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.

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.

Having Fun with Sidney

Today I got to have some fun with Sidney while Lindy had Riley's pre-school at their house. When I arrived there, Sidney was still asleep and Lindy was getting the kids started. She had the house decorated so cute and everything all planned and set up nicely. It looked like lots of fun would be happening. I watched the kids do their puzzles for a few minutes. Riley was being so good and meticulous, doing everything just right. I can't say so much for the little boys, however. Sidney woke up a little later, so I went and got her out of bed. She seemed suprised to see me, but happy. I changed her pants, then we read a few stories. She let me know when she'd had enough, and we went downstairs. She could hear the kids being busy down there. So we went down and said hi to the kids, then put her jacket on and went out to the car. She acted like, "What's going on?" She seemed quite surprised that she was leaving all by herself with Gramma. When I buckled her in to the car seat, she seemed quite amazed. Like, "What's happening? Where are we going?" As we drove along she still seemed as if she couldn't believe what was happening. I needed to get a few groceries, so we stopped by Albies (Albertson's). The whole time she seemed so surprised to be with me on an outing. In the store she started chatting and commenting on everything while we picked out the things we needed. Then we went by the house to drop the groceries off and see Uncle Rich for a minute. She played with him while I brought the groceries in. Then she got to sit up and have some cheerios and apples. She thought that was quite fun. Then it was time to head home. When we got to her neighborhood, she got quite excited because she knew she was going home. I think she thought she was quite the big girl to go on an outing all by herself with Gramma, but she was still very happy to get home and see her mom and sisters.

Last night the speakers at the MTC devotional were Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy and his wife, Kathy. Sis. Jensen spoke about obedience and how the motto of their mission in Rochester, New York, when Elder Jensen was president, was: "Obedience brings success." She told about how one of their daughters had accepted a date with a young man. Someone who knew him said, "I was in the mission field with him, and he wasn't an obedient missionary." Her brother then told her, without knowing the young man, "He's not for you." Sis. Jensen then encouraged the missionaries to "be the kind of missionary you'd like your brother or sister to date."

Elder Jensen spoke about the conversion process which begins with a seeker. That seeking will eventually bring a person to the truth. A seeker is motivated by the light of Christ. The Holy Ghost can register truth with the seeker through a messenger who has a testimony. That leads the seeker to ask, "What shall I do?" The answer is to invite the seeker to repent and obey, which brings about forgiveness of sin. The seeker is born again, their spirit is healed.

I, of course, haven't summarized Elder Jensen remarks very well, but I've given the general idea of what he said about conversion. We met with the new district, District A, after the devotional and they all seemed prompted and encouraged by the Jensens' remarks to be more obedient and to strive to be powerful messengers of the truth, to find those who are seeking, and to be able to invite them to repent and obey.

Remembering Scott Keyser

Today was our friend Scott Keyser's funeral in Draper. He passed away last Tuesday, Feb. 12, after having had multiple myeloma for three years. Two years ago he had a stem cell transplant and went into remission for a year, then the cancer came back a year ago. His wife, Chris, and I had been trying to get together in December and January but she had to keep cancelling because she needed to take Scott to the doctor. She kept sounding hopeful. She said, "We're going to beat this." He started a new agressive treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Center in January; but I guess he went downhill from there. It was his last resort, and it just didn't work for him.

Scott and Chris lived in the Sunset Heights 5th ward with us for quite a few years when all of our kids were little. So we had a lot of good times with them. Chris was Relief Society president and we have been good friends over the years. Lindy and their daughter, Kim, were best friends in grade school. Around Kim's junior high years they moved to Pennsylvania for a few years and then back to Utah, settling in Salt Lake. Scott worked for Geneva Steel until it went out of business. He brokered steel for awhile, then found that was going nowhere. He most recently worked for NuSkin. Chris teaches at the U and has a consulting business. So she will get along all right, hopefully, now that Scott is gone. We have gotten together with them and some of the other old friends socially over the years to try to stay in touch. I dropped the ball for the past few years, so we haven't gotten together. I kind of wondered why I had to be the one to get us together and I always felt like we were leaving someone out; so I decided that it was just easier not to do it. Now I feel kind of bad.

The funeral was very nice. Each of the four children spoke: Stephanie, Michael, Kim and Natalie. They had great times skiing and boating with their dad. He was a great husband, father, grandfather and friend. He had completed his mission and it was time for him to go. He didn't want to go and leave Chris alone, but she told him she would be all right. It was nice to be there and to reflect on Scott's good life and the "good old days" when we were young and our kids were growing up together.

We rode up with Joel and Annette, so that was nice to be with them. On the way up we were behind a small blue car with a big guy at the wheel. I couldn't see anyone in the passenger seat. Annette said, "I bet that's Doyle and Diane (Asay) on their way to the funeral." Joel asked, "Do you know their car?" Annette said, "No. That just looks like Doyle's head." I thought that didn't look like a car they would be driving, plus I couldn't see anyone in the passenger seat. But we passed the car; and, sure enough, it was Doyle and Diane. She was kind of curled up there in the passenger seat instead of sitting up straight, so that's why we couldn't see her. But Annette knew the back of Doyle's head. That's funny. So we saw them up there, plus the Marcovs, Kim and Deenie Asay and, of course, Don and Jaynann Wendt. Jaynann is Richard's "boss" at the temple and she always tells us how much she appreciates him and the good worker her is.

