72 Hour Kits

**When putting your kit together think of the person this kit will belong to…Adults and kids will need different things.  Some items are only needed within the family (underlined items). 

Backpack

Water – 3 day supply (bottles or pouches)

Filter, Life Straw, tablets

Food – Light Weight, High Calorie

                Granola bars, applesauce cups (pouches might be better), Ramen Noodles, MRE’s, Fruit Leather

Mess Kit

Pot/Kettle

Light and Warmth

                Flashlight (extra batteries)/hand crank/ or solar

                Glow sticks

                Candles

                Matches (waterproof container), light or magnifying glass

                Flares

                Hand/foot warmers

                Emergency Blanket

                Poncho

                Sleeping bag

                Tent

Clothing

                Extra outfit for each pack/person

                Wool socks

                Shoes (sneakers)

                Underwear

                Beanie

                Mittens/gloves

                Small sewing kit

First Aid (Small Travel-sized kit) or…

                Lg, med, & sm bandages

                Antibiotic ointment

                Burn cream

                Thermometer

                Curad bloodstop

                Eye drops

                Moleskin

                Krazy glue

                Pain reliever

                Allergy medicine

                Surgical gloves

                Medication/vitamins

                Nail clippers

                Lip balm

                Mask

Hygiene

                Toothbrush

                Toothpaste

                Cotton swabs

                Brush or comb

                Lotion

                Hair ties

                Toilet paper

                Feminine hygiene products

                Razor

                Hand shovel

                Hand sanitizer

                Small bar of soap

                Washcloth

                Travel-size shampoo/conditioner

                Wipes

Communication

                Radio-solar

                Notepad/pen

                Whistle

Other

                Copies of personal documents (SS, Birth certificates, driver’s license)

                Duct tape

                Garbage bags

                Compass

                Cash     

Kids

                Coloring books, cards, notepads…

Babies

                Diapers, wipes, formula…

Those that wear glasses/contacts—old pair of glasses, extra contacts, contact case, solution

Meet the crazily Kind Kim Francom

Kim was born in Utah and is the oldest of 3 girls. She was only a year old though when they moved to Chico (northern) CA. A year later they moved to Mesa Arizona and three years after that to Fallon Nevada. Again after about a few years they made a more permanent home in Gillette Wyoming. They lived in Gillette for the next 7 years until Kim was in the 10^th grade.

Growing up Kim was a huge tomboy. She wanted to grow up to be a cowgirl. She loved playing at her best friend's ranch and being around the horses and going to rodeos. She enjoyed roaming around with her friends catching lizards. She did dance and tried just about every sport one can think of, but never really could settle on just one.

Kim loved Wyoming when she was younger. Her parents would often take them to Big Sky Montana for vacations where they would do white water rafting and enjoy the beauties of state. She loved those vacations and even as a young girl was struck by beauty of nature.

When Kim was in 6^th grade she became the school president. When she entered junior high, she went on to continue working on the student council. She served as the 8^th and 9^th grade class officer.   She really enjoyed organizing and planning, especially the activities.

Right before Kim entered her high school , her family moved again. This time to Strongsville Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland..  Kim said the beauty of Ohio was amazing. She says there is nothing as beautiful as Ohio in the fall. She loved being surrounded again by the glories of nature.

There was, however, a bit of culture shock in moving to Ohio. She went from having a group of LDS kids around her to being the only Mormon in her school. The kids there were very friendly to her and also quite inquisitive about what it was to be a Mormon. They kind of thought the Mormons were like the Amish. They wondered if we watched TV or danced. She was able to clear up some misconceptions, but really missed the support system of having members of her faith around.

During high school Kim found her sports niche by running cross country and track. She found she was actually very good at it. She was able to compete in region and state meets and made a lot of really close friends. She enjoyed traveling around with the varsity team and even going out of state, including a national meet in New York City. She still loves running and has done multiple half marathons.

After graduation, Kim was ready for a change of scenery. She received a schlorship to Utah State University and moved into Old Farm Apartments, a popular spot off campus. She joined the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, where she met a lot of great people.

