Merry Christmas 2023

For the first time in four years, we were finally able to get our whole family together for a picture. Sterling and Soren overlapped a few months on their 2-year missions so it wasn't like we were lazy, it just wasn't possible for that long! We've had some pretty awesome additions in those four years - a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and three grand babies that I can't imagine my life without. So here's the WHOLE Stowell family - all of my favorite people in one picture. Life is good!

Merry Christmas! 

Merry Christmas 2021

It's hard to believe 2021 is already coming to an end. After 2020, which felt like the longest year ever, 2021 has flown by. It's been full of so many great moments and memories. Just a few of the highlights include: two college grads (Savannah in April, Sam in December), our first grandbaby - Walker is the cutest little guy ever (ever!!), Soren graduating from high school in May then leaving to serve in the Utah Salt Lake City mission at the end of the summer, Sterling returning home from the Texas San Antonio mission last week.  

There's plenty to look forward to in 2022. But for now, I'm happy to just pause and be grateful for the baby born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, the Savior of the world. 

Merry Christmas!

BYU Grads

We have our first two college graduates in the family! 

Sam and Savannah graduated from BYU today - Sam in Biology with a minor in Ballroom Dance and Savannah with a bachelors in Nursing. Sam has a few things to finish up during Spring term, but he was still part of the official end of term graduation ceremony. 

They both made it through some crazy hard classes, unpredictable circumstances, and the upheaval of Covid. But they've also had so many amazing experiences and made some great friends along the way. 

Congratulations, Sam and Savannah! We're so proud of you and can't wait to see what your bright futures hold!

I Stand At The Door

This painting by Del Parson is a great visualization of Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Most look at this as a reminder that we need to open the door and let the Savior in. He always honors our agency so He's not going to barge in; it is always our choice. 

So why not open the door? Well, maybe those on the inside desperately want to let the Savior in, but they feel like they need to clean their house first. Everything is such a mess and they are embarrassed and don't want the Savior to see the chaos. And when your messy house really represents your messy, sinful life, it's common to feel like you need to clean up the mess before allowing the Savior in. 

But what if you could zoom out from the painting above and see that Christ brought a whole slew of cleaning supplies with Him? What if the reason He's there is to help you clean your house? 

Isn't that just the most comforting and hopeful thought? I love that perspective. I wish I'd come up with it myself, but I heard it from Savannah's husband, Hayden. He and Savannah have a podcast called "I Stand At The Door," and it's about overcoming pornography and inviting the Savior in to help you. I know that the thoughts they share are giving hope to many people. And many of the things they discuss can be helpful in overcoming other sins and addictions. But my favorite so far is their picture of the Savior standing outside the door with every needed cleaning supply just ready to put them to good use, if only He is allowed inside.

The Next Generation

You may have noticed from our Christmas card that Savannah is sporting a little baby bump. Yes, it's true! Jeff and I are going to be grandparents in May. While I don't feel old enough to be a grandma, my age says otherwise and I'm very excited to welcome this little guy into our family. Here's a sneak peak to get us through until he makes his debut in just three months. It's been way too long since I've snuggled a newborn. I can't wait!

Ultrasound has come a long way! Isn't he cute? :)

So Much To Be Grateful For

Wow. 2020. What can I say? Goodbye and good riddance? But even after all the grief the year has brought, I can't help but feel really grateful for the beautiful things we've experienced. I've posted next to nothing, but that's not because there's been nothing happy to post. Two weddings (Savannah in January, Spencer in November), our first grandbaby on the way, more time together at home, our 25th wedding anniversary, time with family in Utah and Idaho, and Sterling's unique missionary opportunities in Texas, just to name a few. We have many reasons to look back on this year, smile, and be grateful. In so many ways, good and bad, it's been a year like no other. Let's focus on the good.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2019

Wow! It's been a great year! Savannah returned from her mission in July; Spencer in October. We drove to Utah for Thanksgiving so that we could get a family picture before Sterling left on his mission on December 18. We haven't been together for the holidays since 2016 so I'm glad we made the effort to all be together, however briefly. I sure love these guys.



I've done a lot of hand lettering this past year. I love to doodle various sayings and words. This was the back of our Christmas card. I wrote it in pencil on white paper, smudged it a bit, then scanned it and reversed the colors. I love how it looks just like chalk on a chalkboard!

We have a lot to look forward to in 2020. Let's make it our best year so far!

Merry Christmas 2018

The Stowells are alive and well. It's been a good year and we have so much to look forward to! Our two missionaries will both come home in 2019 and, if all goes well, Sterling will graduate from high school a year early in May. It's possible that I could have 4 kids at BYU in January 2020!

