'll be spending as much time as needed looking for a new job, and then hanging out here fixing stuff and helping me.  It will be nice to have him around when the baby is born and for that reason I am kind of glad that he hasn't yet found another job.    I have 2 weeks to go.  Sometimes that feels like not that long, and sometimes it feels like I will never make it.    All the kids are doing well.  Elijah is enjoying missing school about once a week for various jazz band activities.  Israel is enjoying having a real 11-year-old scout troup in our new ward that meets once a week.  Levi is happy about school, but not always so happy about how hard it is to be nice to little sisters.  Cecelia is going through a whiney stage, we are hoping it ends soon.  Francesca is coming out of her shell, is cute and loves playing dollie with her big sister since they both got dolls for their birthdays.  Marguerite is just patiently waiting.  Sometimes I wish she wasn't so patient and we could get this over with.    We hope to be posting pictures of our expanded family soon.  We love you all.   Steve, Rachel, Elijah, Israel, Levi, Cecelia, Francesca, and Marguerite

Gehrings BB

Dear Family:

 

We held a contest in the neighborhood for who could host the strangest animals and we won with raccoons living in our chimney.  It would be one thing if it had been a working chimney, but the family of 5 chose the abandoned one in the middle of the house.  Matt did a lot of internet exploring and we both did a lot of calling (Bob Anderson, Ray Broadhead, nor Mark Monsen knew what to do - actually Mark was out of town for two weeks - and none of them own a trap).  Sam thought the whole experience was fabulous and helped his dad figure out which chimney they were in by shining flashlights.  He also told everyone at Church and preschool all about our house guests. Amazingly enough a lot of people have also hosted raccoons.  Matt got equiped with a trap, odor repellent, etc to catch the mean mama with green eyes.  I made myself and the kids lock ourselves in the truck. We had the camera ready to document Matt's National Geographic adventure.  I was pretty sure I was going to have to call the ambulance as Matt's plan was to put the repellent down the chimney, hope they came out, catch them in the trap, and call wildlife services- who will only come to pick up caught animals.  Fortunately, the mother had had her fill of Matt and Sam shining flashlights down the chimney and when Matt officially went up a very anticlimatic event occurred.  She had abandoned the fireplace and left only one of the babies.  Matt put the odor repellent stuff down and the next time he got up there, that baby was not there either.   The plan is to get covers for the chimney so we will not have any more unwanted house guests.

 

Another great adventure in the Gehring house is Sam learning how to cross the monkey bars.  He has practiced so much that unfortunately he has blisters on his hands.  To make matters worse, Thursday he was crossing the bars, the blisters caused pain and he let go landing on his arm and breaking both wrist bones in his right arm.  He broke his left wrist two years ago so now he boasts that he has 3 broken bones.  He spent 6 hours in the ER at Primary Children's Thursday night and thankfully doesn't remember any of the force they had to use to put the bones back in place.  He will get a cast Wednesday afternoon.

 

The rest of us are just supporting the crazy activity at this house and getting ready for a fun summer and visitors from far off places.  Eliza said today, "When are grandpa and grandma going to come home?"  Eliza also wins the quote of the month when she was looking at the pictures in her Book of Mormon.  She was looking at Moroni putting the plates into the ground and asked, "Where are his snowclothes?"

 

Have a great month!

 

Sharon and Family

 

a note

Our internet went down last week taking out our trusty phone and e-mail.  WOW it was a sudden shock to feel I was back in BsAs and the only means of communication was snail mail or an expensive long distance call.  We missed being able to visit with Francesca on her second birthday, and probably lots of other news from all of you.  When we got home from the temple Friday night it was fixed, but too late to call all of you.  Saturday we opened the temple at 5:45 and left from there mid-day for Poza Rica.  We are returning now (Sunday evening), and hopefully the internet will still be working. 

Dad was invited to talk to a priesthood session in Poza Rica, and while he was involved with them  I spoke  to the women.  Dad talked for a half an hour, I ended up having to fill the entire two hours as there was no one else on the program for the women. After praying and doing what preparing I could (they said I could talk about anything I wanted) I had really felt I needed to just trust the Spirit.  So I only took my scriptures and a few quotes.   We met in the cultural hall and so I invited them to pull their chairs into a circle (there were about 60 sisters when we began), and it made possible a more relaxed, informal Visit, where I was able to get them sharing stories and experiences.  We sang as Sisters In Zion, which in Spanish is "Hermanas Unidas" which gave me a wonderful theme to begin on.  I told about Julia and Emily Hill, I talked about how the gospel unites sisters throughout the world and just as we continued to keep pushing our chairs back to include those who kept arriving, we need to reach out and step outside of our comfort zones to bring in others into our circle of influence.  That led to how our lives can make a difference to our husbands, children, friends and the world.  I spoke of my love for my sisters in the scriptures and we talked about Eve, read the wonderful stories of Rebecka, Ruth and Naomi.  I shared personal stories and we had a wonderful exchange for two hours.  I was truly blessed.

