Reliv Trip to Jamaica

On April 17, 2013 we flew from Portland to Jamaica with a few stops along the way. There is always so much work to do before leaving town with work and church responsibilities, so we managed to get less than two hours sleep before catching our early morning flight. We were ready for some relaxation in Jamaica! During November and December of 2012, Reliv had a promotion that the top 30 distributorships in volume of sales, would earn a trip to Jamaica. 

Those two months were very busy ones for us as I was preparing for Julia's wedding the end of December, in the midst of putting my portfolio together for the American Mothers nomination, and helping Emily to begin preparing for her mission. In the middle of December we drove to BYU-I for Julia's graduation, and of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas were in there, too. 

Crismon had his hands full with many church responsibilities, too, but amazingly we were richly blessed and we happened to be #30 to earn the trip! One of the tender mercies connected with this trip was it was just before our trip to New York for the American Mothers Convention. I contacted Reliv Travel and asked if there was any way we could fly to New York, and then a week later fly home to Portland. It turned out it was all within the budget. This was wonderful that we didn't have to pay for the flight to New York and back.

There was an opening dinner together as distributors, and then a closing dinner and entertainment, but other than that we were on our own to do what ever we would like. The Montego Bay Rose Hall was so beautiful, we just enjoyed relaxing and taking advantage of the fun things they had to do there.

The "Lazy River" where the currents would just move you along and you'd end up under some of the waterfalls.

The pool and all areas where breathtaking.

Our opening night with other Reliv Distributors

Breakfast one morning with Ryan Montgomery (Pres. of Reliv) and his wife Tracee. They are wonderful, down to earth people.

Relaxing before dressing for the final dinner with LDS friends, Annette and David Wells (MN), Karen & Ron Turner (Orem, UT)

This lady was incredible putting fire in her mouth, on her legs, etc. Really amazing!

We had a very expensive ride to church Sunday morning, a 35 minutes drive, but we didn't want to miss attending our meetings as we were flying out in the early afternoon. Of course, the Jamaican members are very warm and welcoming. We filled the room with this other company of LDS tourist there that day. One sweet sister wrote her name down on a piece of paper and asked if I would put her name in the temple when I go. She didn't have any special needs, but she just wanted the blessings of the temple. Their closest temple is the Panama temple. We thought about Bryan while we were there as he served his mission in Jamaica.

 The town was quite run down. There are beautiful mansions along the countryside, but mostly poverty.

Returning to our hotel before leaving for New York.

 We quickly had some lunch before catching our shuttle to the airport. This was the view from our table. Magnificent!

Our Terrific Conference Weekend

April 14, 2013

Going to General Conference has always been a highlight of my life, but this time it added new meaning. Pres. Brinkerhoff, Emily's mission president, encouraged us to come visit our missionary when he heard we were coming for conference. We glady accepted the invitation. What a joy to see our radiant, faithful missionary, Hermana Emily Lewis! Of course, there were a few tears shed, but what a sweet experience to be with her and see her "in action" as a missionary. She is presently serving in the Idaho Falls Visitors Center. They had a traveling display of 12 of Arnold Friberg's Book of Mormon paintings that he was commissioned by the General Primary Pres. at the time to paint. She paid for it with her own funds as they church couldn't afford to do so. I learned a great deal about each of the paintings that I hadn't known before. Listening to Emily's testimony of what the painting meant to her, was a choice experience for me. We enjoyed meeting her two companions, Sister Espiritu, and the other sister. She was being transferred that afternoon. In the kitchen area they have two computers that they take turns logging on and chatting with people around the world that are asking questions about the church. It is one of Emily's favorite things to do. 

 We are blessed to have this wonderful daughter!

Our time went by quickly with Emily, but we had another precious daughter to go visit. We enjoyed a wonderful time with Julia at her trailer in Rexburg. We were sorry to miss Austin who was at school and work. They have a nice place and she treated us to a yummy sandwich. Always a joy to see your children marry well and then begin their own place together. Again, our time together was too short! 

We love this sweet daughter!

Julia is our "Julia Joy!"

We hurried on our way to Salt Lake City to the Univ. of Utah campus to hear Danielle  play in a quartet for the "Utah Chamber Music Competition Winners." While on the freeway, we got a call from Geoff asking us where we were. He had come to the Plymouth exit, near Fielding, to pick up Jamie who came down from Rexburg for the weekend. We pulled off the freeway for a few minutes to visit with them. It was a delight to see them! Thanks Geoff for taking those few extra minutes to see us. We were grateful to make it in time (barely) to hear Danielle perform. It was so beautiful! I wish we lived closer so we could enjoy more of her music and her performances. Then we stopped at Hires Big H Burgers for a late dinner.

