Taking Christmas to the Missionaries

Today, I went with Lindy and the girls to the MTC where we met Grandpa. Our purpose: to take Christmas from the girls and us to the missionaries. First, some background: Last Sunday we found out that the MTC presidency's plan for Christmas for the missionaries wasn't going too well. Their plan was to gather enough pentel pencils (special price $11 each) and post-it notes for all the missionaries who will be in the MTC at Christmas time. They had gotten the word out to all the wards and stakes in the valley about eight weeks ago, and I think they thought the money and/or pencils and post-it notes would start rolling in with help from the branch presidency members and their wives. But since there were no specific assignments, no one was taking responsiblity to see that it got done; therefore, it wasn't getting done. So on Sunday the branch presidencies were given the responsibility to gather a certain number of pencils and post-it notes and/or money. That seemed to make it more do-able. We mentioned the project to Lindy and Nate on Sunday, and they said they'd like to participate along with the girls. They asked the girls if they would like to use some of their money to buy some things for Christmas for the missionaries and they said they would. So today Lindy and the girls had their post-it notes and money, and I had post-it notes from Richard and Tiffany to take to the MTC. (Earlier in the week I had ordered some pencils from the pencil company to be delivered to the MTC. After Camden got home from school, we loaded into the car and went to the MTC where Grandpa was waiting for us. The girls were excited to give their things to the lady at the front desk. Even Sidney was very animated and talkative. She knew she was in a special place. We took some pictures in the lobby area and then walked around a bit. The girls enjoyed smiling and waving to all the missionaries. So it was a fun time. After we were done, Grandpa went back to his office and Lindy and the girls and I went to lunch at Magleby's Fresh. It was okay, but I don't think it's some place I'd pick to go again. We ordered a mini-burger for the girls to share for lunch, and it was anything but mini. Anyway, it was fun to be together; and by the time we got back to the Barrett house, Riley and Sidney were ready for their naps and Camden was ready for some quiet time. Going to the MTC and lunch had worn them out.

P.S. Before we went to the MTC, Lindy said the girls were wondering why the sea was empty, and why wasn't it an empty river? Camden's friend Haley thought she was going to some kind of swimming pool with her grandma. All this time (three years), Grandpa and Grandma have been going to the MTC, or Empty Sea as we've jokingly called it. We've never thought what the little girls might be envisioning or where they think it is that we've been or are going.

Post Office Disaster

I went back to the post office today to mail the package to Riitta and Matti. I didn't get over there until about 1:00. That was a big mistake, not going in the morning. But the line wasn't too bad--it was only to the end of the counter with about 8 people in front of me. There were three clerks working (and two empty stations) so I thought it should move pretty fast. Well, I stood in line for 15 minutes and only one person in the line moved up to one of the stations. By this time, the line behind me had gotten quite long. The two other clerks were still helping the same people they were when I came in. I heard one of the ladies being helped say to a person in line whom she knew that she had been there for four hours with something like 76 boxes. Scary. The clerk kept bringing these boxes out to her which the lady would open with a knife and take some stuff out, re-arrange the things in the box, and then seal it back up three or four times with tape. Then the clerk would fill out information for each box. This kept repeating for awhile, and then I realized it wasn't going to end any time soon. At the other station the same person was still there along with the one person who had moved up to the third station. So I got out of there fast. I thought I'd just go back and it would have to be better. So I went back about 3:30, and there were only two clerks this time and about 10 people in line. I thought maybe I'd take a chance and the line might move pretty fast. But after about 10 minutes when not one person had moved ahead in the line I got out of there again, telling myself that I'd come back in the morning, and try for first thing in the morning and maybe I'll be able to mail the package. We'll see.

Our home teachers, Bro. Sanders and his son, Talmadge, came visiting tonight and gave us a message about Elder Oaks' conference talk of "Good, Better Best." Before they came, Steven, Rich, and I enjoyed a nice evening walk at the track. It was a cool, brisk evening--rather nice for a walk, actually. The weather's supposed to change tomorrow, though. I hate to see the nice weather end.

Steven got a call tonight after he'd gone to bed from Elder Carter, one of the zone leaders. This is the second night in a row for such a call. More problems with District B--one of the new districts (from two weeks ago when two new districts, totalling 19 elders, came in). We met with District B on Tuesday night and they all seemed to be doing pretty well to me. I guess two of the three elders who had transferred to an intermediate branch had decided they wanted to come back, plus another elder was wanting to go home. Steven was probably having a foreshadowing about the new missionaries when he was wondering "how are the new missionaries doing?" in his sleep before they even arrived.

A Busy Day

Today I made a couple of trips to the post office to try to mail some things before the Christmas rush. It was pretty busy there, but nothing like it will be in December. I tried mailing a package to Riitta and Matti in Finland, but the postal clerk was afraid it would get crushed (it was kind of a flimsy box), so she went and found me a box in the back which I brought home to repack and I'll go back tomorrow to mail it. (That was nice of her. I was wondering if it was too flimsy and she assured me that it was.)

Next it was off to Curves and then a walk at the track. I got home just in time to get dinner ready so we could eat and then head over to the Provo Temple. The Mt. Timpanogo Temple is closed for cleaning, so Richard was home and was able to go with us to Provo. We saw a lot of Sunset Heights Stake people there. Shirley Robins was there, and I had seen her earlier in the day at the post office. Leslie Hillstrom was also there, and I had seen her earlier in the day at the track. That's funny that we all ended up in the same temple session. We also saw a girl who looked familiar to Steven. I sat by her during the session and she said we looked familiar to her, too. So as we visited later, we found out that she was in the BYU 100th ward in Provo when Steven was in the bishopric about 10 years ago. Her name is Nicole Jensen, and she has recently returned to the Provo area after living in Boston and Washington state.

I sent Tiff an e-mail today and told her that what she made her Christmas tree out of was "duct" tape and not "duck" tape. Then when I talked to her on the phone later, she said it really was "duck" tape. My bad. That's a cute idea for a tree.

