Meldrum Family News

Kathy and Roger wedding

2012-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Free scrapbook personalized with Smilebox

Fast Sunday Family Fireside

2011-08-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

On August 7th Mom gave the fireside. It was about her grandmother, Margaret Mariah Terry Mendenhall Cloward. We learned about the many places that Grandma Cloward lived in her life-time. I counted 28 places that she had lived. I read the story that Grandma wrote about the year they had Christmas in a stable. When I think about all that they went through just to make a living, and that they still had faith and raised a large family, it makes me very grateful for the heritage we have been blessed with.

After the lesson we enjoyed the many desserts that were served.

I hope that everyone will come to the Mendenhall Family reunion on September 2 in Payson to get to know more about this branch of our family!

Our next Fireside will be September 4th @6:30.

From the Pitts

2011-08-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

Kyle's saying 38+ words, sounds of a dog, horse, cow & duck. He says star and knows what a star is and is learning other shapes! My favorite is when I ask him to say grandma he says "mama".

Here is some late news-- Jared and I bought a house this year in February and moved in on April 1st! ( no kidding!)

It's my 25th birthday on August 19th:)

Love,

Keeley, Jared and Kyle

REUNION TIME!!

2011-06-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

We'll see you all June 23-25, 2011 at Teton Valley Cabins!!

There are about 65 members of the Meldrum Family going to the reunion next week. It will be a great time to build family bonds and get reaquainted with more distant cousins.

Our Family is doing breakfast Friday morning with the Blad family. Bill and Paula have stuff for an Easter egg hunt, and Blads are organizing a program.

There will be lots of fun things to do together while we celebrate Halloween and do trick-or-treating (have a trick to do!), and a gift exchange for Christmas.

Plan on helping with the activities we have planned because you will be asked to help!

Come and have Fun with the Family!!!

Davis Doings

2010-05-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you know this month has been a very busy one in our household.

Spencer is home from Germany! :)

Bill, Christian and I had a wonderful time going there to pick him up. I especially liked meeting the mission president and his wife, Pres. and Sister Thompson. You could really feel the spirit in their home. They have definitely been a help for the work of these missionaries. They will be released in July when the Hamburg Mission will be closed and divided between the Berlin and Frankfurt missions. :(

We had such a great time travelling and getting to see many of the areas where Spencer served. I learned that taking German in school 25 years ago did not prepare me to speak and understand much while I was there. We were glad to have Spencer to help us out.

Spencer gave a wonderful testimony in sacrament meeting on April 18th, and then gave more of his experiences at the Family Fireside this month. We also participated in our Stake Cultural Fair where we displayed things from Germany and made some German foods to share.

Spencer is now back to working in the office and will be going to school soon. This promises to be a full summer for all of our family.

We love you all!

News Needed....Where's Yours?

2010-05-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

Scott says.......
I just want to say a thank you to Paula and Mom especially for doing a newsletter! We have kept every one since it started. In a way it is part of our family history. I get excited to see it. It is our main connection to our family in America. Sure it is nice seeing people's Blogs or catching up on facebook and I love talking to Paula's family and Mom on skype (I still need more people to use this free service by the way), but the newsletter is like the Reader's Digest of our family news. (That means it is a real good read when you are on the throne.) I appreciate Paula and Mom for their dedicated effort. I know I couldn't do what they do. And so I hope I can at least support them by getting some timely news in on a regular basis.

I also know that these newsletters get out to our missionaries and that they enjoy them. That doesn't excuse us from writing to our missionary(ies) personally, but lets face it our family is terrible at writing letters. I can prove it, I have a spreadsheet from my mission showing who wrote me and who I wrote and when. I have had more information about and from David and Mark the last two years through the newsletter than I did during my mission (when we didn't have a newsletter). So if you are going to write send something into the news letter.

In the past year it has slowly been losing momentum as Mom and Paula has stopped trying to remind everyone and every one is too lazy.. I mean busy.. to set a time to have their articles in once every month or two. Please, we should have at least nine articles in the newsletter plus Mom's. That's a pretty small number considering Margaret's kids usually put a couple of articles in wether or not Margaret does.

English Meldrum's

2010-05-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Here is some of our news. March saw Kamyla turning two (though she has been in her terrible twos since she was 18mo). I also got older too.

Jared had replaced Rachelle in the bruise department as he comes home from school with new bruises and scrapes almost every day and sometimes returns to school with some he loves wrestling. I don't know where he gets that from.

Rachelle is more settled into Senior school now. It is always hard to be in the youngest grade in the school there is no one to pick on!

Krystal is doing very well in school and is above average in most of her subjects I've never had a child that I had to threaten with grounding her for doing her homework!

Britainy is doing briliantly at college dispite her cronic fatigue she is getting an A* in maths which I worried about earlier in the year as she had transfered out of an easy class into a harder class. wow she's smart! (too bad she can't wash the dishes with such enthusiasm)

We have taken up calling Kamyla Shirley Temple because of all the curles in her hair and the way she makes us smile.

Kim is just wonderful and certainly the glue that keeps our family together.

I finally got my English Drivers licence it is too long a story for here but suffice it to say it was long overdue.

I would say that over the past year our greatest blessings have come through setbacks and dissapointments. That is usually the hardest way to recognise your blessings but they are still there.

One thing that has been on my mind is the european area presidencies vision for the next ten years. Spencer probably is familiar with it since Germany is part of the Area. They plan to double the active membership in ten years our stake has set similar goals for continued sustainable growth. This excites me alot to be a part of it. Can it be done? We did that in Swindon ward in the last five years! So yes it can be done. we are now being audited to see about extending our five year old chaple to make more needed space (see Isaiah 49:19-20).

