Christmas Gifts

Christmas is almost here and the "fun", sometimes stressful, activity of shopping for gifts is over for us. Much as we hope we have bought or made the "perfect" gift for those we hold dear, we know in our hearts that the perfect gift was given to each one of us over two thousand years ago.

Heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ gave us the gift of the atonement so that we may have eternal life. His life and example teach us how to live so we can return to our Heavenly Father. To help us we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, the gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the gift of the scriptures, the gift of prophets, and the gift of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. Whenever we think of things we are grateful for --family, friends, our country, our freedoms, abundance, etc.--we realize that all that we have and all that we are have been gifts from a loving Heavenly Father.

May we ever humble ourselves before Him expressing our gratitude in word and in deed!   John 3:16-17

Merry Christmas & Happiness in 2012!

The Kennedys

December on the Ranch

December just seems to get out of control and this year is no exception. December 2nd was Grayson's 2nd birthday, but we celebrated it on the 1st with a family dinner, i.e. both sets of grandparents, Aunt Laura, cousin Bayer (17 mo), and the Welling family, who are family by choice not birth!



Grayson and his "Cars" cake.



The ranch Christmas party was held on Friday, Dec. 2nd. For us that meant spending the morning at the rodeo grounds cleaning up and decorating. The party began at 5:30 P.M. with a choice of steak, ribs, or hamburgers for dinner, entertainment by some of the talented people on the ranch, inflatable slide for the kids, and, of course, Santa Claus! What a fun evening!

Natalie & Evelyn Wright talk to Santa.

On Dec.5th for Family Home Evening, we decorated the Carroll House. The men worked outside putting up the lights. (CK doesn't like doing this so he loved all the help!) The women worked inside putting up the tree and other decorations. Wish we had all this help at home! On the 12th, Joe Snider (Housing Foreman) let the elders spend the day at the Carroll House doing some overdue maintenance, i.e. pressure cleaning the porch ceiling and soffitts, and putting edging and mulch on the flower beds. The men also spent a day at the Jacobsen's getting their landscaping ready for "the wedding".

Yesterday, Erik and Renee Jacobsen's oldest child, Jessica, was married in the Orlando temple to Randall Raban from St. Johns, AZ. (Erik is the ranch's GM) The missionaries helped with a brunch before the wedding and a dinner after the wedding for family and close friends from out of town. We also helped with the reception which was held in a huge white tent on the Jacobsen's front lawn. They had a perfect day weather-wise. Sunny in the mid 70's. Everything went very well, especially considering it was their first wedding. One down and three more daughters to go! Temple Marriage We are relaxing and recovering today! Don't think we'll go caroling with our ward this evening. However, the ward Christmas party on the 14th was great.




Randall & Jessica Raban

  

Today my Primary children were so tired from the dancing and the sugar!



Where did November go?

November was busy, but didn't realize SK totally missed making at least ONE blog entry!! So here goes, an update on November...

Erik Jacobsen, Gen. Manager of the ranch, enlisted the missionary couples to help with the annual Family History Seminar put on by the Cocoa Stake. Erik is on the Cocoa Stake High Council and is responsible for the Family History Library in the Stake Ctr. This year's seminar, "Trace Your Roots - and leave a legacy of love" was held on November 5th from 8:30 AM - 3 PM. We had several hundred participants, mostly not of our faith. Four different classes were offered each hour, after a joint opening session, for a total of 20 classes. There was information for beginners, instruction on how to use technology and research tools, and

information on researching specific geographic locations, as well as "miscellaneous" classes such as "Researching Maiden Names", "No Brick Walls, Just Detours", "The Pitfalls of Secondary Sources", and "African-American Research". All of the presenters were very experienced and knowledgeable. Although the missionary couples spent most of the time "directing traffic" helping participants get to the classes, we also got to sit in on several of the classes. The seminar was free to the public, as are most of the church's excellent genealogy resources. Trace Your Roots!

Sister Elaine Hill works at the Family History Library on Tuesdays with another sister who lives on the ranch. On the 15th SK went with her and spent the morning doing indexing, i.e. working on the 1870 British census. That's a great service opportunity that you can do at home! For information on indexing, see Trace Your Roots link above.

The missionary Elders have been working on the Buckstrand Lane house and things are progressing well.

The house was built in the 1950's and they gutted it down to the studs. Everything will be new. We have lots of pictures of the work in progress:



This is the "before" picture.