Grandparents' Day with Camden

Today I got to go Grandparents' Day at Lindon Elementary School with Camden--my first Grandparents' Day as a grandparent. (I've always been the parent in the past.) It was so much fun! Grandpa and Grandma Barrett were there as well, so Camden got her share of attention and help making her gingerbread house. Grandpa Taylor wished he could have been there, too, but he needed to do some catching up at work from everything that stacked up while we were in South Carolina.

I was already there in the classroom when Camden came in and she was happy to see me. She hung up her coat and bag and then we found a spot to sit and do our gingerbread house. Her teacher really had everything set up well with an empty milk carton, graham crackers, frosting, gumdrops, jelly beans, marshmellows, candy canes and cereal squares--everything we needed to make our house. We were well underway when Grandpa and Grandma Barrett arrived. They sat down by us and started to help decorate the house. I was sitting by two kids, Jacob and Vanessa, who didn't have anyone there to help them. Vanessa said she was waiting for her mom, but Jacob said he could use some help. So I started helping him and we were getting things going by the time his grandma came to help him. He was happy to see her. Vanessa still had no one to help her, so when I offered, she said okay. Their teacher had already started helping her a little bit. She was having fun just sticking stuff on the milk carton with frosting. She's a little Down Syndrome girl and didn't say much, but she was having a lot of fun. She wanted to use all the candy canes she could find. Then we put jelly beans and gumdrop everywhere. When she would stick something on, I'd say, "Good job!" and she'd look up with this big smile. I was glad I could help her. Camden and the Barretts were doing a great job with her house, and she seemed happy that I was helping Vanessa. After the houses were completed, we got to eat a cinnamon roll and then the grandparents left. It was a lot of fun. Grandma Barrett said this was her first Grandparents' Day, as well, even though Camden isn't her oldest grandchild. It's surely fun being a grandma.

Tonight Steven and I went to the MTC. We went off our usual schedule and had dinner here at home with Richard (since he's off work), and then Steven and I went in to the devotional together. The speaker this evening was Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy. His wife was with him, but she didn't speak. He gave a good talk on 10 Way to Be a Good Missionary. Afterward, we met with District B for their district meeting. They are some of the new missionaries that came in two weeks ago tomorrow. There's a chance that three of them will be transferring to an intermediate branch, but they didn't know for sure yet. After that meeting was over, we went in with District A for a few minutes for their closing hymn and prayer. Steven offered the prayer in Spanish, and the missionaries seemed to appreciate it. They are leaving tomorrow for their respective missions: Elders Blake, Piggott and Garcia and Sisters Perry and Tupou to the Texas Houston East mission; and Elder Porter to Washington DC South. Elder Romney and Sister Huffaker left yesterday for Oklahoma. Elder Turner's visa to Spain hasn't come yet so he doesn't know when he's leaving for sure or where he's going.

(Well, it's kind of late, so I'm going to head to bed after such a fun day. Buenas Noches.)

Sunday Spaghetti

Last night we had spaghetti for Sunday dinner, along with "Kevin beans" and bread. I think it's one of the favorite dinners for Camden and Riley. They love all three of those things. Sidney enjoys chowing down on her own food. After dinner the girls watched Charlie Brown Christmas with Richard, then we had some apple crisp (from Cracker Barrel fried apples and crust mix) for dessert. The Cool Whip on top was the best part of that for the little girls. (The apple crisp is almost too sweet with those fried apples. It would probably be best just to use regular apples.) The rest of the evening was spent just playing around and drawing. Camden drew a picture of a scary girl with a green face and sharp teeth and wanted me to look at it in the dark. So we went downstairs where there wasn't much light and looked at the picture. She said, "Isn't that freaky Grandma?" It was a fun evening. (We surely have a lot of fun, don't we?)

Yesterday at the MTC I went to Relief Society with the eight sisters in the branch. Instead of a speaker, it was a testimony meeting for the sisters. There were four microphones where they could line up and give their testimony when it came their turn. The sisters bore some wonderful testimonies. Two were going to Thailand and one was going to Finland, so I thought that was neat. This was the last Sunday for Sisters Perry, Tupou, Huffaker, and Wieben. We'll miss them. They've been good sisters to have in the branch. Sister Kofford now replaces Sister Perry as the new coordinating sister. So after Relief Society I went to the new coordinating sisters meeting with her. One of the sisters in there was also going to Thailand, so I saw three sisters going to Thailand in one day. After that meeting I went to district meeting for District A with Steven. They are the departing district, leaving this Tuesday and Wednesday. Four of the elders in that district have had a some rocky moments, but they've been able to hang in there and make it through. Steven gave them his great departure lesson about the three things the Prophet Zenos said that good missionaries need to do (work diligently, work with the Lord, and be obedient). If they will do that, then they will experience the joy that Zenos talks about, along with the fruits of their labors. For the closing song they sang the Spanish hymn #88, "Placentero nos es trabahar," which talks about saying goodbye but we'll meet again after our work is done. They sang the same hymn for their departure musical number in Sacrament Meeting, and they did a good job. The missionary speakers were Elder Fish and Sister Funk, and Sister and Brother Ahlander gave the branch presidency talks. They all spoke about the Book of Mormon. A special treat was the attendance of Sister Bankhead at Sacrament Meeting. She is recovering from her cancer surgery of a few weeks ago, and will find out this week what course of action the doctors want for her cancer treatment.

When we got back from South Carolina we found out that Elder Mott (who had had surgery on his broken ankle) was released to go home to recover rather than recover at the MTC.

Well, it looks like another nice (but chilly) fall day out there today. I'm planning to go to Curves and then get some things done around here to catch up from our trip. This is Richard's second week off from work, so he'll be here at home this week enjoying his time off.

What a Fun Trip!

