Boys Are Coming

Did you hear? Did you hear! Tiffany and Chris will be having a new son toward the end of March. Kathryn and Joseph will be having a new son about the third week of June. And Jenna and Michael will be having a son about the fourth week of June. Our tally so far:

It is interesting that if you place Caleb and Ashlyn in chronological order with our grandchildren, Caleb is just before Gent. So it appears it is time to have boys again. After this round of births our grandchildren will be tied twelve girls to twelve boys. My fascination with numbers extends to even our descendants.

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
… (Psalms 127:3-5)

We love you!

January 11, 2010
When I was young I never imagined the year 2010 and here it is! 2009 was so full that I didn’t even have time to summarize it while it lasted. We enjoyed so many newsy letters and lovely Christmas cards that my conscience has caught up with me. So now I will write all I can as quickly as I can and smile at the woman in the mirror tomorrow.

Adam finished his bachelor’s degree and graduated from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) on December 14th. We were there. He played his second and final year on the UNLV Rebel football team. That was a dream come true for him. He was given the team award for the highest grade point average 3.75+.

Nathan is now in his final semester of law school. He was awarded a college grant for outstanding service. He has kept me on my toes calling home occasionally for help in proofreading his papers. He was home for two weeks at Christmas and doing some serious wife hunting.

Ruth’s husband passed the Nevada Bar. YeHaw! He has several job opportunities because of that and the exceptional talents he has. He is the Elder’s Quorum president in their ward and Ruth is the young women’s president. Since there simply is no such thing in this millennium as a “stay-at-home” mom, I shall call her a 24/7 “on-the-run” mom of three - Ellie in Kindergarten, Gent in pre-school, and Zion, who will enter the tornado-twos in about a week. Go, Ruthy, go!

Benjamin has a date with us on May 4th. We will be picking him up. His years of incarceration are finally coming to an end and thanks to all the support of family, friends, and church leaders he will start the rest of his life with a strong testimony of Jesus Christ’s ability to help him use his agency wisely.

Michael and Jenna have treasured every minute of life with their vivacious two-year-old Anna Kate. After waiting almost ten years for her arrival, imagine their delight at expecting a little brother or sister for her this coming June! Michael continues to love his job at Brooks manufacturing and we continue to enjoy its by-products, our generous supply of firewood from the trimmings of all those power-pole crossbars. Michael is a counselor in his ward’s bishopric and Jenna is the Primary music director.

Joseph and Kathryn are also giving Taylor – a bear Cub Scout, Makayla – a second-grader, and Emily a pre-schooler a new baby come June! Since Mike and Joe’s wives have been friends since college days, it was a double delight to be giving each other’s families new cousins almost simultaneously. Joseph took advantage of the family – including Daddy B.J. and me – gathering for the UNLV vs. BYU football game last fall. He built a large storage shed and got lots of relatives in on the project. Joseph is a counselor in his ward’s bishopric and Kathryn is in the Relief Society presidency.

Debbie has re-discovered the peace and assurance of living as an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has recently decided to finish a college degree and in now starting classes. Her husband Jay continues to design more web sites to enhance their realty sales, leasing, and renting business. He and Debbie with her broker’s license make a marvelous team. Nathan and Nicholas (19) and T.J. (17 ½) are seniors. Nicholas has been involved in fireman training through his high school for two years now. Nathan will probably fit into the family real estate business as his oldest sister Jessica has from time to time. T.J. is a scholar and has made excellent preparation for college as well as taking roles in all the school musicals and plays. Amy is eight and has a new look with the first haircut of her life. It was in consequence of a “self-cut” she inflicted on one side of her lovely, long tresses. Monica is seven and a little princess, and every inch a girl like her mother was. Debbie is serving on her ward Relief Society Enrichment committee.

David’s podiatric clinic continues to flourish. David and Fatima’s twin daughters Adryann and Brynneé are as un-alike as my twin and me. Since they live less than two miles from us, we get to see them more than any of our other grandchildren. So they are one of our greatest pleasures. We get invited to school programs and activities and they join us at things we have going on. David and Fatima seem to continually be remodeling their home and office. They have been greatly assisted of late in the construction by our oldest son, who came here at the end of November pulling his trailer loaded down with huge statues and pieces of art work, which David and Fatima bought at an art auction in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. This was the first chance they had to transport them. Two 2 ½ foot tall sitting lions now adorn the front porch, which has just been paved with flagstone and tile. Daddy B.J. even got in on the office facelift – painting after Will did the finishing carpentry. David is a counselor in his high priest group presidency. Fatima assists with Relief Society activities.