Elder Kennedy during the gutting process.




More gutting!




The metal roof goes on.




Tyvek moisture barrier goes over outside studs.





The Sister missionaries have been very busy in November as well. We wanted to finish up all our Humanitarian projects earlier than usual so that the charities could have them early in December, well before Christmas. (Also, so we could focus some attention on Christmas gifts for our children and grandchildren!)

Tomorrow we will take everything to the Osceola Council on Aging, the agency that distributes them to organizations serving children and families in Osceola County. Here's the results of our efforts:



Rag quilts, crocheted scarves, fleece balls, teddy bears,
felt Christmas stockings, knit stockings, wooden toys.




Jumpers and shirts for girls 1-7.



We continue to appreciate serving here at the Florida ranch where we can still use our St Pete doctors and enjoy visits with family. The annual Kennedy Reunion, now in its 65th year, is so near and dear to CK's heart that nothing will keep him away from it! We left the ranch on Thanksgiving, attended the reunion on Saturday the 26th and returned on Monday the 28th. Only a Church Service mission would allow this! The other missionaries used the holiday to visit friends or sightsee in other parts of Florida.



CK with brothers Jack (L) & George (R) and sister Nell.

 Conference Quote:

"We declare our belief in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Savior. He will bless us and guide us in all of our efforts. As we labor here in mortality, He will strengthen us and bring us peace in time of trials. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints walk by faith in Him whose Church it is."

                                                                                                

L. Tom Perry
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Morning Walks

Morning walks are much more pleasant now that the weather has been cooler. The mornings have been in the high 50's or 60's for the past several weeks. The Carroll House is a mile from Deer Park Road , an easy walk on Deseret Lane which is paved. There's lots to see and it is a welcome contrast to my walks in St Pete!



Beautiful sunrises!




Morning fog






Fascinating cobwbs on fences & in the pasture



Cows, of course





Quarter horses





Deer




Florida Sandhill Crane




Jake & Sarah Birch (minus 2 yr. old Ruby)
Jake is training to be a foreman.




Scott & Taylor Smith out for a Saturday ride
Scott is an accountant.




Chad & Teri Smith also out for a Saturday ride!.
Chad is Human Resources Manager




Heavy equipment!
(Nice to know somebody's working.)

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. ( Revelation 4:11)



Water,Water Everywhere!

We've been having a storm system passing through our area this weekend. We woke up this morning surrounded by water! Yesterday we got about 11 inches and it is still raining off and on to add to that. Also have wind with gusts up to 30 mph. We lost power for several hours this A.M. and for a short time this P.M. Airboats come in handy when there's flooding and we heard some out and about this morning. The Carroll House is built on a raised foundation so there was water under the house also!!

The one bright spot in our rainy Saturday was a visit from our good friends, Todd & Julie Bangerter, from St. Petersburg! He is the new Bishop in St Pete Ward.



West side of our front lawn.
Taken from porch on West side.
The handicap ramp is in the foreground.




Looking at West side of back lawn.
Grass area is location of septic tank.




Lawn on West side.




Back of house looking North




East side




Landscrape timber "floating" on sidewalk
 at back of house.Hedges around the house
 will need new mulch under them.




Looking SE from front porch.
(The house faces South.)



Looking SW from front porch.
Can you spot the picnic table?




Our "lake" in the front yard!


This is a reminder to be prepared! After all, "it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark!"
Provident Living

Comings and Goings

The good news is we have a new missionary couple; the bad news is we've also lost a missionary couple!!

The Hills from Logan, UT, arrived on Sept. 6th and will be here for 20 months. They are living in the 4-plex apartment we lived in before moving into the Carroll House. Elder Hill has just retired from Utah State University where he was an engineering professor. He has a PhD in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in water resources and hydrology. While here he is a "Water Specialist" working with Tyler Coon, who is the engineer who handles water issues. The Hills have nine children and fifteen grandchildren.

The Penningtons left on the 14th to return home to Morganton, NC, so that Elder P can have surgery for carpal tunnel on his right hand. He also needs some surgery on his left hand. They felt badly about having to leave, but we are hopeful that they can return in about six months. The ranch management took us all out to dinner on the 13th during which they presented the Penningtons with a plaque and book about the ranch.

Keith and Kay Morgan, who served a mission here several years ago, will be arriving this week for six months to take their place.

