September 27th - Sterling Heights, Michigan

Sunday 27th – Sterling Heights, Michigan
Dear Family,
Today Mom was sustained as the Relief Society President of the Sterling Heights Ward. Mom says she is “freaked out” by this new responsibility. However, we all know she will do the best she can to do the Lord's work. Go Mom!

We also had a family party after church with with local family members including Jim & Vanessa and Ryan & Maureen and their tribes. Thanks for the phone calls from family (she even got two from Brazil); it was awesome. Mom really appreciated the heart-felt letters from the family members of USA and Brazil that Dad received and put into a book. The book, also, had some pictures from Mom's childhood with her brothers and sisters. Everyone enjoyed it. Vanessa and Ryan and Samantha read their letters to Mom, which added a special personal touch. She feels “my cup runneth over”... “Thanks to everyone”.

Love y'all,
Mom & Dad

Sunday 20 September 2009 - Sterling Heights

Dear Family,
It has been a sick week.
Family Allergy Alert! After taking Mom to two doctors on Wednesday it was concluded she had an allergic reaction to sulfa. According to Amelita, Vo Gatti had an allergy to sulfa as well. Her symptoms were a prickly red rash from head to toe. Also, the fever and blood tests pointed to a viral infection, but she has dropped the fever for last few days and, thankfully, is feeling fine now. The rash has faded a lot, but she is still taking medicine for awhile. We hope all the sicky stuff is past.

Meanwhile, Suzana is recovering with several signs of improvement from her stroke and aneurism surgery and is staying at Christine's home with 24 hour nurse care. Actually, the lady who watches her during the day remembers Suzana from when they were children. Her mother was a maid at Vo Gatti's home and Suzana , being a little older, watched out for her, bringing her treats and giving her her favorite clothes. She is so happy to be able to help Suzana, saying “Suzana took care of me when we were kids so now it is my turn to do the same for her”. “Cast thy bread upon the waters...” Also, her children have arranged for her, when she is ready, to live in the same condominiums as Christine and Renato so she will always be close. Mom actually talked with Suzana and we are much relived to see the progress she is making.

Saturday, Dad helped Ryan with his basement finishing project by finishing plumbing, wiring the central vacuum system in the basement and helping with the electrical wiring. He enjoyed the pizza for dinner.

Celebration of Ryan's 33rd birthday was held Sunday evening. We attended since Mom's quarantine was over Sunday night. We had a good time getting together with kids and grandbuddies. Next Sunday we are getting together to celebrate Mom's 60th birthday.

We love you all,
Mom & Dad

13 September 2009 - Sterling Heights, Michigan

Dear Family,
Thankfully, we arrived home safely. We left Boise on Tuesday morning and drove to Ogalala, Nebraska that night. Wednesday, we met Stebar's, who were on their way to Utah, in Lexington, Nebraska. It was a short, but good visit. We drove on to Michigan arriving at home about 3:00 am Thursday morning. We accomplished our purpose of getting Michael settled in an apartment and started in school in Utah, and to visit Grandpa Corless in Heyburn and Dan, Lara, Abby, and Sarah in Boise, Idaho. It was great to see everyone.
We hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day. We celebrated it in Idaho - Dan cooked up some burgers while Abby & Sarah played in playground equipment at Liberty Park in Boise.
Saturday, after a haircut, Dad helped Ryan with the basement finishing project. Both Mom and Dad attended Samantha's soccer game at Delia park.
We enjoyed Stake Conference this week end.
It is great to be back home again.

Love y'all, Mom & Dad

Boise, Idaho - 6 September 2009

Sunday 6th – Boise, Idaho
Dear Family,
We, The travelers, survived the journey from Provo to Boise on Tuesday. On the way, we visited Grandpa Corless and went to Burger King for lunch. It was great joy for us to see Abby and get to know little Sarah, who didn't take long to warm up to us. These two are very active little girls – they keep us all hopping.
Monday, we attended the orientation with Michael and his roommate, Kyle. We, the parents, went to a session with President Richards and were impressed with the facilities. people and educational/learning model, which is very much similar to the “Preach My Gospel”.
Thursday we went to the Zoo, where met up with Dan's mom and step dad. They had finished their assignment as temple workers for the day and joined the tour to the animal exhibits for a couple of hours.
Saturday, Dad, Lara, Abby and Sarah went to Bogus Basin for a hike, a picnic and a few photos. The girls were able to get completely dirty and eat some dirt and collect a few rocks. Mom decided to stay home when Lara told her she had gotten a bit motion sick when riding those switch back roads before.
Saturday is a good news day in sports - Brazil defeated Argentina 3-1 in Rosario, Argentina to officially qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. BYU upset Oklahoma 14-13 in the football season opener. The home state teams of Michigan and Michigan State won their season openers. Also, between Dan, McAfee and I we defeated a hoax antivirus that attacked the laptop while Mom was on the internet.
Sunday after church, we went to New Plymouth to visit Dan's family. They made a yummy steak dinner with fresh tomatoes and corn on the cob for us. Lara made a berry pie that was great. We had a good visit and the girls enjoyed playing with their cousins and cats.
We have enjoyed our visit with Dan & Lara and Abby and Sarah J.
We love y'all
Mom & Dad

