Pumpkin Carving

Sunday Glenn and Christy invited us to carve pumpkins with them. They all carve with stencils (which I have never done before) but since I wasn’t doing much of the carving I agreed. Ben and I decided to carve a scary witch. All the carvings turned out great. It was a very fun night!!

Parents to the Rescue

Ben had a lot to do with school and work and I was still unable to be alone, so Mom and Dad came to Rexburg to my rescue. They got here on Wednesday. Thursday, I was still feeling pretty sick so we spent the day at home. Dad got to get a lot of work done and Mom got to go shopping (to Porters). Mom made us dinner (and you know a Mother’s Homemade cooking is always good for the soul) and Dad made us laugh non-stop (I had forgotten what a goofball he was).
Friday we went on a long drive around Rexburg. We got to go see the newly harvested potato fields, the temple, the apple orchards (we stole worm infested apples for a crisp), and I was able to show them the BYU-Idaho Campus.
Friday night I was feeling a little better so we all went to Big Jud’s for GIANT (1 lb) hamburgers. Mom and Dad had a hard time believing the size of the food but agreed that it was delicious. We shared one burger between the four of us and we were stuffed (that is until we got home and had apple crisp).
It was so wonderful to have my Mom and Dad here to help us out. Sometimes just the perfect thing when you feel sick is your parent’s special touch.

Medical Update

Today we went to Idaho Falls to see a new neurologist, Dr Talcott (who was trained by the Mayo Clinic). He had many new innovative ideas and answers to Brea and her many medical mysteries. Here is our update…
She has been diagnosed with Nocturnal Epilepsy, which is a seizure disorder which only results in seizures in the night (we are doing research on this and don’t know a TON about it yet)…
And she is thought to have had it since she was 11 years old. Brea has been getting a pain in her left mastoid since she was 11 years old, in which she would wake up in the middle of the night in severe pain. This is now believed to be the result of mild seizures in the night (in which case her parents wouldn’t know) that would strain and kink her neck. She also had jaw problems growing up and ended up getting double jaw surgery when she was 17. This is due to the grinding and clenching of her jaw during/throughout seizures. Her MRI, EEG’s and CT scans (which she has been having this year) all came back clear due to the fact that her seizures are nocturnal (meaning to see the symptoms she has to be sleeping).
She has been put on some epilepsy medication and multiple supplements (to counteract the negative results of the medication). She still feels pretty sick and the medication will not stop her soreness and migraine from the last seizure but it will help to eliminate (or reduce) any more seizures (large or small) and migraines. She is so relieved to be a little less in the dark and on the road to recovery.

Thank you to everyone for all your love and support. We know that your prayers have helped extraordinarily and have given us the faith and courage to move forward.

I got a letter from my brother...

Hey Sister,
It’s me, your little bro in So Cal, so now I have the coolest companion ever, Elder Marks. He is for real going to be my favorite comp. He is Polynesian. So this week is going great. What Ben said is true, you do get to start over again when you move to a new area. I am going to be more out going this transfer but not to much, I will see how that goes.
So how are things going in Idaho? Is it cooled there? I have now decided that I like the hot better than the cold. It really got cold the other morning (it got down to like 65 or maybe even 62 degrees). I know, I probably sound like a woos but it was cold to me.
So you are going to have to tell me what you are reading in the scriptures, so I can read what you are reading.
Ok sister, I love you and pray for you every day and night! CTR!

Check out Michael's Blog: elderstones.blogspot.com

Another Life Trial...

This morning we woke up to Brea having two more seizures. She had her first one in January and then another in September. The doctors do not believe that she has epilepsy, however they are unsure what is wrong. She is pretty sore and sick- but she is doing okay. We have some new doctor’s appointments next week and we will see if we can find out anything new.

We would love your prayers as we deal with this new trial.

Proposition 8

I went to a special meeting (broadcast) last night with Elder Cook, Elder Ballard and Elder Clayton. They spoke to all the singles and youth of the church about giving their support and service to Proposition 8- because it will greatly influence our futures and our families/children. Here are some things that I learnt...

Proposition 8, on which Californians will vote on November 4, defines marriage in California as between a man and a woman.

Please join me in supporting Protect Marriage in preserving marriage in California.
Proposition 8 would amend the California state constitution to ensure that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be legally recognized.
This is not a debate regarding homosexual rights; it is a firm stand to preserve the definition and sanctity of marriage.
This is our chance to make a moral stand for our beliefs and uphold a righteous way of life for our future posterity.

Other information can be found at:
www.protectmarriage.com
www.whatisprop8.com

View The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s input and beliefs at: http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/

Shopping Spree

For my birthday my parents sent me money for some new boots. On Wednesday I went to Idaho Falls on a Shopping Spree. I was able to use the money they gave me and some gift card. I am really excited to wear my new cloths and new BOOTS!
Here is what I got:

The Spirit of Conference

I absolutely loved conference. I went into it with a prayer in my heart and I know that my prayers were answered. I enjoyed all of the talks and can’t wait for the Ensign to come out with them all in there. I loved the guidance that was shared and the spirit that was so strong. If any of you missed it, or even a session, I would encourage you to read it. It is amazing the prayers that are answered through the words of prophets and apostles.

Mission Reunion and Conference Weekend

This past weekend we went to Utah for Ben’s mission reunion and for conference.We stayed at his companion Moises’ house in Kery, Utah. (It is always interesting to stay there because everyone speaks Spanish and I don’t understand anything. However Moises has been working on his English, so I was able to talk to them all a little bit. Saturday afternoon we went to a church to set up the mission reunion, everyone came and ate and talked and then we all watched the afternoon session together. After the session (Ben’s 2nd Mission President) Presidente Ramos and his wife both spoke. It was so great to see all of Ben’s old mission friends (although a lot of them were way to young to remember Ben) and to see him so happy.