After the funeral, we went with Joel and Annette for bite of lunch at Bajio. That was fun to be with them. Annette always knows how to order Mexican food.

When we got home Richard was watching the new TV (which we got a few days ago), and he was quite displeased with the speakers. They were making a static-y sound. So we decided to box it up and put the old TV back in its place. Richard was quite relieved to have the good old TV back. He said it reminded him of President's Day a few years ago when we had gotten him a new mattress. We had tossed his old mattress in the dumpster at the church. Well, he didn't like his new mattress, so we went back and got his old one out of the dumpster. Thankfully, no on had thrown anything in on top of it! That was pretty funny to get the mattress back out of the dumpster. I told Steven I'm glad we didn't get rid of the old TV as soon as he wanted to!

For FHE, about 4:00, we went over and had a nice visit with the T's in Springville. It was good to see Grandpa and Cathy for a little while. Their mama goat had three babies recently, so Grandma Cathy was out at the barn with their friend, Bro. Lay, milking her. They got a gallon of milk + one pint! Cathy has to feed one of the babies because the mother won't. Another of the babies died; so now they only have two, one of which the mother won't feed. Grandpa seems to be doing pretty well, so we're glad about that. He talked to us about Steven speaking at his funeral and me writing his obituary, however. He does that from time to time, so I don't think it means he's going to go any time soon.

The day had gotten away from me and we were without a cherry pie for President's Day! So Richard and I went by Target about 8:00, and we picked up a couple of little 4-inch cherry pies that were all they had. We came home and cut them in half and had cherry pie and ice cream with Dad. It tasted pretty good. It would have been a shame for President's Day to have gone by without any cherry pie! I told Lindy we'll have some this Sunday since we didn't have any last Sunday.

Happy V Day!

Happy Valentines Day! It was a fun day with heart-shaped pizzas and Valentines Day wishes. I went over to the Barretts at lunch time and took two heart-shaped pizzas from Papa Murphey's to bake, one cheese and one pepperoni. The little girls were excited about the pizza, their Valentines, cookies, and other treats. I took some little boxes I had decorated that had some cute socks and a bracelet inside for Camden and Riley. Sidney looked at me like, "Where's mine?" She was happy that I had one for her too. Instead of a bracelet she got a little stuffed dog that says "I love you" when you squeeze his paw. Sidney was sitting in her chair and saying, "I love you." Camden said, "You did a great job decorating these boxes, Grandma." After lunch we decorated some delicious sugar cookies that Lindy had made. Yummy. I decorated some to take home to Richard and Grampa. I picked up a heart-shaped pizza at 5-buck pizza for Richard's Valentine lunch--he likes more things on his pizza than just pepperoni and/or cheese. Steven and I went for an early dinner to El Azetca. We thought we might need to go early to beat the Valentines Day crowds, but there was hardly anyone there. Steven said it was the fewest number of people he had ever seen at El Azetca. I told him that maybe Valentine diners were going somewhere more "romantic" for Valentines Day; but El Azteca was just fine for us. We love their cheese enchiladas. Now we're going to watch "Princess Bride." That's fun for Valentines Day. We hope everyone else has had a nice Valentines Day. When Steven heard the news about the shootings at Northern Illinois University this afternoon, he wondered if we should call Tiff and talk to her about it. But I thought it might be better to not spoil her V day activities. What a tragedy that was! We were sorry to hear about it.

Thanks everyone for your fun blog pictures and Valentines Day wishes. We love all of you, too.

Sick Day

Today is Richard's day off from work and we are just sitting around here in the house being sick together. We both have colds and it is no fun! I went down to sleep in Sarah's room last night so I wouldn't disturb Dad with all my cold noises, and when I woke up it was 10:00! I haven't done anything like that since I can't remember when. Dad made his lunch and went off to work and I didn't even know it. Here's hoping Richard and I can get over what we have and that Dad can stay well. I never really got over my December sickness, so this just feels like a continuation.

Tonight for FHE Richard gave the lesson on Pres. Eyring's article in this month's Ensign, "Feeding His Lambs," which is about why and how we are to nourish others. On page 7 of the article Pres. Eyring talks about two keys in receiving help in "feeding His lambs," or nourishing others. They are (1) daily study of the scriptures, and (2) the prayer of faith. "The Holy Ghost will guide what we say if we study and ponder the scriptures every day. The words of the scriptures invite the Holy Spirit. The Lord said it this way: 'Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men' (D&C 11:21). With daily sudy of the scriptures, we can count on this blessing even in casual conversations or in a class when we may be asked by a teacher to respond to a question." On p. 8, Pres. Eyring says, "Just as pondering the scriptures invites the Holy Ghost, so does daily pleading in prayer. If we do not ask in prayer, He will rarely come, and without our petition, He is not likely to linger...Heartfelt, constant pleading for the campanionship of the Holy Ghost, with the pure intent to nourish our Father's children, will surely bring blessings to us and to those we love and serve." I think this is a good lesson and reminder for all of us. Great lesson, Rich. I think we should all read this article.

