tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52006895750667554512024-03-08T22:32:31.301+01:00Northwest Norris'Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-43324559651303477442013-09-03T08:53:00.002+02:002013-09-03T08:53:59.026+02:00Spiritual SaturdayThis past Saturday on August 31st our stake youth went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. The difference with this trip from other youth trips to the temple was that each youth was encouraged to bring family names to be proxy for the baptisms. Thanks to my brother who is big into doing genealogy he emailed me some names so that my kids could do the work for them. We also helped a couple of other youth who were unable to find names for them.<br />
Having done work for my own ancestors before has been amazing but to be able to witness my own child (my son was feeling sick in the morning and did not go on this trip) doing the work was even more amazing. <br />
Shania did 5 names and another girl in our ward did 5 names as well and one young man did 5 names. I loved feeling a connection to someone who lived hundreds of years before. The dates for some of the names were from the 1700's. I was able to also be in the room when they were confirmed for the same people they were baptized for.<br />
After our wards turn in the baptismal font was done myself and friend were able to go up and do initiatory work for the females that had just been baptized and confirmed only moments before. My visiting teaching companion was lucky enough to also be going through the temple on Saturday to take out her own endowments and be sealed to her husband. I was in the temple from around 0730 until 1500 on Saturday. I was so overcome by the spirit and the closeness that I felt with the name on the piece of paper that I was holding. I am glad that I was able to spend such a great day in the temple. All of the females names that were baptized on Saturday then also had their endowments done as well. I look forward to another day of going to the temple and completing the work for the names that I have as well as going forward and doing the research to get names ready to take to the temple and doing the work for them as they have since passed on from this life with out that work being performed while on the earth.<br />
I am so glad for the gospel especially since 2 of my friends from high school have both lost their mothers in the past month. One also has a knowledge of the blessing of the plan of salvation and the other does not. It is interesting to see the differences in their facebook posts as to their view of the passing of their mothers. It is not an easy thing to lose your mother in death. But I am so glad to know that I will be able to see my mother again and that we can be an eternal family forever. As long as I am keeping the commandments and doing what my Heavenly Father wants me to do so that I can be reunited with my family members again.<br />
I am so very grateful for the experience of the temple that I had on Saturday. It just reaffirmed my love for my Saviour and for the gospel in my life.Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-8286414466584176702011-11-22T05:20:00.002+01:002011-11-22T05:30:22.575+01:00Thankful Post<span style="font-family: verdana;">This is what I am Thankful for at this time in my life. Hope you enjoy reading.<br /><br />Hello Family,</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> This morning at 0651 PST my phone rang and it was my dear husband on the phone. He called to let me know that he is thinking about me and to be able to hear my voice. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I never really expect him to call since we have cell phones and he emails just about every day. The first couple of deployment I guess I needed it more, but I am not relying on the phone calls to get me through, I do rely on the emails though. So when I do get a phone call they are really nice surprises when they do happen. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Rick is doing well. He is loving (if that can be said for being away from your family) this deployment. He is with a great company and in a different spot than his previous deployment to Afghanistan. He is kept busy with his work so the time is going by quickly for him. He does get time to go to church though I think it is only a sacrament meeting and maybe Sunday school. Here is a quote from a recent email from Rick.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">"</span><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:Comic Sans MS;" ><i>Over here it is same day of ordering, receiving, sorting, organizing, and then eating, reading, PT, showering, and sleeping.<br />At least today I will have an hour of church. </i><i><br />I am happy that I am busy as the days are going by fast for me.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rick sounds good. Just as it is nice for me to hear his voice he says that it is good for him to hear mine as well. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> It is sometimes difficult to communicate since we now have a 12 1/2 hour time difference between us. So when I am getting up in the morning he is going to bed. It is a definite test of patience as I send emails and want answers to questions but don't receive them as instantly as I would like. We talked a bit about this(patience) during Sunday School today in Church as we talked about the Book of James. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> With this being Thanksgiving week (for those who are in the US at least) I am grateful for Eternal Marriage and being sealed to my husband for time and all eternity. Even though throughout most of our 15 1/2 years of marriage we have spent close to 5 years apart due to deployments and other trainings and other times of being away from each other. I love Rick with all my heart and every day gain a greater appreciation for all that he does for me and our family and in turn for each of you as he helps to fight for the freedoms that we all enjoy. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I am also grateful for extended family, for the parents in law that I have, the extra grandparents that I got with my marriage to Rick. My siblings in law brothers and sisters. You all mean so much to me and I am grateful for the things that I have learned from each and everyone of you. I am Thankful for my parents and for the things that they taught me and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>knowing </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">that because of the Plan of Salvation of our Savior I </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b>will</b></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> see my mom again.