Sometimes there are people that we see often in our ward, we recognize their faces and often know their names, but we just don't know, or haven't had the chance to talk with. This spotlight is about BROOKE BALLSTAED, who has been in our ward for about a year and a half. I'm sure her neighbors on Buckeye View know and love her, and now we want to let others know more about who Brooke is.
Brooke was called to be in the Young Women's organization since not long after she and her husband moved into the River Rose Ward. The Young Women love her and she is so fun and great to work with as the YW 2nd Counselor. Brooke was raised in California where she competed on her high school swim team. Her parents still live there and she loves to go back to visit whenever possible.
She attended BYU after high school where she received her Bachelors degree in biology. It was a very interesting adventure for her to take some time to study abroad in Nice, Italy, before she was finished with her studies at BYU.
Brooke worked for the church in the Media Services Department before she became a stay at home mom to be able to be at home with her 9 month old son, Wyatt. She and her husband love their little family, and stay very busy with caring for Wyatt. Even though her calling is time consuming also, she tries to find time to do some of the other things she loves to do like reading, swimming and shopping. We are so grateful for the time Brooke spends with the Young Women and for being such a wonderful asset to our ward. If you haven't been able to introduce yourself to Brooke yet, you will find a fun and welcoming sister already settled in the ward.
Let's remember, sisters, let's get to know any sisters we haven't spoken with before...we can all use new friends, and sometimes we just don't know who is new and who is not!! Be as friendly as you would like others to be to you....YOU CAN'T LOVE SOMEONE UNTIL YOU GET TO KNOW HER!
Kristen Jorgensen
We had a delightful visit with Kristen at her home on Duncan Meadows Ln. She is a warm and welcoming sister, who was born and raised in Georgia, lived there until she moved to UT in Sept 2006 (to Jan 2008), then moved back in Jan 2011. She served a mission in Mesa, Arizona and it was one of the great experiences of her life.
The first time Kristen met her husband, Zach, was on her mission. She ran into him again at her mission reunion, and then they started dating. They were engaged about four months later, and have been married for about a year and a half. They don’t have any children yet, but they have an Olde English Bulldog.
Kristen has an Associate’s degree in Business and currently works at a title company. She is planning to finish her bachelor’s degree one day, possibly in either business management or marketing. For outdoor activities, she likes to go to the lake or the beach. She also likes dancing (hip-hop, jazz), watching movies, reading, being with family & friends, exercising and going out to eat.
Kristen had some real adventures in her life. She was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was five, which she later overcame. Because of this, she went to camp and they did many fun things together. For example: she went to Washington D.C. and met George W. Bush. She has also been to Maui. She served her mission in Mesa, Arizona and she has also been an EFY counselor.
We really enjoyed getting to know Kristen, and she is looking forward to meeting more people in our ward. We are so happy to welcome Kristen to the River Rose Ward. WELCOME Kristen!!
Michele Briscoe
Michele has been a wonderful addition to the cluster homes on Duncan Meadows. We are so happy to welcome her and her family into our ward. She is a very dedicated mother and wife, who, before she became a stay at home Mom, worked for two "Question & Answer" websites, and sounds to us like she is somewhat of a computer genius! She now spends time working with a wonderful organization that races to help local charities, called "5K Color Run".
Michele and her husband Brandon have three active and busy kids, one girl - Taylor who is 13 yrs old; and two sons - Jack who is 9, and Nate who is 7yrs old who all keep her very busy. If that's not enough, though, she also has 2 dogs, Hank - a Shepard mix who is almost 10 yrs old, and Patrick, a chocolate lab who is still a puppy at one year old. That in itself is like having triplet's!
For fun and entertainment, Michele and her whole family love to race and drive off road cars. They love to race just about every off road and water vehicles. The off road car race she likes to do the most is one that earns money to fight breast cancer.
Michele has lived in four different states during her lifetime. She was born in Hyattsville, Maryland. She grew up, however, in Virginia. She eventually went to Huntington Beach, CA, and then moved here to UT from there. When she was still living in Virginia, she had a very good friend who was being an awesome member missionary and started teaching her the gospel. Not only was that a blessing in her life, but soon a very handsome young full time missionary came around and continued that process of missionary work in Michele's life. Then....he was transferred! Fortunately, the mission President allowed Brandon to return to the area when Michele decided, and was ready to be baptized. What a great member missionary story, and a following the mission, a wonderful and romantic "getting together" story, also!! We are so happy to have the Briscoe family in our ward and are anxious to get to know them better!
Kathryn Livingston
In meeting Kathryn Livingston, we realized that she has several different sides to her personality! Kathryn loves her sweet family, and stays very busy caring for her cute 5 month old son, Mason. They live in the cluster homes on Corbin Valley and I'm sure the group of young moms on the streets in that area will enjoy having Kathryn there as spring comes and they can get out and get to know each other better.
Kathryn has moved around several times in her life. She was born in Delaware, and as she was young, she moved to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Springville and then when she was 15 she moved with her family to the Orem and Provo area. It was there that she and her husband met, and were married in the Mt Timpanogos temple about four and a half years ago. Before Mason came into their world, Kathryn worked for a bank for many years, and was constantly being promoted to better jobs. However, when her sweet baby was born she just couldn't imagine leaving him each day and made the decision to leave her job and spend all the time she had with him. Now she is an Avon representative, which she can do in her free time, or at least from her home.
Kathryn loves to sing (particularly in the shower when no one is around!), loves being artsy and also loves working out at the gym. Many talents and interests. I hear she also has a streak of real adventure in her, illustrated by the fact that when she was in New York, she heard about a friend who needed some help in Utah, quickly left New York and what she was doing and drove in a moments notice all the way back to Utah to help her friend. I think we're all going to be grateful to have a new friend like that in our ward, and are looking forward to getting to know more about Kathryn's adventures! So glad you are with us now, Kathryn!