Pres. Hinckley's Funeral

Today was Pres. Hinckley's funeral, and it was a beautiful, sunny winter day. It was cold, but not as cold as it's been. So, I think Heavenly Father was honoring Pres. Hinckley with such a beautiful day and a welcome break from the constant cold, snowy, gray winter weather we've been having. Richard went to work at the temple today even though it was Pres. Hinckley's funeral. I guess they had to keep the temple open for all the weddings that were going on plus other things scheduled there for today. But I told Richard that if he had to be any place else today other than watching the funeral, the temple was a great place to be. I don't think Pres. Hinckley would have wanted all temple work to stop for his funeral; so, it was actually a way for Richard to honor him by being there during the funeral.

I just loved the funeral. Even without being there in person we could feel the spirit of the occasion as we watched on TV. The talks were wonderful as was all the music. The speakers were Pres. Hinckley's daughter, Virginia H. Pearce; Bishop H. David Burton; Elder Earl C. Tingey; Pres. Boyd K. Packer; Pres. Henry B. Eyring; and Pres. Thomas S. Monson. Sis. Pearce said, "My father was adorable, a marvel to watch." She also said, "These past four years (after Sis. Hinckley's death) have been the capstone years of his life." She told how he was very sad after Sis. Hinckley passed away; but, for two years, he went back to work in every sense of the word. Then, for another two years after that, he was granted a "miraculous two-year extension of his life" after being diagnosed with cancer. He kept on working until the end.

Bishop Burton said that Pres. Hinckley was considered by the young people of the Church to be "awesome," that he connected with the young people and encouraged them to "stand a little taller, do your best, and raise the bar," and he gave them (and us) the "six B's" to follow: Be Humble, Be Grateful, Be Smart, Be Clean, Be Prayerful, Be True. He told how several years ago when there were 47 temples, of which Pres. Hinckley had part in dedicating 30 of them, Pres. Hinckley said, "My, I would love to be alive when we have 100 temples." The Rexburg Temple, which was scheduled to be dedicated before he died, is #125. He told how Pres. Hinckley had wanted "Little Cottonwood Granite" to be used in the construction of the Conference Center, but that there was much outside opposition to the use of the granite. When Bishop Burton and others suggested using another material, Pres. Hinckley said, "Don't worry. A way will be provided." He will always be remembered for encouraging us to do and be the best we can and to stand a little taller.

Elder Tingey spoke of the "footprints" left in the sands of time by Pres. Hinckley: as the great communicator; his influence on missionary work--400,000 missionaries were called by him which comprise 40 percent of all the missionaries who have ever served; as a temple builder--there have been 75 new temples since he became president; his sense of humor--he once told a group of missionaries, "You all look like a bunch of penguins;" being a "renaissance man" with the building of the Conference Center, etc.;" his promotion of education with the establishment of the Perpetual Education Fund; the expansion of the quorums of the 70 under his direction; and his love of all people, to name a few. He concluded by thanking Pres. Hinckley for his valiant service; integrity; wisdom; judgement; talks; testimony of Joseph Smith, of our Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ; and "Thanks you for letting us know that you loved us."

Pres. Boyd K. Packer told how when Pres. Hinckley was first hired by the Church to work in the newly-organized public informtion department he set up a broken desk and brought his own typewriter from home. He requested a ream of paper (500 sheets) and was asked, "What will you do with all that paper?" He responded by saying, "I'll write on it," which he did and "he never stopped writing." He also told of how, as a new apostle, Pres. Hinckley had visited the mission where his son, Richard, was serving. After visiting with his son, Pres. Hinckley watched him walk away with his companion into the cold, dark night and said that was "one of the hardest things I've ever had to do." Pres. Packer said that one of the things Pres. Hinckley understood best was the "family," and that Pres. and Sis. Hinckley's family could be described as "ideal."

Pres. Henry B. Eyring said that Pres. Hinckley's motto was: "Things will work out." He then listed things that Pres. Hinckley had accomplished: He saw the way to build temples across the earth; He saw the way for young people across the world to walk out of poverty; He conceived the Conference Center. His accomplishments always blessed individuals with opportunity. He knew that a loving Heavenly Father had prepared a way for families to be together forever. He learned from his father and encouraged each of us to "forget yourself and go to work." As a young man, he promised the Lord that he would do his best and he has been doing that ever sense. He taught that all that the Lord requires of us is that we do our best, our very best. Pres. Eyring concluded by saying, "We are better because of his influence and his example; and the best is yet to come as we take the Gospel down into our hearts."

Pres. Monson quoted a line which says, "God makes a giant among men" and Pres. Hinckley was such a giant among men. He said that Pres. Hinckley has truly been a prophet for our time. He went about doing good. He reminded us that Pres. Hinckley still lives, he's on a heavenly mission. He concluded on a personal note saying, "Gordon, God be with you 'til we meet again."

As a closing hymn the choir sang, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Needs" over a montage of scenes of Pres. Hinckley going about doing his work as prophet. He never stopped working and loving the people. I thought the whole funeral was a wonderful tribute to him.

After the funeral we got to see the cortege leaving the Conference Center and going to the cemetery. All along the way, people were waving white handkerchiefs and canes. At the cemetery, after everyone was assembled, a bagpiper came from somewhere in the cemetery playing "Danny Boy" and "Praise to the Man." I thought Tiffany would have especially loved hearing the bagpipe playing "Praise to the Man" since that is what she used for the accompaniment to her slideshow tribute to Pres. Hinckley. Everything about the funeral and the day was wonderful. I loved it! We'll miss Pres. Hinckley so much. It's hard to imagine that he has gone, but we can always be grateful for his teachings and his example which he left for us to always remember and try to follow.

