Christmas Eve with the Bentleys, Tampico MX 12-24-2008 8-31-12 PM.JPG
Christmas Eve with the Bentleys, Tampico MX 12-24-2008 10-17-34 PM.JPG
Christmas Eve with the Bentleys, Tampico MX 12-24-2008 10-17-53 PM.JPG
Christmas Eve with the Bentleys, Tampico MX 12-25-2008 12-02-04 AM.JPG
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Dear descendants of Dashing Doe,
Well, it finally came to pass. After faithfully cooking, cleaning, ironing and otherwise caring for most of my wants and needs for more than 500 moons, the great, great, great granddaughter of Running Deer finally gave me notice that it was time to learn to survive on my own. At first it was kind of subtle, like offering to teach me how to make fire in the cooking place, or showing me where she puts her pottery and woven baskets, or how to wash mud from my clothes or what to do with leftovers. But I knew there was reason to worry when she told me in plain sign language that before the new moon appeared, she would leave me here alone in this land of crocodile infested lagoons and cucarachas and go to the place of the five great lagoons and the brave wolverines to see her papooses and be closer to the land of the fierce gophers where she and her tribe dwelt before I took her away to be my squaw. She will take most of my wampum with her but says not to worry because she will leave five kernels of dried corn, enough to last until I learn to hunt, gather and prepare my food for myself. Sometimes I think maybe she will like it more where she is going and that she will not hurry back to me. But maybe she only wants to go away until I learn how much wampum a good squaw is worth. I think I will miss her a lot. If she does not come back to me soon, maybe when she sees me tahen I will be as lonesome and as eager to see her as I was when I first took her away to be my squaw. If I do not learn to cook for myself very soon maybe she will not recognize me then because I look very different without my fat face, bulging belly, hemongous hips and thunderous thighs.
If I don't make it until she returns, I would like to always be remembered as Anthony the Thin, otherwise known as "el Flaco".
Vuestro Abuelito
I felt inspired to write to all the "almost" unemployed bentleys. I thought this might be a good time to start a commune and start sharing everything (except wives - that's yucky). Think of the benfits...Rick and Charlie could earn most of the money (with zack to take over when he graduates). Dave and I can earn our keep by drawing pictures for the children and building furnature - The garage is one of my favorite places. We have James who can farm like no one else, and also has a large supply of animals to eat if the going gets rough. We can't count on Rick or steve's hunting ability to bring in food, but with a little luck we will have plenty of rabbits and dog to eat. Dan, you are in charge of looking for a nice parcel of land somewhere in the wilderness. I think it's got potential. Just a couple of updates from our household. Most of you know that we are expecting another girl around the 18th of May. We are pretty excited. The kids are all doing well in school. Cecelia and Levi are making pinewood derby cars (CC is too young, but we thought it would be fun) for the race on the 30th. Francesca seems to enjoy nursery (she has never cryed) which is a milestone for us. Elijah makes a scary teenager, but is doing good and especially enjoys Jazz band. Rachel is making another baby and baby quilt, and Steve will see his last day of work around the end of May. We are looking at jobs in Colorado, Utah and Arizona so we may be near some of you soon. We especially enjoy being so close to Rick and Marisa and wish we had more of you to play settlers of Catan with - Rick or Marisa usually kick our butts but we have a good time. We are thinking of coming to Utah for spring break for a few days. We would love to see any of our UT kinsfolk. Much Love, SREILCF and probably M for (Margarette) |
[Mary even left the job to me and I struggled to send the mysterious creature down the abyss. ] Classic! BY the by, Rick had to get a new high flow toilet installed. He claims it is because Linc keeps flushing toys down, but I suspect it has more to do with being a bentley. Sburger |
The Last leg of our flight home after a great month in SLC... STILL SMILING.
O.K. I can't help the biast opinion, this is the cutest 2 year old I know!!! The elephant's not half bad either.
In the same breath, this is the cutest 3 month old on the planet.
Ah, here we are, the whole family at the boat show enjoying a day of make-believe. :)
Look, it's Kaitlyn with Duma the waterskiing dog. She was seriously impressed.Davey Stu wrote a BBB! Dad and I think it is a first time miracle (a bonus of unemployment?)! Good going Dave. We do feel it is an interesting fact that of our eight children we have, or shortly will have, four unemployed (Steve, Dave, Zach, Dan). At least you're educated and all good looking!
--
David Bentley
David Bentley
586 7700016
videos of what I do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUTHIa8LA5w&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVa4HH3w3AY&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJf6kTrfPVM&feature=channel
images of what I do
http://picasaweb.google.com/bentled/SampleOfWork#
Why don't we just act like a normal family and post articles when interesting or meaningful things happen in our life's. Now I realize most of us won't do that on our own so we could make it at least expected quarterly. That's my vote. To quote the great film Robin Hood, "absence makes the heart grow fonder"…………..or forgetfull?
