Blog Break

While everyone's been having Spring Break, I've been having "Blog Break." I can't believe it's been a whole week since I last posted something. I guess I've just been kind of busy doing whatever.

Last Friday (April 11) I took off for St. George by myself. The weather was good and it was a nice day, so I was able to cruise along quite well. I wanted to stop in Fillmore at our favorite little place for lunch; but, unfortunately, it was closed and it looked like there was some remodeling going on. I hope it was remodeling and not just tearing up. Hopefully, it will reopen before the next trip down. So, since I couldn't have a Phillmore Philly, I drove through town and had a rest stop and got snacks at the convenience store at the other end of town. That left me ready for an ice cream cone (Snickers flavor, yum) when I got to Beaver. From there I just cruised on down to St. George. I got there about 4:00. I didn't know what to expect, really, once I got there; but, actually, everything went quite well. At 5:00 I went to visit Auntie Reah at her new assisted living place. She has been there about three weeks and has a very nice setup. She was glad to see me and seemed to be doing quite well, although her short-term memory is gone and she kept repeating everything. But she seems happy. When I got back to the condo, Dick had made some tasty potato salad and a neighbor had brought over some delicious fresh-baked rolls, so that's what I had for dinner. Dick seemed okay with me just eating what I wanted, so that was a relief. That evening, Dick's friends from Sandy, Clark and Ellen Wallace, came by on their way to California. They arrived about 10 p.m. to stay over night and then be on their way by 4:00 a.m. Dick enjoyed visiting with Clark while Mom and I visited with Ellen. They're really very nice people. I don't know if their visit had something to do with it, but Dick seemed to be in a pretty good mood the whole time I was there. It was quite different without all that angry tension in the air.

I spent Saturday helping Mom with her clothes. She tried on the new things I brought down for her to see what would work and what wouldn't. Then I made several trips back and forth to the mall to find a few other things, have her try them on, take some things back, bring back some other things, etc. That took up a good part of the day. At 3:00 we went to Red Lobster for a late lunch and to use the gift card Kevin and Wendy had sent for Mom's Bday. It was a $25 card, and our lunch (w/out the tax and tip) came to $24.99. Mom had broiled trout, I had stuffed flounder and Dick had shrimp linguini (or fetucinni, I can't remember). It was all very delicious. Especially with the cheese biscuits. Yum! Mom seemed to get around quite well with her walker. It just takes her longer to go places and do things. After that, I made a couple more trips to the mall .The last trip was to take back some store slips that got into my bag by mistake, so the sales clerk gave me 15% of what I had bought earlier because I brought the slips back. I had already gotten an extra 15% off with the sale that was going on, so I got a pretty good deal. When I got back, I laundered Mom's tops and got them all freshened up. I thought Dick might be mad at me for doing so, but he wasn't. I was trying to figure out his change of attitude towards me. I decided that maybe he knew how relieved and happy I was to get them back down to St. George last December and I had said something about never bothering them again about coming up North. So maybe he no longer feels threatened by me or worried that I'm going to try to get them to move up North. Whatever the reason, he was actually quite pleasant the whole time I was there. On Saturday morning, I even made some oatmeal, which Mom wanted, while Dick was asleep, and I didn't even get in trouble for it later.

On Sunday I went to their sacrament meeting with them at 10:50. While there I saw two friends who used to come to club but don't come any more, Margie Mortenson and Lisa Day. They were both down there vacationing. After church we came back and had a little lunch (baked potatoes a la Dick) and then I took off for home. It was a nice day so it was a good trip back. I passed two accidents on the way home, however. One was a large pickup rollover and another involved several vehicles--a large pickup, a couple of cars and a motor home that was obliterated. Kind of strange to see on a good-weather day.

Soon after I arrived home, Lindy and Nate and the girls arrived bringing Sunday dinner. Lindy had prepared a delicious veggie lasagna and salad. She brought some whole wheat french bread to go along with it and lime rickey floats for dessert. It was all very tasty and we had a lot of fun. Sidney was happy and chowing down on her dinner, just like old times.