--
Wendy W. Bentley

CLYDE, EL CLYDO, CLYDIE, CLYDE DOG, CLIPPITY

Hey Everybody!

Our cute Clyde dog died this morning. He was sick around 2 a.m., and I could tell he was not going to make it long. After I took him out at 2, he never could make it back upstairs. He was still very sick at 6 a.m. with really labored breathing. He had enough energy to go outside, but never came back in. Thank heavens the kids were around. We brought out his bed, a bowl of water, and Cora gave him the coat off her back. He got up 3 different times, to find the perfect place to die. He found it at our gate. When he died at 7:15 this morning, he was laying in the only spot in the yard, where there was sun. It was really beautiful and super sad. There have been a lot of tears in our house and in Minnesota (Rick is there for business).

I had to do something that I have never wanted to do, and that is take care of a dead dog. But, since it was Clyde, it felt more like a privilege than a burden. We had a nice memorial for him and sent him off with lots of love.

Clyde was such a part of our family that we really wanted to share our loss with all of you.

Lots of love, Marisa, Rick, Cora, Lincoln, Brigham and Lydia

HiHo

We just stopped home for lunch (we've 2 hours).  It is Wednesday and at 7:00 a.m. the temple was filled with youth.  School is out for two weeks and the tradition here is during this time the stakes hold their youth conferences and as part of those they come to the temple.  Consequently, we've had two very busy, but wonderful weeks.  There is a special feeling when these beautiful young people are in the temple.  Elijah and Israel I like to think of you two being with them when these groups come.  I know you are taking the opportunity to go with your Ward when you have temple trips. 
We've also had special stake sessions and each day has been filled with the Spirit of Elijah.  The only hard part is that along with the youth, a lot of our temple workers seem to have taken a vacation, so we;ve been doing double duty.  But, that makes the days pass quickly so it is okay.  It is only four months until we'll be together for the reunion.  Love you,  Mom & Grandma


--
Wendy W. Bentley

More Recipe Book Thoughts

Heya!!

I want everybody to know the recipes from your mom that are going into the new family cook book. Rick and Steve had a lot of fun going over the book and saying the things that they want in the new one. They had such a good time, that Rick even made Empanadas this week for dinner. Go Recipe Book!!! Anyway, I don't want anyone's favorite childhood memory to be left out, so look these over and we've forgotten anything, let me know.

There has been some confusion on what I am looking for with everyone's contributions. You can include anything you want. I want things to help us all out during dinner time so that our kids will actually eat and have some recipes that are tried and true favorites. You can include as many or as few recipes as you want. Here are a few suggestions for a few of you:

Steve's Rachel should definitely include anything mexican that she cooks, lasagna, carrot cake, berry ice cream, and pumpkin muffins.

Kathy should definitely include: your taco dinner, ham and sauce on top, spinach salad to name a few.

Mandi should include your shredded pork corn taco mango salsa thing, that chocolate pie with topping, foil dinners

Sharon should include Matt's 7/up peach cobbler wonder

Karalee should include her goblin valley pancakes

This is just an example of the kind of things we want. Anything that your families enjoy eating. Ok, here are the recipes from your mom that will be included:

Limeade slush, waffles, pancakes, syrup, basic bread, orange rolls, bassa rolls, bbq spare ribs, stroganoff, grandma's enchiladas, canalones, empanadas, hay stacks, sloppy joes, clam chowder, taco soup, split pea soup, ham and potato soup, favorite rice, raspberry jello, grandma's fruit salad dressing, peach cobbler, angel food strawberry cake, apple crisp, lime sherbert, grahma cracker crust, pie crust, pumpkin pie, strawberry pie, lemon meringue pie, meringue whip, white cake, hot lemon sauce, lazy daisy oatmeal cake, icing, carrot cake, frosting, lemon frosting, banana bars, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and frosting, popcorn balls, lemon snowbars, gingerbread men, foolproof fudge, frozen jam, holiday cheese ball, shepherd's pie, pork chops, enchilada, grandpa's fish recipe, grandpa's blintzes, orange cranberry sauce.

There you go, let me know if we are missing really important stuff. Thanks, Marisa

New Family Recipe Book

Hey Everybody,

Since Rick and I are partly in charge of the family reunion this year, I thought it would be fun to do a new Family Recipe Book. I already have Wendy working hard at fixing some of her famous and delicious recipes so that we can have the "workable" recipes in the new book.

