Wow it has been two whole months since I added something to this blog...I really need to get with it so that I can actually use this as a family history/journal. It won't be much of one if I only add to it every couple of months so I will try to do a better job. In April Rebecca played the part of Hot Lips in the play MASH. Her middle school always does an amazing job with plays and she will really miss that when she moves on to the High School. She was able to participate in all four plays while she was in 7th and 8th grade and has such a great time with the directors and all of her friends. Even though Rebecca is only in 8th grade she has probably been the busiest person in our family 2nd to Steve because of her involvement with Showchoir and the plays this year. Summer will seem quite boring after all of that going on! We just celebrated her 14th Birthday on Monday...Can that really be? I must really be getting old!




Anne came home from BYU at the end of April and that has been great fun (at least for me!) She had an awesome freshman year where she made a ton of new friends. She studied hard and played hard to make for a great year. So you can imagine how boring our home is after having something to do with kids her age 24/7. She is now a working woman with a full-time job! She leaves the house about 7:15 every morning and doesn't return until 6:00 or 6:30. She's part of the real world now and even though she loves making money I am not so sure she loves being gone all day. Welcome to real life! She worked full-time last summer though so she has had some good practice!




Brad was transfered to Donetsk about 8 weeks ago and will finish his mission there. It is so hard to believe that his mission adventure is coming to and end and that we will actually see him in just a few short weeks. He is really happy and enjoying life. He taught a young woman and her son in his last area and they were baptized last Saturday which is a wonderful blessing for them and for Brad. Those who have worked with Brad say that he always has a smile on his face and contributes wherever he serves






Ben just attended his first Prom! Doesn't he look dashing in his red and black? He had a great time and even smiled for the pictures! He is 17 and in that non-smiling at home stage, so we are always glad to get a smile out of him even if it is forced!







Jane is our little gymnast and we were able to go and watch her in one of her final classes for the school year (she has been taking an after school PTA sponsored gymnastics class at one of the schools. She loves it and learned how to do a back walkover this year which is a great accomplishment since we're not known for our flexiblity in the Pearson family!

Our kids away from home.... college and mission

We got some great pictures of Anne and her roommates for next year tonight so I had to put one of the very cute ones on this page...oh to be young again. She has had a great freshman year at BYU and is sad to see it come to an end, but we are very excited to have her home again in one month....YEA!



Brad sent some pictures also this week and this one gives us a good view of one of the Russian Orthodox churches in the background. Boy they sure know how to build them there don't they? In the areas where he has served the churches are probably the most beautiful buildings there!

Easter at the Pearsons!

We had a very happy easter here in the Pearson home! Even though the kids are getting older we had to have an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday and then as is tradition, they hunted for their baskets in the house. Ben found his basket, after much hunting, in the laundry hamper. I don't think he liked that spot very much, but it's hard to find places to hide the baskets since we been doing this for so many years. The favorite item in the Easter basket was a little wind up chicken that laid gumball eggs...it is so cute but I don't have a picture of it! We missed having Brad and Anne with us, but those days are over now because they will always be away at school at Easter time....boo hoo!

Snow Days in Cincinnati

Believe it or not we got about 12-13 inches of snow about a week ago in Loveland and I've got the pictures to prove it! We were all so excited to be snowed in and to just have a Saturday to play, play, play! The kids built a snow cave, went sledding and went on an adventure hike! We had a blast! Ben and Steve had to shovel the driveway 4 times in two days...boy was Ben ever happy about that! Our dog Sammie even helped dig out the snow cave and she thought that was great fun.



Snow....snow.....snow!!!




The snow came down hard all day which made our neighborhood a beautiful winter wonderland. Jane and her friend McKenzie didn't even mind when Steve threw a big shovelful of snow on their heads!




Ben wanted to model on his car...let's hope he doesn't get into the habit!

Brad in Kharkov, Ukraine

This is my very first post ever and I can't guarantee that I will keep up with this, but I think it sounds like a fun thing to do so I am going to give it a try!

Brad loves his mission and none of us can believe that he will actually be home in just over three months! It will be great to see him and we can't wait, but it has also been a wonderful experience for him and for us. The Lord truly blesses those who serve him and he has really blessed Brad! This is Brad with one of his good friends in his last area, Andre. Andre is a returned missionary and helps the missionaries whenever he can.