10 Feb 2008

Feb. 10, 2008
Dear Elder Sean,
We just said goodbye to our last house guests this evening and put the girls down to bed. I invited all the new people who have moved into the ward to our home tonight to get to know them better and also for them to get to know other people. It was a really fun group. Their kids all hung out downstairs (plenty to do down there for all ages) and the adults talked and ate in the family room. It's fun hearing everyone's story-where they're from, their children, their hobbies, how they met, etc. I tried some new recipes for fun too. I had Alex make some monkey bread with a twist and I made a lemon poppy seed cake with a crumb topping and a lemon curd/cream cheese middle. Kristina made some brownies just in case the others were a bomb, but everything seemed to get eaten.

We had a nice Sabbath day. I'm anxious to hear from Kirk. He got to go to the dedication for the Rexburg temple today. It will be Pres. Monson's first official task as prophet. I went to the World Wide broadcast yesterday. Do you guys get to see those? I loved it. I thought they covered so many of the essentials of family life and had great insights. If you didn't get to see it, let me know and I"ll try to find the hard copy for you and send it.

Dad just finished a very tough week at work. He worked every day except one and he's so happy it's over. He has very few shifts left in this month now. It will be great. We're going to get some projects done around the house.

How's your work going? Do you keep really busy in the office still now that the Christmas season is over? I couldn't tell by your letters if you've gotten our last package. It's the one that had snow in it. We have a pile of things ready to go this week too, so let us know if you have any needs or wants.

We are all still praying for you to find that family that the Lord has prepared. They are probably friends with someone already in your ward.

Thanks for sharing the talk from Elder Holland. It was wonderful. Jan and Jeff said they already used it for a family night. So thank you again. Jeffrey is back living in Calif after a brief period of living in Paris. Kirk contacts him every so often to see how he's doing. Heidi and Cameron are living in his parent's house until he finds out where he'll be going to law school in the fall. Mary will be returning to BYU-I in April. David has graduated from HS early and is attending a local college and living at home. Katie is still planning on getting married this summer, although some of us wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't go through. Her fiance keeps dropping out of school and had a hard time keeping a job.

Talked with my dad the other day. He said the Winn is really doing a lot of business lately. He's gotten so many orders, etc. He said it's like it was years ago. So he's been too busy with that lately. Grandma's hanging in there and they still go out for fun dates 2-3 times a week. G & G Thompson are also doing well. I think GRandpa will be a lot happier when winter is over. I think true gardeners get very restless in the winter. Charmaine has been doing better and better since her break up with Lanny. She's really turned to the church more and has found a fun new interest in genealogy. She also wrote me and said she was taking a beginning quilt class, so I expect to have a fellow quilter soon.

I actually finished Kristina's baptism quilt!!! This is a major accomplishment in my book. I had so many dilemmas with it and it feels so good to have solved and mastered the so-called problems I was having. Now I'm working on Leah's baptism quilt. I'm also designing a quilt pattern that I'll use to make several quilts that I give to the domestic courtrooms in Calif. My group that I meet with, the Material Girls, also makes quilts and gives them to me to mail. Our quilts are given to kids who have been taken away from their parents through the legal system, so I always want them to be fun, joyful quilts.

Other than all this, we are beginning to thaw out finally, but I'm sure that doesn't mean it's the end of snow here. The girls have been out roller blading and wearing their shorts just because we've been in the high 40's here.

Tell me about some of the people you meet there, families in your ward, someone you've had a conversation with about the church. I love the details so I can picture what you're doing. Speaking of pictures, we'd love to see some. Have a great week. Lose yourself in the work and you'll find yourself standing side by side with the Lord.

I love you always.
momxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox