Russ and Suzanne Ballard

Merry Christmas 2011!!

2011-12-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Russ and Suzanne Ballard. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday centered on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We also wish you all a joyous 2012.

The above picture was taken in August for our family reunion. The Washington State families could not attend, sadly, but Suzanne's sister, Lauree, and her daughter, Elizabeth, totally surprised us all by flying in from Chicago. We were so happy to have them join us! (any picture can be enlarged by double clicking on the photo.)

A short update on our 2011...

Suzanne finally got full-time employment with e-Health Insurance in their Medicare division. She finds great joy in impartially helping Seniors & the disabled select the most advantageous Medicare insurance that is within their budget and coverage needs. The Annual Enrollment period (Oct 15-Dec 7) is the most stressful time of the year, but she is extremely grateful to have permanent employment with such an ethical company. She was selected to help with training in Utah, California, and Boston and was gone nearly all of August and September with that responsibility training temporary/seasonal employees. It was a wonderful opportunity. Suzanne taught Gospel Doctrine until mid-September and then was asked to be part of the family history committee. While she misses teaching weekly, she is happy to be serving wherever the Lord calls her.

Russ is now officially "retired", although you couldn't tell that by all that he accomplishes daily! Besides taking care of the home and meals, he also Todd-sits many times a week so Tamsen can run errands or get a break. In addition, he was called as a High Councilman in our Stake - a position that we never dreamed could be so demanding of his time! Plus, he now also volunteers every Tuesday for 8 hours at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. He just hopes that occasionally he can get out and go fishing!

In order to update some of our dear friends we've known for over the last 40+ years, we thought we'd add photos this year of our children and their families:

KEVIN'S FAMILY. Kevin is in the Stake Sunday School Presidency; his wife Jana is in the Ward Relief Society Presidency. Their 6 children are Sheridan (11), Teriesa (9), Nathan (7), Cooper (5), Amelia (3), and Tyler (1). They live about 30 minutes from us in Utah. Just a delightful, faithful family. We are so grateful that we get to see them regularly!

TAMSEN'S FAMILY. Tamsen is the Ward Relief Society Secretary. Her husband Todd was recently awarded full-disability benefits from the Veteran's Administration for which we are extremely thankful. Their children are Braeden (14, just ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood), Ethan (11) and Maura (8, baptized this last year). We see them almost every day as they live a few short blocks from our home. We are grateful for their eternal optimism and faith in Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation.

EMILY'S FAMILY. Emily loves running half-marathons - sadly she lost her job this year. Patrick works as a bank Branch Manager. Their children are Bridget (7, soon to be baptized), Avery (5), and Finley (2). We wish we could see them more often, but they live in Washington State. We will be flying up for Bridget's baptism the 2nd week of January. We are thankful that they are raising their daughters in the Gospel.

MEGAN'S FAMILY. They moved from Utah to Washington State this last year, where both Megan and Nick were able to find gainful employment after losing jobs due to the downturned mortgage market. We miss having them live near us. Their children are Ashleigh (9) and Preston (5). We love that they are teaching their children to honor our country and its great Constitution.

RYAN'S FAMILY. Ryan is the Stake Preparedness Chairman and his wife Sara is the Ward Young Women's President. Ryan also lost his job this year and is looking for employment in Medical Sales. Their sons are Tyce (12, recently ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood), Teagan (11), Talon (8, baptized this year), and Tage (5). We appreciate the righteous sons they are raising unto the Lord.

Every year we have a Cousin's Christmas Party at our home prior to Christmas so that we can help build bonds between the cousins and also help them remember that the Savior is the reason for the season. (We will be repeating this in January for the Washington State grandchildren.) So, to end our 2011 Christmas blogspot, we thought we'd include this one last photo of us with our Utah grandchildren (minus Tyler who is not quite old enough to attend yet).

May the spirit of this Christmas season also include for you reflections on the life and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We KNOW that He came to this earth to atone for our sins and to share with us the good news of the Gospel. When we live His precepts and teachings we KNOW that we can be together as a family forever. We have hope in that eternal promise.

God bless you all. May you all have a wonderful 2012.

Merry Christmas 2010!!

2010-12-11T15:55:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Ballards!

We hope you have a lovely holiday surrounded by family, friends

and the Spirit of the Lord whose birth we remember at this time of year.

May 2011 be joyous and wonderful for you all.

Our Ballard family reunion, July 2010.

