Alex & Cate, A New Eternal Family

 October 22, 2016 was the beginning of a new eternal family with Alex and Cate.  What a wonderful experience to witness their marriage and the beginning of eternity.  Lots of family came to Nauvoo for the occasion.

Evie loves Christine and she helped with the children as they waited outside the temple for the couple to emerge.

 What a gorgeous day it was!  The sun was shining and the sky was brilliant blue.  The temperatures weren't too bad either considering it was the end of October.

 As you can see, sweaters were in order but suit jackets were optional.

 Jeff catching up, or getting to know Matt, Chase and Matt Ainsworth.

 Brett's back has been giving him such grief that sitting is all that is really comfortable for him.

 The colors were just beginning to change in Nauvoo.  At home they were already past peak.

 These two little ladies are such good friends.  It will be a good thing when this family can move to Wisconsin and these two can spend more time together.

 I love that I caught this walk down the stairway.  Alex's face shows what they were both feeling.

 I love Millie's face.  She's such a gem!

 First photo as a family.

 I am amazed at the attention Alex gives this little daughter.  By watching him I can see the love he has for his new daughter.

 Here's a side of Alex I've seen before.  Silliness.

  Since Alex never had a girlfriend growing up, it was really odd to see him constantly kissing his bride.  It was quite foreign for me to see.

 He couldn't keep his eyes off her.

 Clint with two of his boys.

The attempt to get a group photo took a bit of orchestration.  In the end, I don't have a copy of it, but then I don't need one.  What a great opportunity to be in the temple to witness the beginning of another one of my nephews make the best decision of his life in marrying the right woman in the right place by the right authority.  Congratulations!

Nauvoo Trip

 Our nephew, Alex, got married on Saturday, October 22nd.  Therefore, we needed a family trip to Nauvoo!

We went earlier in the week and rented a home that we love.  We don't really love the house, we love the location and the price and the homey feel of the house.  Only one bed in the entire house is good for sleeping on unless you're just a kid and don't know better.

 As a family, we went to see Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo.  We also did some touring.  That was done on our own time and seeing what each of us wanted to see.

 We took the trek via the ox wagon.  Butchy loved touching the oxen.  Evie was a little more timid about it.

 We also got to go to the temple!  My favorite!

 We took a walk on a late afternoon before going to see the show and found the stage for the Nauvoo pageant.  We decided that we needed a pose from the old City of Joseph pageant so we created one.

 I love the scene of the temple at night all lit up.  Butchy loved the horses and since then he sees a picture of the Nauvoo temple and proclaims, "Horses!"  Then he tells me it is also a temple.

 Here we are on the ox ride.  Not everyone was with us as you can see.  A few of the guys were busy visiting the gunsmith.

 Here's our pose yet again.  Clint obviously was never part of the pageant as he doesn't have a clue how to do the pose.  The kids did their best.  All except Ev.  I don't know what she was doing.

 A selfie following the tour of the Carthage jail.  We sure did miss Erin!

What a wonderful weekend we had with our family.  I'm so thankful that we get along and we love one another.  I think that personalities could clash and we are lucky to have such a great group of people we call family, that even if we don't mesh perfectly, we still get along.  I couldn't have asked for a better weekend weather-wise or with better people!

General Conference & Utah Tour

Another yearly trip to Utah for General Conference.  This year we planned to spend a few extra days in Utah to go to southern Utah to see some of the sights.  We've never done that so why not?  I'm not teaching seminary and we don't have to be home at any specific time.  Andrew came with us and he was able to see and visit some of the families and people form his mission.  These pics are not in chronological order so bear with me if I skip around.

On Tuesday morning we headed north and stopped at Cove Fort.  This was a place that Ira Hinckley was asked to set up and live in.  It was a way station for weary travelers as well as a look out for hostile natives.  It was most interesting and I loved the tour.  Don't drive past.  Take the time and stop.

 Kent and Karen Hugh, former temple president and matron in St. Paul, live in Cedar City.  We called them a few weeks before our trip to ask what we absolutely needed to see.  He said he would take us on a personal tour.  That's exactly what we got.  It was incredible.  This is at Kolob National Park.