With that I will write my own bb now because I never learned how to post an article.
Mandi and I are continuing our quest for "glory" in the spiritual sense as we spend countless hours and dollars at the fertility clinic. Who knew that I had misshapen swimmers? I always assumed I would be fertile as a jackrabbit. There have been positives to this whole experience however. Mandi and I have certainly grown closer and have quit spending money on baby sales. In a strange twist of fate we may actually make $17,000 dollars for reproducing, but that is another story. We are trying to enjoy this time of our lives and in our longing for a brood we have acquired quite the zoo. We now have 2 dogs, 2 bearded dragons, an Asian soft-shelled turtle, and all kinds of insects (although they should be considered food.)
School is back in session and life is busy again. I have Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and a 45-50 hour work week. Now I know you are all saying wait until you have kids, but I have 5 animals to take care of and Mandi can handle all that baby stuff. (It just occurred to me that some of you may not be inserting my sarcastic tone of voice throughout this article so please don't think me a jerk.) School is going well and at least my classes are very interesting in light of our current economic status. It doesn't look good people! I'm investing in food storage and self sufficiency training. Good thing I have honed my man vs. wild skills and have edible pets on hand.
We had fun having some family in town and especially having Chubs stay with us for a few nights. He's definitely more of a whiting because he's the only family member to stay at my house that hasn't clogged the toilet. Mary and Steve and maybe a few others (you know who you are) are Bentleys. I wonder if I lack the water pressure. The looks on both their faces were classic and identical as they reluctantly inquired as to the whereabouts of the plunger. Mary even left the job to me and I struggled to send the mysterious creature down the abyss.
And thus I leave you from the shadows of the everlasting hills. Ps. I feel a longing to use my cell phone on nights and weekends to speak with my siblings. I need everyone's numbers. Mom- Can we make this happen? Love you deeply,
James
From: Wendy Bentley [mailto:wendywbentley@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2009 11:51 AM
To: Charlie Crump; David Bentley; Jimmy Bentley; Karalee Dave Bentley; Kathy Crump; mandi bentley; Marisa Bentley; mary Zach Williams; Rachel Bentley; Rick Bentley; Sharon Matt Gehring; Stephen Bentley; Toney Bentley
Subject: should we let it die? feedback please
With half the month gone, and no BBB articles (including from Dad and myself – except the posting of our one birthday), I decided we need to rethink how often we want to do this. Would every other month be best? Or maybe just quarterly? With all of you entering the busiest years of your lives, maybe it isn't practical to do a monthly BBB.
December is hard because so many of you get together you don't feel there is anything new to say.
January is hard because you are recovering from Christmas.
The summer is hard because the children are home and during vacations many of us see each other.
Many, including Dad say there is nothing new or "important" to share.
So truly, what do you think and what would you like to do? Let's try to get everyone's opinions and then form a plan that everyone will commit to making work.
--
Wendy W. Bentley
Family,
"Vanity thy name is woman." I think that Charlie originally said that to Kathy. My next best guess would be George Washington speaking of Martha. As a side note, I say it to Marisa all the time. She has several she uses on me to include: Idiocy they name is Richard, and funny smell they name is husband. The phrasiology can be quite useful.
We are coming to Utah for a week for a Neuroradiology conference the last couple days of March and the first few days of April. I would love to go skiing on the first Saturday of April if anyone is interested.
Things are well here. Quick update:
Brig and I just started taking Karate together. I advise you not to mess with me......because Brigham will beat you up if you do.
Linc is doing great in school, and is loving swimming lessions.
Cora is doing great in school and continues to excell in ballet.
Lydia is cute as a bug. She has taken to singing songs from Broadway musicals around the house.
Marisa has become a geneology guru. She has found a few thousand names on her family tree that no one else could locate. The names are now getting prepared to go to the temple. We found out that we are actually cousins, with several shared relatives on the Mayflower. It's gross to think about, but she is really good looking so I try to ignore the fact that we could have a kid with 2 heads.
We love you guys.
Richard, Marisa, Cora, Linc, Brig, Lydia, and Clyde
Who can name that quote???????? Anyway it is a great transition into my depressing discovery.
