I'm Here (Benjamin)

I arrived in Fresno!! All is well, we already went out and did some contacting, we got seven referrals! It was an amazing experience. I don't have much time, I'll write more on Monday. I love you so much, it was lovely talking to you! This is where I'm supposed to be, and I know it! :)

Love you,
Elder Bolton

Shawn wrote: I was just talking to the missionaries that work with our stake last night, and one was from Maryland, the other was from Fresno. I told him we had a nephew that was just called to Fresno. He was excited about that.

David and Bree will be parents again!

David said he was posting this on Facebook so I gave him enough time to get it there since none of you will read this until morning. Isn't it neat? Gramps and I get to be grandparents one more time! That will be 34 for us. The baby will be born at the end of April if all goes well and we will all be praying that it does.

Diabetes Class

Hi Myrna, 

We have a class scheduled this week on Thurs. 9/20 at 6 pm. Topic - problem solving/goal setting. 

Thanks, 

Landon 

Pharmacist Intern, Santaquin Pharmacy and Diabetes Center

I won't be with you on that date. I have another engagement. My daily blood testing shows that I am leveling out at 95-96. I don't know if that is good enough. There are certainly lots of good healthy foods to eat that taste really good. I don't miss sugar nor sweeteners. I have learned that I really like walking. I walk everywhere that I can. I am down 17 pounds. It is going more slowly now but I am losing about a pound a week. My goal is 125 (32 pounds less than where I started).

From: Landon.Hatfield@pharm.utah.edu

Wow, sounds like you are doing great! Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming the 95-96 is a fasting blood glucose reading, that's great! It sounds like you are doing exactly what you set out to do, manage your diabetes with diet and exercise! Keep up the good work. We'll be in touch. 

Open Letter to Denise Patnode

Dear Ms. Patnode:

I was truly shaken when I heard that you were fighting cancer for a second time. However, knowing you, you will take it with the same determination that you showed when you came to the "Old" Juab Middle School with a principal that had a strong commitment to outdoor education.

When I say strong determination, I recognized during our interview, that you had a great desire to do your best. This was because you were truly committed to being an outstanding teacher. Your love for students and the desire to help them achieve the expected objectives was impeccable.

I wish I could have had more opportunities to hike Nebo with the eighth grade. However, I continued to go up there with my scouts for a number of years. I was amazed at how you teachers taught our students out in the wild. I talked with John Bennion, now a BYU professor, who was also hired by me for the middle school staff. He still takes classes of his students into the mountains to hold a class because he, like you, found that to be invaluable.

In so many ways and for so many years you have taught students in our district to love learning. You have taught them to appreciate the gift of education. You have been a wise and caring teacher and have touched and changed many lives. You have always been willing to embrace change and to improve your teaching in every way possible. I commend you for that. After I left the middle school and went to the high school, I saw many students you had influenced for the better. 

Thank you for your dedication to education. It makes me feel good to realize that I was wise in hiring you those years ago.

Know that you will be included in our prayers and that your name will be placed on the Manti Temple Prayer Roll immediately.

I know that Heavenly Father loves you and so does our Savior. When Apostle Bruce R. McConkie was diagnosed with cancer his close friend, a non-Mormon, asked if he had not wondered why me? Elder McConkie's reply was that, no he had not, but that he had wondered why not me?

You had the courage necessary to face down this disease once before. I admire that. 

One of may favorite scriptures is Alma 7: 11-12. It tells of the Savior's love for us.