Lindy called this afternoon to say they probably wouldn't be coming over for dinner tomorrow evening because her cold was getting worse and Camden had started throwing up. So things don't sound like they're going too well at their house. They've got a lot of bugs flying around: strep, superbug cold, and now the flu! We're hoping and praying that they can get better soon.

For dinner tonight we had steaks and baked potatoes from Macey's. Steven and I went to pick Richard up from the temple, and on our way we stopped by Macy's for some groceries. They were having their annual Super Bowl tailgating party, so it was pretty wild. We were there just as they were getting ready to do the drawing for the big screen TV and the winner had to be present in order to win; so as you can imagine, there were lots of people. Outside they were grilling up some New York steaks; and you could get a steak, potato and drink for $3.00. So we got three and took them home for dinner. Yum!

The Power Goes Out After a Cold Blustery Day!

Last night (Tuesday) when Rich and I were heading home from AF, we noticed it was dark all along the freeway from about 1600 N. in Orem to the Center Street exit. It looked like the power was out all along there. As we turned onto Center Street we could see lots of activity at the intersection of 1200 West and Center Street--lots of vehicles with flashing lights and people scurrying around near the power poles. It must have been the site of the outage. Anyway, it was dark all along 4th West to 4th South. Across 4th South we could see lights, so we knew our house was just on the south edge of the outage. When we got home, we parked in the driveway because there was no getting into the garage. We could see that Dad had some lanterns going on in the house. He had just gotten home from the MTC and parked his car in the garage. The outage happened right after he got home. So Richard had a tuna fish sandwich for dinner and other things that didn't need to be heated up. The power didn't come back on until 2:00 a.m. Fortunately, we were able to keep ourselves warm enough in bed. Dad had the emergency heater standing by, just in case.

I don't think we've had a colder more blustery day all winter. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. It was cold outside, and the wind was whipping snow all over the place. I went to the post office and was inside for about 15 minutes. When I came out, the car was covered with snowy ice which had blown down from the roof of the post office. It was like I'd been in an ice storm or something.

Richard made it to the dentist to see what was going on with his tooth. Dr. Wiest took a look at it and said a piece of his tooth had broken off. That was weird. I can't figure out why it would have been stuck up there in his gum. Anyway, Dr. Wiest did the repair on his tooth right then. That was good, then Richard didn't have to wait and have it done later. Dr. Wiest only charged for the exam and X-ray and didn't charge for the repair, so that helped. Richard said he's been in five times since August to see Dr. Wiest about that same place in his mouth for one thing or another. I was about ready to find another dentist. Hopefully, this will be the fix that Richard needed.

At 5:30 I met at the MTC for dinner in the cafeteria, followed by the devotional at 7:00. For dinner we had some tasty lemon chicken, with new potatoes and veggies. It was pretty good--but it was better after we zapped it in the microwave. When we're in the cafeteria, we always like to check out the "mystery island" to see what's there. We call it the "mystery island" because whatever is there is not listed on the menu. I think it's what's left over from lunch. Anyway, at the mystery island was some spaghetti and something that looked like spaghetti sauce, but we couldn't quite tell for sure. Under the heat lamp it looked weird and was a funny color. But I decided I wanted to try a little, so I dished some spaghetti into a bowl and put some of the mysterious-looking sauce on it. Out from under the lamp it actually looked very good and tasted even better--it was delicious!!!!!! It had olives, mushrooms, celery, onions and chunks of tomato in it, and it was SO good. I wished I hadn't picked up a chicken plate or I would have had more spaghetti. I think I'll try to make some sometime, but it probably won't be as good.

Elder and Sis. Perry spoke at the devotional. I bet you can't guess the topic--It was the Book of Mormon! That's three weeks in a row, now; so it must be very important to learn more and be reminded about the Book of Mormon. Sis. Perry read from the introduction to remind everyone of the purpose of the Book of Mormon. Then Elder Perry talked about Joseph Smith, Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery and how their experiences with the Book of Mormon affected their lives. He said Joseph did what the Lord commanded; Oliver lost his place because of pride; and Martin Harris, though he had fallen away, testified on his death bed of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He also related the story of William Pilkington, whom Elder Perry heard speak when he was 12 years old. William Pilkington was an old man at the time (actually, he was 72 years old, which Elder Perry said seems young now). William Pilkington told Elder Perry and the other boys he was with about how as a young boy he had lived and worked as a hired boy in a home in Clarkston, Utah, where Martin Harris resided as an old man. Martin Harris called William Pilkington "Willie" and taught him the beauties of the Gospel and the Book of Mormon while he and Willie resided in the same house. Before Willie had spent a year there, Martin Harris passed away; and Willie heard Martin Harris' death bed testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Elder Perry said that hearing about William Pilkington's personal contact with Martin Harris and hearing his and Martin Harris' testimony of the Book of Mormon encouraged him, as a young man, to want to seriously read and study the Book of Mormon. At the conclusion of his talk he said, "I promise that if you apply its (the Book of Mormon's)teachings in your life, you'll be blessed eternally."

(As a funny side note: Steven and I heard Elder Perry tell about William Pilkington at a CES fireside probably four years ago. At that time, he had brought with him Dr. Lael Woodbury to play the part of William Pilkington and tell, in William's own words, his experience with Martin Harris. The funny part was that afterward, we realized that many of the BYU students there thought Dr. Woodbury was William Pilkington. Quite a crowd of students went up to shake his hand after the devotional, and we heard one of them say in the elevator, "I wonder how old he is.")