Last night we went to the wedding reception of a sweet couple Dad had sealed earlier in the afternoon. It was shocking to me to learn that the mother of the bride was born the year Dad and I were married!!! I often am surprised to see a picture of myself and realize that I've definitely "thickened" around my middle much as my Aunt Anne and Aunt Nellie did; and that I'm getting the same lines around my mouth, and the same wrinkle in the form of a cross above my upper lip, that they had, and which as a child I thought was so weird. The wrinkles I inherited from the Whiting's. From Mother I have the thin, loose skin that shows the large veins on my hands, the "chicken skin" on my neck and the sad fact that my jowl skin is starting to sag as Aunt Leora's did. I guess all this is natural and inevitable without resorting to plastic surgery, but it is still a jolt and a shock to look in the mirror.
All of this is especially depressing since I am exercising, eating less, and I still feel as young as ever inside!
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xmas 2009 030.JPG
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Another quick note about our holidays. They ended officially Monday the 6th of January (the Day of the Three Kings). We took a touch of the Spirit of Christmas to the Salvation Army Children's Home. The Moss', Batt's, and Burnett's all joined us in filling and taking a huge pinata, some copies of the LDS children's illustrated bible stories, tooth brushes, music, and best of all pillows and soft snuggy pillow cases, with their names on, that the children clung to and hugged (see the picture). UNFORTUNATELY, our 4 kings couldn't get the wonderful song figured out that you boys sing each year that Kent Sorensen taught you.
Afterwards our American friends joined us here for hot fudge sundies and cookies.
UNFORTUNATELY, I'm not able to attach those fotos from here. I'll have to try to send the two a different way
--
Wendy W. Bentley
I've decided one of the reasons that Elder Packer blessed me with "courage" when he set me apart was that I need to be more "RED in my personality" when handling difficult situations. You know me, good old "WHITE hate confrontation Wendy," but the Lord is teaching me that I have to make difficult decisions when it comes to dealing with my "unique assistants," and with our sister workers. Hna. Garcia and Hna. Lopez continue to be a bit challenging; and we have too many sisters who aren't coming on time, or on the days they've committed to come etc..
I recognize that this is a good learning experience, even if it isn't a comfortable one for me. How blessed I feel for the fact that I this is the Lord's work and I am receiving His promptings (unfortunately usually at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning), of what I need to do or say, AND most wonderfully, it comes IN SPANISH (well, at least when I get up and write down the ideas I can put them into good Spainsh).
It is just another testimony to me of how the Lord continues to give us learning opportunities (even if we may think of them as "trials and tribulations" at times). Life wasn't expected to be EASY, but how grateful I am for prayer and revelation which help us through the bumpy times.
Dad and I are very aware of the fact that each of you are facing your own challenges and trials of one kind or another. Sometimes it may appear the "heavens are closed" to our pleadings for insight and understanding, but I testify that they aren't. We have a loving Heavenly Father who has a unique plan for each of our lives. Remember the beautiful lesson taught in the temple and in Moses chapter 5 (Faith + Obedience + Sacrifice = ("after many days") Understanding + Blessings. SO, my wish for each of you as you face this new year is to Go forward with faith, obedience and continued sacrifice, the Lord's promises are sure, and eventually the light of understanding and the blessings will come.
All my love, Mother
We had such a fun Christmas this year. I am relishing these years while the kids are still young enough to be completely caught up in the magic of Christmas. The best part of Christmas was spending so much time with our family. Sharon and I watched each other's kids a lot so the cousins got to have quite a few "late overs." Dan and Rachel came to stay and we loved getting to know Josie and Violet. Mary is here now and we are so glad. It's been nice having charlie's parents home from their mission again too. We feel blessed to be part of such great families and we are TOTALLY looking forward to the family reunion in August! Love, The Crumps
Kid Quotes:
Emma and Caroline are playing Barbies when Emma says, "Let's pretend that on the way home our boyfriends dumped us and it really hurt because they had a big truck!"
Caroline and Emma are playing Princesses when Caroline (playing the role of Prince Charming as little sisters always have to) says, "A little help here! I've been kissing her all day and she's still asleep!"
Thomas stands on the bench during the absolute reverence of the sacrament clearly says, "Poo Pooh!"
Happy January! We're celebrating Joshua David's 10th birthday the 28th
--
Wendy W. Bentley
Sunday 21st, I'm sitting here waiting for Dad to go to our speaking engagement, and I'm thinking of you. We have a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with lights and red ribbons, candy canes, dime store glass balls, and silver snowflakes…. I've silver pinecones and red ribbons at the windows and candles with poinettas for a center piece on our table, with our sweet, Mexican nativity in a wooden crèche on the sofa table. Christmas music is playing and I'm remembering Christmas' past. Wonderful memories from my childhood and yours come to mind…. But, enough, as for the present:
Last week we were invited to a school Christmas program, complete with the nativity and children dancing and singing. We thought of you and our darling grandchildren and pictured being with you at their programs. Yesterday we spent 12 hours in the temple. Both Friday and Saturday we have had lots of sealings and first time people. We opened the temple at 6:00 a.m. and closed it at 6:00 p.m.. We were just in time for our Stake's choir Christmas program which took place outside on temple hill. It was a marvelous way to begin our Christmas celebration.
