Monday Night Salmon Dinner and FHE

Tonight we went over to the Barrett house for dinner--self invited, I might add. When I saw Lindy's blog about the salmon and asparagus she was going to fix, it sounded so delicious! On Sunday when the Barretts came for dinner, Camden said something about Mom fixing salmon tomorrow night. I said I read about it on the blog and I wanted to have some. Camden then said to Lindy, "Gramma wants to come to dinner tomorrow for salmon." What could Lindy do but invite us to dinner? So Steven, Rich and I went over to join the Barretts for dinner tonight. And, yes, it was delicious! Roasted asparagus, baked salmon with Asian glaze and wild rice. For dessert we had zucchini wheat germ cookies with a lemon glaze. They were very tasty, as well. Richard said he liked the cookies but they would have been better without the raisins and with more lemon glaze. He and Nate must think alike. (Nate said he would have liked 2 inches of lemon glaze on top.) We slicked up that 2.8 lbs. of salmon in nothing flat! Yum! Since it still wasn't a good day for grilling outside, Lindy did the salmon and asparagus in the oven; and, I must say, everything was perfect. Thanks, Barretts, for letting us come! When we arrived Nate and the girls were wearing various "dress up" attire. Nate, Camden and Riley went for the Western look, while Sidney was in her Cinderella outfit--high heels and all. She did great walking in the heels--even some running. Very tricky. After dinner, we stayed for FHE, which was very fun. We had an opening song (Riley wanted "Silent Night," but we decided to sing "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home") and prayer, Nate read a story from The Friend. After the closing song and prayer, we had an activity. Grampa suggested "Name that Tune Charades," which the girls thought sounded fun. We had to guess which song was being acted out. I said to Steven and Richard later that there is no way to describe in words how Riley acted out her songs. It was tooooooooooo funny. She made up her own songs, which made it kind of hard to guess the song. She would say, "It's a new song." Camden and Grampa acted out their songs as a team. It was all very fun--and funny.

"Crossing The River"

Yesterday (Sunday) was a big day at the MTC. We started at 8:00 a.m. with fast and testimony meeting in the new branch--Branch 50. Pres. Boone was there to conduct the branch business of releasing Pres. Donaldson and sustaining Pres. Taylor as the new branch president. Pres. Boone asked Steven and me to bear our testimonies, followed by time for a few missionaries to bear their testimonies. Then the Donaldsons were asked to give a parting message to the branch. Sis. Donaldson said she felt like the Lord was showing them a tender mercy by having Pres. and Sis. Taylor replace them because they had served with us previously and it would be easier for them to leave the branch with us there. That was nice of her to say. Pres. Donaldson said that he had been in Nauvoo earlier this week and had stood at the end of Parley Street looking across the Mississippi River. He concluded that CTR doesn't just mean "Choose the Right," it also means, "Cross the River." He told of a friend of his whose ancestors had been in Nauvoo. Half of them chose to cross the river and go west with the saints. The other half chose not to go. Those who crossed the river and went to Utah remained active in the Church. Those who stayed behind fell away from the Church. He said how important it is in our lives to "cross the river,'' to make the choice to follow and serve the Lord. I really liked that analogy of "crossing the river," especially as you picture in your mind that big Mississippi River from the end of Parley Street. Tiffany can really relate to how cold it was the day the pioneers left Nauvoo and crossed the river because she was there on February 4 and participated in a reenactment. What a hard thing that must have been for the pioneers to do. And how greatful we are that they did it. I think in our lives, when we're faced with a hard challenge, we can think about the pioneers and do as they did, "Cross the River."

Something I remembered just now is a sign we saw the other night in the reception area of Pres. Boone's office as we were waiting to see him. It read: "I'm too blessed to be stressed." That's something worth remembering.

After sacrament meeting we went to the Mission Conference which they have at the MTC every fast Sunday. Pres. Hansen, who was released as a district president, and his wife spoke. They were followed by Sis. Madsen and Pres. Madsen. Sis. Madsen told how they had seen the Atonement work in the life of their son, David, who had two brain tumors and many challenges during his 31 years of life before he passed away three years ago. It was touching to hear Sis. Madsen relate how he had overcome the many challenges of his life through the Atonement. She said, "I hope you can liken David's experiences to your own life." David was able to let go of the anger he had felt towards those who had been unkind to him. (Cast your burdens on the Lord.) He accepted his life and his limitations. (Don't compare yourself to others.) He was able to experience joy through service in the temple and being a faithful home teacher. (Find joy in giving service.) He maintained his sense of humor. (Be happy.) He felt and expressed gratitude for his many blessings. (Recognize the Lord's tender mercies in your life.) And he learned to rely on the Lord and focus on spiritual things. Pres. Madsen spoke about the importance of "fervent prayer" in our lives. To pray fervently requires effort on our part. Sis. Boone talked about the importance of keeping a history and recording your experiences so that you can have a record of God's dealings with you. Pres. Boone talked about good music and how it plays such an important part in our lives and in our worship services. That was quite a mission conference. I told Steven it was actually the first one I've attended because I have usually made it a point to attend fast and testimony meeting each month in the 8th ward to keep a connection going with our home ward. But now that we're on this new 8:00 a.m. schedule I'll be able to go to mission conference more.