With our missionaries out, I couldn't get a family picture this year. I could have pieced together a Christmas card with everyone here and there, but I wanted us all together so I hatched a plan that worked out beautifully!

Isn't that awesome? I commissioned Sadie's 13-year old friend, Jack, to draw our family picture and I am so happy with how it turned out. The word "Christmas" is something I doodled on the back of my church program a couple weeks ago and my friend, Jen, digitized it for me. (Jen and I have started a little Etsy shop with these digitized files -- I'll blog more about that later!)

I was a little worried about getting the cards out before Christmas. I received the finished drawing on Sunday, December 16th and had the card designed and ready for the printer on the morning of the 17th. The week before Christmas felt like a bad time for a rush order at the printers, but I walked into my favorite print shop at 9:20 Monday morning and, literally, walked out at 9:30 with a stack of 90 cards -- printed, cut and shrink wrapped! It was a happy little miracle and my cards were in the mail Monday afternoon.

Life is good! We have been so blessed and can see God's hand in our lives on a daily basis. We are grateful for the Savior and the opportunity to celebrate His birth.

Merry Christmas!

Saying Goodbye...Again

We said goodbye to our beautiful Savannah this morning. She's on her way to the Missionary Training Center for a few weeks before heading to the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission for 18 months.

Savannah has been home from BYU for a month just waiting for this day. As hard as it was to say goodbye, I know she's ready which made it a lot easier to let her go. There is so much about Savannah that will contribute to her being an amazing missionary. She's funny and smart. She doesn't hold grudges. People feel safe with Savannah; she just loves everyone. She has an amazing testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and isn't shy about sharing it. We miss her already, but I know she's going to be just fine.

Over the last few weeks, Savannah and Sterling have been working together to record an A Cappella cover of "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman. Sterling wrote the arrangement and the two of them laid down all 8 tracks. They finished it up just in time. It is admittedly amateur, but I think they did a great job!! It was fun and very satisfying as a mom to see them working so enthusiastically together to complete this fun project. :) Here you go:

Merry Christmas!

Where in the World? Savannah Edition

Imagesource

And here we go again! :)

If it feels like we just did this, we did. Now Savannah's mission papers have been submitted and we're gathering guesses. No one accurately guessed that Spencer would be called to the Idaho Idaho Falls Mission. He's been making the necessary preparations and is getting excited and a little nervous. (He'll be a great missionary!) He reports to the Missionary Training Center on October 4.

We can't wait to learn where Savannah will serve!

Here's are the guesses so far:

1. Senegal

2. Netherlands

3. Austria

4. Salt Lake City Temple Square

5. Tahiti

6. California

7. Guatemala

8. Washington D.C.

9. Texas

10. Puerto Rico

11. Spain

12. Vanuatu

13. Scotland

14. Kenya

15. Oklahoma

16. Australia

17. East Coast

18. Greenland

19. Costa Rica

20. China

21. Baltic States

22. Japan

Where do YOU think Savannah will go?

Spencer's Week

We've had a great week! Sam and Savannah were home from BYU for a few days (they haven't been home since January!) and it was so good having the whole family together. It's going to be a while before that happens again. With Spencer leaving for the Idaho Idaho Falls Mission next month, December 2019 is the next logical time we'll be together. That made it pretty hard to say goodbye to Sam and Savannah yesterday, but all the good things we have to look forward to made it a little more bearable.

Spencer's had quite a week and it was so nice that Sam and Savannah could be a part of it. On Tuesday night, Spencer received his Eagle Scout award. Many friends and ward members attended the Court of Honor and it was a nice event to celebrate Spencer's long-awaited achievement. He's really enjoyed his time in Scouting and has been a great mentor to his younger brothers and the other boys in the troop. He'll definitely be missed!

An Eagle Court of Honor wouldn't be complete without eagle cookies.

I forgot to take pictures at the Court of Honor so the kitchen will do in a pinch. ;)

On Thursday, Spencer went through the temple for the first time. We headed out super early that morning to head to St. Louis. It was a beautiful drive and a beautiful day. I was so happy that Sam and Savannah were able to be there, too.

The grounds of the temple were gorgeous with flowers blooming everywhere.

BYU starts on Tuesday. Spencer reports for his mission on October 4. Onward and upward!

End of Summer

Oh, why do I procrastinate my blog?? Well, late is better than never so here is a quick recap of our summer.

We started off with four weeks of no major obligations. Those weeks seemed to last forever and we just enjoyed the time together. There was plenty of badminton, progress toward goals (we got a LOT of things accomplished this summer!), and just time together. It was a needed break from the typical demands.

I already blogged about our end-of-June activities, High Adventure and the youth Pioneer Trek.