This morning we visited the Playa Ward and purposely snuck in late so that they won't feel they had to invite us to sit on the stand or speak. However, we were, and we did. Tonight we go to the Chiarel Stake for their Christmas program where we are also the speakers. Tomorrow morning we will open the temple by 8:30 in time for our special session with our workers followed by a group picture outside and then a catered lunch next door in the Stake Center. We have 97 regular workers and all but five have said they are coming.
Christmas Eve we've invited for the evening, the Moss', Burnett's and Batt's along with Sis. Batt's sister and friend who are visiting. We splurged and bought a turkey and a ham, and I'll make pies etc. Everyone else is bringing their favorite dishes too. Christmas we are looking forward to having you call us when you are done with Santa and have a moment free (we don't want to interrupt your celebrations). Hopefully, we can set up the cameras so that we can see you and the children.
We aren't visiting the Children's Home until Tues the 6th of January (El dia de Tres Reyes) because that is what they requested. Dad and Br. Burnett are practicing the song Dave, Dan and Jim sing about the Kings, and Dad has completed his Christmas gift to me of lovingly translating the story of the 3 Kings from This Way To Christmas, which we will share with the children. Thanks to Rachel and Steve there will be pillows and pillow cases to give each of the 60 children. The Burnett family is sending toothbrushes and toothpaste, and the Moss' and Batt's have helped me with the piñata etc..
So that is what is happening with us. It is time to go now, but I promise more later. Love you Mom
| Please note the correction: Toney's e-mail address is: bentley.anthony@gmail.com NOT anthony.bentley@gmail.com |
| Please note the correction: Toney's e-mail address is: bentley.anthony@gmail.com NOT anthony.bentley@gmail.com |
Dear Family,
We have a cabin for the family reunion. The goal is for everyone to be so tired being together that they will want to puke. Details: We have an 8 bedroom cabin (8000 sq/ft) in Timber Lakes above Heber for Aug 14-15. Here is the website if you want to check it out: http://www.a1vacations.com/rental-home/p171348 There is no pressure for anyone to contribute to the cost of the cabin unless you want to.
Sorry for those that voted for Bear Lake. As it turns out the cabin we wanted was too small for our family, and the owners would have made us rent a second cabin.
Sharon and I are going to plan some activites for the reunion. We will try not to over-schedule. The reunion will probably start on the 13th with a day at a water park. If anyone has an activity they are dying to encorporate let Sharon or myself know. Rachael (of the Steve variety) has volunteered to coordinate meals. More to follow on that as the reunion get's closer.
On another day I will write about cutting down the 18 ft Christmas tree sitting in our living room right now. Long story short, it's impressive; especially with the family of spotted owls living in the upper branches.
xo,
Pickles
Hey Family,
We finished the Nutcracker season, and we are alive and able to write about it. This was a pretty tricky year for the Nutcracker because we let Brigham and Cora perform. They have been rehearsing every Saturday since September, and the last few weeks we have averaged 15 hours at ballet a week. Thats a lot in case you were wondering. The hard part has been that I had to sit there with Brigham the whole time because he is too young to leave. Rick, Lincoln and Lydia clung together for survival. I kept saying to Rick, "Please remind me how hard this is next year when I say lets let Lydia do it too." His response was, "You don't have to tell me twice." The icing on the cake though is the kids did such a great job. We were so proud of them. Here are some pictures to show some of the parts they had. We wish they could have performed for you all. Lots of love and Merry Christmas
Rick, Marisa, Cora, Lincoln, Brigham, Lydia and Clyde
Proud parents after the Saturday Night Performance
Cora as a little snow flake
Brigham the Nutcracker Doll
Brigham as a mouse (3rd one down)
Cora being the cutest party boy in history
As one would expect on the Monday following the Thanksgiving Holiday, accounts and reviews of the "big" meal were hot water cooler topics at work. As such, the tales I was privy to included a 10 am "dinner" start, sweet potato vegetarian wraps for the main coarse, and of course the dreaded "dry turkey" experience. Listening to these reports stirred emotions of complete satisfaction and dread alike. The satisfaction stemming from the most pleasant, savory, and delicious experience that was Thanksgiving Dinner in Colorado as hosted by Rick and Marisa. The dread, as you have probably guessed, came knowing that sharing this satisfaction with the less than satisfied might spawn envy or even be misconstrued as bragadocio. Not giving into my fear, I gave of a full account of the meal that anyone taking on the daunting role of Turkey Day hostess (or host) would wish to duplicate. To me there seems to be two items that usually define the quality of the T-day dinner - the bird and bread. IF the the turkey cooked through, golden brown, and moist are primary criteria for success. All three were easily met, with the latter two exceeding the bar set by the Butter Ball folk. The bar for the bread has an even higher standard by which it is measured. Bread metrics are usually derived from some maternal line dating back multiple generations. Not wishing to show any irreverance to the heavenly creations of my own maternal lines, nor those I share through marriage, I will say that the dinner and orange rolls were a tribute and even rival to those of my own grandmother's and Mom Bentley's. While Marisa attributes this success to the Lion House, remember that poor execution of a great recipe equals bad rolls. Lets just say that a meticulous eye monitored the rate of rise and other important details easily overlooked by the novice or impatient. There were many other delightful dishes included, but due to the time I will say only that they complimented and enhanced the meal. This account would not be complete without noting Rachel's home made apple pie-in particular the filling.