General Conference is always fun.  It is great to sit in the Conference Center and feel the Spirit.  We saw these two on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday morning was the first session we had tickets for.  I took an extra ticket for Tatelyn.  I think she had a good time with us.  

The first stop on the Hugh's tour with us was in some little town where there is this statue commemorating the "quilt walk."  Look it up and find out what it was.  It is an incredible story of how the Lord helped those who help themselves.

With this handsome face at Cove Fort.  We were standing up on the wall surrounding the fort.

On our way south on Sunday night, I captured this view.  I love how the light makes different colors on the clouds.

Sunday morning was spent with this pair of wonderful people.  President Howard and Sister Marge Sharp.  They were the Mission President in the California San Bernardino mission back in 1980.  Two years ago he assisted my husband in setting Andrew apart as a missionary.  We forgot to take a picture then so we re-created it.  They always have such wonderful stories.  They both have a great sense of humor.  I love them to pieces!

Can you believe I have never seen a palm tree in real life?  Not that I can remember.  I've never spent any time in the desert so how would that have been possible?  This is in front of the St. George temple.

This is Bryce Canyon.  All the rock formations are called Hoodoos.  Absolutely breathtaking.  I only wish the day had been warmer so we could've walked along some of the paths along the canyon rim.

The St. George temple.  It is the oldest functioning temple on the earth.  We were able to go do a session on Tuesday morning.  Very beautiful!

More hoodoos.  I love this amazing man who decided we should take this vacation.

Of all the beauty we were able to experience in Utah, we came home and this was the view from my car window as we were driving down highway 29 only minutes from our home.  There is so much diversity on this beautiful earth.  God certainly made something for everyone!

Lake Superior Tour

Just after our stake conference where my sweetie was released as the Stake President, we left on a vacation around Lake Superior.  It was supposed to be on a motorcycle but we took the car instead. I'm so glad we went by car.  We camped all but one night which was great!  We saved a bunch on hotels.  We have seen a lot of the attractions and done several tours along the southern border of the lake so now it was time to go see the Canadian side.

Our first stop was in Grand Marais, MI.  We walked along the lake shore and saw all these beautiful, colorful stones.  We picked up a few handfuls to bring them back for Michael Munk who collects rocks.  By the way, he loved them.

 The water was as cold as I remember it.  But the shoreline was so beautiful.

 While in Sault Ste. Marie we did a couple tours.  We went on the Soo Locks tour.  It was fun and I was glad I wore a jacket.  Even with the sun shining, the breeze was cool.  It was nice to be on the water.  We saw a lot of sites along the St. Mary's river.

While in Thunder Bay, we toured Fort William.  It was a fort designed for trading with the natives. Here's Pat with one of the canons.  It was sort of like being in Nauvoo where the people are dressed in the attire of the day.  The difference was that these were actors and they were in character.  That was fun!  There was so much to see at the fort but we only spent a few hours.  Being off summer hours not everything was open either.

In Thunder Bay you can see the Sleeping Giant.  In fact we stayed in the Sleeping Giant Park.  If you know what to look for, you can see him sleeping just beyond our campsite.

After dinner we went to Thunder Bay Lookout.  This was a place built out over the cliff so you could see how far down the lake was and see the cliffs.  Most of it was made with wooden planks.  The last few feet was with steel lats.  For some reason, I couldn't make myself walk out onto those.  I suppose because you can see through them more clearly.  I don't know.  I just freaked myself out about it.

Just a shot of the lake in the background.  Most of the  lake was not visible as we traveled around the north.  Still there were some beautiful vistas.

Back in Sault we toured an old ship.  There was a lot to see and experience like the living conditions aboard ship as well as some other artifacts.

One of those artifacts was this life boat that was on the Edmund Fitzgerald when it went down in Lake Superior.  It was found floating in the water the day after.  Both of the life boats found were severely damaged.

 This is the bridge to Canada.  

 The doors on the Canadian lock closed and the water draining.  