 

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Love,

Leonard and Myrna Trauntvein

Ground Game and GOP Strength (At least in Utah.) We can do this!‏

At my Republican central committe meeting on Saturday they begged us to dedicate three hours a week at a Romeny call center. It is super easy. We would just call people in the battleground states and ask if they are going to vote in the presidential election and then ask who they are voting for. We would enter that information in on the computer so the Romeny campaign can find out where they should focus their efforts. Apparently very few people are helping do this. If we go in one time, they can set it up so we can make the calls from home, too. If Obama is frightening now (and his attacks on religion scare me to death, and that isn't even talking about his unwillingness to spend within his means and violating the Constitution), wait until he is a lame duck president and not worried about polls or re-election. I hope freedom loving people will be motivated to vote. The socialists are out in full force and own the media outlets, so the people have to really work hard to overcome all of the propaganda. This is one small way. Brandon said people are so funny. They listen to the news and say I am not voting for the Republicans because I don't believe in 5-10% of what they say, so they vote for the Democrats whom they agree with 5-10% but disagree with 90-95%. Hopefully that will change with this election. Brandon is going to go sometime this week to the call center in Orem. They said that teenagers are having a lot of fun there and have competitions for the number of calls they make. Hopefully we can do something in our areas of influence. AnnMarie

About Mom's Success in Fighting Diabetes

Eric wrote: Great going and to top it all off you never got fired for your illness. Keep it up you make me happy, yes I'm choosing that.

Melanie wrote: Congratulations Mom! That is so wonderful. I am so glad that things are working well for you. Keep up the awesome work! Mel

Yum!

Melanie wrote: I actually do this with grape tomatoes, then toss them into pasta, with some chopped basil. Very tasty!

How to Make Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes from "Pretty Prudent"

All you need to do is wash your tomatoes then remove the stems, cut them in half, and lay them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Chop some garden thyme and sprinkle on top. Add a few cloves of garlic, chopped and sprinkled on top.

Now set your oven to it’s lowest setting, somewhere around 225-250 for about 5 hours. They are done when you like the way they taste. Or let them go until they are all the way dry and call them sun-dried tomatoes and store them in a ziploc bag. Or pull them out when they are still slightly moist, but the edges are dried and they have a slightly chewy, sugary, deep, intense, amazing tomato flavor. 

Spread them on french bread with cheese and a few fresh basil leaves or toss them on pasta with olive oil, or eat them on a bagel with cream cheese.

I think the same president may be reelected.

Do you think that Romney is going to lose? Dad and I went to the move, "2016, Obama's America," and we were scared to death. It seems that Obama is an anti-colonialist and he thinks that America is one of those countries that has "raped" other countries of their goods and made ourselves rich on the backs of those countries. He is also a communist. I was telling Julie about it and she was not certain that the documentary was not skewed. Of course, she voted for Obama last time because she and Jim thought that the Republican ticket was just "scary the last time around and we had no choice." At any rate, I have some concerns with Obama being able to become a dictator and stay in office forever: to hang with the constitution. I know that that is on his agenda or that, at least, he would like it to be. He would like us to have an economic collapse because it would level the playing field between us and the other countries that we have been wicked to such as China and the Arabian countries. He was also raised to be a communist by his grandparents and his mother. He is also Islamic. I am a bit concerned in light of revelations about the latter days and the constitution hanging as though by a thread. It looks to me as if Obama is going to win because most people do not know his religious affiliations any more than they know ours. They do not want a Mormon in office. I worry about that. I was reading that the Black ministers from the south are telling their folks to stay home and not vote either way. What is your opinion?

Vivian Farlano-Fi​vecoat

Vivian Farlano-Fi​vecoat said: 8/12/12 

Hi

My name is Vivian Fivecoat and I am trying to put together a family genealogy book and I think we may be related albeit distance wise.  My grandparents on my maternal side were Earl George and Chasta Jean Stevenson.  They had a large family.  My mother Darlene Jean Stevenson was one daughter another was Betty Trauntvien who was married to a Mr. Trauntvien.  They had a son named Neldon Lee Trauntvien who married a woman named Linda.  They had three daughters that I know of Linda Lee, Bridgette and Yvette. 

Can you / would you help me fill in the blanks?  My plans are one or two pages of history bio on each family member along with pictures and copies of birth marriage death certificates.

If we are related, can you / would you please send me any of the above documents (copies of course)  filling in any missing information.

