Elder William Blumell Barnard

Will loves being at the MTC in Provo. We cannot believe that he has been there for almost six weeks now. He will leave for Bogota on October 21. That is only three weeks from now. WOW. We missed him so much that first week. When we got his first letter, we realized that he was very happy to be in such a special place and learning so many wonderful things. It makes it easier to know that he truly loves to be where he is at. He says the Spirit is so strong and his spiritual knowledge and testimony are growing continually. He sounds so grown up and just like a real missionary.

He has already had some amazing experiences with contacting people around the country through the Referral Center. They do this on Sunday afternoons. He says that talking to them and bearing his testimony on the phone, has resulted in a number of requests for the local Elders in their areas to visit them.

He is studying and learning the Spanish language every day. He acknowledges the Lord's hand in acquiring this knowledge and talks about how humble we need to be. These new Elders have opportunities to teach Spanish contacts there. They have their teachers with them to help with the language. He says that he can hardly wait to get to Colombia - he feels such a desire to teach the people there. Bogota alone has ten million people so there's a lot of work to be done.

The Colombian Mission was re-opened to foreign missionaries two years ago. When Will and his group fly out in October, the first group of 10, that are there now, will be returning home.

We feel at peace and try not to worry about any possible dangers there. We have been told to only send inexpensive watches, cameras etc. because things can get stolen. Will has a money belt to wear inside his shirt with his debit card, driver's license etc. They should only keep a few dollars in their pockets. The present Government is trying to clean things up and things are better than they were a few years ago.

We are so proud of our Elder Barnard. What an absolutely wonderful opportunity for him and for us. We are all looking forward with happiness and optimism to the next two years.

Our Bates Grandchildren

We had so much fun with all of the grand kids here this summer. We took many pictures and I am now starting to scrapbook some of them. Angie and Ben are the parents of these precious little ones. Angie met Ben on a blind date at Ricks College. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 2, 1997. They have just recently moved from North Carolina to Kansas.


This is Caroline. She is 18 months old and full of energy. She loves life.


This is Luke. I just love his curly, blond hair, which he inherited from his Dad. He goes non stop from the minute he wakes up till bedtime.





This is Jesse. He is in second grade this year and excels at both Math and Reading.





This is Cameryn. She is a sweet, loving and very responsible older sister. She loves anything to do with the Arts.

Happy Birthday Amy

September 14, 1975 was one very special day. Amy Elizabeth Barnard (Heaven) was born in Edmonton, Alberta at the U of A Hospital. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We were excited beyond description at the birth of this precious little girl, our firstborn. We immediately fell in love with red heads, as her hair was a beautiful deep auburn color. We had been married for a year and a half and were still going to school and working. I worked at the U of A Hospital in the Emergency Department as an R.N. and Bruce taught Seminary and did all kinds of jobs. We were the Caretakers of an apartment complex and our rent was free.

Amy has always been a calm, sweet, loving person with many talents and abilities. She only spent one and a half years in Canada, as we moved to Iowa and then Wyoming where she spent most of her growing up years. She was an amazing dancer and was privileged to be on the drill team in High School. She attended Ricks College and then the University of Wyoming where she majored in Interior Design. She married Bill Heaven, whom she met at Ricks, on June 2, 1995 in the Bountiful Temple.

Here are some pictures of her growing up.

This is Amy now. She is a wife and mother of five sweet children, three boys and two girls. They are extremely busy with many activities and commitments at home and in the church.

Happy Ninth Birthday to Sam & Max

Happy birthday to these two very special boys. I remember very clearly receiving a call from Calgary, early in Amy's pregnancy that they were expecting twins. We were all sooo excited. Amy had a difficult pregnancy and was basically on bed rest for the last several months. She was hospitalized a couple of times for premature labor. They were born about five and a half weeks early at the Foothills hospital in Calgary.

When Bruce and I got the phone call that they were born, we made arrangements right away to drive up to Calgary - 16 hours. We did it in one day. I was able to stay for the first week to help out.

Sam was pretty healthy but Max ended up in the Premature ICU for several weeks. He was full of tubes and could not eat anything orally for those first weeks. For such a small little spirit, he was very brave. I remember going in to see him and he rarely cried - only looked up at you with such understanding in his little eyes. I remember thinking how hungry he must be with only I.V. fluids going into his little body. It was a happy day when he got to go home and join his older brother, Sam.

Amy and Bill certainly had their hands full for those first years with two very active little boys. They are wonderful, patient parents and survived the ordeal.

Sam is our oldest grandson. He is a very responsible and kind boy. He loves school and started reading 400 page books in second grade. He also loves all things boyish - bikes, miniature horses, cows, dogs, ball, swimming, cub scouts, computer games etc. We love to have him around - he is such a fun kid and so good to his younger siblings.

Max is our second oldest grandson. He is loving and kind. He is crazy about computer games and will play them for hours, if allowed. He is extremely good at designing and inventing things - like machinery, computer games etc. He draws meticulous plans that are amazing to see. I can see him being an Engineer one day. He also loves animals, bikes, cub scouts etc.


I think that it is wonderful that these two stick together through the good and the bad. Amy took a picture of them, on the left, when they were both really sick and home from school one day. She put them at either end of the couch to rest. When she came back in the room, they were curled up together with their arms around each other. They didn't mind the crowding - they just wanted to be together. The picture on the right shows them in happier times.





Max Heaven

Max Heaven





Sam Heaven



Sam Heaven

Heavenly Grandchildren

I spent the afternoon scrapbooking some pictures of the Heaven's. When Amy and Bill first got married, B.J. who loves jokes, said that they should name their first daughter - Helen. Ha Ha. Isn't Heaven a fabulous last name to have though? The name originates from Wales.


Here is our sweet little Lorelei. I had so much fun turning her into a little woodland fairy, wings and all.





Here is our Elizabeth. She goes by Ella or Elle. She is a miniature replica of her mom.





Noah is all boy, very active and sooo much fun to be around.





Doesn't Max have gorgeous red hair? He loves computer games and is very adept at them.





Last but certainly not least is Sam. He is a responsible and kind brother to his younger siblings. Here he is at his Grandpa and Grandma Heaven's.

B.J.

Here is a picture of our sweet B.J. taken earlier this summer. We went on a drive to the beautiful Uinta Mountains, just 30 miles up the road.
When he was eight years old, he got viral encephalitis with resulting brain damage. He was in a coma for weeks at Primary Children's Medical Center. He was not expected to live, so we are very fortunate to have him with us. Since then, he has required special help.
He spends four hours a day at Bridges, (a program for Special Needs people). He works one hour each day straightening the shelves at Smiths, a grocery store near us. He also works about one hour a day at Arby's cleaning the tables. He has a job coach to help him. He loves humor and tells everyone jokes.
He has Seizures and Diabetes and is on medication to help keep those conditions under control. Despite this, he loves his life and is such a joy to be around. We are so grateful to have him in our lives.
Here is a poem that describes some of our feelings because our B.J. is truly one of Heaven's very special spirits.

Heaven's Very Special Child

A meeting was held quite far from earth
It's time again for another birth
Said the angel to the Lord above
This special child will need much love
His progress may be very slow
Accomplishments he may not show
And he'll require extra care
From the folks he meets down there
He may not run or laugh or play
His thoughts may seem quite far away
In many ways he won't adapt
And he'll be known as handicapped
So, let's be careful where he's sent
We want his life to be content
His parents won't realize right away
The leading role they are asked to play
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love
And soon they'll know the privileges given
In caring for their gift from heaven
Their precious charge so meek and mild
Is HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD.

Author unknown