<br /> I am thankful for my brothers and sisters and for the things that I have learned from them. I am glad that at this point in my life I can be good friends with them and am glad that I am closer in proximity to them (than we were in Europe though I still love and miss Europe a lot!) so that it can be easier to visit with them and takes a little less planning and a lot less money to make those visits happen.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I know that there are some of you who are getting this email who are going through difficult times right now, it is through the Atonement and suffering that our Savior Jesus Christ went through in the Garden of Gethsemane, that we can get through our trials if we only turn to him and trust in him in all that we do. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I also know that there are some who don't believe the same things that I believe but I still love you for who you are and what I can learn from the things that you do believe in. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I am also grateful for all of the friends that I have made throughout my life so far. I am grateful that I was able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ over 17 years ago and that because I did so made some wonderful friends and met my husband because of my mission. I am grateful for the opportunities that having my husband be in the military has brought to our family. For being able to go and travel throughout Europe and meeting people from all over and making friendships that I hope will last a lifetime.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I am grateful for modern inventions like the telephone (including cellphones) and internet so that I can communicate with family and friends all over the world and receive a reply in a short amount of time. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I am thankful that I have a place to call home that protects me from the elements and that I have a way to get my children to their various activities. I really do love my kids even though they fight and misbehave during meetings, they really are good kids and when I meet with their teachers or advisors and they tell me what good kids they are in school or in church and how much they enjoy working with my kids.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I think I have gone on enough.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I Love each and everyone of you. THANK YOU for all that you have taught me and continue to teach me as I am always learning.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I hope that you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving week.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Love from the Northwest Norris'</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-33185483574079673032011-11-11T18:10:00.002+01:002011-11-11T18:21:32.597+01:00Veteran's Day or Remembrance Day 11/11/11.<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}">This is what I posted on my Facebook profile today to honor the veterans in my family. Though I just realized that I forgot some of my husband family, Father was in the Air Force, Maternal Grandfather in the Navy and others but I can't remember exactly what service they were in though his brother is in the US Army National Guard, his paternal grandfather as well as a stepbrother were also in the service.</h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}">Thanks to all who have served, currently serve and will serve in the future to preserve our freedoms.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></h6><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>On this Veteran's Day I would like to thank my very own veteran Rick,(even though he is not here currently on deployment #4) for helping to protect and serve this country. I am also grateful for my other ancestors who have fought for freedom and sacrificed with their lives.</p><p>Thanks to my brother Mark for setting this up:<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Lt. Percy Watkiss Fisher DCM. Born 15 Dec 1881. KIA 12 Sep 1916 Battle of the Somme.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Capt. Raymond Wadams Fisher. Born 13 Feb 1883. KIA 13 Sep 1916 Thessaloniki, Greece.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Lt. Francis Joseph Bore. Born 15 Feb 1913. KIA 17 Sep 1944 Sanatorium, Bray Dunes Plage, France. South Saskatchewan Regiment<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>F.O. Robert Jordan Sheen. Born 7 Sep 1918. KIA 13 Jul 1944 over the North Sea. Royal Canadian Air Force<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Joseph Fisher. Home Guard WWI<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Lt. Reginald William Fisher. 19th Alberta Dragoons, 52nd Batt.Canadian Divisional Cavalry & 10 Northumberland Fusiliers. WWI<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Cpl. Archibald Rooke Fisher. 10 Hussars & Warwickshire Yeomanry WWI<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Joseph Bernard Fisher. South Staffordshire Regiment WWI<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>John William Fisher. WWI<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Percy Raymond Shapcote Bore. Royal Canadian Navy WWII<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Sgt Clarence Sheen. WWII<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Howard Coombs Stutz. US 3rd Army WWII.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>I am also grateful that I have been named after my Grandfather Francis Joseph Bore (Jill Frances) and that I have had the opportunity and privilege to go and visit his burial place in Belgium as well as that of my great great Percy Watkiss Fisher, during our time that we lived in Europe.</p><p>Thank you also to all others currently serving that I have met on our military journey so far. <span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>You all are appreciated very much.</span></span></p>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-65400986390841366592011-09-02T05:09:00.002+02:002011-09-02T05:16:05.113+02:00New changesThis summer has brought a lot of changes for our family. The biggest one was moving from Europe after having lived there for almost 9 years. We are now located in the state of Washington. We are slowly getting settled into the area and the ward. We are part of the Ft. Lewis Ward. Our kids are all registered for school and will start on the 7th. We picked up our van on the 26th of August and moved into a 3 bedroom apartment off post while waiting for a place on post, as of right now we are just waiting for our household goods to arrive so that we no longer have to sit on the floor or sleep on little mats on the floor. We got cable and internet hooked up yesterday Aug 31 and we have had cell phones for a couple of weeks now. We are able to call or text any other cell number in the US for free and unlimited so if you want our number send me yours to my email: jnorris96@hotmail.com. That is all for now more to come when we get more settled.
<br />Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-79275254253306224682011-01-24T12:14:00.002+01:002011-01-24T12:28:41.974+01:00Happy New YearWell we have come to another year and this one brings big changes to the Norris Family. Before you go reading any further NO I am not pregnant. the big change is that we will be leaving Europe after almost spending 9 years on this beautiful continent. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Europe and are sad that it must come to an end. I can only hope that we will be back some day soon. The reason that we will be leaving Europe is that the military has decided that we need to spend some time in the Northwest part of the United States. While it isn;t like staying in Europe by moving to another country I am happy with the move as it will allow us to get reacquainted with Rick's mom. Rick has been in the army for 10 years now and the last time Rick physically saw his mom was right before he flew from SLC to head to SC for basic training. So this will give us a chance to get to know her again, and give her a chance to get to know Amina who she hasn't met yet only seen in pictures. I can't even say that Mother(Grandma Jackie) has talked to Amina on the phone because Amina doesn't like to talk on the phone. I am sure that will change though once she becomes a teenager. So as of now we have about 6 months left to explore Europe as well as take care of everything that comes with the whole moving process. We are planning on a Baltic Cruise as our last major touring of Europe. I have at least one brother (hopefully 2) that want to come over and visit us before we leave so we will show them around the local area here in the Netherlands and branching out to surrounding countries. I hope that I can get as much last minute trips to cross of my list as I can so that I can be truly satisfied and not think if only we (I) could have gone to.... I am excited for the new opportunities that lie before us in the upcoming months and years. I always try to look on the positive aspects of each adventure we get with moving. I only hate to say goodbye (or see you later) to dear friends that I make. At least we have email and facebook in which to stay in touch. That is all I got for now I will try to be more on top of this blogging process as time goes on. I hope you all have a fabulous day.Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-92151303124677578502010-09-25T19:32:00.004+02:002010-09-25T20:35:16.933+02:00Where has the time gone? Update Time.<span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:lucida grande;" >As you can see I am not doing very well</span> <span style="font-family: lucida grande;">keeping</span> <span style="font-family: lucida grande;">this blog updated. Life happens and we get busy with our kids etc and put aside things like this blog. I will try to do better at keeping this blog fairly current but won't promise anything. A lot has happened since the last time that I posted anything. So I guess I should start where I left off last.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Rick finally arrived back from his deployment on the morning of April 11th. So needless to say we weren't together for another anniversary thanks to the military. We were however able to still celebrate a week later than the original plans so that was all good. I won;t go into details but we had a nice couple of night to ourselves thanks to some great friends who watched our kids for us. Shortly after Rick got home he was called to be in the Young Men's presidency of our ward which he still serves in that calling. Now he has an added calling of scoutmaster in our ward. The scout troop was started about the same time that rick got home so we have had a ward scout troop for over a year now. I am still a consultant for Pampered Chef which allows me to bring in some extra money and still be able to take care of my kids during the day. Our Christmas Present last year was a 12 night eastern Mediterranean Cruise. We left from Barcelona which we drove to an dhad stops in Rome(Civitavecchia the port), Italy, Athen's Greece, Izmir Turkey, Alexandria Egypt and Malta. I loved it. It was so relaxing, I thought at first 12 nights was going to be too long but it went by way too fast. Before we leave Europe we hope to be able to take a Baltic cruise and visit countries like Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Russia. I think I am hooked on cruising as a way to vacation, too bad it costs so much.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">This year our kids are back in school at AFNORTH International School. AC is in 8th grade, Shania is in 6th grade and Amina is in 1st grade. At the school Shania is in what is called M2 and Amina is in IY3. At the end of the school year last year I had the opportunity to accompany the 5th graders (M1) on a week long trip to Arnhem, where we biked for 3 days of the 5. It was a fabulous experience. I ended up being a chaperone for a different class than Shania was in as they had to draw names for chaperones since so many wanted to participate. Rick went 2 years ago with AC's class and said what a great time it was and encouraged me to find a way to go. So I approached the other 2 teachers, after being notified that I was not selected to accompany Shania's class, and let them know if they needed a chaperone to keep me in mind. It really was a great time even if I was sore for a few days after riding bikes for about 70 km in total. It was such a neat experience to listen to some people talk about the Battle of Arnhem and beign a child (12 or younger) during WWII. They have a fabulous Airborne museum that we were able to attend and walk through, with a diarama that makes it feel as if you were a part of the actual battle some 60+ years ago. We were also able to walk through and old castle and we biked through a huge nature park and to the Kroller Muller museum which holds the largest private Van Gogh collection. It was fun to see the kids spot the artwork that they were trying to replicate in art class this past year, and exclaim "that's the one I'm painting!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The biggest news of 2010 so far is the fact that my dear husband is now a SGT in the US Army. He was finally promotoed on May 1st. What a relief after such a long wait of 6 plus years due to various different challenges preventing his promotion. It has now happened so time to move on forward. This summer we didn't do much since we were waiting to hear if Rick will be attending Sgt school. We are still waiting in case you were wondering. We just hope that it happens before we are scheduled to leave the NL. We did go tp Walibi World in the NL which is an amusement park on July 6th since rick had taken a few days off because of Independence Day. After the day spent at the amusement park we took a drive to come home on a road that is built on a dike. It was pretty cool to only see water around you as we drove along. I can't remember how long it was though.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">This fall all 3 kids are playing soccer, or football as it is called over here in Europe. Rick is coaching AC and Shania again and Amina is playing on a younger team being coached by 3 single female soldiers. One of whom happens to be our neighbor. I think they are having a good time. Amina has her moments when she doesn't want to play. Today was one of those days. Though when she does play she looks like she is having a lot of fun. This is her first year so I am not pushing her too hard to go and play.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I still am keeping busy with my calling as 1st Counselor in the Primary Presidency in our ward. I also volunteer as the secretary for the American Spouses Club. I am also taking training through ACS(Army Community Services) that they are offering since they are standardizing all the ACS programs. With the training that I am taking I will be able to teach any ACS class at any ACS in the world. There are 3 main training courses that they offer Instructor, Facilitator and Briefer. I have taken the Instructor so far and will take the Facilitator on October5,6 &7 and then the Briefer will be offered in Nov. My goal is to become a Master Trainer through ACS and then I can teach these classes that I am taking, no matter where we will be stationed in the world. It will also look good on my resume should I ever decide to go get a real job outside of the home.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I think most of our family members know this but not many of my friends do. We have orders for our next duty station. We will be heading to Ft. Lewis in Washington State. As sad as I will be to be leaving Europe which has been our home for the past 8 years( almost 9 by the time we leave) it will be good to be closer to family. Well closer than an 8 hour plane ride minimum, at least we will be able to drive to visit instead of having to pay $$$$ to fly. we know that wherever we are stationed is where we need to be. So since we have less than a year left we hope to be able to cross off a lot of the countries that we would like to visit before we leave. So if there are any of you who were wanting to come and visit us in Europe you have until June of next year to do so. Even though we won't leave until July we might not have furniture for you to sleep on. </span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I think I have rambled on enough. I hope that you have enjoyed this update and that it won't be over a year for the next one.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Bye for now.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-17343919005622267532009-03-12T14:17:00.003+01:002009-03-12T14:40:57.757+01:00ReflectionsWell the time has come for me to update again as I haven't done to well of a job in the past. Though it really hasn't been that long since I wrote my last post which was just over a month ago. <br />We are nearing the end of Rick's deployment of 3 months. It has gone by fast and the kids are starting to count down(especially Amina who actually took Rick being gone harder than we thought) to the time when Daddy comes back. I just hope that Rick will return before our 13th wedding anniversary which is on April 10th. For the most part these past 13 years doesn't seem to be that long. There are times when it feels like just yesterday that we walked out of the Salt Lake Temple as husband and wife. If that was the case then where did 3 children ages 12, 10 and 4 come from. I am truly lucky to have Rick in my life. He is a great provider for our family and a wonderful husband and father. I have been doing some thinking during our absence and am realizing how truly blessed I am in my life to have my husband. I have great parents who rasied me in the gospel and taught me that the only true way to happiness is by following the example of our Savior. I know that my mom was a great example of that throughout her life and I thanks her for that example. I miss you mom. My dad continues to teach me that through service in the Church we will be blessed. I have wonderful siblings and in laws who even though I am not close to them where I can see them very often they do still make me laugh and smile even my cute neices and nephews. Aiden I love your Stephen joke. We miss all of you and Kristyn I hope that we will be able to come and visit you in WA before you move. When I saw the pictures of the tulips that you posted on your blog I thought it was from here in the Netherlands. So I guess we need to visit you there during the Tulip Festival and you need to come to the Netherlands to see Keukenhof and then compare which tulips are better Washingtons or Hollands.<br />I am looking forward to my reunion with my husband when he returns from Afghanistan. I really do miss him when he is away even if it is for a week or less. I am glad that we do have theses times apart though so that I do realize what a blessing he is in my life.<br />I even love my kids even though they may fight about stupid things, like who has eaten more Nutella sandwiches and how much is put on the bread each time. I am tryingto teach them that it is silly to fight about things like that and to cherish the times that they spend together. My favorite sound is to hear all 3 of my children laughing and playing together.<br />I hope that I have not bored anyone with the reflecting that I have been doing. Thanks for reading.Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-13366740607423557052009-01-20T15:15:00.002+01:002009-01-20T15:18:42.418+01:00Small Change in AddressThough I am not sure why this is happening we are getting a new postal zip code. I guess they (whoever they are) fell that we need a new one and decided to change it now. So if you are wanting to mail anything to us here is the new zip code effective Feb 1, 2009.<br />09752. The old one was 09703 so they just changed the last 2 number but it is still a pain to make sure that all of our subscriptions etc all have the new address change.Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-83735916692547543962009-01-17T21:36:00.003+01:002009-01-17T21:54:13.751+01:00Happy New YearWell since it is a new year I figure that I need to update my blog. This year so far has brought some changes to our family. No it is not those kind of changes I am not pregnant. Lt me finish what I am writing before you all jump to conclusions.<br />Our son Alex also known as AC turned 12 on Dec 31st, so on Jan 4th he was ordained to the office of a deacon.<br />On Jan 7th(Wed) at 0500 int he morning I drove Rick to the Brunssum NATO base where he got on a bus and headed to Ramstein to catch a plane to Afghanistan for a 3-4 month deployment. I am hoping that he will be back for our 13th anniversary which is April 10th. Rick called that night from Vogelweh saying that there were no flights out of Ramstein due to the cold weather. Thursday night around 11pm Rick called saying that he finally left Germany and was in turkey for a few hours until the next flight left. He called again on Friday to let me know he had made it to Krygystan. For the next 6 days everytime Rick called the question was asked if he had made it to his destination yet and the answer was always the same "no I am still here". Finally on Jan 15th I got a call from Rick and the question was asked"Are you there yet?" this time the reply was yes. So Rick is finally in Afghanistan in Kandahar. If you would like to correspond with him through email and are not a member of my immediate family (siblings or parents on both mine and his side) then send me an email and I will forward on his emailaddres that he can be reached at. I know that this deployment will be a quick one (compared to his previous ones) and he will be back before we know it. I have many offers of help from friends here so ia m in good hands. It is also a nice feeling to know that with AC having the priesthood we will always have it in our home unless both Rick and AC are gone like this weekend.<br />Ac is in Kanderstag Switzerland at the moment for a Boy Scout Winter Carnival. I am greatful to be in Europe at times like this when he can participate in Boy Scout activites and go to places such as Switzerland and Normandy for a weekend to do scout things and have fun with his friends. <br />I am trying to keep busy as always with the kids in school and Rick gone I make sure that I get seom time to myself as often as I can. I finally got all of our Christmas decoartaions put away. Actually I have some boxes to still put in the garage but I need to tape them up first and don't have the tape for it. <br />At least I can say that my Living room is clean(we will see how long that will last with my kids)<br />I hope that everyone has a healthy and happy new year.Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-51120753496262920302008-11-21T13:09:00.002+01:002008-11-21T13:39:08.513+01:00Update way past dueWell as I was looking over my blog I realized that is has been quite a while since I have posted anything. A lot has happened since I last posted. So I will start since my last post. School started for AC and Shania on August 18th, and Amina started on Aug 21 attending school for the first 3 weeks on Thursday and Friday. The 4th week AMina went Wednesday-Friday and since then she has gone Monday through Friday. Amina loves school and loves riding on the bus. She gets upset if she can't ride on the bus for example on the 4th of September Rick and I picked Amina up from school on the way to soccer practice so that after soccer practice we could go shopping for cleats for AC. Amina was upset and mad that she couldn't ride the bus home and them have me meet her at the bus stop and then go to soccer practice. We did this so that we wouldn't have to come home and not have 2 vehicles at the practice. Rick had been coaching soccer this season which ended on November 8th. The next sport that he will coach is Basketball which starts in December. AC played pretty good this year and even scored 3 goals in 3 different games. Rick does a great job with the kids and the kids seem to like him as a coach. We will see how basketball season goes.<br />On October 17thwe headed as a family to Frankfurt to meet my dad and brother Andrew for their trip to Europe. After pickinghtem up at the airport we drove around a little bit in Frankfurt and then stopped in Cologne(Koln) on our way home to see the Cathedral. I am in the process of posting pictures from our trip on my Facebook profile and will post a few here as well.<br />After coming back to Heerlen we headed to Brussels for Ac's soccer game on Saturday and began our trip of visiting 12 countries in 2 weeks. We went to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Leichtenstein, Switzerland, France and of course the Netherlands. It was a lot of fun and we had a good time seeing things that we had already seen on our own and new things as well.<br />After we came back from our 2 week trip we(my dad and brother and I) took the train and headed to England for 9 days. We mostly visited towns and churchs and cemeteries where our ancestors lived but I was able to go and see the saloon car that my great, great grandfather Richard Bore designed and built for Queen Victoria. I had seen pictures of it before but it was cool to see it in person. While we we re in England we stayed with distant relatives so it was fun to meet people who I am realted to that I didn't really know about. Thanks David and Sue Fisher and Martin and Marie Thompson. You were all great hosts. Now I am back and trying to get into the swing of things again. I will hopefully post more again sooner than last time.Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-77296612933051927602008-08-04T16:04:00.003+02:002008-08-04T16:13:20.556+02:00Change in callings<span style="color:#339999;">Both Rick and I have had a change in our callings that we have in the Church. Since it has been a while since I last wrote (besides the recent update) I will tell you. The end of March/beginning of April I was called to be 2nd counselor in the Primary presidency and Rick was called to be a Primary worker. Rick now teaches the class that I was teaching at the beginning of the year. I can't speak for my husband but I really enjoy my calling. Once a month I conduct Primary Opening exercises and also once a month I am in charge of doing the Sharing time for the month. Speaking of which it is my turn to do Sharing Time this week. Rick and I are also speaking in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday.</span><br /><span style="color:#339999;">Should be fun. My topic is on Creating Zion within our home. I need to go now and do some research for both my talk and Sharing Time.