However, I would love to add to the recipes and have each family contribute their own recipes. In this stage of life, I always think it is helpful to have recipes from other mom's in the trenches with recipes that really work for their families ... especially kids.

Please contribute and give me your recipes. This is something that will be great to give to our kids too, when it is time for them to move out on their own.

One thing that will be different about this recipe book, is that there will be stories about the recipes - especially when they come from a grandma. It will make the recipes all the more important. Also, if their are recipes from the original book that really mean a lot to the original Bentley 8, make sure you let me or your mom know, so that those recipes will be added. (We are not going to keep every recipe from the original book).

Hopefully this won't feel like a hard thing to do. I've already started and am having a fun time. You can send me the recipes via email, or call me, and I'll write them down, type them up and send them back to you for approval. Whatever works for you. We want all recipes, breakfasts, desserts (of course), bread and entrees. We are looking too for the Goblin Valley pancakes and swedish pancakes. If you have them, please send them to me.

I will put the whole thing together and hand them out to everyone at the Family Reunion.

Those of you who may be moving or may be having a baby soon ... hint, hint, should get them to me sooner rather than later (if that makes it easier). Everyone else can have till June 1. That should give me plenty of time to get the book done.

You are all amazing and wonderful. Thanks for helping with this project.

Marisa

Hoppy Easter

A lady opened her refrigerator and saw a rabbit sitting on one of the shelves.   "What are you doing in there?"   She asked.     The rabbit replied:   "This is a Westinghouse, isn't it?", To which the lady replied   "Yes."   "Well," the rabbit said,  "I'm westing."      Sorry... I couldn't stop myself.    Have a Wonderful Easter... It's coming soon... April 12

Happy April and Easter

        April is here and we remember our special Birthday girls.  Josinette who turns two on the 14th,  and Francesca who turns one on the 23rd.

         We started today with our third set of counselors!  For the first nine months we had those from the former presidency (Pres. y Hna. Esparza and Pres. y Hna. Treto).  Then we called our own (Pres. y Hna Lopez and Pres. y Hna. Garcia).  Pres. Garcia became very ill with an incurable genetic disease, and they have also really struggled financially with his having to spend so much time in the temple, so they finally asked for a release.  Today we will set apart a new counselor and his wife as assistant, Pres. y Hna. Briones.  He is already a sealor and everyone loves and respects both him and his dear wife.  My life is going to easier with her as an assistant.  With that said however, Hna. Garcia has come along way since her rocky begining, and I can truly say I have come to appreciate her.
Other than that news, wasn't conference wonderful!  I can't decide which talk I liked the best as there were so many that touched me:  Elder Hales on the difference between needs and wants,  Pres. Monsen's about the poor woman who had to dig the graves of her own children,  Elder Bednar and all those on the temple, and certainly and probably my favorite, Elder Holland's on the Savior and holy week.   It has inspired me to read again The Promised Messiah by Cleon Skousen. It is a wonderful two book series I think each of you have.  I recommend it to you.
           There seems to be an increase in interest in attending the temple lately, and with the wonderful talks during general conference I suspect there will be another upswing. 
 Have a wonderful Holy Week in anticipation of Easter this Sunday.  With love, Mom
P.S.  Grandpa and I invite all of you who are old enough to use the computer to add a message to the BBB.  We'd love to hear from you!

