About Vance and Diane

Vance and I are doing great. Here is a picture that was published in this month's issue of Modern Healthcare Fifteen years ago, Vance was selected as one of the nations "Up and Comers" of hospital administration/health care. They did a follow-up article about what Up and Comers are doing today. This picture was actually taken to be posted on the hall of fame at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. He is on the hospital board. It is something he was invited to do for a 5-year term.

Life at Rosetta Homes is stabilizing. He almost has the company in the black, which is quite a feat considering they were losing hundreds of thousands 2 years ago. He is doing more traveling than I like, but not near what he use to.

His current calling is on the high council. He works with YM and YW presidencies and is on the farm committee. This best part about his assignment is he gets to come to our ward on Sundays and to girl's camp with me! He speaks once a month in various wards throughout the stake.

One of the reasons we are meant to be in Idaho Falls is for Vance's family. His parents are aging and Vance spends extra moments helping them and his sisters. Mom Fager is losing her vision and Dad Fager is 90 years old. He fixes sprinklers, doors, fences, takes them to doctor appointments and shopping, stays with dad when his mom is away, to mention a few of the tasks. I complain too much, but Vance is always willing to help and likes doing so; it's one of my favorite things about him. Here he his preparing their fence and porch for a new paint job which he and David will be doing this week. The next picture he is trimming his dad's neck.

I know I don't look as good as Vance in his picture, but this will have to do. I am staying extremely busy with writing menus, my new callings, and doing the home making thing. I am finishing an 8-week new summer menu. therapuetic diets, and shopping lists for 2 multi-unit assisted living companies. To be honest it has been a pain, but I was asked to do it and it gives me another tool to be able to sell if I need to. Before I'm finished, I'll probably fix the old one I did 4 years ago to the same format I just developed. I get better each time as I learn more about the industry and what works and what doesn't.

I was released from my calling from Young Women's when the ward split a month or so ago. It's been a great thing and I enjoyed working with some pretty awesome girls, but I was ready after serving there 11 of the last 14 years. I am now one of three ward organists, which I thoroughly enjoy and a family history consultant, which I like even more and am having so much fun.

This summer I really enjoyed my flower and vegetable gardens. I took a couple of pictures, even though they are both past their prime. The more temperate summer weather (notice I said summer and NOT winter) makes for beautiful flower gardens. Here are my petunias, the boys tease me about how I feel about my flowers, but it's been fun babying them. It all started from just a couple of little plants. Vance also made me a cage for my beans and peas, patterned after Mom and Dad's contraption. I never understood the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and the bean seed growing into the sky until I planted pole beans. If Vance had made the cage 12 feet high, the beans would have cli

mbed up and produced even more. As you all know, I love green beans and it has been a great feast this summer.

A couple of favorites for me and then I am through. I love walking and I love catching up on what is happening in Jenn, Melanie, and Katie's lives while they are in Provo. So I combine the two. I plug in an earpiece (which is on the fritz, so I have to hold the phone, the earpiece, and my mouth just so for it to work) and walk and talk. You'd think we run out of things to talk about, but we never do.

This is my favorite room in my house, which I get to spend more time in now that I play the organ. I always have to figure out the figuring for the hymns and the correct tempo. I have been accused of playing the hy

mns too fast, but I can't help it. Although, this last Sunday, it was all I could do to stay with the chorister (a new calling for her too) on the opening

song, "The Day Dawn is Breaking." It was actually too fun, usually I pushing the chorister not to drag!!