We are in the middle of showers but have had some absolutely beautiful warm spring days over the past couple of weeks.
A thought that came to me by e-mail but which led to us getting a lot more out of the General Conference just ended:
Why Do We Need Prophets? Because Heavenly Father loves His children, He has not left them to walk through this mortal life without direction and guidance. The teachings of our Heavenly Father are not the ordinary, predictable, run-of-the-mill kind you can pick up in paperback at the local bookstore. They are the wisdom of an all-powerful, all-knowing celestial Being who loves His children. Encompassed in His words is the secret of the ages—the key to happiness in this life and in the world to come. [from a First Presidency Message by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf]
We are hoping that each of you has heard the words of our leaders over the past two days and that you find in those words encouragement and help for your lives! We have!
Birthday reminders: Sara’s is today and John’s was earlier this week...both another year older and wiser:)! Coming up in a couple of weeks Payton turns 5 and Steve and Holly celebrate their 5th anniversary...hope you will remember them with an e-mail, card, phone call or on Facebook:)!
Missionary Moments to Share: A week ago Wednesday was a temple day for our departing missionaries; they actually leave the 9th of April, so it was earlier than it has been in the past. The Youngs needed time in Portland after the temple, so needed someone to drive the mission van and pick up missionaries going up to the temple. It should have been the Terrys turn, but Elder Terry was headed south to set up an apartment for a set of senior missionaries who arrived on Monday, so we were elected. I was a little unsure of how I would do in the Portland temple with the walking required but took my green walking sticks and it all worked out fine. They are good at making adjustments for people:).
When we went up for the prayer circle there was an extra sister in the group and when it was pointed out to the brother in charge, he asked for another brother to join the circle - it took quite a long time for one to volunteer. I didn’t think too much of it, but noted it in my mind. Afterwards, when we were in the celestial room, that same sister came up to President and Sister Young as we happened to be standing next to them and shared that she felt so blessed to have been in that temple session because one of the departing elders, Elder Charleson, had proved to be a very special blessing to her. It turns out that her husband, a returned missionary, the father of her 6 children, had gotten involved in anti-Mormon literature and has decided that the church is not true, even to the extent of not allowing the 8 year old to be baptized. When the elders had been at their home, possibly for dinner - I didn’t hear that part - she had asked Elder Charleson to share his testimony with two of her sons, an 8 year old and a 10 year old. She said that he had borne a wonderful testimony, that the Spirit was incredibly strong and that both of her boys now knew what the Spirit felt like as it had borne witness to them of the truthfulness of Elder Charleson’s words. The impact of that was evidenced by her words and her emotion of the incident; that the Spirit had directed her to be in the temple on the same day that Elder Charleson would be there prior to his departure from the mission was a tender mercy of the Lord, appreciated so much by her, Elder Charleson, and those of us who heard the story. I know President Young spent more time with her later and learned much more; it is a sad story...reminds me of Emily’s friend, Chanda. When you’ve done everything “right” it is hard to believe that things can turn out so wrong - but we know they can and that they sometimes do. I was grateful to be there to hear about Elder Charleson’s effect on those boys and to be reminded of how mindful Heavenly Father is of our individual needs.
Family Notes: Mary came to Oregon last week, mostly on vacation & visiting Michael. They spent a couple of days in Roseburg, and then came to see us on Saturday. We drove to Florence and had lunch at the restaurant next to Mo’s (Mary and Michael had gone over to check it out and came back with clam chowder samples that they said were delicious), then just spent time roaming around the town a little. I stayed in the car and napped - such a party pooper! Went out and watched vehicles negotiate their way up and down the dunes before driving back to Eugene. Had pizza and root beer floats and watched Deadliest Catch and Monk in the evening:). They came to church with us on Sunday and we had a pretty good meal, although it took a lot of work and planning to actually pull it off. Mary wanted a roast beef, so I found one on Friday which I put into the oven about 45 minutes before we left for church. Put potatoes in the crockpot and we cooked asparagus when we got home. I made roll dough last night, got up at 6 to put in into the oven to proof, then baked the rolls about 7:30. We had sweet rolls for breakfast and regular rolls with our dinner. While doing the finishing touches on the dinner I made a chocolate pudding cake (at guess who’s request) which baked while we ate. Later, while playing a game that Mary brought with her, we ate servings of that too. Probably ate too much!
After playing games for an hour or more, everyone settled in on their electronic devices and I lay down to rest for while. I can’t remember exactly what else we did before they packed up and headed back to Portland, but we wished them a safe trip back. Mary was flying home on Monday and I was happy to hear from her then when she had arrived in Salt Lake safely.
Had a call from Charlotte this week that it looked like their re-financing on their home is finally (after tons of effort over the past months) going to go through, which will reduce their interest and cut twelve years off their loan. So they are happy about that. Charlotte was less happy to find out that after having put in about 60 hours of work on a project for her job of creating items for online games.. that they hadn’t given her quite the correct information in the beginning and much of what she had done could not be used. That made her sad - big time. Have to chalk it up to a great learning experience I guess. So sorry Charlotte.
