Omaha Update!

I'm finally taking my turn writing. Allison has been the blog bread winner for some time now, thankfully!

As Allison mentioned in the last blog on March 18th, head out we did, with full and heavy hearts. We were surrounded with love as we left and our hearts have been touched by the kindness and concern of so many in the Arlington, WA area. We grew as close to our family in Arlington as any group of friends we've ever had. Allison and I witnessed multiple examples of faithfulness again and again; we also had our testimonies nourished by faithful brothers and sisters who embraced the gospel by our side. In short we will always have a very special place in our hearts for the folks in Arlington and the impact our time there had on our marriage, our faith, and our family. Serving faithfully and loosing yourself in that service will bring eternal blessings worth far more than the materials and accolades of this world, of that I'm a witness.

Now an update: We left on the 25th and drove as far as Baker City, we were stopped on Snoqualmie Pass for Avalanche control, and then went 25-35mph for three hours while traversing through the Blues Mountains finally giving in at Baker City, Oregon. Thankfully grammie Briggs was with Allison and the kids in the car and helped to maintain a good atmosphere. On the 26th we proceeded to Rock Creek, Idaho and stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Crockett for a night. The following day the 27th Allison, the kids, and Grandma Briggs drove to Bountiful early in the afternoon, and Grandpa Crocket and I came in the truck later that day. On the 28th Dad and I got up at 3:45am and drove all the way to Omaha.............................................We had a few slow spots but overall it was okay. We had snow and drifting as we passed through the Medicine Bow Mountains, otherwise we were only slowed down slightly on the steep hills. We arrived in Omaha around 10:30pm and started unloading the truck immediately. Dad was a trooper:) we unloaded until around 3am the morning of Mar 29th, making for a nearly 24hr marathon. Exhausted we went the hotel and slept until about 9am then went to Church in Omaha. We relaxed the rest of the day and cooked a simple meal in our hotel suite.

The following day Mar. 30th was my first day of work at ConAgra ( www.conagrafoods.com ). I had training in downtown Omaha and then in the evening for FHE dad and I read a lesson and went to Cabelas for an activity. Dad left on Tuesday the 31st and I felt quite alone, no home, no family, and a new job.

From Mar. 30th until today my life has been somewhat of a lonely, road warrior, businessman type life. Luckily along the way I was able to fly back for Conference and a week with Allison and the kids, and while here in Omaha I've stayed several nights with Allison's cousin Kylie and her husband Targee, for whom I'm extremely grateful!

Work has been a whirlwind, and a thoughtful one at that. I've been overwhelmed with the fire hose of information I've had to digest, and the last week as well as the upcoming week have been and will be more weeks of travel to a plant in Newport, Tennessee.

Allison and I found an ideal townhouse in the same community with Kiley and Targhee and are delighted to finally be reunited as a family in our new home on May 18th almost 2 months after leaving WA...... Yes there are a few more weeks of travel between now and then but I can't wait to have my family back with me. If I can avoid travel at all in the future, unless Allison is by my side I will avoid it. Nothing compares to coming home to my sweet family.

As for ConAgra things are very stable at the moment. More people are staying home for dinner and the demand for many of our products such as Banquet, HealthyChoice, Marie Calendar, ....etc. is on the rise. I'm baffled at the breadth of our manufacturing footprint, but excited none the less to make new friends, build new relationships, and ultimately hopefully find more brothers and sisters to share the greatest news on the earth with......

I love you all, ESPECIALLY my own family whom I'm not with....God Bless you in all your righteous endeavors. Once Allison and I get moved in we'll upload some new pictures of the family, and many of you our friends in WA.

ben