Uniform Drive

SUPPORT YOUR TROOPS, SUPPORT YOUR SCOUTS
The Young Men living on Camp Pendleton, a military base in Southern California, are eagerly awaiting the summer and their opportunity to go to Scout Camp. However, due to the limited income and resources of these military families, many of the boys do not have scout uniforms or the equipment necessary to attend camp. The young men have personally been working hard to raise the money to attend scout camp, however they cannot raise enough for the equipment and/or uniforms required by the camp. We are working hard to encourage people to donate used uniforms and/or equipment for these young men.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP OR DONATE PLEASE CONTACT ME AT STO04033@GMAIL.COM

New Home Addition

Brenda gave us some old furniture for our apartment. Some of the pieces were in her friend’s house when there was a fire- so they were sooty and dirty. I scrubbed them off (haven’t painted or sanded them yet- it’s to cold outside) and they look good. We are happy to have new additions to our home.
(*and yes…Ben is studying on the floor!)

Happy 21st Sean!

We drove down to Logan (March 16) for Sean’s 21st Birthday party. It was fun to be with family and be able to play and relax. Brenda made an amazing meal (mostly green) with WONDERFUL cheesecake for dessert. Then we all sat around and talked- it was great. I love my family!

Guitars Unplugged

On campus there is a big concert called GUITARS UNPLUGGED. This is a concert of all the best bands/musicians in the school. It is a very big shindig and is always so much fun. This year (March 15, 2008) we went with Jordan and Michaela Spence. The music was great and the atmosphere is cool (almost like we aren’t in the Rexburg ‘bubble’). It was so much fun.

Elder Michael David Stones

Michael has a blog with all his mission letters home. The address is...http://elderstones.blogspot.com/
Check it out.

King's Singers Concert

Last Night, (Wednesday February 27, 2008) we went to a King’s Singers performance. It was so amazing. The King’s Singers are ‘one of the world’s most sought-after and acclaimed vocal ensembles.’ They are from Cambridge (England) and they have been doing a US tour the last three weeks and came to REXBURG (of all places). They sang amazingly and it was so cool. They did some old English and Renaissance pieces; they sand Blackbird (by the Beatles) and some other really cool ones. It was fun to be able to get out and go to this concert.

Snow Covered....Everywhere

Rexburg has defiantly kept up to its reputation as a very windy and snow covered place. This year Rexburg has gotten more snow then we both think we have seen in our years here. The cities snow removal crews had a hard time getting rid of the snow, so huge piles and mounds have formed throughout town. At one point they had pushed all the snow into the median, and it piled so high you could not see the cars on the other side (making it hard to U-turn). There were icicles coming off the buildings that were 4-5 feet long. The snow was shoveled on some sidewalks, creating tunnels and canals. However, through the storms and fridge snow, there is a glimpse of hope. The weather has gotten above zero and has sky rocketed to the low 30’s. With this new forecast of a ‘summer’s heat’ there comes the glimpse of a true Idahoan walking around in flip flops and shorts. Bathing suits will soon be seen as the snow melts and floods our street and sidewalks with the feet of melted snow.

And the glorious place we call home is none other but….REXBURG, IDAHO!!

Life Update

Well there is not much of an update other then, we are safe and alive. We have gone through many tests (MRA, MRI, EEG, ect) and no results have been found as to the cause of Breanne’s seizures. She is slowly feeling better, getting back her energy, going to class, ect. She still gets dizzy and lightheaded if she does too much (which she is using to her advantage) and she still gets pretty bad migraines, but overall she is doing better. Ben is also getting back to class; the two week absence has left him with a lot of homework and stress. He is working hard to catch back up, while balancing the new responsibilities he has with Brea.
Other then our medical mystery we have been okay. We were able to attend the Rexburg Temple Dedication, broadcasted live on campus, which was a very special opportunity. We are so happy and grateful that we have a temple so close to us and that we have this new opportunity to attend more regularly. It has been a great blessing and beacon of faith for us both.

Our New Life Trials

Thursday (January 24, 2007) Ben woke up to Breanne having a seizure. He called 9-1-1 and she was rushed to the Rexburg Hospital, where she had another seizure. Breanne had never had a seizure before and the doctors are unsure what the cause was and/or if it will happen again. They stayed in the hospital till Friday evening, when she was released to go home. Since then we have gone to multiple doctors (chiropractors, doctors, neurologists, radiologists, ect) to try to find out why Breanne had a seizure and if it will happen again. She is still pretty sick (with limited to no strength, constant migraines, dizziness, ect) but we are learning a lot about seizures and different possible causes. We have more doctors’ appointments this upcoming week and will hopefully find out some more concrete information about Brea’s health. Ben has been amazing and such a great support and help. He is having a hard time having his wife in and out of hospitals and in constant pain. It is hard for him, but he is showing loads of love and support.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers and warm wishes as we struggle through this unexpected challenge in our lives. We know that things will work out for the best and that Breanne’s health will improve quickly.

Walking in a Winter Wonder Land

One night, after going to a dollar movie, we decided to walk for a while (because we walked everywhere in New York, and we kind of missed it). Well, walking in Rexburg isn't half as interesting, but we walked past the museum and got to see the wintery wonders of Rexburg alseep (it was 11:00).

