June 5, 2016
We commemorated our houses' 38 birthday today. We didn't really celebrate because did not permit.
We look back on 38 years and we know it takes a heap of living to make a house a home. Edgar A Guest expressed it well in his poem. Four of our children were born after moving into this home. Two sons left on missions from this home, we left our home for a while to serve a mission in England. Craig left to serve in Desert Storm from this home. We have celebrated homecomings, the birth of babies, all the growing up experiences of our children and lots of growth for Craig and I. It has been a sacred place, a place of refuge from the storms of life. We are so grateful for it. It could be considered the perfect house, but once it was paid for, we found we could overlook more of it's imperfections.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
I Love the Springtime
May 2016
It has been great weather this spring. It has been cooler than usual, yet nice and we have had lots of rain. We have had some great trainings with other missionaries. We have had trainings from and apostle and some members of the seventy. We are blessed to receive so much good training. We are pleased to see our yard shaping up nicely. Our garden is planted and their is fruit growing on trees. We look forward to harvest time. We hope to see a harvest of souls as we continue in the second half of our mission.
We have attended some special programs with our grandchildren this spring. It has been nice to see them perform.
It has been great weather this spring. It has been cooler than usual, yet nice and we have had lots of rain. We have had some great trainings with other missionaries. We have had trainings from and apostle and some members of the seventy. We are blessed to receive so much good training. We are pleased to see our yard shaping up nicely. Our garden is planted and their is fruit growing on trees. We look forward to harvest time. We hope to see a harvest of souls as we continue in the second half of our mission.
We have attended some special programs with our grandchildren this spring. It has been nice to see them perform.
| Early spring tulips, daffodils and apple blossoms. |
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| It was fun to see Merynne's Prom dress. |
| The Hope of America. Grant and Zariah performed. |
| My favorite part of the program was "We Can Be a Light" |
| It was fun to be with family. |
| We sat in the Military section in honor of Brent. They paid a nice tribute to the military, as well as police and firefighters. |
| May flowers are the best. |
| I love my flowers! |
| Early garden |
| Gymanastics fun |
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| Gymnastics program |
Our trip to Michigan
April 2016
We had the opportunity to visit our children in Michigan this month. We had a nice visit with Emily and her family, and Debbie and her children came from Indiana for a day. It was good to see everyone and have some time to relax. We miss these far-away families. We visited a science museum and the Henry Ford Museum and we enjoyed going to Frankenmuth and having a chicken dinner at Zenders. It is such a nice restuarant. We also took some nice walks together.
We had the opportunity to visit our children in Michigan this month. We had a nice visit with Emily and her family, and Debbie and her children came from Indiana for a day. It was good to see everyone and have some time to relax. We miss these far-away families. We visited a science museum and the Henry Ford Museum and we enjoyed going to Frankenmuth and having a chicken dinner at Zenders. It is such a nice restuarant. We also took some nice walks together.
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| Gwenda loved playing on my I-pad in Relief Society. |
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| Gwenda is such a little doll. |
| We like this car in the Ford Museum. It was so comfortable. |
| I'm sure Mary loved being at the wheel. |
| Craig liked the old cars. |
| Here we are admiring the dinosaur outside the Cranbrook Science Museum. |
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| Emily and the Girls at the Science Museum. |
| Grandpa loved the rock exhibits. |
| We had a lovely dinner at Zenders |
| Grandpa and Mary at Frankenmuth. |
| Cute girls at Frankenmuth. |
The Blessings of Service
March 21, 2016
It has been over two weeks since I broke a rib. The pain is getting much better than it was and I am so very grateful. I have learned that when you have a broken rib it doesn't help to sit around and dwell on the pain. One of the blessings of serving a mission has been to get out most days for a while and think about the needs of others. The time has passed more productively than it would have otherwise. Actually doing missionary work lends itself well to the healing of a broken rib because sitting still is the most comfortable.
We do a Chapel Tour of our church buildling each week as part of our missionary assignment. It has caused me to relfect more deeply on all that we do in our Chapels. One of the things we share about the church is that it has no paid ministry. The Bishop of a Ward is called and he gives of his own time freely, over and above the time required to work and provide for his family. Each member of the ward is given the opportunity to serve in some way. We do this because we know we are called of God and each assignment will bless our lives and cause us to grow. Recently, I watched in Sacrament Meeting as the young Deacons lined up to pass the Sacrament. I though what a blessing it is to have the church organized in this way. From a young age we are given opportunities to serve. As we do so we grow in strength and confidence. We learn that we can do things that seem beyond us because we know God will bless our efforts. All have this opportunity, and not just the minister of the congregation. We visit people from time to time, who see the church as imposing on their time. I wish I could help them to understand that when we turn our lives over to God he can make more of us than we would be otherwise.