Will has been called as a standing substitute Sunday school teacher and has been filling in most Sundays. He has an office set up in one room of Daddy B.J.’s building. If he can get finished with all the remodeling chores that have occupied him, he will return to work on his websites. He brought the family dog, Sadie, up from Nevada with him. She kept the peacocks at David and Fatima’s in an uproar, so now she resides here. Will stops faithfully to feed her and frequently takes her around the lake. Daddy B.J. takes her often, too. Mindie and the kids are settled in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Allyssa started Kindergarten in the fall. She and her brothers Ashton, Travis, and Justin like their schools very much. Jordan is working some and considering college. Kevin has rejoined the household to assist in every way he can. He found computer-programming classes at college far below the level he has already achieved but is hoping an animation focus will satisfy his educational goals.

Tiffany Adams, our married granddaughter, also lives in Pleasant Grove with her husband Chris. They have given us two of the most beautiful great- grandchildren in the world with Tiffany’s pixie facial features and Chris’s flaming red hair. They also are expecting a baby in the spring. Another redhead?

Daddy B.J. has served as a bishop for three years. It is a calling that is always challenging. He continues to grow in it. I am officially on the activities committee but also his “man Friday”. Being a bishop’s wife is sort of a calling. We love the people in our ward. We love the Lord. We love our family – our generation as well the younger ones. We are very blessed and consequently very happy. Love,

29 December 2009
We have been having a fabulous Christmas season. We arrived home from the trip to Las Vegas for Adam’s graduation from college in the wee hours of December 17th. That left just sixty hours till our Night in Bethlehem ward activity and YES every hour counted with very few allotted to sleep. I purchased all the food and materials for all the booths and ended up submitting receipts for almost three hundred dollars for reimbursement. However loads of ward and family members chipped in their inspiration and perspiration in all the preparation and the event ended up being very successful.

Coin spray painting in NV

Finger puppet help in NV

Will & Nathan strung Christmas lights above the hall to simulate starlight. The audience sat on blankets on the floor to watch the nativity enactment as the story was told. We had an excellent turnout and heard many favorable comments afterwards. Our bishop was particularly happy with it all. Nathan arrived Friday afternoon in time to get in on assisting. Early Saturday morning he starting calling folks to turn out and help in setting things up and particularly preparing all the food. There were trays of cheese, butter and cream cheese – for the bagels and pita bread, more trays of cookies, green and black olives, dates, pineapple, bananas, grapes, and deviled eggs. There were three - twenty-four can cases of grape soda for the Bishop’s Winery. The four missionaries and two new couples, the Meyer family, and many of my committee members were there for hours before the event started. There were lots of pictures that turned out well, so posting a Kodak gallery to the Internet and then printing them up for the ward bulletin board forced me to work far into the night. But, Daddy B.J. sent me home shortly after the closing prayer and he stayed with many others to do the take down and clean up.

Adam arrived sometime late Saturday and spent the night with David and Fatima’s family. We had the Primary Children’s Sacrament meeting program that Sunday before Christmas and then wonderful special Christmas lessons in both Sunday School and Relief Society. A baptism followed that evening and they are always wonderful. Of course that Sunday was the 20th and Nathan and Nicholas’s 19th birthday. After an afternoon party for them Debbie left driving with them and T.J. and the girls and arrived about 2:00 PM Monday afternoon. I had been hustling trying to get the huge stash of costumes and props from the activity out of the front bedroom, where they were going to stay and up into the attic. As it worked out Deb’s carload ended up being part of the assembly line passing boxes and bags up to the attic.

We have enjoyed wonderful food, continual “cousin gatherings” – both here and at David and Fatima’s. Debbie didn’t bring any presents, so we had a ball searching for treasures at thrift stores and limited the expenditures at other stores. We called Gramma Toni to wish her a happy birthday on the 24th and went to a small party for Fatima’s birthday on the 26th. Needless to say Christmas included special fruit platters, cookies, candy, a turkey and the trimmings, and unwrapping of presents from under the tree. We had special Christmas greeting from Ruth and Tim’s and Joseph and Kathryn’ families and Daddy B.J. heard the message that Benjamin also tried to call.

