2010 from Dean

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! At the beginning of 2010 I was wrapping up my mission in Bloomington, Minnesota, battling the negative temperatures but enjoying the warmth of sharing the gospel and seeing lives change through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I got to meet Elder Perry of the quorum of the 12 apostles and make many other lasting friendships as I concluded my mission in Waconia, Minnesota. It is difficult to describe the feelings of love and joy I felt when I got to greet my family coming off the plane after being gone for 2 years, but it was glorious. I returned home from my mission on the 1^st of September.

I enjoyed spending the remaining weeks of September catching up with family and friends, beating Carl in a wrestling match, readjusting to non-missionary life, and introducing myself as ‘Dean’ instead of ‘Elder Spencer’ again. At the end of September I moved to Seattle and resumed my pre-med studies at the University of Washington. I love the campus, the student ward, and living close (but not TOO close!) to family. Highlights have been making new friends, attending UW football games, playing in a flag football tournament at Husky stadium, singing in the university choir, going on dates, serving on the UW institute of religion council, and exploring the fantastic local restaurants that the University District has to offer. I also look forward to starting an internship next quarter with a surgical quality and outcomes research group. Student life is busy, but fun and exciting!

As I reflect on the year, I am amazed at how many blessings I have received because of the Savior’s birth many years ago and from wonderful family members and friends like you. May each of you feel His love for you during this wonderful Christmas season.

With love,

Dean

The Cox Family

We hope this Holiday Season finds you in health and happiness. Our little family has truly been blessed this year. We abandoned (or postponed) our plans to build a home and bought our first home in August. We really love it and have been busy putting our own touches on it.

Steve is still working as a Orthopedic Physician Assistant. His commute is short and his hours are long but he enjoys helping his patients and assisting in surgeries. This fall he completed his 2nd season as Franklin Pierce High School football team's Physician. He enjoys going to the games and is on the Athletic Board.

I am busy with the kids, decorating the house, and growing a baby. Our 3rd Baby, a boy to be named Jakob, will be arriving late March.
Jaxson is 5 and loves preschool, numbers, his leapster, and anything with wheels. He is also the most excited for the new baby!
Ehlana is 2 1/2 and loves babies, princesses, speaking her mind, and most of all her Daddy. She is really small for her age but she is full of personality and energy. She loves to say "I love you" which melts our hearts.
This year has brought us so much peace and comfort. We are most grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and this wonderful time of year we get to spend with friends and family!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Steve, Delee, Jaxson, Ehlana, and baby on the way

2010

As a family we took our annual trip to Lake Powell, which featured an extra large slip-n-slide into the lake, as well as trips to Washington and Idaho. Jeremy and Terra took a trip to San Francisco just the two of them so Jer could attend a conference. It was very fun to see Alcatraz, bike across the Golden Gate and ride a cable car.
Jeremy grew a salsa garden which was rather successful despite a May snow storm. He canned tomatoes, salsa, applesauce, peppers and pears. He attended the Utes home football games and enjoys playing football or basketball on Saturday mornings. He continues to build his optometry practice in Riverton, UT and has re-negotiated his contract to take on the risks and potential benefits of being his own department. He was sad to leave the young men's organization at church to serve as an assistant executive secretary to the bishopric.
Terra continues to manage the home front. She loves working with the primary girls as Activity Days Leader at church and also serving on the ward Relief Society board. She enjoys cooking, family history, reading, and playing the piano (occasionally).
Paul will turn 6 next week. He played T-ball and soccer this year. He also started kindergarten and enjoys riding the bus, playing at recess and learning to read. He is still very active, social and thoughtful.
Sam turned 3 this year and finally started preschool. He loves playing with toys--especially stuffed animals, batman and blocks--watching TV, drawing and reading books. He is creative, imaginative, and funny.
Audrey is now 1. She is walking all over and talking a little. She is mommy's little shadow, unless Daddy is home. She loves getting into the garbage and bathroom drawers, eating, drinking, taking baths, playing with babies, dancing and singing.
We are so grateful for the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the gifts He continually blesses our family with, but mostly for the gift of His life which allows us to overcome this life and return to our Heavenly Father.

2010 news of Darwin and Margaret

We've had a blessed, peaceful year. Darwin's dad passed away in October which was sad for us but a blessing for him to be without pain. This took us to Idaho for Darwin to be able to reunite with family and friends. What a blessing they all are.
Work has remained the same. PSE energy rebate program has kept 'Spencer Insulation' afloat with work. This we are grateful for since construction all around us has taken a big hit.
We didn't presell our garden produce this year which was a blessing because the growing season here was poor. We got enough for our family and that was it. We spent our summer making yard and farm improvements and mostly waiting for Dean to come home! We took a few short trips here and there to Idaho and Utah and Margaret took a fun trip to Arizona.
Margaret took up quilting by taking a couple 'block a month' classes. As of now the classes are about done and I am only 3 months behind. Ha! It has been fun though and I've learned lots. Preschool continues to go well with wonderful children and parents coming and going. Our joy has been in our wonderful children and grandchildren, friends and serving in the church.
We have been so greatly blessed in so many ways! We love hearing from each of you. We rejoice in your happiness and pray for you through your challenges. May we each feel peace through our Savior Jesus Christ this wonderful season and all through the year!
Lots of love... Margaret and Darwin

A Warm welcome back!

