The day started with Karl and I about 11 am as we prepared some names. We met the rest at 1:30 pm. There was Scott, Rae, her parents, Joe and Kami, Aunt Lynda and Aunt Susan, and of course Alex. We spent the next four hours there doing the work for our kindred dead. At 4:30 pm we met Karlee, Erin, Joshua, Collin and Lukas out in front of the temple.
Everyone was starving so we headed to Texas Road House for dinner. At that point our day couldn't have gotten much better but it did. We wnet back to the temple where the kids did baptisms. We finally left the temple for the sencond time at 9 pm. WHAT AN AWESOME DAY IT WAS!!!!!
Last Friday, February 12, 2010 was Lukas Seward’s 13th birthday. He is number seven of ten wonderful, beautiful, adorable, magnificence, brilliant grandchildren, but who’s bragging.
His request to his parents, who have specified a certain budget amount for birthdays, that rather than gifts he wants to spend his birthday money on a party at Classic Fun Center and invite all his friends. The “BIG” surprise happened when they picked up Collin Henderson, Lukas’s best bud and cousin.
Lots of fun was had by all, pizza, drinks, cake and ice cream. Jumping, tumbling, skating, arcade games and more. Thank you Lukas for including Grandma and Grandpa, more moments for our our “Family Memory Book.”
Monty Zundel was 15 and I was his Sunday school teacher. I had taught young women for years but this was the first time I had ever been called to teach in a co-ed class. Little did I know what I was in store for. Monty was the vivacious one, or in other words, the one that wanted to be entertaining the class on a regular bases. There came a day that he discover my passion and love for cats. That was all she wrote. He teased me constantly. One day he told me that he saw my cat running across the street and tried to run over it but missed. Another time he drew cat paws on the black board with a big “splat” at the top. Normally a person is called to teach a class and the class moves on the next year. Well in this case they moved me on with the class. This happened for three years in a row. It by far was a wonderful experience for me. There were about sixteen in the class and out of that group there were 12 that served full time missions.
Many years passed and of course we found ourselves living here in this fabulous community. We have loved this area and the people. We had lived here about two or three years when Monty Zundel and his wife April moved in with their two sons, Chance and Justin. My first thought was to take them a welcome basket with two baby kitties in it. Later I told Monty this and he told me he would just had to drown them. Monty is now in our bishopric as one of the counselors and the feud goes on. I was sitting in Sunday school class when someone passed me the role. Next to my name was written “Meow.” I turned to find Monty sitting behind me with a grin from ear to ear. One night while Monty was at the church I went to the church and put a bumper sticker on his front chrome bumper of his truck, it read…..”I (heart) (side silhouette of a cat). The bumper sticker was 5 inches tall. Bold black letters with a bright red heart, the cat was solid black. The next morning I received a call at 8 a.m. from none other than Monty. He is a physical therapist and had a packed schedule of patients to visit at their homes that day. Instead, he canceled his appointments, and spent the next fours hours at his mom’s scraping off the sticker. The warning came loud and clear, “It’s On!”
Things were pretty quite for awhile until Christmas day. I was relaxing in a hot tub when the door bell rang. Karl got the door. It was Monty with a gift??? He asked Karl if we wanted our CD player back, of course he had no idea what Monty was talking about. Seems that morning at 5 a.m. Monty and April were awaken by some cats screaming. Within minutes the two boys were in their room wanting know the cause of the noise. One of the boys went to the front door to find a CD player with Christmas music by cats screaming to the top of their lungs. WHO? Of course LINDA…….. Nada! I had nothing to do with it. The next Sunday came accusations but I knew someone else was in on the game. Sure enough it turned out to be Steve Gossett, my next door neighbor. The gift Monty brought Christmas day was a “CAT-A- PULT.” It was a plastic gun with four plastic cats that were to be inserted into the gun and shot at a target on the back on the card.
Josh, Lukas and Noah agreed to help me build a snow sculpture of Garfield. The plan was to make him life size and put a sign in front saying “Monty Loves Cats.” The local paper was having a contest and wanting pictures. Karl and I had build one of these years ago and he turned out spectacular. Well, there was a problem……..the snow was too dry. Josh finally got a bucket and would carry 
water from the bathroom in the house. We would put snow in it and stir it until it was the consistency of cement, then piling it on our object. Finally after three h0urs we had a pile of snow about 2 1/2 to 3 feet high. When we tried to sculpted it we found it frozen and 
chipping apart as we craved. In this case it became all about the journey and not the desatanati0n. In the end all we could say was we had fun, which was plenty good for me.
As I have previously mentioned, I have been doing a bit of catch up since last fall. Just two to go and I should be there. I would like to tell you about our ”Little Man.” Noah is Kami and Joe’s third son and he is 10 years old and in the fourth grade. Last summer he discovered that he could get on the internet and find piano lessons. There home is a four level split. The computer is on the desk in the family ro0m on the second level. The piano, a 100 year old upright with chewed up keys and sound that resembles something a little less than a normal piano, is on the second level. Noah would study the lesson 0n the the computer then run up to piano and give it a whirl. By the end of the summer he had learned 2 or three songs.
As he showed such an interest, Kami put him in lessons with Becky Arrington. She is a well known singer and musician in our area that gave up her Nashville career for her family life and now teaches out of her home. He has taken off like gangbusters. Two weeks ago Becky gave him two pieces that she designated for his recital in May. She explained that she was giving a trophy for the first person to memorize their pieces. I was at the house watching Amanda and Noah for Kami while Kami was in class. Noah was filling me in with all these details. As we talked I asked him if he wanted to be good, excellent or spectacular? Of course he wanted to be spectacular. So I recommended that he play each piece 10 times a day. When Kami heard this advice she placed a bowl on each side of the piano with pop 10 caps in one bowl to be transferred to the other each time he played the piece through. This week at his lesson Becky was flabbergasted when Noah could play each of the pieces of music by heart.
Last fall Karl and I took Noah to Salt Lake to Abravanel Hall to the Utah Symphony and performance of pianist Jonathan Diss. 
I thought he would be bored but nothing of the kind, he was spell bound. He now has the play book hung on his wall in his bedroom. Keep your eye on this guy….he is going to be famous some day. He already is famous in my book.
Christmas this year was awesome for one, Linda Henderson, yup, me. Because, you see, I was given a wonderful Nikon 5000 by my sweet husband. But that’s not all………..it also came with an 18 week photography course from Inkley’s Photography in Ogden. So far I have been to three classes. Yes, I am learning and that is a good thing. As most of you know I love art, any kind of art. My first experience with the camera as I mentioned before was on Christmas day when all my pictures turned out blurry. The switch by my lens was turned to manual. And of course I am not smart enough to be manual yet, but I will be. Last Saturday Karl and I try-outs for “Arise.” I left the house with camera in tow. I took several of the youth as we visited two different stakes but had Karl back me up with our Cannon point and shot, just in case. I am happy to report that ALL my picture came out clear. On the way home we were awe struck by the beautiful scenery. There was a lot of humidity in the air and with the cold temperature there was a shimmering frost everywhere. I am pleased at this time to present my first gallery entitled, “Crystals in the Country.” Taken January 16, 2010. Comments welcomed……….. 