Alice-Anne, Spencer and Elliot picked us up at the airport on Thursday afternoon, April 4th. The first thing Spencer said to me was "Happy Birthday Grandma." It made my birthday to see those darling children again! Conference is a sweet experience because we get to be with this cute family. They always go all out to make it a so nice for us. We're spoiled by their royal treatment! 

I had a few treats for the children that I hide around the room shortly after I arrived. I'm not sure if it was that, or just what it was, but Spencer and I became bonded friends that weekend. I loved my time with him and he seemed to enjoy his Grandma. Most of the grandchildren adore Grandpa because he's so fun and full of life and plays with them so well. I was glad to connect with Spencer that weekend.

Thursday evening we had dinner with one of our customers/distributors who we had just known over the phone. It was nice to get acquainted. All of us attended a Reliv special event in Orem that eveniing and then we went to Crismon and Danielle's for a quick look at their new apt. they moved into this weekend.

You gotta love this kid!

Sat. morning we had a family walk around the neighborhood to help get their energy out before Conf. started. Gary had been awakened at 6 a.m. by their neighbors to come get their boys as their Mom had just gone into labor.

It's a joyous experience to be in the Conference Center and to feel the incredible spirit in abundance that attended the meeting and each of the speakers. The BYU Men's Chorus and BYU's Concert Choir performed in that session and it was fun to see (thanks to the big screens) cousins, Alejandra Gimenez and Harrison McCullough singing in the choir. We sat next to Martha & Chuck Allen's family, and Crismon and Danielle were there, too. We missed having Julia & Austin, and, of course, Emily who are usually with us, too.

Afterwards we connected with Colette & Mark McCullough and family and Ardene and Kurtis who were there, too. Nothing quite like seeing family! 

While the men were in the Priesthood Session I enjoyed visiting with Danielle and her Grandmother, Sus Swain, who was just completing her Family History Mission, over the last 21 months. The weather was spectacular and the flowers and trees were breathtaking!

Kenna, Spencer, and Elliot were so fun to play with in between sessions. They are all creative and full of life so there is lots of entertainment for us to enjoy.

Kute Kenna is almost eight! Next conf. she can come, too.

Spencer had made a "train" in the living room with different cars.

Elliot was having fun during Conf. playing with his parking garage his Dad had made, and drinking Reliv!

Elliot is at that adorable and yet challenging age of two. What a cute boy!

Alice-Anne went with her Dad to the Sunday afternoon session. I'm glad she had a break. Gary prepared a delicious birthday meal while she was gone, homemade, delicious Chicken Pot Pie, homemade rolls and homemade carrot cake (my favorite!) Earlier that morning Alice-Anne made homemade cinnamon rolls. Yes, we were spoiled!

We didn't have enough time with these wonderful grandchildren, but we relished every minute we could get it. We flew home Monday morning. We were thankful for $89 tickets each way that made flying very attractive.

I felt renewed and strengthened in my testimony after conference with a greater determination to be a missionary, stand up for truth, strengthen family ties, and strive to be more aware of others I could serve. We are blessed with modern day apostles and prophets!

More March Events

The first weekend in March we had the privilege of having Brad K. Risenmay in our home. He is an Area Seventy, and was here for our Stake Conference. He is a wonderful man, and it was our joy to host him.

The think one thing I do that pleases my husband, is making homemade wheat bread. He loves it, and he is easy to please. He doesn't need a lot of fancy meals, but with bread, honey, and possibly bottled peaches from sweet daughter, Alice-Anne, he is in heaven.

Bryson turned 5 years old on March 25th. I took him to McDonald's for a special treat. It's fun spending time with my cute grandchildren.

I love this time of year when the world comes alive with beautiful flowers. Some especially beautiful ones will appear each year in different areas in our yard.

For Easter we had the family come for dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. We had the fun of having Spencer & Melissa Ashton and their cute family of 5 children come stay with us for a short time. During their spring break they went to the ocean and rented a home with Ondalynn's family, too. We also celebrated mine and Gary's upcoming April birthdays.

Highlights of our lives in March

The highlight of my day was doing a “Google Hangout” with our 3 grandchildren that are turning 8 this year, Kenna Johns, Julia Vance and Preston Lewis. The title of the Hangout was “I Can’t Wait Until I’m Eight.” It was delightful to be able to “see” their cute faces and be excited along with them about their upcoming baptism this year. I had them share their feelings about being baptized. Kenna said she was “excited, but it seemed so far away (about 4 months). Julia said she was excited, too, and she personally shared with me later the 13th Article of Faith.  Preston said, “I want to be baptized so I can get the Holy Ghost.” We talked about several principles, priesthood authority, and what the word “immersion” meant. They are all well prepared for making this important step. We’ll do it again next month, but their assignment was to ask their parent’s about their baptism. Technology is a blessing in staying in touch with loved ones. (Update...it is now April 14th. We had another fun "Google Hangout" together talking about the covenants we make at baptism.)