Shortly after moving into Old Farm she noticed a really cute guy in one of the apartments. She met him and his roommates not long after moving in. A bunch of them all went on a big group date and there was one guy in the group named Brett Francom, who was a roommate to the guy Kim wanted. Kim was hoping to get to know the roommate that night, but Brett made sure she rode in the middle seat of his truck next to him on the date. Kim felt very awkward, since her roommate had a crush on Brett. Kim had to sit between Brett and her roommate the whole date! Since Brett didn’t know the whole story, he asked her out and shortly after and they became a steady item. They dated for a year and were then married in the Salt Lake Temple, a lifelong dream of Kim’s.

Following their marriage Kim and Brett continued  their schooling. Prior to her marriage she had been working as a CNA pursuing a degree in pre-nursing. While it was a difficult job, she loved working in the nursing homes and being a friend to the people there. She felt it was almost a spiritual experience. However, she wasn't happy about the hours and often  having to work holidays, so she decided to pursue another love of hers and switched her major to interior design.

After graduating Kim and Brett moved to Clearfield and she took a job with a design firm in Salt Lake called Interior Solutions. She enjoyed designing and working on many projects. Her favortie was designing a plastic surgery office. She had no budget constraints and the clients were a group of men who just let her do whatever she wanted!

After working there for 2 years, Brett and Kim decided they wanted to get serious about having a family and preparing for Kim to stay home with their kids. Kim starting free lancing her talents, starting her own interior design firm, Designs by KF.  With this business, she switched from commercial design to residential design and event planning.  She continues with this today.

Kim and Brett soon realized that having a family was not coming easily for them. They started down the heart-wrenching path of infertility testing and treatments. They did them all. Finally after using IVF they were blessed with their miracle twins. A boy and a girl. She says as she looks back on this time she can see how it brought them closer as a couple and they were able to enjoy time together and travel.

Having their babies made Kim and Brett think about their living situation. They needed a house with a little more room and they wanted to live in an area that was a little more family friendly. They started working with a real-estate agent who led them to this community. They found a spec house in the coveted cul-de-sac. They loved it! They talked with some of neighbors and found they were so friendly and accepting. They also loved all the children they saw out playing with each other. They were sold and moved into our neighborhood.

Kim loves living in Utah. She loves snowboarding and hiking and the outdoor adventures available to them and their children. Another thing she loves are all the great examples and wonderful people that surround their family. She always wanted that for her children.

I asked Kim what piece of advice she'd give now, given the trials she has gone through.   She replied that because all our experience provides a foundation we stand on and you never know how a trial or experience will help you later in life. Since we don’t know what others are going through, we should always embrace kindness and avoid judging them.

I think Kim embraces that advice whole-heartedly. She is so positive and does not say unkind or anything judgmental. She always tries to look on the bright side of things. Kim is quiet and so enjoyable. I hope you  take the time to get to know her and appreciate her and who knows? Maybe she'll have some great interior design advice for you!

Spotlight: Andrea Harper

Andrea grew up in North Ogden, Utah.  She is the middle child of 5 children.   Andrea graduated Weber High in 1995 where she participated in choir.  Her choir teacher told her she was there more to play the piano than to sing.  She played softball and basketball and loved hiking as a kid.  She especially loved hiking with her friends up the Bonneville Shoreline trail in Ogden. 

Andrea met her husband Kevin in January of 1996 in an English class at Weber State.  Andrea says she was the quiet one and he was the class clown.  Everyday after class he walked her to her car.  He thought she was engaged the whole time because she was wearing a ring on her right hand (the wrong hand) and saw her talking to another guy after class one day.  They had a mutual friend that convinced him that she was not engaged or seeing anyone so he finally asked her out.  They dated for 10 months and were married on December 7th, 1996. 

Three years later they had their daughter Ashlyn in 1999.  It was the most horrible pregnancy and delivery! She swore she would never have any more children.  8 months after Ashlyn was born they found out she was pregnant with Connor.  Connor was born in 2001.  Ashlyn and Connor are 17 months apart.   After struggling to get pregnant and after a few miscarriages, Andrea went on Chlomid for 6 months and ended up pregnant with Brielle.  Brielle was born in 2007.  Their 4^th child Declan was born 2 1/2 years later in 2010.   