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-7673856822108999842008-03-18T13:19:00.003+01:002008-08-04T15:10:57.551+02:00Is it Spring yet?<span style="color:#339999;">I guess that it is time to update my blog, and since my brother thinks that I really need to do it I guess I will. Thanks Andrew. Saturday was the best day of the year so far. It was gorgeous. Perfect weather to be outside for an Easter Egg hunt with the local military Community, which is what we did. What a way for Shania to celebrate her 9th birthday. The Easter event went from 1000 until 1300. There were egg hunts(a whole lot of eggs laying on the ground in a roped off area) for 3 different age groups, and a scavenger hunt for the older kids 10+. Amina and Shania each got to fill their Easter baskets with lots of candy filled eggs. Alex was in the scavenger hunt group and after having a miserable time last year we were prepared with items for the hunt as Alex got 2nd place and a large chocolate bunny. Next year we will have to have 2 times the items as Shania will be in the scavenger hunt age group. After the festivites we came home and got ready to go to a baptism. Chase Wilstead is a boy in my primary class that just turned 8 on the 14th. It was a nice baptism. We came home from that and Shania opened her birthday presents and then we went bowling as a family. We had a good time. Sunday was rainy and the past few days have been cool even with the sun shining. Stay tuned for more reports in the lives of the Norris family. We are taking atrip on Thursday to Bremerhaven, Germany to go pick up our Brand new 2008 Dodge Caravan. I will write about that trip when we get back.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-84721972216271993322008-01-12T18:58:00.001+01:002008-08-04T15:02:32.996+02:00Reflections<span style="font-family:lucida grande;color:#339999;">The last couple of months has been quite busy and full of surprises and changes. On December 7 after battling cancer for 2 years my mom passed away peacefully at home. Towards the end she was in a lot of pain and just not feeling well, so I am glad that she is now out of pain and able to reunite with loved ones that she has and has not met. Due to her death we as a family were able to return home to Canada for Christmas. Her funeral was held on the 13th of December and was very nice. So we flew home on the 11th and were able to spend time with family. All of us were home for it and it has been a few years since we have all been together. I guess mom wanted all home together around Christmas time. After the funeral as fmaily member headed back to their homes we made a quick trip to Utah to visit with Rick's family. We surprised them as we didn't tell them we were coming and they all thought that we were still in Canada with my family. We were in Utah for a week and it went by fast. I wished that we could ahve visited with everyone of our friends there but the time was too short. We headed back to Canada on the 22 of December and arrived in Lethbridge to see the live nativity that the Lethbridge East Stake puts on every year. this year the peopl involved in it were from Stirling 2nd Ward which is my Dad and sister's ward. My nephew Zach was a shepherd on Saturday so we went to see him be shepherd like. There was a super strong wind blowing and it was a bit chilly, but we still sat and watched for the 15 min presentation. After that we drove around Lethbridge for a bit and looked at Christmas lights. Christmas was good with 2 of my brothers still at home. We headed back to the Netherlands on the 26th. We arrived in Frankfurt Germany on the 27th and came home and crashed due to the jetlag. We basically slept the next 2 days and around 3 am on the 30th we drove to SHAPE near Mons, Belgium (close to the French border) to go on a bus trip to London for New Years. London is a very beautiful city but is super expensive if you are visiting and not paid in Pounds. I definitely want to go back and visit and hope to do so this fall with my dad and brother when they come to visit. We got back late on the 1st (early 2nd) and recuperated a bit from our travels the next few days. On the 6th I dropped Rick off at work so that he could fly to Italy for a week of classes to help him with his job. On the 7th Alex and Shania started back to school after being out for almost a month with mom's passing and the holidays. So now I have updated you from the past month or so. My goal for this new yeart is to write at least once a month if not more on this blog to keep you all updated on our little world over here in Europe. I hope that everyone has a healthy and happy 2008. May God bless you all this year. Until the next time I write. Cheers</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-92161656727912366982007-11-12T11:11:00.001+01:002008-08-04T15:11:28.562+02:00Fall<span style="color:#339999;">I believe that fall is truly upon us. Leaves are mostly changed to oranges yellows, reds and browns and what hasn't fallen yet is ready to soon. There is the cool crispness in the air that I love about fall. Time for sweaters and mitts and scarves(hats too). Just around the corner Christmas will be here and we will get to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. This is my favourite time of year when we get together with friends and family(when we are close enough to) and celebrate being around each other hopefully with no arguments. I am looking forward to celebrating this holiday season Dutch style and hope to learn more about the traditions that are in this part of the world. Soon we will be putting up our Christmas tree and other holiday decorations. I will have to take pictures and post them on Facebook(maybe even here if I can figure out how too. Have a happy fall Everyone.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-3846514695555659052007-09-24T08:06:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:12:38.376+02:00More busy, busy, busy!<span style="color:#339999;">Well now that we have been into a few weeks of soccer, I have to admit that I am really pleased with my children and how well they have adapted into the playing of the game. Alex had a game in Brussels on Saturday. I wasn't able to go with him as Shania had a game as well here in Brunssum. He said that they won, so I will take his word. Shania did really good as well. She was playing as a defender and blocked a few shots from getting to the goal. I was really impressed. This coming Sat Alex has a game at Shape(Mons) Belgium I don't know if Rick will go with him or if he will take Shania to her game. I guess we need to talk about that. This week I have a lot of things going on for myself. It is the start of all the American Spouses clubs mini clubs. On the 26th there is a cooking club at my neighbours so that will be easy to get to. Thursday there is scrapbooking( I may actually get som pages done:) ). Tuesday night for Enrichment we are having our discussion for our Book Club. We read the book 'Sunflower' by Richard Pauls Evans. I read it in 1 day so I am not sure if I am a really fast reader or if the book was that good. Maybe both. Well that is about all the time I have for my blog at the moment. I need to get my kids off to school. Will write more at another time, maybe even later today. You all will have to wait and see.