Dear friends and family,
I have tried several times to get this out, but until now haven’t been too successful. This has been a difficult Christmas letter to write. On July 31, 2021, Janalyn was suddenly called to return to her Heavenly home by our Lord. She was my catalyst behind enjoying Christmas, decorating the tree, writing the annual letter, and everything else in my life.
I have to remember that there were so many blessings and I have millions of memories to help me get through this time. Also, the knowledge that families are eternal gives me tremendous peace.
About 8 years ago, we found land and built a cabin in the mountains north of Boise in Garden Valley. She was an adventurer, and she had the great idea of pitching a tent in the master bedroom of the unfinished shell of the house! We lived in that tent on the weekends through two winters because it was easier to heat than the whole house until we got insulation—even though the first big winter we had about 15 feet of snow.
Janalyn moved to the house in August of 2019 because she absolutely loved it! Unfortunately, I had 6 months of work left, so I commuted twice a week until March, 2020. She thrived up here in Garden Valley. She learned to operate the big ATV-mounted snow blower to keep the road clear, and fell right into the ladies’ group at church (Relief Society), quilting groups in town, and other activities up here. Her earthly paradise was our little home at the end of the road in the mountains! She established a little garden and declared war on the deer and elk who stopped by for a snack. It was then funny to see her buy grain to feed the same elk and deer through the winter.
At the time of her death, she was serving as the 2nd counselor in the Garden Valley Ward Relief Society. She was the spiritual giant in our family, blessing our kids, grandkids, myself and many others with her strong testimony. She was exceptionally good at bearing that testimony constantly through her love language, “acts of service.”
Although her passing was devastating, I can be thankful of so many things that made the last years of her life some of the most enjoyable ones we had together.
We always loved camping, but while building the house, we didn’t do too much of that. Luckily, during the first week of July just before she died, we hooked up the trailer and camped for about 5 days with our good friends, Cliff and Shelly McKee. We loved it, we loved being together during that trip and we had started planning other trips. One of my favorite pictures now is Janalyn sitting inside the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge with a big smile. (middle below)
She traveled extensively with me throughout the US on business for many years. She had been to 43 states with me. She usually brought along a sewing machine to do quilts while I was doing work. She could get a lot done with no interruptions, phone calls, etc. She even took handiwork to Hawaii when I had a training job there. (Thanks, WL!) We thoroughly enjoyed being with each other on every single one of those trips.
My retirement in March 2020 allowed us to be together almost all the time. We worked together, traveled together, and enjoyed each other. I called on her frequently to steady a ladder, lift me up in the bucket of the tractor, tell me when I was doing something wrong, help me find things that were right in front of me, etc.
Her best friend, Carolyn Moon had a trailer just above our back yard. Carolyn spent every spare minute of this past summer up here. She and Janalyn worked and turned a small outbuilding into their own little quilt barn. You could see and feel the love and happiness when they were together. They both glowed.
She had three months of frequent visits to see her newest granddaughter in Pocatello. Then, on the weekend of her passing, we had our two sons and one of our three daughters home to visit. They originally had not planned to all be here together, but the Lord blessed us that weekend.
Well, this letter has grown much longer than I wanted to make it, but as I was typing, the words flowed along with the tears. I just wanted to tell you these things because they are tender mercies that further cemented my testimony that the Lord loves us all. He certainly blessed His daughter, Janalyn, with many things that made the end of her time on earth so much better. And because I was blessed to have her as my eternal companion, I have been a recipient of all those blessings, too.
I want you to know that I have a testimony of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is His birth that we celebrate this time of the year. Although this Christmas was difficult, I still have so much joy and hope in my heart. My reality has changed, but I look forward to tackling my new challenges. Maybe I’ll visit 6 of the other 7 states that she missed (Sorry, dear, I’m not going back to ND. Feel free to take a look at it from where you are.)
I love you and hope that you had a Merry Christmas. Here’s looking forward to a Happy New Year!!
Steve
Family Update:
Christa lives in Blackfoot, ID with her 3 children, Rachel, Joseph and Audrey. She works at Melaleuca and loves it.
Katelyn and Steve Brown live in Layton, UT with their 4 children, Matthew, Lauren, Paige and Cora.
Stephanie and Dallas Droghei live in Pocatello, ID with their two children, Jonathan and Elizabeth.
William is now teaching English on the island of Formentera, Spain.
Travis is a machinist in Nampa, ID.
Contact info update: 2O8 459 O6O2 is no longer my phone number. The person who has it now is extremely lucky, because they will have 1O-2O opportunities every day to extend their vehicle warranty or have their student loans eliminated. My only number now is 2O8 4O7 8915. My address is 2O7 Brutsman Road, Garden Valley, ID 83622. Email is Sjett80(at)gmail.com
.