Ashlynn is 16 years old and loves to run, play softball, and play piano.  Connor is 15, he loves baseball and to goof around with his friends.  Brielle is 8 and loves everything and anything! She loves dance, tumbling, is quirky and well rounded.  Declan is 6 and he loves baseball; likes riding his bike and playing outside. 

Andrea and her family moved to Kaysville in 2014.  Her husband Kevin worked for Central, and Swift took over and Kevin was laid off.   He then had a bright idea to open a donut shop in Murray, Utah across from Murray High School.   They named it Daylight Donuts!  Andrea was not very fond of the idea at the time, but has since then become a fan! She said she used to like donuts before having a donut shop, but not so much anymore. 

Their family loves Disneyland and loves going to the movies.  A few of Andrea’s favorite shows are Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares, and American Idol. 

Andrea is the easiest person to talk to!  She is a breath of fresh air and will keep you smiling!   We are so happy she is in our ward.  Oh, and they have awesome donuts!!

Meet Melissa Munn

Melissa was born in Long Beach California and has lived most of her life in Southern California. She was born into a family of 5 including her mother, father, older sister and twin sister. Her mother was a very strong woman with a multitude of talents. She was an interior designer, artist, baker, cook, beautician and skilled business woman. She would use all of these talents in raising and providing for her children and passed many on to Melissa. Melissa loved her father. He was her hero. Her sisters, especially her twin were her main playmates.

Melissa's family belonged to the Christian Scientist Church. Her mother and father always sent the kids to church but they themselves were not overly active. I asked Melissa what Christian Scientists believe. She told me they believe in not drinking or smoking or drugs. They believe that through prayer and a skilled Christian Scientist Practicianer, the body can heal itself of almost anything. This created a lot of guilt for Melissa. She herself was always sick as a child, allergic to almost all toxins.

Melissa's greatest memory of being a child is her exploration. She loved getting up before everyone else and going outside to explore the animals, bugs and nature around her. She would find spider webs and throw flies in them to watch what the spider did. She would lift heavy rocks and play with and observe the pill bugs underneath. She was in her own little world.

That ability to be happy and explore came in very useful. When she was 10 her parents divorced. Melissa and her sisters stayed with their mother. Their first move was to Running Springs, CA which is at an elevation of about 7,000 feet (we're about 4,000 feet here). Her family moved almost every year after that. For Melissa it was an adventure. She did make friends, but her greatest friend was her twin and her greatest joy was exploring nature.

When Melissa was 17 years old she met a boy and fell in love. She was a hippie and so was he. She went to the Strawberry Festival in Costa Mesa CA. She was sad after the break up with a boyfriend and was sitting down having a pity party because not only was she single, she didn't have a ride home. A boy stepped in front of her and she looked up. He was beautiful and tall standing there in his tapestry and then he played the guitar for her. She was smitten. She left home and school and married him. They moved in with his parents who were LDS.

Melissa's mother-in-law became her Naomi. She loved her. The mother-in-law gave Melissa such unconditional love. Everyday they would spend time together and she would teach Melissa the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the restored church. Melissa felt like more than being taught the doctrine, she was remembering the doctrine from somewhere. She ate it up and loved it. She joined the church and had a still born daughter but a year later was blessed with a son from that marriage. Unfortunately, the husband was not nice to Melissa and after trying to make it work for 3 years, they divorced.

With her 6 month old baby, Melissa moved into an apartment. Here she gained a testimony of the principle of tithing. She had only enough money to either pay her rent or pay her tithing. She threw her faith behind tithing and gave it a whirl. Someone took her to the fair one night. She remembers walking around and having no money. The next day when she was checking her pockets she found enough money to pay the rent and to buy her relief society manual for the year (this is when people had to purchase them). The Lord blessed her with what she needed. After that she never struggled to pay her tithing.

She also had a powerful experience with Jesus Christ while living on her own. One night she started praying. She was having a hard time so she prayed for about an hour. She felt the presence of the Lord with her so strongly at that point that even after an hour she didn't want to end the prayer. It wasn't the Holy Ghost beside her, it was the Savior. She felt if she looked up she would see him. That he was beside her letting her know how much he loved her and that he would sustain her in all of her trials. Melissa said this experience cemented her to the Savior and the church. That no matter what would happen in her life from then on, she wanted to live in such a way that she could go back to live with him.

