Meet Rowena Boice

Thank you for sharing Rowena! We are excited to get to know you.

I’m Rowena Boice and I am from the Philippines. I went to BYU-Hawaii where I met my wonderful husband Kent.  I graduated with an Associates in Communication Studies. I am fluent in (Tagalog and Kapampangan) native dialects. We have two beautiful kids: Joshua Kent 13 and Kealani Angela 5 going on 6 pretty soon. Kent works for Nautilus Insurance in Scottsdale as a Systems Support Specialist. He does computers, servers and laptops. On my free time, I hangout in my kitchen making food for the army, looking for deals at the grocery stores. I love to bake all sorts or stuff. I love to sing (esp. in the van when the kids are gone or when I am home without the kids), decorate, paint, do puzzles, visit my family. I love being a stay at home mom. I was previously a paraprofessional in the school district and would love to go back to work soon.

Dessert- we would go for Culvers ice cream, Coldstone, Gelatospot, brownies and Hershey kisses with macadamia nuts/almonds

Hobbies- singing, interior decorating( painting), making cakes on birthdays, scrapbooking, making handcrafted cards, hanging out with my family.

Season- winter and spring. I have always dreamed of having a beautiful backyard filled with flowers, vegetables. I would love some amount of rain.

Scripture-

My favorite one is Ether 12-27,” And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Favorite Hymn- “I Stand All Amazed” it helps me to understand the Atonement. “Through Deepening Trials” helps me to be strong in my shortcomings, and another favorite, “Count Your blessings.”

An experience that strengthened my testimony- I think it was during my parents conversion to the gospel back in 1975 in the Philippines when two missionaries from Salt Lake shared the truthfulness of the gospel in their home. I am thankful for my mom and dad and their great example of bringing the light of gospel into our home. Attending Seminary and Institute has helped me understand how the Savior loves me as I learn and grow. My whole experience going to a church-based university has helped me to be strong, work hard and to be closer to my Father in Heaven. I love the church and would like to be an example to my own children and family and follow the teachings of the Savior.

July Relief Society Meeting

This month we had potluck salads at Rachel Maw's house. Thank you to everyone who planned and prepared this meeting and shared their tasty salads! Also, a big thank you to Rachel for opening her home to us. It was deliciously fun!

Meet Sandra Cockerel

Thank you for sharing Sandra! We are excited to get to know you.

Hi, well let me tell you about me. I'm married with 2 kids. My husband's name is Steve Cockerel & he works at Freescale & I work at Hotcutz Salon & Spa Salon. My son Nathan is 14 yrs. old & in the 8th grade. My daughter Natalie is 10yrs. old & in the 4th grade. Nathan is a black belt in karate & loves to play the piano. Natalie is in choir in school & taking dancing classes. My husband loves race cars, working on cars & spending time with us. He works a lot. I love to cook & gardening.  For the past few years I have been sick with cancer but getting better every year. I refuse to give up. I believe in the power of prayer & I know I will get better. My husband & kids love Mexican food. I love Italian. We all love chocolate, then again who doesn't. We all go camping, fishing & target shooting. I also like to do kickboxing it helps me feel better. I also would like to thank all the sisters that bring me meals. I really appreciate it. Thank you all for all your prayers. 

June Relief Society Meeting

On the Menu 

Gourmet Salad Bar, Garlic Bread, Watermelon, and Ice Cream

On the Agenda

Choose one class: Beginning crochet taught by Britt Davis or Entertaining Your Kids in the Summer taught by Annie Stott.

Crochet 101:

Sister Davis taught basic crochet skills and brought samples of some things you can make as you progress. Hopefully we can get her to teach some more classes so we can make it past the very basics and learn to make something  awesome!

Summer Entertainment:

Did you know that children lose 20% of their knowledge over the summer? Sister Stott provided a lot of great ideas to help create "Summer Magic" for our children. She suggested picking weekly themes and then providing activities, crafts, snacks, etc to keep our children engaged and having fun all summer long.  Some theme ideas were: Under the Sea, In the Desert, All God's Critters, etc. She also shared a list of free/inexpensive things to do in Phoenix and an awesome list of places to visit on a Tour of Glendale. Most of the ideas she shared you can find right HERE.