--
Wendy W. Bentley

AN EASTER GIFT

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©2009 Son of Man Project

A Williams Update

It's friday morning and Zach left at 6am to drive to Toronto for a conference he has once a month.  So here I am with the girls and a long day with no plans ahead of me.  Accordingly, we are all in our p.j.'s and I'm thinking we'll pack the day full of entertainment as soon as I manage to dress myself.... good luck with that, right.  So Kaitlyn's been saying the funniest stuff lately. 
2 days ago I asked Kaitlyn if she knew how old she was.   She thought about it and started counting her fingers and announced she was 3.  I said she was close but that she's still 2.  Then she said, no and started counting her fingers again and said no, six.  But was unsure of her decision.  Then counted a couple more and very decidedly said "8!"  I explained it again but she was sure she's 8.  This morning I asked her how old she was and without any question said 8.   So Grandpa, you've got a 2 year old going on 8, does that sound familiar at all?  I'm in for it. 
Kaite's also been saying her own prayers and they are killing me.  It goes like in variations of this, "Hev Fade, Thank you grammie, pappy, grandma, grandpa, toby, minkie (her blanket), puppy, dinnie time, sleepy time, milk time, wake up time.  in Je Chri, AMEN."  Melts my heart.  Sometimes she just keeps going and going through all of the cousins and aunts/uncles she can think of.  We've been quizing her on the family picture on the wall and she can name all of you.  So know that you're loved. 
It's just so nice that she has something to say.  Yea for talking!  Last night I put curlers in her hair for the first time before bed.  They looked so perfectly placed before bed.  I was loving it.  But this morning was more like what's left of a palm tree after a hurricane.  all of these firsts are so darn cute. 
In the mean time, Liza's rolling all over the place and can sit up if we put a boppy around her.  She almost does it by herself but always ends up face first on her toys after I leave her alone.  Woops.  She's starting food too but has NO idea how to move her tongue out of the way so any of it can get in.  It's a messy business, but some ones got to do it.  :)
Me?  I'm chillin'.  Hoping for warmer weather so I can go outside and get warm.  I'm reading lots of books right now and wish I was finishing the girls scrapbooks but I wish there was a better way.  I've decided to make family movies instead of a family album.  I'll do a year at a time on a slideshow style video.  That way I don't have to develop all of the pics and it's something we watch.  The girls will still have albums but I won't feel pressured to include the full details of their lives, just highlight.  That's my plan... now all I have to do is do it.  Why is that always the hardest part?  Bummer. 
Love you guys.  Talk to you soon.

temple moments

Saturday four buses were waiting for us when we arrived at the temple to open at 5:45 a.m.  It was a glorious day.  The baptistery was filled with youth.  One of the boys was Benjamin Acosta from the Chairel Stake, who will submit his mission papers in May.  Two years ago, he set a goal to do 1,000 baptisms for the dead before he entered the mission field.  He comes every week, sometimes twice to the temple and is getting close to completing his goal.  He is tall and good looking and his countenance glows.  When I see youth like him I don't worry about the future of the world, or the Church.

Our sweet Hna. Natalia Gonzalez,  was at our "greeting  station" Saturday morning.  A woman arrived who seemed to be "hanging back" from entering.  Hna. Gonzalez began to talk to her and learned that this sister purposely tries to go into the temple last so that she could sit in the back of the endowment session because she is embarrassed about the brown birthmarks on her hands.  Hna. Gonzalez assured her that the temple is a place of love and acceptance.  Then she showed the sister her own hands.  Perhaps you will remember that this is our dear sister who was burned by her mother as a child, and her one of her hands is very deformed.  It was the perfect answer, and she was the perfect person to give it.  It is another testimony that the Lord is in charge of his temple.

--
Wendy W. Bentley

the story that goes with the photos

We took the Burnetts up to the border today.  Bro. Burnett suffered a small stroke last Tuesday.  After twenty-four hours in the hospital and with many phone conversations with the Burnett's children the decision was made for their parents to return home.  They had agreed to come for six months and this cuts that short for two months, but during their four months here they have made a difference, left a legacy, and will be very missed.

Sister Burnett is amazing.  Within six weeks she had all the ordinances memorized and was able to be used anywhere we needed her.  Brother Burnett, bless him, struggled with the language the whole time, and yet, he was finally able to go through the veil without help.  Both were wonderful examples of humility, and served as participants, cleaners, or doing whatever was needed.  They were at the temple four days a week a week and we knew we could count on them.  What dear friends at 79 years of age to even consider coming to serve another mission with us (they were with us in Argentina too).

They had brought their guitar and violin and entertained at church parties, and at two orphanages. They made the trip to Poza Rica to sing and teach the members how to polka.  Everyone loved them, they were so down to earth. We feel that they completed their mission, even though it was shorter than they had planned.

We were concerned about the fact that they had not come down as official Church missionaries and so they were not covered by Church insurance.  However, it turned out that their bill only came to about $700 and that included five or six tests.  One doctor didn't charge for his services at all, another translated the notes and studios into English for them. The Bene Hospital itself was clean and modern, and we were very impressed with the care they received.

When we got to Reynosa we found some shade under a tree and ate the lunch I had packed.  It took us close to an hour to cross the border because of so many cars going our direction.  We decided to stop at the post office to see if we have any mail, and were surprised to find that it isn't an official US Post Office, just a mailing center.  It also includes a travel agency, passport photos and who knows what else.  I could see into the back room and there were boxes piled up everywhere.  No wonder we have had some problem getting packages.  At least the location was easy to find.  Perhaps that is why it was chosen.  We also stopped at a grocery store and stocked up on a few canned and boxed items that we can't get in Tampico.  We passed a lovely little LDS chapel and some pretty, American, clean streets.  Oh we love the good old USA!