It was May Day weekend so we had a long weekend. We went camping, stupid!! Two words cold, wet. Ok it wasn't all bad but it did take a day to thaw out. the actuall place was nice. Brixham is part of the English Riviara where I had served part of my mission. Mom might recall staying in Torquay one night with the Bezwicks. we were camping on the opposit side of the bay. It was beautiful. too bad it was cold. I was excited to see they had their own chaple about two hundred yards from the beach front! wonder what their Ward activities are like?

Love you all

Scott Meldrum
TechnoServ/Hydrolutions
Phone: 01793 347277

MELDRUM FAMILY NEWS

2010-02-16T12:42:00.000-08:00

MOM'S MESSAGE

Dear Family,
This last couple of months I have been reading and thinking a lot of our pioneer ancestors. It really helps when you think your life is hard. Just having a nice bed with clean sheets and a soft pillow is a lot to be thankful for.
The Christmas season was really nice with parties with my children and grandchildren and brothers and sisters and Ross’ brother’s and sister’s. Lois and Merlin brought their foreign exchange student from Germany. He was really fun to play games with. I can’t remember his name.
Mark and Andrew and Marianne and John and their two foreign exchange students, Vegard and Nico were here for Christmas. It was really nice not to be alone. Julie was in Washington with Candace and her new baby. The New Year’s party at Marianne’s was super! I went down with Kathy and girls. We checked into a Motel along with Margaret and Dale and Amy and Brian and their kids. We then went to Marianne’s and had a three day party! Jeremy and Krystal and kids, Rick and Melinda and kids stayed at Marianne’s. Matt, Melissa, Dayna and Alison, and Keeley and Jared and Mark were there from St. George. We had a great time eating and playing games. Marianne’s friend, Connie and her husband came for a little while and played Mark’s game, the one he made that Margaret got for Christmas. He made some extras and it was a big hit, everyone loved it and he got a few orders to make more. We should have a tournament at Camp! (June 20-26 @ Duck Creek)
Saturday we went over to Matt and Melissa’s to see their apartment and play “Ticket to Ride”. Melissa was so sweet and caring as she showed us around and made sure everyone was comfortable and had something to eat and drink. I will always remember her that way.
On the way home on Sunday we stopped in Ephraim at Penny’s and picked up a car for Kathy. It’s the nicest one she has had for quite some time. It belonged to Penny’s father. He died a few months ago.
I would just like to go back and erase January from the calendar, but of course I can’t. We just have to go on from here. We can’t bring Melissa back, but we can remember her goodness, her vitality, her joy in her family, and her love of life. Goodbye, Melissa. I will always remember you.
Love,
Grandma
PS-- I haven’t forgotten about my missionaries! Adam and Spencer, I pray for you every day. I would like to hear more from you. I hear about Spencer every week, but not much about Adam. I can only assume you are having a terrific time and will have a lot to tell us when you get home.

Check out pg. 5 for information on the Fireside in March!

DID YOU KNOW?
*Spencer only has one transfer left on his mission!
*There are 113 descendants in the Meldrum line. (unless I’ve left someone out)
*There are 19 family members whose first name starts with J

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!
February
1--Allyson (2001)
4--William (1987)
5--Britainy (1992)
7--Hyrum (2002)
10--Jordyn (2005)
12--Lyndi (2008)
14--Ameri (1990)
18--Charity (1995)
John
19--Paula (1963)
Ross (1981-2005)

English Meldrum’s News letter

2010-02-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

We had a busy one, it also being Kim's 40th as well. She had a large party with karaoke and loads of food. I tried to organize it for her but as this was something she has been thinking about for more than a year I found that I had to let her do most of the planning and I just did some of the leg work. She did the invitations herself because she knew who she wanted to invite. Since she did the inviting she also made any food or help assignments at the same time. She ended up cooking loads herself and if we only had the food that we brought it would have probably been enough. Kim did a lot to prepare for the party. I did have my usefulness though, in the end. I did the setting up and the running about during the party so she could just enjoy her self and get up and sing some ABBA.

In the end she loved her party and I am glad it worked out the way she wanted.

Her actual birthday was a bit different. Just a quiet night in without the kids. It was the first time Kamyla spent the whole night away from us. This is a turning point in our lives because it was the first time that we can think of in 12 or more years that we actually spent a night completely with out children. Other get-aways we either had an infant or was pregnant so we always had someone there. Now it's just Kim and me! We sat and talked about the kids of course!

All the kids are doing good.

Britainy Just had her 18th birthday and again Kim wanted to make it special so we went out to eat with the family at her favorite Restaurant (the Rendezvous) where she used to work last year. (How many ex-Mc Donald’s workers would want to do that?) a lovely all you-can-eat Chinese. Kim wanted to give her some gifts that would last and that she can cherish so she got a Willow tree ornament for her and a little book with messages and memories written in it with space for Kim and me to add to it in the future.

Britainy then had a pamper weekend with her aunts and friends down to Bournemouth which she really enjoyed.

While she was gone we cleaned out and redecorated her room from top to bottom. it took us a long time but it looks so good now. we surprised her when she got home and she was so pleased. Her room really needed it.

Kim and I are really tired now.

Last of all I just want to say that Matt and Dayna are in our prayers still. We really miss being over there.

Here’s a little from Krystal---

On Saturday 19th December it was Mum's Birthday Party, But we came at 5:00 to be very early to set it all up. While we were there Mum was at home getting ready her self. When we got there me and Rachelle were blowing up balloons.

Finally it came to 7:00 when the party started. Later when Mum came we started to dance with her. Then after that our uncle , who was doing the DJ-ing , put some karaoke on. The first people to sing was me , my Mum , and Rachelle.

Once the party was over we had to tidy up the church. Then go home at 10:00.

Bye Bye

Melissa May Kelsey Shepherd

2010-02-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

Melissa May Kelsey Shepherd lovingly referred to as Missy, wonderful mother, wife, daughter and sister passed away on January 16, 2010, due to complications from an automobile accident.