We got back from our trip to South Carolina last night. On Monday, we left Salt Lake at 10:30 a.m. and flew to Cincinnati, then on to Greenville/Spartanburg. When we arrived at 6:30 that evening, Joel, Sarah, Eliza, and Tiffany were there to greet us. (Tiffany had arrived there from Illinois two days before, and we were happy to see her. Steven and Rich hadn't seen her since the end of May when she came home from Mississippi for the Mormon History Conference.) From the airport, we went to Sarah and Joel's house, which took about 45 minutes. What a wonderful home they have! We couldn't believe it, it's so nice. And in such a quiet, beautiful country setting. Sarah and Joel had worked out a good sleeping arrangement for all of us--Steven and me on the futon in the study, Tiff in the sleeping bag on the floor in the study, and Richard on the couch in the living room. That seemed to work pretty well for all of us. Eliza didn't know quite what to think about all the new faces around all of a sudden. But she started smiling for all of us before too long. She is SO cute and has such a big, happy smile. Sarah said she just started pulling herself up and standing in the last few days, so that's all she wanted to do while we were there.

On Tuesday morning, Joel and Sarah made some delicious white chocolate bread pudding for breakfast. Yum! Then we got ready for our day's adventure. First, we drove to Clemson's Outdoor Lab, a beautiful nature camp area, and walked around there for awhile. It was a gorgeous fall day to be out in the woods. From there we went to Pendleton, a quaint little town with lots of cute shops and places to explore. In the middle of the town square is Farmers' Hall, where we had a delicious lunch. Sarah told us that is was upstairs in Farmers' Hall where John C. Calhoun, and others, hatched their plan for secession. From Pendleton, we went to Clemson to see the campus. Joel, Sarah, Tiff, Rich, and I took a tour of Fort Hill while Steven walked around outside with Eliza. We loved seeing Fort Hill, which was the home of John C. Calhoun and later his daughter and her husband, Thomas Clemson. It was Thomas Clemson who deeded the land to the state for a university. It's a beautiful setting for a university. After Fort Hill, we skulked around the bookstore for awhile, then went for ice cream at the campus creamery, but it was closed! From there we took a drive past the football stadium and the Calhoun family cemetery, which are right there next to each other on campus. Then we went to Campus Drive where we checked out Clemson gear in some of the stores. By that time we were ready to go home for some dinner--Sarah and Joel fixed some delicious chicken fetticinni alfredo. Then we watched Transformers, which Richard had brought along, before heading to bed.

On Wednesday, we headed off on another adventure. We decided against going to the Biltmore, which would have cost $180 for four of us to get into (Joel and Sarah have annual passes). It would have been fun to see; but, instead, we went to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina. We really enjoyed the tour and seeing how the Sandburgs lived in that old antebellum house, Connemara, located on 240 acres in the North Carolina woods. It was interesting to see their simple yet productive lifestyle. Carl Sandburg was 67 when they moved there, but he continued to write and produced 1/3 of his total writings while living there. His wife operated a goat farm (which is still there today) and raised champion goats. At the home and farm it was very much the way it was on the day he passed away there in 1967. From there we drove to Hendersonville, another quaint town with a cute, historic Main Street. We had lunch there at Mike's on Main, a fun sandwich shop in the old drug store and soda fountain. A few stores away was a bakery where we got cookies for dessert. Then it was a beautiful drive back to Sarah and Joel's through the Blue Ridge mountains, which were so colorful with all the fall leaves. Back at home Joel fixed some cheese pizza and meat pizza, which was just right because we were still kind of full from our late lunch.

Thursday was Happy Thanksgiving day! It was a nice day to relax around home and get ready for our Thanksgiving dinner. We woke up to some cloudiness and rain, which made the woods out back look all misty. That was fun to see. To start the day, I went with Sarah and Joel to the annual flicker ball game which their department has every Thanksgiving. We got there about half-time, which was just enough time for Sarah and Joel to get out there and play a bit. They both played well, and Sarah even injured herself somewhat in a dramatic slide in the mud. She wore her gold and maroon striped socks, which I think took the prize for the funniest-looking socks. Especially with her light green capris. While we were at the game, Steven, Tiff, and Rich kept Eliza entertained there at home. The rest of the day was spent fixing and eating a delicious Thanksgiving feast, which Joel and Sarah prepared while the rest of us kind of relaxed. I remember nodding off to sleep there on the couch (during the Lucy marathon), and the next thing I knew, Voila! It was time to eat. We had yummy turkey breast with a brown sugar glaze, mashed potatoes and gravy, yam souffle, corn, and rolls. Richard made gumdrop turkeys for decorations. The meal was wonderful! Then we went for a walk around the neighborhood and looked at all the cute houses in Sarah and Joel's neighborhood. Later, we had room for dessert: either pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie, apple pie, or all of the above. It was all so good! Then we watched Home Alone before going to bed. What a fun, enjoyable day!

On Friday it was time to leave for home. The week surely went by fast. Joel fixed some delicious grits (purchased at Farmers' Hall) for breakfast; we took one more walk around the neighborhood, then packed and left for the airport at 12:30 (taking along some turkey sandwiches for the road, or for the air, I guess). Little Eliza was asleep in her car seat, so she didn't even see us go. She probably wondered where we were when she woke up. Tiffany was staying for one more day. (Joel and Sarah got to make lots of trips to the airport for us!) We had a short 37-minute flight to Atlanta, then caught our flight to Salt Lake City from there. That flight was 3 hours and 44 minutes, but it was a good time to read and relax. (One thing I like about flying Delta is that they give you snacks. American and United don't give snacks. You have to buy them. So I like to fly on Delta.) When we arrived in Salt Lake the cold air was quite a shock to our systems after being in the mild South. We caught the Diamond shuttle to pick up our car. A little boy on the shuttle was talking to his mother and said something about the people on the shuttle. He said, "They look angry." His mother said, "They're not angry, just tired." It made me think we better smile, even if we're tired. It was good to get back to Orem, but we surely had a fun trip!

Today Steven, Rich and I went over to the Barretts and watched the BYU vs. Utah game with Lindy and the girls. (Nate was at the game with his dad, who his mom said had to get the doctor's permission before she would let him go.) We took Arby's for lunch and had a fun time with Lindy and the girls. Thank goodness BYU was able to pull out a win in the last minute. Tiffany called during the game to say she had made all her connections and was on the train to Mattoon; she called later to say she had made it home to Charleston safely. She was expecting Sis. Stowell to pick her up at the train station in Mattoon, but Greg picked her up instead. I'm glad we all made it back safe and sound. What a great Thanksgiving vacation we had!

