October will be a month we will remember forever. It was full of spiritual experiences, really fun times and deep emotions.
The beginning of the month took us to Provo to visit the Steeds. As always they were the perfect hostesses. We spent a day on the campus of BYU, got new sweatshirts and ate Creamery ice cream. It was SO much fun!
Jayna, Ryan, Andrew, Nathan and I went to a BYU girls soccer game. It was AWESOME!! Andrew LOVED it!
Saturday morning Nathan, Sarah, Andrew, Spencer and I (Jayna kept the two little boys with her - a HUGE thank you to her!) went to the morning session of General Conference. We only had four tickets, so Nathan sent us inside and went to stand in line to see if he could get one. The usher by where we were sitting, told us to save Nathan a seat because he really thought Nathan would be able to get a ticket. Sure enough, Nathan got a ticket and we sat together to hear the Prophet announce the change of age for serving missions. It was AMAZING to sit and listen to the Prophet and our other leaders. It was incredibly spiritual and uplifting. We are all so grateful that we were able to all go and hope to be able to do it again soon.
Twice while we were visiting, Levi told us he was going to go take a nap and sure enough he was all worn out from all the fun we were having.
Nathan was able to go to the Priesthood session as well. He really enjoyed it!
He got this pretty picture of the Salt Lake temple on the way out of the conference center.
During the Priesthood session, Jayna and I took our kids to a fun park. It was just two blocks away from my roommate Carol's, (I visited with her back in
June.) so we walked to her home and they joined us as well.
The big kids walked to get pizza. Then, Carol invited us to her home for homemade cinnamon rolls and ice cream. It was a SUPER fun evening!
Sarah finished her cross country season. She did really well on her last run and is looking forward to next year!
The kids spent many hours playing in the leaves.
Levi helped Dad decorate the outside of our house. We won first place for the second year in a row.
Our cousins from Bend came the second weekend. We went to three soccer games and also went to the Boise Temple Open House.
On Monday the 8th, we got a phone call from my parents that my dad's cancer was back and that it was just a matter of time. Just a week later, my mom called and asked if all of the family could come for the following weekend. Just two days later, my mom called and asked that we come that day. I called Nathan at work and he was home within the hour. We hurried and packed up and got the kids out of school. We arrived in Bend around 3:30. We all spent some time with Grandpa, telling him how much we love him and how grateful we are for everything that he has done for us. It was a very emotional afternoon. My sister, Jayna and brother Jon and their families drove straight from Utah and made it by nine that evening. Our dad passed away peacefully with my mom and all my siblings by his side, just a little after 11 that evening. We are so grateful that he waited for all of us to be there to say good-bye and to let him know of our love for him.
Here is my dad's obituary. Nathan wrote most of it with a little bit of help from mom and my siblings. The picture we chose to put in the newspaper is my dad wearing his OSU hat and holding a big fish that he caught. Two things that he absolutely loved!!
David Leroy Sears
May 27, 1943 – October 17, 2012
David Leroy Sears, 69, of Bend, OR died October 17, 2012 with his family at his side after a five month battle with cancer.
David, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend to many was born May 27, 1943 in Eugene, OR to Raymond Louis and Blanche Louise Bier Sears. He grew up and attended school in Springfield, OR graduating from Springfield High School in 1961.
On June 28, 1965 he married Linda Lucile Best in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1966, David joined the United States Army where he served for two years. He then graduated in 1970 from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science, Production Technology degree. David was an avid sports fan and especially enjoyed those involving his family members. He loved the OSU Beavers and wearing orange and black whenever possible. David was a design engineer for Fuqua Homes in Bend, Oregon for 26 yrs. In his free time, David enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with family.
David was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many capacities but he especially enjoyed the time he spent as a leader in the Boy Scouts of America program. David received The Crater Lake Council Silver Beaver Award, a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America.
He is survived by his wife, Linda; daughter, Angela Jackson (Mark) of Bend, OR; daughter, Laura Smith (Nathan) of Boise, ID; son, Jonathan Sears (Heidi) of Ogden, UT; daughter, Jayna Steed (Ryan) of Provo, UT; one brother, Jerry (Jan) and one sister, Donna (Barry) Chernick; and eleven grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 20, 2012, 2pm, LDS Chapel, 1260 Thompson Drive, Bend, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions appreciated to Partners in Care, 2075 NE
Wyatt Ct., Bend, OR 97701 or Boy Scouts of America. Autumn Funeral Home was honored to serve the family.
On Friday, my mom's sister and her two daughters, Christina and Patty brought my Great-Grandma Eileen over from the valley. We haven't seen my Grandma for over a year, so it was wonderful to spend some time with her. I love this picture of our four generations.
I love this picture of most of the cousins watching TV in my dad's room. All of the grandkids have fun memories of spending time with Grandpa in his room. He loved to collect things (as you can see in the picture)and then would show them to anyone who would listen. He always had a stash of jerky for Andrew when we came and Grandpa would always watch Disney channel with the grandkids.
On Friday afternoon, we wrote down memories of my dad and tied them to orange and black balloons (for his love for OSU). Then we drove to the top of Pilot Butte and let them go. We wanted the cousins to do something that they will always remember when they were together for Grandpa's funeral, and I think they will always remember this.
We had my dad's funeral on Saturday. It was absolutely perfect! My dad's brother, Jerry read his eulogy and shared stories from his youth. The grandkids sang, "Families are Forever". Nathan gave a beautiful talk about my dad. A friend of my parents sang and another friend spoke. My dad's bishop was the concluding speaker and shared my dad's testimony. Then, because my dad was in the Army, the color guard played taps and presented my mom with a flag. It really was an amazing funeral service. Afterwards, we asked for everyone to join us in the cultural hall where we were able to visit with everyone personally.
This is a panoramic picture of the display that Nathan did for my dad's funeral. It was absolutely perfect and my dad would have LOVED having all of his treasures on display for everyone to see.
We will miss my dad terribly, but we know where he is and that we will see him again.
We came back from Bend on Sunday and got right back into our busy life.
Benjamin got to ride a bus for his class Pumpkin Patch field trip.
We went to the Botanical Garden to see the Scarecrow Stroll. The kids thought this was the "scariest" scarecrow.
We had soup in pumpkin bread bowls and carved pumpkins with the Ramey family.
We tried out a few different costumes before settling on our final choice for Halloween.
Levi was OBSESSED with a "scary guy" that was down the street from us. We had to drive by him whenever we left our house so he could see him. He was THRILLED that on Halloween, he was able to get his picture with the "scary guy"!!
Our kids had a great time trick-or-treating. It was a warm evening so they were out getting treats until late.
We will NEVER forget the memories made this month.