Our ward bishopric were the speakers at Sacrament meeting on the 27th and Daddy did a fabulous job encouraging everyone to hope for the future of all and change for the better during the coming year – through reliance on the atonement of Jesus Christ. He included some readings from Charles Dickens’s “Christmas Carol” and the season’s favorite old movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. He really put some dynamics into his voice and he kept us all awake and listening. At family home evening last night Debbie’s compliment to him was for the enthusiastic talk he gave. He said that was the first feedback he had received and how wonderful it was to know he did OK.

Jay has used points, which they earned from past hotel stays, to reserve two rooms at a nice hotel for the family for the 31st, 1st, and 2nd so Debbie will start the drive home tomorrow. Nathan and Nicholas left us the afternoon of Christmas day to spend time with their birth mom and family in Seattle. They will fly home a couple of days later. Debbie will drop Nathan at SeaTac airport on her way through tomorrow so he can make his flight home. Adam rode back to Bellingham with Michael and Jenna last Saturday evening as his roundtrip was into and out of the airport up there. That means that tomorrow only the special people we love, who live here all the time, will be left in Bremerton. It also means I can get down to the business of finalizing end of year records needed to prepare for tax season after the first of the year. Fortunately, it does get easier with experience and I do enjoy fooling around with my computer and spreadsheets and seeing the big picture it all reveals.