Stephen called - in response to a short e-mail with the subject of “did you get the package?” - so we finally got to visit which was greatly appreciated. And he DID get the package with all his stamps, coins and basketball cards. He said they were spread all over the living room floor at that moment... I suggested that the spare bedroom floor might be more appreciated by Holly:). Then he shared that the General Manager for his Toyota dealership had quit the week before and that boss had come out and taken his place while they were deciding whom to replace him with. He offered a $50 bonus per car to the person who sold the most cars, and if I remember right, Steve sold 13 and was happy to get the bonus. Also felt he had at least left a good impression on the bigger boss, so he was happy when we spoke. And now he has a lot of STUFF (cards, stamps and coins) to keep him busy over the next few years!
Emily sent pictures of baby Rose and family; some from the professional photographer. They were wonderful. And...if you don’t do Facebook, you’re missing a couple of really cute ones she’s put up in the past few weeks:)! We are flying down to San Diego on the night of the 26th (Friday) so we can be there for Rose’s blessing on the 27th. Looking forward to that; we fly back home Sunday night so we can be into the mission office Monday morning.
Sara called today; so glad to hear from her. Dad actually got the call as I was asleep on the couch in between conference sessions...but he put it on speakerphone later so I actually got to talk to her a little:). They were busy putting up a chicken pen to round up all their chickens who have been running free since last summer. Sounds like they will really appreciate it once it is done:)! (Chickens can be pretty messy when not corralled!) Sounded like her trip to Arizona with kids and horses gave her kids some good experience and they are looking forward to horse shows starting next month. Dad asked about her horses and she said they currently have 19 on the property, 7 of which are hers. She said that a pony she bought last year is turning out very well and she just bought a warm blood... She said her girls are doing well...Abby was playing with her bunny and has been asking for a daddy bunny so they can have babies. Sara didn’t sound much interested in that idea. Dad also found out that the giant wood burning “stove” in their barn disappeared while Sara was in Arizona - to a scrap dealer:). Apparently it was made from an ocean buoy.
Christine arrived in Salt Lake City today for a medical appointment for Ammon on Monday. This is when the team of doctors who work on him all get together to confer and plan for the future...sounds like a good thing. At least for Ammon it is not a stressful trip and Melissa even got to go along. They are planning on hooking up with Sara and Mary tomorrow night for a fun time together:). Christi did share that they were very blessed to have been protected on the drive over as she hit an icy stretch of road with her cruise control on. What could have ended up in disaster was somehow averted and she (and the kids) were very grateful - us too!
Haven’t heard too much from Jim Jr. or Jeanie. He did call Dad and talked to him about possibly selling his Escalade but in the end, did not sell it but refinanced it on the spur of the moment which made him quite happy. Sounds like the whole family is doing well...got a picture of Tanner gathering easter eggs in the house. Taylor has sent a couple of e-mails - which we appreciate so very much! I’m sure she is greatly enjoying young women. These growing up grandchildren are so amazing to us!
OK - few notes about us. I have learned that taking off Tuesday and Thursday mornings is a huge help to me getting the exercises done that I need so much - and it makes me a happier person too! How about that! The mission office continues to stay beyond busy; the work is hard and challenging, particularly with the changes in missions. We are learning what it means to be a “parent” mission and are doing all in our power to help smooth things over for the new Salem mission office and president. What a growing experience:).
Have enjoyed watching conference in our apartment yesterday and today, although Dad went to the church for the priesthood session. John B. called yesterday and it was good to hear that he had made both sessions at the Institute building. I think he was headed to the priesthood session after we talked. It has made me think back to the years of trying so very hard to be at every session with all of our children, efforts to help them get something out of it and to help make it an enjoyable time for all of us and, hopefully, a learning experience. I think it was fun to get together with others and have lunch in the cultural hall between sessions... altho that seemed to only last for a couple of years as changes came about. I am grateful for those years, and for the memories. It is also a blessing that it is so easy now for nearly anyone to view the conference sessions in the comfort of our own homes...although I wonder sometimes if it is too easy now, if it will lead us to take it for granted and diminish the importance of watching it in our minds. I hope not.
Dad and I read an article (actually a couple of them) to help us prepare for conference. Both were apparently past First Presidency Messages by President Uchtdorf, one titled, “General Conference—No Ordinary Blessing” and the other, “Why do we Need Prophets?” We found them both very helpful as we tried very hard to be really prepared for this conference and to feel the guidance of the Spirit as we seek to plan for our future among other things. They did help. We each have a number of notes that we will go through together tonight to see what each of us felt we gained from our efforts.
Thinking I will try to blog twice a month...or maybe once...we’ll see. Will mail this to those who don’t seem to get to the blog.
Love To All,
Missionary Mom & Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
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