Ward Split

Tonight we found out that we are being split off from all of our dear friends in the Angel Park Ward. For my family, this is the 7th ward split in 10 years! Ward splits are very difficult, especially on the kids. Sometimes they lose friends, sometimes they lose leaders, sometimes they lose both. For Jake, the latter was the case. Needless to say, it has been very hard. This split was especially difficult because it was totally unexpected. We even bragged about how our ward was finally "land locked" so we thought they were safe. But our church and this area continues to grow...and so changes are needed. But boy are they hard! I think we have been with these people about 5 years. We have made some very dear friends. In fact one of my very best friends, Shelli, remains in that ward. And like I said, all of Jake's friends from the ward remain in that ward. It's tough! It is so hard to sit in a new ward, with new people. Although we know alot of them from past ward splits, it doesn't feel quite right yet. In alot of ways, it feels like we are losing family.

But it will change.

I keep reminding Jake of the many times we were split when Josh was a teenager. One time in particular, he was split off from most of his friends and his favorite leader of all time - Craig Sorensen. He really struggled at the prospect. But soon after, his 3 friends - Trevor, Brandon, and Wes (of the Fantastic Four) moved in, Brad was made his leader, and his life was forever changed. And I mean that literally...changed forever. What wonderful examples he was given and amazing memories he made! That is the miracle of our church. There are so many wonderful people!

We will get close to these new people and find out how wonderful they are. We will, eventually, feel at home again and wonder what is was ever like without them. But we will never forget the wonderful people we have been blessed to meet and associate with in Angel Park. They have truly helped us raise our children and touched our lives forever.

Some things I want to remember:

• So many young couples that are such strong church members- what great examples they are to me!
• Walks around the park, chatting with friends in their backyards
• Vacations with dear friends from that area
• All the babies in the ward that we "kidnapped" from their families
• The wonderful leaders my children were blessed with! Namely, Brad LeBaron, Nathan Forbush, Steve Terry, Casey Tanner, and more.
• Watching Jeff with Kailey...and Kailey with Jeff. She is a little girl that Jeff fell in love with at a year old! She is so cute with her dark brown eyes and for some reason, she touched Jeff's heart immediately. Josh and Jake fell in love with her, too. I can't explain how I love to watch all of my boys love her and spoil her. She liked me okay but if Jeff or one of the boys were there, she would literally push me to the side so she could hug them first. She spent many Sacrament meetings on their laps reading books. Although she will no longer be in our Ward, I sure hope they still ask us to babysit occasionally. Watching her and Jeff melts my heart and reminds me of his tender side.
• And I will definitely miss teaching with Jeff. We started with Maddy's age group (which we thoroughly loved since we got to be with her!) and ended with the Sunbeams. These little children are so special, each in their own, totally unique way. We knew that it would probably be our last week with them so we took pictures of them on our last Sunday. As you will see, the lesson was on being thankful for food and clothing. Hence the dress-up clothes... Ellie, Braxton, Benson, Luke, & Ashlee Jeff & I - in "switched" clothing Maddy, who was our helper that day, & Braxton Luke & Ellie Benson & Ashlee

Aren't they adorable??

Yes, I will be forever grateful for the Angel Park Ward. There were some horribly difficult trials during our time in that ward but with the help of so many, we were able to get through it and find out who are true friends were. We discovered that there truly are "angels" in that ward. Thanks to all of them! They will always have a special place in my heart.