Melissa would need that experience. The next several years of her life were incredibly difficult. She met and married a man named Jaime and had her beautiful daughter Elisha with him. However, the marriage was not a happy one. He felt like he had made a mistake and eventually they also divorced.

She again attended another church dance and met a man named Lance. He was a genuis. He loved the Lord and this time she was married in the temple. Every week they would go to the temple and then on a little date. One day after attending the temple together, he told her, « Well, I'm never going back there again. Its all a bunch of bunk. » Melissa felt like she had been stabbed in the heart. Going on counsel from her bishop, she ended this marriage too.

Melissa was done. She figured for whatever reason she could not find a suitable spouse. She also didn't want to put her 2 children through anymore turmoil. She was barely getting by each month and wouldn't have been able to make it if it weren't for the help of her first mother-in-law who felt a strong prompting that she was to help provide for Melissa as long as she needed her.

One day Melissa was sick and requested a priesthood blessing. In that blessing she was told that the best thing in her life was about to happen and she knew what she needed to do. She was baffled by what this meant. After the priesthood holder left she went and knelt down in prayer and prayed to know what it meant until she received an answer. She was told the Lord was going to send her someone that he had chosen for her.

One night a friend and her went to an institute dance. There she met her husband Richard Munn. Once she saw him, she couldn't even wait for him to approach her. She started following him around. They danced a few dances together. They saw each other again at another dance and this time they only dance with each other. Melissa held a special interest Family Home evening and invited Richard to attend. There they filled out their 4 generation pedigree charts that President Kimball had asked everyone to do. After the group Melissa asked Richard over to listen to her read some of the poetry she had written. During the night he put his hand on hers and the spirit was so strong at that one touch that she knew he was the one. That night she asked him to wait 3 months to propose to her, which he did and they married.

They were blessed with 2 more children, both boys. They were all sitting at home one day watching conference and the camera panned across temple square. In that moment the spirit came to both Melissa and Richard and let them know they were supposed to move to Northern Utah. In fact, one of their sons, looking at the TV, said, « We are suppose to move there. » So with faith they moved to Layton Utah and eventually bought a home.

They lived here while they finished raising their children. Melissa would go back to Central Coast California a lot to visit her oldest son and her grandchildren. One time, while fishing with her son, she broke her back. Her health wasn't the best and she noticed she felt better in California by the ocean. So she and her husband planned to move back to California. The night before they were filling out the paperwork on a home, Richard and Melissa were hit in a head on collision by a drunk driver. It broke Melissa's back again and shattered Richard's knee. With Richard being unable to work, they couldn't move. They instead moved into our ward with Melissa's daugher, Elisha. They lived here a few months until Richard could heal enough to go back to work. Then they moved back out to Santa Maria, Ca. Unfortunately, After having lived there for fouryears, The job did not pan out and they returned to live with Elisha to save money to find another place for them to live.

Melissa is an incredible woman of faith. The Lord has led her througout her whole life through many ups and downs. I asked her what advice she would pass on to others at this point in her life. She said without hesistation, « Focus on the Savior and he'll get you through. » Looking back Melissa can see that although she has had many trials, things really did work out as they should. The Lord seemed to be orchestrating her life.

We are blessed to have Melissa in our ward. I hope you will all take the time to get to know and appreciate all the many talents she has to offer and if you get the chance, be sure you ask her to see some of her art work and listen to her poetry – it is amazing!

Spotlight: Holly Flake

Holly was born in Centerville, Utah.  She is the middle child of 5 kids with 2 older brothers, 1 younger brother and 1 younger sister.  Her entire family lives in Utah!  Holly was on the student council her Junior and Senior year, and graduated from Viewpoint High School in 2003.  

Holly will be celebrating her 11th wedding anniversary in a few months! She met her husband Mike through her best friend that was dating him at the time.  Her friend dated Mike up until he left for his mission to Spain and was married 6 months after Mike left.  Holly and mike continued as friends and Holly wrote him during his time away.    Mike returned from his mission in May 2005. Holly and Mike dated for 5 months and were married in the Salt Lake City Temple in November 2005!

