2013 At a Glance

As can be seen, all of my great plans for keeping up this blog throughout 2013 did not materialize.  Why?  Life!  But I would like to make an attempt to recap the year with its highlights.  It was a great year!

Our Ever Growing Family:

Carter Stanton Hill was born January 30, 2013.

Carter is the perfect addition to the Camron and Aubrey Hill family.

Brynlee Kauffman checks out her new cousin, Carter Hill.

Will Stanton Kauffman was born March 21, 2013.

Taylor and Kate Kauffman are Will's wonderful parents.

Carter Hill is checking out his cousin, Will Kauffman.
The first of many play dates ahead.

In nine months, Between June 18, 2012 - March 23, 2013
we had five new grandchildren!
We now have ten granddaughters and five grandsons.

Even though we were not able to attend ourselves
all of our children and grandchildren were able to
spend some family time together in July. 

We are proud of Janey's academic achievements.
She graduated with her Masters in Second Launguage Acquisition from BYU in April.
She is now teaching Russian part-time at UVU and U of U.

We are proud of Taylor completing his Bachelors in Europen Studies.
He is now working on obtaining a Masters of Science in Public Administration at BYU.

Our 2013 Family Experiences:

On my way to Utah to help Aubrey with Carter
I was able to spend a few days in Arizona enjoying David and Jessica's family.
Here is a "selfie" of Addi, Kate, and I.  Garrett was off doing his own thing.

Helping Aubrey with her adjustment to five children was a joy.

Taylor and Kate exchanged our being at Taylor's graduation from BYU
for a trip to NYC so we could meet Will.
Kate brought along three of her siblings,  Joseph, Sarah, and Eliza Garlick.

Having Camron, Aubrey, McKenzie, Cassidy, Kylie, Cade, and Carter Hill
visit us here in NYC in June was a dream come true for us!  What adventures we had!

Seeing a Broadway play, Cinderella, and walking through Times Square
with our granddaughters was almost magical.

A little rain could not dampen our spirits.

Visiting a near by fire station was our special date with Cade.

Whitlie came with Brynlee and her sister, McKell,
for a quick visit the end of July and early August.
We always love one-on-one time with family!

In August I flew to Utah and tended Dmitri and Blythe (Bebe)
while Don and Janey went to Russia and Ukraine.  I soaked in all the family I could get.
Here is my mom enjoying two of her great grandchildren.

We enjoyed many activities with extended family.

Nothing like a trip to the splash park on a hot August day with cousins.
It was so nice to be able to see Lindsey, Adam, Alina, Anna, and Page while I was in Utah.

A lively water fight in the back yard with grandma (me) helps build memories and keep us all cool.
Since Brent and Wendy Top went to Russia and Ukraine with Don and Janey,
I was blessed to be able to use their home in Pleasant Grove as my "home base."

Just enough water in the stream bed at Cedar Hills Park
to cool off and let the little one entertain themselves.

A family wedding (Jeremy and Ghazaleh Gooch)
brought us together for a very enjoyable evening
and this photo with my mom and girls.

Stan was able to join me in Utah for a few days so we could visit family together.
Then we headed to Arizona driving Dallin and Whitlie's 22' moving van
so they could get established in Peoria, AZ.  Dallin is working on his Masters of Science
in Global Management at Thunderbird School of Management.

The early morning arrivial of family makes for the best day!
David, Jessica, Addilyn, Kate, Garrett Kauffman visited NYC in October.

We did many activites in NYC including attending church together.
This does not always happen with our visitors.

A bike ride around Central Park was one of our favorite activies!
A beautiful, sunny, October day was perfect for this.

When Taylor and Kate announced they wanted to spend Christmas with us,
we were delighted!  What a way to end a great year!

Our Other 2013 East Coast Experiences:

We visited the Sacred Grove in April.

Now we have seen the Sacred Grove in all four seasons.
Each season wraps the Grove with its unique beauty.

Hurrican Sandy wrecked havic in many coastal parts of Lond Island.
The Missionaries from the NYNY South Mission stepped up and donated
thousands of hours of service in cleaning out homes.
They were asked to participate in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Rockaways in early March.