Beyond the meal we had an all around great time with both sets of Colorado Bentley's. We had the opportunity to see much of the Air Force Academy, including the Chapel and take in the festivities of the Broadmoore Hotel's Christmas Lighting Ceremony, gingerbread village, and ice sculptures. Sam, Eliza, and Peter relished the time with all their cousins and already have trips planned to see them again. As Mary mentioned, it would have been great to have more or all of you also. What an awesome family we have!
2 months old!!! Look at this cutie
Maddie's Baptism was such a great experience. Maddie was very well prepared to make this step in her life. She even told us of an experience she had at church where she felt the spirit really strong earlier in the day. Maddie is a beautiful new member of the church. I got the chance to give a talk on the Holy Ghost which was awesome and Zach was one of her baptismal witnesses. What an awesome experience!
Josh is such a great cousin! He helped Liza a lot and took every chance he got to hold her. She was always happy when he held her. 
This is one of the few moments I was able to take a picture of Kaite with Liza. She loves to help get Liza's soother (canadian for pacifier), change diapers, get her blankets and whatever else would be helpful. THAT SAID: she doesn't like to touch Liza too much, which is fine by me. :)
Dave amd I eagerly took on the job of stripping the meat off the turkey after dinner. We were having a party and Dave told me all about turkey anatomy... facinating. We have a pretty good Thanksgiving tradition going on with Dave/Kar. I wish we could have combined up with the colorado gang as well, but we had a good phone chat for Ricardo's b-day so that helped heal the void. All in all, Thanksgiving 2008 was a HUGE HIT! Kar's potato's were my favorite item, the orange rolls were devowered, and Dave and I told the Pilgrim story as well as going around the table to say what our 5 "Kernels of corn" of gratitute represented. We thought of all of you. I'll see any SLC Christmas goers in 2 weeks!!!! yippe!This story has a very personal meaning for our family as six of your ancestors came on the Mayflower in 1620. Anthony Ivins Bentley Jr.—Anthony Ivins Bentley—Margaret McKean Ivins—Israel Ivins—Anthony Ivins—Margaret Woodward—Deborah Tilton—Miriam Allen—Ralph Allen—Elizabeth Howland—John Howland passenger on the Mayflower who married Elizabeth Tilley, who came with her parents, John Tilley and Elizabeth Lancaster, on the Mayflower. ________________________________________________________ More can be found on the internet: http.//members.aol.com/calebj/howland.html and www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/4803/tilley.htm?220058
Wendy Whiting—Johanna Jeanette Cook—Ella Call – Anson Vasco II—Anson Vasco – Anson Call – Sally Tiffany – Rebbeca Ellis – Zilpha Hammond – Jedediah Hammond – Seth Hammond – Mary Hathaway – Sarah Cooke – John Cooke who came on the Mayflower with his father, Francis Cooke. ______________________________________ More can be found about Francis Cooke at www.pilgrimhall.org/cookefrancisrecords.htm
Thanksgiving: A Bentley Family Tradition. Told by Wendy Whiting Bentley each Thanksgiving as Family and Friends unite to give thanks for their bounteous blessings.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful day. A day for greeting loved ones and friends, for family, delicious food and football games. It ushers in the festive holiday season, and how fitting it is that we begin it by setting aside a day to give thanks for our many blessings and by remembering our heritage and forefathers. Nearly four hundred years ago a group of 102 people set sail from England for a new life in a new world. They would become known as the Pilgrims, and be remembered long after many other groups of pioneers and settlers had faded into histories pages. Why? Because they came to America not as fortune seekers hunting for adventure, wealth or land. They came with a dream and a vision of a land where they could be free to worship God according to their own beliefs, establish a permanent colony under a democratic government, and live in peace with their Indian neighbors. The Pilgrims, or Separatists, as they called themselves, had broken away from the Church of England over differences in beliefs. For this they were persecuted, not allowed to hold meetings or pray publicly. They sought freedom first in Holland . However after living there eleven years the Dutch government, with pressure from London , began to make their life difficult. This plus the fact that their children were adopting Dutch customs and language led them to seek a home elsewhere. They had