Sunday, January 31, 2016

It was another week of travel for us....this time to the Tennessee Nashville Mission.  As we were packing our suitcases, Lucy made it very clear that she was going with us!  We could only wish.......she has become a part of our family.  Not sure what we are going to do in 4 months when we go home!!

Tennessee is known for their great road signs.......this is but one example.

We decided that we would take a little bit of time.....an hour or so.....to see a couple of sights here in Nashville.  We typically just 'keep on driving' and don't slow down much.  We stopped at the Grand Ole Opry and took a 'Backstage Tour'.  It was really cool and we enjoyed it very much.

It definitely doesn't show in the foto below, but dad was on the phone for most of the tour......in fact, when it was our turn to get our foto taken he had to put a 'hold' on the call to one of the mission nurses so he could smile!

How fun to see Elder and Sister Logan at a Zone conference today!!  We know them from the Mt. Airy, N.C. Ward!  When we saw them there last, they told us they had gotten their mission call.  We had forgotten that it was in the Ft. Campbell area and that we would see them at Zone Conferences!

When we finished our Zone Conference in Hopkinsville, KY, we decided to drive on up to Paducah, KY and see the National Quilt Museum.  It was an hours drive northwest from where we were.  The wrong direction.  But, that was okay.  This was when we had to time to go there.  What a GREAT little town Paducah is.  We definitely have to go back there sometime!!

The water front area was really cool.....would like to have had more time to spend there.

Of course, when in the Franklin, TN area we just have to visit the Nashville Temple.  Unfortunately, the temple is never open when we are there.  Very limited hours.

We got to spend 2 nights in the Mission Home.  This is the 'General Authority' bedroom.  This is the one we always use when we stay there.  We love staying here with the Anderson's.

Rather than going out to dinner (which is what we normally do), Sister Anderson decided to cook dinner for us!  She is so sweet!!  While she was making the vegetable and salad and bread, President Anderson put on his apron and grilled the steak on the grill!!!  The meal was delicious!

We got President and Sister Anderson to sign our baseball bat for us.  This is our 'mission memory bat'!!  We got the bat from the Louisville Slugger Museum and Bat Factory in Louisville.  President Brough of the GKLM gave us the idea!!

A foto of each Zone is always taken.  On the last Zone Conference on Friday, the President wanted an Office Staff foto.  They asked us to join in!  We were happy to oblige.  It has been a GREAT week in the Tennessee Nashville Mission.

The area where the mission home is located is in Brentwood.  Oh my stars, the homes in the area are GINORMOUS!!!!    This is where a lot of the country music singers live.  AND you can tell which ones they are (homes that is).

As we were leaving Nashville on Thursday afternoon after Zone Conference and headed south to McMinnville for the last Zone Conference of the week, we stopped by the Nashville Pedestrian Walking Bridge.  What a hidden gem right there in the middle of the city!  GREAT FOTO SHOTS!!  This bridge actually goes across the Cumberland River rom the Nissan Stadium (where we parked).

We LOVE the signs here in the south.  Saw this one as we were driving from McMinnville down toward Peachtree City, GA.

 We needed to make a house call on a couple of sister missionaries on our way back to Peachtree City.  They live in Rome, GA which is on the western part of the north Georgia area.  Our GPS/Map App took us through a good size chunk of Alabama!  OOPS.....not a part of our mission, but we did what we had t do.  

Along that route we saw a BROWN sign which said "Little River Falls" overlook.  Well, we try to stop at brown signs....that becomes our P-Day since we don't get a P-Day!!!  What a FUN find here in the middle of nowhere in Alabama.

Our house call to these sweet sisters was fun.  I think they enjoyed our stopping by.  One of them had surgery 2 days prior to our coming.  She is recovering very nicely.  Yes, Elder/Dr. Allgaier is on his phone in the background.  A.LW.A.Y.S.!!

We attended a Georgia Atlanta Mission Senior Missionary lunch on Saturday.  There were about 24 of us.  It was good......and this dessert!!!  Oh my heavens.....quite the peach cobbler!!!  Good thing we shared it.

