Dear Elder Alex,
Well, I just finished making brownies at the request of your younger sisters. The warning on the box about not eating the brownie dough raw didn't stop them one bit (it didn't stop me either :).
So how are things going there in Kentucky? I just sent a box to you, so hopefully this week you'll get a few goodies. This past week hummed along pretty normally until Thursday morning when I got a call from my family that my dad wasn't feeling well. Dad talked with him while he was at the Winn and from there they took him to the ER. We all thought it was his heart because of how weary he's been feeling and how he hasn't been able to lift anything or do physical things and that's how he felt in Hilton Head when he had his heart problems.
There's nothing like having 11 brothers and sisters all trying to ask questions, report back, etc about what's happening when there's a family emergency. I think I was literally on the phone for 2 days straight with someone in my family. After a battery of tests, it turns out that he has pneumonia. He stayed in the hospital for 2 days and last night when he called me, he sounded really good and doesn't want to follow his doctors orders of staying at home for 2 weeks. Rest is not part of his vocabulary. While he was in the hospital Cheyenne stayed with my mom overnight and Susan also stayed one night. People are now pouring into the house with food and good wishes. I think he'll get exhausted again with all his company. But grandpa says he has thoroughly enjoyed having time to visit with so many people. Scott came to his hospital room and they had 3 uninterrupted hours of conversation which he really enjoyed since they hadn't talked in depth for quite a while. So all in all, it's been something positive for my dad. He always looks at things positively anyway.
Another good thing that happened was that he was able to get his heart completely checked out and had a leading cardiologist come in. He said his heart has no change whether at rest or during the stress test, so grandpa was happy about that. I think every so often in life, all people need undivided attention and pampering. It does a soul good.
Church was wonderful today. Trish, our newly baptized member of our ward, bore her testimony and it was beautiful. She has had some really tough times since joining the church and she said thanks to some talks at our Stake Conference, she learned that having faith didn't mean tough things wouldn't happen, it just meant that we can be carried through the tough times and she's been truly experiencing that. She is now caring for her daughter's baby full time because her daughter is hooked on crack.
Dad and Kirk have been busy working shifts. My job is to make our home a place where they and anyone else can come home and feel peace, fun, order and a heavy dose of the spirit, a safe haven from the outside world.
Kristina had her first Sweethearts dance this weekend, the one that the church sponsors. She went with Cardston Payne. They had a great time. For dinner each couple had to tie both their hands together and make a pizza. After the dance, they had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs, marshmellows and starburst candies. Apparently Starbursts taste amazing roasted over an open flame. You just roast them for a short time so that they are crispy on the outside and all soft on the inside. Here are some of her pictures. Notice their great Dane in the upstairs window...
This is our new handrail in the front of our house:
All right. Took a little break and played some games, What If, Times Up and then read the scriptures. We actually made it all the way through the Book of Mormon and are now starting over. As we read we are looking for attributes of Christ and marking our scriptures when we read a phrase describing Christ. I like reading with a purpose and hopefully this will give us the incentive as a family to keep up on our reading.
Looks like we are having similar weather except we are getting very cold at night, but it's been almost pleasant during the daytime. I also made a note about the movie you want us to watch, the Butterfly Circus and we're going to watch it Tuesday night when dad is home with us.
We checked and Graham comes home this month. So I will for sure go to his homecoming, but I need to check with his Bishop and see if he's going to report here or where his mom is now. I'll let you know what I find out.
So here's my Liahona story of the week. I have a key on my keychain that is the master key to the Stake Center. It opens, yes, everything! So there are 2 keys on my keychain, car and master key and my keychain that says I Love My Doctor. The master key is on its own ring attached to my key ring. It also has a round tag attached that says Master Key Stake Center and on the back it says, Eagle Stake.
So anyway, I had my keys with me a week ago last Saturday at the Stake Women's Conference. I'm constantly having to open the library and sometimes get into the Stake clerk's office, etc. I remember having them at the very end because I had to put a TV away in the library. Shortly afterward, I went home. 2 days later, Tuesday, dad and I are getting ready to go to the Stake Center and he grabs my keys and notices the master key is missing. I'm sick about it. I never take it off. If someone needs to use it, I always hand them my entire key chain. Plus it's practically impossible for that key to just fall off based on the type key ring it's attached to. In fact, it has never fallen off in all the time I've had it and I use those keys every day. So we look everywhere, all our pants pockets, purses. I call my presidency and several other people and ask if they have it. It's no where. Dad says I need to let Pres. Stafford know because of what it can access. So now I'm even more sick about it. I check with each of the girls as they come home from school and put off letting Pres. Stafford know. In the meantime, of course, I'm praying about it.
That afternoon around 5pm, Kristina is getting ready to take off and decides to take the Mustang on a quick errand because she hasn't driven it in a while. She walks back into the house and says, "What's this key doing in the Mustang?" and she holds up my master key. She said it was laying right out on the center console next to the seats. I'm flabbergasted sp? How would the key end up there? First off, someone had to remove the key from my keychain and then for some unknown reason decide to bring it back to me and go into our garage and put it in our old car sitting in there. Dad and I run through scenarios trying to figure out what could have happened and then he just declares, it's a miracle. I'm calling it my Liahona, it just appeared outside our tent. I kept thinking I'd hear from someone asking me if I found the key in the car that they'd put there, but it's been a week and not one person has said anything.
Now that the key is back in it's spot, everyone agrees that there's no way it could possibly just fall off. It had to have been taken off. The whole thing is so bizarre! I need some closure with this story, but right now I am just so happy that I have it back. I'll keep you posted...
So how are your investigators coming along? Did you find any new people this week?
I'm officially typing for the new patriarch now. I finished #1 and he has 3 more this next week. Looks like I'll be pretty busy. That will be nice for him to just jump right in and be busy. Bro. Sorensen had a hard time last week trying to figure out what his purpose was. I talked with Jean. He's really enjoying doing indexing online now though. I also sent him a link to the vineyard.lds.com where it has several volunteer opportunities to do from your home.
Here's a couple missionary hints for the week from my missionary hint book:
1. Put fun stickers on the back of your name tag--children love that.
2. Make sure you and your companion each carry a set of keys for the apartment and car.
3. Prepare a 2 1/2 minute talk oni Mosiah 15:1-4
4. Remember, the harder you work on your mission, the better looking your spouse will be.
5. Sing hymns while you tract and try to harmonize.
6. Always carry a pen.
7. Leave at least a quarter tank of gas in the car at transfer time.
8. Create trivia questions from Church videos.
9. Record the most creative rejections you receive in a separate section of your journal.
10.Surprise your companion by rearranging the furniture in the apartment while he is in the shower.
Better close up for now. Enjoy your week and I'll leave you with a quote I love:
"When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves."
Julie B. Beck
Love you very much,
Mom xxoo
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