There was no line to return back into Mexico.  It was only mid-afternoon and so we decided to detour over to the coast and see the Gulf at Bagdad Beach.  Being a double highway we were expecting a tourist destination and thought we might stay there overnight.  Unfortunately, it was not developed to the point that we would dare eat or sleep in any of the places we saw.  The beach was dirty and the wind was cold.  After walking a short way and stopping to take a picture of Toney in front of a great statue of Columbus we backtracked to Matamoros.

We went to our favorite Chinese restaurant hoping to find Gilberto (the waiter I sent the missionaries to visit).  Unfortunately, he wasn't working, but we left some Church literature for him and also some with another waiter, Francisco.  We ate too much, but it was good food.

Dad agreed to find an American chain hotel with a bathtub.  I soaked for an hour in a hot bath!  It was fabulous!  That is the one thing our little condo doesn't have, and oh I do miss a tubby. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and headed home via a detour or two over to the Gulf.  We were disappointed each time in what we found, but there are barrier reefs that run along the coast, and the big sea shells must not make it to where we were. We stopped in Soto del Marino where there is a small branch of the Church and while I found a rest room in the library, Dad got a wonderful "golden contact" for the missionaries.

--
Wendy W. Bentley

Taking the Burnetts to the border

Our picnic on the side of the road, the famous post office box,
Columbus and Dad, our favorite Chinese resturant. Details to follow

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Where Do We Go From Here?

The great thing about church is that you go and get edified. I went today and felt the Spirit very strong. I was supposed to teach a lesson in EQ and they ended up doing a combined RS/EQ lesson. I'm actually glad they combined because the lesson was really good and mine wouldn't have been so good. Rachel now works in the Primary so I get to hang out with my Violet Violet during church. She is very sweet.

I am very close to being done with school forever! I passed my in-house test on thursday of this week. This was an instrument rating. Basically I can fly a helicopter from one airport to another without ever looking out the window. I have to know the laws that govern this kind of flight, the weather and all its details, how all of the instruments and technology work, what to do if I have a communication failure, etc. It's very interesting stuff and nice to know that there is a backup plan for all of those flights in the system if the air traffic control system got shut off. In addition this final step is allowing me to put everything I've learned during the last almost 2 years into a great big toolbox of aviation knowledge. I'm exited about what comes next and confident that it will be a great career wherever it takes me. Thanks for all the support many of you, especially Mom and Dad have been. So that brings me to the next step. Like Steve, Dave, and many more of you, I don't know where that is yet. If I don't or can't get a job here then we are going someplace else. I don't know where or how. What I do know is that the Lord will watch over us. He always has. What a blessing to know where to go for help. I'm grateful for this as well as all of my great family.

Dan, Rach, Josie, Violet and Kee

Intriguing possibilities...

Hi everyone,

We just wanted to update you on what's going on in our neck of the woods. Since being laid off in mid-January, Dave has been investigating the possibility of taking his career in a different direction. He's always wanted to do entertainment, but being the unselfish dude that he is, he didn't want to leave a "secure" job and go for his dream. Once the job was gone, we figured it was a great time to go for it and at least give it a shot.

So we decided to take the time over the past two months for him to get his portfolio up to par, and get in contact with people, etc., so that he could pursue that. Meanwhile, the Lord has blessed us like crazy with unsolicited freelance work that Dave has been able to do, as well as a few job offers. The companies who have been wanting to hire Dave have been very understanding about him exploring a different path career-wise and have said that if it doesn't work out, he can give them a call. What a gift in an economy like Detroit's where there is news almost daily of layoffs.

We're most excited about possibly working for Weta Digital, a company located in Wellington, New Zealand. Dave has a phone interview on Sunday with them (their Monday morning--17 hours ahead of us). So far it seems like a great opportunity, and Jake already acts like a hobbit so that can only help. (The Hobbit is their current movie project which Dave would be quite pleased to work on.) So we're praying to know that if they offer us a job, if it would be the right fit for our family, and all of that good stuff. If anyone else wants to pray for us, too, we would really appreciate it. I hope you all know that it goes without saying that we pray for all of you, especially those of you who are struggling with things that we're aware of.

Just imagine the vacation possibilities. . . . instead of coming to Detroit to visit (thanks to everyone who has been brave enough to do that, especially the ones who have come multiple times!), you could come hang out with us at the beach or go skiing in mountains or do battle with the Orcs on the Plains of Rohan after tramping through Fangorn Forest. We think it sounds quite grand. :) We also, however, have complete trust in our Heavenly Father and that He knows what would be best for our family. He has always guided us in the past and we are super grateful for that.

In news of more eternal import, we'll find out next Thursday if our little "Nibs" is a he or a she. Quite exciting. :)

So. . . . that's it. We'll keep you all posted.

Love,
Dave, Kar, Josh, Maddie, Jake and Nibberoo

"purdy darn good Ey!"