I have tried several times to get this out, but until now haven’t been too successful. This has been a difficult Christmas letter to write. On July 31, 2021, Janalyn was suddenly called to return to her Heavenly home by our Lord. She was my catalyst behind enjoying Christmas, decorating the tree, writing the annual letter, and everything else in my life.
I have to remember that there were so many blessings and I have millions of memories to help me get through this time. Also, the knowledge that families are eternal gives me tremendous peace.
About 8 years ago, we found land and built a cabin in the mountains north of Boise in Garden Valley. She was an adventurer, and she had the great idea of pitching a tent in the master bedroom of the unfinished shell of the house! We lived in that tent on the weekends through two winters because it was easier to heat than the whole house until we got insulation—even though the first big winter we had about 15 feet of snow.
Janalyn moved to the house in August of 2019 because she absolutely loved it! Unfortunately, I had 6 months of work left, so I commuted twice a week until March, 2020. She thrived up here in Garden Valley. She learned to operate the big ATV-mounted snow blower to keep the road clear, and fell right into the ladies’ group at church (Relief Society), quilting groups in town, and other activities up here. Her earthly paradise was our little home at the end of the road in the mountains! She established a little garden and declared war on the deer and elk who stopped by for a snack. It was then funny to see her buy grain to feed the same elk and deer through the winter.
At the time of her death, she was serving as the 2nd counselor in the Garden Valley Ward Relief Society. She was the spiritual giant in our family, blessing our kids, grandkids, myself and many others with her strong testimony. She was exceptionally good at bearing that testimony constantly through her love language, “acts of service.”
Although her passing was devastating, I can be thankful of so many things that made the last years of her life some of the most enjoyable ones we had together.
We always loved camping, but while building the house, we didn’t do too much of that. Luckily, during the first week of July just before she died, we hooked up the trailer and camped for about 5 days with our good friends, Cliff and Shelly McKee. We loved it, we loved being together during that trip and we had started planning other trips. One of my favorite pictures now is Janalyn sitting inside the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge with a big smile. (middle below)
She traveled extensively with me throughout the US on business for many years. She had been to 43 states with me. She usually brought along a sewing machine to do quilts while I was doing work. She could get a lot done with no interruptions, phone calls, etc. She even took handiwork to Hawaii when I had a training job there. (Thanks, WL!) We thoroughly enjoyed being with each other on every single one of those trips.
My retirement in March 2020 allowed us to be together almost all the time. We worked together, traveled together, and enjoyed each other. I called on her frequently to steady a ladder, lift me up in the bucket of the tractor, tell me when I was doing something wrong, help me find things that were right in front of me, etc.
Her best friend, Carolyn Moon had a trailer just above our back yard. Carolyn spent every spare minute of this past summer up here. She and Janalyn worked and turned a small outbuilding into their own little quilt barn. You could see and feel the love and happiness when they were together. They both glowed.
She had three months of frequent visits to see her newest granddaughter in Pocatello. Then, on the weekend of her passing, we had our two sons and one of our three daughters home to visit. They originally had not planned to all be here together, but the Lord blessed us that weekend.
Well, this letter has grown much longer than I wanted to make it, but as I was typing, the words flowed along with the tears. I just wanted to tell you these things because they are tender mercies that further cemented my testimony that the Lord loves us all. He certainly blessed His daughter, Janalyn, with many things that made the end of her time on earth so much better. And because I was blessed to have her as my eternal companion, I have been a recipient of all those blessings, too.
I want you to know that I have a testimony of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is His birth that we celebrate this time of the year. Although this Christmas was difficult, I still have so much joy and hope in my heart. My reality has changed, but I look forward to tackling my new challenges. Maybe I’ll visit 6 of the other 7 states that she missed (Sorry, dear, I’m not going back to ND. Feel free to take a look at it from where you are.)
I love you and hope that you had a Merry Christmas. Here’s looking forward to a Happy New Year!!
Steve
Family Update:
Christa lives in Blackfoot, ID with her 3 children, Rachel, Joseph and Audrey. She works at Melaleuca and loves it.
Katelyn and Steve Brown live in Layton, UT with their 4 children, Matthew, Lauren, Paige and Cora.
Stephanie and Dallas Droghei live in Pocatello, ID with their two children, Jonathan and Elizabeth.
William is now teaching English on the island of Formentera, Spain.
Travis is a machinist in Nampa, ID.
Contact info update: 2O8 459 O6O2 is no longer my phone number. The person who has it now is extremely lucky, because they will have 1O-2O opportunities every day to extend their vehicle warranty or have their student loans eliminated. My only number now is 2O8 4O7 8915. My address is 2O7 Brutsman Road, Garden Valley, ID 83622. Email is Sjett80(at)gmail.com
.