In June of 2006 they moved to Anchorage, Alaska for 2 years so that Mike could complete his Air Traffic Control School.  Holly was unable to finish her own schooling because her credits would not transfer to the University of Alaska so Holly worked at the University as an office manager, which helped Mike with his tuition. 

After Alaska, they moved back to Utah for a short time and then went to Oklahoma for a few months for Air Traffic Academy. After he completed all his schooling they moved back to Utah and lived in East Kaysville. 

Holly has 3 children, Brinely who is 6, Judson 4, and Addison who is 9 months.  Brinely will soon be in 1^st grade she loves dancing, school, and is very artistic! Judson is ALL boy! He loves four wheeling, boating, snow moiling…anything outdoors! 

Holly moved to West Kaysville in the summer of 2014.  Holly has a love for reading and writing. She is creative, artsy, loves Zumba, and is a DIY junkie!   Her favorite things to do with her family are camping and boating.  Holly is super sweet, if you haven't met her yet, you need to! You will love her! We are so happy she is in our ward.

Heidi Van Wagenen Thackeray

Heidi is a Southern California girl. She was born in Fullerton close to LA at St. Jude's hospital. She was raised in El Cajon just outside of San Diego. She loves Southern California and the beach where she grew up about 20 minutes away. She has 3 older brothers and is the oldest of 3 girls that followed.

Heidi's favorite thing about growing up was her family. She loved how safe and peaceful her home felt. The spirit was there, and even her friends who were not LDS commented on the special feeling that was in their home. Because of the wonderful family she was given, she feels the weight of the scripture, « Where much is given much is required. »

She entered Middle School as any student would, happy, full of anxiety, and pre-teen angst. At the end of 7^th grade, she went in for a routine health examination that all schools used to administer. They checked Heidi's spine and realized she had slight case of scoliosis. They informed her and her parents but were told it wasn't that big of a deal at the present.

But that summer the situation with Heidi's back quickly turned. It wasn't “no big deal”. In fact it became a very big deal. She spent the summer in so much pain. Her back and stomach hurt because the bones along her back were shifting and her muscles were fighting to pull it into alignment. Heidi's mom took her back to the doctor and found out over the summer Heidi had gone from a 20% curvature to a 45% curvature. The family started looking into options. They consulted a chiropractor and 2 orthopedic surgeons. After careful contemplation and much prayer, they decided surgery was needed.

To make matters worse, because of Heidi's physical problems regarding her back, she started getting bullied at school. When the bullying started, Heidi's mom decided enough was enough. She pulled Heidi out of school a little earlier than they expected and arranged for a tutor to home school her immediately. Heidi was then home schooled until the end of eighth grade. Surgery was a great blessing to Heidi. In fact, it stopped most of Heidi's back issues until after the birth of her 3^rd child.

Heidi says the things she went through in regards to her back were a great trial but also a great blessing in her life. It humbled her from a very young age. It made her learn to completely rely on the Lord and His spirit for direction. Not only that, but the tutors she had while home schooling helped her to see things from unique perspectives as well. One was a former nun and one was a total hippie. This combined with the many friends Heidi had of different faiths gave her a great acceptance and love for people of diverse backgrounds.

After recovering from her surgery, she went on to have a very fun high school experience. She was a part of the performance choir at her High School and was recruited by the wrestling coach to be a manger for the wrestling team. She developed a great love for the wrestling coach who had graduated from BYU but was not LDS. He did however love the LDS kids. Because the wrestlers knew she was LDS, they would often ask her challenging questions about her faith. This was a great testimony builder to Heidi as well. When she turned 16, Heidi started dating a boy in her ward who had recently moved from Salt Lake City. She liked listening to him talk about his group of friends back home. He said they did everything together and really helped each other choose the right. She was even able to meet this group of friends during a summer that she attended EFY in Provo. One of them was a guy named Tom Thackeray. She thought they were all awesome and wished she had a group like that in California.

After Heidi graduated, she went to Ricks College for 2 years. She loved it. She said she made many dear memories at the school. She loved how small it was and that you could really get to know many of the people. She still has close friends from her time there.