On Tuesday, Steven and I went to the devotional at the MTC where Bishop Richard C. Edgley and his wife spoke. Bishop Edgley gave the missionaries Six Principles of Success: (1) Remember who you are. You have been empowered and have a calling. Heavenly Father is with you. (2) Keep the message simple. Jesus is the Christ and His Gospel has been restored to the earth. (3) Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of the Lord. (4) Let the Spirit testify. (5) Keep yourself worthy. You cannot be disobedient and have the Spirit with you. (6) Remember work is the engine. He then told of an article he had recently read by Mitt Romney titled, "Swim in the Deep Water." In it Mitt told how as a young boy out on the lake with his family he would never go in the deep water because he was afraid. One day his brother took him waterskiing out into the deep water. Mitt was mad at first, but then realized it was better out in the deep water. He said, "Since then I've never done anything but swim in the 'deep water.' " Bishop Edgley said that is a good example for the missionaries to follow: "Stay in the deep water. Let that be your motto."

We enjoyed the devotional and our meeting with District B afterward--six elders and three sisters going to Chile, Chicago North, New York, Spain and Canada. They're going all over. The sisters are very sweet and nice. Sis. Leau is from New Caledonia and doesn't speak much English. She did well in the meeting with her English and Spanish. Her companion, Sis. Wiesner, is from Switzerland so the communicate in French. The other sister, Sis. Sellers, is from Arizona. They all seem to get along well.

Other than my trip and the MTC I've just kept busy going to Curves and getting things ready around here for Sarah and Joel to come. I got new bedspreads for Sarah's room and our room. They give the rooms a new an different look.

This morning I went and reserved the White Willow Reception Center for Tiffany and Greg's wedding luncheon on Saturday, October 18. It should be a nice, beautiful place for the family and friends to gather after the wedding. Tiffany likes the historical aspect of it all--"adaptive re-use" as she would say. If you're wondering how many days until the wedding, just go to Tiff's blog and the "wedding countdown" will tell you.

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.

Stopping by the Barretts

Today after I dropped Richard off, I went to Macey's for groceries, then I stopped by the Barretts for a few minutes on my way home. Lindy, Riley and Sidney were just coming out of Summer's house, so I'm glad they saw me; otherwise, I would have thought they weren't home. Riley and Sidney were both happy to see me. Camden wasn't with them because she was at dance. We went into the house and Riley wanted to show me all the pictures she's been drawing in her special drawing book. Camden has a book, too. (Camden's pictures look like the ones Lindy used to draw at the same age.) Riley told me all about the different things she's drawn. One picture was of a "scary tent with a witch inside." When she wrote her name on one picture, she put a big capital "A" right in the middle of her name. Lindy and I started to laugh, and Riley said, "It makes me feel bad when you laugh at me." We explained we weren't laughing at her. We were just laughing because she does such cute things. I told her I couldn't write my name until I was five. Sidney wanted to be part of things, too, pointing at pictures and telling me what they were. About that time Camden came home from dance. She said she'd had fun. They had been learning to do backbends. Then, since all three girls were there, Lindy said they could show me the big heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie they had made. Now it was time to frost it and put M&M's on it. So we did that, with Sidney watching the whole time and wanting to be sure she would get a piece of it along with everyone else. Lindy cut each of us a little cookie wedge, which we ate. It was delicious! Sidney got a wedge, too. She almost didn't believe it was what everyone else was having, but she finally decided that it was; so she took a bite and then ate it all. After my fun visit, I headed home to get some things done this evening while Steven is at the MTC greeting a new district--eight elders and four sisters. We needed some more missionaries in the branch since we're down to just three districts right now.

Tiff called tonight and said things started happening today with internship possibilities when she was in Springfield on her field trip. She wondered if an internship in Springfield would affect the postponed wedding plans. We decided it wouldn't because she still needs this semester to concentrate on school and not worry about wedding plans. Besides, she won't really know if anything will really materialize with the internship until March and that's a little late to make sure everything's in place for a June wedding. This way, there's not so much pressure. It also leaves open options for other internship possibilities. And if a Springfield internship does work out, then that's better for future job prospects in Springfield. Earlier today, I called Diane Owen at the Ellis Sanders house in Nauvoo and told her we wouldn't need the June 7 date we had reserved there for the wedding luncheon. She was very nice about cancelling it.