Thanks to Sister Davis and Sister Stott for sharing your talents and knowledge with us. It was a very fun night!

Meet Kristy Budge

Thank you for sharing Kristy! We are excited to get to know you.

I am originally from Southern California. I was a junior in High School when my family moved to Providence Utah. I went to Utah State University. I met Brad in the singles ward (they really do work!). We moved to Arizona so Brad could attend Optometry School at Midwestern University. He graduated in May! We have two girls and another baby girl on the way (due in July). Ariana is 5 years old. Sophie is 2 years old.

If I had an hour of free time you might find me doing Genealogy or reading.

I appreciate the times when I feel Heavenly Father's love. Most of those times have come when I was experiencing my own personal struggles. When sometimes doubt and fear have clouded my vision, Heavenly Father makes everything better by his love and by small and simple moments of life. The small revelations I have received helps me to know that he loves me.

My favorite Dessert- anything that has chocolate in it

My favorite Hobbies- wakeboarding and basketball

My favorite season- spring

My favorite scripture- the story of Joseph ( who was sold into Egypt)

Favorite Hymn- A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief and How firm a Foundation

May Relief Society Meeting: Smoothies and Volleyball

Smoothies, smoothies, smoothies! Thanks Nicole for teaching us all how to make healthy smoothies. We had so much fun being creative making a variety of smoothies, playing volleyball, and visiting with each other. Thank you to everyone who planned and prepared this meeting, we had a blast!

Meet Dana Erikson

Thank you for sharing Dana! We are excited to get to know you.

I was born in Othello, Washington a farm girl and the youngest of 8 kids, yes I was teased, so any of you sisters out there that are the youngest and grew up with teasing brothers, I can relate.  (I love my 5 bothers and 2 sisters, and now am convinced they loved me so much but they only knew how to show it by teasing... they loved me LOTS). As a YW I had my top 10 list of a dream husband.  Number one was to not be a farmer's son. Well, I broke that rule and married an Idaho Potato farmer's son named Glade. We met on a blind date at Ricks College (yes, I know that dates me). When I go grocery shopping for potatoes I enjoy looking at the bag to see where they are from, if I have a choice between Washington spuds and Idaho spuds, I go with Washington spuds, they're the best (shhh don't tell Glade). After we married Glade and I attended USU in Logan, Ut. I earned my BS in Community Health Education. Glade earned his BS in plant Science then on to MBA, and Econ MS. Then we moved on to WSU for Glade to earn his PhD in Econ. While at WSU I ran a licensed daycare in our apartment while caring for our three small boys. Sometimes I had up to 10 kids in our small two bedroom apt. It was fun. Glade's career brought us to Phoenix with a job offer from American Express in Fraud. I was able to stay home and raise only our kids. We ended up with 5 beautiful, talented, smart, loving kids:  Alex (22), Seth (19), Caleb (16), Celeste (13), and Kaisa (10).

If I had an hour of free time I would probably take a nap.

Currently my favorite hobby is watching my kids sporting events. I am one of those crazy wrestling mom's that watch Caleb wrestle while yelling "pin 'em", "yes! take down", "watch the cross face" or my favorite is just a loud scream! I love watching my daughters volleyball, I get upset when the wrestling and volleyball schedules collide... not a happy mama to have to choose between sports of my kids to watch! If I am not watching a sport, or carpooling to a practice I really don't know what I would be doing.  

My favorite season sometimes depends on my mood. Usually Phoenix winters, but I do miss the beautiful spring time on the farm with all the fields poking up little green crops. I even miss the snowy seasons of the North, but then I remember the shoveling and scrapping ice from windows and that quickly fades.

I don't really have a favorite scripture or hymn, there are too many to choose from. But our families motto is "Return with Honor", whether it be from school, work, mission, or just anything.

My testimony is strengthened every time I see the Holy Ghost at work. Sometimes it's to remind me of how to be a mother, wife, sister, neighbor or friend. I love being with new members of the Gospel that are on fire with the Holy Ghost because they have just learned about it and recognize it. I feel like I take it for granted since I was born in the gospel, but when someone gets truly "converted" it is great to see it in their eyes. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and has a glorious plan for me, if I live worthy to receive His blessings.