Thanksgiving and wedding

Hi sweetie,

We have had a fun-filled week. Monday night Dad and I went to dinner with Kings, Booths and G&G Orton at the Spaghetti factory to celebrate G&G Orton’s anniversary. The kids were out of school Wednesday through Friday for Thanksgiving break. For the week before Thanksgiving, Mary and I were taking orders for a Thanksgiving appetizer (homemade jalapeño jam with cream cheese and crackers for $20/plate) as a fundraiser for her trip to Chicago in January with the Bingham Ballroom team. Wednesday was delivery day and Mary delivered 24 of her 27 orders that day.  Her trip payment was $450 and she made $445 on the fundraiser! She was so blessed. This neighborhood is so supportive. We have had such good reviews on our jalapeño jam. It was a big hit! In between the fundraiser and regular life things, we were trying to get all our Christmas decorations out so Grandpa and Grandma Stepan could see them when they got here. We did it and everything looks great. I’ve also been trying to address Christmas cards and I’m going to try and get them mailed before or on December 1 this year.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the 118th church building with the Stepan side. We had 42 people there. It was crazy getting the food prepared and over to the church but we did it and everything turned out so nice. We took a family picture but it wasn’t complete because we were missing 9 people; You and Jeff (both serving missions), Chelsey and Riley and their 3 kids (they were with Riley’s family this year), Bailey and Crawford (in New York). After dinner we played basketball and pickleball. Being able to talk to you was definitely a highlight of our Thanksgiving.

Brooke and Sam stayed at our house on Wednesday and Thursday night. It’s always a joy to have them. Luke was in heaven having the beds filled in the guys room cause Michael was home from BYU for the weekend too.

Friday was Joe and Lily’s wedding at the Draper temple. It was cold and snowy for pictures but the ceremony was beautiful. It was great to spend another day with the family at the luncheon and later that evening at the reception. A lot of the family came to our house between the ceremony and luncheon and again between the luncheon and reception. It was fun to see everyone but remind me to tell you about Brittany and the socks :)

Dad took me on a date to the Gentri Christmas concert at Eccles theatre yesterday. We enjoyed it so much that we’d like to take all of you next year. One of the singers in the trio is in our stake which makes it even more meaningful.

Mary and her friend Bryce have been working on their gingerbread house for Jensen’s Math of Personal Finance class. It looks really good.

We love and miss you so much. Pedro is in our prayers as he prepares for his baptism this week and as he develops a testimony of tithing. Keep up the good work. 
Love,
Mom

Basketball, car and babysitting

Hi sweetie,

Our biggest news this week is that yesterday we traded in our 2022 Telluride for a new 2024 Telluride. It is still white but the new one has black interior and a few more bells and whistles like a camera rear view mirror and a nicer dash display. A few months ago there was a recall part and when Dad took it for replacement the service guys accidentally messed up the tensioner pin. They fixed it but the brakes made a weird sound when the car was wet from then on. Dad didn’t want to be stuck with problems once the warranty expired so we traded it for a new model. It wasn’t the best timing for us financially but it will be better in the long run.

We babysat Charlotte this week while Lindsey and Jade went to the temple. She is a sweetheart. She was upset when her parents left. Nana was worried about her. She calmed down when we turned on Coco melon and then we had fun the rest of the evening.

Luke had his last basketball game of the Fall season. I got a picture of some of the guys on his team. It was really fun for Luke to be part of a winning team. They had a great season.

Luke spoke in sacrament meeting today about how we can come closer to Christ. Luke talked about his recent patriarchal blessing. He did a great job. When he stood with his deep voice I had a moment where I can’t believe how big you kids are. Just yesterday you were babies in my lap eating Cheerios and drawing pictures during sacrament meeting. Time goes by so fast.

Funny story about Luke. A girl from student government told Luke that her friend said, “I saw a picture of Luke’s older brother Ben and all I know is that when Luke is done cookin’ he’s gonna be good lookin!"

Hopefully you get a chance to watch Elder Ballards funeral. Elder Holland gave a very sweet talk. It was wonderful to see Elder Holland after his recent illness. I cried through the funeral because I felt the spirit so strong. Elder Ballard and Barbara are good people who dedicated their lives to the Lord. The legacy they left is amazing.

We set up the Christmas tree after Sunday dinner today. We put your ornaments front and center and it made me so excited to be able to celebrate again with you in 2024! I hope you have a wonderful and memorable Christmas as a missionary in Lleida and I wouldn’t wish that away for anything but I am looking forward to 2024.

