We are thrilled to learn more about the wonderful sisters in our ward family! Thank you for sharing details of your lives and being apart of our lives. We love and care for each of you!
Please check back frequently for more Spotlights!
ANDREA MCKEE
Andrea
McKee was born on October 10, in Twin Falls, ID. She grew up on a 10 acre
hobby farm in Buhl, ID. She is the youngest of seven. A memory of her favorite
birthday was when she was a freshman in college. Her roommate threw her a
surprise party. She had never had birthday party before, let alone a surprise
one. That got her hooked. Now she loves throwing surprise parties for other people!
She has one handsome new baby boy, Legend. Andrea loves corn on the cob –
obsessed. She also LOVES a REALLY good hot chocolate. She is particular about
hot chocolate and goes to great lengths to find the best wherever she is, even
importing it from Scotland. She and her husband Nick love to travel by car or
plane. She also enjoys producing songs with him.
When
she was younger she used to imagine herself as everything. Her whole life she
has had SO many interests that it has been hard to stick with one thing for
longer than four years. There are so many things she still wants to do, her
dreams are endless. She has done a lot of singing, dancing, and painting. She
was in an alternative rock chic band for a few years. Also, she used to run a
lot doing half marathons and Ragnar. She LOVES to write songs and be creative
in any way possible. Andrea enjoys idea-building, reading, baking, singing, and
an occasional sewing project.
Andrea
has lived in Rexburg, ID; Logan and SLC, UT; Boston, MA; San Carlos, CA; and
Scotland. Boston and CA were recent favorite places to live. Boston for the
experiences and life perspective shifts. CA for the fun adventure with Nick.
She would love to visit Italy.
She
has worked as a Teacher (1st & 3rd) and then an
Assistant Principal. She coached for admin and teachers on integrating tech
better in schools. Now she is going to try out the mom thing for the rest of
her life, but with some business ventures in the meantime. Something she is
proud of is, when she was an assistant principal and helped build a school of
1,000 kids from the ground up and running a marathon. A wish she has is that
she could make a solid impact for good in her home and the world. She wants to
invent something important. In her lifetime she would like to start her own
company. Something you may not know about her was she was born with a cataract
in her left eye and can’t really see out of it.
Her
favorite Latter-day Prophet is President Gordon B. Hinkley. She says she feels
like he really values the contributions of women and genuinely loved her
generation. Three words that best describe Andrea are: creative, fun, loving.
Heather Allison
We
love when new families join our ward family! One of the most recent sisters to
come to our ward is Heather. She will be a great addition with so much to
contribute. Learn more about her here and look for her beautiful smile and
introduce yourself.
Heather
grew up in Dubois, ID… really on a U.S. Sheep Experiment Station. Heather has
two brothers and one sister. She is the second oldest child in her family. She
has two darling girls; Esme 6 and Abra 21 months.
A
favorite birthday memory is when she turned 16. She had waited so long to date
and thought she would be going out that evening. Instead, she spent her entire
day with her family which turned out to be the best birthday. She would still
consider a great birthday spent with her family.
Heather
has lived in lots of places, including: Texas, Salt Lake City, San Francisco,
Idaho, Hawaii, Boston, Virginia, and most recently Baltimore. One of her
favorite places to live was Hawaii. Another favorite place that she would LOVE
to live again is Williamsburg, VA. It is a small Southern town. It has all the
amenities of a retirement community and college town feel. It is close to the
beach. If you prefer it is also close to Washington, D.C. The town is full of
history and is a beautiful place year round. If she could travel anywhere it
would anywhere she hasn’t been before. Top on her list would Fiji.
When
Heather was younger she used to imagine herself as a doctor carrying a
briefcase. She has always enjoyed running, swimming, hiking, and piano. Some of her hobbies and interests are
reading, cooking, sewing, and reupholstering. Heather does a little bit of work
from home for EF High School Exchange Year. She finds families for foreign
exchange students. She has worked with EF for three years. Previously, she was
in the sales and the spa industry and she used to own her own business. An accomplishment
that she is proud of is completing her B.A. One of their favorite family
activities is going on walks or hikes. Her favorite food is Sushi. If she could
have one wish it would be that all children had loving parents and a home.
Something she must do in her lifetime is to learn patience. A little secret
about her is that she loves Tom Brady.
Heather’s
favorite Latter-day Prophet is President Ezra Taft Benson. She says, “He was
the prophet when I was young and I feel that he was ‘my’ prophet. He was the
first one that I remember learning about and I have always loved him.” Three
words that she says best describe her are: Introvert, Adventurous, and Caring.
Welcome
to the ward Heather! We are excited to get to know you and spend more time with
you and your beautiful family!
LARKIN HARMAN
Some people do great things you see and don’t see, this sister is one of them. She is not only our Visiting Teaching Coordinator, but she helps plan and execute awesome Relief Society meetings we have quarterly.Oh, and she coaches basketball. Thank you Larkin!