July was pretty steady with several week-long activities. Jeff and the boys attended a hot and sweaty Scout camp and Sadie attended her first Girls' Camp during the hottest week of the summer. Ugh! We picked her up a day early to head to Utah where we spent the last week of July so Sterling could attend an A Cappella camp - ReMix Vocal Academy - at BYU. I'll post more about that once the videos of the final concert are up on YouTube. It was amazing!! He had a great week and we all loved the final concert.

Sterling and the bros after his awesome concert!

Sterling with Adam, former beatboxer for Vocal Point
(Sterling looks really short here, but Adam is 6'10.)

While in Utah, we were also able to spend time in the temple as a family and we were there when Savannah went through the temple for the first time.

Draper Temple with the cousins! This was Sadie's first time to do baptisms for the dead.

Somehow I didn't get any photos after Savannah went through the temple (rats!!) but here's the whole crew at the Provo City Center Temple after our family did baptisms for the dead.

My mom and all of my siblings were in town so we spent time with cousins as well. We stayed with friends who made us feel like part of the family and, despite our vow NOT to go to Utah this summer, it was definitely worth the drive.

We didn't make it to Idaho this year, but Idaho came to us! Sadie and cousin Ana are BFF's. Little Sawyer is a cutie!

My dad's headstone was installed while we were in Utah.
I'm glad I got to see it. We visited dad a few times.

We hiked the Bonneville Shoreline Trail one morning with our friends and hosts, the Afflecks.
It was a beautiful hike and morning!

The cool, new suspension bridge on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.

Bridal Veil Falls

A motley crew. :)

A rare photo of Jeff and me.

We saw a full rainbow in Wyoming on the drive home. So pretty!

Praying for Sunshine

 

Remember Sam and Savannah's snowy drive to Provo back in January? Well, today was the sequel. Savannah went to Idaho for the weekend to see her cousin's new baby and spend time with friends and family. Somehow, today's weather forecast was misleading and she ended up in a blizzard before she was halfway home. (It's amazing how quickly my anxiety flares up when I learn one of my kids is in danger!!) Luckily or maybe miraculously, with about 2 hours to go, she found a friend she could stay with for the night and they'll drive the rest of the way together in the morning.

We're praying for sunshine!

My Wish

Maybe it's because Sam and Savannah are away at school, forging ahead toward a (hopefully) bright future. Maybe it's because Spencer will graduate from high school in 3 months. Maybe it's because life can be tricky at times and I want the best for my kids. Or maybe it's just because I'm feeling sentimental...

Whatever the reason, I've been listening to "My Wish," by Rascal Flatts on repeat. It's one of my favorites and does a great job expressing what I wish for my kids. If you're not familiar with it, listen to the lyrics. You'll see what I mean!

(I'd hoped to find an official music video by Rascal Flatts, but there isn't one.)

Gushing Gratitude

My favorite blue-eyed Zoobies

Sam and Savannah left on Tuesday morning for BYU. Savannah was accepted to the Nursing Program (WOOHOO Savannah!! Way to realize your dream!!), and a reliable mode of transportation was strongly recommended. So they packed up our cute little 2002 Honda Civic and started the trek west.

Driving 1500 miles across the country in January is always a risk. The weather is so unpredictable. Jeff kept a close eye on the forecast for all the major freeways between here and there and it looked like a Tuesday morning departure with a stay-over near Denver at Uncle Jeremy's house would get them safely to Utah by Wednesday evening.

The funny thing about the weather is that it's so changeable. By the time Sam and Savannah arrived in Colorado, a fast-moving storm from the west made it clear that driving the last leg of their journey the next morning wasn't going to work. Their options were: 1) keep driving through the night and hopefully get to their destination ahead of the storm or 2) stay at Jeremy's until the weather cleared which could take two days or more.

Sam wasn't really in a hurry, but Savannah had several things to take care of before school started and was anxious to just be there already so they decided to drive through the night. I prayed that Heavenly Father would slow the progression of the storm on their behalf and then Jeff and I went to bed feeling calm about their decision.

That calm lasted until midnight when Sam called. With no cell reception, he was using a free phone inside a rest area in Wyoming. It was snowing so hard that he couldn't see the road. They were going to wait it out before continuing on. Within 90 minutes, the snow was tapering off and Savannah was ready to take a turn at the wheel. Sam called us once more to let us know they were heading out.

Because there is no signal through most of Wyoming, my anxiety kicked in and I started playing the "what if" game with myself. "What if they end up in a snowbank and no one knows they are there?" "What if the car rolls and one of them is hurt and the other can't get out or contact anyone?" These are pretty mild examples of the wild scenarios that went through my head.