After mission conference, we had a little study and preparation time before going to fast and testimony meeting in Branch 4. When Pres. Boone got up to conduct the branch business, he said that Pres. Taylor is currently presiding over two branches, so he needs to be released as branch president in this branch. We got to hear from the new branch president, Pres. Lindsey, and his wife, and then there was some time for the missionaries to bear their testimonies before Steven and I gave our parting message. I reminded the missionaries to be obedient, because if they are, then the other things will fall into place. Being obedient is the key for everything else to work. Steven told the story of Elder Aliaga, and how they as missionaries will be able to experience that joy with the fruits of their labors if they will work diligently, teach by the Spirit, and obey with exactness. District B (which leaves this week) and District E (which leaves the week after General Conference) sang their departure number together. That was a big group: 17 elders all singing together. So we said goodbye to the elders in District B who will be leaving this week (Elders Baker, Clements, Trappett, McAllister, Price, Burley, Eakins and Sorensen) and all the other elders in the branch at this time: Elders Brewer, McAllister, Hansen, Norton, Carey, Howard, Thatcher (ZL), Rowley (ZL), Urrutia (ZL), Boyle, McElvain, Barlow, McNinch, Brown, Francis, Kregger, Moore, Campbell, McBride, Smith, Danielson, Hansen, Carter, Morrison, Petersen, Remer, and the new elders this last week, Elders Baxter, Engh, Slade Twitchell, Carter, Warren, Christensen, and Wight. We'll miss seeing them leave but know they'll be great missionaries.

After coming home from the MTC, we enjoyed a fun evening with the Barretts. We had hamburger and rice casserole and corn for dinner. Riley gobbled her corn but had a hard time with the rice casserole. Camden gobbled her rice casserole but had a hard time with her corn. Quite the opposites. Sidney enjoyed eating both things as long as she could feed herself! Everyone loved the tasty sugar cookies from Allen's and the mint Dibs. Sidney tried Dibs for the first time and had quite the funny expressions on her face like "this is good, but painful."

I Must Have Been Worn Out!

Those 200 workouts must have worn me out--I haven't been back to my blog for a week! Actually, it does take time to get over there to Curves every day, so maybe I've been working out instead of blogging! Or something! I've still been going to Curves every day and I really enjoy it. I feel a lot better after I've been. Not that I don't feel well before I go, but I just feel better afterward.

Today is Eliza's #1 Birthday! Happy Birthday Eliza! Those are such cute pictures that Sarah posted today. That was a pretty--and messy--cake! It looks like you all had a fun and exciting day there.

This evening on my way home from AF I stopped by the Barretts and played with the girls in the playroom for a few minutes. Sidney is getting to be such a good walker! She walked and walked bringing me lots of delicious food. She's learned how to do it from the girls. I think she wore herself out going back and forth, back and forth. The Barretts were nice enough to share their real dinner with me--some of Lindy's delicious bean and wild rice soup followed by those mysterious black bean brownies. Very tasty! (See ourveggietales.blogspot.com. Riley told me very excitedly, "My mom has a food blog.")

Steven is at the MTC tonight greeting eight new elders. Last night the MTC Presidency informed us that they will be moving Steven from Branch 4 to Branch 50, where he will serve as branch president there. Ironically, he will be taking the place of Pres. Donaldson who was recently called to be a mission president in San Diego. Pres. Donaldson was Steven's counselor for awhile before he was called to be the branch president in Branch 50. Now Steven will be taking his place. We'll miss serving with the Ahlanders and the Jackmans, and we'll miss the missionaries in Branch 4 that we won't get to see leave. Our new sacrament meeting time will be 8:00 a.m., so that will get me up and going. Steven is already up and long gone by that time anyway, so it won't be too different for him. Maybe he'll be home a little earlier on this new schedule.

Last night (Tuesday) at the MTC Elder W. Douglas Shumway of the Seventy and his wife, Kathy, were the speakers. Elder Shumway used to be president of the Bolivia Santa Cruz Mission. In fact, when Steven was in Bolivia several years ago on Benson Institute business, he was invited by the Shumways to have dinner with them in the mission home and then they took him on a tour of Santa Cruz where Steven had served his mission. He saw firsthand the amazing growth that had taken place in Santa Cruz in the 30 years since he had served there. Back in the day, Steven had served as president of the one branch in Santa Cruz that met in a rented building. Now there are many stakes, wards, branches and church buildings there.

Sis. Shumway told the missionaries five attributes that could make them strong, powerful missionaries. (These are attributes that, as the wife of a mission president, she hoped missionaries would have when they arrive in the mission field.) First, Be happy. Smile and show that you are happy to serve the Lord. Second, Be humble and teachable. Third, Be obedient. Fourth, Know the doctrine, having felt the Spirit, and be ready to testify. Fifth, Be ready to work. I thought that was a good list of attributes for the missionaries to remember and strive to develop, so that when they arrive in the mission field they are ready for the work.

Elder Shumway gave the missionaries a lot of good counsel and advice on how to be good missionaries. "If you almost do what you are supposed to, then the Lord will almost bless you. . . Satan cannot lock you up. You have the key. The key is repentance. The only power Satan has over you is the power you give him. . .Self control is the road to heaven and self justification is the road to hell. . .The Atonement is the Gospel. . .Don't let the doctrine get too difficult in what you teach. . .Peace will be found only through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the soul hope of the world." He told a story of their daughter Stacey who served in Canada. While there, she bore her testimony to a young man who said he wasn't interested in the Church. A few years later, when she was teaching at the MTC, a missionary approached her and told her that he was the young man in Canada to whom she had born testimony and he had told her he wasn't interested. He said her testimony had actually made an impression on him, and that later he asked the missionaries teach him and he was baptized and called on a mission. So you never know what impression you leave with someone when you bear testimony, even if they say they're not interested. Elder Shumway concluded by telling the missionaries, "You are Israelites, children of the covenant, may you serve Him well."