She was born August 15, 1977 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Jenifer L. Hall Kelsey and Roger Lee Kelsey. She married Matthew Dale Shepherd October 18, 1997. In the year 2000 on August 3 they had a daughter Dayna Marie Shepherd. Melissa cherished the time spent with her daughter, Dayna. They enjoyed walking their dogs, doing puzzles, and painting together.

Missy lived all of her life in Kearns, Utah and recently moved to Saint George in October. She attended Western Hills Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Junior High, and Kearns High school, where she was involved in drama club and was in various plays. She also attended Salt Lake Community College.

Missy loved the outdoors, camping, hiking, and fishing. She would always look forward to the week of camping in the mountains with friends and family. She enjoyed scrapbooking and photography and could play a mean game of Canasta.

She loved the gospel and had many church callings which she treasured. She cherished the Young Women that she taught and cared for them deeply. Melissa had a spirit of charity and could not let a day go by without helping someone in one way or another. She has touched many lives with her loving and caring spirit and has changed many hearts.

Melissa is survived by her husband, Matthew Dale Shepherd, her daughter, Dayna Marie Shepherd. Her parents, Roger and Jenifer Kelsey. And by her three brothers, Chester (Christa) Kelsey, Roger L. (Stephanie) Kelsey and Adam (Cindy) Kelsey. And various nieces and nephews.

She will be greatly missed.

Davis Doings

2010-02-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Benjamin

Benjamin worked hard in his Bear den to fulfill all the requirements to receive his Bear badge. He has now moved on to Webelos and is really enjoying Cub Scouts. His best friend, Chance also earned his bear at the same time.
Benjamin also had a birthday and turned 10! He is now in the Webelos and has new scout leaders. (He has had the same scout leader through Wolf and Bear.)
Benjamin also got to help put on a fourth grade opera. The kids wrote and produced their own opera--painting scenes, making costumes and everything. Benjamin played the part of a wolf and got to scare off the Indians. It was fun to watch.

Rebekah
Rebekah is working on her Personal Progress Project and has put together a few of Grandma’s favorite recipes.
Now for the other part of the project she needs to shop for and cook some of the recipes that she collected. Last night we enjoyed homemade bread with honey butter!
She also made a dessert of Raspberry Cream cake for my DUP meeting this week. We are enjoying her project.
Rebekah is also going to be pretty busy in the next few months with choir performances and earning money for tour. They are going on a Church History tour this year. I would love to go with them!

Recipes

Bread
Measure 12 cups flour. Add. 1 2/3 cups dry milk, 9 Tbsp. sugar, 3 Tbsp. salt, 3Tbsp. dry yeast. Mix well. Add 2 quarts lukewarm water-- beat. Add 9 Tbsp. shortening and about 9 cups more flour.

Work in, then let rest 15 minutes. Knead about 15 minutes. Let rise until double. Knead again. Shape into loaves, put into greased pans (about 6). Let rise until double again. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes.
Makes 6 loaves

Raspberry Cream Cake

1/2 white or yellow cake mix
1 lg. pkg. raspberry Danish Dessert
1 1/2 cups water (you can use some of the liquid off of the raspberries if using boxed)
10 oz. pkg. raspberries
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar (divided)
1/2 pint whipping cream

Mix cake according to package directions. Pour into greased and floured 9x13” cake pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Cool.
Cook Danish dessert and liquid. Cool. Add berries, set aside. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in one cup powdered sugar. Set aside. Whip cream. Add 1 cup powdered sugar. Fold cream into cheese mixture. Spread over cooled cake. Cool slightly.
Pour Danish dessert mixture on top.
Chill Several hours. Serves 15-18

Scott Turned 18!

It is hard to believe, but Scott really is 18. He will be graduating from High School in May and next year he will go back as a Super Senior. He can stay in school until he is 23. They help the young adults learn jobs skills and help them find jobs, too.
For his birthday we decided to redecorate his room (sounds like a theme). I think he is ready to move on from Peter Rabbit. We have some really nice posters that we have bought for him at the National Parks that I had framed for him for his birthday. We haven’t done the work of painting yet because I want to find just the right fabric for his bedding that will go with the Nat’l Park theme. I am hoping to have it done in the next month or so.

Missionary Moments

On the way back from an appointment we decided to do some doors ;)

Tuesday, Elder Hanks and I spent our study time planning for Distrikt meeting and making Potato Salad! haha. (I sent him the recipe and Miricle Whip and mustard--Paula) It was a lot of work, and I didn’t kut the recipe in half, but somehow we still managed to eat all of it between the 4 of us. Even if I did eat at least a 3rd of it myself. ;)
Oh yeah! I also got in a little accident from sliding on the ice. Well, I guess I deserved it. I was doing something stupid. I was sliding down a ditch on the side of a stairkase which is normally for bikes. I kaught my foot and spun around getting attacked by a rosebush and hitting my knee against the railing. My knee got pretty swollen. Luckily, Elder Hanks kaught it on video! haha.
Sunday, we aktually got through a whole lesson in our Sunday Skool klass! It was great! Even though, the kids were just as loud and not attentive as usual. After church we ate at the Kahrs then we went out and talked to a lot of people. Later, we got some more weekly planning in since it kept getting pushed out of the way. We had a stake representative at church and he is responsible for the missionary work in the stake. Well, he really liked us, and later we got a kall from President who said that he had gotten a kall from him and told us that he said we were really good missionaries and he wishes the Branch would do more to support us. So it was really kool to hear that. (The good missionary part.)

Yeah, today, we had our transfer kalls and both Elder Hanks and I are staying here in Stade for my last transfer! I'm happy. It's weird that it's my last transfer kalls... hmm.. oh well. Well, that's all from me, I love you all!
Spencer loves You!