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-70676839780638372612007-09-13T14:01:00.001+02:002008-08-04T16:32:23.920+02:00Busy, busy, busy<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#339999;">Well I am still trying to figure out what I got myself into this school year. Alex and Shania are both playing soccer(football or voetballin dutch) with the CYS(child youth services). Their first actual game is this Saturday. So we will see how that goes. So with soccer comes practices which are on Tuesday and Thursday after school. I take Amina and we go watch them practice. It gets us out of the house and give Amina some time to play outside. On top of soccer both Alex and Shania are doing after school activites. On Monday's Alex has athletics and Shania has art. Tuesday is Cricket for Alex and Shania is doing jump rope. Which slightly interferes with soccer practice. They only miss about 30 min of the hour and a half practice. Alex is in Cub scouts and is a Webelo 2 this is really his first year doing it so he has to catch up some to the other boys in his group but he should make it. This year for the scouts in April there is a big gathering of scouts from all over Europe in Normandy. Apparently it only happens every 3 years so this is really exciting for us to be able to attend it with him. We have already booked our accomodations for it, so we are set. Shania is starting girl scouts which is the 2nd and 4th Monday right after school so she will miss a few of the art classes but we already talked to the teacher and he said it was alright. The kids are also involved with some lunch time activities. Shania is taking Latin Thursday at lunch and a Roots and shoots class, on Firday at lunch, which deals with the environment. So we are prety busy just with the older 2 kids. This year I joined the American Spouse club (ASC) and signed up for some different groups with them. The nice thing about the ASC is that a lot of my neightbors are member as well so we get along really well. The other neighbors have kids doing things with mine so I have a lot of opportunities to talk with and fellowship them. This morning we had a brunch at one of the homes in the neighborhood and I think this may turn into a monthly thing, we had a lot of fun sitting aroudn and talking and eating. Amina isn't really involved in anything yet but I may sign her up for some things if they are offered for her age group, we will see with that. Well I think that is enough for now. have a great day everyone. Until next time. Tot Ziens! </span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-9452242324313190432007-08-06T01:23:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:13:19.118+02:00August ??<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#339999;">Okay this year has gone by way to fast so far. It can't be August already, well according to the calendar it is so I will have to get used to it. We recently returned from 2 weeks in Canada where it was HOT. Temperature wise it was in the 30's (celcius) or for those not used to metric 90's. One day I believe it reached over 100. We had a great time visiting with family and friends. Shania our oldest daughter was baptized while we were there as well so it was a nice way to finish up our vacation. We arrived in Canada on the 17th and took care of my passport in Calgary on the 18th (as it would have expired in Sept) then we went down my parents and had curry for supper. Yummy, I love curry. We had our famil reunion from the 19th until the 21, all of my siblings but one sister was able to make it so it was a lot of fun. The cousins had a great time to gether and surprisingly enough there was only a few squabbles during the time we were there. The squabbles were between Amina and her two 2 year old boy cousins. Rick's Dad and step-mom were able to drive up for Shania's baptism so it was nice to see them. We had a really good time even iwth the heat that we arten't used to living here in the Netherlands. Well I just wanted to update a bit on our life. School starts for the kids in 2 weeks. It will be nice to get bakc into a more structured routine. Though it has been nice not to have to worry about waking up at a certain time. I think we are over the jet-lag now. SO we should be good to go by the time school starts again. We have a bit of shooping to do before then a few more clothes for the kids(stop growing) and then the supplies for the year. Until next time. Cheers.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-70201104698390971622007-07-08T23:34:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:14:06.083+02:00Time to update<span style="color:#339999;">Well there went another month without a post from me. Where has the time gone. We have been busy this past month with the kids finishing school for the summer. Rick and I also celebrated birthdays in June. On the 3rd I turned the big 36 and 6 days later Rick turned 35 on the 9th. We also have a few other members in our extended families with birthdays in june. David (who is my brother Marks oldest) turned 9 on the 6th. Troy(Rick's sister Kim's husband) had his birthday on the 26th (he is 23 days younger than I am) and his son Anthon turned 1 on the 21. the only other thing worth mentioning in this blog is that for the whole month of June and the first full week in July it rained every day. So we don't want to hear about it form you folks over across the ocean. We had a beautiful day today and I think the kids were a bit rowdy in church to day because they were actually getting some sunshine in their life again. Rick and I were asked to speak in our Ward today as well. Our talks were from April Conference. I spoke on the talk given by Sis. Vicki Matsumori entitled "A Lesson from the Book of Mormon" and Rick's talk was by Elder Russel M Nelson "Repentance and Conversion". So that is about all that has happened inour life this past month. As we look forward to a new month the Norris family will be leaving the Netherlands for 2 weeks to go vacation in sunny southern Alberta. Or so I heard that it was sunny there. A full report of the festivities will be given when we return. Thanks for listening, or reading or whatever it is that you are doing at this moment in time.