St. Paul Temple

Dear everyone, and especially my family,





It was wonderful returning home from my mission and being with you all again. It was a roller coaster of emotions...and still is for me. There were many things I was shocked at which include: being able to hug people again, hearing my little neices and nephews able to pronounce my name, seeing mom text on a cell phone, promptly followed by dad sending a picture message (that almost put me into shock), meeting the wonderful Amber Spencer to find that she really is as cool as I had heard, seeing Mt. Rainer, eating Mom's food again, and many other things that I could go on and on about. All in all I love you all so much. I wish I would have had more time, and wish even more that I had unlimited money to go fly to wherever you alla re and stay with you for a while. There is a poem that I had found in an ensign that I wanted to share with you all when we were together, but I was forgetful, so I figured I would do it on here. I read this poem during my last weeks of my mission, and it hit me powerfully. It is exactly how I feel.





Angels without Wings


by Rachel Henderson





I see my family differently,


now that things have changed.


It seems that our priorities


are somewhat rearranged.


My parents are my teachers


and help me see the light.


My siblings are my closest friends,


there for me day and night.


Each on is peculiar


in their own amazing way.


They are my positive influences


each and every day.


I'd be lost without them


and what comfort to me each brigns.


For my parents and siblings alike


are simply angels without wings.





Well I don't think I can add anything else to that. I love you all! I am so grateful that we can be an eternal family. I love you.

February 8, 2010

Well the happy holidays keep coming. We are all looking forward to Valentines day here in Bloomington. Elder Madsen informed us that we are all going out and doing something special for that day. He is weird. Last Valentines day I was on the University of Minnesota so we went contacting by the rec center because we figured all the single people would be lifting weights or working out or something. The great thing is taht we had some great contacts taht night! Anyway, I hope you will all have fun on that holiday.
Things in Minnesota are great. It was a busy week. Right now it is snowing and we are expected to get 6 - 10 inches, which is alot. But we love it becuase it gives us a chance to shovel peoples driveways! We had transfers and they went well. We got a great group of new missionaries, there were none from Washington so that made me a bit sad. But there were two sisters who got mission transferred, one from the phillipines mission and the other from finland. That is pretty crazy. I don't know what I would feel if I got mission transferred. Anyway, now we are getting ready for zone conferences, and that will be really good.
Work: We had a great experience teaching with a member these last few weeks. There is a young couple named the Wilsons and they are awesome. Bro. Wilson is a Marine and Sis. Wilson is Tongan and way out going. They both served missions and Sis. Wilson just got called as a ward missionary. So they had us over for dinner and we wanted to practice teaching a part of the plan of salvation. When we got there we found out they had a friend staying with them who was visiting from North Carolina. So we had dinner and we still felt like we should teach what we had planned. We taught about earth life, the atonement and the spirit world. We focused on how people who have never had a chance to hear about Jesus Christ will be able to hear the gospel in the spirit world, and not just be condemned to hell because of the time period or place they were born. We asked their friend how she felt about learning that and she said "you know, that was the reason I was not confirmed Catholic, because of that doctrine." So we set up another tmie to teach her before she would go back to North Carolina. The members were super excited, so they invited us back over for dinner and we taught their friend again. It was really awesome, and I wish that their friend wasn't going back to North Carolina, but we challenged her to meet with m issinoaries there and she said she would!
You never know...: I heard a funny missionary story this last week. A missionary wanted to see if he could talk in a british accent for a whole day. So he went out and was doing it and he got on a bus in St. Paul. He turned to a lady and said "Hello ma'am how are you doing today?" in a thick British accent. She got really excited and in a perfect British accent said "ARE YOU FROM ENGLAND?" A little shocked, but quick on his feet he replied "Why yes I am!" And she said "Oh great! Where in England are you from?" He said the first city that popped into his head was Liverpool, so he said "I'm from Liverpool" and the lady replied "NO WAY! I'M FROM LIVERPOOL! Which part of Liverpool?" The Elder said the first thing that popped into his head again which was "Oh, I live down by the docks." The Lady replied "NO WAY! I LIVE DOWN BY THE DOCKS!" ( I mean really, why would the elder say "down by the docks?!") At this point the missionary realized he was getting too far in so he said "Well, this is my stop, but we're missinoaries from a church so here is our card." and he got off the bus. After that he stopped talking in his accent. What are the odds that would happen? The lady really lived "Down by the docks!" haha. But it is a true story. I promise. And the moral is not to talk in british accents in public, especially as a missionary.
Well, I ohpe you all have a great week! We are excited to get some more snow here. Whoo hoo! I love you all! -me

Moving past football

Today, I was going to the library to work on a research project and stopped by the football stadium. A full contact intramural game was going on, so I decided to do some reading as I watched a little bit of the game. Usually when his happens, I get wrapped up in the game and miss playing so much; however, this time it felt different. I was more excited about my project I was working on than the game! I saw 3 players get hurts and was thankful that I never have to worry about that again. I thought back to how it felt to feel the pain of running into another person at full speed and realized I don't want to do that again.

I am accepting that my body can't do what it was able to 5 or even 2 years ago. But I am realizing that I can now do things I couldn't do then. I feel that I can think in new ways and solve problems that I didn't even care about 5 years ago. I can now go on a walk and have a long conversation with my wife and talk about anything. Life is so much better!

This last week, I wanted to learn more about what to do in an interview. I talked to a few friends and got an email address of a member of the church that directs HR for a Fortune 500 company in Texas. He said he would give me some help and pointers for free. We talked for 40 minutes about how to act, think, and respond in an interview. It was a great learning experience. He offers the same free service to anyone, so if you know anyone that is looking for advice on resumes or interviews, have them check out this website http://www.helpmyresume.com/.

I love you all!