30 August 2009 - Provo, Utah

Dear Family,
It has been another jam packed week for us.
Sunday we went to Jim & Vanessa's for a youth fireside where Michael gave a very powerful message to the North Shores Ward youth about the importance of a testimony and what a testimony really is.
Monday the three of us thoroughly enjoyed a Stebar visit which included their famous biscuits and gravy breakfast.
Wednesday evening we had the missionaries over for Banquet chicken and baked potatoes. Dad attended the post Scout Camp Court of Honor at which Tyler got 7 Merit badges and his Second and First class ranks. GO Tyler!
Thursday was supposed to be a day to finish preparations for Micheal and us to go to Utah, but Michael had a bad reaction to Miracell, which gave him horrible itching and pain. After two trips to the pharmacy and several remedies did nothing, Dad took him to the Emergency Room, where he got a cortizone shot, a vicodin pill and a prescription for steroids. Mercifully, he became well enough to travel.
Friday morning we left home and drove through the rain all across Michigan. We arrived in Provo, Utah, Saturday evening after 1700 miles of driving pleasure, including a mercy quest to find some Benedryl for Mom, who woke up Saturday morning in Kearney, Nebraska with a head to toe ugly red (huge welts) rash. She called her doctor, who told her to stop taking the antibiotic for her cough and to take Benedryl. She is too embarrassed to be seen in public so we will just rest today. All is “welt” with Mom! Michael was invited to attend his Mission President's talk in his home ward in Draper, Utah.
Michael was so happy to see his ex-companion and roommate Kyle Calder. We think together they will be able to overcome their anxiety about school and be a great support one another in this important next step of their lives. We went shopping for groceries and out to dinner to the Brick Oven.

Thanks to Heavenly Father we safely arrived and Michael is moved in.

We love y'all, Mom & Dad

24 August 2009

Dear Family,
It has been another eventful week.
Spirit Week - We had a joint family Family Home Evening at Jim & Vanessa's home. Michael gave a great lesson on “testimony” after the grandkids picked a Book of Mormon hero to tell about. Grandma Sparks, Dad, Ryan and Jim bore their testimonies at the end. It was a great FHE! The adults went to the Temple for an initiatory session on Tuesday. On Sunday, the family attended Sacrament Meeting together to hear Michael speak about testimony and that evening Michael lead the discussion at a youth fireside attended by 30 people at Jim & Vanessa's. He did very well as he inspired others to consider their own testimony and the importance thereof.

High tech week – We replaced 2 of our old “relic” cell phones, with the latest model and purchased a laptop for Michael's college tool kit. Saturday Papa took Tyler to the Air Show at Selfridge to see new high tech and vintage aircraft fly. It was an awesome thing to see all these different aircraft and follow the history of the men and machines from vintage World War II aircraft to the high powered, high tech modern jet turbine powered craft of today, including a B2 bomber fly over. The Air Force Thunderbirds put on a great demonstration in their versatile and agile F-16's.

Zoo - Friday Papa and Nona took Tyler, Samantha, Joshua and Olivia to the zoo, which included seeing colorful butterflies, a steamy aviary full of brightly colored birds, walking the the Dinosauria trail, surviving the motion sickness from the Dinosaur adventure ride, Reptile house, Amphibianville, the Penguinarium and, of course, a trip to McDonald's for a treat.

Grandma Sparks - We enjoyed Grandma Sparks visit with us. We made two large family history books of the Sorenson family, visited the Apple Computer store to see what they had to offer for computers and training, and looked at several condominiums for her when she comes to Michigan for the summers. Wednesday evening Dad, Michael and Grandma visited Daniel & Holli and their boys for a while. Grandma stayed over night and left to return home on Thursday morning. Thanks for your visit.

Future – We are scheduling a drive to Utah within the next week or so to deliver Michael to school, visit Grandpa Corless, and Dan, Lara, Abby and Sarah and hopefully friends. Stay tuned !

We love you all, Mom & Dad