Elder Hinckley Spoke Tonight

We had dinner tonight in the cafeteria at the MTC before going to the devotional where Elder Richard G. Hinckley was the speaker. His wife was in North Carolina visiting some of their children, so she wasn't with him. In his talk he spoke about a lot of things--about his father-in-law's conversion and baptism at age 89 and, ultimately, his sealing to his wife and family after his death (It's never too late. Don't give up on someone. The ultimate goal is to get people to the temple). He told about Pres. Hinckley recently performing the sealing of his granddaughter to her husband in the Salt Lake Temple. As part of his remarks at that time, Pres. Hinckley said, "I've sealed all five of my children and 24 of my grandchildren in this temple, and I consider that to be the finest thing I've ever done." Elder Hinckley said that is quite a statement from a man who has done so many remarkable things during his life. Then Elder Hinckley talked about missionary work. He said he had just seen Elder Perry and that Elder Perry's message to the missionaries is: "We need to do better. Your goal is to double baptisms worldwide this year." And the message from Pres. Hinckley to the missionaries is to: "retain the members you baptize." Next, Elder Hinckley told about his cousin, Terri Wadsworth Blake from Panaca, who is serving with her husband in the Majureau Islands, where he is the mission president. We have heard Elder Hinckley tell the story of their mission call three different times. I like the story--of how the Church had just created a new mission in the Majureau Islands and they were needing a mission president who could be called and attend the new mission president's training seminar in just three weeks. So they looked at a list of senior couple missionaries who had been called to serve missions in the near future (i.e., ready to go some place) to see if there was a possible mission president among the names. Elder Hinckley saw the names of his cousin and her husband on the list and knew they were the ones who should be called. Terri and her husband had been called on a mission to Canada Montreal; but their call was changed to that of mission president in the Majureau Islands. After Pres. Hinckley extended the call and the Blakes accepted, Elder Hinckley talked to Terri who asked, "Where's Majureau?" Elder Hinckley said, "I don't know." Then he proceeded to read an excerpt from one of her letters to their children. He has read part of a letter each time we've heard him speak, and the letters are beautiful. In the letter he read last night she said, "We've found that we can do more, even when we are sure we cannot breathe or move another moment." She went on to say more but I didn't get it in my notes.

[Terri is a neat lady. I knew her and her family in Panaca. Her mother is Pres. Hinckley's sister, Sylvia Hinckley Wadsworth, who was married to Don Wadsworth. They had 10 children. Sylvia died of cancer when she was just 49 years old, and Don died a couple of years later at age 53 leaving the children with no parents. Pres. Hinckley has always had a special interest in each one of them. Besides Terri, another of the children is John Wadsworth, who is one of the founders of Tahitian Noni and is currently a mission president in Las Vegas. When Pres. Hinckley went to Panaca for Sylvia's funeral in 1970, he said (in his biography) that as he went to the cemetery before the funeral and stood by her open grave, "It was too much for me. I cried in that lonely, quiet place...Here was to be the burial place of my youngest sister...Now as I walked quietly about the little cemetery a certain bitterness struck me--that she of such great promise should come to so dismal an end. I cried, and then a peace came into my heart...I thought of her ten children who had grown from the soil of this community. This is where she had been most loved, and one ought to lie where one is loved. I felt at peace." So I liked being reminded of Sylvia and Don and their children who have gone on to accomplish good things and render great service to the Church. I was able to drive Grandma Adair from Provo to Panaca for Sylvia's funeral, and I've never forgotten it. Pres. (Elder) Hinckley was there along with Elder Spencer W. Kimball and Elder Marion G. Romney, and they all three spoke. Elder Hinckley's talk last night reminded me of all this.]

After his remarks, Elder Hinckley opened it up for a few questions. An Elder asked, "What is our best tool for finding?" Elder Hinckley replied, "Be bold. Have faith. Be fearless, but don't be offensive or stupid. Have goals, and think outside the box." I always like it when the missionaries are charged to "be bold" that they are also reminded to not be "offensive or stupid."

After the devotional we met with District F and heard what they had to say about the devotional. They were all glad to have heard from Elder Hinckley. I think Elder Hinckley's relationship to Pres. Hinckley makes him especially interesting to the missionaries.

Earlier today I went down to the Sunset Heights 5th ward for Margaret Olsen's funeral. I was just thinking about her the other day, wondering about her and how she was doing. She died Jan. 17, and I think that's the day I was thinking about her. I was her visiting teacher, along with Cheryl Henrichsen, for quite a few years. She was a very lovely, special lady. Her children paid great tribute to her at her funeral. At the funeral I saw some of our old friends: Trudy Van Cott, Carolyn Mock, Marilyn Hellewell, Pam Rowbotham, Aldine Benson, Donna Paulson, Edel Erickson, and the Marcovs. It was nice to be down there and to remember old times. They have a great missionary board up with pictures of all the missionaries from the 5th ward who have served over the years. There are a lot of missionaries, with Richard and Lindy being among them.