Off to South Carolina

Steven, Richard and I are off to South Carolina tomorrow. We're looking forward to seeing Sarah, Joel, and Eliza along with Tiff who arrived there safely last night. Our plane leaves at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, and we're scheduled to arrive in South Carolina, via Cincinnati, at 6:10 p.m. EST. We'll return on Friday, and Tiff will go back to Charleston on Saturday. It should be a fun time for all. We hope Nate and Lindy and the girls will have a nice Thanksgiving with Grandpa and Grandma Barrett.

We had a pre-Thanksgiving Sunday dinner tonight with Lindy, Nate and the little girls. We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls and pumpkin pie. Steven wasn't home to cut up the turkey (he doesn't like to do it anyway), so I did it. And I say "cut up" because I mangled it pretty well. It still tasted good, though. Lindy brought sugar cookies and different-colored frosting, so she and the girls and Richard had a fun time creating Thanksgiving cookie masterpieces. Sidney said, "I love you, Grandpa" when Lindy told her to, and that's really what she said. She is quite proud of herself when she does big people things. She was rocking in Grandma FT's little rocker and kept clapping for herself because she was so big. Before they left, Riley asked if Grandma could play just one song on the piano that they could dance to. So Grandma played "Praise to the Man" for them to dance to.

Steven and I got to speak in sacrament meeting at the MTC today. The subject was "Gratitude." The branch nearly doubled in size with all the new missionaries that came in last Wednesday. Some of them still seemed a little shell-shocked today. In my talk today I told the missionaries a little story on Steven. Last Tuesday night, the night before all the new missionaries came in, I went to bed after Steven was already asleep. I tried not to wake him, but he kind of woke up anyway, and asked, "Are the new missionaries doing all right?" I said, "Yes, they're fine." He said, "That's good," and went back to sleep. He later said he had been having dreams about all the new missionaries coming in. In Steven's talk he reminded the missionaries that we need to be thankful in all things and let the Lord know we're thankful for His hand in our lives and the opportunities we have to be doing what we are; namely, for the missionaries, to be serving a mission at this time and in this place.

He was a little late coming home this evening because he went to the hospital to see one of the new elders, Elder Mott, who had surgery this morning after shattering his ankle yesterday playing soccer during gym time. It was only his second gym time at the MTC. Things went well during the surgery and he should be recovered well enough in nine weeks to go to Uruguay on schedule.

Well, time to finish packing and go to bed. We hope to have a fun trip tomorrow. Adios for now.

It's Called "Francom-ite-ess"

Last night at the wedding dinner for Cousin Michael and his fiancee, Sarah Francom, we found out that Sarah is not really being what we thought was grumpy or mad. During the dinner speeches, they explained that it's just a family trait, which they call "Francom-ite-ess." That's where people think they don't smile and they're being mad or grumpy, but they're really not. Actually, they're happy, they just don't show it. So at the bridal shower the other day, I guess Sarah wasn't really being grumpy or mad, she was just exhibiting "Francom-ite-ess." How was I supposed to know? Last night at the dinner, however, she seemed genuinely happy and she was smiling a lot. There were a lot of family members there from both sides. The dinner was at "Granny's house," which we wondered if it was a restaurant that we hadn't heard about or something. But it was, indeed, at "Granny's" house. She's Sarah's "Granny" and that's all they call her. The dinner, prepared mostly by Aunt Tamera and friends, was delicious--pulled pork, mashed potatoes & gravy, and green beans almondine. For dessert, pumpkin pie. The highlight of the dinner for us was the French bread, served with the appetizer salad, which was all made by Granny, who is French. It was the best thing we have ever tasted! Grandpa T. and Cathy were even able to come, and Grandpa got along pretty well. He said he surely would have felt bad if he had stayed home knowing what he would have missed. Bob and Sandy were there along with Clark and Barbara and David and Tamera's family (except for Kristin who arrived late last night from Texas). So all in all, it was a very nice evening.

Yesterday Karalie called with the news that she has cancer occurrence #4. That's not good news. Just before her upcoming birthday party, too. She'll find out soon how the doctors want to approach everything. We're praying for you, Karalie.

Today Steven and I went over and played with the little girls while Lindy went to the store for a few minutes. Nate has been on a business trip to North Carolina since Thursday, and will come home tonight. So while Lindy was gone, Steven and I played with them in the playroom and enjoyed all the delicious food they prepared for us, Sidney included. There was also some dancing going on. Then we had some hogi sandwiches for lunch before playing outside for a little while. It was a lot of fun.

Now we're just doing some laundry and packing for our trip on Monday. We talked to Tiff on the phone this morning as she was headed to Chicago from Mattoon on the train. She should be in Chicago right now headed for the airport, then off to South Carolina this evening. We hope she has a good trip. We're all excited to see Sarah and Joel and Eliza this week.

A Fine, Fall Day

It looks like another beautiful fall day outside today. It's gotten a little chilly, but it's still nice weather to be outside. I don't think it's going to last, though. Today I'm scheduled to go have my mammogram at 9:00, so that should finish up all that stuff for this year, hopefully. Then, this evening, Steven and I are going to Cousin Michael's wedding dinner over in PG at "Granny's Place." Here's hoping that his fiancee, Sarah, will be happier than she was at the shower. They're getting married tomorrow in the Salt Lake Temple. We think that the dinner tonight will be the extent of our involvement.

Yesterday turned out to be a good day to get things done around here--laundry, walking, etc. I went VTing to Kelli Johnson's and found out that she is going to have to have surgery on her foot. I'll check with her today to see if she got it scheduled. After VTing I got my hair done and then I was set for the day.

Steven got along well at the MTC on Wednesday night. It turned out that there were only 19 new elders who came into the branch rather than 22. Nineteen is still a lot. Steven was able to interview all of them before the evening was over, so that was good.

Well, I'm off for my mammogram.

Twenty-two New Elders

Tonight Steven is at the MTC welcoming 22 new elders into Branch Four. The most new missionaries that have come into the branch at one time has been twelve. This week the number of missionaries coming into the MTC was more than doubled since none will be coming in next week because of Thanksgiving. So there were 700 missionaries arriving at the MTC today, with 22 of those coming into our branch. Steven was hoping that he and his counselors would be able to get them all oriented and interviewed tonight. I'll be interested to find out how everything went.

