Randall Adair Merrell (December 5, 1954 - February 23, 2008)

I am writing this with great joy and with deep sorrow. Dad passed away this morning at about 5:00 a.m. in the comfort of his home. He passed away peacefully and silently while he was sleeping just after Mom, Barbara, had awaken. We love him and will miss him dearly.

Dad checked in to the hospital early in the week due to shortness of breath. He wasn't doing well on Wednesday but seemed to stabilize on Thursday. By Friday he seemed to have stabilized enough to be offered care out of his home. So, he was released from the hospital Friday evening to be given in-home care through the hospice program. Apparently he was needed on the other side sooner than we had expected.

Randy's Funeral Services Details:

Viewing Location: Las Cruces Venus Stake Center
Address: 3210 N Venus St.
Las Cruces, NM 88001
Date: Friday, February 29, 2008
Time: 10:00-11:00am

Funeral Location: Las Cruces Venus Stake Center
Address: 3210 N Venus St.
Las Cruces, NM 88001
Date: Friday, February 29, 2008
Time: 11:00am

Burial Location: Cotton City Chapel Cemetary
Address: Church Rd & Busy Bee Ln Off Hwy 338
Cotton City, NM 88020
Date: Friday, February 29, 2008
Time: 4:00pm

Memorial Webpage for Grandpa Merrell

Here is a website that my family has set up to memorialize Grandpa Merrell. www.adairmerrell.com Aunt Janice and the family have requested that those who would like to contibute in memorial of Grandpa Merrell do so by donating to Allen Merrell's Mission Fund (my brother) or to Stockton May's IDEA League Fund (my cousin's son with Dravet's Syndrome).

Grandpa Merrell Passed Away

Earl Adair Merrell passed away on February 11, 2008 at about 7:00pm. He slipped to the other side surrounded by his family. When asked yesterday by his brother if he was ready to go he nodded his head yes. He passed peacefully and is now with his family on the other side. He will already be remembered as the good samaritan, always helping those in need. We love him and will really miss him!

Funeral services will be held in the Animas chapel at 11:00am on February 16, 2008.

Health Updates on Dad & Grandpa Merrell

If you are interested, I am going to try and keep the footer of our blog updated on the status of Dad (Randy Merrell) and Grandpa Merrell. They are both having some health challenges right now and can both use your prayers.

Bienvenidos a LAUSD

Today we started a new semester at school and what should happen? 47 students showed up at my door! They were standing up in the back, sitting on tables, the floor, on my lap. Okay... not on my lap, but only because I didn't have a chair either! I'm getting pretty good at flying by the seat of my pants. I mean, how can you prepare for 47 middle schoolers?! Brian thinks I should send kids back to the office with a note that says, "Class full!" But how can you say "no" to a face like this?

Brian's New Calling

The 1st Counselor in our ward, the Santa Monica 3rd Ward, was called as a Stake High Counselor this past week which left a vacancy in the Bishopric. Brian was released as the 2nd Counselor and called to serve as the 1st Counselor to the Bishop. Mike Hammari is the new 2nd Counselor. Following the pattern of the past few years Mike is one of single fellows in the ward. After all of the callings were shifted around the Bishop commented that the Lord sure must have a sense of humor to assemble a group like ourselves. :)

Brian's Good News

Brian decided to start the wheels turning to get back to school to get his MBA. He met with the director of the Loyola Marymount University MBA program this past Wednesday and asked what he could do to prepare for a summer enrollment and the director said, "why not start on Monday". So he took the GMAT (cold turkey) on Friday and begins classes Monday the 14th. CRAZY!

Wedding Photos

You can see more pictures at http://brianandcarolineswedding.shutterfly.com/action/

Merry Christmas!

We went to New York on our honeymoon and had a great time! We stayed right in the middle of the action at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It was kind of cold for a couple of light-weights from Los Angeles but we bundled up and hit the streets anyway! We went to a show every night (or 2!), ate a lot of amazing food (Carmine's, Rosa Mexicano, Bella Vita, Carnegie Deli, Serendipity, and of course hot dogs wrapped in bacon), ferried over to Staten Island, and window-shopped a little too.

There were beautiful Christmas trees all over the city. Here we are on Wall Street next to the NY Stock Exchange.

After a show