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-74875580320498644562007-06-02T11:19:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:14:45.923+02:00It's been a while...<span style="color:#339999;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Well I just realized that it has been almost a month since I had written anything here. Where does the time go. Last weekend we went back to Baumholder to visit(Rick also had a Dental appointment which was the main reason for the visit.) It was nice to see friends that we probably won't see for a while since they are moving back to the states in the next month. It will be different when we go back and visit Baumholder again after the core group that we were there with has all moved on. Thank goodness we still have lots of friends there for us to visit. We went to the Monte Mare water park in Kaiserslautern while we were there and were very impressed with it. We wondered why we hadn't gone there before. It was really nice to play together as a family in the water. As we were leaving the park though there was a bad rain/hail storm that we got stuck in. that was sort of fun to run to the car without getting any wetter than we already were. Maybe one day we will go back there again. Amina was talking nonstop about Brother Horton(he was nursery leader with his wife whiel we were there) she cries for the first few minutes after I take her in there but she is perfectly happy after that. She has mentioned </span>him almost every day since we have been home. We had stayed at their house on Saturday night the 26th of May and Amina was upset that we were leaving and not going back to Brother Horton's house. Well that is all for now. Hopefully the next update won't be so long in coming.<br />Jill</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-47073694430329035112007-05-03T11:30:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:15:11.779+02:00Church Callings<span style="color:#339999;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Rick and I have finally received callings in our Ward. Now that we have been here for 2 months we now really feel like part of the Ward and not just a long time visitor. Rick has been called as the Sunday School President. I have been called as a Primary worker. I will be team-teaching the sunbeams(3-4 year olds) with another sister. It should be fun. My first Sunday teaching is this week. There was a slight mix up with the way I was called which was to be nursery teacher. Which is with the 18 months to 3 year olds. That would have been Amina's class. I didn't feel comfortable about that but accepted the call anyways. The Primary President</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> came to me and said that I was called in the wrong way, not to the nursery but to be a primary worker. I was set apart as a primary worker so it is all good. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">For those of you wh o are reading this and not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and are a bit confused feel free to email me and I will try to explain.</span></span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-79824568723651970502007-05-03T10:21:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:16:51.914+02:00Fun Day with Friends<span style="color:#339999;">So this happened a few days ago, April 30th to be exact. We spent the day with the Meister Family from our ward at Phantasialand. It is an amusement park in Germany about 45 min away from our house. The Meisters moved to the Netherlands from Canada(Ontario) about a month before we did. They have 5 children and 3 of them are the same ages as Alex, Shania and Amina. So we get along really well. We met the Meisters at the front gate to GK(Geilenkirchen) and we were on our way. The day started off a bit cool but it ended up being a very pleasant day. The reason why we were able to go on a Monday in the middle of the school year, was that it is a holiday here in the Netherlands which is Queens Day. I am not sure exactly of the history of it all but it was a day of school and work so we took advantage of it.<br />Phantasialand is like I said an amusement park. The areas of the park are separated into different regions of the world. There was an area from China, Mexico, US. We had a lot of fun. The nice thing about going there is that you can bring your own food so as to cut down on the cost somewhat. The promotion that the park had for the month of April was free tickets to go again in the season up until the beginning of November. So we will take advantage of that. So when people come to visit us and want to go someplace fun with amusement park rides now we know of a good place to go.</span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200689575066755451.post-72452733474939295042007-04-26T17:10:00.001+02:002008-08-04T15:10:25.138+02:00My First Blog(a bit of our history)<span style="color:#339999;">Hi, everyone. I just thought that I would try out this blog thing and see what the big deal with it is. I have seen a few other blog of my family and friends so I figured why not me too. This way I can point people to here when they ask me if I am on myspace.com. I guess that this is somewhat the same. For those who don't know the reason that I chose the title of our blog to be Netherland Norris' is for the very simple fact that we are living in the Netherlands. How do you like that? To give a bit of history on our family. Rick and I met 12 years ago in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was at the time serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He happened to be living in one of my areas. A few months after meeting him I ended up teaching his step mother at the time. I went back to visit in September after I had been home for a couple of months in June. The rest as they say is History. Rick amd I have been married for 11 years this past April 10. We have 3 children Alexander will be 11 on December 31 of this year, he was born in Sandy, Utah. Shania just turned 8 years old on March 15th hopefully will get abptized this July when we go back to visit family in Canada. Shania was born in Raymond, Alberta. then we have Amina. Amina was born In Landstuhl, Germany and will be 3 this coming July 27th. Rick has been a member of the US Army for 6 years and we have lived in Georgia and Germany and are now stationed in the Netherlands. In upcoming posts I will go into further detail on each of those places. We have been in Europe for 41/2 years and we love it. Well that is all for now stay tuned for more news on the Netherland Norris Family and there happenings.<br /></span><span style="color:#660000;"></span>Norris Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881729574546961655noreply@blogger.com1