It is 7:10 pm and I am writing from my jobsite trailer here at Hill Air Force Base. Though still at work, I am taking a sanity break from the stresses of the day that started at 4:00 am this morning. As such I jumped onto the family email and was pleased to find the always entertaining travel log adventures of Williams family. Ironically, my day presented a fair amount of common ground with people that talk a little bit different, but have an abundance of hospitality. Allow me to elaborate...
 
Since late December my company has been  waiting for a substantial change order (work not originally planned on) to move a major fire service line so we can proceed with the construction of our building. The negotiating and planning processes have been painfully arduous. Numerous set backs have been encountered and literally hundreds of hours spent along the way. The final result of these two processes was a 60 hour shutdown of 11 mission critical buildings and a fixed deadline to restore fire water to these buildings by 7:00 pm on Sunday. So at 5:00 am this morning the clock started ticking. By 11:00 am the pipe was cut. By noon our plan was thwarted as the water line we had been told, confirmed, and planned on being a specific type of material turned out to be something different. Within an hour of finding this out, we had company vice presidents, Army Corp project managers, key personnel from the base fire department and the affected facilities all in a meeting to discuss options. So what does any of this have to do with people that "tawk" funny Ey?
 
After our power pow wow, wherein parts availability and options were pointing to Wednesday, my boss and I jumped on the internet and started searching for manufacturers of the pipe we are dealing with. We came across an outfit based in Quebec. So I dialed the number and though it was 5:00 pm in Canada, a man answered the phone. After explaining our situation, the gentle Canadian on the other end of the conversation politely asked "Do you know we are based in Canada? Would you like to speak with someone in the United States?" I chuckled and replied "We had to start somewhere." As it was 5:00 o'clock, it took him a minute to find the state side number, but he did and wished me well. After hanging up, I immediately dialed the number and a young women in Texas answered the phone. Again, I introduced myself, said where I was calling from, explained the situation and asked if she could connect me to someone that could help. She replied "yes" and transferred me. I am not sure were I ended up, but after a minute I hung up and called back. She answered again, I explained again, she transferred me to Danny White. Danny White was not in so I opted to go back to the operator. She then put me through to "Bob." He too was not in, so again I went back to this young lady. Each time I spoke to her I sensed her anxiety rising...she was running out of options. This last time I paused, then asked if there were a cell number for Danny or Bob as it was important that I speak to someone that might be able to help. She asked for a minute, put me on hold, then Cathryn got on the phone. I will spare you the balance of the play by play and suffice to say that Cathryn led to Jerry, Jerry to Billie, then Billie, Jerry, and Dennis stayed until 6:30 to put all the parts we needed on an overnight Fedex flight to SLC.
 
I have learned alot today, but one of the coolest things I relearned or was reminded of today was that there are great people throughout our country and world. None of these people needed to pick up the phone, go and find a Cathryn, or stay late to ensure parts made it to Fedex by 6:30. But they did and I believe that despite the fact that they probably made some good margins on the parts and shipping, they did it because they are just good people. Good enough that at 8:30 on a Friday night Dennis called me back with a confirmation/tracking number. Now thats "purdy darn good Ey!"
 
p.s.  Matt just left for work this morning (it's 5:30 a.m. on Saturday).  Apparently the parts are in route from Tennessee (the Fedex Hub).  As we spoke last night, Matt said yesterday was one of the best days of work he has ever had.  I guess stress and success make a good combination for him.
 
p.p.s.  Billie is a woman :) I guess that's the south.

--
Wendy W. Bentley

The Williams Wild Adventure

Well Family of ours,

The Williams have done it again. We're on another crazy adventure.  This is Zach's Spring Break from school and we decided last week we should go see something new.  So, we booked a couple cheap hotels, crossed the border, and booked it down the interstate to.... Gatlingburg, TN.  That's right.  Just a short drive past Pigeon Forge.   Now there's a destination!  Seriously!  You wouldn't believe how much family fun entertainment is packed into that nook of the Great Smokey Mountains.   Some friends of ours in London came to Gatlinburg with their family and said it was fun.  We got looking around and found that Knoxville and it's surrounding area looks like a PARTY and we'd never been to this part of the country.  It was an 11 hour drive which would have been fun enough, but as luck would have it Kaite managed (Zach writing now, as Liza is demanding to feed) to do a number all over the car seat and clothes.  Car sick?? We don't think so, maybe just a very sensitive gag reflex, but the sheer volume was incredible.  THis really nice, young guy at the gas station in Tennessee bought us some paper towels and jugs of water and brought them out to us as we were cleaning her up and said he'd been there before with his kids.  Another guy in the bathroom that couldn't have been more than 25 or so yet saw me cleaning up the aftermath, I apologized for the disaster and he said not to worry, he'd been there before with his 4 kids.  The whole event would've made great lyrics for a country song.  The people may tawk kenda fonny but ye shore caint beat da hauspitality. 