Steven met with the elders in District A after the devotional. I took care of some scheduling arrangements with Richard so that Steven and I could meet with the MTC presidency after the district meeting. I met with the district long enough to bear my testimony to them and to feel the spirit of what they had learned from the meeting. It was later when we met with the MTC presidency that Steven received his new assignment.

Earlier in the week we had fun Easter activities with the Barretts. On Saturday we stayed with the girls from about 3:00 to 5:00 while Nate and Lindy attended a play. We played outside with the girls for awhile. Sidney had fun walking and walking out on the grass. When Lindy and Nate returned, they brought Mexican food home for dinner which we all enjoyed. On Sunday, they came for our Easter dinner of ham, sour cream potatoes and peas followed by BE-Naa-Na Cake! (as Riley used to sing; we can't get her to sing it any more). After dinner the girls had fun hunting for eggs out in the backyard. Instead of candy in the eggs, we had put in "clues" of things they could do to be happy (i.e. Obey Mom and Dad, Be nice to sisters, Go to bed on time, etc.). They liked the clues.

On Easter Sunday, I went to R.S. at the MTC and enjoyed Sis. Lant's most excellent talk about ways we can try to be like the Savior every day by applying Christ-like attributes in our lives. (See Preach My Gospel, pp. 115-123.) She asked, "Is Jesus Christ the center of your life? Is that how you're living your life? I know that as we place Him at the center of our lives, we can find guidance and strength and pece. This becomes the key."

After R.S. I went with Steven to district meeting with the departing district, District C--eight elders and four sisters going to the Carlsbad California Mission, except Sis. Crabbe who is going to Salt Lake City South. They've been a good district. Steven gave them his departure message taken from Jacob 5, quoting Zenos' three things to do to be great missionaries: (1) work diligently, (2) teach by the Spirit, and (3) obey with exactness. Then they can experience joy with the fruits of their labors. He told them the story of Elder Aliaga, from Bolivia, whom we met at the MTC prior to his going to the California Carlsbad Mission. He thought Steven might be the Elder Taylor who baptized his grandmother in Bolivia in 1968. Steven didn't know for sure. After coming home and checking his missionary journal and a 25-year mission reunion list, he found for sure he wasn't the Elder Taylor, but he did find an Elder Mark Taylor whom he thought might have been the one that baptized Elder Aliaga's grandmother. He called Mark Taylor; and, sure enough, he was the one who had taught and baptized Elder Aliaga's grandmother. Steven told him about Elder Aliaga and that all his grandmother's children and grandchildren were active in the Church. Mark Taylor was happy and excited to hear that news. The most amazing thing, however, was that Mark Taylor lived in Carlsbad California where Elder Aliaga was going! He told Steven to give Elder Aliaga his name and phone number so that Elder Aliaga could contact him. A few months later, we got a card from Elder Aliaga with a picture showing him and his companion having dinner with Mark Taylor and his family. He thanked Steven for getting them together. The missionaries liked hearing that story about experiencing joy with the fruits of your labors.

Then in Sacrament Meeting we were visited by our friends Pres. Mark Rowe, of the district presidency, and his wife, Paula. They both spoke and gave wonderful Easter messages about the Atonement. It was nice to have them there. District C sang their departure musical number, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," and "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." They did a good job, acapella even. Afterwards, we said goodbye to Elders Carlson, McAllister, Poulsen, Stevens, Murray, Stanley, Gagon, and Walton; and Sisters Stepp, Crabbe, Jensen. Sis. Menke is being delayed for two weeks with her injured ankle that needs to heal more, so she is moving to a different branch to be with another delayed sister, and then she'll go to Carlsbad when her ankle is better.

Lots of things happened this week!

200 Workouts

Today I had my 200th workout at Curves. Hooray for me! I didn't get my "200 Workouts" T-shirt because they didn't have my size; but, hopefully, I can get it soon so I can brag about working out 200 times! I started going to Curves every day a couple of weeks ago, and I really like going every day. I should have been doing it sooner.

Last night at the MTC the speakers were Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife, Kathy. Elder Andersen spoke about why sacrifice is such an important part of missionary work. He told the story of Benjamin Landart who, in 1888, gave up his chance to play in the territorial orchestra and sold his beloved violin so he could serve a mission. Forty-five years later he said, "The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up something I dearly loved for the God I loved even more. He has never forgotten me." Elder Andersen went on to say that this will be a time of great sacrifice for you. Exact obedience is part of sacrifice. Leaving your family and friends and things you love is part of sacrifice. Your time becomes the Lord's time. He said that when he was a mission president in France he used to feel sorry for the missionaries when they would come to him with their stories of their struggles and how hard things were. That made him recall his own struggles as a missionary in France, so he would feel sorry for the missionaries. One day he felt an impression from the Lord that said, "Pres. Andersen. Don't feel sorry for them. They're not serving this mission for you, they're serving it mission for me, and I don't feel sorry for them." Elder Andersen said that made him realize that the struggles, the rejections and hard times are the things that cause missionaries to grow, to humble themselves and to become better servants for Him. Great blessings come into their lives as a result, even blessings that extend long past their missions. Then Elder Andersen talked about how Christ was the greatest example of sacrifice. "What an example He set for us in our miniature world of sacrifice!"

