Susanna Becomes Legal

Recently Susanna turned 18! Here are some great things about Susanna:

1. She is very responsible. I never have to wonder if she has turned in her homework or done any job she is supposed to do. Right now, she is making dinner because that's her job for tonight and she is doing it! What a great quality!

2. She gets along well with her siblings, most of the time. Here she is with her brother at the airport just back from his mission in August.

3. She has a great smile. It's always nice to see Susanna happy and smiling.

4. She's good at playing both the piano and violin. She started piano when she was 5 and violin when she was 9. She took lessons on both until she was 14. She would have liked to continue doing both but I told her it was time to choose one. Here she is with her duet partner from a long time ago.

5. She likes to eat healthy food. Here she is when we lived in Germany. She requested split pea soup for her 5th birthday--how many 5 year old's do that? She followed it up with chocolate cake for dessert after the healthy main course.

6. She survived all those big brothers--she has 5. The one just older than she is especially loved (loves) to tease her. She would get back by biting him. Eventually she outgrew that but I think it shows her determination.

7. She cares about doing what is right. I appreciate her willingness to follow God's teachings to the best of her ability.

8. She is a leader. Right now she is serving as the president of her young women's class in church. She is also serving on the seminary council at school and doing her best to fulfill those callings.

9. She is hard-working. For the past few summers Susanna has carried on our family lawn-mowing business. She doesn't love mowing lawns (okay, hate might be a better word) but she does it and she does it well. Her customers think she does a great job.

10. She is a dedicated runner. For the past 4 years, she has been on the cross-country team at the high school as well as the track team. Over the past 4 years she has become very diligent and dedicated to her training. A year ago, she injured herself and her track season really suffered. But she's recovered and is working hard to get back to where she was and do better.

11. She's adventurous. She's not quite the adrenalin-junkie that a few of her brothers are, but Susanna has enjoyed trying new things like rock-climbing, hiking and bouldering, along with running the Dirty Dash last summer.

We're glad Susanna is in our family!

Comments

Our Cousin Drew

This last week, my brother and his wife lost a very precious son, just 13 years old. He collapsed while running with a cross-country team and passed away before he could be revived. Everyone that knew Drew is broken-hearted at this loss. He was the happiest, most agreeable kid we knew. I remember him being at my house without anyone close to his age to hang out with, so he found our Duplo blocks and started building even though it is a toy that boys his age don't usually enjoy. He was so content. He didn't complain that I ever remember. His mother always called him the perfect child. He will leave a big hole in not only his immediate family but our extended family as well. Here is a poem my aunt shared that seems fitting: Leave Taking How I would have liked to wave goodbye and watch until you turned and smiled and disappeared on the horizon. You who taught me to dance and let me teach you, who laughed at my stories and winked at me when I was sad. I can just see you trav

Remembering Drew

This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said. Grandpa (Gary Hansen): The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball. Grandma (Susan Hansen): I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars. Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophistica

Drew's Funeral

Yesterday was the viewing for Drew and then today was the funeral. There were a LOT of people at the viewing. Bruce and Michelle greeted people for almost four hours yesterday and then again this morning before the funeral. Bruce said that if weren't for Drew's death, it would be the best week of his life with so much love being shown to them. Friday actually began with a family run in Drew's honor. We started at a church by the new Lindon temple and ran to Bruce and Michelle's house with breakfast following. Friday night was the viewing. There was a very nice display of all things Drew. This was one of the pictures displayed and I recognized someone I know: We stood in line and the paramedics who worked on Drew stood in line behind us so we got to talk to them. Here's a fun fact: They cover both Orem and Vineyard but Vineyard gets a lot more 911 calls than Orem per capita. It's a younger population and they are quicker to call. They said it's hard when the

Search This Blog