We found a cat hanging out in one of the homes in Fort William.  It was very friendly.  We had to have a photo for Tom.

We had a wonderful time being together.  Most of the time we didn't have any cell signal and no WiFi so it really was like being in solitude.  If I were to recommend to anyone else, I would say go from Thunder Bay over to Sault Ste. Marie.  Skip the northern route as there isn't a lot to see other than lots and lots and lots of trees.

Family Pictures

While Erin was home we planned a family photo.  But, Pat's work schedule got in the way and we were unable to keep our appointment with Liz.  So, Sunday evening we got out the tripod and did our best to get a couple of shots.

 It is really difficult to get the children all looking nice.  As you can see, Evie has her tongue sticking out.  Still they all look nice.

It has been a very long time since we had a picture of just our children.  This was very impromptu but still I love these faces.  They make my life complete.  It was difficult for me to let Erin leave and go back to Utah.  I will see her again the beginning of October but still, I wish she were closer.  We talk most every day but it just isn't the same.

I have amazing people to call my children!

Stake Reorganization

Back in June my husband got the letter from the First Presidency indicating that he would be released as the Stake President on August 28th.  He took the news with many tears.  It was hard to hear as he loves the people of the stake and loves serving them.  I've seen such growth in this man I call my husband over the past 9+ years as he's served in this calling.  We've had many unique experiences meeting people we would otherwise never have the opportunity to meet.

Elder Michael Ringwood accompanied by Paul Sinclair (who grew up in DePere) presided at the conference.  We had the two of them along with President and Sister Williams of the mission, over for dinner on Friday evening.  It was so much fun to get to visit about our families and stake concerns.  That is one of the things I will miss most.  The opportunity to get to know these men on a personal basis.  

Saturday was filled with interviews and meetings.  A great adult session in the evening.  I spent most of my day at home with Erin.  She flew home for an extended weekend to support her dad and spend time with Andrew who just got home.

Sunday morning, the present presidency and wives met with Elder Ringwood and Sinclair and they expressed their personal thanks to us for supporting our husbands.  Then they told us who the new presidency was.  It was my privilege to sustain Jacob Lonsdale as president with Michael Munk and Nathan Thiel as counselors.

 The Gresham choir and friends sang for the conference.  Since we sang Consider the Lilies, Heidi Cerveny asked if I would direct that piece.  I did and it sounded beautiful.  My sweetheart was to bear his testimony following that music.  He stepped out of character during his remarks and thanked me publicly for being a support to him.  He spoke of my faith which took my breath away.  

Following his remarks it was my opportunity to bear my testimony.  

I loved this weekend and am ever grateful to Elder Ringwood for including not only my husband but myself in the transition.  We were each able to give some training to the new presidency.  My training was for the wives.  Elder Ringwood expressed that whatever it was that I said was all they needed to hear.  I don't recall what I said.

At the end of the day, we were blessed to drive them to the airport.  We didn't expect that.  It was a tender mercy.  I enjoyed the fellowship of these two great men very much.  In fact, I told Elder Sinclair that he could be my brother as I felt that type of kinship with him.  It was the first time any of the brethren ever hugged me.

It was a phenomenal weekend!

Homecoming

This has to be my favorite picture of me that I've seen in a very long time.  On August 16th my baby boy returned home from his two year mission.  He wasn't very far away considering how far away he could have been.  Regardless, it was 25 long months.

I knew I would be emotional at the airport.  I was when Sammi returned so why wouldn't I be this time?  We held one another and cried.  I think he cried because he had to leave his mission.  I cried because I got to hold him once again and see his handsome face!

Of all the things in this world, I believe a missionary returning from service has to be the closest thing there is to what Heaven feels like.  I'm so proud of his service and the man he has become.  There really are no words.

He gave his report to the council the following Sunday morning and then gave a talk in Sacrament meeting in our ward.  I was so impressed with how he presented his message.  This is not the frightened young man I saw back in July 2014.  This is a confident man who knows the message that he shared.  It was incredible to hear his testimony of the Atonement.

I love this youngest child and look forward to what he will become in his life.