After the devotional, we met with the District D, which is the new district that came in last Wednesday--eight elders: two going to Bolivia and six going to Mexico. They seemed to have learned a lot about sacrifice from Elder Andersen and how sacrifice is and will be an essential part of their missionary service. It was kind of strange for me when I first went in to the classroom where old District D also met before they left last Wednesday. I felt like they were still there somehow, or at least I could kind of see and feel them in the room. That's the first time I have felt something of an old district in one of their classrooms after they had left the MTC. Or maybe it was just the first time I paid attention to that feeling. In any case, it caused me to think about them and wonder how they are doing.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

We hope everyone had a fun St. Patrick's Day. I didn't make it over to the Barretts as I had hoped today. Darn! I missed catching that little leprechaun at work! (Check out that busy little leprechaun on Lindy's blog.) We enjoyed our early-morning greeting (via the blog) from the little leprechaun in South Carolina. Who knew we had such cute little leprechauns in the family? We were glad we could celebrate with the Barretts last night with our corned beef and cabbage dinner. That was fun, and the girls were such good eaters. But Lindy's St. Patty's dinner looks like it wins the prize for the tastiest and most creative St. P's dinner ever. Grampa would love some of those leprechaun fingers. Way to go Lindy! It sounds like Tiff didn't have much time to celebrate today being so busy and not feeling too great, but we hope you had some fun wearin' the green. Sure love all of you!

St. Patty's Day Dinner (A Day Early)

Tonight for dinner with the Barretts (minus Nate) we had corned beef, cabbage and potatoes in celebration of St. Patty's Day tomorrow. I was amazed at how the girls seemed to LOVE it. Riley ate her dinner so fast, in fact, that her tummy hurt and she had to lie down for awhile after dinner. Lindy said Riley's tummy isn't used to getting food so fast. For dessert we had yummy peach cream pie which the Barretts had purchased from the LaCrosse team boys who were doing a fundraiser. Surprisingly, it was very good. I say surprisingly because the boys had supposedly made the pies themselves. It actually was very good. Riley and Camden asked for seconds. After dinner we talked to Tiff, now back in Illinois, on the phone. When Riley first arrived this evening, she asked, "Where's Tiff?" We had to remind her that Tiffany had gone back to Illinois. When we tried to get Sidney to talk to Tiff on the phone, Sid just looked at the phone like "why is she in there?" Later, however, when Lindy brought up Tiff's blog page, Sidney (who was sitting on Lindy's lap), raised her hand and smiled and said a big "HI" when she saw Tiffany's picture on the blog. She was happy to see Tiff. The girls are already planning their next sleepover to be held in May.

Earlier today I went to Springville to Cousin Jacob Rawle's mission farewell. He's entering the MTC on Wednesday bound for Nicaragua. Steven took care of his branch president responsibilities at the MTC (including giving a talk on "Follow the Prophet") and I had a day with the extended family. (Too bad I wasn't able to speak at the MTC, but I'll have another chance in a few weeks.) It was a very nice meeting, and Jacob did a good job on his talk about the Apostasy and Restoration. He did such a good job, in fact, that Grandpa T. told him he hadn't heard a better talk from a missionary leaving for his mission. Speaking of Grandpa, he got along very well today. He enjoyed the meeting (with the help of a hearing device) and stayed a couple of hours over at Pat and Jim's visiting with everyone. There was a lot of good food there at Pat and Jim's plus lots of family to visit with. It really was a very nice day. Steven and I will be looking for Jacob at the MTC. Unfortunately, he won't be in our branch; but we'll get to see him, I'm sure.

Richard attended church at the 8th ward and reported that we now have a new counselor in the bishopric to replace Bro. Loveless. The new counselor is Bro. Runnells, just back from a trip to Morroco. Richard had guessed that it might be Bro. Runnells. He's a very good guesser. He guessed two members of the new Stake Presidency and he guessed Bishop Knell when he was made bishop awhile ago.

A Whirlwind Week!

Boy! That week went by fast while Tiffany was home. Now she's back in Charleston already! We had A LOT of fun while she was here and got lots of good things accomplished.

On SUNDAY, March 9, Tiff, Rich and I went to church in the 8th ward. I left after Sacrament Meeting to go up to the MTC. Tiff and Rich went to Sunday School and then to Priesthood and Relief Society. I shouldn't have left Tiff to fend for herself in RS, but she got along all right. She said the ladies were a little concerned that she had postponed her wedding until December and that she wouldn't be getting married in Nauvoo, afterall; but it's okay. They'll get used to it. I had a nice time at the MTC where we said goodbye to District D: Elders Lamb, Wilson, McCollum, Calcara and Collins; and Hermanas Leach and Park. They've been a good district and are headed to Salt Lake City and San Fernando. For their musical number, they sang, "How Great Thou Art," accompanied by Sis. Leach on the flute and Elder Price on the violin. They did a good job. The missionary speakers were Elder Eakins and Hermana Crabbe. Bro. and Sis. Jackman were the other speakers and they spoke about prayer. Sis. Jackman said that we should pray and ask for help in even the little things. The Lord will help us. Bro. Jackman said that the Lord will help us in every aspect of our lives if we are obedient and ask for His help.

The Barretts came for Sunday dinner and we had bean soup. The girls LOVE beans and rice--especially Sidney. When Lindy said, "We're going to say the prayer," Sidney put her hand over her heart because she thought Lindy had said "We're going to say the pledge." The girls had lots of fun playing with Tiffany after dinner.

On MONDAY, March 10, Tiff went with me to my Club lunch at Chef's Table. She's never eaten there before, so I thought she'd enjoy it. I had a tasty steak wrap and she had a yummy steak salad which were both very good. She said my friends are funny (in a good way, I hope). After lunch we went by Goldsmith's Jewelers to drop Tiff's ring off to be sized to a 4.5. Who would have thought Tiff had such little fingers? Then we went to the White Willow Reception Center in Provo to check out the possibilities for a wedding luncheon there. It's a fun place--a neat old home in the historic part of Provo. The prices are reasonable, too. It seems like it would be a great place for Tiff & Greg to have their wedding lunch. After the White Willow, we went by the Distribution Center to pick up a few things. Then we went by a couple of white dress places just to see what was out there. We weren't really thinking that we would find THE dress; but at White Elegance, we found the perfect dress. It's meant to be a temple dress, but it is so lovely it can be a temple/wedding dress. If we were to have one made, it would look exactly like this dress. So we got it. It just needs to be altered a little to fit perfectly (sleeves and hem adjusted). With a burgandy sash, it should be just perfect.