November 28, 2009
Big News Item: Jenna is pregnant and will have a baby within a week of Kathryn’s baby if the little ones hold to their due-dates.
I had planned to bake all day the day before Thanksgiving, but the sun was shinning and we had heaps of leaves down, so I went outside instead. Daddy B.J. joined me toward the end of the day. Our home teachers arrived and that ended our task since it was dark before we finished our visit. A late start in the kitchen allowed time for four crusts, which were to be filled the next day with banana cream (2), coconut, and yogurt pie. I stirred up four pumpkin and cut up two apple pies. They kept the oven busy for a few hours. Then Daddy B.J. helped me get our twenty-one pound turkey in the oven. Mr. Tom came out the first thing the next morning and after time to cool his meat slipped right off the bones – just the way I like it.
Returning from a break from raking, I saw Mr. Rostad’s car driving away the day before Thanksgiving. That evening we couldn’t find the cat. The next morning when I went to the freezer I heard her and realized she had seen the door to Mr. Rostad’s garage open and went inside while he was here. She is a climber and in her eagerness to get closer to me when she heard me, she jumped up to the window just above the freezer. I heard something fall that she knocked down in her efforts. I don’t know what else she may have done. Daddy B.J. removed a previously cracked pane of glass from the windows beside the door and she came out immediately.
While Daddy B.J. rescued Abby, I worked on two pans of jello, home made turkey stuffing with walnuts in it - just like my mother made it, giblet gravy and potato salad. Matt Larsen asked over a month ago if he could prepare Thanksgiving dinner and bring it and serve it here. We agreed so my efforts were just our contribution to a potluck Thanksgiving feast. Matt set the start time as 12:30, so we told the others, whom we invited, to arrive then. Matt called and let us know he would be late, so when our other guests arrived I put them to work on the potato pearl mashed potatoes and crème pies. Others filled dishes with cranberry sauce, olives, and pickles. We actually gathered to each tell one blessing from the past year and have the blessing on the food about 1:30.
Our only true family guest was Brian Ross, who is the son of Tena, who is Uncle Buck’s daughter. Brian is stationed at Ft. Lewis. He is between a nine-month tour in Iraq and a year-tour in Afghanistan, which starts next October. He is a heavy equipment operator and helps build roads, airstrips, etc. Matt Larsen had his two little boys and his roommate Sidi with him. Israel, who is five particularly enjoyed playing with Joey Hohnholz, who is four. Joey’s parents are Sara and Ray and his ten-year-old sister Jillian particularly played with Tigey, who is seven and the son of Gayle and Ken Timmons. Gayle’s father was with them. The missionaries have been teaching the Timmons family for about six months – off and on. Two of our ward’s four missionaries joined us for the first hour-or- so of our celebration just to fellowship the Timmons. The Walkers, who are a young new couple in our ward, came with their baby. That totaled twenty.
After eating to full capacity, casual conversation for a couple of hours and naps, Daddy B.J. and Brian Ross and I headed up to David and Fatima’s where yet more food was offered to us. They had our old friends Michael and Michele Dill and a new five-person family in their ward as their guests. We played a couple of games and then David shared a movie he had just purchased
“The Lost Battalion”. It was very patriotic and inspiring and also true. The military action it was based on took place in World War I and the three officers who led the group of 500 soldiers, which was reduced to 300 during their action, were awarded Congressional Medals of Honor. The saddest things about all the deaths were (1) friendly mortar fire were responsible for many and (2) it was only a couple of months before the end of the war.
Friday was the memorial service for Crystal Sutton’s father, Bill Sensenbaugh – who lived in our ward the last couple of years. I helped set up, serve, and clear away the family luncheon, which followed. Daddy B.J. presided as a bishop does at funerals and gave the closing remarks. It was the best talk he has ever given. It was both inspired and inspiring. He referred to President Monson’s talk in the last priesthood meeting as well as the remarks and songs just shared. It was great to see Jeanie, Levi, David, Robbie, Jim, and Joe as well as Crystal’s brother Hank and sister Kaye. P.J. and Penny will be flying to the funeral service to be held in San Diego next week. Since Brother Sensenbaugh lived there over fifty years the extra service made sense. This is especially true since not all the family who live here including his second wife and Phil and Crystal can make the trip to California.
We have had some bazaar medical illnesses within our ward lately. Phil Sutton has cancer in both kidneys. The doctors and priesthood blessings assure him that one kidney will need to be removed, but the other can be treated and saved. Shirley McDonald was yellow and her doctors found she had an autoimmune disease attaching her liver. They hope to cure that through medication.
Sister Judy Bresch, who is one of my visiting teaching companions, got sick quite suddenly last Sunday and went into the hospital in terrible pain. She had inflammation or infection of the pancreas. She was allowed nothing by mouth since eating or drinking stimulates the pancreas to pump enzymes to help digestion. When I visited her she was still in vast pain and desperately wanted a drink of water. Judy’s son-in-law David Welch is one of Daddy B.J.’s counselors. Judy’s daughter Christie Welch is keeping me posted on how things are going. Riche Greene,who is a nurse at the hospital and also lives in our ward, checked on her through the night Tuesday night and determined that the level of pain was unacceptable when in delirium she talked about “having the baby”. She thought she was in labor! They put her on a respirator and induced a coma so they could give her sufficient pain medication. One of her kidneys shut down. They said it was not damaged but simply couldn’t handle removing all the toxins in her blood. The next step was putting her on kidney dialysis. When the blood is clean, her kidneys should be able to return to natural healthy function. The next step planned is finding the best surgeon in the Seattle-Tacoma area and the best hospital so dead portions of the pancreas can be removed. She had a blessing that said her recovery would be slow but would come.
Will pulled into David and Fatima’s at 4:00 AM this morning with the art work – very heavy statues, which they purchased at an auction quite a while ago in Las Vegas. They hadn’t been able to get it home. Will agreed to haul it and also move Mindie’s washer and dryer from Pahrump to Utah at the same time. That worked out beautifully. Will spent Thanksgiving with his family and said it was wonderful.
I need to get this letter off so I can move on down my “to do” list. I am delighted with my life. Everything takes time but everything is also enjoyable. There are bright sides to almost everything. We love you!

November 17, 2009
I will not make this very chatty but simply give you some essential news.