Fast Sunday Family Fireside

For the next couple of months the family firesides are set.
In March we will be going to a special family fireside put on by the Utah Valley Children’s Choir. Rebekah will be singing with the choir. These firesides are very spiritually uplifting and carry the message of the gospel. Please meet at the Spanish Fork East Stake Center by 6:30 pm (870 E. Canyon Rd.--across from where Mom used to live). The fireside starts at 7. If you can come earlier that would be good, too. If you let us know that you are coming then we will reserve that many seats. Everyone bring dessert and we will go to Grandma’s afterwards for refreshments!

April will be general conference and Easter. More details to follow. Paul, Bill and Christian will be in Germany to pick up Spencer!
In May Chelsea will be in charge, so come prepared to have a fun time!

"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”
--The Family: A Proclamation to the World

It has come to my attention that not everyone feels the need to contribute to the newsletter each month. I don’t think that you need to write each month if that is too hard for you. BUT...I know that everyone has something going on that they could tell us all about.
I am willing to take the time each month to put together the newsletter, but I want you all to remember that I am only the editor and Mom is the publisher. We have nothing without the reporters----YOU!
Please send in information to have in the newsletter! We also love to have pictures.

2010-02-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Please Let Us Know What You Want

Please let Mom or me know ASAP how you would like to receive your edition of the Meldrum Family News.

1) I love getting it in the mail and I would love to continue getting it this way!
2) I don’t need a printed copy. I read it online at meldrumfamily.blogspot.com.
3) I would like to have it emailed to me.

If you don’t let us know differently, we will assume that you are getting it online.
If none of these options works for you let us know. We realize that several of you are on Facebook &/or have your own family blog--that’s great--let us connect with you on the family blog. Many of us do not get on facebook, (can you just imagine Grandma going online to find out how her family is doing--I don’t think so!) and love having the connection of the newsletter.
Putting the newsletter online will save us money and time.

follow Melissa's updates

2010-01-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

matt-melissashepherd.blogspot.com

Prayers for Melissa and Matthew

2010-01-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

You probably all know by now that Melissa was in a terrible car accident on Monday, January 4th and is in critical condition. The Shepherd Family is inviting anyone who would like to join with them in a special fast day this Sunday. Our faith and prayers are what the Shepherd family needs right now.

We love you, Melissa, Matthew and Dayna!

MOM'S MESSAGE

2009-11-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
This has been a glorious fall season. I have enjoyed the view from my window as the colors on my tree change, and watching the changes in the trees and flowers as Paula and I drive to the temple each week. The temple has been such a blessing to me, it really helps to put your life in perspective.
Our cemetery tour was quite successful. We picked up quite a bit of information from the five cemeteries we visited. There was two carloads of us, Margaret, Jessica, Kathy, Chelsea, Rachael, Kaitlin, Rebekah, Paula and me. We stopped for lunch after going to Fairview and Springville and ate with our ancestors in Provo cemetery. It was very pleasant and enjoyable.
On October 8,9, and 10 I had a very nice trip with Ross' sisters and husbands. On Thursday at 6 am Kent and Sharlene picked me up and we followed Ray and Carma and Luan as we drove up to Lois and Merlin’s in Idaho, stopping for a nice breakfast on the way. From Lois’ we caravanned up to Island Park, Idaho, which is quite close to West Yellowstone. They have a beautiful cabin there that Merlin and his boys built a couple of years ago. They use it year round, even when the snow is really deep. They have all their family there for Thanksgiving. It is really large. Luan and I each had our own separate bedroom. It has three complete bathrooms, central heating with thermostats in each room, and a big fireplace in the main room with a gas fire and two wood burning stoves in large
rooms on either end. A big kitchen with lots of work space and two big refrigerators. It was awesome and so comfortable!
It snowed while we were there and Friday we went to Yellowstone and Old Faithful. It was so cold that all we could see of the eruption was a lot of steam!
Back at the cabin we played games and visited. One game was played with dice and called Greedy. Another was Five Crowns. I really enjoyed them.
Merlin cooked us a dinner that was out of this world! He had grilled salmon, some marinated, some just grilled, Halibut battered and deep fried, jumbo shrimp cooked two different ways. Baked potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, rolls and lemonade. More than we could possibly eat! And so good! The other meals were really good too. I especially enjoyed the breakfasts. We all ate more than we normally do!

Last Sunday’s fireside was really special with Joseph and Paula reporting on their missionaries. Then Rachael played two beautiful numbers on her violin, “Amazing Grace” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. Those who weren’t there really missed out!
This weekend I am going to St. George with the Davis’ for the Red Rocks Band Competition.
That’s all; for now!
Love, Mom

ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS

2009-11-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

WILLIAM CHISHOLM
William Chisholm was Grandma Alene Meldrum’s grandfather.
William, in his early thirties, purchased a sawmill and took it into Spanish Fork Canyon to go into the lumber business. William was successful at farming, ranching, and in the lumber business. He helped to establish a bank in Spanish Fork. Chisholm and Gardner, their lumber company, furnished the lumber for the building and took stock in the bank as payment. He was a vice-president of the bank as well. This building still stands on Spanish Fork Main Street. (About 250 North)
He was a believer in not letting his left hand know what his right hand gave in the line of donations for all worthy causes. Around Thanksgiving time he made many trips to town, taking meat, flour, vegetables, potatoes, etc. He would say he thought he knew someone who could use them, and that is all he would ever say about it.
We have a great heritage.

DAVIS DOINGS

2009-11-09T21:16:00.001-08:00

We have been very busy the last couple of months being band groupies. We have followed the bands (SF and SHHS) from Weber State to Dixie. This Friday is the last competition—the state finals. I think both bands have a chance at placing in the top three. This week in Logan, SHHS took third place and the percussion trophy. At BYU, SF took second place. Rebekah has a piccolo solo as part of their show. Rebekah and Christian have both done an awesome job with their bands! So has Mike!
Jonathan is trying to decide what instrument he wants to play. He has narrowed it down to a band instrument, at least.
We will be going to Mesa for Thanksgiving this year. DeEtte may not be there because Adam’s wife is expecting a baby at that time. They live in Florida. But we can enjoy the holiday with Kristine and her family, and the rest of DeEtte’s family that are there.
I got an early Christmas present because of the back-to-school sales. I’m typing on it. I have long wanted a laptop computer to do scrapbooking and genealogy work on and now I have it. Merry Christmas to me!

