A Chill Wind

So my attempts at this are failing miserably but I had a day off so I thought I would reinvigorate my efforts.
Sean, I mean Elder Beckwith is doing great. He loves those "toothless" people. Here's a little tidbit from him.
"Is anyone really ready for a mission? Where you need to be guided by the spirit in everything you do, to not think of worldly things but only spiritual, to go around crying repentance to people that might speak a different language and have no idea what you are saying, to have to work with a random guy (your companion) that probably will have many problems and things that bug you, to not talk to your family or see them for two years, to leave everything behind and work with all your might less you come under condemnation. Is anyone ready for a mission.....of course not, you just have to put your trust in the Lord and go for it. I mean I am speaking some monkey language on the other side of the world, I don’t think I could ever be ready for this, but through the Lord I can do anything, and I am doing it."

This is Sean on P-Day making bricks for a members house. They have had on average about 10 investigators to church each Sunday. They are so eager for the gospel, and he is just excited to be the Lord's tool in helping anyone he can.

Kiaran got a part in the play "Snow White and Friends" (I think thats the name) anyways she had to audition and she was a little nervous, but she got the part of a little bird. The audition was singing a piece and then learning a dance and then performing in small groups of three. She is still working on her movie, it has slowed down due to school and now the play which all her friends recieved parts in as well. Kiaran is also taking piano, (mom wanted atleast one kid to play and well it fell to her) her motivation for practice is that one day she will give lessons to people and make some money. Always looking ahead!

Alora is performing with a county orchestra where she finally is able to learn something, since school is not exactly helping anymore. She loves it and is getting amazingly well. I still remember the first couple months of "Hot Cross Buns" and the finger exercises, so glad she has kept with it.

Mom and dad had a great anniversary in September, they went biking, I know "big" shock. They biked to a small town 80 miles away and spent the weekend there then biked back. Except one the way there and back they missed the turn therefore adding an additional 12 miles each way.

Dad recently had two surgeries this week which was pretty nerve racking for our family. The first one was for his infected gallbladder which he had gallstones, most people never know they have them. Luckily the surgeon operated before it exploded which would have been really bad. Dad loves to say "I got shanked by the doctors at the hospital....4 times! Who knew that could happen there!" True dad humor.
After he had been home for about two days, he became jaundice and returned to the hospital to be told his liver was failing. Apparently a gallstone had been traveling during the surgery and then had become lodged in his liver causing problems.
They used a camera and went down his throat and removed the stone and the gunk it had caused so he is back home and hoping to not return for a very long time.

Mom has really been a support for all of us and is still doing seminary all at the same time. Amazing woman! She is always tiring to figure out new ways to improve her teaching and connect with her students on different levels.

Jaron and Mariah are doing well and I have nothing really to write cuz they wont tell me whats going on, so this is their one sentence.

School is going swell for me, I am taking Jui-Jitsu class with a gal from my ward and we have fun choking and throwing each other. I have decided on my major, Exercise Science maybe a double major with Nutritional Science with a minor in Chemistry. Sounds fun, yeah I know! I have come to really appreciate the BYU atmosphere and the opportunities here, especially from my ward.
I was blessed to be able to buy a ticket to Tampa for Thanksgiving where I will meet my family as well and we can see each other which will be a wonderful family gathering.

Keep warm as the North wind approaches, we'll be thinking of you. May God bless you.

Introduction: In The Beginning

December 2008

So with me in college, Sean on a Mission and all the rest of the kids soon getting ready to leave in the near future, I decided to document all of our [Beckwith Kids] lives and maybe give some history and a current story of our growing up.

BECKWITH KIDS:

Jaz; Jasmin; Jaz-O-Bear; Jazzy-Spazzy
Age:20
Location: Provo, UT
I am currently studying at Brigham Young University in well....that is to be decided (I will take any suggestions into account). I am currently working at a bakery on campus and while I did receive a rather large triangular burn from the Monster-of-an-Oven, I still enjoy it. I have one of the best callings in my Singles Ward; as a Ward Activities Committee Member. It means I plan all the fun stuff but don't necessarily have to be in charge! Its great, we do all the fun stuff I want, its free and there is no stress involved.
All and all I try to keep busy doing work, school and really spontaneous random fun things, like slurpee runs at 2 in the morning.