Our New Home in Rexburg

Ben and I are living in a housing complex right off Main Street in Rexburg, Cambridge Court. We love our little 1 room apartment and are trying to make it feel like home. For our wedding, my parents got us a bed and a card table, and we bought a $25 DI couch and stools. Other then that we have make-shift cardboard furniture and a new shelf (we splurged with wedding money- yay). But we are making it work.



Our kitchen is all red and black chefs. Brea got a dish set like this when she was a freshman in college and has loved and collected various things since. We stole some food storage from Grandma Baker- so we are stocked (a college student’s dream)!!


For our wedding we got an entire bathroom set (thank you Resolution) and so our bathroom is the most completed room of the house. Oh, and there's me.



Here is our new bed (bed bug free!!. Grandma Lewis made our comforter. We love it. in the corner we have our mess of an office (with computers, books, and the works).

Our Quest to Rexburg

On January 3rd we left early in the morning on our quest to Rexburg. Mom and Dad Stones drove the van (full of our stuff) and Ben, Michael and I went in our car. We went to Logan (9 hours) first and stayed the night and the next day came up to Rexburg (4 hours) to unpack. We spent the night of the 4th at Ben’s grandmothers house (Grandma Lewis) and ate the best and most food ever. Then Saturday we finished unpacking and moving in and the family left Ben and I (mostly me) to ‘nest’ and ‘beautify’ our home.
These pictures are going across WY on our 9 hour trip...

Benny Boy’s Birthday

Ben’s birthday is January 1st. For his birthday we watched football, relaxed and then had a dinner with his family and mine. He picked to have shrimp, steak, and caesar salad for his ‘birthday dinner.’ Then we opened presents (cloths- so boring, but needed), had cake (truffle- so good), and played games. It was so much fun and was great to be able to celebrate Ben turning 25 (Yes, he is a quarter or a century old)!!

We'll Be Home For Christmas

Sunday was our ‘last day’ in New York City. After church, we finished packing and cleaning the apartment, turned in our keys to the landlord and a member of our ward drove us to the shuttle stop (with all our luggage- a LOT) and we waited for the Jet Blue employee shuttle- which took us to John F Kennedy Airport. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 5:00 pm but we arrived at the airport at 1:30 pm so that we would have enough time to do everything- because we heard it was busy with the Holiday Rush. We arrived to bad luck- our flight was a connector flight in Boston and Boston was being hit by a huge winter storm- and we would miss our connector flight (by 4 hours) and be stranded in Boston. So we changed to another flight at 9:00pm and began our wait.
Around 4:00pm we got the word that our second flight was cancelled- due to weather between the two airports. We were put on the flight the following evening (Christmas Eve) at 9:00 but were put on the waiting list for the 9:35 am flight and were pretty sure we would make it. So we, bag-less, homeless, but hopeful left the airport.
The hope diminished on our long trip home- through torrential rainfall, waiting for shuttles, busses and trying to find our landlord’s house. (We even got splashed all up our legs- Ben got it worse- with dirty New York gutter water- which added a wet frozenness to our homeless state). Our landlord was very understanding and gave us the keys to get into our apartment. So we hunkered down (after a home cooked meal at Boston Market) in our bare apartment to stay the night. Our apartment is furnished and the landlord has a closet of her own stuff there- so it wasn’t as bare as it sounds- we had a bed to sleep on (no sheets, but that is a luxury anyway). We got up (same old cloths- we didn’t have any of our luggage, or bathroom stuff or anything) and got on the bus at 5:30am to get to the shuttle by 6:00 but we missed the shuttle by 5 minutes- so we had to wait for an hour for the next shuttle. So we had breakfast at a delicious hole in the wall coffee shop- which warmed our spirits and bellies for the day to come.
We got to the airport and checked in by 7:30-ish for our 9:30 am flight. At 8:00 they told us we were delayed till 11:30, at 11:25 they told us we were delayed till 2:00. Six hours after arriving we waited to get on the plane- because we were pushed over from the day before we had stand by tickets- so we waited until everyone was on, so they could see if there would be room for us. Thankfully they handed us two boarding passes so we could get on the long awaited flight. As we walked onto the plane the flight attendant greeted us with bad news- they miss counted and ‘there was no room in the inn’…we had to turn around and walk off the plane to wait another 6 hours for the next flight.
At this time Brea broke down and just started bawling in the airport- it was Christmas Eve and they weren’t going to make it home, regardless the fact that all the gifts were in luggage somewhere in Denver, Boston or New York (we didn’t know) and we didn’t get to shop for each other yet. She just cried and cried, in the middle of the busy airport on Christmas Eve. Ben, the amazing man that he is, got their seats confirmed for the 9:00pm flight and bought her some chocolate ice cream (when ordering he said, “I need the biggest chocolatiest thing you have!”).
So once again it has been 6 hours and our flight is scheduled to leave on time. We have an hour left to wait and then just need to hope that all goes well. Our flight will arrive (if all goes well) at 11:59pm- so we will arrive today (ha). We are just relieved to be going home for Christmas and to be with our families, and we have decided not to travel next Christmas.

Eastside Rehab Holiday Party

Brea works for a Physical Therapist office and Wednesday (December 19, 2007)they had the party at Hill Country Barbeque it was a lot of fun. There was a lot of good (free)food and it was great to have friends, collegues and family there with us. The band was...interesting, but we all enjoyed the night.