When I talked to Tiff tonight, she said she had talked to Greg and they had decided that it would be a good idea to postpone their June 7 wedding date and wait to get married until after her internship. She said that an internship in Springfield might not happen, and she wants to be able to explore other options. I told her I thought that sounded like a good plan. We still have our plane tickets and our hotel reservations in Nauvoo; but Steven had said at the time we got the tickets that if the wedding didn't take place on that date, we could still take a nice family trip to Nauvoo.

Getting the Reservations Squared Away

Yesterday I got things squared away with our reservations. I changed everything at the motel to start on the 4th instead of the 5th. That way we'll have a day to re-group and settle in before the wedding activities start on the 6th. Also, I found out from the motel that the reservations include breakfast at Grandpa John's each morning. They have a really tasty breakfast buffet, so that will be a good way to start each day.

Tiffany has scheduled with the temple to receive her endowment on Friday, June 6, at 10:00 a.m. Tiff and I thought perhaps we could all gather later in the day for the buffet at Hotel Nauvoo. Then, she and Greg have scheduled their sealing to take place at 11:00 on Saturday, June 7. We have reserved the garden at the Ellis Sanders home for the wedding luncheon which will start at 1:00.

Last night Dad and I got roundtrip plane reservations for the Barretts, Richard, Tiffany (one-way) and us to fly from Salt Lake to St. Louis on Wednesday, June 4. We'll leave on Southwest flight 817 from Salt Lake at 11:45 a.m., flying nonstop to St. Louis and arriving at 3:45 p.m. We'll get some rental cars and drive up to Nauvoo (about three hours). I'm glad we'll have Thursday to settle in and get organized before things begin on Friday. Our return flight is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, at 6:40 p.m. from St. Louis on flight 1491, arriving in Salt Lake at 8:45 p.m. Both flights are non-stop. Dad and I think we should have time on Sunday to go to sacrament meeting before leaving to go back to St. Louis. So it all sounds pretty good, I think. The Agates will need to make their plane and car reservations depending on their schedule and location at that time. Dad and I thought that if they're still in Liberty for the summer, that maybe they'll want to drive to Atlanta and fly from there (the airfare is about half the price compared to leaving from Greenville). But so far the plan is to all meet in Nauvoo on June 4. It should be a great time to gather as a family to celebrate Tiffany and Greg's marriage.

Making Reservations

I got some Nauvoo reservations made today--no easy task! I hadn't realized how filled up everything would be. But I was able to get us accommodations for three days, at least. I couldn't get the June 5-8 (four nights), so I had to settle for June 5-7 (three nights) at Motel Nauvoo. That seemed to be the best way to go because they could put cribs in two rooms (one with one queen, and one with two queens) for the Agates and Barretts. Then Dad, Tiff and I could have a two-queen room, and Rich can have his own full-bed room. Plus, this way we can all have our own bathrooms. Karalie had me reserve her a queen room, as well. Then I was able to reserve the garden at the Ellis Sanders house for the wedding luncheon. So things are starting to come together.

I finally made it to Curves today. Maybe now I can get back on my schedule.

Tonight at the MTC, Elder and Sis. D. Todd Christofferson spoke. It was nice to hear from them. (They're Kevin and Wendy's next door neighbors.) Sis. Christofferson spoke about having an "attitude of gratitude." For example, being able to be thankful for something like fleas, as Corrie Tenboom was in a German concentration camp. She also told about Jack Rushton, who became a quadraplegic after an accident. He said, "Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional." He also said, "We have the ultimate God-given freedom to choose our own attitude." Elder Christofferson spoke about the Book of Mormon, as did Elder Callister last week. Elder Christofferson said the Book of Mormon is the "sickle" spoken of in D&C Section 4. It is "the tool the Lord has given for the harvesting of souls." He said that if there was anything he would do differently as a missionary, it would have been to devote more time to the Book of Mormon. He said he regrets that on his mission he had been able to adquately answer the questions of a young man because he wasn't familiar enough with the Book of Mormon. "You've got to know this book well, then you can respond to any question." He concluded with President Hinckley's promise to those who prayerfully read the Book of Mormon: "...there will come into your hearts...the spirit of the Lord. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God." (Ensign, June 1988, p. 6 -or- Preach My Gospel, p. 108)

A Day to Re-group

Today was just kind of a day to re-group after all the activity of the past few days. I didn't even make it to Curves. I was going to get back on my schedule, but it didn't happen today--maybe tomorrow. I did some searching on the internet and phoning to see what kind of arrangements I could make for accommodations in Nauvoo for Tiffany's June 7 wedding. I didn't get anything set up yet; but, hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to. Obviously, things fill up pretty fast in Nauvoo several months ahead--especially if you're looking at summer.