Eventually I managed to drift off and sleep until a little after 5:00 a.m. When I woke, I immediately grabbed my cell phone hoping for some message letting me know they were okay. (We had instructed them when they started their trip to text or call each time they filled up with gas or switched drivers just so we knew where and how they were.) Nothing. No message and no reply to my texts. The "what if" game started up again - after all, I reasoned, we are not immune to trials - and by the end I was planning their funeral. I was a mess.

At 7:00 a.m. the phone rang. It was Sam. I was overcome with the most intense feeling of relief and gratitude that I immediately started crying. Bawling. Completely unable to talk. All my gratitude just poured out my eyeballs. I couldn't help it. The roads in Wyoming had been pretty bad, like white-knuckle driving most of the way, but it was mild compared to the conditions in the hours and days following. They were still on the road for another hour or so, but at least they had signal and were almost through the worst of it. Fortunately, the storm in Utah had been delayed by several hours. I'm pretty sure that was a result of my pleadings.

Sam and Savannah spent a good chunk of the day at my sister's house eating, showering and sleeping before heading to Provo. By now, they're all settled in and ready to tackle a new semester. We're all feeling pretty blessed! I think they've recovered from their all-night ordeal.

I think I almost have as well. :)

St. Thomas, VI

This past month has been a whirlwind of unexpected and emotionally draining events. I feel like I lost a month of my life. Maybe a better way of looking at it would be to say that I just had a month-long deluge of real life. Sometimes that happens. I'm going to need some time to recover.

I'll start with St. Thomas. That's a pretty happy part of this journey.

Me at Magen's Bay.

I've had some pretty sweet babysitting gigs over the years. When I graduated from Ricks College in 1990, my favorite aunt and uncle were living in Puerto Rico with their two daughters. They needed to travel to New York and asked if I'd come stay with their girls in PR for a week. Um, yes, please! I spent an amazing week there and it's been a cherished memory for the past 26 years.

Magen's Bay at dusk.

So when my sister-in-law, Tanya, called me a few months ago and asked if Savannah and I could come out and babysit their youngest kids in St. Thomas, we jumped at the chance. We were excited to visit them in their new home and spend some time with my cute nieces and nephews. Bonus for the prime location! :) From October 18-24, Savannah and I enjoyed their tropical home.

The view from my brother's front porch,

The Pros:

• Magen's Bay and Lindquist Beach were our favorites. The clear blue water and white sand is every bit as pretty as the travel images make it seem.

• Sand castles. We had so much fun building them each morning at the beach.

A coconut upstaging our pretty cool, seashell-lined sandcastle at Magen's Bay.

• Night Kayaking in (plexi)glass lit-bottomed kayaks was so cool! We saw stingrays, a sea turtle, and plenty of big fish. 
• The locals are SO friendly. It's always "Good morning!" (or afternoon or evening). Their accent sounds Jamaican (at least to me) and it was fun to hear their unique phrasings.
• Fresh Mangoes. Oh. Yum.
• The church branch was so welcoming and friendly. They are a tight-knit group who feel like family.

• My cute niece and nephews. We had a great time while their parents were away! These kids were SO good, too! 

• We got a kick out of the wild chickens that roam freely throughout the island. And I saw my first mongoose. They are as common there as squirrels are in my little corner of the world. 

• Seashells. Lindquist Beach had the most variety, but we enjoyed the pearly white ones at Magen's, too. 

I can see how staying in a hotel and spending a week on the beach would be paradise. But for us there was no hotel and we saw first hand that living there is HARD! 

So now for the Cons: 

• Mosquitoes. These were by far the worst part of the trip for me. We even took super-strength-military-formula-mosquito-repellent and it didn't matter. The mosquitoes regularly mocked me by biting me right after I applied repellent. Savannah had it worse than I. A few days into our trip, she counted 65 bites on her legs. Ugh! It wouldn't have been so bad if my brother's family had not recently suffered through Zika virus so you can understand our paranoia!
• Humidity. I get humidity, I do. Our summers here in the midwest are hot and steamy, but I always have the escape of my air conditioned home to relieve the misery. In St. Thomas, everything is so expensive that homes aren't generally air conditioned. We had A/C in our bedroom so nights were comfortable, but during the day we relied on ceiling fans and prayed for a breeze. As a result, food spoils quickly and gnats, ants, and the dreaded mosquitoes are prevalent. 
• Driving! It is scary!! They drive on the opposite side of the road, but the steering wheel is on the same side as the US. Add to that the super narrow, windy, hilly roads and it's all pretty terrifying. 

Overwhelmingly, it was an amazing trip. Savannah and I feel so blessed and lucky that we got to babysit some of our favorite little people in such an amazing place! I'm grateful for the experience. :)