Back row (L to R): Russ's mom Afton, Russ's brother Ron, Tamsen Bo, Suzanne, Russ, Megan C, Patrick M, Nick C, Emily M holding Finley M, Kevin B, Jana B holding Tyler B, Ryan P, Sara P.

Middle: (seated) Todd Bo, Braeden Bo, Sheridan B

Front: Tyce P, Cooper B, Avery M, Bridget M, Preston C, Ashleigh C w/hands on Amelia B, Maura Bo w/hands on Tage P, Teriesa B, Nathan B, Teagan P, Talon P, Ethan Bo.

JANUARY:

Braeden becomes a deacon and attends the Temple for the first time w/mom and grandparents.We have many blessings in our lives, but the greatest this year was the complete healing of Tyce (below) after his brain surgery to remove a tumor last December.

January highlights - a New Years Day party with the family and the Burts (Jana's family), Russ attending Scout snow-camp with Braeden, being able to go to dinner at the homes of our kids/grandchildren, and attending dance recitals.

FEBRUARY:

Granddaughter sleepover at G'ma & G'pa's home (pic includesPreston).

We wish Bridget could have joined us!
February highlights - more fun dinners at our kids/grandkids homes, more dance recitals!

MARCH:
Surprise party for Tamsen's 35th birthday!
March highlights - Suzanne got her Utah State Insurance license and began working for Aflac.

APRIL:
Great big Grandma Ballard comes to visit - shown with some of her great grandchildren.

Teriesa B is baptized!! We get to attend our mission reunion! (shown with our Mission President)

April highlights - Tamsen's basement flooded. How grateful we are for a Ward who came to her rescue! The insurance money covered using the upstairs carpeting to replace the water-soaked basement carpeting and then replacing the upstairs carpet with a beautiful wood floor which is much easier for Todd to maneuver in his wheelchair. They lived with us in May during the installation. We loved having them here (even with their chickens!)

MAY:
Grandchild #19, Tyler Bruce, is born to our son Kevin and his wife, Jana. Kevin is shown here with his sons, Sheridan, Nathan, Cooper and Tyler.

May highlights - Gardening, traveling, Tamsen's family living with us.

JUNE:
We love being together as a family: Kevin, Megan, Todd, Tamsen, Nick w/Russ in the back.

June highlights: Russ built a wall in the basement for our storage space, as well as installing a door in front of our food storage cold storage area. Teriesa read the entire Book of Mormon before she was baptized and got to go to a BYU play, dinner, and spend the night w/us.

JULY:
For our family reunion, we took a repeat picture of this 1990 Christmas card.

Ryan, Kevin, Tamsen, Emily, Megan

My how our kids have grown up in 20 years! (got the order wrong, darn it!)

Kevin, Ryan, Tamsen, Emily, Megan

Most of us were able to travel to Lake Tahoe to attend the wedding Suzanne's nephew, Dustin DeBard to his bride Tori. July highlights - the family reunion in UT and Lake Tahoe, our bounteous garden, Canada Day parade with Kevin's family, Braeden's orchestra recital, and many soccer games.

AUGUST:
Russ in Washington DC attending the Glenn Beck Rally.

August highlights - Suzanne began working for an insurance company called Extend Health (she's now licensed in 11 States and is helping retirees with Medicare insurance policies). A trip to Northern Utah, Southern Idaho and SE Wyoming to see the pioneer trail and our gorgeous Mountain States area.

SEPTEMBER:
Russ and Tamsen and her children visit the Whitney/Nay Ranch in Southern NV. Russ's ancestor farmed on this oasis in the middle of the desert 100 years ago. Current residents are Marilyn & Orville Catoor.

September highlights - Labor day with the Burt family (Jana's parents), attending grandchildren events at school.

OCTOBER:

Our 40th wedding anniversary with a trip back to where it began:

the Manti Temple in central Utah.

All but Emily's family was able to attend a 2nd reunion to celebrate the event.

(picture accidentally deleted)

October highlights - a trip to Mt Nebo w/Megan's kids to see the fall colors, attending Primary programs, school events, and an orchestra concert w/Braeden on the violin.

NOVEMBER:
Just had to show this cute picture of Tyler! (with Tamsen)

Suzanne's oldest and dearest friend came to visit. Alice & Suzanne have been friends since Kindergarten and she is the wonderful woman who introduced Suzanne to the Gospel.