GERMAN MISSIONARY NEWS
Spencer is now serving in the Rendsburg area. It is in Northern Germany, the second most northern of the mission. It is his first time in a bike area. It took some getting used to after being in a college city and having a lot of young people in the ward, to having a small branch with mostly older people. But he is really loving it now. They have a young man that is a recent convert that they have been working with and helping him to prepare to go on a mission.
We sent him a package and he shared it with this new member. “He really liked the peanut butter MnM’s, but he refused to try the jerky! He said it was too weird! Then he asked if Amerikans eat other weird foods like that. Haha So we talked a lot about that. Jell-o is really hard to explain in German. Haha. And he laughed about the “German” chocolate kake. He didn’t even know what pecans were! They don’t have them here in Germany. We told them we would kook it and eat it at our next appointment. That was really fun.”
“We watched the fifth session of general conference in church. I had only listened to it before. It is weird to think that I can understand all of that in German! Yeah, it was kool.”

FULLMER FUNNY FARM

2009-11-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Kathy is in training for a new customer service system at JetBlue. The classroom training lasts two weeks and then we have refresher courses until February when the new system goes “live” in February.
Dave is working on a photo history of Pioneer buildings in Utah. If anyone knows any interesting stories that go with a particular building, email the story and the address of the building to Dave at dreamerdave_84088@yahoo.com .
Chelsea is thrilled to be 1/4 of the way through her senior year!! Only three more successful semesters to go!!
Rachael is enjoying school and her membership in National Junior Honor Society. On her birthday, since there was no school, she spent about three hours helping the teachers at the school for NJHS service hours.
Kaitlin is playing the oboe in band this year. It is a more difficult instrument than the flute or clarinet, but she is doing really well with it. Kait is also happy to have the school year 1/4 over.
IF ANYONE HAS A WORKING CAR THEY WANT TO GIVE AWAY, WE’LL TAKE IT!!!!

Van Lines

2009-11-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are still alive and living in St. George. John is still retired and enjoying working on genealogy and home improvement projects. He works at the genealogy library on Wednesday afternoons. A lot of his time is spent taking care of Shantel, who still lives with us. Aaron is working at Capriottis, a sandwich shop he has been with for a couple of years. Shawn is still working at the Electric Cafe, a restaurant he was been with for a couple of weeks. Marianne is still a school counselor at Desert Hills High School. On the weekend she and John are the morning feeders for 25 horses in a boarding facility. In her spare time she loves drawing or being with her friends' horses. Her most recent accomplishment is learning to drive a bobcat skid loader.
The most exciting change in our lives in the last few months has been the addition of Vegard into the family. You can read about him in another article. We are very, very, happy to have Matt, Melissa, and Dayna in St. George! And although we are now a little short on overnight accommodations, we are hoping that everyone is planning to be at our house for New Year's Eve!

MEET VEGARD HYNNE AND NICO PENTE

Vegard is a foreign exchange student from Norway and lives with the Van Staverens. He is 18 years old and a senior at Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah. “V” is a deep thinker and enjoys learning new things and having new experiences. He is open minded and enjoys exploring new ideas and beliefs. One of V’s great qualities is his positive attitudes towards everything. He doesn’t complain about anything or anyone. He is passionate about soccer and hopes to play on the school team in the Spring. Currently he is playing on an indoor soccer league. In school he enjoys Medical Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, and Advanced Placement English. In the future V hopes to be a medical professional. “The most surprising thing about Vegard is his lack of an accent. At the beginning of the school year students wouldn’t believe that he was a foreign exchange student. V plays guitar, and enjoys just hanging out with friends. He doesn't miss the cold in Norway, but he does miss his friends.
Nico is a foreign exchange student from Italy. He and Vegard have become best friends here in America. Nico’s first host family didn’t work out and so he moved in with a new host family on Monday Nov. 2. He now lives with the Shepherd’s: mat Melissa, and Dayna. Nico attracts people to him because he is always smiling and happy. He is very fun to be around and loves to have fun. He is inquisitive and loves to see and experience new things. Nico’s accent is strong and it makes him very fun to talk to. In Italy his mother owns a bed and breakfast and his father is a professional photographer.

English Meldrum's

2009-11-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
It seems a long time since we have written sorry about that. I finally downloaded our Meldrum Family Camp pictures today. So I will try to send some pictures.
Our camp was a nice break to Mother Ive's Bay we spent a lot of time going to the beach and on walks. The weather seemed to cooperate 50% of the time. Though forty mile an hour winds with rain at night was very memorable. Kim wants a more sturdy tent next year. Also memorable was the 6 hour wait on the motorway in a 20 mile backup because of an accident on one of the bridges. But the views and the private beach was worth it. There was also a surfing competition one day which was fun to watch.
Britainy is working part time at Clarks shoes which she seems to love and going to college the rest of the time if she's not those two places she is with one of her friends. So we have to book in time to see her.

Rachelle has had a very busy few months with the start of Senior School and going into Young Women's. Kim tried to get her into Commonwheal where Britainy went to school but it was full and we were just outside their catchment area so Rachelle is going to Churchfields which is closer. It hasn't got as good a report as Commonwheal but Rachelle has Jassica, one of her best friends, going with her and I am relieved to have her in a school that is only 10 minutes walk away. Also her other best friend, Lucy, who was having a hard time at Commonwheal just transferred to Churchfields making Rachelle even happier.

Rachelle also just came back from youth conference last weekend and loved it, especially the testimony meeting.

