Saturday, February 27, 2010

Happy Birthday, Sam "4" on February 26

Sam, hope you had a happy
birthay on February 26, 2010.
We can't believe you are 4 already!
Sam, what a special day with your
family last January when your
brother was blessed,
and your sister was baptized.
Sam, how fun to have your Dad come to teach
your pre-school class about eyes.

Sorry, I can't get your new family photos into my "picture file" to upload onto the blog.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Happy Birthday, Taylor "7" February 25, 2010

Happy Birthday, Taylor "7"
on February 25, 2010
We hope you are having a fun day!
Taylor with her family at the blessing
of sister Elizabeth Brinn
on February 7, 2010
Taylor in the middle of her sisters back in Detroit
Taylor, how fast you have grown up!
(Lost photo)
Happy Birthday, Taylor "7" February 25, 2010
Holding your new sister back in November.
Hope you are having a fun day.I know I have this photo at the first, but I started with it, so it was on the bottom.
I love this photo, so am leaving both in.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Happy Birthday, Ben "5" on Feb. 21

Happy Birthday, Jerry BENJAMIN Brewer...
5 years old on February 21, 2005.
It doesn't seem possible that it's been 5 years
since we flew out to New Haven, Conneticut
when you were born just before we left
for our Central America Area Mission.
Ben is on the far right.
Here's Ben with his family in November 2007.
Ben is on his Mom's lap.
Benjamin, second from left, with his family
in Rexburg, Idaho with the Fishers last summer.
Looks like he was king for a day.
Ben got to be with his family and
the Fisher family last summer.
Here's Ben with his sister Sarah last summer
at Yellowstone Park.
Looks like Benjamin had lots to choose from at his
family's New Year's Eve party this year.
Ben, front left, is with his family on the blessing day of Elizabeth Jane
in January 2010.
Ben is the second from left by his new baby sister's flower.
Ben now has two brothers and two sisters.We hope you had a very happy birthday on Monday of this week.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Happy Birthday to McKell "13" on Feb. 19

McKell, Happy Birthday "13" on February 19, 2010.
I did photos on your birthday letter
and thought I had posted a blog for your birthday.
However, in looking back through my posts,
I see I didn't get a birthday one in for you.
We're sure you had a great birthday
becoming a teenager.
Fun with brothers and sister.
We know you had a great birthday with your family.
May your wonderful musical talents continue
with you through your teenage years and beyond.
(P.S. Now, we just have Ben, Taylor, Aunt Phyllis, and Sam
left for our 10 February family Birthdays.)
Happy Birthday "5" today, Ben....I hope to blog it tomorrow
my eyes are going closed now.

"Sister Fisher," missionary, known to family as Aimee, Happy Birthday "22" on February 20, 2010

Happy Birthday to our first-born granddaughter, Aimee.
"22" on February 20, 2010.
On March 18, 2009 at the MTC
Aimee told her family "goodbye"
for 18 months.
Janie & Shawn stand by "Missionary Training Center" sign
where they also stood for
Janie's going to the Argentina Rosario Mission
Aug 1984-Feb 1986,
and Shawn's 1979-1981 Mission to Honduras.
Aimee became "Sister Fisher" at the MTC
Sister Fisher with her first companion, Sister Lemmon,
and the mission president's wife.
Our oldest granddaughter is serving in the
OKLAHOMA TULSA MISSION
March 2009 to September 2010.
We wished her a Happy 22nd Birthday
February 20, 2010
Aimee with her family Christmas Eve 2008
Sister Fisher arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 9, 2009. Called to serve ...
March 18, 2009 to September 18, 2010
In addition to working so hard each day,
she has also done some exciting things on her P-days:
A member, Brother Rightnowar, in Rolla, Missiouri,
took her and her companion fishing.
Wow! A 13-lb carp. That second one was way bigger than the first catch. January 2009, just before Aimee turned 21,
the families gathered in Gooding to celebrate Grama A's 89th birthday. "Sister Fisher" we know you had a great birthday in the mission field!
And we know you won't see this blog until you finish your mission.

We did send you a birthday letter in the pouch mail from Argentina.
We know what "joy in our posterity"
is when we hear how hard this oldest granddaughter is working
and how many she is bringing unto Christ.
She has amazed us from the get go in the MTC,
and each week she amazes us even more.
Here is part of her e-mail home to her family from last week...
"How much I love the continued change
and progress I feel in my heart and mind.
The longer I am out here the more I feel
the purpose of a mission deepened in my heart.
My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ,
and baptism is central to the message I bring:
Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement
Repentance
Baptism
Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost
Endure to the end
It's not about the indicators or how many lessons we get for the day.