Larkin grew up in Lakewood, CO with an older
half-brother, two older half-sisters, an older sister, and a younger sister.
She is the second to the youngest. She says there is still some debate as to
whether she has actually grown up yet. Ha! We love your style and energy! She
has lived in Lakewood, Provo, and Arvada. She and her husband, James, have 3
children; Micah 12, Kam 7, and Isabella 22 months. An activity they enjoy as a
family is Family Home Evening.
Her
favorite birthday memory is when she turned 21 years old. She was blindfolded
and kidnapped by a couple of roommates, driven all over Provo, pushed through a
store in a shopping cart while eating a massive ice cream cone {still
blindfolded} and the store manager announced that it was her birthday, pictures
in one of those photo booths at the mall {still blindfolded} and dinner
{finally unblindfolded} completely sober… ONLY IN PROVO!! J
She
loves really good soup with crusty-dense freshly baked bread. Tokyo Joes is a
favorite along with pizza. She had a hard time thinking of a type of food she
didn’t like. When Larkin was younger she used to imagine herself as a super
hero, an astronaut, and a professional basketball player. She used to be
involved in band, national honor society and even magically got things she’d
written into the school paper even though she wasn’t actually on the staff. She
still enjoys playing basketball. She also likes carving stuff {wood, plaster,
stone}, messing around with photos, cooking, and writing. Something she is proud
of is figuring out how to carve a ball inside of a box so that the ball doesn’t
fall out.
If
she could travel anywhere it would be to Kenya. She works at home, all day
every day. Her one wish is to have patience. The older she gets the more she
realizes how much President Kimball ‘totally rocked.’ She was really really
little when he was prophet, so she didn’t realize how cool he was. Three words
she says best describes her are pensive, quiet, goofball.
KATHY HALL
We have such wonderful sisters
in our ward! Sister Hall is no exception and has so much to offer our ward
family. She has a beautiful smile and such a kind heart!
She grew up ‘everywhere’
since her father was a career Air Force. She has
3 sisters and is the 3rd child. For her birthday she goes to
Vegas every year and has sushi with her son, lucky girl! Kathy
has lived in Washington, Michigan, Spain, Arizona, Massachusetts,
California and twice in Colorado. She misses the ocean and the friendly people
in California. Her perfect place to live would be a combination of… the blue
skies of Colorado, Pike market in Washington, the beautiful rainbows in Arizona
and the museums of Massachusetts. Sounds lovely doesn't it?!
She has two sons; Leon is 37 and Ian is 33. Her favorite food is
Sushi all the way. However, she will take an anchovy and pineapple pizza! One
of her favorite family activities is going to Disneyland. When she was young she used to imagine
herself as a great dancer, like Cynthia Gregory. In younger years and/or
currently she played soccer in high school, ran the 50 yard dash in 6.9, and
was a certified life guard. She had a photography business as well. She is a
certified vet tech and has her tax certification. She has been busy!
Kathy is proud of her RN degree as well as 41 years of marriage to
a wonderful man, Michael. If she could travel anywhere she would go to Patagonia
to see the beautiful glaciers and do lots of hiking. Her one wish would be to
live by her grand-children and her sons. A pet peeve of hers is people who
squeeze all of the tomatoes.
She worked in the Los Angeles County trauma system. Her favorite
job was at Huntington Memorial in Pasadena. She was a Paramedic and EMT
instructor and an RN ICU/trauma/ER for 20 years. She is now retired. Kathy
enjoys reading, photography, genealogy, and her women’s group on Fridays.
In her lifetime Kathy would like to visit Washington D.C.
Something you may not know about her is the color of her hair… you will see it
this Sunday. Three words that she says best describe her are, Young at heart.
Anna Carbone
You
have likely encountered this sweet sister as you were welcomed into the chapel.
Anna Marie Carbone is our ward greeter and this calling fits her perfectly,
even she would agree. It is impossible to have a conversation with her without
feeling joy and either laughing or smiling. We are thrilled to have Anna in our
ward family.
Anna ‘Anna
Banana’ has one brother and one sister and she is the baby of the family. She has
also lived in Long Beach, CA where she loved the beach but will not live there
again since it’s too crowded. She says Colorado is her home. Anna has 2
children; Aaron (32 yrs) lives in KC and Angelena (22 yrs) is
serving a mission in Wisconsin.
When
it comes to birthdays, Anna’s favorite idea of one would be spent with her
family at home. She likes to eat lobster and crab legs. One of her favorite
family activities is Baking Day. Every Christmas all the aunts and girl cousins
get together and bake. Since she was 10 years old she imagined herself being a
photographer. She is happy doing photography even today. The accomplishment
that she is most proud of is her children, “I am so proud of them!” she says.
She was a Girl Scout leader for 10 years, is in a photo and book club. If she
could travel anywhere it would be to Italy to walk her ancestors steps. She
dreams of having grandkids and looks forward to spoiling them. One of her
pet-peeves is being late, she hates being late! She currently works for Pearson
Vue as a test administrator. She also does photography. She enjoys photography,
movies, reading, walking, and taking care of the missionaries.
In
Anna’s life time she would like to be organized. Something you may not know
about her is that she is left handed. A movie that might describe her life would
be Christmas Vacation. Her favorite movie and book is, Gone with the Wind. Her favorite Latter-Day Apostle is President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf. She has a funny story about seeing him in person during the
Spoken Word last fall, ask her about it! Three words that Anna would say
describe her are being loving, giving, and funny. I would agree!
Nilli Merchant
There
are not many people as kind, thoughtful, and generous as Nilli. If you haven’t
met her please introduce yourself to her, you will be glad you did.
Her
full name is Nilofer Merchant, but you can call her Nilli. She was born and raised
in Karachi Pakistan. She attended
school in a Catholic Convent in Murree, located in Northern Pakistan at the
foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. She is the oldest child in her family and
has 2 younger sisters. She has lived in Malaysia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Houston and
Colorado. She sailed on a ship with her
husband (who was a captain) for 7 years. Her favorite of those places to live
was Malaysia as she loved the people, climate, and life-style. As a young girl
she always wanted to be a wife and mother, both of which she was blessed to be.
She has 4 boys all of whom are grown now; 47, 46, 42, and 23 years of age. As a
young family they enjoyed water skiing, fishing and boating. An accomplishment that she is proud of is raising
her 4 boys and taking care of her mother until she passed away in 2009.
Nilli
currently works as an Independent Conference Planner and Travel Agent. She
retired one year ago from the Hospitality industry working in Sales for
Marriott for over 20 years. Some extra-curricular activities she has been
involved in and enjoys are; sketching, painting, dancing, singing, poetry, and
writing. She also enjoys music and the opera. She used to play the piano. Nilli
still loves hearing the piano and guitar being played. Her favorite food is
currently spicy Vietnamese food. Her idea of a good birthday is spent with her
family. A couple of places she would still like to visit are Panama and the
Amazon. A wish of hers is to gather her
family and grandkids and take them on vacation somewhere they can all be
together. In her lifetime she would like
to write a book. She says she is terrified of public speaking and would like to
overcome that fear. She claims that she has
a short fuse. Many years ago a friend of hers dedicated the song, Don’t Cry for me Argentina to her. She
really enjoys psychology and learning about what makes people tick. Nilli likes
to listen to and read talks given by Elder Holland. Three things that she would
say describe her are tenacity, perseverance and responsibility.
Kayla Cook
We are
so excited to have the Cook family in our ward! They moved in just a couple
months ago and will be such an exceptional addition to our ward family. Here is
a little information about Kayla so you can get to know her better. She is such
a friendly outgoing person and we hope you will introduce yourself to her.
Kayla
was born in American Fork, UT and grew up in Pleasant Grove, UT. She has 3 brothers and 3 sisters and fits smack
dab in the middle. She has lived in Rexburg Idaho, Houston TX, and of course UT
and now CO. She really loved Rexburg and is enjoying Colorado as well.
Her
husband, Brian and she have 3 handsome little boys; David 5 yrs, Nathan 3 yrs,
and Jonah is 7 months. Growing up she always dreamed of being a mom and enjoys
being home with them. As a family they love being outside and being active.
They like to bike, hike, go to water parks, and concerts (choir and plays).
Some of her hobbies include: piano (she teaches), singing, cooking, baking, and
reading. She is part of a preschool co-op and teaches preschool too. A few extra-curricular
activities she has been involved in are; mountain biking, rock climbing, and
track. She was also a radio broadcaster in Idaho for 3 years as part of her
degree in communications. She had the privilege of singing in a professional
choir, Houston Canarata, which she auditioned for. Her favorite movie is The Young
Victoria. Her favorite book is Katherine by Anya Seton. Her favorite food is
Italian (Carrabba’s Italian Grill Restaurant) and Indian.
If
Kayla could visit anywhere it would be Italy. In her lifetime she would like to
serve a mission with Brian. As well as get a Masters in Speech Pathology. Her
favorite Latter-Day Prophet is President David O. McKay. She enjoys the way he
writes and the touching way he teaches the gospel. President Hinkley is another
favorite. If she had only one wish it would be that her kids gain a firm
testimony of the Gospel and stay in the church as they get older. Another fun
fact about Kayla is that she is a direct descendant of Pocahontas. Kayla would describe
herself as being independent, trustworthy, and hardworking.
Libby Jesse
1. Where did you grow up?
Utah and Colorado
Salt Lake City Radio KUTR 820 AM and 95.3 FM will recap some of the accomplishments of President Lewis, President Jones and President Rockwood of the Arvada Colorado Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) on Saturday 4:00 pm the 3rd of January 2015. An on-line Podcast will be available through leebaker.4Mormon.org
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