The Swans

This photo was taken 2 years ago at the Grand Canyon. Currently, the three oldest tower over poor Mom. It won't be long till she's the shortest in the family. And before you ask, Tim is 6'8", Rachel and Talen are about 6'3", and Sharlene has to be over 5'11".

Our Family consists of Tim and Michelle (40), Rachel (turning 17), Talen (turning 15), Sharlene (13), Hannah (turning 11), Graden (8), and Nathen (7). Tim works for Drivetime in Customer Service and Michelle works for Stevenson Elementary as an Instructional Assistant.

Talen is a freshman at Skyline High School. He plays the cello, and is in the process of turning in his Eagle Scout application. He is very active with service learning and is in a creative writing club.

Graden was baptized in January and loves being a Wolf Cub Scout. He is in 3rd grade and is a very good student. He has always been very inquisitive and loves helping Dad with any handyman tasks.

Nathen is a second grader at Stevenson. He loves video games, Pokemon, and Star Wars. He likes to play Lego's and has quite an active imagination. He beats Mom at Wii Bowling and Golf all the time.

Rachel will be graduating this year and is faced with the decision of which college to apply for. She is very talented; has played the violin for 6 years, sings in 2 choirs, and enjoys drawing and writing in her limited free time. She is currently involved in Key club, Choir council, NHS and Skylights at school.

Sharlene is in 8th grade at Fremont Jr. High. She plays the viola. She was in last year's school play "The Music Man Junior". She is the Vice President of the Anime club, enjoys Art club, and is on the National Academic League this year.

Hannah is excited to go to 5th grade Science Camp this year. This is her second year playing the violin. Since she was young, she would act as the teacher of her preschool consisting of her two younger brothers (Mom got to be the lunch lady and bus driver for field trips). She can't wait to be 12 so she can babysit and finally get paid.

Tim and Michelle met at a Saturday Night Youth Dance at age 14. Tim was 6'7" at that time and it was hard not to notice him in the crowd. They graduated from rival schools (Tim - Mt. View and Michelle - Mesa High), attending all the proms and home coming dances. Tim served a mission in South Dakota while Michelle attended MCC as a Vocal Music Major. Tim loves being involved with scouting and teaching the youth. Michelle enjoys serving others and singing in the choir.

Activities our family enjoy include playing with cousins, camping, cooking together, putting on theatrical shows, and family outings to the beach as well as playing in the snow. We've lived in the same home since February of '93. Although we've outgrown the size of our home, we don't see moving anytime soon. We love being apart of this ward and are grateful for the friendships we've made.

Steve & Katie Farnsworth ~~~Halle & Lizzie Whitney

As you can see by the title of our post, we are a blended family. Steve and I met while he was up going to BYU. I had been a single mom for about four years and was determined to keep it that way for a while longer...At least I thought. Steve served his mission in the Columbus OHIO spanish speaking mission and his ward mission leader had moved to UT. I was friends with his ward mission leader through the singles scene in UT. Steve had been at BYU for about a week and was ready to move back to AZ where home was. He was quite homesick, so his ward mission leader dragged him to a singles karaoke night to "cheer" him up. We met and it was history-at least Steve was when he decided at the end of a semester that "Utah wasn't his thing" that he was moving back to AZ where home was.

I came down to visit at Christmas time of '07 and got offered a great job doing the same thing I was doing in UT, so a month later the girls and I packed up everything and left everyone we knew to come start the new adventure we call Arizona! Five months later I married my best friend in the Mesa Temple. In 2 1/2 years of living here, we have made the trip up to Utah and back 18 times.

Steve is from Mesa and grew up in a small family with 2 sisters. I was born and raised in Sandy, UT and come from a very large family with 11 kids-now expanded to a total of 46-including 26 grandchildren under 12 yrs old.

Steve has worked with Sherwin Williams for the past 8 years and will be finished with school next May. Steve is passionate about the Ohio State BUCKEYES and football season at our house is just pure madness. Wings and pizza, yelling and lots of red every Saturday!

I have worked in nursing homes for the last 14 years and do the finance aspect of the business now. I am always on the go with the kids getting out to do new fun things. I just switched to digital scrapbooking from the old school. I love it! I also started taking cake classes and someday will be good enough to make wedding cakes.

Halle is our oldest-she just turned 8 and will be baptised in UT in a few weeks. She is very bright and loves to read and learn. Lizzie is 6 turning 7 in Dec. She also loves to learn and is very social. I have been blessed with such wonderful kids. They have been through alot and have turned out great---just wait until they are teenagers-right?? They go to a charter school and love it.

That's us in a few paragraphs. We have only been in the Ellsworth ward for a few months, but already love the people here. Steve works with the Scouts and I just got called to be a RS teacher. We look forward to getting to know more families in the ward!!

The Mathews Family

We are the Mathews Family: Jason, Sara, Tyler, Sadie, and Cameron PLUS my sister Naomi. We moved into the ward Christmas of 2009 and love it here. Here's a little bit about us for your entertainment purposes! Enjoy :)

Jason and Sara met in Las Vegas while both working. Jason was a financial adviser for a small firm and Sara was teaching high school science. We had one of those short engagements that we all make fun of, but it was the best decision that we ever made. Ask Jason about his proposal sometime...it's quite the story.

Since Vegas, we've turned into Hermit Crabs...well sort of. We can't really make up our mind about which house we want to live in. We've moved 7 times since we were married in 2004 and have loved every place we've called home. I think we have finally picked our favorite shell.

Jason now works for US Airways in Tempe and enjoys the perks of working for an airline. He is a drummer, a lover of Italian food, and calls Lowe's his second home. Sara gets to stay home with the kids and loves to do anything outdoors, if she can convince Jason to go with her. She also loves to quilt and spend time with great company (date night anyone?). Sara's sister Naomi came to live with us this fall and we love having her in our home. She loves music, art, and shoes...she has quite the collection! Tyler is as rambunctious as they come and literally RUNS everywhere he goes. He enjoys preschool this year and loves to learn. Sadie comes in a small package, but don't let that fool you! She has more personality than we know what to do with, but has a heart of gold. She loves to play with hair and will be your personal fashion consultant if you let her. Cameron is a busy toddler who is alway full of smiles and loves his mom's kitchen cupboards.

the Sunderhaus'

Sad but this is the only picture with all 3 of us! Most pictures these days are of our beautiful little Lexee LeAnne. She is 8 weeks old today and such a wonderful baby. She sleeps pretty good and smiles all the time.

Merrill Family

We are the Merrills - John, Kim, and Abigail. We have been in the ward a little over two years.... We met on a blind date -- and after some other fun stories -- we were married eight months later.

John works for Bank of America and goes to school part time. Kim was teaching second grade until Abigail joined our family. Since Abigail's arrival she continues to be an accompanist for the Phoenix Children's Chorus and has also begun to teach piano lessons again.

Abigail is the love of our lives and our little miracle. She surprised us with an early arrival - over three months - and spent 14 weeks in the NICU. She is doing fabulous and is full of smiles.

We enjoy being with family and friends and seeing what new things Abigail will do!

The Phillips

We are the Phillips Family: Brad, Claire, Sadie, Drew, and Brinlee. We moved into Muirfield Village and into the Ellsworth ward about a year and a half ago. We came from the extreme cold of Northern Utah to the extreme heat of Arizona but we have adjusted well . Brad works for Boeing in their money department(I think he calls it finance). Claire is a taxi driver- personal chef- entertainer- and cleaning woman- also known as the stay-at-home mom. Sadie is four going on 16 and can't wait til she can attend school more than three days a week. Drew is a wild and crazy 2 year old who can be seen sporting a new bruise on a daily basis. Brinlee joined our family four months ago and her hobbies include: eating, sleeping, and smiling. We are happy to be a part of this ward and can't wait to get to know more of you.

We Are Young

Hello. We are Chase and Jenny Young. Just a month ago we welcomed our first baby, Royal. As we've changed his diapers, he of course has changed our world. We've been very grateful for all he teaches us daily.

Chase and I 'got lost' on a hike in our single's ward. He was yappin' so we missed the turn off allowing us to hike an extra two miles and send half the ward looking for us. For the next six months Chase simmered on the back burner popping up just enough to remind me what a great time we had talking on the hike. After a series of fortunate events we started dating and were married six months later.

I've just retired from teaching English as a Second Language to high schoolers because my new job is being a mom. Chase loves woodworking. He builds cabinets and furniture. He also has a teaching degree in Industrial Technology.

We love being outside, hiking, traveling, reading and creating things. We're thankful to be a part of the Ellsworth ward.

Harrop Family

Andrew grew up here in Mesa. Serina grew up in Pinetop. We both served missions. Andrew went to Peoria Illinois and I went to Salta Argentina.

Andrew and I met in the MCC institute singles ward. His dad was in the bishopric and intimidated me. Andrew asked me to dinner in front of his dad so of course I had to say yes. We were engaged 18 days after we met. Not sure if I recommend this speed to everyone. 8 months later we had Tyke. Tyke is 4 now and is in head start and Hunter is 2 and crazy. We are expecting little Daphne any day now.

Andrew is a Pilot building hours right now working for Sabena at Falcon field. Sabena is a flight school. We dont have any family pics with all of us in it that is within a years time. So no pics tonight.

The Hanchett Family

Introducing the Hanchett Family! Mike and Rachel both grew up in Gilbert and were actually in the same ward for a while as kids. We will have been married for 6 years this June and have two daughters, Rory & Paige. Mike is currently serving as the 1st councilor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency and really enjoys it. He also works as a claims adjuster for Infinity Auto Insurance and is working on his masters degree in counseling at University of Phoenix. He likes to read, play racket ball, make salsa and homemade ice cream. Rachel is serving as the Primary Chorister and is a stay at home mom. She likes to scrapbook, read, bake and is trying her hand at canning and so far all attempts have been successful. Rory is 4 years old. She is going to preschool and hopes to start Kindergarten in the fall. She loves to sing, dance, dress up, color, play with friends, watch movies and give talks in primary. She definitely has a social calendar and is happy to have anyone fill a spot! Paige will be 2 in March and is as busy as can be! She is a very happy little girl who could put the energizer bunny to shame. She loves to play, eat, be outside, go to nursery and visit Grandma & Grandpa. We moved into Murfield Village almost 2 years ago and are happy we did, we love being in the Ellsworth Ward. We have met so many wonderful people and can't wait to get to know more! We love to get together, hang out, eat and play games so give us a call!

Check us out at http://www.hanchetthousehold.blogspot.com

The Burninghams

My dad is in this picture but he doesn't live with us

Hello Ward Members!

We are Clark and Stefanie Burningham. We were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple and have been married for a little more than six years. We have two beautiful, energetic children, Audree and Ethan. We are new to Arizona and enjoying it so far. Clark works as a Field Inspector for mortgage companies and is in school full time. Stefanie just got a job at Kohls nearby on Signal Butte working nights (if you see me there please say hi!) and loves being at home during the day with the kids. Audree is five years old and in kindergarten and enjoys karate and piano lesssons. Ethan will be three in February and loves trucks, balls, and wrestling with his dad. We live in the Amador neighborhood on Tacoma, but dont know many people there yet. We have been called to the ward nursery so you probably wont ever see us at church even though we are there. We love this ward and look forward to meeting some new friends! Clark enjoys tennis and basketball, when he has time, so if anyone likes to play please call him.

We also both have small businesses if anyone is interested: Clark runs www.TiesandTacs.com and Stefanie sells Mary Kay Cosmetics at www.marykay.com/sburningham

Steve & Teralyn Cheney Family

We are the Cheney Family. (No relation to good ol'Dick) We have been in the ward since February and absolutely love it!

We met 6 years ago on ldssingles.com we dated for over a year & after the second proposal we were married & then sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

We both enjoy football and sports. I am the reigning Fantasy Football Champion from 2007 for a group that we play with and it looks like I am going to take this year also. I remind my dear husband that when I win, he wins. :)

Steve is "the man of the house" and our girls adore him and shadow his every move. He is a wonderful husband and father.

Mazie which rhymes with "crazy" is just that. She is 3 and is such a girly princess except that her favorite movie is Spiderman and that she loves to wrestle with her little sister, Evie.

Evie loves to repeat everything you say and you may remember her for being the smallest yet fastest little 2 yr old to escape her parents grasp and run down the isles of the chapel almost every sunday. Yeah, we are working on that but aparently she is more stubborn than her mother. She likes to growel and flex her muscles and will bow to her father on command.

Despite our aparent attempts to try to make our beautiful little girls into tom-boys, they are sweet and tender hearted and we love them both very much! One particular stressful afternoon while in "time-out" Mazie reached over to hug her sad little sister and told her "it okay, lets sing I a child of God". Random moments like these warm your heart and remind you how prescious your children are.

The Watson Family

We arrived in the Ellsworth Ward in July of 2007. We are originally from Utah, but spent almost three years in Georgia before arriving in Arizona. We love Utah with all it's seasons, we love the South and have a big spot in our hearts for all the good people there. We are learning to love Arizona with all the heat! Yikes! We have four boys--Ben (14) plays the cello and is on the National Academic League at Smith Jr., Brayden (11) plays baseball and any other thing he can be involved in with the boys in the neighborhood, Treyce (8) loves pokemon and karate, and Sam (5) loves legos and just started kindergarten this year. Matt works for LDS Family Services (or that Jesus Christ Church as Treyce says). It keeps him on his toes. Amy is still trying to adjust to having eight hours a day all to herself--yea! We feel blessed to be in such a great ward!