After dinner we went over to the T's in Springville for FHE. Tiffany showed us her presentation she did for the RS birthday party in Charleston. It was very good. I think Grandpa T. was quite impressed with Tiff's sweet historical and audio/visual skills. Grandma Cathy had baked a delicious cherry pie for dessert, which we all enjoyed.

On TUESDAY, Mar 11, we went to Excel Eye Center for Tiff's yearly exam. While there we somehow fell into a black hole. Glenn Beck would say a "worm" hole. Anyway, at 9:30, when we checked in, they had to redo all of Tiff's personal information because of a new computer system. That took until 10:00. Once that was done, we sat down and waited, and waited and waited to be called back to see the doctor. All these people who had come in after us were going back, but no one called for Tiffany. We wondered what was up. Plus there were all these people in there trying to get their records updated and waiting to see the doctors. There was such a crush at the reception area it was impossible to talk to anyone. When Tiff was able to ask someone why we hadn't been called back, the lady just said, "Oh, Dr. Parsons is backed up today." Finally, 11:15, when we'd been there almost two hours, I went to the one head lady and told her that we better reschedule our appointment for May because we couldn't wait any longer. That made her go in search of Tiffany's chart, which no one could seem to locate. Finally, it was found somewhere where it shouldn't have been and they called Tiff back to see the doctor. Once we were back there it didn't take long at all. The doctor said her eyes look fine and she doesn't even need new glasses. So that was good news. After the checkup, we sped away from there to make our 12:00 appointment with our friend Yevon Romney for a belated birthday lunch with her at Brick Oven. That was fun. We shared a 14" barbecue chicken pizza. Very tasty!

Tuesday evening Steven came home for dinner so we could eat with Tiff before we went to the MTC for the devotional. While we were gone, she was able to get some miscellaneous things done around here. The speaker at the devotional was Elder Spencer V. Jones, of the Seventy, whom we have never heard before. His talk was about the plan of salvation, with emphasis on the missionaries' objective of putting people on the path that will eventually lead them to the celestial kingdom and life with our Father in Heaven. Afterward, we met with District E, which had just had one of their district members leave to go home that morning. They were feeling emotional about that, so it was good that Steven could be there with them that evening to help them feel better about everything. The three new zone leaders are in this district: Elders Thatcher, Rowley, and Urrutia. (They replaced Elders Lamb and Wilson who were leaving for the mission field Wednesday morning.)

On WEDNESDAY, March 12, I went with Tiff out to Camp Floyd so she could check with Mark Trotter about her upcoming internship there. We left here at 9:15 a.m. and it took us about 45 minutes to get out there, just in time for her 10:00 appointment. When she met with Mark, it was a little disappointing because he told her he would only be able to pay her for four months instead of the six months which he had told her earlier. He said she could volunteer for the final two months, but that didn't sound too good because she would have to drive all the way out there for two months and not get paid, even for gas. Bummer. So we were kind of down in the mouth about that, until Tiffany decided that maybe it could work if she did her internship there at Camp Floyd from June to October, then get married in October instead of December, and then go with Greg to Illinois where she could finish her internship for the last two months. I had a similar idea, so it turned out we were thinking along the same lines. Tiff called Greg to see what he thought about the plan, and he thought it sounded good. So we felt better about things after that.

On our way home from Camp Floyd, we stopped at Thanksgiving Point to check out the wedding luncheon possibilities there, since we were in the neighborhood. The facility fee is not bad ($100 for two hours including linens, servers, etc.) but the food is waaaaaaaay expensive. It made White Willow look all that much better.

That evening, while Steven was at the MTC greeting 8 new elders, Tiff and I met Greg's mom at Bajio in PG. She treated us to dinner, so that was nice. We had a good visit with her and enjoyed our shrimp tacos. She about had a heart attack when Tiff said there was a change in the wedding plans and she noticed that Tiff was not wearing her ring. When Tiff saw her panicked expression, Tiff assurred her that everything was fine, the ring was at the jewelers getting sized but there had just been a change in the date. Pam was much relieved. She thought the new plans sounded good. She told us her new plan was to leave here on Saturday to join her husband in Arizona and start a new job there. Good luck to her!

On THURSDAY, March 13, Tiff went with Steven in to BYU so she could spend some time at the library. I met her at 1:00 at the Wilkenson Center. While there we decided to go to BYU Catering to check on the possibilites of a wedding luncheon there in the Skyroom. We thought we might as well while we were there. The girl that helped us seemed a little spacey and couldn't really give us definite answers to our questions. I think they're in the midst of changing some of their prices and policies. All in all it sounded pretty good, but I thought White Willow still sounded better. We wouldn't want to have it there in the Skyroom if Oct. 18 is homecoming weekend; and the date of homecoming hasn't been set yet, so the Skyroom is a question. My vote is for White Willow.

After meeting with catering, we went down off campus and enjoyed an authentic J Dog and all the taste and ambience that goes with that. Eat your hearts out, Sarah and Joel! (j/k) The reason we went there is because they love J Dogs so much, and rightfully so.

