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Reunion Preparation

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                                  REUNION        PREPARATION     When I was young, I loved our family reunions, I still do! The Wade family reunions in Bountiful, Arizona, Texas, and Duck Creek to name a few. Some of you remember the McAllister gatherings in Arizona and the Johnstun reunions at Como Springs (the purple and gold crepe paper we wrapped around car antennas as we drove up the canyon), the baseball games, genealogy meetings, the food and the fun. The Stone family reunions at Hyrum Park are always memorable! I didn’t appreciate all the planning and preparation that was involved until recently.   Annette and I decided to have a reunion/retreat with the senior missionary friends we made while on our mission in Ukraine. Here’s a partial list of what’s involved: finding and arranging for an adequate place to gather. Locating contact information on all those to invite. Composing and sending texts and emails announcing and inviting and replying to a myriad of questions
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MARY HEATHMAN SMITH- A Monumental Life!

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  MARY HEATHMAN SMITH-A Monumental life! Annette’s great, great, great grandmother was born January 21,1818 in Winkleigh, Devon, England to Isaac Heathman and Elizabeth Parker, born 5 th in a family of 8 children. Mary studied medicine in England, working under the guidance of some of the most skillful doctors in England at the time and received certificates of graduation in obstetrics and surgery. She practiced medicine in England for many years before immigrating to the United States in 1862. She and husband John Smith had married on April 29,1840. They became converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1850 and in May of 1861, John left for the United States to prepare a way for Mary and their 9 children who would come in August of 1862. Settling in Huntsville, Utah, Mary was the only doctor in the valley and for 30 years, in storm or sunshine, during the bleakest of winter or the darkest of night, she attended to the people of Ogden Valley with a courage a
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A GOD OF 2nd CHANCES

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  A GOD OF 2 ND CHANCES & THE HONORARY CHAPLAIN TO QUEEN ELIZABETH !   He was a scruffy looking guy. My 1 st impression was that he was about to ask me for money, but no, maybe a religious zealot, he did have a large wooden cross around his neck. As our eyes made contact I was drawn to his beaming smile. I had a distinct impression that this was someone I was supposed to talk to, but I was tired, it had been a long drive and I felt justified in my feelings to avoid contact. We had just arrived at our destination in Banff, Canada in the crisp clean mountain air among the majestic Canadian Rockies for a week of exploring and relaxation; that would happen, but I sensed that there was also another purpose for my being here. As the evening progressed, I couldn’t get that man off my mind. I had experienced spiritual promptings in the past and knew that I would get no peace until I resolved to follow them. As I knelt in personal prayer that night I had a conversation with my heave
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FREEDOM ISN’T FREE

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  FREEDOM ISN’T FREE On a recent return trip from California, we visited (with David and Carolyn Cox) a cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada, it was Memorial Day weekend and rows of American flags marked where thousands of patriotic Americans were laid to rest. Continuing our trip we stayed in Richfield, Utah. Driving through their peaceful cemetery we were touched by the beauty of flowers and flags reminding us of those who had gone before. As we get ready to celebrate America’s birthday and continue to honor those who have paid a huge price to protect the freedoms we enjoy, I thought it might be enlightening to realize the role some of our ancestors played in keeping our country free and pause to honor them. (Quoting from the autobiography of aunt Leotha) “Some of my ancestors fought in the revolutionary war to help bring this great nation into existence. My people also fought in the war of 1812; you will remember this is the war of “the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air
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YOU'VE GOT FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES !

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  YOU’VE GOT FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES !   Country singer Garth Brooks sings a song (written by Dewayne Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee in 1989) that was an instant hit with a cleaver tune and lyrics, he sings, “I’ve got friends in low places- where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away, and I’ll be okay.”   When I first heard that song I thought, wherever you happen to find yourself, it’s good to have friends, but wouldn’t it be better to have friends in high places? What kind of friends will you most likely find in low places? Hopefully, good ones, but most likely, not a friend with the capacity to pull you up or elevate you. In order to elevate you, wouldn’t they most likely have to be on higher ground? Friends can have a major impact on our lives- for good or bad. I’ve seen this in my own life, my children's and grandchildren’s lives as well as in the lives of countless others. I imagine that you’ve observed this impact friends can have in your own life’s exper
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SPIRITUAL CATARACTS

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                             Spiritual Cataracts    At a recent vision examination, I was told that I had cataracts and needed surgery.   I’ve had glasses since forever, so I knew that my vision was lacking. Some of you have experienced this procedure but for me, the thought of someone operating on my eye while I’m awake trying to hold my eye still and not blink, was freaking me out!   The plan was to operate on one eye at a time with three weeks between surgeries. The morning of surgery came. After signing my life away and waiving their liability (in case they put my eye out or something goes wrong), the ordeal began. Five different eye drops at three different times (yes-15 drops total!) Each eye drop has a different purpose- to clean, to dilate, to numb etc. Once on the table in the operating room they start an IV. The anesthesia is not enough to put you out, they need you awake to focus your eye on the light and respond to instructions. They give you just enough of the “I don’t
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JOHN LOUIS AMONETT

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                                         JOHN LOUIS AMONETT “All stories are powerful. Our stories help us make sense of our lives, give us hope that we will sustain and overcome, and help us predict a better future.” (Robyn Fivush- phd. Professor of developmental psychology at Emery University.) The story of John Louis Amonett is one such powerful story worth sharing. John was born in Pickett, Tennessee on May 16, 1862 to Reuben Hutchison Amonett and Cynthia Cross, the third born in a family of five children. John had french blood in his veins. His great, great, great grandfather, Andre Amonnet, was born in Paris France. The family religion at the time was Huguenots,( reformed protestants and followers of John Calvin.) To escape religious persecution the family soon fled to America. John no doubt was proud of his french heritage but equally proud of his Tennessee roots.   On July 21, 1821, at the age of 19, John married his sweetheart, Louverna Katherine Boring and together they w
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