After graduating with her associates degree, she came home to California and started working in the mailroom of a big law firm downtown San Diego. She really enjoyed it there and had a memorable time riding the trolley to and from work every day. But after a year there, she started having a great deal of restlessness. She felt she needed to move on to a new adventure. After much prayer, she enrolled in BYU's summer program and moved to Provo. It was during that summer that she reconnected with Tom Thackeray. They started dating in June and were married in the San Diego Temple that December.

After they got married, they moved to Springville, UT. Tom went to BYU while Heidi worked at a health and wellness company. After they had been married a couple of years, Tom enrolled in the Army Reserves as a way to get career training. One month after enlisting, 9-11 happened. A few months later, Tom's unit was called to be deployed to an undisclosed location. He would need to go, and spouses weren't invited to join them. At first he was supposed to go to Turkey but the Turkish government wouldn't let the troops in, so Tom ended up in Watertown in upstate NY. Heidi having to stay behind transferred to the U and finished her degree in Human Development and Family Studies.

When Heidi graduated, they were tired of being apart, so Tom got permission to fly home to UT so he and he could drive back to Watertown, NY together.  All during this time, Heidi and Tom had been trying to get pregnant. It wasn't looking good. There appeared to be infertility issues with both of them. But while in NY Heidi found out she was pregnant. They were so excited. They planned a trip to Utah where they would share the news with their families. Unfortunately while in Utah, Heidi felt something wasn't right. Tom's brother who was an OBY/GYN brought her in for an examination only to find out there wasn't a heartbeat. They were grief stricken. Later in NY Heidi would miscarry the baby at a military hospital.

Tom finished his assignment in NY and they moved back to Utah and Heidi took a job as a Kindergarten teacher at Challenger school.  They were at the point in their baby quest where they had to consider IVF or adoption. She went in to start the process of IVF, but first she had to take a pregnancy test. Imagine her surprise when a nurse left a message on her voice mail delivering the good news: she was pregnant! Nine months later they welcomed Savannah into their home. Heidi then quit teaching and started her dream job of being a mother.

A few years later, the Thackeray's became pregnant with their son Benjamin. However, this time the delivery became a problem. Things were progressing normally for the most part, except the epidural they gave Heidi didn't appear to be working. After many hours, the doctor checked Heidi to see if she was fully dilated. A few seconds later, Benjamin's heart flat lined.

Luckily for Heidi and Benjamin, they were at a level 1-trauma hospital (one of only two in the state of Utah at the time). They immediately took Heidi in, opened her up to find out her uterus and uterine artery had ruptured. She was bleeding out of all her internal organs. They got the baby out, and immediately intubated him. Every 20 mins the doctor's assistant would bring back word to the family and it wasn't looking good. Finally word came back that Heidi and the baby would live. The doctors however told her not to expect much in the way of mental development for the baby. He had been deprived of oxygen for too long. But Benjamin surprised everyone. He met every milestone like any other baby and there appears to be no problems at all from his delivery. What a miracle he is!

The doctors told Heidi she probably shouldn't have any more children. But Heidi and Tom felt differently. They felt there was another baby that was supposed to join their family. So 2 years after Benjamin was born, Heidi became pregnant with Jacob. About 30 weeks into the pregnancy, Heidi started getting pains like she had had while delivering Benjamin. They immediately put her in the in hospital. They gave Jacob steroids to develop his lungs and delivered him at 34 weeks. It was particularly wonderful that Tom's brother was able to deliver Jacob.

Heidi’s interests include a love of writing, looking at family pictures (she can spend hours doing this), and helping people work through their problems. One day she hopes to be a counselor to at a Junior High or High School because she also loves working with the youth. 

What a great lady Heidi is. Her traumatic experiences have given her a wealth of life experience to draw on. She has learned that all these trials she has faced have be given for her growth and even though while she went through trials she couldn't see a reason, she has learned there is always a reason. She also has learned to consult and read carefully her patriarchal blessing. She said everything she needed to know and went through was in there. We love Heidi and are so grateful to have her in our ward.  