It has been over two weeks since I broke a rib. The pain is getting much better than it was and I am so very grateful. I have learned that when you have a broken rib it doesn't help to sit around and dwell on the pain. One of the blessings of serving a mission has been to get out most days for a while and think about the needs of others. The time has passed more productively than it would have otherwise. Actually doing missionary work lends itself well to the healing of a broken rib because sitting still is the most comfortable.
We do a Chapel Tour of our church buildling each week as part of our missionary assignment. It has caused me to relfect more deeply on all that we do in our Chapels. One of the things we share about the church is that it has no paid ministry. The Bishop of a Ward is called and he gives of his own time freely, over and above the time required to work and provide for his family. Each member of the ward is given the opportunity to serve in some way. We do this because we know we are called of God and each assignment will bless our lives and cause us to grow. Recently, I watched in Sacrament Meeting as the young Deacons lined up to pass the Sacrament. I though what a blessing it is to have the church organized in this way. From a young age we are given opportunities to serve. As we do so we grow in strength and confidence. We learn that we can do things that seem beyond us because we know God will bless our efforts. All have this opportunity, and not just the minister of the congregation. We visit people from time to time, who see the church as imposing on their time. I wish I could help them to understand that when we turn our lives over to God he can make more of us than we would be otherwise.
| Inside the conference center for the April 2016 Conference Sunday Session |
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| We attended conference with another couple from our ward. We enjoyed the day. |
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Missionary Grandson
January 30, 2016
This past week was eventful. Our first grandchild left on his mission. He was able to come and say goodbye to us in the hospital where Craig had just had surgery. Craig's surgery went well, but the recovery has been somewhat difficult as is usually the case with surgery. He is getting a little better each day.
I accidentally dropped a plastic toy in the chute where the lint filter goes. I helped Craig the day before surgery remove the back and turned it almost upside down to see if we could shake it out. It didn't work. The day after his surgery I put the back of the dryer back on and hooked it back up again. It was a little tricky, but I did it and it felt good to know that I could. Even though a repairman told us over the phone, to go ahead and operate it and it should be no problem. After two loads, it started to sound like it was going to explode. It stopped suddenly just as I went to check on it. It was an old dryer and we ordered a new one. It will come next week and it will be nice to have a dryer again. I also finished a small quilt this week while Dad was resting.
This past week was eventful. Our first grandchild left on his mission. He was able to come and say goodbye to us in the hospital where Craig had just had surgery. Craig's surgery went well, but the recovery has been somewhat difficult as is usually the case with surgery. He is getting a little better each day.
I accidentally dropped a plastic toy in the chute where the lint filter goes. I helped Craig the day before surgery remove the back and turned it almost upside down to see if we could shake it out. It didn't work. The day after his surgery I put the back of the dryer back on and hooked it back up again. It was a little tricky, but I did it and it felt good to know that I could. Even though a repairman told us over the phone, to go ahead and operate it and it should be no problem. After two loads, it started to sound like it was going to explode. It stopped suddenly just as I went to check on it. It was an old dryer and we ordered a new one. It will come next week and it will be nice to have a dryer again. I also finished a small quilt this week while Dad was resting.
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| Goodbye to our first grandchild. |
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Memories of January 2016
We celebrated Andrea's birthday this month. She had a good time. We have been doing lots of missionary work. We had a good zone conference this week and we heard a world-wide missionary broadcast. We also had a nice afternoon in the Payson temple. We attended with a single mom who went through the temple for her own endowments. We have been visiting her and teaching her and her boys. It's great to see the progress she has made. At the beginning of the month we served at the Provo City Center temple and we were able to take some of the people we have been working with to tour the temple. The Provo Tabernacle has been beautifully changed into a Temple of the Lord. We felt blessed to be able to help with the open house.
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| Selfie at the temple |
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| Sunset at the Temple |
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| Such a beautiful temple |
| Winter sunrise
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Sunday, December 27, 2015
A Month of Gratitude - November 2015
We had a lovely Thanksgiving day with the family here in Utah. We began our dinner with a hymn that has become a tradition, "Come Ye Thankful People Come". This hymn has an important message- though we have a lot to be grateful for in the harvest from our yard, it is the harvest of souls that matter in the eternal scheme of things. We want no empty chairs in Heaven. The dinner turned out very well. I felt it was one of my best and it was satisfying. A few days after Thanksgiving we had the privilege of doing Clifton's temple work.
| Forty four years ago we stood here together on the day we were married. |
| At the Manti temple for Clifton |
| Poor Avery was sick |
| The cousins put on a Thanksgiving play |
| Playdough after dinner |
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