Russ, Alice, Suzanne, Alice's sister Caroleen, Alice's daughter Maite

A wonderful Thanksgiving at Ryan & Sara's home (Megan's family also joined us!)
Sara, Tyce, Suzanne, & Tage

November highlights - fishing trips, Russ to Elko to visit his mom/brother, school events with the grandchildren.

DECEMBER:

In December Russ also began working at Extend Health as a customer service agent. We both should be out of work in late January when the Medicare season is over.

December highlights to look forward to - the Cousin's Christmas party at our home, Christmas with Kevin's family, and New Year's Day at our home.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

We have been blessed by visits this year from or to so many wonderful friends and family members we've known in the last 40 years. Our thanks to Norm & Cathy Bennion, Mark & Jennefer Hoffman, Janice & Byron McAllister, Brittany Fernandez, Mel Eckman, Barbara & Bill Hughes, Steve Brockett & family, missionaries we knew in OKC, Russ's mom & brother, Cristy & Jon Pearson, Tom & Amy Wheeler, Alice & Don Garate and family (sadly Don died shortly after their visit), Caroleen Nord, Bill & Aleen Nord, Jim Nord & boys (we lost Jim in December), Russ's Aunt Eula & her family, Alex Whitelaw, the DeBard family, & Suzanne's Mother & stepfather. Mostly, thank you to our terrific children & grandchildren for brightening our lives & causing us daily to thank our Heavenly Father for our numerous blessings. May God bless you all in 2011!

Merry Christmas & Welcome to our Blog!

2009-12-15T18:01:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Ballards! - Reunion 2009 photo - Celebrating the 86th birthday of Afton Ballard, Russ's mom.

(left to right: Suzanne, Afton Ballard, Todd Bo, Russ, Maura Bo, Tamsen Bo, Ethan Bo, Sara P, Ryan P holding Tage, Talon P, Tyce P, Teagan P, Emily M holding Avery, Bridget M, Kevin B holding Amelia, Ashleigh C, Nathan B (in front), Teriesa B, Jana B, Sheridan B, Ron Ballard (Russ's brother), Braeden Bo, Cooper B (in front), Nick C, Megan C holding Preston. Missing: Patrick M.

We hope you enjoy these highlights of the year 2009 in the life of the Ballards.

(You can click on any photo to make it larger in order to see it better.)

My you all have a Christ-filled Christmas season - We know that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the World. May His Spirit fill your souls this season and in 2010.

January/February 2009

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Ethan was baptized on January 3rd into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by his father, Todd. We're so proud of him taking this important step in his life!

We bought our home in Utah and moved in the last day of February. It's a wonderful home in a great neighborhood and we're really enjoying our Ward.

e-mail us for our new address at (Suzballard at AOL.com).

March/April 2009

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Russ's cousin, David Peterson, helped us with our move into the new house - helping with our various plumbing issues. Thank you, Dave!

Suzanne flew to Washington State to help our daughter, Emily, who was having a difficult pregnancy. Here pictured with granddaughters, Avery and Bridget. It was wonderful to be there and to be of help - and even to go to the ocean again with the girls. (For results of the pregnancy - see November post.)

May 2009

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We had many school and extracurricular events to attend this Spring - including soccer games, football games, recitals, etc. This is a picture of one of the fabulous school choir concerts we attended with Ryan's sons. Pictured: Suzanne with grandsons Tage (in my arms), Teagan, Tyce and Talon.

Another school event: Ashleigh's graduation from Kindergarten! Shown here with her mom and dad, Megan (our daughter) and Nick C.

Another grandchild event: Teriesa B at her ballet recital. She did a marvelous job and has been selected for competition dance this coming year!

June 2009

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We went to both the Draper Temple and Oquirrh Mountain Temple (pictured) open houses this year with Tamsen's family. Left to right: Ethan, Russ, Todd, Maura, Tamsen, Braeden, Suzanne.

Another grandson fishing trip - this time with Teagan and Tyce P - to Angel Lake in Nevada.

After much work, Russ finished the backyard. We added more patio space to make it three times larger than it was, cement stairs into the house (instead of rickety wooden steps), grass on 1/2 of the back yard, and 6 raised garden beds surrounded by red rock. Two garden beds are for my roses and bulbs. The other four are for the veggies. Our crops turned out well - except for the corn! We also landscaped the front yard. Previously this was all rocks, debris, and dog poop!