After the devotional we met with the new district that came in last Wednesday, District D, which has our two new sisters in it. All the missionaries were thrilled to have heard from Elder Perry; but a couple of them were especially excited because they had never seen or heard an apostle in person. So it was a special evening for them and for us.

Happy Birthday, Grampa!

Today was Grampa's actual birthday, but we did all our celebrating last night. It was still a nice day, however; just more low-key. Steven went to work and Richard and I did things around here. Richard's been having a problem with one part of his mouth. He had Dr. Wiest check it three weeks ago because it was "stinking" back there when he flossed. Dr. Wiest said he needed to floss better and use mouth wash, which Richard's been doing. He said it's still been kind of stinky. Then today he felt something wierd sticking out by his teeth. I looked at it and couldn't figure out what it was. It looked like a piece of tooth in his gum. So we called and made an appointment to see Dr. Wiest tomorrow to see what's going on. Then, this evening as Richard was flossing his teeth, that piece of tooth or whatever it was came out! Hmmmmmm. I wonder what's up. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of it tomorrow.

Also today we had a little Animal Control excitement. I guess it's exciting when you can call Animal Control and they come and see the problem for themselves. The Sueldo's dogs were barking this afternoon, so Richard came up to see what was going on. All three of their dogs were out on the street barking at the kids coming home from school. Richard's been wanting to call Animal Control to report that the Sueldos have three dogs instead of the allowable two dogs. So I told him now would be the time to call. So the Animal Control officer came and all three dogs were out on the street. When he got out of the truck, they all barked at him and nipped at his heels as he walked up to the house. Hopefully, the Sueldos will get the hint and do something about having too many dogs and letting them run loose and poop in everyone's yards. Richard has called two times before about the dogs running loose, so today was the third time. In the city ordinances it says if an owner of any dog is "convicted "of violations of the Animal Control chapter (of the ordinances) on three or more different occasions during any twelve month period, the City may deny the right of the owner to have a dog in the City for one year. I don't know what "convicted" means in that context. It just seems to me that the Sueldos need to get the hint and be more responsible dog owners. It's kind of annoying.

Tonight for FHE Richard gave the lesson from Pres. Hinkley's article in the December issue of the Ensign titled, "These, Our Little Ones." Pres. Hinckley quoted E.T. Sullivan who wrote: "When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn't stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother's heart, and she puts it into the baby's mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies." Then Pres. Hinckley added: "...those babies...will become forces for good or ill, depending in large measure on how they are reared. The Lord, without equivocation, has declared, 'I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth' (D&C 93:40)." He then goes on to encourage parents to bring up their children in light and truth and to be good examples. It's a good article for all parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles. Thanks to Richard for bringing it to our attention. With all the festivities going on in December I hadn't taken time to read it.

The Long Awaited Sleepover and Fish Fry Friday

Tonight was the long-awaited sleepover. Camden and Riley have been looking forward to it since Tiffany left for Mississippi last April. When she left, she said, "We'll have a sleepover when I get back in December." So, many times during the last eight months, the little girls have been asking, "How long til we have our sleepover?" Finally, tonight was the night. After I dropped Rich off in AF, I went by the Barretts and picked up Camden and Riley. They were all ready and anxious to go. So we packed their things (including the pump for their air beds), and we headed off. I told them that on the way we would need to stop by Bro. and Sis. Ahlander's to drop some things off. (Bro. Ahlander is Steven's first counselor in the branch presidency). So we went by their house and dropped off some Christmas cards for the missionaries for them to sign, along with a Christmas gift for them. The little girls wanted to know what the Ahlander's house looked like, and was Sis. Ahlander pretty and nice? I told them she was. They also wanted to make sure that they could just stay in the car. So we dropped the things off and Becky waved to the girls. All was going well until we tried backing out of their driveway and the car got stuck on the ice at the end of the driveway. I couldn't go forward or backward. I had to go tell Becky that we were stuck, so she got on her boots and coat and came out to give us a push. But we still didn't move. Camden wondered if we were going to miss the sleepover. I said, "Maybe. I don't know." I was just trying to be funny, but she didn't get the joke. So she started to cry. I told her it would be all right. We'd get home in time for the sleepover. Becky called their neighbor and he came and gave us a push, and we got out of the jam we were in. The little girls were very happy. Camden said that Becky couldn't push us out because "she's a grandma and grandmas aren't so strong." But their neighbor pushed us out because he was "young and strong." Thankfully, we were on our way.

When we got home, we unloaded their things, and they started playing with Auntie Tiff. What a fun time! I got dinner ready, and we ate with Grandpa and Tiff. We had taco salad, which went over quite well. After dinner we just played and watched Princess Diaries. Before we knew it, it was time for bed. Lucky Tiffany. She got to sleep with them down on the floor in the family room by the Christmas tree in front of the fire. Luckeeee. And they actually went to sleep pretty fast (after some talking and laughing and going to the potty a few times).

Earlier in the day Tiff, Rich and I went to the Provo Town Center theater to see National Treasure II. Today was the first day, and both Tiff and Rich were excited to see it. We went to the 10:40 showing and were able to get in. We liked the movie a lot! Tiff said she likes it better than the first one, and she's an expert on the first one because she's seen it so many times.