It was heart warming to see and hear the great appreciation expressed
by the residents in the Rockaways as the missionaries marched down the street. 

The ravaging affects of the storm were still visable long months later.

We were able to visit Bermuda in March.

It was cold and windy but it was still beautiful Bermuda.

It was a business trip for Stan with only a few hours to ourselves,
but it was still Bermuda!

New York Ciy has many beautiful treasures to discover.
In March we found the original art work of Heinrich Hofmann at the Riverside Church.

A boat tour in New York Harbor in April.

In July we enjoyed a walk along the coast line of Rhode Island.
It is frequently needful to get out of the "beauty" of the concrete jungle
and reconnect with the beauties of nature.

A tour of Valley Forge was beautiful in early June.
Our respect for Washington and what he accomplished was deepened.

We enjoy visiting Central Park during the different seasons.

Not only is Central Park beautiful the people are so interesting.
One never knows what a person will see there.

We were able to visit Kirtland, OH in October.

In November we visited Croton Reservoir and learned why NYC's
drinking water is world renowned for its quality.

Now we can say we saw the Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Our Other Visitors to NYC in 2013:

We enjoyed sharing our place with Jeremiah Clark who
came with his daughter and son-in-law, Chris & Sarah Moyes.

Joe and Whitney Baxter came and spent some time int he city.

My brother, Mark Simmons, with his wife, chandra,
and daughtrer, Heather visited us in April.

Steve and Charee Harbertson and Greg and Denise LeCheminant visited us in May
Charee and Denise are Stan's first cousins.  So fun to have them come!

Linwood, Brook, and Mae Biddulph used us as homebase while they enjoyed the city.
Brook is the daughter of our good friends, Howard and Gwen Haglund who are serving a mission in Armenia.

Elder and Sister Owens stayed with us when they first arrived in NY 

while they waited for their apartment to be available.

Jeff and Cambri Spear came in July.
Cambri was doing an internship in the city.

Danita Reed and her daughter, Lisette stayed at our apartment both in August and October.
We were actually gone both times they came, so we do not have a picture of them together.
In August they took care of Gladys Cazakoff in our apartment while her apartment was being painted.

Steve Weber brought Andrew, Sophie, and Isaac to see a Yankee's game.

Allen and Fern Hill were visiting NYC with Marshall, Lisa, and Max Hill
and Mark, Aimee, Kimball, Eliza, and Grant Hansen.
They took time to come to our apartment so we could enjoy breakfast together .

Reagan, Sam, and Duke Nelson and Katherine and Nick Smith
were able to come and get in some NYC adventures.
Reagan has been a friend of the family since Dallin's highschool days.

Steve and Evelyn Weber came and spent Thanksgiving with us.

Elder Chris and Sister Stephanie Owen also came and spent Thanksgiving with us.
Elder and Sister Owen also spent several weeks in the summer with as as they waited for their
apartment to be ready for them.  They are from LasVegas, NV and are blessing the lives of the Young Adults.

Joe & Whitney came with Mazie to enjoy some 
Christmas activities in the city.

Katrina McCullough and her friend, Melissa Sauter, came to have fun in NYC Thanksgiving weekend.
It was so nice they would come and have Sunday dinner with us.

It is always a pleasure to have Jeremiah Clark spend a night with us.
He has come several times throughout the year and is such a sport to pose for another pictures.

The view from our living room window started changing in August.
When they are finished, there will be three new restaurants gracing our neighborhood:
Joe's Crab Shack, Texas Roadhouse, and The Olive Garden.

I am still serving as the Relief Society president of the Rego Park 1st Ward.
I enjoy serving the sisters.  My dear friend, Rosa Morgan, passed away in July.
I miss her.

Stan works with missionary couples called on S&I missions.
Elder and Sister Hawkes are just one of the couples he has enjoyed working with.
It is such a priveledge to be associated with such fine people.

Stan serves as a counselor in the NYNY South Mission presidency.
President Kevin Calderwood is the president and
Vic Goepfert is serving as the other counselor.