The elders who live close by were so excited to have us home again, they came over for a little visit Saturday evening.  It was 'group hug' time!!

 And lest we forget one more sign that we see often.....YES, the Holy Bible is inspired (as far as it is translated correctly!) but it is NOT FINAL!!!  Thankfully, we have the Book of Mormon which goes hand-in-hand with the Bible.  The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.  And this is what the missionaries are trying to teach those who will listen here in the South!

 We LOVE our mission.  We are grateful for the opportunity we have to serve here in the South.  We love each one of our children and grandchildren.  And we thank each one of you for your love and support.  Our time is ticking down......bittersweet about that!!  Y'all have a GREAT week....LOVE YOU!!  Be safe and watch for reindeer!

Sunday, January 24, 2016

This was a little different this week.....NO travels, but we stayed plenty busy.

On Monday, a holiday for Martin Luther King's Birthday (I think), the missionaries were not able to go to the library to do their regular emails.  Libraries were closed.  The sister missionaries came to our apartment and they took turn using my computer.  Dad's is always 'tied up' because, well, he is always busy!!  It was fun to have them over.  I got work done....they got work done.

I think you all know that 3 cats have adopted us!  Tigger (yellow cat outside), Lucy (black cat inside) and another black cat, Blackie.  Tigger just does NOT like the other two cats.  Here Lucy and Tigger are having a standoff through our bedroom window!

I was able to get Elder Norland's afghan finished.  He was a happy missionary.

On Wednesday of this week, we attended a Worldwide Missionary Broadcast.....in our Whitewater Ward building.  Jack, pictured here, is a recent convert.  He is a real handyman with all things leather!  Here he is preparing to repair Dad's black bag.  Dad emptied the contents of the black bag into a plastic bag.  He had it repaired and back to us later that day.

We don't get to be with our District very often.  In fact, I think this might be the only time on our mission to date that we have been with everyone.  So, of course, we had to take a District foto!!

 Elder Parkin, sitting next to me at the end of the table, will be returning to his home this coming week.  We wanted to take he and Elder Norland to dinner for a little treat.  We invited Elder and Sister Hardgrave (the Area Mental Health Advisors) to join us at the Fried Tomato Buffet!!  We love that place.  

On Thursday afternoon, before the BLIZZARD 2016 hit, the sister missionaries dropped by for a quick minute.  They would be on 'lockdown' by 8 p.m. this night because of the inclement weather in our area.  We were not sure how long before they would be able to go out.  SO, I made sure they had a ball of yarn and a crochet hook to keep themselves busy.....just in case.

I was also able to finish yet another afghan.  I like this 'cotton ball' stitch.  I think I just may have to keep this one for myself as it reminds us of our time 'in the land of cotton'!!  It was surely FUN to make.

With JONAS the Blizzard of 2016 was bearing down on our homefront (and actually the whole mid to north eastern part of the U.S., we here in Georgia got our fair share of the white stuff.  And you can see just how much we got by the love note left on our car!!!  Feels good to be loved here!!

 Meantime, in Urbana, Tina and the kids got some much needed help get dug out.  They also got about 32 inches.

As well as Steven and Elinn......

And lest we forget the 515!!!!  There she sits......proudly on the hill showing off her 32 inches!!  

And last, but certainly NOT least for this Sabbath day......Buck-Baby turned 38 today!  How in the world is that even possible??  I don't feel like he should be that old.  My babies, all lined up!!!  So very proud of each and every one of them.  What great people they are....making great contributions both here and on the other side of the veil.

It just amazes me at just how fast the clock ticks.  Slow down world so we can enjoy it!!  Y'all have a great week.  Buck-Baby....have a GREAT birthday today.  We will be in the Tennessee Nashville Mission this week.....be safe everyone.  Love you......

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Our Monday morning found us headed from Corbin, Kentucky (where we had spent the weekend) back up to the Louisville area.  AND, of course, when we are anywhere near the Louisville Bat Factory we just have to stop in.  We LOVE going there!!  We will miss going here when we are not on our mission.

And that Louisville skyline!  There are 'certain' skylines we have grown to love and look forward to seeing....this is one of them.

