But more specifically, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We hope this newsletter finds you happy and healthy!
We've enjoyed many blessings this year and are grateful for those who have been so supportive of us, and for our Heavenly Father, who has blessed us so much.
Just some quick news about each of our children:
Lisa & Tyler: Lacie, soon-to-be 6, started school this Fall. She loves it and has many friends and learns quickly. Sophie is 3 and a cute little stinker. After months of unemployment, Tyler felt impressed to enlist in the U.S. Army. He will leave in mid-March for Basic Training at Fort Bragg, Kentucky. After Fort Bragg, he will go to Fort Lee in Virginia for his training. He will return home sometime in August, and get his assignment in September, or thereabouts. He also completed the training to receive his EMT license and got very good grades in all the classes. Lisa has been busy with the girls. :-)
Erik and Alicia: Erik is working at PC Laptops in Orem, and is probably the best in the company at repairing, troubleshooting, and recovering data for them. They recently moved from Pleasant Grove back to West Lehi, which might actually be Saratoga Springs. Alicia is busy using her cosmotology degree doing hair, etc., and they are expecting a girl on Jan 12th, Karl's birthday. Maddison is 2 and is a very verbal and precocious little 'stinker'.
Andrea: graduated from BYU in Communications Disorders, and is now teaching Orchestra at Bluffdale Elementary, has written a book and his waiting for a publisher. She is a temple ordinance worker every Saturday, music chairman in her single's ward, and the YSA Rep for our stake. She has a boyfriend who is in the U.S. Air Force and stationed in Alaska as a large aircraft mechanic. He's from the San Diego area in California.
Glenn and Andrea: Living in their home in Pleasant Grove. Glenn received his Real Estate License and is busy selling and listing homes. He has a good deal for sellers where they only have a $1000 listing fee, which the buyers will pay as part of their closing costs. At least that's how we understand it. Andrea is busy with Brayden, their little boy, who is 6 months old, and cute as can be. Andrea created a website for Glenn at GPearsonRealtor.blogspot.com so go take a look at it.
Daniel: has been busy all year working here and there, and is back at McDonalds again. He worked there all during his high school years. He is starting school at UVU in January.
Michael: was at BYU until summer, and is nearly a Junior. He was a math T.A. and loves anything to do with math. He received his mission call to Japan (Nagoya Mission), and leaves on Jan. 13th. He bought a clunker car and has been delivering pizza for the Lehi Dominoes to earn money for his mission, and because of the age of his car, he's also learning how to do car repairs. He is busy studying Japanese and reading church books. He finished his pool table and everyone is enjoying the "fruits of his labors".
Josh: is a Junior at Lehi High. He spent the summer doing yard work for neighbors, and helping a man in our ward install cabinents. He just built his first night stand and did a very fine job. It looks wonderful. He is busy playing the piano, reading books, and setting goals to get his Eagle Scout award during the next few months. Our new home teacher specializes in nagging boys to get it done, so that will be a big help.
Betty: Busy as always with her children and various church callings (Stake Family History Trainers every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, Stake Temple Week Coordinator, and helping supply the youth in the stake with family file cards so they can do Baptisms for the Dead. Her Missionary and Military Moms email groups are keeping her busy, as always, and are a joy and a blessing in our lives. She teaches cello lessons and has several students.
Karl: Still job hunting, but is hopeful. We've been surviving on various contract work and odd jobs, and unemployment benefits. He shares the calling of Stake Family History Trainers with Betty, so is busy with that 3 nights a week, as well as locking the stake center very night, and helping Betty schedule the stake center, stake pavilion and softball fields.
We grew a very large garden. This year we tried butternut squash. Very good! Towards the end of the summer we finally got an abundance of tomatoes and bottled, for the first time, various recipes of salsa and spaghetti sauce. We made tomato juice and froze tomatoes, green beans, squash, peppers, and also dried apricots, peaches, pears and apples. We grew basil and parsley, and for the first time, Stevia. We plan on doing more herbs next year. We also had a small spring garden with peas, lettuce and onions. In our big garden we had 10 zuchinni plants and dried a lot of zucchini. We also learned, with the help of Glenn, how to make jerkey. We have the dryers, so why not?
As we said at the beginning, we are hoping you are healthy, happy and prosperous, especially in your service to others, for as King Benjamin said:
16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
....
19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!
That's found here: scriptures.lds.org/en/mosiah/2/16-17,19#16
May the Lord Bless and Keep You Always,
Betty and Karl Pearson, and family
Christmas, 2009
Here's a video presentation containing pictures throughout 2009:
