Andy's Green Beret story and other stuff.

About 8 months ago, Roy spoke in one of the YSA wards in the stake.  The previous speaker was a young man who had been a Marine.  As part of his talk, Roy shared a story about Andy while he was serving our country as a Green Beret.  After the meeting, the young former Marine asked Roy for a copy of the story he shared.  Roy obliged and gave him a copy (this copy is in Andy's own words).  The young man told him later that he had felt the spirit so strongly during the talk.  After reading the story and after much contemplation he decided to apply to be a Green Beret, so for the past several months he's been pursuing this path.   Roy's talk was on the power of prayer and being a light to others.

Battle of Kamdesh – By Andrew Jackson

“In Afghanistan, my small team, half a dozen or so, of green berets were called to give support to a small troop. It was a day’s hike through mountains and it was bitter cold. We made it by nightfall, which was good, because then we were able to ascend the mountain where the fort was that we were supposed to defend. Once we got to the top, we realized that we’d been called in to a suicide mission. My platoon was surrounded. The sound of gun fire and mortars started as soon as the sun rose and continued till it set. We held the high ground, but that seemed to be all that there was in our favor. We had only 30 men and they were falling as fast as our ammo. Hundreds of Al-Qaida circled the mountain. Some daring to climb towards our small platoon, but most hiding in crevices on neighboring mountainsides. We called in air support, but the sky was covered in threatening clouds. Rain pelted against our wounded, tired faces.

We continued to fight for two more days, still losing men. On the third day, we knew that our chance of survival was next to zero. “Our commander handed us military cell phones to call our mothers. Final goodbyes. My throat stung as I held back tears. My mom couldn't know this was it. I told her I loved her. I lied and told her I'd see her soon. But she knew that I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t serious, and yet, she said, “You’ll be okay, I know it.”

I hung up and took my post, hoping her faith wasn’t in vain.

After we’d said our goodbyes, or whatever to our families, the terrorists began to ascend the mountain side, we were out of bullets and out of time.”         

        My buddy looked up at me as I joined him. Neither one of us hid our tears. ‘Drew, have you prayed? You're our spiritual guy. The man upstairs will listen to you.'"

    "I hadn't prayed. I was just trying to survive. I couldn't believe I didn't think to pray. Without another thought, my buddies, my brothers, knelt and I prayed. Thunder roared. The bullets echoed in the canyon, but all somehow seemed still as I prayed, 'Dear God, if it be thy will, save us.'"

After that moment, the clouds departed, like Moses and the red sea. And with the clearing, the air patrol came in and bombed the terrorists, saving our lives. Little did I know that the men in the air were going against orders to save us and were disciplined because of it.  Yet, they knew it was the right thing to do, and my gratitude is spread to include my family I left at home and the family I would have a year later.

Ruby and Greta in their tent (made by grandma :)) And in their nightgowns

--bought by grandma

We have been watching a lot of Olympics this past couple of weeks.  Most of our attention has been 

on the skating, but we've watched some snow boarding and skiing as well.  I didn't write a newsletter last week because the only thing we did out of the ordinary (besides the Olympics) was go on a fun hike up Centerville Canyon.  Someone has put a swing up there, so our goal was to make it to the swing.  It took about 45 minutes, and was a pretty good workout.  Caitlyn was too chicken to swing, so I went first and it was pretty scary.  The idea was to climb up on a rock, climb on the swing and go.  The swing was a little short and it was kind of hard to get on it, so we chose a rock that was lower, but a little more in line with the tree, which was a little problem.  I managed to miss the tree, but Caitlyn scraped her arm on a branch when she finally got up the courage to swing.

After her initial swing, Roy gave Caitlyn a push to direct her away from the tree.

We were trying to show the ice on the creek.  This was before the recent
snowstorms so we were surprised to  see the ice, but the stream was shaded
through a good portion of the hike.

We celebrated Thomas's birthday on Wednesday of this week.  Some of the kids shared some tender feelings about him over texts.  Roy and I took balloons and flowers to the grave, and later, Nick and Sara went down and released some balloons in his honor.  That's been kind of a tradition in our family.

You can see that we got there before dark, and Nick's family went after the sun went down.  It was cold and we had to shovel the snow off and use hot water and a screwdriver to get the vase loose.

Caitlyn being answered for the "Senate Dance."

  I was a little worried we were meant to keep the goat.

Beverly--3 months old

Max, excited about Book Fair possibilities

Yuna's new haircut--given to her by Yuna

Adrienne needed to re-set  her day on Friday, so
she called and asked if she could bring the boys
skating while I was there.  I'm lazy about
calling, but I skate often enough that if you want your kids to skate,
all you have to do is call and find out when I'm going to be there.
Now that you can rent these "walkers" even the little kids can do it.

Jennie tended Effie and Ori at our house one evening this week.
Effie's starting to talk a little bit.

Hyeji's map of our backyard.  The kids like grandma's house.  the fire pit is in place and ready, but
the actual fire is her imagination because we haven't had one yet.  Soon, though!

 Mav reading his book.  He is like his grandma (or I should say like his 

grandma was several years ago. (I'm talking about reading and walking 

at the same time).  

     

Dinner out three nights in a row, and Happy Birthday to Yuna!

Happy birthday to Yuna yesterday!. 

Dan's and Nick's families have been sick for a couple of weeks (Nick's family is better now).  And Nick, while dealing with sick kids and being sick himself, had to deal with Effie climbing, falling and having her first couple of stitches.  Oh, it's fun to be a parent!  Now Ruby is sick.  It seems to be a hard winter for illness.

She's so sweet and innocent I don't understand why her nicknames
are "The Terrorist, Nugget, Destructonator,  and Chaos Monkey

"

This week was mostly uneventful during the days (for me), so I got a lot of sewing done.  We did get invited out for dinner three nights in a row, which makes eating right difficult.  Thursday night, Heeyoung had us over for some seaweed soup and deep fried chicken tenders with a sweet vinegar sauce.  Friday night, one of Roy's business associates took us to Market Street Grill to thank us for a business deal that paid off (I had Ahi Tuna and Cream Brulee!); and Saturday night we went with the YSA Bishopbric to the Desert Star Theater and watched what I guess you would call a Melodrama--"Pirates of the Scarabbean."  Dinner there was fast food fare, so, nothing like the Ahi, but it was all right. 
While at dinner with Heeyoung, I started to tell her a little about our beliefs.  She seemed receptive until I mentioned that we could live with our families forever...  She said animatedly that she didn't want to live with her husband forever.  Once again I'm reminded that many people don't enjoy the wonderful relationships that we enjoy in our home and family.  She told me that the missionaries had come by but she didn't invite them in.  She said she wasn't ready.  She also felt that her husband, Jun, would not be happy if she had let them in.  When I left her home she said, "I wish I could come to your house every day!"  I told her she could always come visit me, however, I don't think she'll come without a formal invitation.  Today I felt that I should tell her that if she ever did want to hear the missionaries, she could hear them in my home.  Maybe Jieun would even agree to translate anything she didn't understand. 

Caitlyn went to her Sweetheart's Dance with a boy who is a junior and has a girlfriend.  She had a good time, but came home early due to some medication she's on that made her dizzy and sleepy. 

Jieun texted out this photo of Doyeon with her art work.
She is very talented!

Sunday evening we invited everyone for dinner, including Heeyoung and family.  Crista and Matt stayed home because Ruby was sick, and Elise and Andy stayed home for obvious reasons.  We always miss any of our family who can't be here.  Jieun and Dojin also stayed home with illness :(

Some new markers kept them captive for at least 30 minutes

Gunnar, Yuna and Ollie

Finn

AJ and Effie

These 3 pictures are actually from the last week in January, but I didn't put them in the letter.  They were too cute to leave out.

Adrienne made coconut cupcakes for my birthday

Gunnar and Effie

A fabulous birthday and Happy birthday to Greta!

The day before Elise returned to Texas, we had the girls (and Nick) for lunch at my house.  I cooked a crustless quiche (Grandma Ila’s recipe), and a pear salad.  Crista even drove down (she said it was a hard decision whether to come—that hour + of driving).  Unfortunately, we missed Jieun because Hyeji was sick (and then all her kids got it). 

Wednesday Roy took Caitlyn up for a procedure at the Primary Children’s hospital and a bit later I took Elise to the airport.  Caitlyn had a steroid injection on each side of her jaw.  Because she had to be perfectly stabilized, she was anesthetized.  She is always emotional when she wakes up from being put out, and she was miserable and uncomfortable the rest of the day, but we are hoping the injections will help the inflammation in her jaw to settle down so that the Humira (drug) she’s taking can be more effective and she can have some relief from her pain.  She also had an appointment with Dr. Guinn (the jaw pain specialist) the following day and he adjusted her splint and suggested some things she might do to help.  He said he was surprised she could live like this, the tension in her jaw was so acute.

Before

After

Gratefully the rest of the week has been more fun, especially for me and Roy. 

Thursday morning, we picked up Christine and headed to Vegas.  We had a lot of fun visiting with her for the long car ride.  She had thoughtfully prepared little treat bags with chocolate, Valentine candy and lip balm, and a beautiful Valentine table runner for all of us who would be on the trip.

 

Roy had decided to take me to Vegas on my birthday to watch a couple of shows.  He brought it up at Jacob Christensen’s reception while we were visiting with Phil and Char, Nan and Bruce and Dave and Becky.  Nan had just gone to a few shows and so she was a good source of knowledge.  Phil and Dave said they’d like to come.  We asked Christine if she was interested, and of course she was immediately in since her grandchildren live there.  She found us an inexpensive place to stay through her in-law’s time share. 

We arrived in Vegas with just enough time to check in, relax for a short time, and get dinner before the first show. We saw “Love” A Cirque de Solei with Beatles Music.  Watching the people is as entertaining as watching the show.  Vegas gets a wide variety of humanity.  The dancers and acrobats were very talented and extremely strong. 

Friday the girls went shopping except for me.  I went with the boys hiking.  We picked a trail (I was willing to go 5 miles if the rise in elevation was limited).  After a few minutes on the trail we asked some young men (from France maybe) if it was 2.5 miles each way, or 2.5 miles round trip.  They said it was only about a mile in and a mile out, so we thought maybe we’d try the adjoining trail which professed to be 5 miles.  What I didn’t realize was that the switch made the hike a climb with a 2000 ft. rise in elevation.  We walked on a fairly steep trail for about an hour, and then it became a very steep trail.  We climbed for maybe 30 minutes more, but Roy and I hadn’t brought snacks, and we only had one water bottle each.  Mine was nearly empty.  Steve shared his granola bars, but we thought it expedient that we turn around.  Steve and Phil kept going and made it to the top of the mountain.  We found Dave who was waiting at the bottom, probably very disappointed he couldn’t hike (He’d hurt his knee and was supposed to limit his steps), then we got out the grapes and oranges and refueled and rehydrated.  It was a pleasant wait for Phil and Steve because the weather was perfect—sunny and cool.  I have to mention that Dave called me for my birthday--from the back seat of the car on the way to the hike.

Steve and Phil hiked to the top of the mountain you see
above us.

That evening we ate dinner at Emeril’s at the MGM Grand.  Crista had recommended this restaurant.  It was expensive but very good, and everyone seemed happy with their meal choices.  They had corn bread on the table and it was very tasty.  They made sure Char and Dave knew that they couldn’t eat it.  We had read some reviews that said the service was slow, but we didn’t find that to be the case at all.  The waiters were extremely attentive to the point that everyone’s plates were laid on the table in sync, and they watched carefully to clear the plates as we finished. 

Expensive, delicious, and TINY

Crab Cake

Pecan encrusted redfish

The MGM grand (where we parked the car) was a little further away from the Flamingo than we thought.  It wasn’t really a problem for anyone but Dave.  We were short on time so we headed out to the strip thinking we could hail a cab for Dave and Becky.  We soon found it didn’t work like that--the cabs pick people up at the hotels--so Roy and I ran ahead to get the tickets.  Dave and Becky walked a little longer and then found a bus.  Miraculously everyone made it in time. 