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Meet Cristi Millard

Cristi was born in Colombus Ohio. Her mother was LDS and her father was not. Their family lived in Colombus because her father had been stationed there with the air force. After Cristi's older sister was born, her dad tried being a musician, but after Cristi's birth, he could see that music wasn't going to pay the bills, so he re-enlisted with the military. From here on out Cristi was an Air Force brat.

Their first assignment was Clovis New Mexico. Cristi and her family lived there the next 8 years. The branch in Clovis was very close. Even though Cristi's father wasn't a member of the church he sang in the choir and helped build the new meeting house. Also while living in Clovis, Cristi's mom had 3 more baby girls. Cristi's dad struck a bargain with the Lord. He told the Lord if he had a son, he would get baptized. The next baby that came to their family was a little boy. Cristi's dad, being a man of his word, was then baptized.

Finally, after 8 years, a new assignment came. The family was transferred to Okinawa Japan. Cristi's parents had a gift for helping their children love wherever they lived. She thought that Japan was so fun, all the Japanese school kids would stop by their house and practice their English with them. They also loved trying all the food and being part of the Japan Obon Odori. It's the Japanese biggest celebration of the year. She remembers collecting little coins in origami type envelopes and dancing.

After 6 years, her parents came back to the states. However, they then divorced. Cristi's mom remarried a man who worked for the military as a civilian. After their marriage, he was assigned to Okinawa Japan, so back to Okinawa Cristi and her siblings happily went.

Cristi then spent most of high school years at a big military school on the island. She was involved in drama and sports. She loved sports. She played volleyball, softball and track. She also was the statistician for the baseball teams. Her Junior year she was also a cheerleader. There was another Junior young man named Art Millard who was playing football for the same team she was cheering for (the high school was so big they had 4 football teams). Crisit's parents had told their girls they could go ahead and date non-members as long as they had high standards (they realized otherwise they girls would have no one to date). Cristi and Art started dating. Art became interested in the gospel, took the missionary discussions and was baptized. Shortly after that, he and his family left Japan and went back to their home in Florida.

After dating Art the athlete, Cristi met another young man named Keith a musician. She started dating Keith. He too became interested in the church, met with the missionaries and got baptized. Their relationship ended when Cristi's family were transferred to Korean in January of her Senior year. Their family tried to figure out a way Cristi could stay with friends to finish up at the high school she had attended since 9^th grade, but the military wasn't having it and her parents really wanted her to come with them, so she moved to Korea with her family.

Cristi says she loved everything about Korea but Kim-Chi. She said being at eye level with all the Korean's she could smell it on everyone's breath. She also said the women would always come up and pull on her arm hair, because Asian's don't have any. She however loved working there. She got a job on Saturdays working at the mission home helping the mission recorder imput information because she could type really fast. She would hang out there and have lunch with the missionaries. It was so much fun for an 18 year old girl.

After graduation, she got on a plane and headed to Rexburg Idaho. She did a year at Ricks. While there she mainly worked with the Dean of student's office and she also waited tables at JB's. She finished up her year and went home to Korea for the summer. But once back in Korea, she was offered a really good job working at a drug and alcohol rehab center. She decided to stay in Korea for a year or so and saved money. After that, she headed back to Ricks.

Once she got back to Ricks, she started dating a young man seriously and they got engaged. However, before she could graduate, they got unengaged. That did it for Crisit. She didn't want to be at Ricks any longer. By this time her parents had moved back to Utah so Cristi moved to Salt Lake and got a job at the church office building in the finance division. She worked there a year and a half. Then she decided she was ready to go back to school. This time she enrolled at BYU.

While at BYU she roomed with her younger sister and worked on campus doing registrations for conferences. She helped with the registration for any conferences going on, workshops, athletic camps, EFY, pioneer trek, women's conference, etc. She was studying English and she LOVED it. She also met a young returned missionary who recently had returned from Argentina and they got married.

Cristi started working more seriously to put her husband through school. She took a job at UVU (UTC at the time) but she wanted to finish her bachelor's degree. She approached her work at UVU and told them she would probably have to quit. They didn't want to let her go though, so they offered her a special contract that made a way for her to continue working there. It allowed her the freedom to work as her schedule permitted. Sometimes she might have to work part time or not at all for 2 months or so. With that job she continued working until she and her husband graduated from BYU.