After the movie, we went over to Cracker Barrel for Fish Fry Friday, which Richard has been wanting to do ever since he had their catfish strips the last time. At that time, he said it was the best fish he ever tasted. So his expectations were high. Unfortunately, the fish wasn't as good as before, he said. Tiff and I enjoyed our grilled cheese sandwiches and hot chocolate.

Also today, Dennis called and said that the FT's made it up to SLC from St. George safely. He picked them up in Draper and took them to Dick's house. I hope they can have a nice time while they're here.

Sunday Dinner Birthday Party!

Well, we haven't had enough parties this week--so tonight we celebrated my birthday with the family at our weekly Sunday dinner. I guess Sidney and I could have combined our parties last night, but she needed to have her very own party. Our birthdays are only two days apart, so every year we can celebrate near the same time. If we keep our parties separate, that means more cake for everyone! Tiffany made a tasty cake for the birthday dinner tonight. It was delicious. I had gotten some sugar-free frosting at the store, which she used, and it was pretty funny frosting--very sticky. Camden and Riley enjoyed their cake and ice cream, and Sidney was thrilled to have more cake to dig into. She was shoving it in her mouth with both hands as fast as she could. Sarah, Joel and Eliza called during the festivities and sang Happy Birthday to me. We opened the present that they sent, which the other kids had gone in on, and it was a nativity puzzle carved out of wood. Very unique and different! Thank you everyone! Camden and Riley were very excited about the cards they had made. Very cute! They gave me a fun Christmas book and a nativity bracelet. Very nice! Steven gave me a great holiday shirt. Sidney had fun "trying it on." (She likes to put things on her head as if she is putting it on.) What a fun party! For dinner, we had crock pot roast with potatoes, onions and carrots. Very yummy!

I didn't join Steven at the MTC today. I barely made it to Relief Society in our ward. It took me awhile to get a start on the day since this cold I've had doesn't seem to be getting any better. Steven said Elder Skinner asked, "Where's Sis. Taylor?" Then he felt bad when he heard I wasn't feeling well. It's nice to know when someone notices you're not there.

Tomorrow is Karalie's surgery. Good luck, Karalie! We hope everything goes well and that you can make a speedy recovery.

Happy Birthday Sidney!

Today is Sidney's #1 birthday. To celebrate, Steven, Tiff and I went over to the Barrett's "Ginger House" for a party. Grandpa and Grandma Barrett were there, as well. Uncle Richard couldn't attend because he was working the later shift at the temple today (4-9). But those of us who were there, along with Nate, Lindy, Camden, Riley and Birthday Girl Sidney, had a great time. Lindy had the house decorated in gingerbread fashion, complete with gingerbread smell. It was like we were right inside a real gingerbread house. Sidney wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she liked being the center of attention. For dinner we had salad and chicken pot pie. Yum. Sidney surely loved chowing down on her pie. Camden and Riley were excited about all the presents, which they helped Sidney open after dinner. She got lots of things from the grandparents, parents, sisters, and aunts and uncles. Auntie Sarah and Uncle Joel and Eliza sent a cute outfit all the way from South Carolina. When Sidney opened the present from Uncle Rich, someone said, "It's from Uncle Rich." Riley piped up, "I love Uncle Rich." They missed having him there for the party; Sarah, Joel and Eliza, as well. But Tiffany got to be there for a change. After presents it was time for Sidney's gingerbread cake (actually applesauce cake in the shape of a gingerbread girl). She got to dig in with her hands and enjoy the frosting and cake. At first she wondered if she was actually being allowed to do it. After cake, it was off to bed for the tired birthday girl. But she never got cranky or cross. She was happy the whole time and having fun. We're glad we got to join in the #1 birthday festivities.

Lasagna and Christmas Cookies

You can tell from the title that for Sunday dinner we had lasagna (from frozen), which is one of Camden and Riley's favorites. For treats, we decorated Christmas cookies in the shape of stars and Christmas trees (from Macey's bakery). Camden and Riley had fun decorating and then eating their cookies. Lindy, Richard and Gramma did, too. Grammpa was busy playing with Sidney and Nate was at a fireside. So we sent lasagna and a star cookie home for him to eat. After dinner we watched "The Polar Express" with all three girls in it! That was a lot of fun. They liked seeing themselves, even Sidney who would squeal whenever she saw herself. Riley let us know that in one picture she was wearing a tank top, and in another picture her tummy was showing! They're anxious to watch it again with Tiffany when she comes home. Not too many days now--she's coming home this Thursday!

After the Barretts left for home, Dad, Rich and I went to tithing settlement and got squared away for the year. Good thing Rich has been doing his home teaching and I've been doing my visiting teaching because the bishop asked us if we had been doing it. Thankfully, we could answer yes. Steven is exempt from that, but he does triple or quadruple duty at the MTC!

Speaking of MTC, I didn't go there for Relief Society today, but went to Sunday School and Relief Society in our ward and then to the MTC for Sacrament Meeting. Steven had Elders Tadd and Skinner stand up and told the other missionaries that they were good examples of how to keep their rooms in order. He invited the other elders to stop by their room to see how it's done. Elders Tadd and Skinner also blessed the sacrament today. It was a challenge for Elder Tadd to say the prayer in Spanish, but he did it. (When he finished, it was apparent that he was quite relieved.) But after they sacrament was passed, they came up short two pieces of bread, so Elder Tadd got to say the prayer again! Afterward, Steven and Elder Skinner both told him that he had gotten to do double service today by saying the prayer two times.