Kenna Johns

Preston Lewis

Julia Vance

We enjoyed tending Clark, Daisy and Kaeley from Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon while Brett & Vivi had a little break. They were so cute and were very good. Right after Vivi left Clark said, “I want to do chores so I can use the IPad. It had been several weeks since I told him that rule. I was glad he remembered and he said he wanted to clean all the door handles. He did a good job and then Daisy dusted to earn her turn, too. We fed the ducks, went to the library, and made small pizzas. Crismon took them on an evening walk, played soccer with them, and told them bedtime stories. They were good to sleep through the night.

Creative Clark.

Definitely a girl...Daisy.

Kaeley was so good.

Feeding the ducks is great fun.

The most fun is piling on top of Grandpa!

I love teaching, and today I enjoyed teaching Relief Society from Pres. Uchtdorf’s Saturday morning Oct. General Conference talk entitled “Of Regrets and Resolutions.” It always amazes me the many things I learn when I read and study a conference talk in comparision to just listening to it. I guess I’m a visual learning, too, because I gain a greater insight. His message has helped me evaluate the things I’m doing throughout my day, “Am I developing bonding relationships with the ones I love? Am I living up to my potential?” Are my actions trivial or worthwhile? “I am deciding to be happy now?”

Crismon has had the privilege of setting apart two missionaries this week, Emily Miller going to Germany and Cory Yates to CO. These experiences are some of his most choice opportunities as President.

While I was in Arizona helping Meredith with new baby, Hudson, our stake held the Mt. Hood Family History Conference, March 8 & 9. It was 2-full days of classes and hands on with computers for anyone to search their ancestory’s and to have one-on-one help. The Keynote Speaker was Stephen P. Morse, an award-winning genealogist from California. He even stayed in our home, which meant that Crismon had to prepare to host him without me. Fortunately, the house had been cleaned well for our visiting authority the week before. There were about 500 people who came over the two days and half of them were non-LDS. There was a nice write up about it in the people this past week. While in the temple this week, a sister in our stake shared a very sweet story about a non-LDS friend that came hoping to find information about her father. She had good success in her search. When she left the Conf. she said, “I feel so loved.” The power of doing genealogy, blesses lives and touches members and nonmembers. We're hearing more wonderful stories from non-members about participating at the Family History Conference.

Dr. Hastings visits Portland...and 1st in the Nation for Feb!

March entered with a whirlwind of events. Friday evening, March 1st, Dr. Carl Hastings, the lead scientist with Reliv, was visiting Portland for a special event. Distributorships that qualified through volume of sales or number of new distributors added, were invited to have dinner with Dr. Carl at Multnomah Falls. We were joined by Jill McGrath, Ondalynn's VT partner who she shared Reliv. She  qualified to go as she had purchased a substantial order the night before. Jill has gotten good results with problems in her back. What a privilege to visit one-on-one with such a great man, who is humble and kind to everyone.

Crismon, Vivienne, Dr. Carl Hastings, Jill McGrath

The next morning he spoke to a packed room at the Embassy Suites Hotel where he shared more about the latest product, the LunaRich X capsules. We're excited about the latest in nutritional technology that is now able to effect the cell more than every before. The results people are getting with the capsules are incredible! We're seeing increased energy, more mental clarity, a deeper sleep and a better sense of well being. Others are seeing their cholesterol dropping, feeling coming back after 20 years from 4-5 degree burns over 85% of the body, a softening of the skin and many other results. Best of all, our customers are getting results quicker as the capsules magnify the synergism of the Reliv nutrition.

We learned the exciting news this week that we were first in the nation in volume of sales for February! It was very exciting to have Fed Ex deliver a large bonus check to us this week with a personal note from Ryan Montgomery, the President of Reliv. These bonuses are a big boost to our business. Our best month ever! We love sharing hope with others.

Briefly: Lunasin can attach itself to the epigenome and, as a result, can increase expression of important genes needed for normal functioning of the cell and protect the cells from environmental damage once it occurs. That’s how lunasin has both maintenance and preventive roles in the cell. It maintains optimal functioning of the epigenome and prevents unwanted changes that can eventually lead to chronic diseases.