my daddy!

Today my father starts living his 93rd year!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

Until four weeks ago he was in amazing shape for his age! Still driving and doing well, just working with the health issues he had. One morning he woke up and couldn't seem to get his balance. Several falls later we learned that he had probably had a stroke that affected the part of his brain that gives us balance. Not good! Still, every person that comes to give him some care says the same thing, "I was expecting to see a much different person sitting in that chair!" He still looks and acts pretty amazing for someone of his age, and I have realized all over again the great gift Heavenly Father has given our family in letting our patriarch live for so long in such a coherent, independent way! My father is amazing and wonderful!



Here he is with some grandsons after they completed the lo-da-ja bike race!

He has always been a wonderful father and grandfather. He is absolutely celestial, no doubt! He has taught me every day, thru his words and mostly thru his example! He never fails to tell anyone who is helping or caring for him, "Thank you. You have been so sweet and kind to me!" How do you do that when what you are really feeling is that you wish it was your time to go, and Heavenly Father would release you?

I love my father, and I know without a doubt that he loves me too! That is a great blessing that brings me peace as his time nears to leave us for awhile! These are some cute pictures of my dad in his younger years! What a HOTTIE. :)







Dad, I hope today is a good one for you.
I love you, for ever and ever!
Susan

uploading surprises

i finally plugged my camera into my computer today, and i had a few fun surprises. i thought i just had some pictures from sadie's birthday, but this is what i found.



megan and brynn had fun with my camera a couple of rainy weekends ago!


i had taken this picture of beau when i was babysitting him last week. he and lauren look a lot alike!


she had an extra month on him or so...her cheeks and chins are awesome:).

and then a couple birthday photos.
lauren helped me put the candles on the cake!
she is a birthday lover!




here's to a great weekend!
GO REBELS...BEAT THE COUGARS!!!
here's a promise to be on my best behavior X&*^#@!

the best 20 minutes you'll spend today!

this video is of a very impressive young woman who is a student at harvard, from idaho, and she answers some questions about the LDS religion while on a panel. she is amazing! like jon said, "she is what i hope to become someday and she is only 20!" she very simply and confidently talks about what she believes without being condemning or condescending in any way. feel free to share it with any of your friends who may have questions about what "mormons" believe.

in a recent survey that the church had done, (this is information from Elder Perry's visit last month) roughly 50% of the people surveyed didn't know what any of the beliefs of the LDS church were, 47% of the people had a negative opinion of the LDS church, and 30% didn't believe we are Christians. i was surprised. i thought more people than that knew what the LDS people are all about. i am surprised that 50% of the people didn't live around someone who they knew was a member of the church. hmmm! i'm sure i am going to be surprised about lots of things over the next three years!

anyway, when you have time, enjoy this! rachel is amazing...if any of you know her...let's set tod up with her:)! he thinks she is hot!

miss sadie is 20 years old today!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SADIE DEAR!
wow, twenty years ago today, i was in the hospital...(don't want to remember that part), but look what a beautiful blessing Heavenly Father sent to our family!!!


we love our sadie so much! here are a few of the things our family loves most about her:
- "one of my favorite things about sadie is her simplicity!"- tod.
- "she always makes sure everyone is happy"- megan.
- "she's happy, her laugh, babysits, back rubs, she's an awesome aunt!"- kristen.
- "she is very reliable, very kind, very obedient, a hard worker, a great hip-hopper (awesome moves), and she will be the coolest wife ever because she loves basketball and sports center as much as any guy!"- dad.
-"my favorite thing about sadie is, she is most of the time willing to do what i want/need and when she knows i am upset she always can make me laugh."- hailey.
-"she is super sweet and kind. we share a passion for sports:)"- mike.
-"she is very funny, and gets quite a kick out of her own humor. she makes me laugh!"- mom.


what is sadie thinking these days?
- what do you want to study in college? business or nursing
- what do you like to do in your free time? watch my shows, read my books, pilates, rebel games, facebook
-what is your favorite make-up item? mascara (for sure)
-jeans or sweats? sweats!
-who is your boyfriend? beau michael

we love you sadie! we hope you have a very special day!

California Santa Rosa Mission

The call has come.


We are finally allowed to talk about it! Our mission is YELLOW on this map.


How do you like my new home? Is that a giant bird walking around in front?


We were quite surprised to say the least when we opened our letter. I had totally geared myself up for somewhere crazy. When I read California I thought "what"? It didn't feel like it would be nearly the sacrifice I was preparing for. But after the initial shock wore off, I am really getting excited to be in Santa Rosa. I'm thinking it will be a beautiful place, much smaller, wine country, rural towns...a change of pace for the Bunker's. Staying in America? I will be able to talk to the people:), understand how much I'm paying for my groceries:), Hailey will probably have a more "normal" high school experience:), my CHILDREN and GRANDCHILDREN can hop on a plane and see me ANYTIME:), we are all concentrating on the positives!