We said goodbye today to District E: Elders Fish, Wright, Curtis, Mackay, and Lewis--all going to Argentina tomorrow. Sis. Bankhead was there today and starts her chemotherapy on Tuesday, so she may not be able to come for awhile.

Dinner at the MTC

Our evening at the MTC last night was really nice. As we arrived we were greeted by the MTC presidency and their wives and Elder and Sister Holland. It was fun to visit with the Hollands for a few minutes. I told Sis. Holland that we're related--our grandmothers (Lillie and May Holt) are sisters and our dads (Raymond and Maeser) are first cousins. Sis. Holland was happy to know that. She said, "In fact, your dad and my dad dated my mom at the same time. It made my dad jealous, and I think that's what got him to ask her to marry him." I said, "Well, it all worked out for the best." Then she said, "My dad would say to my mom sometimes, 'I bet you wish you had married Raymond because then you could have been part of the educational world.' " I'd never heard that story before, and I thought it was pretty interesting. Dad used to talk about his cousin, Maeser, a lot. The kids remember the time we went to the Lytle Preserve down by St. George, and Maeser was there. He cut a pomegranate open for them with his pocket knife. They thought that was quite amazing!

At dinner, we sat with Steven's counselors and their wives: Mike and Becky Ahlander and Lew and Jann Bankhead. Sis. Bankhead said she had had a good day and was glad that she could come. She is recovering from recent cancer surgery and is now facing six months of chemotherapy. It was nice to be with the four of them. The dinner was delicious: salad, yummy potatoes, green beans, chicken and/or prime rib, rolls and cream puffs. Each table had a nativity set decoration--I took mine earlier in the day. We almost got to sit at the table with the one I brought, but some other people barely beat us out. So we sat at a table with a really cool, big Polish nativity set. Actually, it was better we sat at that table because it was on the edge of the room and we had to leave at 9:00 while everyone was still singing Silent Night. The table with our nativity set was right up front by the stage and the speakers' podium, so that wouldn't have worked for us to leave before it was all over if we had been sitting there. Actually, the evening should have been over by 9:00, but it was a little over-programmed. It started out with a live nativity, which was very nice. Then a long vocal solo, "O Holy Night," followed by a welcome from Pres. Boone, the MTC president. Then a long opening prayer (I'd say about 3 minutes or more). Then the dinner. After dinner was a nice string ensemble that played three Christmas pieces. The next thing was a chime activity in which everyone participated. It was fun, but that was the over-programmed part--it went on a little long. The chimes were then followed by the speakers: Elder Hinckley and Elder Holland. The speakers were almost anti-climactic because the evening had gone on for so long. But they both gave good talks and kept them pretty short. For Elder Holland's message he read a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay titled, "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver," which he said was a Christmas memory from his youth. It's quite an interesting poem and was, to me, a different kind of thing to be read by him. I imagine it was something like a favorite Christmas reading for his family when he was young. When he was reading it, every time he said "harp" I thought he was saying "heart," so it kind of didn't make sense to me. But then I looked the poem up online and found out it was "harp" instead of "heart," so the poem makes more sense. It's a sad little poem with a good message about a parent's love.

This morning, Steven and I went to the ward Christmas breakfast over at the stake center, then we went to AF to drop Richard off. From there we went to the Barretts to tend Sidney while Lindy and Nate took Camden and Riley up to Park City to see Peter Pan. The weather wasn't too bad when they left, but while they were gone, about 7-8 inches of snow fell there in Pleasant Grove. They didn't get home until about 6:30 because the roads were pretty snowy. Anyway, we're glad they went up and back safely. We surely had a lot of fun with Sidney while they were gone. She really knows how to show Grampa and Gramma a fun time. We sang and read and ate and played with lots of toys. It's so fun to hear her jabber with all of her expressions. When Lindy and Nate and the girls got home, they brought Arby's for dinner. Richard had joined us by that time, so it was a regular party. After coming home, Steven spent the good part of an hour getting us dug out around here. I think winter has arrived for sure.

Stake Friends' Lunch

Today was the day for the Stake Friends' annual Christmas lunch--that's our holiday get-together for the old Sunset Heights Stake YW presidency: Marie Duncan, Kathy Diederich, Connie Allen, Sue Olson, and myself. We've been doing it for a lot of years now--probably at least 17 years. It was fun to see everyone and to catch up on all the news. Connie now has 25 grandchildren! We are all turning, or have turned, 59 this year. Boy, we're old! Marie gave a report on her sister-in-law, Helen Duncan, who was diagonosed with lung cancer a few months ago. Helen was told that she was in Stage 4, so she wasn't expected to live long. She had surgery to remove as much of the cancer as they could, then she went to see a specialist at the Huntsman Institute who said her cancer was different than had been first diagnosed. It's a very rare, slow-growing cancer and she can expect to live at least 10 years more. So, that's better news for her than before. I saw her yesterday at Deseret Book and she looked really good. Marie said she's still recovering from the surgery which was pretty horrendous.

Richard started back to work at the temple today after having had two weeks off while the temple was closed for cleaning. He was glad to have some time off to get things done around here that he wanted to, but now he's glad to go back to work.