Elder Beckwith; Sean; Seany-Boy: Captain Moroni
Age:19
Location: Madagascar
Sean, this past week, made the two day travel time from the Provo Missionary Training Center to Chicago, then to London and then finally Johannesburg, South Africa which he then took a smaller plane to Madagascar.
Before he reported we all could tell he was getting restless and as he said,"I just want to leave already...Geez!" Sean definitely knew he belonged in Madagascar to be a missionary to the those people.
Mom and I were fortunate enough to still be able to go inside the MTC (before they closed it due to the Swine Flu) and watch the really old 80's movie about missions and tell Sean goodbye. Sean, before the movie started, made sure to tell us he wanted to do it like a band-aid; while it may be quick, its not really all that less painful in my opinion.
Mom and I were doing fine until I looked over at Sean and saw his lip tremble for a second, now I'm not a weeper but the floodgates opened and my face was soon wet. Good thing I was wearing water-proof mascara.
I'll be sure to update his status in Madagascar whenever possible.
He also spent the last year in school at Brigham Young University Idaho, he was working on a Exercise Science degree, which he will finish when he returns in two years time.

Last Sunday as a Family May 2009

Jaron; J-Ron; J Dogg; Black Man
Age:17
Location: Portland, Oregon
Jaron is in Portland this summer selling...well I actually have no idea, its either alarm systems or pest control. He is doing pretty good with an average of two sales a day. He is out there with about three other guys from our ward in Georgia and is having "fun" earning bank for himself. He basically works 6 long days a week and barely rests on Sundays with church.
Jaron will continue to swim both for the high school team as well as on the year-long competitive team. He hopes to be accepted to Brigham Young University in Provo and do some schooling before his mission as well.
Jaron is still quite the buddy with the ladies and is one of the sweetest boys around. He is the "reigning" sibling which he never fails to remind me, when introducing me to others as the "older shorter sister" yeah, gotta love the kid and his wonderful humor.
Being the oldest kid at home this past year, he really stepped up to the plate and has been a great older sibling to the younger girls, which made me so proud.

Mariah; Mari; Mariah-Sky-Ya
Age:15
Location: Home
While still the blonde of the family, Mariah is definitely no ditz. Unless, you count her recent broken wrist in two places as her fault.
She fell onto her wrist while playing dodge ball at youth mutual, she backed up and tripped over a boy that had fallen down behind her. Unfortunately, this caused her to be unable to do her duties as a recently appointed lifeguard. She now has dedicated her time instead to rigorously helping Alora and Kiaran with their stokes for their summer swim team.
She will hopefully have healed completely and not need further medical attention to her wrist in about two or three weeks. Fingers are crossed for good news.
She will be an upcoming sophomore and has landed a spot in the Jubilate Choir (which is a very good thing). She, like Jaron, has really excelled in her times and stokes, and will be a huge asset to the high school swim team this fall.
She is the ever busy teen; taking pictures of herself and her friends, EFY, more pictures, Girls Camp, even more pictures and now practicing her driving skills.
I am also proud to report that she has become quite the bull dog when it comes to the Gospel and her standards. YAY!

Alora; Peanut; Alora-Bora
Age:13
Location: Home
Alora, bless her heart, is still the sweetest grandchild of us all. She spends her days swimming, and helping Grandma Robin with whatever she needs.
She is ever content to promptly place her nose in a book whenever there is time. She even devised a calendar to track her reading progress with certain rewards after a certain time frame. She already has gone to Whitewater Park (a local water park), had a shopping spree with Mom and received $20.
Man, wish I had known how to get free stuff out of Mom and Dad while I was young.
She also spends some of her time practicing her viola which she has been playing since 1st grade. She has gotten really really good and is in her Middle School Orchestra again this upcoming year.
A little bird told me, Alora is quite the cutey and is right up there with her other siblings. Oh, Dad is really going to have buy a gun now.

Kiaran; Pumpkin; Cupcake; Kiki
Age:9
Location: Home
As the last of the bunch Kiaran is sure to keep you on your toes. She is currently heading up a play/movie production among her 10 or so friends this summer called "KEYMIP". Its okay if you don't know what that word is...frankly no one does. She also continues to make her own dance moves and sing along with her MP3 player whenever she is alone or even in the public eye.
She and Alora are both on the Redwine Rays summer swim team again this year and at their latest Championship, they took home the GOLD!
Kiaran has also prevailed at sprinting, beating any kid and/or adult she races. She's even rumored to have beaten Jaron at least multiple times. Our own Speedy Gonzales!

Mom; Mommy
Dad; Papa
Ages: Not to be Disclosed
Personality Age: Booming with Life
Mom and Dad have been recently introduced to the wonder sport of: Biking.
They bike at least twice a week, 30-40 miles each day. Earlier in June they also participated in the Bike Ride Across Georgia with some family friends. It is a 330 mile race over a 6 day period. They love the thrill of the wind blowing in their hair, okay so at least Mom does.
They also got the garden started that they have been talking about for sometime; so far it has produced white and purple eggplant, cucumbers, fresh basil, tons of tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, jalapenos and recently a very small cantaloupe.
They continue to be a cute and adorable couple, the most awesome parents and the coolest cats around.