Sunday, November 20, 2011

my grandpa joe

on november 5, 2011 my wonderful grandpa passed away.  
what an amazing man he was!!

his funeral was held last saturday in rigby, idaho and i am so glad that we were able to go.  the entire event was nothing short of a miracle--ALL 40 of my cousins {except the two on missions} were there and almost all of their spouses + children!!  we were quite the crowd.  

my grandpa loved music and some of my fondest memories are singing songs at our george family reunions.  the funeral was filled with music--all grandkids over age 16 sang "how firm a foundation" and for the closing song all of his descendants sang "we'll bring the world his truth."  the spirit was so strong and i know it wasn't just me with tears in my eyes.

though the reason we were all together wasn't the greatest, it was so neat to be all together as a family.  it has been at least twelve years since that has last happened.  big family gatherings like that seem to give me a little glimpse into heaven.

my grandpa was an incredible example to me and i am so glad that i got to be his grand-daughter.  i will always cherish playing pictionary, eating farr's vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries on top, having delicious popcorn, picking buckets full of raspberries from the garden, and listening to his calm, sweet voice.

we love you grandpa!!

Joseph C. George



Joseph Carl George passed away at his home Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, as a result of complications of Parkinson's disease. His family cared for him with the assistance of Solace Hospice of Rigby.
He was born in Rigby on April 18, 1927, and was 84 years of age. His parents were Hilmer M. George and Edith Kinghorn George. He attended school in Rigby, where he excelled in scholarship and athletics. Following his high school graduation in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy with a group of his friends. At the conclusion of the war, he received an honorable discharge and returned home, where he attended Ricks College for one year. He served as class president at Ricks and then left for an LDS mission to the Northern/ Great Lakes States mission. He served under President Creed Haymond, and chose to follow in his profession. Following his mission he completed his pre-dentistry classes at Brigham Young University in Provo.
Joe met Carol Cordner of Stillwater, Oklahoma, at the beginning of the school year and they were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on June 19, 1951.
In 1955, he graduated from Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago. He and Carol and their three children returned to Rigby to live and he began his practice of dentistry upstairs over the Royal Theatre. In a few years he built his dental office on Main Street. Dr. George enjoyed his work and the association with his assistants and office managers. He especially enjoyed the opportunity to know his patient families who came from throughout Jefferson County. Joe loved Rigby and appreciated being able to raise and educate his family of eight children in this growing community. In 2010, Joe and Carol received the Lifetime Service Award from the Chamber of Commerce.
His commitment to his church was a top priority in his life and Joe served as a Scout Master and Bishop of the Rigby 4th Ward. In the organization of the Rigby Stake, he served as Executive Secretary, High Counselor, Counselor in the Rigby Stake presidency, and served for almost ten years as the Rigby Stake Mission President. He enjoyed teaching, speaking and missionary service.
Joe loved Idaho and the opportunities it presented to hunt and fish. Ice fishing with his brother, Reynold, was an important activity after he retired. He was a fine gardener. His family was the center of his interest and affection.
Joe is survived by his wife of 60 years, Carol, and the following children: Cyndi (Lyle) Wakefield of Rexburg, Joseph D. (Barbara) of Salt Lake City, Richard (Sally) of Rigby, Kenneth (Rose) of Bountiful, Utah, James D. (Shaunna) of Provo, Utah, Mary Beth (Ward) Wright of Orem, Utah, Ralph K. (Cathy) of Rexburg, and Susan (Craig) Bell, of Rexburg. He was the proud and happy grandfather of 40 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren. He is survived by two brothers: H. Reynold George of Idaho Falls, and Dr. Dennis George of Boise, Idaho.
He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant daughter, an infant brother, and his brother, Donal, who was lost during a flight over the Sea of Japan at the conclusion of the Korean War.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011, at the Rigby Stake Center, 258 W. First St. North, Rigby. The family will receive friends from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Eckersell Memorial Chapel, 101 W. Main St. Rigby, and for one hour prior to services at the church. Burial will be in Rigby Pioneer Cemetery under the care of Eckersell Memorial Chapel in Rigby.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

"flesh" lake

our halloween was amazing this year!!  
and we didn't even go trick-or-treating.  
{more on that later...}








our friends, sam + penny invited us up to their amazing cabin at fish lake {a.k.a. flesh lake} with some of our close friends.  we arrived friday night and had a weekend full of FUN.  seriously, i wish we could have stayed longer.  we stayed up until 2+ a.m., ate delicious food...and lots and lots of treats, played tons of games.  


i LOVE getting together with this crowd because they are some game loving people!
 we played ticket to ride, speed scrabble, quiddler, pit, and had michael jackson dance competitions {which i was horrible at but it was entertaining to watch penny, danny, sarah and dave!}  


we ate yummy caramel apples, watched the village {danny and i had never seen it before...not sure how we felt about it.  not the scariest movie in the world!} 
and had a wonderful time with our fabulous friends.  

they even let us bring max + avery and they didn't send us home when max threw up all over the kitchen floor!!! we love them for that :)  everyone was such a good sport and cheered max up when he wasn't feeling his greatest.  max and danny were still feeling sick on halloween, so we didn't make it out but we got a total of about TEN trick-or-treaters.  we're big time, huh??


thanks, sam + penny for the much needed getaway!  we love you guys!
oh, and thanks to caleb + lauren for the group shot and the single pic of max :)

Monday, November 07, 2011

up and running!

i have exciting news today!  my mormon.org profile is up and running!!  i hope to add more to it soon, but in the mean time, check it out here to better understand why i am a mormon.

oh, and while you're at it, you should create your profile too!  :)
i'd love to see yours if you have one!

f.y.i: the church has to go through your profile once you've submitted it, so once you finish, it takes about 1-2 weeks to go live.  have fun!

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

pearly whites


our little munchkin just surfaced her first tooth yesterday!! 
it was an exciting moment.

she has been a little grumpy lately, but for some reason, i didn't even expect a tooth.
i thought she would be a late bloomer, since max had about four teeth by now :)
but randomly, i felt her gums...and there it was.

aside from growing a pearly white, 
her personality is becoming more and more apparent, and we love her so so much.
she had her 6 month check-up today but it was unlike any doctor's visit i have ever experienced!
the power was out, so the entire hospital was working by lantern light!
it was quite the sight to behold.  they couldn't even weigh her because their scale runs on electricity!  
however, they were still able to give her three shots.  poor girl!

she can scoot like a pro and is almost on the verge of crawling. 
{see video below}


and she loves her baby food.
i've been making it using my new blendtec and it is so much easier than i expected it to be.
her fav combo's include: sweet potato + pear, broccoli + pea, and mango + peach.





 



she is such a joy and is a wonderful addition to our family.
max loves her more than i can even describe...and so do we.
we love you little avey baby!!

scratch that.

so...i may seem very indecisive...but turns out we aren't going private after all.
thanks for all of your support though! :)

ever since writing my last post, i have been feeling really strongly that i can use my public blog as a tool to better spread the gospel of jesus christ. these feelings started during general conference. conference was absolutely amazing!!! and many of my prayers were answered.
two of my fav talks included:

elder ian s. ardern: a time to prepare

after hearing these talks {listen and/or read them if you haven't already! they are incredible.}
i really felt like i could devote my time on-line in much more appropriate ways. it is amazing how easily time passes on the computer!! i have made some changes and thought that making my blog private might help me spend less time on-line. however, i don't think that's the case.

you will notice some changes on our blog though, to allow for added security :)

thanks for putting up with my crazy ways...and get excited for lots and lots of blog posts to follow. i have some serious catching up to do.