The Blanding Bugle

Volume 16 Issue 2

February 2007

Fired and Rehired

They finally fired Doreen!  After 18 months of total anarchy the Bishopric finally wised up and booted Doreen out as Ward Activity Chair! 

With all joking aside, Doreen actually loved the calling and was having a blast putting together a monthly party for the ward.  She will be the first to admit it was challenging at times, but it sure was fun.  Doreen was able to let her hair down and show the creative and fun side so often missing from a "Sunday" Church calling. She will truly miss a very rewarding calling.  She didn't think she would ever say that, but she had fun fulfilling that calling.

One would think she would be put back into music, but no, she is now the Visiting Teaching Coordinator.  She gets to make lots of phone calls at the beginning of each month asking everyone if they got their visiting teaching done or not. 

Chris is Clean

On January 13 in the middle of the afternoon, Christopher Jonathan Blanding was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by his father, Stephen Mark. 

It wasn't as simple as that, but it was pretty close.  Chris picked beautiful music and wonderful speakers (his dad and Grandpa Blanding) to talk  It was just like Chris wanted except both Grandmas were missing.  He understood why they couldn't be there with health and weather issued.

The weather is what made the service not so simple.  Western Washington was hit with a snow storm earlier in the week and the temperatures just wouldn't warm up. It had started to snow again mid morning just before his baptism.  Because of that many of his friends were not able to make it up the hill to the church.  We almost didn't make it home. In fact by the next morning it was impossible for us to make it off our hill and so we missed church.

Sorry there isn't a picture, but with the weather I forgot to bring the camera.  But Chris would have been so clean he wouldn't have shown up on the film, or, his smile would have broken the camera it was so radiant.

Winter Sports

Well the kids talked Steve and Doreen into letting them take ice skating lessons.  Of course because of the snow storm (see Chris is Clean story) they missed the first lesson, but it really didn't matter.  They are such great athletes that they were hanging with the best of them on their first lessons. 

Kray and Jason are teaching skiing up at The Pass and doing a fabulous job.  Steve takes them up every Friday afternoon and they assist in teaching young skiers how to make it down the hill without falling. 

Mike (sorry it is blurry--but he is too fast)

Jessie, Chris and Matt

Mady (friend), Kray and Jason