Love you so much! Have a great week and we can't wait to be able to talk to you tomorrow AND Thursday for Thanksgiving!
Hugs and kisses,
Mom

Adventures with Demetrius

Hi sweetie,

Our biggest news of the week is that Demetrius jumped out of his tank. Wednesday morning I walked in the laundry room to put the kitchen rag in the dirty clothes basket. Usually I just drop it in the basket and walk back out but that morning I decided to fold the clothes on the drying rack right then. I took Luke’s shirts in his room and started to fold them on his bed. When I looked over at the fish tank I said to myself, “where is demetrius?” so I kept looking as I walked around the bed to the tank. I got down real close and I was shocked and mystified to realize that the tank was empty. Then I looked down and the fish was on the carpet. At first I thought he was dead because I didn’t see him move. For a few seconds, I wasn’t sure what to do. I called to Sara and when she came in she saw him move. When I got him back in the tank he was rolling around instead of swimming. He was covered in dust from the carpet (gross I know- clearly we need to vacuum the corners better). I called Luke cause it was 7:25 am and school hadn’t started yet. I told him that Demetrius probably wasn’t going to make it. I also texted the family group chat. I never realized how sad we all would be about loosing a fish. Within minutes of each other around 10:30, Michael and Luke both texted me to check on fish. He survived his little out-of-tank adventure. We’re not sure how long he was out of the water but he’s a tough fish! So far Luke has dropped him, one of his tanks has shattered (luckily he wasn’t in the tank at the time) and now this and he’s doing amazing! Luke really wants him to live through your mission since he already lived through Michael’s. Luke taped a paper lid to the top of the tank after school that day to prevent future tank escaping. 

Luke took the pre-ACT on Tuesday. He said the science was the hardest section for him. Sometimes I still can’t believe our Luke is in high school. Mary had the day off while the Sophomores took the ACT, so we went to breakfast and shopping to find her a Bingham Ball dress. She found a beautiful dress and we had a good time.

I made two more batches of Jalapeño jelly this week. I’m still using up the last of the jalapeños and peppers from our garden.

Michael has a nasty cold so we took dinner and some NyQuil to him in Provo after church today. I hate it when my kids are sick but I feel grateful that he’s close enough for us to run things to him. Both of Michael’s roommates are engaged so I took a picture of their announcements on his fridge. Michael will be living alone for about a month after they both get married. Right now it looks like Nick Stepan and Ryker’s friend will be his new roommates in January.

We studied James tonight for Come Follow Me. I am so grateful that Joseph Smith asked of God after reading James 1:5. I love the light and knowledge that we have received as a result of the restoration of the gospel.

Hope you have a great week sweetie. We love you and you are always in our prayers.
Love,
Mom

Prayers for Anna

Hi sweetie,

Loveland’s came over to play games tonight and Anna told me that her doctors have given her 6-12 months to live. She can’t cry because the chemo dries her out but I definitely cried. I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom for a bit. My heart is broken. I am happy for her because she will be out of pain but it is so sad for the rest of us that are left behind. I am so sad for Ryan and Todd and Brother and Sister West. I keep thinking about President Nelson’s talk on thinking celestial. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us perspective and purpose to life. I can’t imagine trying to cope with the trials of life without it. I am Anna’s ministering sister and I feel so helpless. I wish there was something I could do to help ease the heartache. I pray that I will be guided to help their family in the coming months.

We celebrated Halloween this week. The kids carved pumpkins (Nana loved snacking on the insides). We had our usual beef stew and I made sourdough bread. This was the first year in a long time that I haven’t attended an elementary school Halloween parade. Sara went trick-or-treating with friends from the neighborhood (she got 7.1 pounds of candy/soda). Luke had some friends over and we played a new game called Bank. Mary went to a party with some friends from school. I had a new experience this year. A dad came to the door with 3 girls and after I gave the girls some candy, the dad asked if the girls could come in and use the bathroom. After they used the bathroom one of the girls walked in the kitchen and asked for a drink of water. It is the first time I’ve had trick-or-treaters come in and stay for a while 😂. I had no idea who they were.

Dad traveled to Houston for work this week. He got to stay in a really nice hotel and he said meetings went well. 

The leaves are falling. While Dad was in Houston, the kids and I filled 2 big bags of leaves and by the next day it didn’t look like we had raked at all.

We love you and you are always in our thoughts and prayers. I loved seeing the pictures that Hermana Heckmann posted on Facebook from your MLC. 

Can’t wait to talk to you again tomorrow.

Love,
Mom

Packing the shed for the winter. Our new lawn mower folds up! How cool is that?!