My VTs (Sue Jane McQueen and Alison Butterfield) came VTing this morning, and we had a nice visit. Then this afternoon I went to visit Debbie Runnells before going to Curves. I'm going visiting by myself this month because Lisa Murdock is tied up working at her husband's dental office. Hopefully, next month things will be back to normal; but Lisa still has to worry about Miranda's wedding next month. Sandra Stephan was nice enough to go to Debbie's and Kelli Johnson's with me last month. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to visit Kelli Johnson at 8:15 and then go get my hair done at 9:00. We don't usually go in shifts like this; but if it works this way this month, I'll do it.

I'm having things my way this evening since Steven is at the MTC and Richard is at work. I'm getting some laundry done plus other miscellaneous things that have been stacking up. I'll take off for AF in a little while to pick Richard up. After I dropped him off today, I stopped by the Barretts to catch Lindy up on our continuing saga with Heritage Makers. Camden and Riley were having fun playing on the computer with Nate. Sidney showed me how she is learning to "scoot-scoot" down the stairs. Then, while I was telling Lindy all the Heritage Makers stuff, Sidney was talking talking in a somewhat serious tone, mimicking how I was talking, telling us all about it. She is so funny.

Tuesday Night "Treat"

Tonight we had a "treat" at the MTC--we got to hear from Elder and Sister Nelson at the weekly Tuesday night devotional. Elders from our branch were assigned to do the ushering, so we had to be in the auditorium a little bit early. While we were sitting and waiting, we kept watching the big screen to see who was going to speak. Usually they put a picture of the speaker up on the big screen along with various announcements before the fireside. That's how you know who's speaking by whose picture is up there. But tonight there were only announcements, no picture. So we were wondering who it would be. I said to Steven, "If it's an apostle, everyone will come unglued." Sure enough, when the picture of Elder Nelson finally popped up on the screen, it sent quite a buzz through everyone assembled. Anyway, it was a very nice meeting. Sis. Nelson (formerly Wendy Watson) had not been scheduled to speak because she had spent all night last night flying home from Hawaii; but when Elder Nelson stood up to speak, he had her come stand by him and told what a blessing she was in the life of him and his family, and then he said he wanted everyone to be able to hear from her, so he told her, "Here Wendy, whatever." She gave a nice talk and told about three words she had seen on a barn which she thought constituted good advice for life. The three words were: "Not Even Once." She told the missionaries that they can all be good missionaries if they commit to not doing anything they know they shouldn't "not even once." Then Elder Nelson had more advice and encouragement for the missionaries. He reminded them to "please be obedient." He said that a mission is an exercise in "obedience training." He went on to say that one of the purposes of life is to learn to obey your parents and your Heavenly Parents. "If you do," he said, "you'll be happy." We met with the missionaries in District A afterward and, again, they all seemed to draw from the talks something that was important for them.

Steven and I had dinner in the cafeteria before the devotional, with no friends joining us tonight. I talked to Yevon Romney earlier in the day and she said she was going to our ward Enrichment Night tonight instead of the devotional. I bet she'll be sad she missed Elder and Sis. Nelson. I know I was glad to be there.

Earlier today, I had my yearly physical exam. For the last five years, I've been going to Dr. Bigler for that, but this year when I called to make my appointment they said he had retired. (Retired? He's only two years old than were are. Actually, I found out he's doing administrative work at the hospital.) So I thought I better go back to Dr. Stacey for my exam since he's the one who used to do my physicals. He said I seem pretty healthy. So that's good news. After that, I went over to the Barrett's to stay with Riley and Sidney while Lindy took Camden to get her last cavity filled. We had some lunch before Lindy and Camden left; then Riley, Sidney and I went down to the playroom for some more delicious food prepared by Riley. Sidney enjoyed "eating" the food as well as dismanteling everything in sight. Then they went down for their naps. Riley said, "I'm SO tired." So she went to bed, and then I gave Sidney her bottle and she went right down after that. It was a lot of fun. Camden came home shortly afterward, and she had been so brave that Lindy had gotten her a smoothie at Jamba Juice (correction: Hogi Yogi) which they shared with me. Yum!

Funeral for a Friend

Today Steven and I went to Doug Cox's funeral. He died last Thursday after 18 months with lung cancer. Doug was asst. director of the Bean Museum for 28 years, so he and Steven have worked together for a long time in the College. We always enjoyed Doug and his wife, Ann, every year at the Bean Museum Christmas party. Doug and Ken Packer always made sure that there was plenty of good food and fun at the party. Just last year at the party Doug and Ann seemed pretty optimistic about his chances of beating the cancer, but I guess it was not meant to be. The funeral today was a very nice tribute to him and his life. Every year at the party Ann always tells us the latest happenings with their six children, so we have always felt like we know them, even though we didn't meet them until today. Their youngest son, Trevor, is on a mission in Guatemala.

After the funeral, Steven and I had lunch here at home with Richard, and then Steven went in to work. So I just did the usual things for Monday: some laundry, Curves, and a nice walk at the track. The weather was beautiful again today after being rainy and "blustery" (as Lindy described it) yesterday.

Richard gave the FHE lesson tonight on "Gratitude" in preparation for Thanksgiving which is coming up next week. We're really looking forward to our trip to South Carolina next Monday to see Sarah, Joel and Eliza, as well as Tiffany, who will be flying there on Saturday.

Roast Beef and Chow Chow

For Sunday dinner this evening we had crockpot roast beef with potatoes, carrots and onions, topped off with some chow chow from Cracker Barrel. I saw that in the fridge the other day and thought it would taste good with a nice roast and veggies, and it did. Camden and Riley "chowed" right down on their dinners tonight. Sidney has developed a new personality in the last week. All of a sudden, she is really jabbering and telling everyone what she thinks about everything. It's funny to listen to her. When Nate left to go to a fireside, she kept waving and saying 'bye.' Then when Steven and Richard left for stake priesthood meeting, she did the same thing. After the boys left, then we girls had a "girls party" as Camden and Riley called it. They colored, read books, and played Barbies. Sidney was right in the middle of everything. Then I played the piano and the girls danced. So that was a pretty good party, I'd say.

