Gotta Brag

If you don't already know it I want to tell you that my husband is awesome!  We have been working on the probate records since September.  I have mentioned in the past that we were excited because we hadn't had to retake any pictures and shortly after the first rework came.  Not a problem--we fix it.  Now to the bragging part, every rework was on folders I took pictures of.  Since we have been here Scott hasn't had to redo any of his pictures.  Honestly, that is amazing and I am so proud of him.

Happy Birthday Ellis!

Fourteen years ago Ellis came into our lives and it has been wonderful. There are so many good qualities that Ellis has but the one that I believe is the most impressive is his ability to express gratitude for everything he has or has been given.  If you have read a book you will probably find that Ellis has already read it.  Not only that, he has probably read it more than once.  I often tease him about hating to go to the movies with him because it drives him crazy that the movie is different than the book and he has to let me know throughout the show.  But if I am going to a movie or anywhere else, he is the one I would always call, because he is such great company.  When he sees something that interests him he will study everything about it.  Ellis is an artist.  When I had Cub Scouts he came over to the house and drew a big dragon on the driveway to show the scouts what could be done with chalk drawing.  Ellis is into Dr. Who and a Dungeon and Dragons fan.  He plays the piano.  He is in the cadet corp at his high school and this year was chosen to be on the drill team.  In other words--Ellis is just a great young man.  And he is our grandson!  Happy Birthday Ellis.

Walking on Water

I had done some heavier reading lately and decided I would finish reading the last in a series of books by Richard Paul Evans entitled The Walk.  The final book was about the main character finishing the walk that he started in Seattle, Washington and finished in Key West, Florida.  I read three of the five books and there were wonderful gems throughout each one.  For me the gospel perspective was always present and I never had to feel uncomfortable reading this book because he kept it enjoyable without trying to shock your senses. Two of the things he wrote really spoke to me because of the journey analogy.  He wrote, "The further along we get on our life journey the more we wonder about those who traveled before us and paved the road."  That is actually on my mind a lot probably because we continually have glimpses into people and their past.  It has made me think about my parents, grandparents, and the many greats who came before them.  They are my heroes for so many reasons.  Another profound thought that caught my attention was, "Whether we realize it it or not, we are all on a walk...none of us know what experiences we'll face or who we'll meet along our road.  The best we can do is set our hearts on a mark in the distance and try to make it.  For some the road will seem long, while, for others, it will end all too soon.  There will be days of clear skies and pleasant walking, and there will be long, bitter stretches trudged through storms.  But either way we must walk."  Since my blog is about my "joyful journey" this wonderful book spoke to me in so many ways.  If you have a chance, give this series of books some consideration.  There are great lessons on faith, forgiveness, and hope.  You will also learn many wonderful things about traveling across our great country.

Missionary Moments #18, January 4, 2015

Happy New Year! With a new year comes a change in our meeting times and now we go to church at 1 p.m. instead of 9 a.m.  Great for getting my missionary moments out a little earlier.  I am excited to have the holidays move on so we can get back to working a five day week.  Although we enjoyed the two days off it is almost harder to get back on schedule when there is a break during the week.  We had snow last night. Not as much as we did at Thanksgiving but everything is very pretty outside our window.  This morning the missionaries were down at our car chipping off the ice that had formed on the windows.  Scott had already gone down and cleaned off all of the snow.  They are such amazing young men and when it comes to service they have nailed it.  Earlier in the week the Sister missionaries came to our apartment so that one of them could get a blessing.  She has been having some serious ear problems and Scott and the Elders gave her a blessing before she went to the ear specialist.  On New Years day we went down to Hookset and watched the Hunger Games movie and then came back to Concord and had a wonderful Mexican food dinner at a local restaurant, El Rodeo.  It was surprisingly good and we were very excited to enjoy a little taste of the southwest.  My brother Bill and his wife Bev are completing their mission in Slovenia in March.  They are coming home and then going to visit all of their family.  I am so impressed with all they have done while they have been there.  Not only do they take really good care of the young missionaries but they have worked really hard to strengthen the branch that they are serving in.  Because we were expecting snow yesterday we stayed close to home and after a quick trip to Barnes and Noble in Manchester and a short browse around Hobby Lobby we came home and settled in for the rest of the day.  Scott spent the day reading his new books and I worked on my scrapbook pages.  I almost have a stack of pages to send home to Angela and she can then put them in the grandkids books.

This week at lunch I talked to a co-worker named Steve at the archives.  He is one of the nicest people you could meet.  He retired, I believe from teaching, and now works part time at the archives.  We got to talking about family history and how important it is.  He told me his grandmother started keeping a journal when she was a young mother and kept it until a few months before her death at 89.  He had such love and respect for her and what she accomplished in her life.  A life that to many would have probably seemed mundane.  She also kept track of all the fresh donuts she had made in her lifetime and shared glimpses of her interaction with her family.  Her journals are now some of Steve's most cherished treasures.  Never underestimate the power of your life!

Ben and Becky

Happy Anniversary!  It seems like just yesterday that we sat in your Church in New Mexico and watched you get married.  Eighteen years have now gone by.  How proud we are of both of you for the commitment you made to one another and what a great example you have been to your children of love, sacrifice, and commitment. Hope your day is great.

Dirty Snow

It is snowing outside as I sit at the computer.  I am hoping that the electricity won't go off this time!  Most of the snow has melted but when you have a lot of snow it has to be moved so people can drive, park, and maneuver around town.  As a result of that I have experienced "dirty snow."  Today I decided I would take a picture so you could see what it looks like.  Tomorrow it will be covered with a few inches of beautiful white snow and in a few weeks we will have more dirty snow just taunting the sun to do something about it.  We are watching the ponds and edges of the river starting to freeze around the edges and suspect by mid January we may be able to visit a local area where kids ice skate in the winter because the pond has frozen over.  Can't wait to see that!

Christmas 2014

When we came in from work yesterday there was a decorated box sitting outside of our apartment door.  It had come from Angela and Andy and the kids.  What a perfect way to start the new year and say good-bye to 2014.  Christmas was different than anything we have experienced before and yet it was great fun because we visited the beautiful city of Boston, talked with all of our children and most of the grandkids.  We had a little foil tree on our kitchen table and had our Christmas dinner the Sunday after Christmas.  I guess it all comes down to the fact that traditions are made for different reasons and some will stay forever and others will be a one or two time thing.  We are serving in a beautiful area and feel happy that we are able to keep up with the work and at times give a little more than we thought we could.  Do I miss our family?  Absolutely.  Would we do this again?  I think we would.  Do I have any regrets?  None at all.  I know the Lord qualifies whom he calls and we are learning so many things that would have never happened had we chosen to stay home and be comfortable.  Thank you Angela for the Christmas goodies--they were wonderful (especially the letters)--but thank you more for picking up the slack while we aren't at home to take care of our house, our mail, our yard.  Thank you for making this mission easier because we know you and Andy are keeping things going at home.

Angela, Andy, Perry?

Ellis's Side

Ava's side

Caleb's side