Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Oh for heavens sake!!!!  Late again.  I simply don't know how Sunday slips away from us so easily.  Well, wait a minute......we were traveling on Sunday and we got home really late (at least LATE for us senior missionaries)!  That explains yet another LATE entry from last week.  SO....here we go with a little catch up:

After our return from visiting family last week on the west coast (for Spencer's Priesthood Ordination) it was just about time for Christmas!!!  On December 24th the Zone Leaders and Spanish Elders who lived in an apartment around the corner from our apartment were scheduled to move to a different apartment.....across the parking lot from us.  It was all hands on deck to help them move.  Well, Wayne and I at least cheered them on for the move.  They actually did the work.

Oh wait a minute.....Wayne did carry ONE box so he could say he helped!

We truly have felt loved and blessed with receiving so many Christmas Cards.  Makes us feel like we are at our home in Maryland!

A real surprise was receiving this handmade, beautiful CHEROKEE INDIAN DREAMCATCHER.  We had met Kristina in Kentucky at one of the Cherokee Museum Shops.  She is 100% Cherokee.  We struck up a friendship with her.  I told her I would LOVE to have a dreamcatcher.  Low and behold, in the mail this week we received this!!!  LOVE IT!!

And the sweet note that she included with the Dreamcatcher.  We will be stopping to visit her again when we are up that way.

I finished Elder Robison's afghan!!!  His was a larger one because he is a big boy.  He wanted it about 4 1/2 feet wide by 7 feet tall.  It was every bit that size when I was finished!   I know because I measured it.  I think he really LOVED IT!!!

One of the Christmas gifts Wayne got for Christmas was a lego-type kit of the Nauvoo Temple.  He had so much fun putting it together on Christmas Day.

On Saturday, December 27th we headed up to the Atlanta Temple so we could participate on a Sealing Team as a way of celebrating our 46th wedding anniversary.  It was very nice.  As we left the temple we headed up to North Carolina where we would spend the night.  Wayne was all 'hunkered down' with his 'work station' well in place and he was hard at work before we even got out of Atlanta.  He is such a hard worker.  Bless his pea-pickin heart!

On Sunday we attended the Sharon Ward in the Charlotte South Stake where Paul and Danette Garrett gave their 'missionary farewell talks'.  They leave this week for the MTC and then on to the Philippines where they were serve as the Area Mental Health Advisor and Assistant.

Wayne and I splurged a bit and ordered a set of Matryoshka Dolls from Russia.  They have 8 different temples on 8 dolls.  We ordered it from a Russian shop we found while visiting Boone, N.C. back in October.  We LOVE them.  They turned out great.

We got a phone call from one of the GA Mission Presidents whose son was sick.  They were worried about him and we felt like we needed to come back down to Peachtree City a day early so we could make a house-call on him.  Otherwise, we would have stayed in Charlotte until Monday morning and would have driven back then.  Hence, the lateness in getting back to our apartment on Sunday night.  That meant we were home for Monday.  Elder's Robison and Robinson called and came by our apartment about dinner time.  Elder Robison had thrown his back out playing a 'chair soccer' game during Preparation Day activities!!!  I think we should do away with P-Days because there are so many injuries from those activities!!!  I made dinner for them and Elder Robison rested in our recliner to see if his back would feel better.  While talking to the Elders we discovered that the 29th was Elder Robinson's BIRTHDAY (21st)!!!  SO.....we had to celebrate a little with them and have a piece of fruit cake and candle for him.  And, of course, sing Happy Birthday to him.

We LOVE our mission.  And now we prepare for the brining in of a NEW YEAR this week.  With a visit from B.P and Daphne!!  Should be fun.  Let's hope us old senior missionaries can keep up with it all!!!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

PART 1

YUP, late again this week!!!!  There has been so much going on that I am just now getting around to writing last weeks blog.  We are getting too old for this kind of 'crazy-busy' schedule.  But we love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

After about 5 months of scheduling and rescheduling our trip out to John and Carol VonCannon at their home in Mansfield, GA, we finally made it!!  What a great little place they have out in the country.  John and I are cousins (Annie Gaye, John's mother, and my mother are sisters).

 On Tuesday, December 16th I had yet another eye appointment for a shot in my eye.  I have these every time I go in.....usually 7-9 weeks apart.  The q-tip in my eye has numbing medicine on it to help numb my eye before I get the shot.  Once we finished here we were headed off to the South Carolina Columbia Mission with our first stop in Sumter, SC.  About a 5 hour drive.

There are two nurses in South Carolina.  Sister Romano is one of them.  She is a real sweetheart and a great nurse.  It is fun for us to finally get to meet some of these nurses for the first time.  We usually work with them by phone, text, or email.

 President Turner, Mission President, loved playing 'Santa Claus' to the missionaries with their packages from home.

 When we asked at the hotel front desk what there was to do in Sumter we were told there wasn't really anything to see or do.  Except......go to Swan Lake and see the Festival of Lights Display.  It was indeed gorgeous.  We were so glad we got to see them.

Just a little FYI.....we earned our DIAMOND STATUS on this trip!!!  Now...we can park close to the front door!  Aren't we lucky.

 Because we couldn't see the SWANS at night during the Festival of Lights show, we decided we could take 15 minutes on our way to Zone Conference to see them.  Wayne really wanted to.  See that 'dude' in front of Wayne.....looking straight at him with his neck straight up.  Well, we learned very quickly that he was a 'mean dude'!!!  He apparently was out to protect his 'herd'!

You see clearly that Wayne was attacked!  He bit Wayne's hand first, then moved up his arm and on his coat, both sides of his arm.  And he was 'beating' Wayne with his wings.  Wayne yelled 'how do I get away from him?'.  I yelled back 'walk away slowly, turn and walk away!'  I was SURE that Wayne was going to have to go buy a new suit.  That his would be in shreds!!!

This foto really doesn't show how bad is hand was.  It swelled up and had a big bruise and you could see the teethmarks from where the swan bit him.  He was a vicious 'dude'!!!  STAY AWAY FROM SWANS was the lesson we learned.  They may be pretty to look at but they are mean!!

 Meet Sister Emily Bell!  Her aunt worked with us in the Washington D.C. Temple Bapistry!!  Small world.  How sweet she is.  She has now been out 16 months and I (we) have been out 6 months.

We took a super quick 45 minute break at Zone Conference to go 'hide and seek' one of Becky's core kits.  Yup....right there in West Columbia, S.C.  It only took Sonja 16 minutes to get there and claim it.  How fun to meet her and her granddaughter.

And meet the 2nd nurse in this mission.....Sister Miyasaki!  She is a great nurse as well.

 And then we were surprised to have Marcy Polander show up at the West Columbia Zone Conference.  She was our Relief Society President in the Monocacy Ward a gazillion years ago.  How fun to see her and catch up with her for a minute or two!!!

As we left West Columbia and drove over to Greenville, S.C. we drove right past the South Carolina Temple.  Of course, we had to stop and go inside for a minute.  We didn't have long but we made the most of the few minutes that we had.

PART 2

After Zone Conferences on Friday, we drove back to Peachtree City.  We needed to unpack our suitcases and repack.  We would fly to Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon.

How fun was it that our airplane landed just a few minutes ahead of the airplane that Tyler and Spencer were on.  SO.....we hooked up with them at the baggage claim area.

 It took a while to get our rental car and head south to meet up with everyone.  And we did just that......we were starved so we meet at Ruby's Diner.  It was a great place.....great food, great company, great evening.

It was amazing to us how the entire 30-hour weekend shaped up with half of the family being represented there.  David had flown in from Shanghai for Christmas.  Andy was in CA for a half-marathon that he ran and Tina and the kids flew out so the ordination could take place there.

On Sunday morning, we met at the church where Tyler ordained Spencer to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood.  What an honor for that to be accomplished.

Here is a group/family shot of those who were able to attend.

The view of the beautiful palm trees lining the streets was very pretty.

We walked down to the beach later in the evening.  David wanted to take a foto of Wayne and I.

The sunset was just gorgeous.

Just enjoyed the view and the waves and the water.

Doesn't Tina Marie look cute sitting on her 'lifeguard chair'.  Watching her little flock.

 And all 6 of these cousins had such a GREAT time.

A PERFECT ending to a PERFECT weekend.....although it was short, it was wonderful.

WE ARE TRULY BLESSED!!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

We were welcomed back to Atlanta on Wednesday with the 'usual' traffic!  SO good to be back.....but did NOT miss the traffic.

Have I said before (or lately) how much we love the COTTON FIELDS of the south!  We love them.....amazing how many cotton fields, ready to harvest, we found as we headed to Zone Conferences in the Georgia Macon Mission.

We actually found some 'bales' of cotton all wrapped up and ready to do whatever the cotton farmers do with the cotton when it is harvested.  SO cool to see it like this.  And that cotton is so soft when it is 'raw'!

We also LOVE those tall pine forests.  They are so neat to see.....especially if the 'floors' are clean.  Reminds of us being in Sweden and Finland!

 We stayed in Vidalia, GA on our first night prior to attending Zone Conferences in Statesboro, GA.  We have been wanting to visit here and this time we got the chance.  Such a quaint little town.  Not much to do but that is not why we were there.  Our Hampton Inn was right next door to the Vidalia Onion Factory.  Would love to come back here in the spring when they have the Vidaia Festival!

Couldn't resist taking a foto of this hand needlework hanging in the lobby of the hotel.  Someone in town made it.....wouldn't mind having one!

In the meantime, Becky sent this foto of Jenny.  Jenny works in Becky's office.  I made this afghan for here.  I think she likes it!!!  Makes me so happy.

Now.....this is a first for us.  Cute little hand printed 'signs' on each of the bananas in the hotel lobby.  Who has time to do that!?  Who takes time to do that?!   Southern hospitality here in Vidalia is just the BEST!!!

Lunch for the Zone Conference in Statesboro was FANTASTIC!  Christmas dinner......ham, turkey and all the trimmings.  Nothing was spared!  We truly feel blessed to be a part of this great missionary force serving the Lord!

And the Christmas Story was portrayed as a part of the Zone Conference.  These Elders and Sisters did a GREAT job.

We attended the Macon Ward on Sunday morning.  As we left we decided to stop and take a quick look at the OCMULGEE INDIAN MOUNDS!  We drove right past them and we decided to stretch our legs a bit before sitting for a few hours on the ride home.

These are the steps up to the top of the BURIAL MOUND.  

From on top we could see the downtown city of Macon.  

After about 45 minutes of walking around it was time to head back to PTC (Peachtree City).

It has indeed been a WONDERFUL week attending Zone Conferences down in the Georgia Macon Mission.  We look forward to heading over to the South Carolina Columbia Mission on Tuesday!  We feel so blessed to be able to serve on this mission!