This morning I went to RS at the MTC. Sis. Vickie Matsumori, counselor in the Primary general presidency, was the speaker. She is a sister-in-law to one of my old AWS friends at BYU, Shirley Matsumori. (Don't you just love all my acronyms?) She spoke to the sisters about involving the children when teaching families. That's the same thing Sis. Lant mentioned in her devotional talk a couple of weeks ago. After RS, I attended the new sisters' meeting with the four new sisters in the branch, as well as Sis. Perry and Sis. Tupo. After that, I went with Steven to district meeting for District C. They're leaving for El Salvado tomorrow. I was visiting with the elders for a few minutes before Steven came in, and they were expressing a few fears. I kind of laughed and said, "Don't worry, we haven't lost a missionary yet." They kind of laughed, too, but then one of them said, "She said yet." Steven gave them a good lesson about the three things the prophet Zenos taught that they need to do to be good missionaries: (1) Work diligently, (2) Work with the Lord [through the Holy Ghost], and (3) Be obedient. (That's from Jacob 5:70-75.) After district meeting, we had lunch in the cafeteria with Steven's first counselor, Bro. Ahlander, and some of the missionaries, then it was time for sacrament meeting. Elder Lewis and Sis. Huffaker were the missionary speakers. Bro. Bankhead was the branch presidency speaker. Sister Bankhead is still recovering from her surgery. All in all, it was a nice time at the MTC.

Fresh Air!

It rained last night and this morning, getting rid of all that yucky stuff in the air. Then the storm clouds cleared up and it's been another beautiful fall day. We've gotten some good chores done around here today; that's what Saturdays are for, I guess. Steven got some really good things done outside and in the garage. I did something fun after I dropped Rich off over in AF. First, I went grocery shopping at Macey's, then I ran over to the Blue Goose Boutique in Lehi for a minute. It's kind of hard to get into all the Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving, but I just wanted to see what was happening. Our friend from the MTC, Jana Rampton, used to own the Blue Goose Boutique when it was Jana's Blue Goose. Now it's Teri's Blue Goose. I liked it better when Jana had it. After the boutique I had to fight all that northern traffic to get home again. It's crazy over there in Pleasant Grove, American Fork and Lehi. That intersection there in Pleasant Grove on the way to the Temple has got to be the worst. They keep trying to improve it, but it only gets worse. They were doing more work on it today, so the traffic was really bad; but maybe it will get better eventually. Richard and I have just about given up going that way. Then the craziest thing happened on the way home this evening. I was turning right onto State Street in PG, and as I did, this speeding car came out of nowhere and went right between our car and the car in the lane next to us. We were glad nothing bad happened. That was crazy.

You Can't Eat Too Much Thai Food

Well, like Lindy says: "You can't eat too much Thai food." So this evening, Steven and I went with Russ and Lorene Nielson to the Thai Chili Gardens restaurant here in Orem and had a delicious dinner. Russ and Lorene invited us, and we were happy to oblige. Lorene served her mission in Thailand, making her a Thai food lover, too. Steven and Russ were happy to let us girls make the menu decisions, and Lorene seemed to like all the same things we do, so we ended up with our usual favorites: fresh spring rolls, mussaman curry, pad Thai noodles, plus stir fried veggies & pork. We would have had mango rice for dessert, but they didn't have it. The waiter said mangoes are out of season right now. (Good thing they weren't out of season at Thai Village yesterday. I did think the mangoes could have been riper, but they were still good.) At the end of dinner, Russ and Lorene gave us the good news that they are expecting a baby girl in March. Russ is Steven's assistant in the College, who was hired a few years ago. After working with Russ for awhile, Steven thought it might be nice to line him up with a cute single girl we knew from our BYU student ward days, Lorene Flake. So Russ took her out; and long story short, they ended up eventually getting married. It's our one and only matchmaking success story.

I went over to the Barrett's for awhile this morning to stay with Riley and Sidney while Lindy went to Camden's class to help out. Sidney was asleep, so Riley kept me entertained by showing me all the cute pictures that she and Camden have drawn and by bringing me lots of good food down in the playroom.

Tiffany called this afternoon from a cafe in Mattoon, Illinois, where she and her roommate, Alyson, were having lunch. She said that Elder David Loveless, a missionary from our ward here in Orem, was also having lunch there with a group of elders. Just last Sunday I told his dad that Tiffany was living in David's mission (Illinois Peoria), so he thought that was interesting. He said David was serving in Effingham, which I told him is about 30 (actually 39) miles from Charleston. We didn't know that in less than a week they would be running into each other in Mattoon! David didn't know Tiffany was back there, so he was surprised to see her. We keep finding out that it's a pretty small world.

I can't let the day go by without mentioning: It was another beautiful fall day. The only drawback was the inversion which made the air kind of yucky. The orchard owners down the street had a big fire going that caused lots of smoke which the inversion trapped down low, so the evening walk at the track was pretty smokey. Other than that, the weather's still beautiful.

Lunch with the Girls

Today I had lunch at Thai Village in American Fork with Lindy, Camden, Riley and Sidney. We had a lot of fun and the food was delicious. When we got out of the car at the restaurant we could smell that yummy Thai food, and it turned out to be as good as it smelled! We had the usual--fresh spring rolls, Pad Thai noodles and Mussaman curry and rice. Camden loves the spring rolls and rice and Riley loves the noodles. Sidney loved sitting up at the table like a big kid. For dessert we had--you guessed it--mango rice. Camden thought she was in heaven it was so good. So we had a fun outing today.

Yesterday I had lunch in SLC at Tuscany with the "other" girls--Karalie, Wendy, Relva and I got together for a "sisters" lunch. The food was good--I had a beef and polenta dish which was very tasty--but the service was pretty bad. They need to do something about that, because it's a nice place with good food. Someone who wasn't even our waiter brought Wendy's, Relva's and my dishes, but Karalie just sat there and sat there. Finally, she told someone to get our waiter and then he came along with her order. He had totally forgotten about her. But it was fun anyway. We had a good time visiting.