That afternoon, after dropping Rich off in AF, Tiff and I drove around AF and PG taking pictures of old homes for her Mormon architecture paper, then we went to the Holy Cow boutique, which was a lot of fun. We saw the lady who checked us in at Excel Eye Center and she was embarrassed when she saw us, but we told her no hard feelings. She didn't know what happened to Tiff's papers after they left her hands, so it wasn't her fault.

Just when we thought our day couldn't get any better, we went over to the Barretts for dinner where Steven joined us. What fun we had, and what delicious food! Lindy fixed some of her tasty squash and potatoes on spinach with buckwheat crepes. Yum! Yum! For dessert, she had fixed a wonderful coconut cream pie, which had a layer of chocolate pudding, and was topped with coconut marshmellows. Talk about delicious! The little girls enjoyed fixing food down in the playroom. Sidney can even join in on the preparation and serving of such food now that she can walk and bring the food over from the stove to the "customer."

On FRIDAY, March 14, we ran over to Target to check things out there. Tiffany had been wanting to go over there since she misses Target so much in Illinois. She's lucky to live almost next door to Wal-Mart, but it's just not the same as Target. She did stuff around home while I ran Rich over to AF. Then we went in to BYU to pick up some papers from the library; then to Goldsmith's to pick up the ring (which fit perfectly); then to Shirley's to pick up w/w rolls for dinner, but they were out of the w/w rolls, so we picked up w/w bread instead. We made it home just in time to get the spaghetti cooking before the Barretts arrived for dinner. We wanted to have one more dinner with them before Tiffany left, plus the girls wanted to see Tiff's ring (without the sizer on the back) and the wedding dress. They liked both the ring and the dress. Camden said the dress just needs a sash that's burgandy with pink polka dots. She also said in a tired voice, "We're sure talking a lot about weddings." (When Camden grows tired of wedding talk, then you know it's time to stop.)

On SATURDAY, March 15, we got up bright and early to get Tiff to the airport to catch her 8:45 a.m. flight to Chicago. We got up to the airport without incident and got her checked in and moving through Security. Then we headed home. By noon (our time) she was already in Chicago, catching the train to Union Station where she met up with Aly for lunch and the train ride to Mattoon where Greg met them and took them to Charleston. We're glad she made it back safely and that we could have such a fun time while she was here. I can't believe how fast the week went by, though. Two months from today, I'll fly to St. Louis where she and Greg will pick me up (after the Cardinals game), and then I'll drive home with her to Utah. Sounds like another fun adventure is in store.

Lunch with Karalie at the Left Fork Grill

Tiffany and I just got back from Salt Lake where we had lunch with Karalie at the Left Fork Grill. It's a place that Karalie recently discovered, and she thought we might like it, which we did. It was funny getting there. We were looking for the Flat Rock Grill. I had also been thinking it was the Flat Iron Grill. When Tiff and I came upon it, it was the Left Fork Grill. Karalie said, "I can't ever get the name right." Tiff and I thought we must be at the right place because it was the only "grill" around where we were. Anyway, the food was delicious! Tiff had the meatloaf which was served with the best chili sauce ever! I had the chicken schnitzle, which was really good, as well. It had a tasty brown sauce on it plus two kinds of cheese, but it wasn't too cheese-y. Karalie had a reuben sandwich and french fries. We liked everything. For dessert we had to try the blackberry cream pie and the pecan pie. Yum! That was probably some of the best pie ever, and I'm not kidding. Karalie was modeling some of her new head gear. Today she had on a cute black cloche, which was very becoming. After lunch we went out into the parking lot, where Karalie took off her hat and showed us how much of her hair was gone. It was pretty short and sparse. She had just picked up a new wig, which needs some more work on it before she can wear it. She says she still feeling pretty good, and she could taste her lunch today, so that's a good report. We hope she continues to do as well with her two remaining treatments as she has done so far.

The sleepover last night was a big success. The girls were up bright and early this morning, ready for some fun. (Grampa and I thought they must have slept soundly, but I guess that wasn't really the case. There were a few trips to the bathroom and a few nightmares that Aunt Tiffy took care of during the night.) The first thing the girls wanted to do this morning was for Tiffany to play her "Meet Me in St. Louis" CD. Then they came to see if Grampa and Gramma were up. We were--just barely. The girls were hungry for pancakes, so Grampa made some tasty honey nut oatmeal pancakes with help from the girls. They also helped set the table. They each had three pancakes, so Grampa must have done a good job making them. After breakfast, it was time to brush teeth, get dressed and comb hair. Camden and Riley were amazed that I could do "big girl" pony tails. After hair-doing there was still time to color before we had to load up and head over to PG to drop the girls off before taking Richard on over to AF. After dropping Richard off, Tiff and I headed to SLC to meet up with Karalie. What a fun day we've had.

Tiff's Home for Spring Break!

Tiffany made it home today for her week long Spring Break. Her day began early as she had to catch the 5:30 a.m. train (The City of New Orleans) from Mattoon to Chicago. Thanks to Greg for getting her to the train station and seeing her off. Once in Chicago, she had to go from Union Station to Clinton Street station to catch the CTA train to O'Hare airport. She called me while still on the train to Chicago and said, "I'm leaving from O'Hare, right?" I told her that was right. She has flown out of Midway a couple of times. In that case she has to catch a different train once she gets to Chicago. I should have realized then that she hadn't checked her travel plans too closely before she left. Once she got to the airport, she called and said they were having trouble pulling up her itinerary at American Airlines. (I had told her she was flying American. That means I hadn't checked too closely, either. I was mainly looking at the flight times and flight number when we were talking on the phone last night. Duh. I didn't really look at the airline.) When I checked my copy of her itinerary on the computer, I saw that she was flying Delta instead of American. No wonder. But we finally got it all straightened out and she got checked in with Delta. She said she'd print out her itinerary next time. (When you order your tickets a few months in advance it's hard to remember the details unless you print them off or check everything right before you leave.) Then, once she landed in Salt Lake, she started looking for me and couldn't find me. I had been looking for her, as well. She called me but I didn't hear my phone, so I didn't answer. About 10 minutes after I knew she should have arrived, I looked at my phone and saw I had two missed calls from her. I called her and asked where she was. Come to find out, she was in Terminal One and I was in Terminal Two. That's funny. Terminal Two is where Delta flights come in, but she said she just went to the terminal nearest the gate where she arrived. But we finally got together after a few miscues. Thank goodness for cell phones.

