We are all doing well. Staying busy,busy, busy with school and life. Mitchell quit football (It's a long story that I don't feel like writing out but he just wasn't happy) but he is going to be starting basketball instead soon. He is also playing the clarinet and loving that. He was chosen as student of the month this month. I have received two phone calls from his teacher this year. He just wanted to tell me how much he is enjoying having Mitchell in his class and what a great job he is doing. Mitchell is a great student and I am very proud of him.

Paige is adjusting nicely to Jr. High. The homework is overwhelming sometimes. However she has found a group of really good friends and is happy. She is so tall now that we often get comments about how she is going to pass me soon. She is in Yearbook club and might be trying out for basketball next week.

Harry is loving 1st grade. His reading is incredible and is at least a 3rd grade level. He really wanted to be Link (the guy from Zelda) for Halloween so I have been busy sewing away his costume.

Grant is a rock star when it comes to his thumb. He totally quit and never uses it. His eye is still really bad at crossing and I think we might end up having surgery. He is getting so big and I often have to stop and realize that I don't have a little kid anymore. He loves his friends and they are all sweet girls.

I was finally able to bribe him into trying to give up his thumb by offering a new Wii game to him that he really wanted. He struggled a lot the first couple of days and it was rough. We used Mavala Stop nail polish. It is a clear nail polish that I put on his thumb and first finger. Without thinking he would put his thumb in his mouth and then start to gag and cough (the bitter nail polish really does taste horrible and stays in your mouth until you eat or drink something). But after a few days he was doing it less and less often and now has stopped completely. To be honest I thought it would take longer for him to break the habit because it was so unconscious of him. If you know Grant you know how attached he was to his thumb so I am so proud of him and so happy the Mavala worked. (I bought it off of Amazon).

In other news: We have finally found his lost glasses! They were buried deep in the couch. We pulled off the bottom lining and found them wedge in the underside. Thank goodness!

Grant had a great birthday! He is such a sweet boy and we love him so much. He was so stink'n excited for his new shoes and clothes. Go figure! He fell asleep wearing them.

Grant decided to go with an airplane theme for this birthday. Tomorrow his play group friends are coming over and we will have a mini party.

Thanks Grant for being such an amazing kid!

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to go with her and share with her the things that are so important to me. I look forward to being able to bring the rest of my children with me to the temple.

I am so happy to have Paige with me in YW now!

Paige of course got a bunch of yarn. She is still really into knitting. She also got her first make-up! Just some mascara (much to her dad's dismay).

HELEN LISTON SEARLE

Helen Norma Morgan Liston Searle 1921 ~ 2011 Helen Norma Morgan Liston Searle was born on November 2, 1921, to Joseph Albert Morgan and Ruth Hadlock in Kenilworth, Utah. She was the daughter of a migrant worker, miner, farmer and sheepherder.As the daughter of a migrant worker, Helen was raised accustomed to the rigors of hard work. At the age of three she worked with her father and family picking cotton and working in the fruit orchards in California. While in California and at the age of six her mother passed away. After her mother passed away and at the age of seven she and her family returned to Carbon County where she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse under the tutelage of her aunt, the teacher. The family later moved to Fayette, Utah, where she worked on their farm doing everything from tromping hay and riding the derrick horse to herding cows and turkeys. After graduating from Gunnison High School, she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where she worked as a nanny and housekeeper. She later moved back to Gunnison, Utah where she worked at the Gunnison Hotel. While attending a dance in Gunnison, she met and later married her lifetime sweetheart Bud Howard Liston in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 16, 1942, while he was home on leave from the Navy. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple in 1950. Her husband of 58 years preceded her in death in November of 2000. She is the mother of five children, Garry Howard Liston (Melanie Thacker), Ethel Ruth (Liston) Pyle (Jeff Pyle), Judy Kay (Liston) Reynolds (Paul Reynolds), Roger Lee Liston (Kristie Rudd), and Bryan Ross Liston (Rachel Sorensen). She is survived by 27 grandchildren, 39 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Toward the end of World War II she joined her husband in New London, Connecticut where he was stationed until the end of the war. After the war they returned to Salt Lake City where they resided until 1954. She and her husband moved to Kearns, Utah in 1954, where they raised their family. After her family was raised, she worked for six years serving the Lord in the Jordan River Temple. Following her husband's death she moved to Payson, Utah to live with her daughter, Judy and son-in-law Paul Reynolds. Helen spent many wonderful days at the Payson Senior Center visiting with friends, painting, working with ceramics, attending dances, playing cards, playing in the band and taking trips with friends. She was very musically inclined and loved to play her organ. While attending a senior citizens' social, Helen met Max Loveless Searle. It was love at first sight, and after a short courtship they were married in July 2006. They spent four wonderful years together sharing their love and happiness. Max preceded her in death in September, 2010. Helen lived a wonderful life and was deeply loved by her family and friends. She was a very loving, caring, and kind mother and grandmother who was always concerned about her family's wellbeing. Her loving demeanor will be greatly missed. Our family extends our deepest love and respect to you mother, and we thank you for the life you gave us.