Christmas Letter 2015

Merry Christmas from the Behlings!

It's been a VERY busy and eventful year!

Heather (22) married Robert Ratcliffe on May 20th in Huntsville, Utah.  It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony at her in-law's home.  She currently works at a call center and recently was promoted to a trainer.

Jeremiah (19) graduated from high school, Marine Boot Camp, and Marine Combat Training in 2015.  He currently is stationed in Virginia for his Military Occupation Specialty School (MOS) and will graduate from that about March 31st.  Fortunately for us, he was able to come home for Christmas and New Year's Day.  He looks forward to starting a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints during 2016.

Matthew (15) just passed his Eagle Board of Review.  We are currently working on planning his Court of Honor for January 2nd so that Jeremiah can give him the Eagle Charge.  So thrilled that Matthew worked hard to earn this advancement.  Matthew is currently in the 9th grade and enjoys scouts, soccer, and playing the tuba in band.  He's also learning to play the guitar.

Jacob (12) is in 7th grade and has joined the middle school ranks.  He plays percussion in the band and hopes to start learning mallets.  He's also starting to learn the piano, but his mom isn't very consistent at giving him lessons.  He also enjoys playing soccer and going to scouts.

Samuel (9) is in 3rd grade this year.  He loves school, soccer, and scouts.  He recently earned his Wolf rank in cub scouts and is working hard towards the rank of Bear now.

Hope (5) started kindergarten as a home schooler this year.  She's worked hard at overcoming some difficulties she had which prevented her from attending a traditional school and is ready to join Samuel at his school after the Christmas break.  She played soccer this summer, and Holly was her coach.  Probably the most exciting event in her life this year, though, was going to San Diego to "see Jeremiah and the beach!"

Joe and Holly are just pleased parents that are exhausted due to all the kids' activities.  It feels like a constant round of soccer, band concerts, scouting events, and graduations.  Although it's a busy schedule, it's so rewarding to see the children growing up and becoming successful.

We are so grateful for family and the knowledge that it's eternal.  We've been pleased to see our boys (and Joe) advance in the priesthood.  It's nice to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He loves us all very much.  We're so grateful for this season where we remember His birth and His life.  

We hope everyone has an enjoyable Christmas, filled with joy, peace, and love.  

Merry Christmas!

Love, The Behlings

Family Day (1 Oct 2015) at MCRD San Diego.
Matthew, Jacob, Samuel, Joseph,, Hope, Heather, Robert (Ratcliffe), Jeremiah, Holly

Busy 2015

I think the last thing I wrote was in December 2014. Probably the Christmas letter.  So much has happened since then.

Unfortunately, the first thing that happened was very sad.  Joe's father, Rex Behling, died on February 15th. Rex was 85 and such a good man.  Heather was blessed to go down and help out before he passed away.  The family was so appreciative of her help and skills as a CNA.  Joe was able to spend a few days with him before he passed.  Having been with my own father when he left this world for the next, I know how important that was for Joe.

We were crazy busy from April to June. Obviously tax season kept me plenty busy in April and it was followed by Matthew's birthday on the 24th. He's 15 now.

Jeremiah's Eagle Court of Honor was the next day (April 25). We had it in my uncle's pasture. It was a wonderful event.  Some of the Poolees that are going into the Marine Corps with Jeremiah were in attendance which was
really cool.  He wore my father's neckerchief and the slide was made by my uncle. Now there are four generations of Eagles in my family.  :-)

Right after that was Hope's birthday which happened to be on Mother's Day this year. Hope turned 5.

Heather got married on May 20th to Robert Ratcliffe. She was a beautiful bride and Hope and Sam were the adorable flower girl and ring bearer. Matthew and Jacob were in the line-up for the wedding. Jeremiah would have been as well, but he stayed home with bronchitis.  Good thing he did so he was well for finals week.






Jacob turned 12 (May 23) and was ordained a Deacon (May 24).

Jeremiah graduated from Technical Careers High School on June 1st.  His recruiter, SSgt. Jonathan Graves even came.  The fact that Jeremiah enlisted made him that much more determined to graduate.

After Jeremiah's graduation, we took a family vacation to Moab and went to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Matthew sprained his ankle the very first day hiking down from Delicate Arch. Joe and Jeremiah started doing a chair carry for him, but that was too difficult. Matthew hobbled a bit, then Jeremiah backpack carried him the rest of the way down the mountain. He must have carried his brother over a mile down the slick rock. He'll make a good Marine. He's tough!

Jeremiah left for boot camp on July 5th. We took him to the recruiting station here in Idaho Falls.  He had to be there at noon, so we hurried home from church to get him there on time. Because we were hurrying, he forgot his diploma at home. I quickly went home and grabbed it along with his military set of scriptures that he'd also forgotten.  I gave the recruiter the diploma and Jeremiah his scriptures. SSgt Graves went over some information for the parents and then we said our goodbyes.  WELL...kind of.  Joe took Hope and Sam to Utah for the week and Matthew, Jacob and I were home when I get a phone call around 6:00 pm that night. Jeremiah had forgotten his glasses at the house.  Where was he? Boise...four hours away.  So, Matt, Jake, and I packed a couple of duffles and drove Jeremiah's glasses to him in Boise.  We still didn't get to see him, which was a bummer deal.  He flew out of Boise to San Diego July 6th and is now at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego.

We were expecting a call that night, probably late, letting us know he'd gotten there. The call didn't come.  A form letter finally arrived on the 16th, which was from the company commander.  All Jeremiah did was address the envelope.  But, it gave us his address and let us know he was there.  On Saturday, we received two letters.  The first he wrote on the second day there to let us know he had accidentally called his own cell phone rather than mine. So we listened to the voice mail that he had left 10 days earlier letting us know he'd made it.  He says he's having a hard time, which doesn't surprise me.  Marine boot camp is supposed to be hard.  I'm wondering now if he'd had his wisdom teeth removed which could account for a big part of his difficulties. I guess I'll have to wait for the next letter to know for sure.


In the meantime, I've been taking the other kids to the pool and getting things cleaned up.  Heather came up for Joe's 45th birthday that was yesterday.  She's doing well.  The kids keep me busy.  Matthew just went on a "high adventure" trip with the teacher's quorum at church.  He and Jacob head to scout camp next week.

I've made some count-down jars with Hope and Sam so they can see how much longer before they get to see Jeremiah again.  I also started a blog for him so he can remember what he did at boot camp.  They don't have much time to write, so I'm doing some journaling for him.  It's good for me since I know what types of activities they are doing.  It has helped me learn a bit more about what the Marines do since I search for pictures and videos about the training.  It will be nice for him to be able to share those experiences later with his future wife, children and grandchildren.