listened to the tales of those who had traveled to the new world, and after much debate they decided to settle in America where they could be truly free. They set sail in September 1620. John Carver, William Bradford and William Brewster were their leaders. Only forty-four of the 102 aboard were Separatists. While at sea 66 days one man died, and one baby, Oceanus Hopkins, was born. On November 11th land was sighted at what today is Cape Cod , Massachusetts , and the Pilgrims knelt to thank God for their safe arrival. However, it wasn't until a month later, on December 11th that they were able to find a suitable place to settle. They picked Plymouth because it had enough fresh water for a colony, trees enough for building; land already cleared where Indians had once lived and a deep safe, natural harbor. Before the men left the ship they signed what would become known as the Mayflower Compact. In this document they pledged to obey their Governor, keep the laws for the good of all, practice religious freedom, and work together in peace to establish a new colony. One common house was built that December. They winter was bitter cold, and the ground was frozen hard. In January there were only seven people well enough to care for the sick and bury the dead. Over half of their group died during those first few months – only four married women survived. Fortunately during one exploring party they had found an abandoned Indian village and some baskets of dried Indian corn, beans and tobacco. These they took promising to repay their Indian neighbors if they ever had the opportunity. They had hoped to save it for spring planting, but to keep from starving when supplies grew scarce they rationed themselves five seeds of corn a day. The situation turned desperate, and then one day they were surprised to see an Indian approach their settlement. In English he greeted them with "Welcome Englishman." His name was Somoset; he had learned English from Squanto who had been kidnapped by white seamen years before. He announced that the great Chief Massasoit would be coming to visit them. Massasoit did come and the Pilgrims presented him with gifts. They explained that they had come in peace, and a treaty was signed. Squanto came with the chief, and seeing their desperate condition stayed to literally save their lives by teaching them how to hunt with bows and arrows, tramp the mud driving out the eels for cooking and how to trap small animals and spear and net fish. In the spring and summer he taught them how to raise pumpkins, squash and to plant corn using 5 herring fish in each mound for fertilizer, gather wild berries and literally how to survive in this new land. Squanto had been born at Plymouth , and his own people all wiped out due to a disease passed to them by white sailors. His life was spared because this plague swept through his village while he was a slave in Europe . He spent the rest of his life with his Pilgrim brothers. Certainly one can see the Lord's hand in preparing Squanto for his great mission in saving this little band of men and women, they who would establish a heritage and atmosphere of freedom for all who would follow them to America . At the end of that first summer the Pilgrims had a wonderful harvest. They invited their Indian friends to join them and 91 braves, squaws and children came, including the great chief Massasoit. The celebration lasted three days with religious services twice a day during which thanks was given the Lord for their blessings of freedom of country, religion, family, health and friends. Beside your plate you have 5 kernels of corn which represent these blessings in our lives today. I am humbly grateful for my Pilgrim heritage, and the legacy of faith, integrity, hard work and courage they left for each of us. Happy Thanksgiving! (Sing "The Pilgrims Held a Feast" and "We Gather Together." FIVE KERNELS OF CORN
The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Bay on December 11, 1620. The winter was bitterly cold. Sickness and starvation took the lives of nearly half their number. Fortunately, in an abandoned Indian village they found a few baskets of dried corn, beans and tobacco. These they took with the promise to repay their Indian neighbors if ever they had the opportunity. The story is told, that to keep from starving they rationed themselves five kernels of corn a day. These five kernels of corn remind us of the Pilgrim's legacy of faith, integrity and courage. They represent the blessings the Pilgrims were so thankful for that next autumn after a bountiful harvest: Family, Faith, Freedom, Friends and Food. May we too be thankful for these great blessings on this Thanksgiving Day.