When we stopped to fill up the gas tank, interesting how they had the salt bags stacked up.  You would have thought SNOW was expected!

And sure enough.....SNOW was expected.  We got to stop by the Kentucky Louisville Temple again.  Unfortunately, it was closed so we didn't get to participate in any ordinances this time.  Hopefully the next time!

 It was indeed a pretty snow when we woke up on Tuesday morning to head over to Zone Conferences.  

While the missionaries were enjoying the warmth of the inside (and getting instructions from President Brough on how he wanted the missionaries to look for the foto about to be taken!).....

Elder Bailey is outside in the snow and cold weather checking those missionary cars.  I guess he gets extra blessings for having to be in the COLD!!

Elder Parker Irwin came up to us and said he had been to our home in Maryland.....even been to one of our bonfires!!  We knew he was legit when he talked about the bonfires.  As it turns out, he and his family moved into our ward at home (Monocacy Ward at the time) while we were on our mission in Finland.  His family moved to Washington State shortly after our return from Finland because his father passed away and that was where his mother felt they needed to move to.  We had a nice little reunion with him.  

We had a nice view of one of the many bridges over the Ohio River from Indiana to Kentucky in our hotel in New Albany, Indiana.

Elder/Dr. Allgaier got a BAT for Christmas.....one that he would pass around and let 'special' people sign for him.  A nice way for him to remember so many great people we have met on our mission.  Here Elder and Sister Boettcher are signing.  Sister Boettcher is the mission nurse for the GKLM!

This is the sign we hang outside of the 'Doctor's Office' in the church buildings we meet in.

Elder/Dr. Allgaier LOVES his rocks....and there are some mighty pretty ones up in the Kentucky/Tennessee areas.  The ice makes it even prettier!

Now, this was an interesting turn of events when we went to check in at our Hampton Inn in Bowling Green, Kentucky!  I had not gotten around to e-check-in for us.  We decided to take our chances and see what kind of room we would get.  Well, we got our king study BUT it was only on the 2nd floor.  We like the higher floors so we can leave the curtain open to let the natural light wake us up in the morning.  The 2nd floor just doesn't cut it for us.  They had no rooms on the higher floors.  We decided to keep driving on down to Chattanooga, TN and get a Hampton Inn room there....and we did, on the 5th floor....and a suite too!!!  By the way, Bowling Green, as you might recall, is where the Corvettes are made....hence, the Corvette in the parking lot of the hotel!

As we drove on down to Chattanooga we passed these crosses.  They were impressive in the dark.  Even though it is terribly blurry, you get the idea.  We see these crosses ALL over the south as we drive around.  These southerners have their faith and they are not afraid to show it!!

Well, we finally made it back to PTC after being gone for 2 weeks!  And the inside of our car showed we had been on the road that long.  Not a good representation here, but you can only imagine how packed the car was!!

The elders were sure glad we were home too!!!!  Bless their hearts....they are so good at collecting our mail for us when we are gone.  YES, that is Tigger in the corner by the window.  One of the 3 neighborhood cats that like to come visit us.  Tigger was inside before we could get in!

 I was able to finish one more afghan while on this trip.  This one was for Elder Parkin.  He was excited t get it.

Dad has his quarterly eye check-up on Saturday morning early.  All is well....and we like it that way.

We headed up to Rome, GA after the eye appointment.  We had a sister missionary in the hospital ER and we needed to help out with the situation.  Bless her heart.  She really needed to be admitted to get further treatment (possibly surgery) but it just didn't work out quite that way.....at least not yet.  There need to be a couple of more hoops to go through.....and hopefully!

We were able to sneak in a quick trip to the temple on our way home from the northern parts of this mission.  It will be closed now for the next 2 weeks.  Glad we could get there.

We attended a special NorthAmerica SouthEast AREA Conference today.  It was great.  AND, all of the hymns were in the Finnish hymnbook!  We like that.  We sing in Finnish every week.

 And that concludes our 2-week road trip.  We hope to be 'home' for this coming week.  We will see what that brings us.  Y'all have a GREAT week....love you all.  Love our mission!!