Ben with Elder Johnson
Ben was his trainer.





Moises, Presidente Ramos and Ben




After the reunion Ben, Moises, Pres Ramos and Brian (Sister Ramos’ nephew) were able to go together to the Priesthood session in the Conference Center. Although they were late and had no tickets they went anyway and were able to get seats on the bottom tear (really close to the front). While they were at that Silvia (Moises’ wife), Sister Ramos and I went to the ‘Ladies Night’ in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and got to look around and talk. It was so great to get to know both of them better.


Our Manly Barbeque-ers












Sunday we watched conference at Moises’ house with a WONDERFUL asado (barbeque) between sessions. Ben and Moises had a lot of fun being manly men and cooking all the meat.




Brea and Silvia



Silvia, Moises, Ben and Brea





On our way home from Utah we stopped in Layton for an hour to see Ben’s brother and his family. The kids are so cute and it was a crazy but fun stop.

Meet the Ben Newson Family in 2038

So we were talking the other day about how we have SUCH cute neices and nephews and about how cute our children are going to have to be- in order to get any grandparent attention (and mula $$-haha jk).
So I decided to morph our faces together to find out what our kids would look like.
Here are our results...


Chuck


Gertie


Ralph


Susie Q








All credit (good or bad) is to be given to makemebabies.com
...and NO this is NOT a hint that we are pregnant!!

Yearbook Yourself

Some of Brea’s friends showed us this new website where you can see yourself in a ‘yearbook’ in different eras. It was really funny and interesting to put our faces on different people. We decided that Ben looks good always and Brea just looks like her brothers…haha.


Brea 1954


Brea 1952


Brea 1978- Not the most attractive African American


Ben 1956


Ben 1976


Ben 1986- CREEPY Michael Jackson Hairdue





Here is the website… it was pretty fun.
http://yearbookyourself.com/

Phoneless and Frozen...?

On Monday we went to Idaho Falls to have dinner with Grandma Lewis. As we left we stopped by Winco (wonderful place) to get groceries and some odds and ends. Then as we were making our way back to Rexburg Ben realized that he had left his cell phone at Grandma’s House. We tried calling but she was in bed (with her hearing aid out) and so we couldn’t get a hold of her (to ask if we could come back to get it).
We got home pretty late so we just put the groceries (still in the bags) in the fridge and went to bed. The next morning we searched and searched for Brea’s phone but…we couldn’t find it anywhere. So both of us lost our phones in a 12 hour period.
Tuesday afternoon Brea was telling Laurette (sister in law-law) how weird it was that she lost her phone and couldn’t find it anywhere (the apartment isn’t THAT big). As she began telling the story she started taking the grocery bags out and actually putting the food away and…low and behold…there was her phone, in a grocery bag. Yes, Brea refrigerated her phone (nothing got broke)…but we figure now it is nice and fresh!!

More Yellowstone Pictures

Here are pictures that Glenn took while we were in Yellowstone. They are very good. And here is Glenn and Christy’s blog- http://www.christyandglenn.net/
If you go there and click on their picture link you can see them all- they are amazing pictures.

























Brea always wanted to see a Moose...but alas, no moose!


This is a picture of Brea realizing she had forgotten and missed Women's Conference.

Ballroom at the Middle School

I (Brea) needed two more dance classes for my Dance Cluster to graduate from BYU-Idaho. Instead of taking classes, I am doing a practicum and teaching ballroom dance lessons at the local Middle School. I am teaching the 5th-6th graders and I love it. I am just a Teacher's Assistant for now but I love to see the kids grow and develop.
This last week I have been teaching manners- such as asking a girl to dance, offering the girl your arm and not leaving her in the middle of the dance floor at the end of the song. It has been fun seeing and remembering the emotions of 5th grade (such as cooties and awkwardness) and to be able to relate and help the kids grow. I absolutely love it and hope that I can get this worked out to count for all of my credits- so I can teach for the rest of the semester.

Yellowstone National Park

We went to visit the Yellowstone National Park for Free! … It was National Land Day and all the National Parks were free to enter. We saw a ton of wildlife and a ton a beautiful trees and mountains. Hot sulfur springs were cool to look at, but after a little while they were a little bit stinky. We were also able to see Old Faithful (a famous geyser) and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (which was Brea’s favorite spot).
We went up with the Brownlee’s from our ward (Glenn and his wife Kristy) and it was a ton of fun. Glenn is an amateur photographer that knows his stuff; He took some really cool pictures. They both love the outdoors and told us some useful tips about animals and nature. Yellowstone was amazing!



















It was so amazing to be able to spend a day together in nature. It was a HUGE reminder of Heavenly Father’s love for us and the amazing creation of this earth.


Interesting Yellowstone Facts:
• Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park.
• Yellowstone spreads across Wyoming , Montana, and Idaho. It is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
• There are over 400 waterfalls (over 15 ft tall) in Yellowstone National Park flowing year round.
• Yellowstone has over 300 active geysers
• Yellowstone is an active super volcano. (Only 30 exist in the world, the Yellowstone super volcano is the only one on land.)
• Yellowstone is the home of 3 threatened species (the bald eagle, grizzly bear, lynx) and 2 endangered species (whooping crane. gray wolf).
• There have been over 9,928,561 visitors since January of 2000