Tyler turned 12 years old, Jan 18, 2010! That is a milestone birthday for another grandson who is prepared to receive the Aaronic Priesthood.
We were grateful to be able to visit on the 25th with Kerensa, David and Tyler, and their reports made us very happy. Tyler told us that he recited the 5th Article of Faith and talked about how important it is to have the authority to perform the ordinances in the Church.
Tyler's grandparents who live nearby and his uncles Ted and Gary, with their families who live near Seattle, Washington , came the next Sunday to support him at his ordination to the office of a Deacon. This special time was made even more meaningful because his cousin Tanner, Ted's son, is now a Priest and could stand in the circle of Priesthood holders. The bishopric and Young Men's presidency were also represented. With the assembled family, we can imagine the small room was filled with the Spirit as each one prayed for Tyler that he would magnify his priesthood and continue to prepare himself for future service in the Lord's kingdom.
The short visit gave the cousins a chance to get to know each other better, as Nathan stayed overnight at Tyler's, along with Karl and Marian and their parents, Gary and Diana. Kerensa has many good things to say about Tyler. She wrote in Facebook on January 25th " today Tyler made us ribs for dinner :) " On Feb. 1, she wrote in the family letter, " Tyler is keeping busy with basketball camp, swimming lessons, and Young Mens. He is also doing well in school. We were surprised a couple of weeks ago when his math teacher, Mr. Ferrier, called and suggested that we move him up from 7th grade math to 8th grade math, because he has already finished the 7th grade curriculum. Mr. Ferrier will work with Tyler and one other student on 8^th grade math for the remainder of the year. This means that when Tyler starts 7^th grade he will be going to the high school for 9^th grade math which isn’t the ideal situation, but is much better than Tyler being bored at school."

The cousins had fun playing together. This picture, taken by Gary, reminds me of when Kurt, Alan, David, Victor would play together and little Gary would want to be part of their fun. It's OK, Karl, someday you will be big, too.