1) Sis and Cliff are home again for this week only and returning to SLC for Thanksgiving. They plan to be here for Christmas though.
2) Benjamin’s branch president, President Brian Hardy, phoned. He said what an asset Benjamin was to their prison program since he could and did act as a missionary inviting others to services and teaching the gospel as well as he could under the circumstances. Pres. Hardy said he HOPES Benjamin remains in their jail till he is released because he is such a boon to them. It brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my heart.
3) Debbie and Jay and family have down-sized to a small home because this period of economic crunch has made life a bit harder for them. Fortunately their wise bishop said no way was he going to let them go to another ward. I am SO grateful. They are just starting into activity and making friends and a ward change might have been bad. Monica and Amy gave little spotlight talks about themselves in Primary last Sunday. Debbie helped both girls print up cute pictures of themselves and tell some things about themselves. Amy can actually repeat words that can be understood now.
4) Kathryn is PREGNANT! Yee Haw! It will be about another seven months, but another wonderful little Gent is on the way.
5) Daddy B.J. and I are making a goal of having family home evenings with David and Fatima and their girls a couple of times a month. We love it. Other Mondays we are inviting new members of our ward here to get to know them. That is wonderful too. We have met two new families so far.
6) It takes quite a lot of time to just print up a special birthday card for our children and grand-children, but so far I’m keeping up. A few years ago I made it a goal to also write an annual letter to the grandchildren after they turn eight. I just wrote to Justin. It is his third.
7) We just had our November ward activity last Friday. It was time consuming. However December’s will be the biggest I’ve ever planned for A Night in Bethlehem on the 19th. I also have same responsibilities in the stake’s Nativity Event that are demanding more time than usual. All this is on top of the annual planning for 2010 that has to take place at this time. I actually took ten minutes in ward council last Sunday talking about everything.8) Sarah Shumaker is getting married in the temple next Saturday so Ruth is flying in day after tomorrow. We are excited to have her.

A little bit about most of us - July 2009

- a little bit about most of us

Benjamin is job hunting and very excited about this new phase of his life. His email address is . He cannot send emails unless they are related to his job hunt, but he can take a peek at his inbox. His street address is 2445 S. Water Tower Way Ogden, Utah 84401.

I enjoyed talking with Benjamin this morning. He asked me to tell you that he loves you – especially you nieces and nephews! He appreciates all the support you have given and are still giving him. He knows we all pray for him. He told me that prayer has become a habit for him and that he still will sometimes put his prayer rock down on the floor beside his bed to remind him to pray when he steps on it, he truly remembers without that bumpy reminder.

He messed up his Burger King application but was able to call a representative, who kindly set it all to rights. He has had one good interview with them and was told at the end that he has two more interviews with others from the store hierarchy [is that a pun on those who hire?] before he can get the job. He actually has other places he is looking at, one of which needs someone with a forklift license. He’ll keep doing the leg-work, we’ll keep praying, and Heavenly Father will keep leading him to the job he wants him to be doing.

Several years ago when Benjamin was in Provo the Division of Rehabilitation Services was helping him get into a permanent occupation. They had to stop their help when he confessed to a counselor that he had slipped back into using drugs. He was told they could work with him again when he had been through treatment. Waa-LA! He now meets their requirements again. The lady, who was counseling with him, said they can perhaps get him bus passes but for sure they will pay for the training he needs in the barber school of his choice. She also said that each state has a similar program. He may be able to move to Washington and receive the same support. The program varies in name but is much the same in services provided from state to state.

Benjamin said a final check from prison in Draper arrived. He has to carefully budget since he doesn’t know how long it will need to last or how much he will receive when his next employment starts. He said he wants to write to everyone and will buy what stationery and stamps he can. He will phone us [on our toll-free number] and let that take the place of letters home, except for sending us letters to forward for him. He feels especially bad that his financial limits were keeping him from calling Jernon and David, but he doesn’t have the $. He asked me to let them know how very much he appreciates all they did for him.

He also asked me to tell each and every one of his nieces and nephews, “I love you,” for him. I will try to remember that as I get the chance to talk to them.


Will and Mindie’s daughter Allyssa celebrated her 5th birthday last Saturday. I think everyone here took a turn on the phone to wish her happiness. From the background sounds there was quite a family party going on.

Adam was under financial stress because his grant money hadn’t arrived. He was trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Monday morning the 20th he felt impressed to check his mailbox before going to practice. He never does that in the morning. His grant was there. He called to tell me that he knew paying his tithing produced this blessing for him. You can find a great brief biography about him on the UNLVRebels.com Football Roster website
http://unlvrebels.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/gent_adam00.html

You may remember Derek Wentz, the short attorney who was a bishopric counselor for Daddy B.J. till about a month ago. He had been out of work for five –and-a-half months. They moved to Port Orchard because they found a house for less rent. My sister met a former law school classmate of his while she was on a flight between Korb’s former home in Colorado and Salt Lake City. That classmate had a good job connected with the Social Security Administration. Lavina got his phone number and called me twice to make sure I passed the phone number on to Derek. Sunday morning there was a message on B.J. cell phone from a very happy Derek. He has a great new job from my sister’s talking with a stranger and following a prompting to gather information. Way to go, Sis!