On the way home, we stopped by the Barretts. Steven was there watching the girls while Nate and Lindy went to see Vantage Point. He had agreed to stop by there after dropping Richard off so that Nate and Lindy could leave for the movie. I didn't think Tiff and I could make it in time for them to leave, and I was right. So we met up with Steven and the girls at the Barretts, then we all came over here for the big sleepover. Even Sidney came; but only for dinner and fun, not to sleep over. We had a delicious dinner of Uncle Kevin beans and spaghettios. Sidney loved it so much she had three helpings of each. Camden and Riley enjoyed theirs, too. Then we had mini chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The girls had fun visiting and playing with Tiff and Grampa while Gramma cleaned up. Lindy and Nate came by and picked up Sidney, who was getting pretty tired by this time. After the girls brushed their teeth and had prayers, they watched some Hairspray with Tiff and Gramma before going to bed. They were so tired, and so was Tiffany. I hope they're able to have a good sleep.

Camden's Ear Ache

Yesterday (Wednesday) Steven went with Richard and me over to American Fork to drop Richard off for work. Then we went by Macey's to stock up on some things during the big case lot sale. We got a bunch of canned goods to "beef up" our food storage. (Lindy--you could go get some garbanzo beans while they're on sale. Those are good food storage items.) On our way to Macy's this weird snow storm blew over. It started out as just a few flakes and then more and more. We could see this "ginormous" (as Tiff would say) storm cloud barreling our way, bringing with it wind and snow. We were in the store as the worst of it passed over. Then it was gone.

On the way home we decided to stop by the Barretts. We went inside. All was quiet. No one was there. We could tell that they had made a speedy exit. Not long after we got there, Lindy came home with the girls. Camden was crying and we could tell something was wrong. It turns out, her ear was hurting. She had been at dance and the dance teacher had called Lindy to say that Camden was crying and complaining that her ear hurt. So Lindy took Riley and Sidney and went and picked Camden up and took her to the doctor. The doctor looked in her ear and then took some wax out, but said that Camden's ear didn't appear to be infected. She gave Camden some Motrin and then sent them on their way. Camden's ear was still hurting when they got home, and she was pretty sad. So Grandpa cuddled with her for awhile and she settled down a bit. When Daddy Nate came home, he and Grandpa gave Camden a blessing to help her feel better. I was upstairs with Riley and Sidney. When I said something to Lindy about the blessing, Sidney folded her arms as soon as she heard the word "blessing." Riley read to me about monkeys jumping on the bed, and Sidney read to me to out of a couple of books for about five seconds each.

Before long, Camden started perking up while lying on the couch and watching a movie. We were glad to see her starting to feel better. I told her that I used to have ear aches when I was a little girl and my mom would put something in my ear to help it feel better. When we got home, I called Mom (Grandma Great) and asked her what she would do for my ear aches. She said that she would barely warm up some olive oil (baby oil will do) in a teaspoon and put a couple of drops in my ear followed by some cotton in the ear and then a warm, moist pack held against the ear. I remember that it did help my ear feel better. Mom said I used to scream and scream with my ear aches. I have waxy ears, too, just like Camden. We hope she continued to feel better and that she was able to have a good night.

Good luck to Karalie today with her second chemo treatment. She got lots of fun head gear and jewels at her head-shaving party on Monday. Her friend ended up not actually shaving Karalie's head but just cutting it very short. Also, we're looking forward to Tiffany coming home tomorrow for Spring Break and our sleepover with the girls. We're going to have lots of fun.

Someone "BIG" Spoke Tonight

We never know who is going to be speaking at the MTC each Tuesday, but tonight it was even more of a mystery. When Steven and I went to the cafeteria for dinner, we saw Pres. and Sis. Boone leaving the cafeteria. Usually, they and other members of the MTC presidency have dinner with the evening's speaker in the VIP dining room. Because we saw them in the cafeteria, my first thought was that we wouldn't be having a general authority speaker tonight. We were eating with Bro. Rampton, who said he had passed the VIP dining room on his way in and it was empty. When I said I didn't think a general authority would be speaking, Steven said, "That might be, or else the general authority who's speaking chose not to have dinner beforehand." My feeling was that the speaker wouldn't be a general authority; maybe members of the district presidencies would be the speakers, which was the case at one of the devotionals about a year ago.

When we went in to the auditorium, Steven and I found our places way up on the back row. That's where we were assigned to sit since Steven and some of the elders from the branch would be helping with the ushering. He went off to usher and I stayed in my seat. Two sisters from our branch came by and were happy to see me. We greeted each other, then they asked, "Do you know who's speaking tonight?" I said, "No. But I'm thinking it might not be a general authority." They said, "Oh, we were thinking that it's going to be someone 'big' because we've seen Security checking under the seats, and we've never seen them do that before. We're really hoping to hear someone 'big' speak before we leave." Then they went off to find their places. It seemed to be taking longer than usual for the picture of the speaker to come up on the big screen. When it finally did, it showed Elder Holland as the speaker. You could hear all the missionaries start chattering with anticipation. The sisters passed by again a few minutes later and Sis. Crabbe gave me a big smile and a "thumb's up," so I guess that meant they were excited to hear from someone "big."