Tonight Steven and I had dinner in the cafeteria at the MTC before the devotional. We visited with a nice senior missionary couple, the Binghams from North Ogden, who are going on a mission to Scotland. We admire the senior missionary couples who leave their families behind to go serve missions, often not knowing (as in the case of the Binghams) what kind of mission exactly they'll be serving. As we were leaving the cafeteria, we saw Bro. Rampton, one of Steven's former counselors, who said that his daughter Jennie will be on Martha Stewart this Friday demonstrating her fake food that she makes. Hmmmmmm. That should be interesting. He didn't know what day for sure.

The devotional speakers tonight were Elder and Sister Craig C. Christensen. Sister Christensen said, "You can be made stronger through the power of the Atonement. Let God work with you, let God change you, let Him make of you what He wants you to become." Another thing she said, which I think is a good reminder to all of us is: "President Hinckley gets up every day and he works hard. If he can do it, so can you."

Elder Christensen talked about Prayer and four aspects of prayer, which are: preparation, knowing what to pray for, how answers come, and how to teach others about prayer. We always get to hear such good talks at the MTC it would be nice to be able to remember everything. He also talked about principles of being a good missionary from Alma's teachings. The principles (which are quite similar to Elder Walker's of last week) are: obey, trust God, work hard, exercise faith, love everyone, keep a diary, endure to the end. (I like mentioning what the talks were about in my blog because it helps me remember.)

Afterwards, we met with the missionaries in District D. They are some of my favorites. Especially Elders Tadd and Skinner and the four sisters. Their whole district sang in the missionary choir, which I think shows they are trying hard to do all they can to be good missionaries.

Sidney and the Christmas Tree

I ran over to Nate and Lindy's this morning to return their "Christmas Devotions" book that they left here last night so they'd be able to read story #3 tonight. While there I got to see the Christmas decorations which had been put up since my last visit. Lindy was holding Sidney as we were looking at the Christmas tree. Sidney started pointing and talking and telling me all about it. She's talks very authoritatively these days as if she knows what she's talking about and means it. So she was telling me all about the decorations and how beautiful the tree is. I agreed. It's a beautiful tree with lovely decorations that include three Princess ornaments--one for each of the girls.

I went downstairs to see the new Barbie house that Lindy has been working on for so long. It is quite spectacular. She did a great job and the little girls love it. It is all painted and furnished with all kinds of furniture, bed spreads, floor coverings, appliances, etc. When I told Camden and Riley that it was kind of like Tiffany's apartment in Illinois, their eyes got big as I'm sure they were imagining what kind of place Tiffany must live in.

Tonight for FHE, Steven gave the lesson from Pres. Faust's talk which was in the Conference issue of the Ensign. It's on p. 122 and is titled, "The Power to Change." I regret to say I hadn't even noticed the talk because I had just been reading the talks from Conference that I had been especially interested in. It says the article was prepared in the months before Pres. Faust's passing on Aug. 19, 2007; so, of course, he was not able to deliver it at General Conference. So I think that would be a good talk for all of us to read, along with the other talks.

Richard returns to work tomorrow at the Mt. Timpanogo temple after having two weeks off. I think he's enjoyed having some time off and relaxing. We especially enjoyed having him be able to go to South Carolina with us and for Tiffany to be able to join us at Sarah and Joel's for Thanksgiving. That was such a fun trip!

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.

Happy Halloween!

Well, this has been a fun Halloween day and evening. Not such a fun day for Richard since he had to have four cavities filled! He's still at work and Steven is at the MTC greeting the new missionaries (six new elders and four new sisters) tonight. After I dropped Rich off in AF this afternoon, I went to Papa Murphey's in PG to pick up a couple of Jack-o-lantern pizzas for dinner. It was pretty wild and crazy there--lots of people had the same idea, and I couldn't order ahead because they weren't answering the phone. I guess they had enough business without taking phone orders! While waiting for the pizzas, I talked to Sarah on the phone. It's sounds like they had fun taking Eliza around the department today. Joel was at his night class and Sarah had had no trick-or-treaters as of that time. I finally got my two pizzas and took them over to the Barretts. I started baking them while Lindy and the girls were over at Grandpa and Grandma Barrett's house. They came home the same time as Nate, so we all had some Jack-o-lantern pizza for dinner. The girls looked cute in their costumes--Camden was a beautiful princess with glow-in-the dark earrings and pink hair, Riley was Snow White with real Snow White (dark) hair, and Sidney was a witch with purple spikey hair. We had cookies that the girls had decorated for our treat. Then they went trick-or-treating. I went with them and Nate for a few houses, then Lindy went with them while I passed out treats, then she and Sidney came home and we passed out some more treats. I talked to Tiff on the phone for a minute and she had just gotten back from their "cemetery tour." It sounded like she was having fun. (We were remembering that last Halloween she and I went to The Myrtles [the most haunted house in America] in St. Francisville, La. The night before Halloween we stayed at Linden in Natchez, MS. We think it is definitely haunted also.)When the little girls got home they had lots of treats! Camden's earrings were glowing in the dark! While there I got to see Eliza on the Agate blog in her lobster costume. What a cute little lobster she was! After it got dark I came home in time to pass out some treats to the neighborhood kids. It's a nice evening to be out--not too cold and it didn't get dark too early since we haven't gone off daylight savings time yet. Well, it seems like the trick-or-treating has slowed down a bit. I think I'll do a couple of things and then head to AF. Steven should be home by the time Rich and I get back. Happy Halloween everyone!