July 2009

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Our family reunion was held the end of July and the first of August in celebration of Great-Grandma Ballard's 86th birthday. We went to Mirror Lake, high in the Uinta Mountains of Northern Utah (over 10,000 feet above sea level). Pictured, back to front: Braeden Bo, Sheridan B, Teagan P, Ethan Bo, Tyce P, Cooper B.

Braeden Bo on the violin and Nick C on the cello, performing at our reunion for Great-Grandma Ballard's 86th birthday.

A grandchildren excursion to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Left to right: Maura Bo, Ashleigh C, Teriesa B, Braeden Bo holding Cooper B, Sheridan B, Nathan B and Preston C sitting on his mom's lap (our daughter, Megan C).

Ethan with his catch - Angel Lake, Nevada (near Wells) - we have now taken all the older grandsons to this favorite fishing spot at 10,000 feet above sea level in the Ruby Mountains!

August 2009

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After our family reunion the end of July and first of August, a trip to magnificent Bryce Canyon was on our agenda this month! We love exploring our new home State.

September 2009

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We attended Suzanne's 40th High School Reunion in Sparks, Nevada, in mid-September. It was fun to see old high school friends and catch up on their lives. While in Reno we also visited with good friends, Bill and Aleen Nord & Dr. & Mrs. Hsu, nephews Alex and David (and family), sister Maree (and family) and both of Suzanne's parents.

Russ had a reunion in So. Utah with his Ballard cousins - some of whom he'd not seen for over 40 years! His mother (seated) and his Uncle Dale Brockett (seated) attended along with his brother, Ron, cousin Dave Peterson, cousin Bruce Brockett, and Russ (back row) and Marc Peterson, Raymond Peterson, and Jimmy Brockett (middle row). Location: Grafton, UT.

October 2009

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We celebrated 39 years of marriage in October with a trip up Mill Creek Canyon in Salt Lake. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brought us together and continues to be a welding link in our marriage. We look forward to an eternity together with all our children and grandchildren. The Ballards - Our Eternal Family - please, no empty seats!

November 2009

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Finley Anne, our 18th grandchild, was born at home on November 1st in Washington State. She was 9 lbs 12 oz and is entirely loved by her two sisters, Avery (pictured) and Bridget.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the home of our son, Ryan, and his family. Pictured is the grandchildren's table. We were sad that the Mooneys and Calls couldn't join us, but we were thankful for all the blessings of our Heavenly Father in giving us such a great family, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and being able to live in this great, free land.

December 2009

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Finley Anne, our 18th grandchild and the 3rd daughter of our daughter, Emily, and her husband, Patrick, was blessed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington State in December. We were thrilled to be there for the blessing and to be able to be with Emily's family for this event.

Braeden Bo, age 12, was ordained a Deacon in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are so proud of this eldest grandson! (Shown in picture with his Bishop and father, Todd)

On Friday, December 18th, 10-year-old grandson, Tyce P (wearing brown shirt, seated with his cousins, Braeden Bo, Sheridan B and Teriesa B) had surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor on his brain. The surgery was successful and we are grateful for everyone's prayers on his behalf.

2009 in Review

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We were blessed with many visitors this year: Suzanne's adopted sister, Gwen Leonard; Mom Ballard and Russ's brother; friends from Vancouver and Oklahoma City; and even some new friends from Australia. We took trips to Vancouver, to Angel Lake and Elko, to Bryce Canyon, and to Reno, where we were able to see our good friends, the Hsu's and the Nords, and Suzanne's parents, sister's family, a nephew and a nephew's family.

***

On the job front, Suzanne has been working as a substitute teacher for the Church Seminary system. Both Russ and Suzanne have been hired to help with the 2010 Census beginning in February in the National Call Center. We will be working for about 6 months at those jobs.

***

We are thrilled to announce that Kevin & Jana will be giving us grandchild #19 in May 2010, their 6th child. What a blessing these precious grandchildren are to us.

***

Our oldest grandson, Braeden, and his grandma (Suzanne) have co-authored a children's picture book entitled "Gus Gets Lost"! If you'd like to read a bit about it, go to this website:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/616426/a7fc52a512317f39576a2f776398b72f

***

We wish you all a very Merry Christ-centered Christmas - and a Happy 2010!!

Love, Suzanne and Russ

A great video on Jesus Christ

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z9RVFAyAxk&feature=player_embedded

A great video on Jesus Christ that we know you'll enjoy watching! Merry Christmas!!