FIVE KERNELS OF CORN
The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Bay on December 11, 1620. The winter was bitterly cold. Sickness and starvation took the lives of nearly half their number. Fortunately, in an abandoned Indian village they found a few baskets of dried corn, beans and tobacco. These they took with the promise to repay their Indian neighbors if ever they had the opportunity. The story is told, that to keep from starving they rationed themselves five kernels of corn a day. These five kernels of corn remind us of the Pilgrim's legacy of faith, integrity and courage. They represent the blessings the Pilgrims were so thankful for that next autumn after a bountiful harvest: Family, Faith, Freedom, Friends and Food. May we too be thankful for these great blessings in our lives on this Thanksgiving Day. |
Greetings all! This week started out a bit rocky, stoney to be exact, as Monday I was diagnosed as having four kidney stones, two active, two dormant. While in the emergency room, Sharon and I received a phone call from mom and dad. During our conversation, it was hinted that were the Utes to win, I, in celebration - tasteful of course - might raise a red and white banner over the Bentley rooftop. Well, though dad gave his blessing , no banner has been or will be raised. As far as the stones are concerned, the progress is best compared to the current state of the Mountain West Conference teams' BCS race - one is in, one is out, while the rest wait patiently.
Turning to less traumatic events, the balance of life for the Gehrings is going well. Actually, Sharon has been acting a bit strange of late. As most of you are aware Sharon is a great advocate for the Thanksgiving Holiday. This advocacy includes the annual reading of, and hommage to "Squanto", five kernals of corn at the table durning T-day dinner, and the dictator like censorsing of Christmas music before Thanksgiving. However, this year has been different. Since the early days of the month, though putting up an almost non-recognizeable objection of listening to "yule tide carols being sung by the choir" has outright abandoned all self-restraint and frequented the airwaves of FM 100 and Kozy 106.5 for their million hours of Christmas music. Likewise she assisted with the exterior lighting decorations in that she took down an entire Saturday's worth of lights after we discovered they did not work (yes we tested them before stringing them up) and restrung all new lights the same day. Regarding the interior decor -yes the tree is up. These latter two actions she justifies as "forethought and planning" as we will not be here after Thanksgiving as we would be normally. While her behavior is atypical for the season, thus alarming, not all hope is lost...we finished Squanto late last week.
We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing the Colorado Bentley's this week!
Good news: Steve and I are expecting a baby Bad news: I am pregnant There is a lot of moaning and groaning around our house. I think most of it is coming from me as I sit around the house trying to live through the horrible yucky part of pregnancy. Occasionally, I think I hear some coming from the kids or Steve as they forage for food and clean laundry. I think the only reason that we are surviving reasonably well is that Marisa has been our angel who comes over once a week and cooks and cleans. I personally would guarantee her a place in Kingdom if it was mine to give. (Too bad it's not.) Steve starts tithing settlement this next week and so his life will get even crazier for a while. I am always amazed at how much he manages to do. He has a lot of days that start at 6am and finish around 10pm. But I know the Lord has always blessed our family for his willingness to serve. Sorry we've been so remiss in keeping up with everyone lately, but we love you, and think of you all often. Love, The Colorado Bentley 2+6= 8 (coming May 12th...ish) |
| The Rededication of the Mexico City Temple, November 16, 2008 We, along with the other 11 temple presidents and directoras (matrons), from Mexico were invited to attend the rededication of the Mexico City temple. We felt so grateful for this wonderful opportunity to be part of this historic event, and to return to our beloved Mexico City. We got a late start from Tampico (10:30). Two hours later we were in Vales and ready to start our climb up into the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains. Toney wanted to take a new way through the mountains, and thought this would be shorter than the one we took last January to Mexico City. It wasn't. Twisty two lane highways with trucks, buses and occasional cows, burros, goats and pueblos with their ever present "topes" (speed bumps), don't lend themselves to fast travel. In one town with a population of perhaps 50 residents (if you count the dogs and donkeys) we counted five topes! This new route however, was beautiful. And with spectacular vistas and deep gorges it kept things interesting. After five hours of lush, verdant mountains we immerged into high arid plains. Mountains still loomed as we descended, but they were rocky ridges covered with cactus and cedars instead of banana, citrus and tropical pines. As Dad is fond of saying, when one of Cortez' conquistadores returned to Spain, he was asked to describe to the King of Spain (Philip I believe) what Mexico was like. He asked for a piece of paper, wadded it up in his hand and threw it on the table. Eleven hours after beginning our trip (it took us ten last January) we pulled onto "temple square." It felt good to be "home" again. Nancy had arranged for us to have a room in the dorm designated for temple patrons. Saturday: We enjoyed talking to Pres. y Hna. Cruz of the Tuxlua Temple, and Elder and Sister Waldo Call, who are our neighbors in the dorm,. After breakfast we had hoped to go to the Visitors Center, Distribution Center and Zarahemla (the local Deseret Book