We watched the Donny and Marie show at the Flamingo.  The theater was sub-par, but the show was fun.  Donny and Marie had tremendous energy (for being the same age as dad and me).  Donny danced a lot more than Marie did, and we noticed that there was always someone to help Marie get up or down a step.   The audience was interesting, there were a bunch of women that thought Donny was just so wonderful.  They wanted to touch his hand, and when given the chance they’d touch his face.  One took his face in her hands and said, “You’re just so beautiful.”  It was kind of gaggy.  😊 

My favorite part was when Donny sang "Close Every Door" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Marie sang an opera song that was fabulous, also.  

After the show, Phil and Steve walked the several blocks back and retrieved the car.  Dave had nearly walked 10,000 steps.  5X what the Doctor ordered.  He didn’t complain though he must have been hurting. 

Roy and I are not usually terribly spontaneous with our schedules, we usually have something we have to get back for.  But this time, when Charlotte invited us to spend another night at her home in Saint George, we found that we wanted to extend the vacation.  So, after meeting them for lunch at Coyote’s, and cutting grape vines at the Granary in Santa Clara, and having a cookie at a gas station Char told us about, we headed over to their place. 

Matt Nielson (Tristan’s husband) was in town with three of his kids.  Alayna had a soccer tournament.  Char and Phil went late to watch her, and then Phil left her with Matt and came and joined us for a hike.  We hiked up Padre Canyon to the saddle.  It was about 5:00 when we started and took us about an hour to reach our destination.  Phil was trying to catch the sunset with the perfect lighting.  He thought we’d started too late, but it turned out to be just beautiful—both looking into snow canyon, and looking back past the Tuachan theater into Saint George.  It was a fun hike.  On the way down we ended up hiking in the dark which extended the time a bit.  Phil is a fast hiker and he was like a mountain goat on the way down.  I felt the need to be careful with every step. 

In the dark at the end of the hike.  We're were safe!

It was after 7:00 when we got back to the cars, so Phil took off in a hurry to get Charlotte.  They picked up Thai food for our dinner and we met back at their home. 

While we were visiting we discovered that Matt Nielson is my 3^rd cousin twice removed.  We used the Family Search App (we all got on the same network, went to more options and searched for “relatives near you.”)  We are related through my great great grandfather Lorenzo D.  Johnson.  I came from one wife, and Matt came from the other.  Lorenzo is his fourth great grandfather.  That is a pretty close relationship.  Roy and I are about 10^th cousins.  I am curious how closely related Matt is to Tristan.  They might be 3^rd cousins once removed because they are closer to the same generation, or 4th cousins once removed, which is how close Jeff Cook is related to Amy.  

Today is Greta’s birthday—Happy birthday!  We love you.  We got to Facetime with her Saturday night to see her eat her birthday cake.  She liked the frosting best—so did Ruby 😊. Greta had pink frosting all over her hands.  It took her a few minutes to get the hang of what she was supposed to do with the cake, but then she enjoyed it. 

Greta's 1st birthday

Now we are driving home.  We didn’t have any church clothes packed.  Roy said goodbye to Char and Phil as they headed to church but I missed them, so, Thanks Phil and Char, we had a great time. 

We stopped to see Grandpa Rasband on the way home.  He's feeling a lot better from his flu, but his back still bothers him a lot.  Roy advised him to move more, but we know how that goes over.  

I came home ot these beautiful flowers and some chocolates from Glenn.  He is so thoughtful.

Elise sent this picture with the caption "Name that Baby" because
she thought it looked like  Bev, below.
The picture is of Thomas.

Bev

The following are pictures sent to me on (or around) my birthday.

Ruby

Ori, making a cake with candles

Effie, eating dirt as usual

And a blast from the past

 Above: Christine and Catharine (about 1966) and Christine, Glenn, Catharine and Philip (front)

A funny story from Elise:  After falling with the ladder trying to climb the bunk bed, Mav and Max went to the garage with Elise to go run some errands.  While loading Beverly into the car, Mav took hold of the garage door as it was going up. He didn't let go.  Elise heard screaming and turned to see him at the top of the garage, hanging on for dear life.  She ran as fast as she could saying, "Don't let go, don't let go..."  Luckily, he held on and she got him down safely.  

I'm adding a few more pictures to last week's blog, so check it out.