Elder Holland came without Sis. Holland, who was taking care of some grandmother duties. So we just got to hear from Elder Holland. He gave a great talk, as usual. The last couple of times we've heard from him he's been very animated. He can be funny one minute, and then serious the next. He spent quite a bit of time on his introduction, telling the missionaries, "I love you, I honor you, I envy you, I'm proud of you, I admire you." Then he talked about his own mission saying, "No young man was ever more affected by a mission than I was...My mission meant everything to me...Every significant thing that has happened to me in my life has happened because of my mission...That's why I love you, because I loved my mission." He then said, "I have more in common with you now than I did prior to my apostolic call; because an apostle is a missionary, a witness for the name of Jesus Christ in all the world. As I am a missionary, so are you apostolic. I'm an Apostle (big A) and you are an apostle (little a), a witness, going out to declare the name of Christ in all the world...Don't you dare go out there and miss the opportunity to apostolic...We (Apostles) get up on time, so we want you to get up on time...Don't miss a minute (of your mission). In a matter of moments, this is going to be over...Don't you dare go home with a regret...Pull up your socks and go to work...We grow up when we show up at the MTC. We put away childish things. We grow up overnight....Welcome to the work."

He told the missionaries that "people pray for you all over this Church. Missionaries are probably the most prayed-for people in the Church, next to Pres. Monson. You and Pres. Monson are neck and neck, with people you don't even know praying for you." That reminded me of something that happened a couple of years ago. I think Camden was almost three. I had been with her during the day on a Tuesday, and I told her that I was going to be with the missionaries that night. Her eyes got big and she asked, "Will you see the Prophet?" I told her, "No, I probably won't see the prophet; but I'll be with his helpers, the missionaries." When I told Lindy what she had said, Lindy said that when Camden says her prayers she prays for the Prophet and for the missionaries. So to her, the Prophet and the missionaries go together. If I was going to see the missionaries, then I would surely see the Prophet. In our meeting with District C after the devotional, I told the missionaries that story about Camden and they liked the thought of little children praying for them. All in all, it was a great evening. What a treat and blessing to be able to hear from Elder Holland!

Vantage Point

Richard and I went to see the new movie, Vantage Point, today. Tiffany saw it a few days ago in Illinois and liked it because it was so intense and exciting, so we thought we'd go see it. And, yes, it's quite the exciting movie! It has a lot of twists and turns that you don't expect, so it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Good thing it's only about 1 hr. and 20 min. long because your heart couldn't take it much longer! After the movie, we went and picked up a couple of fish filet sandwiches from McDonald's. They were very good, as always; unlike the fish sandwiches we got at Wendy's the other night which weren't good at all. We probably "caught" that Wendy's on a bad night, or something; but I've never had a bad fish sandwich at McDonald's. So they have my vote.

For FHE tonight we watched the Pratt Brothers DVD which our friend, Mark Rowe, gave to Steven. Mark is a descendant of William Pratt, and he knows that Steven is a descendant of Parley P. Pratt, so he gave Steven one of the DVD's that he'd been able to get through the Pratt Family organization. We watched the "Ancestor" part and the "Parley" part, which were both very interesting. Susan Easton Black is one of the commentators about Parley, so that made it all the more interesting to us. She knows a lot about Parley, as she does about a myriad of other things, as well.

Tonight Karalie is having a "head shaving" party up in Salt Lake with some of her friends. She was hoping to have enough hair left to shave off for the party. They were planning to have some good food and presents (which I imagine would be head coverings, etc.). So we hope they all have a good time. One thing about Karalie, which I'm sure is helping her, is that she is trying to maintain a positive attitude about everything she's going through right now. That's bound to be helpful. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Karalie.

Sunday Salmon Loaf

Tonight for dinner we had salmon loaf (Grandma Adair's recipe) with cheesey potatoes and Uncle Kevin Beans. It must have been pretty good because everyone sat right up and ate it. Riley kept us posted on who was winning the different contests: "I win the green bean contest!" "Camden wins the whole dinner gone contest!" etc. Even Sidney thought it was pretty good. She sat up and ate her dinner with a fork! After dinner we read books and had fun. Sidney was brave and even walked around a little bit. We had a fun evening.

Earlier today I went to fast meeting in the 8th ward with Richard. We thought we might get a new bishopric counselor today because Bro. Loveless was sustained to the Stake High Council last week.But no new counselor today. I left after that meeting and went to fast meeting at the MTC. I didn't play the piano today because Elder Collins did, and he did a pretty good job. I'm glad he did so that he can build up his confidence in playing. At the MTC is where he needs to get his practice. I hope he keeps playing after he leaves for the mission field next week. In testimony meeting all three Elder McAllisters bore their testimonies. I just think that's kind of interesting to have three Elder McAllisters at the same time plus Elders McCollum and McNinch. There's Elder McElvain, too, but he says his name Mackelvain.

Last evening Steven and I went in to BYU for the College Basketball Night with the donors to the college. We had dinner at the Bean Museum and it was very good: Smoked turkey, Baron of Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Carrots, Salad, Rolls and Pie for dessert. Steven and I had the multi-berry pie that had big strawberries in it. It was very tasty! After dinner we went to the game: BYU vs. Air Force. We left shortly after halftime when BYU was over 30 points ahead. The final score ended up being BYU 76 and Air Force 57.