Nathan went on vacation with Kathryn and her children to Montana. Joseph was joining his wife and children for the end of their stay there. Lucky Nathan!

David’s “girls” missed their flight on the 13th because David thought it left at 1:00 PM and it really was at 11:00 AM. They paid the hefty fee to reschedule for the next day and that worked fine. David is a bit lost without them. We are blessed to have his company more. He came to our Sacrament Meeting Sunday and took T.J. to help him teach his Primary class.

There has been one great side-effect of Lily’s theft. Since Debbie and the children stayed here longer, T.J. has been recruited to take part in the Youth TREK, which takes place this week. It is supposed to be as close to a true pioneer experience as they can make it. The youth are divided into families and push handcarts through a river, up a mountain, and cross-country for about twenty miles. There are special events planned along to way to provide the opportunity for spiritual growth. This particular activity takes place for our stake only once every four years. We are delighted that T.J. has the chance to go.

Michael talked to David yesterday and told him that Kitsap Lake had been on the news for a blue algae warning. I called the county for information this morning and it was true, but how bad can it really be when the official in charge had to search his own data banks to learn about it. He did tell me that the worst effects if any would be for small pets. He said the acceptable level had to be below .8 particles per million and they were .86 when tested. He asked if I had seen notices posted. No I haven’t. Jenna’s website has cute pictures of Anna Kate in a ballerina skirt that Jenna sewed for her. Jenna commented that before the skirt was finished she knew why commercial ones were worth the prices they charged. Since Jenna takes such cute picture of Anna Kate, you can’t blame me for yielding to the temptation of including them.

The Whole Dog Drama

Monica's 12-week-old black teacup Chihuahua was stolen but miraculously returned.

On Thursday July 16th the weather was very hot and a lot of folks came to our place to swim. Monica is a very friendly little girl, who loves the Chihuahuas and enjoys the attention she and the dogs enjoy when she carries them around and plays with them or watches them playing. We try to be generous in sharing this magnificent lake property and at the same time keep it safe for our family. A young lady was here with a friend on Thursday. We eventually learned that her full name was Alexandria Wallace, but in visiting with her Monica simply was told Alex. Since I was mowing the lawn I noticed her holding Little Lily quite a lot on a bench down on the dock. Alex asked Monica a lot of questions about the dog, like how old she was, if she had her shots and what she ate, etc.

Debbie and I had a Relief Society quarterly enrichment activity to attend that evening. T.J. was left in charge of Amy and Monica. The day before David arranged to come by after work and pick up all the kids for a movie night at his home. A few days earlier Debbie had been asked to present a mini-lesson based on an article in the Ensign magazine “Becoming Self-Reliant – Spiritually and Physically” by Elder M. Russell Ballard Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Debbie prepared laminated bookmarks “As a woman thinketh in her heart, so is she. Prov. 23:7 A grateful thought is the seed for change“, and a worksheet for sisters to list 5 things they are grateful for and of their strengths. She also purchased little individual plants to remind the sisters that they can grow in their self-reliance. Since we picked up one of the older sisters whom I visit teach, we left about a quarter after six. Debbie did a great job on her presentation. As soon as we left the building she checked her phone for messages and one said “Monica lost Lily.”

When she called to find out more, Debbie was told that shortly after we left Monica couldn’t find Lily. Everyone pitched in looking for her and asking everyone if they had seen her. Monica saw Alex heading up the hill and asked her about Lily. Alex opened her purse and said, “See, I don’t have her.” Learning of that later, Debbie thought that was a strange response. David actually went to the neighbors searching. In meeting them, he discovered a woman, whom he knew from Naval Ave. Elementary School. During the hunt a couple with their son came down the driveway. They instructed their son to tell our family what he had told them. He said when he was walking home he saw a lady with the black puppy’s head showing out of her handbag. This was the first indication that Lily was stolen. Alex was the only one carrying a bag. David said Monica couldn’t stop crying once she realized Lily was really gone. Everyone was upset.