Why is Santa Rosa designated as Spanish speaking? Our MTC tutor told us his understanding was that we would be sent native speaking missionaries. It will be fun to make contact with the existing President and his wife and see what they have to say.

CALIFORNIA, here we come!

the sabbath day

why do i enjoy going to church so much?
especially i have noticed this since being called on "the mission", i leave my meetings feeling like i can do it! every sunday i leave feeling uplifted, feeling like it is ALL going to work out, feeling like others are praying for my success, feeling like the Lord will really be able to work with this imperfect daughter to accomplish His will, feeling like i am ready to get moving with the preparations at hand, that before i came to church, felt like a very large, dark cloud looming in front of me!

going to church has given me strength i have never noticed before! i feel lighter, less burdened, i even feel joyful! i want to remember this feeling. i wrote early today, because i needed to write these feelings before the cloud returned. some sundays it is back before bedtime, but mostly now, i am able to get up, get out, and accomplish a little something every day. i don't want you to think i am bed-ridden with depression or anything. that isn't it. i have just had to deal with these life changes in a very mental way and it has taken a lot of time to get my head and my heart around what is ahead of me. each day i feel myself more accepting of the fact that i am going to be learning spanish. i have come a long way in accepting Father's will about where we may be living. i feel myself adjusting very positively to all of the things my mind imagines up, to make me feel inadequate or discouraged or unworthy of His blessings. for me, it has been an interesting process. time has been very helpful. time and attending church every sunday. maybe i could start going to early morning seminary with megan so that i can sustain these feelings of hopefulness all week!

actually, i am sure there will come a day, when the cloud is gone forever. maybe that day will be today! but having it around, has taught me a lot about myself and about giving my will to the Lord, and about accepting His will for me unconditionally. REALLY, i am looking forward to this experience! REALLY! i look forward to it all, because i am sure when these years are over, i will be such a better version of myself. i will have grown. i look forward to the process. i know at times though, getting my rough corners chipped away may be painful, but i know it will all be worth it!

this quote has been on my mind constantly lately. i want to share it.

elder maxwell said:
"...the submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on god's alter. the many other things we "give" are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. however, when you and i finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in god's will, then we are really giving something to Him! it is the only possession which is truly ours to give!"

i'm sure this will be a continual process throughout my life. i hope it gets easier and easier to do.

west coast dance explosion - regional

thursday hailey, megan and i, and leann and brynn hewitt, headed for the land of provo, utah. bunker dance was participating in the convention/competition for west coast at the salt palace, so megan and i decided to take advantage of the trip north and take a tour of the campus of uvu. megan was able to attend a modern dance class on campus to get a feel for the dance program and the school. i think she really enjoyed it! she was pretty nervous before she got there, but found she easily fit in and liked the atmosphere!


is megan really going to college soon? YIKES!
when did she grow up? sob!

i don't know what comes over me whenever i visit college campuses, but i feel so happy and excited. every time i go to one (when i dropped kristen off at byu, when i searched the campus at the u with sadie for the buildings where her classes were, and then as i walked around with megan) i realize what a wonderful college experience i had, and i want so badly for my children to love their experiences as well. (note: tod didn't have his mother tagging along and i know he did very well...hmm...)

anyway, uvu was a good idea. we got some good information (auditions for scholarships were the next day during the competition, bad timing!, and if she wanted to be a dance major - we got it all mapped out for a four year graduation date). we had a fun morning.



the rest of the weekend was spent in classes and competing for megan. (except when she gave herself a concussion slamming her head into the corner of the wall in our hotel room, complete with dizziness, nausea, and major headache). jon and sadie arrived late friday night, so the family were her cheerleaders saturday morning, and then we entertained ourselves doing the usual fun things we love to do in downtown salt lake. i introduced the "apple pie" carmel apple from rocky mountain chocolate factory to a couple of the dance moms we ran into at the gateway friday afternoon, and they told me saturday night that they had had six between them since then!!! they are a sweet treat!!!


megan danced beautifully! it is so fun to watch her! she is very captivating on stage! (i'm not biased at all:)! for those of you who might be interested, here are a couple of videos of this years dances. the first one is her tap number, she starts on the far right. i am so happy that she is loving this number this year. tap has never been her favorite. i wish you could see her beautiful smile...



this one earned the overall high score in the senior category. megan is the second from the left in the beginning and second from the right when it ends. ENJOY!



GREAT JOB MEGAN! all your hard work is paying off!