Krystal misses having her sister to walk to school with but now she has her brother she's a good sister. She has just started a Polish club learning about the Polish culture. That is Kim's background and we are excited to have her learn some things that will be part of her heritage.

Jared is loving school and doing really well on his school work. His teacher describes him as energetic! He has been excited for his birthday and he kept asking how many weeks left. It is tomorrow and he has just had a wonderful week already. He is a really good boy.

Kamyla is our little joy and a big pain in the neck! She is just a little darling. She loves Singing Popcorn Popping, Incy Wincy Spider, and Old McDonald. I have nick named her Shirley Temple because she has such gorgeous golden curls. I just want to cuddle her all the time!

Kim and I have been sick and dealing with sick children for a few weeks. Not fun!

Kim has been so excited for her birthday party. (the big 4-0) She still has 7 weeks! Every body is invited of course, so get your tickets now.

Scott Meldrum
TechnoServ/Hydrolutions
Phone: 01793 347277

Shepherd's Fold

2009-11-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Things are going good here and we are trying to stay well. We believe all of our grandkids are finally healthy again. We had a fun few weeks making Barbie doll furniture for Christmas and Santa is working on other things for Christmas as well. We miss having Matt and Melissa and are planning on going down to St. George at New Years.
Melanie and Jarom as well as Erin and Brett were here for Halloween and it was fun watching our little Grandkids all dressed up. We came to the conclusion and there was no contest Our Grandkids are not only the cutest but make the best little goblins any where to be found. Those who were not at our house have shared pictures with us and they too were very cute goblins. We had one trick or treater come to the house and because Melanie and Jarom were in the Trailer there was a light left on and this little goblin wanted to know if he could trick or treat the Trailer as well.
Margaret is in full speed ahead with her school class this year and right on top of those 6th graders making sure they are good little boys and girls. Dale is just doing Santa's work shop and making sure the Elves are not goofing around. We had our 35 anniversary a few weeks ago, we went to the New Oquirrh Mountain Temple and it was a very special day.
That’s all Folks

Hi! From the Lauber's House of Looney Tunes

Our news right now is that everyone is sick well not everyone just Nate and Emily. Nathan has a sinus infection and Emily has strep throat. Emily didn't get to go trick or treating because she was sick on Halloween she didn't even care to dress up. Nate was fine on Halloween cause he was sick on the Tuesday before. You should have seen Joseph and Nate's costume, keep in mind that Joseph thought of this him self, they went as BYUtes fans Joseph was the #1 fan and Nate decided that if Joseph was #1 he had to be #2 fan. They were so cute. Allyson went as a vampire she wore my old black color guard dress she was the cutest vampire in the universe. I have attached a picture of the boys and one of Allyson so you can see just how cute they are. Josh has been on active duty the last two weeks so he has been home at night and gone during the day. I do what I do best take care of everyone else. Oh Josh's brother Peter and his wife (Peter's) had a baby on October 19 he weighed 3 lbs. 11 oz. He was 7 weeks early and they named him Jesse. What a great name. Well that is all our news for now hopefully we remember next time to write.

Love, the Looney Lauber's

Shepherd's in the Sun

OK, it is time to sit down and talk. We have been in our new place about a month now. Our new address is:
3155 South Hidden Valley Dr.
St. George Ut. 84790
home # (435) 773-9923
Melissa Cell (801) 635-6030
Matt cell (801) 428-7447
Dayna has started school and made some friends. She likes her teacher, so things are good. Matt is working hard revamping the airport here (all the forms they have). They like him here and he is doing a fantastic job! I am so proud of him.:)
I am still looking for a job and keeping house and being mom (loving it by the way).
We also have a new member of the family. He is a 17 year old Italian. His name Nico Pente. We are so glad to have him, he is very bright and energetic young man. He likes sports and being with his friends.
Well, we hope to hear from you all and for you to come and visit!
Love you all,
Matt,Melissa and Dayna

Meldrum's News

2009-11-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

FROM ARGENTINA
Adam just passed his year mark. He has been in the mission office for about 6 weeks now where he is in charge of all of the apartments in the mission. We (Joseph and Stacey) are hoping to go down next October to pick him up. Here is an excerpt from Adam’s last letter.

“Bueno, everything is crazy here, crazy but still nothing happens... I talk with and negotiate with landlords everyday, wheelin’ and dealin’, then I have to go out and be this loving kind missionary... its hard, but good practice for life, to be a strong business man AND a loving servant of the lord. and I am pleased to announce, I speak really good Spanish, I understand everything and I have truly been blessed, it will be soooo much fun 1 year from now having you down here talking to the people, showing you around and everything, I am soo used to this place I don’t know what its like back there in the states so it will be fun to see your shock :)”

IN OTHER NEWS
Ameri is planning to spend next summer in Mexico teaching English as a lead teacher for ILP

CHRISTMAS PARTY TIME

2009-11-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

Family Christmas Party
Saturday, December 12th (tentative)
1:00 pm First Ward Church
Dinner assignments will be made
Bring a dessert to share.
Bring a talent number to share! this can be the time to do the silly ones if you would like.

Brother and Sister Party
Hosted by Sue Ann
@ Mom’s house
Time and Date: TBA

FSFF December 6th

2009-11-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

In December Grandma has asked to have a special fireside that includes all the wonderfully talented musicians in our family. Yes, that does include you.
Please prepare a number fitting with the occasion of a fireside and Christmas. (Sorry, Rudolf does not count for this one.)
We will have narration of the Christmas story to go along with it, so if you could let me (Paula) know what music you are preparing then I can make up a program that will fit together nicely.

News Update

2009-09-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

We will be having the FSFF on Conference Sunday, October 4. Anyone who would like to come early and have a pot luck dinner and watch the 2:00 session please let me (Paula) or Mom know ASAP. We would love to have anyone who would like to come.
Also, Matt and Melissa sent in their news and I have published it here.