If I have not invited or helped someone come unto Christ
by preparing for baptism (or attending the temple)
I have missed the mark.
And then I'm really not helping them at all.
I love Chapter 11 in 3 Nephi
when Christ visits the people in America!
And what is the first thing that he teaches them?
Baptism.
What a huge lesson He is teaching to all of us--
the importance of baptism
and, may I add, the importance of
keeping those 3 covenants we make at baptism.
I am so grateful for Jesus Christ
and His eternal teachings and example!
My heart is overwhelmed with the blessing I have
of knowing the Fullness of the Gospel
and my purpose in this short time on earth!
I wish I could stop everyone I see
and sit them down,
look them straight in the eye
and share the blessing of this knowledge.
My heart feels so anxious that
so many of God's children do not know..."

Now you see why she is
the great pathfinder for
the new generation in our family to go forth as missionaries...

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Happy Birthday, Julie - 30-something on February 17, 2010

Julie, no matter what birthday presents you got for your February 17th birthday,
these will always be your most precious treasures.
Hope you had a happy birthday.
Julie, here's a treasure in your life.

Julie, here's another of your treasures...
Julie, hope you're all moved in...
Julie...yet another treasure...And your treasures all together!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - AND MANY MORE.
Love, Mom & Dad






Happy Birthday, Carter "9" February 16, 2010...


Carter, We know you had a fun birthday with your family.
Carter, Happy 9th birthday, Feb. 16, 2010.
Hope you had a Happy Day!
Love, Grampa 'n Grama Mission
Carter, I tried to put more photos on but they wouldn't work.
Good luck in your soccer games. We love you, Carter.
See you soon...like in 3 weeks and 1 day.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day to my Eternal Sweetheart...

Happy Valentine's Day
to my Eternal Sweetheart --
Walter Ray Petersen.
We were married June 14, 1961, in the Salt Lake Temple.
Going on 49 years on our way to forever together.

Besides me,
our 7 children, their spouses, and
our 32 grandchildren love him.
This family photo was taken in November 2007.
We have had 3 more grandchildren born since this photo.


Whether Walt's plowing our garden plot...
...enjoying kids and grandkids in whatever activity...
...or helping Grama A plant flowers at her home in Gooding, Idaho
in the spring of 2008 (her last year in her home there)......he has been of service to many.
(He will be upset with my blogging about his goodness.)

His first mission was to the Uruguay-Paraguay Mission
August 1954 to March 1957.
(We were in Montevideo last February and saw where he
first lived, but our photos are lost in my crashed laptop computer.)
We have served 3 missions together.
Our first one was in the Mexico Merida Mission
where we were called to be Mission President and wife.
What a blessing it was to serve with our wonderful missionaries in the Yucatan Peninsula
from June 1995 to July 1998.

We had 126 missionaries when we arrived, and
went to as high as 186, then we had 177 when we left.
On our current mission,
Elder Petersen has given the "Missionary Health & Safety"
45-minute power point health presentation in all 14 missions here
in the South America South Area - Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay--
some of the missions more than once.

I figured we've presented it in about 70 zone conferences during this mission.
And even more times in our Central America Mission - March 2005 to Feb 2007.
In our almost 18 months here, Elder Petersen has talked with about
2,500 missionaries about their health concerns. WHAT A GUY!
I love you, Walter Ray Petersen~! :)
P.S. No, he isn't perfect so I don't have to worry about him being translated on me,
but he has been the "perfect one" for me.
Did I mention I love my husband?
And, Walt, I will love you forever!
Happy Valentine's Day

Friday, February 12, 2010

Zone Conference #7 of 8...Caleta Olivia, south of Comodoro Rivadavia along Argentine's Atlantic coast...

It's always fun to see missionares eat with "mucho gusto!"
After the 3 1/2 hour drive from Trelew to Comordoro Rivadavia with
the same "wannabe" sagebrush-like stuff all along the way
(see final photo on previous post), it was nice to have
an ocean view of the Atlantic from our hotel room.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Mission Health Visit to Neuquen...continued

We have been with all 14 mission presidents and their wives
in the South America South Area of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
We are currently in the Argentina Neuquen Mission for the
second mission health visit here, with the new president and wife -
President Darwin y Hna. Nola Peterson from Bountiful.
Hna. Peterson, took a photo of
us by the lavender flowers in the back yard.
(The next photo shows the flowers.)
Walt wanted a photo of me by the lavender flowers in front of the mission office, which is right in the back yard of the mission home.
Just when we were loading at noon, it slipped out that one of the office Elders had an ingrown toenail. So the doctor's suitcase was unloaded (you might know it was the one on the bottom) and he unpacked his medical tools and went to work.
When other missionaries watch -- they either think they'd like to go into medicine
or never go into medicine.
Now this Elder will be able to walk without pain.
Then we loaded up for the 8-hour drive.
Yes, Presidente y Hna. Peterson,
Elder Camacho y Elder Jensen - Assistants to the President
and Area Medical Advisor and wife -- us,
were all in one van.
Worldwide they have cut the missions from 3 vehicles to 2.
This is what we saw on the 8-hour drive yesterday...
actually it just took from 12:40 noon to 7:40 p.m.
Nuequen to Trelew (near Punto Tumbo where we saw the penguins
here in Dec. 2008, just before I turned 70).No, that isn't sagebrush. Hna. Peterson said it's a "wannabe..."