THANK YOU all for your love and support! We appreciate each Christmas and other greetings you've sent during our “long silence.” As we’ve enjoyed your successes and empathized with your sorrows, we’re reminded what a common thread we have in earthly experiences and how much we need each other! With that thought comes unspeakable gratitude for our Savior’s role in providing us this earth, teaching us how to live, sacrificing for our mistakes, and opening the way for us to return to our Heavenly Home when we’ve finished our work here.The last two years have been full of experiences that include weddings, new grandchildren, graduations, health concerns, and special family times.
Weddings
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Two of our children found companions and were married during these two years. Lane performed both ceremonies. Kevin married Laurie Brown on May 5, 2007 in the Salt Lake temple. Scott and Jessie Gammon were married in the Rexburg Idaho Temple on August 22, 2008. We were very grateful to have all of our children with us in the Rexburg Temple that day.
New Grandchildren
Our family continues to grow, not just through marriage but the addition of grandchildren. Five new grandchildren joined our family bringing us to a total of 29 grandchildren.
- April 23, 2007: Karen and Bryan Kent welcomed their first baby, a little boy named Jacob.
- July 16, 2007: Elizabeth Claire Anderson arrived. She joined parents Mary and Dean, brothers Nathan and Josh, and sister Katelyn.
- November 3, 2007: Paige Taylor arrived in Austin. She joined sisters, Brooke, Holly, Rebecca, and brother, Ryan.
- April 24, 2008: Kevin and Laurie welcomed their first baby, a little girl named Brynley.
- November 20, 2008: New Arrival Elsie White Anderson arrived in Sandy, Utah. She joined parents Brian and Misty, brother Tyler, and sister Grace.
Graduations
Higher education continued to be the focus for many of our children and grandchildren:
- Dell received his masters degree in counseling psychology from Heritage University in Toppenish, WA.
- Kevin graduated from BYU-Provo with a BS in Accounting. Kevin, Laurie, and Brynley moved to Ohio where Kevin began a combined MBA and Masters of Sports Administration degree program at Ohio University in Athens.
- Our granddaughter Kimberly (Marilee and Jim’s oldest) joined the ranks of BYU-Provo students following graduation from high school in Kennewick, Washington.
- Bryan Kent graduated from BYU-Provo with a BS in construction management. He next became a partner in a property maintenance firm in Provo where he and Karen have just bought their first home.
- Scott and Jessie graduated from BYU-Idaho on April 10, 2009. Scott received a BFA in Fine Arts, and Jessie, a BS in Communication.
In January 2007, Lane had emergency surgery for a detached retina. Because this happened when the temple was closed for deep cleaning, he was able to resume his duties at the temple with minimal interruption. However, the recovery from eye surgery was long and difficult. A second surgery was required to complete the retina repair about five months later. Lane had some bouts with arthritis in which his hands swelled so badly he couldn’t use them. His ability to do any maintenance work on the several properties we owned was strictly curtailed. This left painting, tiling, cleaning, and yard maintenance we once enjoyed doing together to Dianne who was determined to do the work because the small profit on the investments was insufficient to hire helpers.
In addition to eye and arthritis issues, Lane suffered severe pain in his back and leg. This developed as we returned to Texas after trips to Utah and Washington. Lane began a series of tests and treatments over several months. Nothing seemed effective. In July 2008, Lane had another surgery where the doctor inserted a neuro-stimulator designed to block pain signals from the sciatic nerve to the brain. This brought him considerable relief. He says it blocks about 80 percent of the pain.
Dianne decided Lane had too much attention with all his surgeries; she needed to gather some. A breast biopsy had a good result – no cancer. She wasn’t so fortunate in December 2008. After finishing the semester at Texas Tech and running another booming gingerbread business, she had a small sore removed from her nose. All were surprised (including the doctor) at the extent of the cancer beneath it. For Christmas in Austin with Cheri and Dave’s family, Kari and Dave’s family, and Kaylene, Dianne had both eyes swollen and black with a hamburger-like nose about the size of Rudolph’s. The doctor assures her the problem is corrected.
Today, Lane adjusts to a CPAP for sleep apnea, and Dianne puts make up over a red nose.
Special Family Times
We held our Bi-Annual Anderson Family reunion at Snow Mountain Ranch in Winter Park, Colorado the week of July 4, 2008. We had a wonderful time playing together in this beautiful mountain setting. We highly recommend this location. The 49 who attended included all but granddaughter Kimberly , Kevin, Laurie, and Brynley, plus daughter-in-law to be, Jessie Gammon.
Our good friend Curt Rowley stayed with us after retiring from Texas Instruments and taking a job with the City of Lubbock. He planned to buy a home after their one in McKinney sold and have his wife Janet and her father move here. However, due to health problems, Curt instead returned to McKinney. We really enjoyed having him, and his many fix-it projects completed in our home and yard are still being enjoyed.
We welcome opportunities to get to know our grandchildren better by caring for them when their parents need "resident childcare experts" for several days. We took care of Kent and Christine’s children in Peoria, AZ , Dell and Becky's in Pasco, WA, and will tend Dean and Mary's in South Jordan, UT this coming June.
In October 2008, Lane was released from being first counselor in the Lubbock Temple presidency after serving approximately 40 hours each week for four years. It was a marvelous experience and opportunity. We both knew it was time for a change even though it has been a major adjustment. We’re trying to wisely use the extra time this gives us.
Now and the future
Now, if you’ve had the time and the patience, you have a better idea of what occupied the Anderson family these past two years. Dianne continues teaching at Texas Tech, and Lane is gradually reducing his real estate interests and working more with internet marketing. Lane is still a sealer in the Lubbock Temple, and both Lane and Dianne are ordinance workers.
May 2009 be good to you!