Merry Christmas and a Glorious New Year to you our dear
friends and family,
As we look back on the year 2015, we are amazed how quickly
it has gone by, and how gloriously we have been blessed! We find ourselves overcome with gratitude for
the tender mercies the Lord has showered upon us.
In February, we had a fabulous get-a-way with Brian, Heather
and McKinley as we spent 6 days on the beautiful island of Oahu. We were amazed at how well Kinners did! She was so content and she loved the walks,
the swimming, and eating in the restaurants.
She was a show stopper as well!
Also in February, we went to Houston to spend some time with the Bishop
family. For Christmas, they gave us
tickets to go to NASA with them. It was
an incredible experience. We came away so
inspired and amazed and loved to be with Dave and Julie and their family.
In March we went to Las Vegas to watch the BYU
basketball conference tournament.
Unfortunately, BYU got beaten by Gonzaga in the final game, but we sure
have a good time with friends there!
Also in March we were able to have a girl’s retreat in St. George with
all six of our daughters. Julie flew in
from Houston and we had a blast together.
Heazy was expecting her first baby and we thought it would be so fun to
have a girl’s get-a-way before the baby came.
Then at the end of March, Brad and I had the glorious experience of going
to the Holy Land with dear friends from Orem on a Daniel Rona tour. It was an absolutely incredible experience
for us. As we walked where Jesus walked,
we felt the sacredness of the places He lived, served, gave his life, and was
resurrected for us. This was a trip we
will always cherish as a highlight in our lives.
April, we stayed home and welcomed the
arrival of grandbaby #13, Asher Nathan Brown, born on April 28 to Kent and
Heather. The sweet thing about his birth
was that Vicki was able to participate and watch the delivery. What a sacred experience for all four of us
in the delivery room.
Also on April 26, Brad finished up his nine year calling in the
Heatheridge Stake Presidency with much sadness and appreciation for the
experiences he shared and the love he felt for those for whom he served and
with those he served. As we contemplated
his release, we felt it was time for us to seriously consider serving a full
time mission. We knew Nate and Becca
were expecting a baby boy in July, so we put our availability date in
August. Little did we know that all 6 of
our daughters would be having babies within a 9 month period, 4 of them after
we left. And what is more amazing, all 6
babies would be sons! I call them our
little stripling warriors! So on April
28, we turned in our mission papers and waited…….On May 30 we received the call
to serve as YSA missionaries in the England London Mission, the same mission
Brad served in 42 years previously, and my parents served for 18 months as well
. We were to leave on August 30, 2015
for a period of 18 months.
In June we went again to Houston to spend time with the
Bishops before they moved into their new home.
Also in June we held our annual Jackman family reunion with all of our
children and grandchildren. By this
time, we knew all of them were expecting except Heather, who just had
Asher. We rented a cabin in Timberlakes
above Heber City, Utah. We had a blast,
playing games, eating, swimming, 4-wheeling, and just being together. Unfortunately, at the end of the reunion,
Heather (Brian’s Heather) experienced excruciating pain and went into the
hospital. The Lord’s tender mercies were
with us as a friend of ours had had a similar back problem recently. She got in touch with her doctor and Heather
got into him in 2 days and he performed her surgery to repair a ruptured
disc. The miracle was that she was far
enough along in her pregnancy that she could have the surgery without hurting
the baby. Also, luckily, Brad and I were
home so we could help care for Kinners during the 6 weeks that Heather needed
to recover.
On July 14, our little Charlie Ryder Jackman made his
entrance into our family!! He was a
miracle baby and another incredible blessing for Nate and Becca and for us.
The month of August was a whirlwind of mission
preparation! We were amazed at how much
work is involved in going on a couple’s mission. We had to get our home ready to leave,
automatic bill payment arrangements, new bank accounts, mail redirected, etc. We wanted to spend as much time as we could
with all of our children and grandchildren.
Thankfully, our children were so willing and helpful, we couldn’t do it
without them.
Finally, on Sunday, August 30, we spoke in church and were
so grateful for the family and friends who were so supportive of us. We reported into the MTC on Monday morning,
August, 31. We spent one and a half
weeks in the MTC while living at home.
During that time we were able to have a FHE with all of our children
except Dave and Julie. Those were tender
times for us. On Monday morning, Sept.
14 we left from SLC to Heathrow airport in London, arriving on Sept. 15. Our adventure had begun! Please refer to our blog for all our
missionary adventures! Since we left, on
October 24, Grayden William Jackman Miles was born to Scott and Sherri. On November 29, Russell Jackman was born to
Justin and Amber. Samuel Spencer Bishop
arrived a few weeks early on December 21 to Dave and Julie. These little boys are perfect!!!! We now are waiting for Jordan Jackman to
arrive in January of 2016!
It has been a year of increase in a lot of ways for our
family, an increase in bodies, an increase in testimony, an increase in
love! Brad and I have now been on our
mission for 4 months. Never have we
experienced such an adventure! We have
been filled with an increase of love for family, for each other, for England
and its people, for the gospel and for Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ
and the Holy Ghost. We know They are
real! The gospel of Jesus Christ is upon
the earth. Jesus Christ is at the head
of the church and He has called living prophets to prepare us for His second
coming! We love you all and know we are
involved in an inspired work. May the
peace of the Spirit fill your homes and your hearts this day and throughout the
coming year.
With all our love,
Brad and Vicki
Grandpa and Grandma
Dad and Mom
No comments:
Post a Comment