We are currently in Myrtle Beach South Carolina.  The Smokey Mountains didn't disappoint.  We would definitely go back.  Gatlinburg is a gem of a town, a  mix between cozy ski village and a family theme park with plenty to do.  We spent St. Patricks Day there and didn't have to shield Kaitlyns eyes from anything.  We kept the kids out late which left them wound up for a night all together in the hotel room.  During the hour of getting to sleep every time Liza would make even a peep Kaitlyn would whisper loudly " Liza, be happy!!!" and then Liza would become quiet upon which Kaitlyn would whisper "Tank you!!"

After arriving this evening we spent a little time at the beach to Kate's delight, and tomorrow we had promosed Kaitlyn an entire day at the beach which she talked about all the way over the Appalacian mountains.  That and the big, big slides at Mickey Donalds are definitely highlights for her. 

Zach and Mar 

Leisure time

Today Steve was released from his calling as bishop of our ward.  It has been 4 years and 2 months since he was called.  The Stake was redoing the boundaries in Colorado Springs and they kind of combined our ward with another ward while chopping off a few peices around the edges.  The bishop of the other ward hasn't been in as long as Steve, plus with the possibility of us moving soon, they thought it would be best for the other bishop to take over.   Needless to say we are thrilled.  We have gotten used to Steve serving and it really didn't feel like that big of a sacrifice most of the time, but we are looking forward to having him home more.  It will also give him more time for the job search.    I have to say, that I am so grateful that I have a husband who is willing to serve the Lord, whatever he is asked to do.  What a blessing.  I see too many people in my ward who don't have  that and it is easy to see how any sacrifice that our family made was worth having that kind of a husband and father.    I feel very blessed today in everything that I have today.  The Lord is good.    Rachel

My darling Cecelia

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Cecelia, Of course you are turning six!  Please forgive me for getting that wrong.  I've even talked to you on the phone about how you like going to kindergarten.  I'm glad you got our card, AND I hope your Mom can find the gift I gave her for you when we were together last summer.  Grandpa and I sure love you, and we will be thinking of you and telephoning you on the 31st!  Hugs and kisses, Grandma

Re: [tHe beNtLeY buLLeTiN] Celebrate

Grandma, I turn 6 on March 31st....Thanks for the Birthday card too.  Cecelia

Celebrate

So Many Happy Dates To Celebrate This Month!
Zach and Mary celebrated 8 years of Marriage the 1st.
Samuel Bentley turned 5 on the 4th.
Mom and Dad celebrate 42 years of life together on the 22nd.
James Edwin turns 26 on the 25th.
Dan and Rachel celebrate 4 years on the 26th.
Cecelia Ruth turns 5 on the 31st.


--
Wendy W. Bentley

Mom's dangerous adventure

We got a letter from Aunt Marilyn.  She was expressing their family's dismay at the crime and problems that have really affected the border close to them in Cuiadad Juarez and El Pazo. I know some of you have expressed your concern for our safety.  So I'm sending part of the letter I sent in response to Marilyn, and thought you might appreciate it too:

"What a wonderful treat to get your e-mail.  Our temple is also open all holidays with the exception of Christmas and New Years.  In fact, we have some of our biggest sessions on holidays.  Today, although not a holiday, we had so many youth doing baptisms we could hardly keep up with the clothes although we had three women washing, drying and folding as fast as they could.  We used every folding chair in the temple, to pack as many patrons possible into our six sessions.  We love Mexico and the sweet saints here!

I'm so sorry about the drug cartels and problems the country is experiencing.  We have never felt in danger anywhere we've lived in Latin America.  Maybe it is our naiveté  We have people tell us to be careful, and we try not to do anything foolish, but the only time I was very concerned was once about four months into our time here.