Shepherd's on the Move

2009-09-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all! I just thought I would do the news letter before I pack up the 'puter. For
those who do not know we are relocating to St. George. Our address is:

3155 South Hidden Valley Dr.
St. George, UT. 84790-6938

Our phone numbers will be the same so no change there. We will be moving conference
weekend. I am so excited =) to be done and have a normal feeling life again. Dayna is
getting used to the idea. She will be starting at Bloomington Hills Elementary
(Chelsea is so excited about that because she went there for a while). Matt is doing
very well in his job I am happy for him. He is loving St. George.
Well, I guess that is all for now. If you get bored or cold come visit ;)

The Younger Shepherd Gang

DAVIS DOINGS

2009-09-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

What a wonderfully exciting and busy summer it has been! We had FIVE family reunions this summer. Meldrum —Clayson—Meldrum—Davis—Forsey, and we will be going to Mesa for Thanksgiving to be with the Davis’ there.

We started the summer by taking our 25th anniversary trip and combined it with Scott’s trip. We spent four days at Disneyland and one day at Sea World. Scott had a great time. We stayed at the Californian Resort that is right in Downtown Disney. We enjoyed everything. I know Scott will tell you that his favorite ride was the rocket ride, but I think it

might have been the Tower of Terror. He laughed the whole time. (not me—I couldn’t wait to get off.)

We can hardly wait until Christian's trip. We will be taking him to Germany with us to pick up Spencer.

With the reunions we travelled from Ogden to Santaquin to Capital Reef to Washington and back to Spanish Fork. The camper made it to all of those places just fine. (No flat tires)

Rebekah started in marching band at Spanish Fork High School. Now we have two kids in two competing bands. It will be a lot of fun going to the field shows this Fall. The first is at Weber State on Sept. 22. If you want to go to any please call me and I can let you know when and where they are.

Here’s an update on who is in what grade this school year. Alene is in kindergarten (again) at Mona Elem., Mike at SHHS, William is a Sophomore (?) at the U of U, Scott is a Senior at Spanish Fork HS and will be graduating this coming May, Christian is a Junior at Salem Hills HS, Rebekah is in 9th grade at Diamond Fork JHS, Jonathan is in 6th grade, and Benjamin is in 4th grade at Park Elementary. So far everyone is doing well.

Bill is working on equipment to ‘do’ his rocks. He wants to make a chess set and will use polished stones for the heads and cast the body of the pieces with metal. He already has some beautiful stones, he just needs to cut and polish and all the other stuff to make the pieces.

Mom has asked me several times to join the DUP, and they changed their meeting times this year so that I can. So I decide that now is a good time. I guess this means I am getting old. So if I talk about ancestors all the time, that is why.

Oh, yes! The other fun thing we did was Bill, Christian, Rebekah and I went on the stake Youth handcart trek.18 miles of fun.
Rebekah also went to Montana, Idaho and Alberta, Canada for choir tour. I had her brush up on family history before she went so she could think about her ancestors that lived there.
Everyone have a great life!
Love you all,
Bill, Paula and family

David's Part

2009-09-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

Delany, Delany, Delany,

Delany Got Baptized!

We are so happy for her for making such a good decision! We had a good day with a lot of family coming for it, and a pot-luck dinner afterward. Thanks everyone for coming.

We have had a fast summer again, we have moved again. I have been thinking about it and there is a pattern. Out of the last six places that we have lived we have had to move because the owner was selling it. I am including the fact that the place that we live now is up for sale. If it sells, and we get a good landlord and if the price is not jacked up we will stay here. If we do have to move in a year, I will enquire if the place is going to be sold. I don't like moving all the time. I've gotten quite good at it. But it messes up our lives. Any way just an observation.

The kids are in school and they are all doing quite well. Christopher is still at Willowcreek, it's nice that he gets to go to the same school two years in a row. Also it's nice because

he is picked up by the bus. He is in 9th grade this year and is going to Seminary, it is the Book of Mormon this year. Delany and Nicole are at Forbes Elementary.Delany is in the 3rd grade, her teacher is Mrs. Krueger. Nicole is in the 1st grade, and she has Mrs. Perez. I really like both of their teachers. Delany and Nicole walk home from school with a bunch of kids from our neighborhood, and today they took apples because their are horses on the way home.

I have been called to be the pianist in Relief Society. It is a scary calling because I am not that good. I have been practicing and practicing. I do love the calling it really makes me stretch. I use a simplified hymnal, but some of the songs aren't in there or they are too easy, so I just make up my own simplified version by taking an old hymnal of mine and whiting out the notes I don't want to play. It works out quite well.

We love our new place. We live in a duplex, and have our own private yard that is fenced in. We have four bedrooms and a family room. We also have a large utility room that I have put shelves in for food storage and miscellaneous, it really nice. I have enough room to have a sewing space. Now all I need is a desk for my sewing machine. What I would like to do is have a craft and sewing area, so the kids and I can do scrapbooking at any given time, and I can sew without having to get out my sewing machine every time.

Our grandson, Daniel Tuttle Meldrum got blessed at Jeremy and Krystal's home last Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing. It is always fun to see Krystal's side of the family.

We love y’all!

