Dear Family and Friends,
Where in the world has 2010 gone?!? This year has been filled with miracles and blessings and a little heartache… we hardly know where to begin!
As you all know, we were so excited to announce that I was expecting in February. The Lord blessed us with an absolutely healthy and uneventful pregnancy and delivery. I loved being pregnant, and hope to do it again soon! I was able to resign from my position at Agnes Stewart Middle School in June, and we have made arrangements so I can stay home with our children. (I would like everyone to know that D is my HERO for letting me do what I have always wanted to do: be a homemaker!)
Our first son, Trenton Dee Cherry, entered this world on November 11 at 6:09 p.m. He has been an extremely healthy and happy baby so far. He’s growing very fast – in the 95th percentile for height, and the 85th for weight. At just 5 weeks old, he weighs in at a whopping 14 lbs! He loves to hear our voices, and started smiling at us very early on. We could not be more thrilled with parenthood. This is truly a divine right and calling.
Several dear family members have crossed the bar since last Winter. Most of you know that my oldest brother, Joe, passed away at the beginning of December last year. Then on December 31st, Joe’s youngest son, Mickey, was in a car accident and passed away in early January. They were both buried next to my father in the cemetery on Greenwood Drive up the river from us. On September 11th of this year, we lost D’s Grandfather, Chet. He was 10 days shy of his 90th birthday and still as lively as ever! He was buried in St Johns, Arizona where he lived for years. We are so grateful for the support and love that was shown us during these times of grief. How grateful we are for our knowledge of Eternal Families!
The Spring and Summer proved to be a challenge in the Agricultural department. Oregon, as well as other parts of the Nation, experienced odd weather this year. Winter was mild and dry, to say the least. Spring made up for it, however, with large amounts of rain. Our crops had an extremely difficult time getting started and surviving. We salvaged what we could, and the Lord blessed us with enough to carry us through Winter. However, we are looking forward to a much greater growing season in 2011. Trenton has to start learning the tricks of the trade sometime, right?
We’ve been blessed with healthy livestock again this year. We have pigs, as always, and there have been several – I use that term loosely – additions to the Jasper Farm. In April, we received a very noisy package: 35 peeping little things. Chicks! We raised 20 meat birds (had quite the experience getting them into the freezer), and 15 egg layers. Among those little chicks we had one rooster – whose name is now “Woosta” – and he is HUGE! Then one of our hens decided it was time to hatch babies (in November?!) and sat on a nest under the barn outside the coop, so we have the last surviving chick from her escapades. In September, we picked up a bummer bull calf from our Relief Society President. His name is Chester. He is large and you can’t go within 100 feet of him without getting attacked, aka without him slobbering on you.
D’s business (D&L Cherry Construction, llc.) has done very well this year. D has been busy nearly non-stop since it’s infancy, and when he’s not working away from home, I keep him busy on the farm! He prays for work for several reasons. The honey-do list is one of them. He has work lined up well into next year and is so excited about some major projects he’ll be tackling soon!
Last January, D was called to the Elder’s Quorum Presidency. He is serving as First Counselor, and is thoroughly enjoying his work there with the other men. Our ward has been growing exponentially! We are now the largest ward in our Stake, and our Sacrament Meetings are filled with the sounds of new babies. At one point there were 14 families expecting at the same time!
I was serving with the youth up until recently. I was released from the Young Women’s organization right before the baby was born to tackle another calling. I am now the ward Provident Living Specialist, concentrating on food storage, emergency preparedness, self-reliance, and frugal living. As you can imagine, I love this calling, and immediately called D to serve as one of the Committee Members. I need my partner in crime always!
We are absolutely amazed at the ways in which the Lord provides for us when we trust in Him. How grateful we are to know of our Father in Heaven’s Plan for His children. How astounded we are that he sent His Only Begotten Son to break the chains that bind us. We have seen His hand at work in our lives. We have felt of His pure love for us individually, and pray that we can continue to grow as an Eternal Family for a very, very long time.
From our Hearts to Yours,
The D&L Cherry Family