 I drove downtown by myself explore (I like to shop).  I found a free parking place on the street a few streets from the main plaza down by the harbor.  As I locked the car and started walking up a hill I realized I was definitely in the WRONG neighborhood.  What began as a street turned quickly into more of an alley with provocatively dressed women- and men- slouched up against open door ways.  With multiple eyes watching me, the further I walked the more worried I became, however, to turn around and return to the car also didn't seem like a good option.  I didn't have a cell phone, I didn't even come prepared with the temple's phone number or our home's number, I did have too much cash, and I decided my best chance at not being kidnapped or murdered was just to walk fast with my head up and act confident.  Within two blocks I was clear of the area.  However, now how was I going to get back to the car?  After exploring the plaza and local market, I decided to skirt around the "bad stuff" and keep to the big street that went down to the harbor.  The problem of course was that I find directions by sight, not by street names.  I hadn't even had the good sense to look at the name of the street I had parked on (of course, in my defense, few streets have posted names on the corners).  After walking  in circles (Tampico's  streets  are not laid out in squares, but follow the twisty shore line of the gulf, the Panuco River, and numerous lagoons) trying to make my way back to the car with multiple prayers, in desperation,  I finally hailed a taxi.  I explained  I was trying to find my parked, small white car, and asked him to drive up and down the streets.  He told me I was completely "loco" to have left my car in this neighborhood, and had me convinced that if I ever did find it, I would have a hard time recognizing it with its windows smashed  and no tires.  Oh the Lord was good to me!  After about fifteen minutes into our search I spotted the car, still in one piece, just where I had left it.  I paid the taxi, locked myself into my car uttering a stream of thankful prayers, and only got lost twice weaving my way back to the house.

We have driven twice to D.F. since living here (once the first Jan we were here during the temple closing and then for the dedication of the Mexico City temple), and have gone up and back to Matamoros (I flew out of the Brownville airport to save the international fare).  I don't think the border is as dangerous here are further west (or is it just my Polyanna personality?)  Matamoros is a beautiful city, much nicer than Brownville (at least from what we observed)."

Please don't worry about us.  I now am more careful about where I park the car, and we feel as safe as we do in Salt Lake.

--
Wendy W. Bentley

In December one of my neighbors called to chat and mentioned that she noticed that my in-laws were home again. She asked where they had been and I told her that they were on a mission in Palmyra, NY. She asked what they were doing there and I felt impressed to tell her about Joseph Smith and the First Vision. After I told about it there was a somewhat awkward pause and she said, "Ok, bye" and hung up the phone. The next day she called back and said, "I've been thinking a lot about what you told me and I feel like I want some more spirituality in my life. Does your church offer any Bible study classes?" I told her that I could call some missionaries to come to my house and they would be happy to talk to us about the Bible. Her father was a member (he passed away) but her mother was Catholic and she has always believed in God but not been very active in her church because she felt that it did not "warm her soul." Anyway, through a series of missionary discussions she has come to the point where she accepted baptism and is planning on being baptized next Saturday by her Grandpa. It has been amazing for me, a person who never went on a mission, to be part of this miraculous experience and see the way the gospel touches people's lives. I always assumed that I would be too sceptical, disinterested, or stubborn to accept the gospel if I hadn't been raised with it all my life, but while I was listening to the missionaries tell the story of the First Vision, the Spirit was so very strong and I felt that I would have accepted the gospel even if my circumstances had been different. If you had told me a few months ago that one of my neighbors would be getting baptized and asked me to guess which one, I am quite sure I would have guessed wrong, which just goes to show you that you never know about people.

Kaitlyn and Liza's Pictures

This morning my friend came over and took some pictures of the girls and HOW I APPRECIATE IT! We came away with some beautiful shots. Here's a sampling:

AWE

This might be my favorite picture because of the unsaid facial expressions.

My sweet happy Liza

My sweet happy Kaitlyn

So there you have it. Lately we've been having a great time around here. Yesterday the weather warmed up to mid 40's and I was in heaven. We took a really long walk and Kaitlyn rode her bus, I didn't want to come home. Tonight we'll be back in single digits... oh joy. I'm starting to dream about good weather. It wasn't bad when it snowed all day and kept things pretty but now it's just dirty and cold. Springs coming though.

Kaitlyn's talking like CRAZY. Talk about wonderful. Just 2 months ago I was over-joyed if she said around 40 things every day. Now she never stops talking. I know all of you experienced parents could have told me this would happen but 1st timer Mary obviously had nothing better to worry about. She loves to feed her babies, put them to bed, dress them, etc. Today I came down the stairs as she was putting her puppy in time out on the bottom stair. :) She loves her ABC'S and 123's and is a good cooking helper. she's also a REALLY good big sister and is sweet to Liza. I have to remind myself not to take advantage of her because she'll go and get anything I want.

Liza's a spitter. I mean she has LOTS of spit up and she also likes to do raspberries as much as possible. It produces MANY loads of wash. Liza sure is HAPPY about it though. She's sleeping really well and almost rolling over. What a cutie. I find myself thinking she's missing her glasses sometimes because this was the age Kaitlyn got hers. I laugh whenever I do it.

We officially got school off for the Family reunion!!! I'm going to book tickets right after this blog! I found round trip for $230 so I've got to jump on it. Anywho, have a great day and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARALEE!!!