Faith, Trials, and Conversion

03/25/13

Last Thursday, March 21^st, two important events were happening.  Here in Queens we were participating in an inspiring missionary conference with about 130 missionaries and in Utah our fifth grandson and fifteenth grandchild was preparing to enter mortality.  Will Stanton Kauffman, son of Taylor and Kate, made his entry into the world at 9:19 PM in American Fork and weighted 9 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long.  He came complete with hair!   He also came with his first lesson to be learned and his first official lesson to be taught.  It seems his first lesson in mortality was, “Do not do summersaults inside of my mother’s womb to the point that the cord wraps around my neck and snaps during delivery.  Because instead of being held in my loving parents’ anticipating arms I will get whisked away to Utah Valley Regional Hospital for a special ‘cooling treatment’ for 72 hours while my brain and vitals are monitored.”  That was the lesson he learned and the lesson he taught was about faith.  Will, without any advanced notice to his parents, officially moved Taylor and Kate from being new “freshmen” parents to “junior” parents.  Of course they knew they could not raise him without relying on God, but now they know just how true this really is.  Will has masterfully taught that, “As long as we stay within the security and household of God no trial is so large it cannot be overcome together . . . With faith come trails of faith, bringing increased faith””(Elder Anderson, Oct. 2012). "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philppians 4:13).

This morning they brought Will out of the cooling treatment and are in the process of removing wires and tubes so that he can be held, learn to breast feed, and go home. Yeah! 

The second event last Thursday was a special missionary conference with two brethren from the missionary department of the Church.  Stan took the day off to attend and I helped prepare the luncheon and attended the workshops as best I could.   I love how the emphasis, or “Standard of Excellence”, in missionary work here is not on the number of baptisms but on true conversions taking place.  “Conversion is an offering of self, of love, and of loyalty we give to God in gratitude for the gift of testimony” (Elder Bednar, Oct. 2012).  When we are converted we strive to use both the redemptive and enabling power of the Atonement to navigate through mortality. Missionary work is about helping members become converted as well as finding those who are ready to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ into their lives. I need to make sure that I am working on my own conversion and I need to make sure that I link everything I teach back to the saving and enabling power of the Atonement and Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness for us all. 

Last week I had the thought that I should read the conference talk assigned for the Relief Society and Priesthood lesson being given yesterday.  (“Trial of Your Faith” by Elder Neil L. Andersen) At first I countered this thought with the thought that I had already read and marked this talk and I should read one I had not read yet.  Then I thought, “But the thought to read it is a good thought, maybe it is a prompting and I should do it,” so I did. On Saturday I was painting my half bath and I had the thought that I should listen to the talk while I was painting, (another good thought) so I put it on and listened while I painted.  Because it was such a good talk, and I thought Stan could use it in his work, I suggested Saturday night that we read part (I was tired and wanted to go to bed.) of the talk as our scripture time together.  We ended up reading the whole talk.  On Sunday, I noticed that Erica, the RS teacher who would be teaching, was not in Sacrament Meeting or Sunday School.  My counselor, Kristen, was conducting RS opening exercises and wanted to know who would be teaching the lesson.  It was at this point that I realized it was probably going to be me. This was confirmed during opening exercises when I pulled out my phone and realized I had a text message from Erica saying that she was ill and asking if I could cover for her.  I felt so blessed for Heavenly Father’s tender mercies with me during the week and my heeding the promptings He gave me.  Because of them, and because I have the marking system I do when I read a conference talk, I was able to stand there bear testimony of God’s tender mercies and strive to lead an inspired discussion about trials, faith, and personal growth (conversion). 

This morning I read the talk by Elder Gay, “What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?” from Oct. 2012 General Conference; another wonderful reminder that I need to give up all my sins. It was really a talk about being converted and not just having a testimony. 

Although stretching and growing is not usually enjoyable, as recently experienced with Taylor, Kate, and Will, I am grateful for the gospel’s invitations, reminders, and encouragements to become better than I currently am.  I am grateful for the eternal perspective of God’s plan of salvation that enables me to trust His hand in the lives of those I love.  Truly, faith comforts and sustains us through the daily conversion choices we all face.