David, Bonny, and kids

2009-09-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,
This has been a very busy summer with lots of trips and reunions and family get-togethers. I have enjoyed it very much. School has started and it is time to get back to routine.
The newsletter is high on the priority list this week. There are just a few things I would like to mention:
1) Family Firesides: Last Saturday was very special. We had a pot luck dinner and then Ameri gave the program on her China experience and showed pictures on the big screen. We saw a part of China we had never seen before, it was very interesting and entertaining.
Next month will be General Conference. We will all meet together to discuss what we have learned at conference. It is becoming a tradition and is one of the best. I hope you can all come.
2) Tinney Flat: This year was our last with the Fullmer’s and Dudley’s because our families are getting too big. We wanted it to be really special so we planned a Monday night Fireside. Margaret was the emcee. We sang the camp song we all wrote years ago to the tune of “Oh, What Songs of the Heart” . Bob gave the prayer and then we had a musical number from each family. They were outstanding!:
Meldrum’s: Scotty and Paula sang “America the Beautiful” beautifully.
Dudley’s: Katie and friends
Fullmer’s: Paige and Taylor
Then we had a panel with Lois, Merle, Clark, and I answering questions from the audience. I think everyone enjoyed it.
We had a very good week and are looking forward to next year at a different campground.
My life continues to be busy with the temple every week with Paula and with DUP and Clubs. I am going out to lunch today with my friends.
I have been working on a pieced quilt and that helped me keep busy while I was down with a sprained ankle for a couple of months.
Next Saturday, September 12, we are going on a cemetery tour so the younger generation will know where the bodies are buried. We’ll go out for lunch and have a good time together. As many of you who can or would like to meet at my house at 8:30 am and we’ll take as many cars as necessary.
Oh, I had a fun trip to Idaho and Wyoming with Bob and Merle, and Dean and Lois. We went to Bear World, Rexburg Temple, and the Bar J Wranglers at Jackson Hole. We really had a good time!
Love, Mom

2009-07-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

For Clayson Camp July 12-18, 2009
Monday:
We will be having a Meldrum Family Potluck dinner-- bring food.
All the Clayson Clan will then come together for dessert (bring a dessert), and then we will have a special fireside. This will feature the original Clayson Kids and memories they have of camp. There will also be a question and answer panel, so think of whatever you have always wanted to ask these wisened folk.
Tuesday:
Breakfast--Fullmer/Cheever Family
Dinner-- Davis Family
Wednesday:
Breakfast--David Meldrum Family
Dinner--VanStaveren Family
Thursday:
Breakfast-- Shepherd Family
Dinner-- Laird Family
Friday:
Breakfast--MOM
Dinner-- Joseph Meldrum Family
Saturday:
Breakfast-- Pot luck!

ACTIVITIES!!!!
Create activities that will include the whole clan and be lots of fun for everyone. We always like to have a nice rousing game of Canasta or Screwy Louie, horseshoes, volleyball, and hiking.

Come and have lots of fun at the Clayson Family Camp!!!

**next year date and place to be determined for the Meldrum Family Camp. Marianne has been put in charge of making the arrangements. You can let her know of any ideas you have.

Please pay Mom/grandma for camp ($50 per household)--cheap vaction!

Clayson Family Camp

2009-07-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

July 12-18 will be the week for the Clayson Family Camp. Since our families have grown soooo much in the last 40+ years that we have been having this annual reunion, it has been decided that this will be the last year that we all get together for a camp-out. We will have a day long reunion each year so that we can still see each other and play together. I know that this is a hard step for many of us that have grown up looking forward to CAMP each year. Grandma and Grandpa Clayson set a wonderful tradition that has given us strong roots.

I hope everyone will come to camp this year and make it the best camp ever!

2008-11-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

Important Events in the News:

Jarom and Melanie Smith are the proud parents of a new baby boy.
Levi Jaden Smith was born October 25, 2008,
Weight: 7 Lbs. 8 oz
Height: 20 1/2 in.

Adam is now in the MTC and enjoying life as a missionary!

Family Christmas Party
hosted by the Matt and Melissa Shepherd Family
December 12th, 5:30 pm.
check your newsletter for food assignments!

Brother and Sister Christmas Party
(David, Margaret, Mark, Marianne, Joseph, Paula, Sue Ann, Scott, Kathy, and Cindy, and Spouses)
At Bill and Paula's home
6:00 pm December 20, 2008
Bring an international food dish to share
Bring a gift to exchange ($10-15)

William and Lisa's wedding
December 29, 2008
St. George Temple

2008-11-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Meldrum Family News November 2008

Thanksgiving Celebration
We will be having Thanksgiving dinner at our home this year (as always). It is our turn to have it with the Meldrum’s.
Anyone who would like to come please let me or Mom know ASAP and we will make food assignments.
Of course, there will be turkey, potatoes and gravy and lots of pie.
We would love to have whoever would like to come!
Call me! 798-1839
Email: pjdavis@sfcn.org

Mom’s Message

Nov. 4th
It’s raining and the temperature is about the same as it is in London. Scott and Kim would be right at home here.
This has been a busy month for all of us, with Adam’s entering the MTC, Stacey going to Mexico, Melanie’s new baby, Marianne’s surgery, and all the usual things. Margaret can finally walk without crutches, which is very good news.
I went to Saint George with Paula and Bill for the band competition and stayed for a week with marianne and helped her with a couple of quilts. I visited with Mark a couple of times and got caught up on his family’s doings.
Amanda’s husband Darrin still needs your prayers for a full recovery after his accident. He has had several surgeries and some complications. Amanda, we love you and keep praying for you.
We have so much to be thankful for. I love this time of year when we are reminded of all of our blessings! President Joseph F. Smith said, “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.”
May you lives be filled with Love and Light!
Love, Mom

For each new morning with its light,For rest and shelter of the night,For health and food, for love and friends,For everything Thy goodness sends.

· Ralph Waldo Emerson

Meldrum Family News

2008-10-05T11:28:00.001-07:00

Dear Family,

This would be fun if this blog will work for a version of our newsletter! I have never tried blogging before and this is a new experience for me. I had been looking at Bill's nieces and nephews' blogs that have helped their family to stay up dated on each other and I thought that maybe this is something that we can do, too. Alene and Mike also have their own blog that they have recently started.

This is, amazingly, a free service. On our family blog we can each have a link to our own blog, if you have the desire and access to one. (go to blogger.com)

For those who do not create their own blog or who do not have computer access, we will have the family newsletter. I think this is still important to do, but it can be included on the blogspot.

I hope everyone will enjoy this.

--Paula