Debbie had a plan by bedtime. Debbie phoned the police and reported the disappearance and suspected theft. Naturally we all started a safe return in all our family, couple, mealtime and personal prayers. Early the next morning we created a reward poster. 1) Will insisted that since Monica knew the girl’s name was Alex, that her name be included on the poster. Amy and Monica helped mount them on construction paper and then Debbie and the girls posted them. They started with one at the corner of our house by the breezeway, where anyone coming to swim would see it. They mounted a couple at the top of our street sign, one at the stop sign up the road, one at the Red Apple grocery. They took one to each of the pet stores in town. They told extended family members and requested they all add their prayers.

Debbie had planned on leaving Friday in order to be in Pahrump Saturday for Allyssa’s birthday. They changed plans to remain through Monica’s birthday on Monday the 20th.

We had heard nothing concerning Lily’s possible return by the end of Sunday. At 11:20 PM we received a phone call from a woman, who said her daughter knew where Lily was. The woman said she would get the dog and bring her to us. I got up, took a book, turned on our yard light and went to sit and watch and wait. At 1:10 AM I gave up and went to bed again. About a half hour later the woman phoned again. Since Daddy B.J. was slow to pick-up, most of the 2) conversation went to the answering machine and was recorded. Margaret gave us this report. Her daughter Laura, who is engaged and living with her boyfriend, told her that evening that her friend Alex had a new puppy – a teacup chihauhau. Margaret got to thinking about being at our place on Friday, seeing the poster which asked for information about a girl named Alex, and talking to Monica, who shared all about having her puppy stolen. Margaret asked her daughter what color the dog was and when she replied that it was black and there were pictures of it on Alex’s “MySpace” website, Margaret felt sure it was the missing dog. She made her first call to us then.

Margaret went to the website and 3) printed out five pages of the entry about Alex’s new dog. There were several pictures taken at our place the day she was here with the lake in the background! Alex’s final comment was, ”I stole the dog from a little girl Ha!” Margaret then called Alex and told her she was giving her five minutes to bring the dog to her or she would be calling the police. Alex hung up on her. Margaret waited. Nothing happened so she called the police and explained about discovering the stolen “Gent” puppy. The officer checked and couldn’t find any such theft reported and said if the Gents didn’t care enough to make it report there was nothing he could do. She made her second call to us.

Margaret explained more of her story. She said last Friday she wanted to take her sons and their friends, Jesse and Jacob Fry, swimming. The drove to Belfair and found it clouded over though the sun was shinning when they left Bremerton. She decided to cancel the outing, but the Fry boys said they knew just the place to go swimming – at the Gent’s. Margaret was hesitant. She doesn’t like meeting strangers and didn’t want to be a bother. The Frys insisted it would be just fine with us. So they came and played for a couple for a couple of hours. Margaret enjoyed helping Monica blow up balloons. She felt sad for the lilttle girl’s loss.

Margaret told us about calling the police and that fizzling. Margaret said that she would be heading to work in Gig Harbor within a few hours and could come by our place with the printout from Alex’s “MySpace” about 6:30 AM. Daddy B.J. and I decided not to bother Debbie about it until there was something positive to share. I waited by the door at 6:30 and met Margaret on the driveway. I realized while I waited why the police couldn’t find the report. It was made by Debbie Gordon, not Debbie Gent and I explained that to Margaret. I was open-mouth amazed at the pictures and heartless comments. I had Margaret write down her name and address and her daughter’s name and phone number. I thanked her profusely and she said she really felt it was miraculous how it had all come about – a change of plans bringing her here Friday, her daughter happening to know Alex, Laura’s passing on the news about Alex’s new puppy.

Daddy B.J. was also dumb-founded by the printout and told me to get Debbie right on it. I woke her up, but not the kids. I went straight to my computer and tried to find it on the web, but Alex had closed her website! Debbie called the police and explained what had been happening. The officer on duty found her report quickly. Debbie asked what to do next and the he replied that 4) the policeman, who took her report was just coming on duty and it would be turned over to him. Shortly there was a return call from the police, then the officer came and picked up Margaret’s printout and the information she wrote out for me. I wished I had made copies! He also listened to the answering machine recording.
About two hours later as I was headed out to run errands, a truck pulled in. It was Margaret and Laura with Lily! I got all teary eyed and ran to bring Debbie out. The officer made it all happen. So Monica woke up to the best birthday present possible. Lily was back. Truly our prayers were answered.