Tara Johnson

The beginning of the year (2009) started with a new move to Boise, new job, and Dave’s business taking off (he was so busy, he even closed a deal on our wedding day - fortunately there was no cell service in Mexico during the honeymoon). Adjusting to “rural Boise” was a bit of a challenge for me and Dave was trying to adjust to having his girlfriend live close by. I don’t know which on of us had it harder.

We got engaged on March 27 after Dave fed me some story of running out of gas and needing to be rescued in Meridian, Idaho. What I didn’t know was that he had spent all day orchestrating the “perfect proposal” so that I wouldn’t have a clue at all, and I must say he achieved his goal. To put the story into a nutshell, after bringing him gas to put into his car, we went to check out a couple of houses in the area that he was selling. At the second house as I was wandering about, he got on one knee and asked me to marry him. At first I didn’t know if he was serious, but then I saw the ring and got excited! He had set up a table with candles and all, and we enjoyed a romantic Italian dinner. It was a fun night and very memorable.

After months of planning our wedding, June 11th arrived and it was a perfect day despite rain showers, forgetting my dress at the Tuscany and the photographer’s house burning down. My favorite moment of the day was entering the sealing room surrounded by all of our family and friends. At that moment, all my jitters vanished and I couldn’t stop smiling. We had an adventurous honeymoon in Zihuatenejo, Mexico where we parasailed, swam with dolphins, snorkeled, relaxed on the beach and learned new cooking skills. The food was delicious and we couldn’t get enough of the guacamole and mangos. It was extremely hard to come back to real life.

Summer went by way too quick but we did manage to squeeze in a trip to Antioch, CA to see Dave’s grandma and his cousins, go to a family reunion, and do a little camping. We also started building a house at the end of the summer. We heard a lot of “Are you crazy? You just got married!” and “If you can make it through building a house, you can make it through anything.” As you know, Dave is always up for a challenge, so we embarked on what would prove to be a challenge and adventure indeed.

Intertwined with the stress of building a house, my mom underwent a kidney transplant in October. My brother, Shae, was the donor. Despite it being a time of uncertainty, it turned out to be a strengthening experience for the entire family. We saw a lot of little blessings and miracles along the way and it was amazing to feel the support and outpouring of love from family and friends. You’ll be happy to know that both recipient and donor are doing phenomenal.

At the close of 2009, we managed to get moved into our new home just before Christmas and enjoyed the peace that comes with the holiday season. Now that the boxes are unpacked and we are settled, we are ready for another year of adventure! We are grateful for each of you and the support you have given us this past year. You are among our blessings!

Love David and Tara Nielsen


*We also started a blog…we’ll see if we can keep up with it. You can find it at www.tarandavid.blogspot.com.

Scott Roberts

My wife, Mandy, and I have been married for 12 years, and we have 5 beautiful children-- Savannah (11), Kimball (9), Tessa (6), Lincoln (4), and Camille (1).

2009 was our best year, despite some trials. Camille, our youngest, was born last December with severe heart defects. She's had two open heart surgeries and two angioplasties in the past year. Her heart has been reconfigured to pump with a single atrium and a single ventricle. You can follow our adventures in hypoplastic left heart syndrome by registering here: http://www.carepages.com, and then going to http://www.carepages.com/tiptoe.

We are blessed to live close to both of our extended families in Virginia; we're even more blessed that we LIKE them (mostly). We're also blessed with lots of good friends who supported us during our months in the hospital with Camille. I'm reminded constantly of the Savior's injunction -- "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35) We are grateful to live in a ward with so many of Christ's disciples.


By day, I'm a technical writer for a government contractor; I translate technical plans into plain English so non-technical management folks can understand them. When I'm not writing software development life-cycle documentation, I'm either working on my own writing, or editing for Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. It figures that the job I love the most (editing/writing science fiction and fantasy) is the job that pays the least! :)

My favorite memories of the mission: tracting with Anziano Donald Sandberg in Settimo Torinese...really, doing ANYTHING with Anziano Sandberg. Visiting Anziano Alma Tolman in the hospital in Torino after his appendix almost ruptured... Speak Easy, aka, the Matt and Scott Show (I cannot believe Presidente Clegg allowed us to translate rock'n'roll songs as an advertisement for English classes)... ,Thanksgiving in 1996, in Milano Turro; caroling on the steps of the Duomo in Milan and doing strada; teaching Ophelia Redoma with Anziano Kent Roper-- again, doing ANYTHING with Anziano Roper was memory-making. :)


Scott M. Roberts
http://www.lordofallfools.com

Joel Washburn

I returned from my mission in 1999 and was fortunate to attend BYU, where I met my wife. We met in one of the singles wards there and the rest is now history. We now have two children. Their names are Julianna (6), and Blake (3). We currently live in San Jacinto, California. I guess all those English clases in Italy rubbed off on me, because I now teach high school English in Moreno Valley, a nearby city. My wife, Kera, who also majored in English, helps to raise our kids at home and occasionaly does some online editing. We enjoy serving in our ward, where Kera serves in the Relief Society and Joel serves in Elders Quorum.

Some of the fondest memories I have from my mission are the visits I had with the Battaglia family in Milan. Anziano Derr was my companion. During one of those visits, Tecla, the mother, explained to us that she had not been in contact with her sister for a long period of time because of a certain argument that had transpired between them. We asked her if we could offer a prayer to help resolve the situation. She said we could, and then she had us follow her into another room where there was a painting of the Savior hanging on the wall. Apparently, she often prayed next to this painting. We offered a prayer, and the very next day she called to inform us that her sister had called her that day and that things were now better. We knew that it was a miracle that had come about because of the power of prayer.

Amy Matheson (Waldron)

After I returned from my mission, I worked at a brokerage house and then a bank. I met my husband on a blind date set up my his sister. We have been married almost 12 years. Our first daughter, Taylor 10, was born with a heart defect. She had open heart surgery at just 6 days old. She is very sweet, smart, physically active and luckily, okay. After many years, I was unable to have another child. We adopted Annabelle, 6, from a beautiful couple not ready to marry. She is funny, smart, social and very dramatic. After feeling content with two children, I was surprised to find myself pregnant at 36. Jack, 18 months, is a typical boy...very distructive, but adorable. We have lived in Utah, Michigan for law school and now Arizona. We have been here 2 1/2 years and love the weather.
I have great memories of my mission... riding bikes, eating foccacia, volunteering and sharing the gospel. I hope to return to Italy with my family in a few years.

Emily Cogdell

Fayetteville, NC. I am a clinical psychologist and behavior analyst.

Nancy Tibbitts

I'm living in Dubai, teaching special education.

Jared Loosli

For Anziano Loosli's update, he sent his family blog address. It is
looslifamily.blogspot.com. Enjoy!