Store). To our disappointment, everything was closed. So we headed down to the Zocalo (downtown) area. We went to our favorite market and wandered around. To Dad's joy, and my amazement, we didn't even find anything we were interested in buying! We already have everything we want or need! We ate at a restaurant advertizing "Argentine cuts of beef." Ours was not an Argentine cut, nor an Argentine meal (with the steak came refried beans and enchiladas). By three o'clock we were on our way to Aztec Stadium which holds 100,000 people. It was a good thing we had three hours before it began because we sat in traffic for two hours, and once we arrived we walked kilometers trying to find our seats. In the process we did see the Littlefields (mission pres in the city until a year ago), Doxies (doctor with the embassy), Hna. Ivonne Riiz (one of our instructors), Hno Lopez (CCM administer), and five or six returned missionaries who came up to us and said they had been in the CCM with us. We thought we would be sitting outside like the rest of the people and I had dragged two coats (it is cold here). However, our tickets were to sit in the glassed in restaurant area with the general authorities! We were even served soft drinks and nuts! It was fun to see the Machucas (an area seventy who was one of Dad's counselors in the CCM), the Taylors (who were the temple president and our neighbors when we lived here) the Elder Cardenez, Elder Alanzo, Elder Torres, and other Mexican Seventies and friends we have known over the years. Tom Colburn and Kent Arrington were also there from the Temple Department. Because of the heavy traffic, Elder Mickelsen with President Monsen and Pres Eyring were about 25 minutes late in arriving. When they did walk in a cheer went up, and white handkerchiefs waved. Meanwhile the youth had lined up about 10 minutes before 6:00 to be in position for the prophet's arrival. The temperature was nippy and some of them were in scanty Aztec costumes and clearly very cold when things finally began. The program tried to cover the Book of Mormon, colonization, revolution down to the present day. It was obviously too broad, but the dancing was wonderful and the costumes were gorgeous. According to what was printed there were 7,000 participants! President Monsen was darling when they did the "old man dance"(where the boys with canes dance) he got up and did a little jig with them which of course brought the house down. The most touching moment for us was at the end when first the girls, and then the boys of the church school, Benimerito come out singing Michael Hick's arrangement of As Sisters in Zion, and Armey of Helaman. They were joined by the full time missionaries walking on singing Called to Serve. A sea of white handkerchiefs waved as President Monsen and Eyring left with the area presidency. Ann Dibb was accompanying her father, and I would have loved to have said hello, but we were behind them two rows and over to the side. Leaving the stadium we got completely lost. It took us an hour to find our little white car in the sea of hundreds of busses. At least as we walked around and around we kept hearing, "President Bentley, you were my CCM president." All total there were an amazing number of people who recognized us. Once we found the car, it took us another almost two hours to get back to temple square! This is a BIG city, with too many cars for the road system; and it didn't help that we were on the opposite side of town and made a few wrong turns. Sunday: What a wonderful day! We visited in the morning with the Cruz' and Calls,. All of us had our tickets for the second session at 12:00. We were ushered into the waiting room of the temple at 11:00. After a few minutes in walked Alfredo and Amada Miron! What a tender mercy. We had tried to call them without success, and thought perhaps we wouldn't have the opportunity to see them. After the session we invited them to eat lunch with us at the cafeteria which they did and it was so nice catching up on their family, talking about the temple, family history etc.. But, back to the dedication. About ten minutes after our arrival, we were escorted to the celestial room and it was filled with mission and temple presidents, area seventy, stake presidents etc.. We sat quietly until 12:00. It reminded me of the powerful lesson on reverence we were taught in our temple training. As I sat there I thought of all those on the other side of the veil who might be in attendance, Dad's ancestor's who settled in Mexico more than one hundred years ago, Spencer W. Kimball who loved these people, and the many Book of Mormon prophets. This temple is such a great heritage and blessing for these people. They had a fabulous organist and music conductor. Nancy (our secretary in the CCM, and one of our "daughters") was singing in the choir. Their hymns were memorized, perfectly on pitch and were absolutely beautiful. When they sang the Anthem and the rest of joined in the Spirit of God it was so powerful, I am sure the angels of heaven were singing with us. It was glorious and I think the best music I think I've ever heard (including the Tabernacle Choir). As we walked around temple square we kept running into people who remembered us and greeted us with fondness, our missionaries three of our instructors who had been with us at the CCM (Hno. Lopez, Hno. Vazquez) In the evening Nancy (the CCM secretary) came over to visit, and then we walked her home. Monday: We woke up at 2:30 and left by 3:00. There were some "white knuckle moments" as we crossed foggy mountain passes, but we may good time and were in Poza Rica by dawn. Now we are on a familiar highway and this time Dad was correct we did find a shorter route (seven hours). It is nice to be home in time to unpack and get cleaned up before needing to be at the temple at noon. Great trip and the only loss was leaving our strong, good black mesh bag with our food at one stop. |