After her husband graduated she and her husband wanted answers about why they weren't being able to get pregnant. They went to the doctor and found out Crisit had a small growth on one of her ovaries. She went into surgery and found out the problem was bigger then they thought. They had to remove one of her ovaries and remove her fallopian tubes. So at this point, they knew that Crisit would never be able to get pregnant. They told her she could try IVF but it was on the cutting edge at the time and cost around 40,000 dollars. It wasn't even a possibility. They then looked into adoption with LDS Family Services.

Before they could even get their paperwork in however, they had a miracle. A cousin of Cristi's called to tell them about a birthmother she had living with them. The birthmother had seen them and liked them. She wanted to meet. So Cristi and her husband flew out to visit the birthmother. While they were there, she went into labor. Cristi was able to be there for the delivery! This was 1989 and almost unheard of.

After the birth of their daughter Cristi kept working at UVU. In 1989 she moved to a job at Salt Lake Community College as a financial aid advisor. Their family also bought a home in Bountiful Utah. When her daughter, Jessica was 6 months old she had to find a new babysitter. She found one in Taylorsville, a family that would watch Jessica in their home. This allowed Cristi to take Jessica to work with her and drop her off at the babysitter. So even though Jessica was raised in Bountiful, she didn't attend Bountiful schools. She would go to school in Taylorsville by the babysitters house. When Jessica was old enough to babysit herself, she did start attending South Davis Jr. High, but found she didn't really like it, so instead, they got a variance and Jessica attended school at Eisenhower Jr. High with her friends from elementary. She went on to graduate from Taylorville High School. Cristi loved that time everyday of driving back and forth to work and school with Jessica.

In 2004 Cristi decided she wanted her master's degree. She started doing classes through the University of Phoenix to get a degree in Office Management. She finished her degree which allowed her to move up in position at SLCC. Currently she serves as the director of financial aid.

In 2006 Cristi and her husband decided to divorce. It was a difficult decision but they were very committed to making it as cordial as they could for their daughter. Today, Cristi and her ex-husband still are very polite to one another and are willing to attend family events together for the better of everyone involved.

In March 2007, Cristi's sister told her she had been on a social network site and that Art Millard, Crisit's boyfriend from high school had been on and he was looking for her. She connected with Art and they exchanged Christmas cards. Then in January of 2007 Art and his wife came to Utah for a visit. They met with Cristi and had dinner together. Art's wife wasn't feeling well at the dinner. After their visit, Art and his wife went up to Wyoming to visit some family. In Wyoming, Art's wife suffered an aneurism and died. It was shocking to say the least. She was buried here in Utah and Cristi attended the funeral.

A few months later Cristi had a feeling she should call Art up so she did. He was very sad and missing his wife tremendously. They started talking. Three months later they decided during a phone conversation that they would marry. It felt like the right decision. So Art brought his youngest daughter and moved out to Utah. They had a blended family with Art's daughter and Jessica living together for about a year until Jessica graduated and moved out. It took some time for Art's children to heal from losing their mom and come to accept Cristi, but now they have accepted each other and really like one another. Cristi is also the only grandma most of them know. She says being a grandma is so much fun!

In Cristi's free time she likes to crochet and cross-stitch. She also likes watching mysteries on TV. She loves listening to music – all kinds and even enjoys many of today's popular bands (Imagine Dragons and Killers). The thing Cristi loves most of all is reading. She belongs to two book clubs. One she has belonged to for 17 years. Her very favorite books are the Lord of the Rings series. Some of her other favorite authors include JD Robb, Tammy Hoag and Orson Scott Card. She enjoys reading mysteries, fantasy and science fiction.

Cristi is a very accepting person. She is interesting and can discuss a lot of subjects. I asked her if she had any advice she'd give to others what it would be. She immediately responded, « Enjoy your children. » She says so often we get so focused on correcting and training them to be people of good character we forget to enjoy them. She says its so important to take time to play with them because soon they will be too old to play with and enjoy. » Wise words from a wise woman. I hope you all have the opportunity to get to know Crisit better, you will be greatly rewarded!