She impressed a lot of people...

This is a comment from my sister Shelli who met Esther. Esther made an impression on lots of people. More than we will probably ever know...

Shelli said...
I remember Esther. She was in the back seat of the car, I think when you were getting married. I remember being impressed with her at that time too. If I remember correctly she was a pretty lady, slim. I don't remember why she was in the back of the car, I think it was just you, me and her. I just remember she had a testimony, and was interesting. Sorry to hear of her passing, but I guess we should rejoice for her! P.S. I'm glad your home.

Remembering Esther

The first time I met Esther, Jeff and I were engaged. We met up with her at Bridal Veil Falls and she took my arm and wrapped it around hers, and said "So, You are going to marry my Jeff..." It was not a question. It was a statement.

I was so impressed with her immediately. She was so sweet and kind and strong.

She was always kind. And always interesting. It was hard to be closer to her because she lived a few states away. But she made little efforts to stay connected. I have a cassette tape of her singing primary songs for Clint when he was a toddler. I remember her unrolling her posters of mind maps whenever we made it up to Oregon to visit. I remember thinking that they were actually pretty cool.

She remembered birthdays, and lots of other things too. I admired her for phone call termination techniques, and also her stamina and Independence.

When Jeff and I first bought our house, I was feeling overwhelmed with the mess of the remodel and the plans for Clint's birthday, and I think one of my nieces was having a crisis...I was in the kitchen and immobilized by the mess. She came in and while I made phone calls and dealt with other problems, she quietly cleaned the entire kitchen...and I was grateful.

She really knew how to get things done. And I am so thankful to be a part of her family. I am grateful for her example and for the life that she led. I am grateful for the family she raised. And I know she is busy now...working hard, more than ever...with Russel at her side.

We Love you Esther!

Pictures of Ryan

Here are some pictures of little Ryan. He's a little gooky; I don't think they had cleaned him very well when Lance snapped some of these. If you want to see more pictures, click here. He's doing well so far - he hasn't been eating too much, but still seems okay. Ginni gets to go home tomorrow (Tuesday) and if Ryan starts eating a little more and is still doing well, he will get to come home as well. Lance and Ginni had a hard time getting any of the clothes they bought him to fit! The cute little shirt and overall set will positively drown the little guy, so they'll have to find something else. They weren't quite prepared for Ryan to come so early!

New Addition!

Hey family!

The newest family member was born at 3:22 pm...Ryan Lance LeVar! He decided he wanted to come 4 weeks early and there was no stopping him! Once Ginni started pushing, he was out in less than 10 minutes! He weighs 6 lbs., 5 oz. and is 17.5 inches long. He is very little, but very cute! So far, he's a healthy preemie. He's breathing on his own and seems to be doing well.

Ginni started having labor pains around 2 am this morning. She and Lance went to the hospital, just to be safe, and by 6:00 am, they knew they were having a baby today! I rushed down from Sandy to pick up Leah and have been watching her all day. Since I'm off-track for 2 more weeks, I'm hoping to be able to take care of Leah quite a bit while Ginni recovers and Lance is finishing up teaching and starting his graduate school classes at BYU. Leah is excited to have a new baby brother. We watched from the nursery window as Ryan was given his first bath. Leah said, "baby wah wah wah!" as Ryan was crying at being woken up. That's what she calls him now, "Baby wah wah wah". I'm calling him "Elmo" because he is red! We'll keep you all posted...