The weather has still been beautiful these last two days. Today Steven took the day off from work and went on a four-wheeler ride up Hobble Creek canyon and beyond. He got back just after dark. He said it was one of his best adventures ever and he saw some beautiful fall scenery. So he thinks he can be ready for winter now after such a nice outing.

On Tuesday night Steven and I had dinner at the MTC in the cafeteria with the Romneys again. Rick's food choices weren't quite so funny this time. We had a nice visit with them, and then we got to hear from Bishop and Sister Richard C. Edgley at the devotional. Sis. Edgley talked about "Faith vs. Fear" and how "courage is to act in the face of fear." I think the missionaries liked that message. Bishop Edgley said that he is the original nerd from Preson, Idaho, and that Bro. Brenchly (the music director at the MTC) is the second nerd from Preston, long before Napoleon Dynamite came along. Then he told about a missionary who wasn't being let in by a lady until he mentioned that he had come all the way from Preson, Idaho; then the lady was very excited to let him in because she wanted to find out about Napoleon Dynamite. Bishop Edgley then talked about the principles of missionary work: (1)Remember who you are and who you represent, (2) Carry the message, (3) Keep the message simple, (4) Remember the worth of one soul is great, (5) It's the Spirit that testifies, (6) Be worthy, and (7) Work hard. So that was good advice. In district meeting afterward, the missionaries all seemed to find something in the messages that they felt was meant for them. It was a nice evening at the MTC.

P.S. Referendum One ended up losing almost two to one. I guess a lot of people fell for the negative ads.

A Most Spectacular Day!

I have to comment about the weather again. It is a most spectacular fall day today! It's nice and sunny, the air is cool and crisp, the leaves are still pretty. I can't believe the days we've been having. I wonder how long this gorgeous weather will last. I enjoyed my walk over at the track--the weather was perfect for a nice fall walk. Maybe it is trying to make up for the days now being shorter.

Today is election day. Steven voted on his way to work and Richard and I just got back from voting a little while ago. We hope that all the scare tactics of the opposition against school vouchers didn't derail Referendum One. Yesterday morning when I heard Bill Clinton on his trip to Utah on Sunday telling the people to vote against vouchers because a vote for vouchers would be a vote to take money away from the poor and give it to the rich, that clinched it for me. I thought if I were a fence sitter wondering how to vote, that would make my mind up fast. I hope that more people, like me, would think, "If Bill Clinton's against it, then I'm for it!" We'll just have to wait and see what happens. To think our own governor is for it and Bill Clinton's against it, and it very well may go the way of Bill Clinton.

I'm finishing up a little laundry then will head over to AF with Richard. Then it's off to the MTC to meet Steven for dinner and the devotional. I wonder who will be speaking.

Sunday Dinner at Gramma and Grampa's

We had fun at our Sunday dinner yesterday. Lindy and the girls came without Nate because he was still doing finances at the Church. We had lasagna (from frozen), peas, bread, and chocolate chip cookies. I had planned to cook some pork chops, since that's what I thought I had bought at the store, but when I got them out to put in the crock pot, they were petite steaks! Those are best done on the grill, so we'll save them for a later date. I wondered, what will I fix? Then I remembered we had a family-size frozen lasagna in the freezer, so I baked that after I got back from the MTC. When the little girls sat up to eat dinner, Riley said: "Grandma, I LOVE this dinner." And she proceeded to gobble up her dinner. Camden said: "On the way over, Riley said, 'Grandma makes the best spaghetti. I hope we have spaghetti.' But lasagna is good, too." So they all chowed down on their lasagna. Sidney loved the peas. Riley also had fun seeing who could finish their dinner first and she would announce each person as they finished. She and Richard were in a race for last place and she finished a few peas before Richard. While Riley was eating her dinner, she said (as part of the dinner conversation), "When you're singing a song and don't know the words, you just himmmmmm. Like this: hmmmmmmmm." It was very funny. Then we topped dinner off with chocolate chip cookies (Pillsbury refrigerated. The girls love those fresh baked.). So I guess we could say that Sunday dinner was a success. Afterwards, the girls had fun drawing pictures, playing with fridge magnets, and talking to Auntie Tiff on the phone. I've had these cute little pictures on the fridge of all four granddaughters that Camden drew awhile ago. Last night she drew a new and improved version of herself, with longer, more glamorous hair.

The news from Church yesterday is that Lisa Arrington Radulovich made it into the Tabernacle Choir. So we can watch for her now to be singing in the Choir. Also, Sis. Kuehne gave the R.S. lesson from the Pres. Kimball manual on having a happy, successful marriage. It's on p. 189 of the manual and would be a good one to read. I was sitting next to Victoria Wixom and told her that Sis. Kuehne really should be a stand-up comedian. She is SO funny. She was talking about how you need to have the right recipe for a happy marriage and what happens if you don't follow the recipe. She told about the time she tried to make Jil Abegg's peach cobbler and she didn't follow the recipe. It was pretty funny. Then Jil said it was her fault because she hadn't given Carolyn the right ingredients in the first place.

Steven and I had a nice time at the MTC with the missionaries. Five of the new missionaries who came last week stood up to give their testimonies Spanish, and we thought that was quite brave of them. It was good to be back at the branch singing in Spanish. Last week when I was at Sacrament meeting in St. George with Kevin, I thought something seemed weird as I was singing the opening hymn. Then I realized it was because I was singing in English and could actually understand what I was singing!

I just got back from VTing Fay Butterfield. She is leaving for California on Wednesday to help take care of her granddaughter who was in a bad accident and is in a coma. She said her granddaughter seems to be responding to stimuli so they feel like that is good news. Fay is hurrying to finish her fourth king-size hand-pieced quilt that she has done for this year's Festival of the Trees. She is quite the go-getter. Well, I think I'll head over to Curves to get a good start on a new week. This afternoon, Steven and I plan to go to the hospital to visit Sis. Bankhead, wife of one of his counselors, who just had surgery and found out she has cancer. So we are remembering her in our prayers as well as Fay's granddaughter.