I have a “tree” started on genealogy.com

My contact information is

Vivian Fivecoat

430 Deepwood Trail

Clarksville, TN 37042

1mimif@att.net

9312062729



Myrna said: Family Genealogy

Remember that we spell the surname with a Danish twist. It is Trauntvein (the Germans would have used a "w" rather than the "v" and, unlike English, it is "ei" to get the right sound.

I am your Facebook friend who suggested other family members for you and caused trouble. I am Myrna Trauntvein, wife of Leonard Trauntvein, cousin of Neldon. Eva Dixon, Helen Trauntvein and Don Trauntvein are Leonard's siblings. They are the children of Jens Henry Martin and Gladys Rostron Trauntvein. They had a baby brother, James, who died shortly after birth. In birth order they are: James, Eva, Helen, Don and Leonard. We have eight children: Shawn, Melanie, Todd, Eric, AnnMarie, Julie, Kirsten and David. All of them are married and we have 33 grandchildren. Neldon's father and my husband's father were brothers. Neldon's father was also Neldon (Uncle Ned). He was killed (Uncle Ned) when the mine caved in on him. Neldon, the son, was just a baby then.


From Vivian:

Yes I remember the story  from my childhood.  Young Neldon had a sister named Carol.  I am named after her.  I have a very long journey ahead of me…glad we connected.  Do you have any documents?  I will share whatever I find wherever  and whenever.  Don’t know if you are into this sort of thing or not right now something is pushing me to get this done.

Viv

PS God Bless and thank you

Outstanding Experience at the Manti Temple Friday

Gramps and I had one outstanding experience at the temple Friday evening one week ago. Just outside Nephi on Thursday evening two men were killed in an airplane accident. Robert Marion Lamb, 45, a flight instructor from Woodland Hills, and Peter John Mrowiec, 58, an attorney from Ontario, Canada, died in the crash when their plane was forced from the air because of stormy weather. Of course, I had to cover it for the paper. That was Thursday. Friday evening on our shift, the night or evening shift, we received word that a young man, the son of Robert Lamb, was coming to the temple to receive his own endowments. We were told to be kind and thoughtful because it had not even been 24-hours since the father/husband of the family had died. Of course, when the mom and other family came to the temple they were still fairly upset. 

I was at the initiatory desk, that was my assignment as one of the assistant coordinators of the shift, so I was able to hug them and welcome them to the temple. I was also able to encourage them. That was a personal blessing because you know how the spirit guides you and I felt His presence. 

Usually, as you know, the temple president, in this case President Pinegar, meets just with the young man and his escort. However, in this case, he took the entire family into his office and taught them from the scriptures. He shared his experience in losing his young son in a tragic accident and blessed the family members. The young man also has a brother who is in the mission field in South America. This young man, I believe, was going to Spain. The women had 40 family members on that session and the men a like amount, give or take a few. Each of them did a Lamb family file card.

When the session was over, President Pinegar met with the family again just to see how they were. The young Elder said he had never had such a wonderful experience in his life. He told President Pinegar that his father’s spirit sat between him and his uncle, who was his escort, the entire session. 

His mother had thought, that in light of what had happened, perhaps they should postpone the temple night they had planned. However, the Elder thought that his father would want them to continue with the plans they had made and would like his uncle to be his escort so they all had come. 

President Pinegar received a thank you note from the family just this week.

I was so grateful that we have the priesthood in our church to, in the name of our Father and His Son, bless the lives of all. What a gift it is. What a blessing. If the Savior had been at the temple that night in person, He could not have done more than President Pinegar did through the gifts of the priesthood and acting in the name of the Savior. He would have comforted them and would have reviewed the Plan of Happiness with them as well. He would have blessed them and loved them. President Pinegar did all of that as a representative of Christ. How blessed we are. How thankful I am.

I am getting on top of the type 2 diabetes! I have lost 13 pounds and have my blood sugar down from 124 to 105. That is without medication--just diet. That is pretty good, I think. The big thing is that I feel SO much better. I might last a couple of more years. 

Gramps and I love you. Keep up the good work. We will be thinking of you and praying for you each day. (More than once a day.)


Amy G wrote: What a neat story!  Thanks for sharing. Amy