There's also a new missionary couple for the CFYFC (youth camp) who arrived about the time the Penningtons left. Elder Ralph and Varlene Murdock are from Idaho and have nine children and twenty-one grandchildren. He is retired from the Idaho Nuclear Laboratory. Not sure exactly what he did because it is classified. Although they are busy getting the camp in shape, they join us for FHE on Monday evening and our bimonthly Sunday dinners. They live in their 5th wheeler. The Murdock's niece, Sara Birch, lives on the ranch with her husband Jake and daughter Ruby.

(We have spoken to Sis. Appel several times and she is recovering nicely from her accident in July.)

Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.  (Doctrine and Covenants 4:2)



Elder Bob & Sister Elaine Hill



Wendell & Myrtle Pennington

Elder Ralph & Sister Varlene Murdock



Back to School!

The children on the ranch started back to school on August 22nd. For them that means getting on a bus at 7 AM and returning home at 5 PM. Elementary and high school students go to school in Harmony, which is a fairly new, large housing development. A traffic signal and a convenience store/gas station are the newest additions to their community. It's about 20 miles from the ranch. The middle school students go to school in St. Cloud, another 10 miles or so away. One family home schools and another is trying out "virtual" school online as well.

We are gradually getting to know all the families on the ranch, i.e. connecting children to parents and vice versa. Working in Primary has helped. During the summer, the sister missionaries helped with "Kids Club", an 8 week summer program on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It was started about 15 years ago by one of the mothers who wanted to maintain her children's reading skills over the summer. It now includes a lot of varied activities led or taught by the young mothers with children in Kids Club. Preschoolers are also included.

 The missionaries volunteered to work with 8-10 children ages 10 and up for an hour on Tuesday mornings followed by about 12  7-9 year olds during the second hour. We learned two things: 1) we are not very creative, and 2) we are no longer 30 years old!! It was a challenge to come up with activities to keep them busy and we were pooped when it was over! We did crafts, line dancing, pioneer games, Minute To Win It (MTWI) games, movies, and the older ones helped paint some of the toys we make for charity. MTWI was a hit (maybe the oreos and candy helped) as was a pioneer game from Nauvoo called "graces". On Saturday August 13th, the families gathered for a "show and tell" finale and refreshments. Nauvoo Visitors Center



Ben, Taylor & Dillon paint suncatchers.




Cora & younger sister Holley make kaleidoscopes.




Mary as a MTWI "Toilet  Paper Mummy".





Ethan & Bradley compete in MTWI   "M&Ms"




MTWI "Face The Cookies"
(Madison, Kaylie, & Cora)



Youth Camp

The Central Florida Youth & Family Camp (CFYFC) is located on the ranch, although it is operated by the Cocoa Stake. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Young Women, families, and other groups camp there. It holds about 165 campers. A senior missionary couple runs the camp and joins the ranch missionaries for FHE and our bimonthly Sunday dinners.Up until recently, that couple was Elder and Sister Appel from Ventura, CA. However, on July 20th, Sis. Appel had a serious accident on a 4-wheeler resulting in 7 broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and an episode of blood clots in her lungs, so she is back in CA recuperating as we continue to pray for her complete and speedy recovery!! Elder and Sister Murdock from Idaho will arrive in mid-September to take over for the Appels. (This was planned BEFORE the accident.) The Murdocks have a niece, Sara Birch, and her family living on the ranch.

The St. Petersburg Stake Young Women had their Girls Camp at CFYFC this year from 7/18 to 7/22. We joined them for dinner on the 20th which was "Bishops Night". President David Biliter, counselor in the Stake Presidency, spent the week in camp as the chef and cooked his Shrimp Gumbo that night. Yum!! After dinner, we watched the girls perform skits for the bishops and Stake Presidency.  Young Women Camp

Interesting note: a very big alligator causing some concern in the camp was killed by the ranch employee licensed to do so several weeks before our girls arrived. We heard it was 11 feet! But then, we also heard it was "only" 8 feet! Both are bigger than we want to encounter!!



Entrance to camp





Elder & Sister Appel




Air Conditioned cabins hold 16-20 campers.




Screened Mess Hall






Mess Hall Inside



Part of C.O.P.E. course
What is C.O.P.E.?




Shooting Range




Getting set up for first skit.




This skit even had an alligator!




Stake YW leaders were really into their skit!




Another beautiful sunset at camp.

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." Mosiah 4:9