Uncle George's Funeral

Today was Uncle George Jakeman's funeral. He's the husband of my mom's step-sister, Aunt Lyle. It was nice to go to the mortuary last night and see Aunt Lyle and my cousins: Linda, Judy, George Leslie, Elaine and Lorraine. We were close as cousins growing up and spent a lot of time at their house in Orem or vice versa. Elaine and Lorraine are twins and they're about seven months older than I am. I remember when I was young I used to feel so sorry for them having to live in Orem because Orem didn't have a "downtown." There was no place you could go and say that you were "downtown." All they had in Orem was big long State Street with stores and businesses on each side. (That fact hasn't changed much today.) I thought that was so weird and I felt sorry for them, because when I was young I used to love to go to downtown Provo. I remember once when I was probably about 6 or 7 my mom let me take some money I had earned and walk downtown by myself with some friends and go to a store and buy something I chose with the money I earned. Anyway, I got off the subject. But funerals have a way of causing you to relive past days. So it was good to see everyone last night and good, also, today to go to the funeral. I saw more people from my past. Uncle Myron and Aunt Doris were there. Uncle Myron Adair is my mom's step-brother and Lyle's brother. When I was young we also saw a lot of Uncle Myron and Aunt Doris and their children. Their daughter, Vickie, was also my age. I haven't seen Myron and Doris for a long time, so it was good to see them, too. Uncle Myron gave a really nice family prayer. It was good to be there and to hear such a nice prayer. Then I got to see Uncle Gary and Aunt Beverly Adair. Gary is mom and Lyle and Myron's half brother. I have probably seen more of Gary and Beverly in my older years than any of my other aunts and uncles, but we haven't seen them for a long time it seems. Uncle Gary is 72 years old! That's the same age my dad was when he passed away 20 years ago. Gary seems older, but still not as old as Dad was when he passed away. THEN, I saw Uncle Neldon Adair. He was there with his son, James. Neldon is the younger brother of Gary, and half-brother to all the other siblings. He was also my favorite uncle growing up. But he got caught up in polygamy a long time ago and has been alienated from the family for many years. Probably the last time I saw him was at my dad's funeral 20 years ago. So Neldon walked in for the family prayer and stood right by me and I didn't even know who he was. Then Beverly told me that was Neldon! Gary, Bev and I had a chance to greet him before the sevice started, and he was happy to see us, although he couldn't actually "see" us because he is blind. But we were unable to find him after the service, so we didn't see him again. But at least we saw him for a few minutes. The funeral itself was very nice and I learned a lot about Uncle George that I hadn't known before. I always knew he was a hard worker, but I never realized how hard he had worked and the number of jobs he had worked at in order to make a living for his family. When Leslie gave his talk, he said once when they were complaining about the food they were having to eat, that his dad reminded them of how he had had to go hungry some times as a little boy. Then Leslie said, "But you've never had to go hungry since you had us." And that was right, because he had provided a good life for his family and he worked hard at it. His son-in-law, John Chestnut, Lorraine's husband, said that he was there along with the rest of the family when George died and that George was at peace and ready to go, knowing he had lived a good life. So it was nice to be there and to see all the aunts and uncles and cousins and to remember Uncle George and past times growing up.

Yesterday I said that Steven and I were going to Cracker Barrel to have that baked chicken and apple dish (at least I was), but when we got there they were out of it! So I ended up having meatloaf and Steven had roast beef. It was pretty good, but I was looking forward to that chicken and apple dish. We ended up not going to the T's afterall, because when we called, they weren't home.

Then today after the funeral I went to Dave and Tamera's for the bridal shower for Michael's fiancee, Sarah. She sure seemed a little grouchy or moody or something and didn't seem to be enjoying the festivities at all. Let's hope she was just having a bad day.

I'm glad Tiffany had fun in Springfield today and that things are "moving along" for her and Greg. She leaves for South Carolina two weeks from today.

Well, I'll turn my watch back one hour since we go off daylight savings time tonight, and head to bed. Adios.

Another Nice Fall Day

I'm going to keep track of these nice fall days so that when it turns cold we'll remember that we did have some nice days before winter set in. It was cool enough for a jacket over at the track, but a nice day for walking. I wonder how long it will last. I'm waiting for Dad to come home. He was stopping by the MTC on his way home, but he thought he'd be here by 5:30. (It's 5:35 right now.) As soon as he gets home we're going to go to Berg Mortuary in Provo for Uncle George's viewing. Grandma called me on Tuesday, I think it was, and told me he had passed away. He's been sick for awhile I guess. So his viewing is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow at 11:00. Dad and I thought we'd go by the mortuary and visit with Aunt Lyle and the cousins and then go over to Springville. I've been wanting to try that baked apple chicken dish that they have at Cracker Barrel for fall. I hope they still have it. So we'll go to Cracker Barrel and then over to the T's for a visit before heading to AF. In addition to Uncle George's funeral tomorrow is a bridal shower at Aunt Tamera's for Cousin Michael's fiance, Sarah, at 2:30. I think I'll plan to go to that. I just remembered, I haven't told Lindy anything about it, so I must give her a call. Well, I just heard Dad pull in, so I guess we'll head out. I hope everyone's having a good day!

It's November!

Today the Halloween decorations are coming down and the Thanksgiving decorations are going up. We MUST enjoy these nice days of fall before Thanksgiving without giving into all the festivities leading up to Christmas. (Starting December 1 is fine with me.) The fall wreath is on the door and little pilgrims placed strategically around. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Dad, Rich and I are surely looking forward to our trip to South Carolina on the 19th and our visit with Joel, Sarah and Eliza, as well as with Tiffany who will be flying there from Illinois on the 17th. We'll miss all the Barretts, but we're sure they'll have a nice time with Grandpa and Grandma Barrett for Thanksgiving dinner.

It has been another lovely fall day in Orem. I got my hair done today and went to Curves and walking at the track inbetween spurts of Thanksgiving decorating and laundry. It's nice when Steven can be home in the evening as he is tonight. (That's when he gets his ironing done!)