The Stirlings wish you MERRY CHIRSTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

We were not sure if we would send a Christmas letter out this year. But then we so enjoy reading yours and hearing from you – so here goes - - - - -

We are doing well. Both of us are relatively healthy – we have our aches and pains and discomforts but not enough to stop us from going and doing and serving. And we are so grateful for that blessing.

We are continuing to travel about as much as we want to right now. In 2013 we went on two cruises to Mexico, one in January and one in November. We had a wonderful time and enjoy that mode of travel. We also spent a couple of weeks in Arizona in the winter to find a little warmth and sunshine. During the summer we took several camping trips to campgrounds up our canyon and to Yellowstone. And in September and October we took a long driving trip across the country to return to New Hampshire to see friends and enjoy the colorful leaves.

We love being able to spend time with our family – we enjoy having Julie and her children close enough to feel part of their lives, to and enjoy those wonderful great grand babies. This year we were blessed with three new great grand daughters - Elizabeth, Reagan and Savannah - bringing the total of great grands to six! We don’t see Scott as often but manage to visit several times a year. We saw Mary Lou last December when we went to Maggie and Zach’s wedding and had a wonderful time. We have not seen Ali for a couple of years, but talk with her regularly and had a great visit with her oldest son, Hunter. Hunter is leaving on his mission to Mexico City this week and we will transport him to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo. He will spend a couple of months there, learning to speak Spanish fluently and waiting for his Visa.

We both still have responsibilities at our church; Felt teaches his Priesthood class once a month and Ruth Ann continues to serve in the Relief Society Presidency. In addition we both serve each Saturday afternoon and evening in the Logan Temple as ordinance workers. Felt was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater. We think he will enjoy this new experience – and he is presently serving as the Chair of the Property and Asset Management Committee.

And last but not least – Felt finally finished compiling his personal History. It has been a work in progress for years and this year we decided it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for our children and grand children. Ruth Ann has spent hours and hours editing and adding pictures. We used an on- line publisher and hope to have the finished product before the holiday.

As the year draws to a close, we send you our wishes for a blessed Christmas. It is our hope that rather than spending Christmas, you will find a way to keep Christmas; to keep Christ in Christmas and find joy as you find ways to serve others, listen to the wonderful music and see the beautiful lights.


Felt and Ruth Ann

My heck - it is July!

Well my heck! I haven’t posted in so long I have no idea where to begin.

We now have two more married grand children – Tyler Calder married Liesel Miller on May 10 and Alyson Christensen married Jordan Povey on June 1. They all seem to be reasonable happy – must be – after all they are newlyweds.

And we have two more great grand daughters! Elizabeth Jane Naylor was born on April 9 – she joined mom and dad Rachel and Jeff and big brother Noah. She is a tiny little thing going to be petite and precious of course.

Reagan Marie Calder was born on May 23 to mom and dad Lindsey and Justin and her big sister Myah. Reagan appears to becoming our first red head since Feltus was a baby and she is as precious as her cousin. All the babies seem to be growing and thriving and change in the blink of an eye.

We are enjoying summer – at least I am. I love being warm and if I didn’t enjoy this valley so much I would consider moving to warmer climes. I planted some pots of flowers and they are doing well also. I do miss my garden but not the back-breaking work!

We are enjoying the culture in our valley so much. We attend the Noon Music concerts that are free in the Logan Tabernacle and will not miss a Monday performance because it is put on by the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater Company. Their season begins next week and we have tickets to several of the performances, even going to see Fiddler on the Roof twice!

Besides those performances, we have tickets to drive up the canyon to Bear Lake and take in the performances of the Pickleville Theater. These are local very talented performers and they do a great job of entertaining us.

We continue to serve at the Logan Temple each Saturday afternoon and evening. We love being in the temple and knowing we are being of service not only to those who come but also to our Heavenly Father.

I continue to serve in the Relief Society Presidency in our Ward. After a year I am feeling more comfortable with what is expected. On top of that I have been battling pain in my hip leg area. It has gotten so painful that at times to walk any distance - say a block – makes me want to cry and sometimes I do. My doctor says he can help me and today I got my second Cortisone injection – He told me that sometimes it take more than one bucket of water to put out the fire. So glad he has what I need. We are so grateful to be alive now when this can be helped instead of becoming an invalid and snot being able to move without pain.

Feltus has been asked to serve on the Board of Directors for the Opera Company. We are not exactly sure what that means, but today he had a meeting with the Director of the Company and is meeting with architects some time soon to help with moving along the restoration of an older theater in town Right up his alley and should be fun and interesting.

Now, I will try to get around to posting again before we take our fall trip. But don’t hold your breath!

End of March – already???

I thought I ought to update our BLOG so that if you read this you would know we are still alive.

We began our year with a cruise to the Mexican Rivera and enjoyed it very much. This time we did not use a cruise business and did it all ourselves. We went with friends and had a great time. And yes, we went on Carnival! We enjoyed the time “at sea” to rest on deck – note not sunbathe – not warm enough for that. We got in plenty of people watching and reading and playing cards. Our favorite place was a beach excursion called Las Celetas out of Puerto Vallarta Mexico. The beach was wonderful – the service supreme – and the entertainment lots of fun. We would do this cruise again and plan to do that next year maybe taking Julie, Dave and Sarah with us.

In February we took off for 10 days to Arizona. Still looking for some warmth and sunshine. We enjoyed several days in Yuma, going to swap meets, and to Mexico. Then we drove over to Casa Grande to stay a few days with friends who were there for the winter. We had a good time and it was difficult to come back to the cold and snow.

This year has been far and away more “wintery” than the first 4 years we lived here. After it snowed in November or December we had snow on the ground until a couple of weeks ago. March has seemed almost intolerable long. The main thing that helped was being able to visit occasionally with good friends, family dinners with Julie and Dave and their children, and a visit from Scott, Jenni and the twins.

So now we look forward to April, May and June. Big exciting months for us. April will bring the birth of another great grandchild. Rachel and Jeff are having a baby girl in early April – right now her name is to be Elizabeth but you never know. April also brings our trip with our missionary friends and other friends who have been added to the group, to Zion National Park for a week. We are looking forward to the sunshine and warm air and the opportunity to visit to our hearts content with good friends.

May brings three big events: Katie, Nate and Porter are coming home for a visit and plan to stay about 2 weeks (Katie and Porter). They are coming because Tyler is getting married on May 10. Tyler is marrying Liesel Miller in the Salt Lake Temple on Julie’s birthday! And not to be outdone – Lindsey and Justin are giving us yet another great grandchild – another girl – before the month is over. We think her name is still in the decision stage.

June brings another wedding – Alyson – Jenni’s daughter is getting married June 1st. Just writing all this leaves me thinking maybe we better look into vitamin B-12 shots! Added to this our grand daughter, Maggie Griffith Taylor, will graduate from Texas A & M. Our grandsons – Hunter Hill and Kade Stirling will graduate from High School. And hopefully, mission calls are in their future.