The first thing I want to say this week is "I love my mission", I love the concept of being of service to the women who live in the Suitland Stake of the Washington DC North Mission.  Our area as I have described before goes from the District to the southern tip of Maryland, between the Potomac river and the Chesapeake bay..The area we are serving in right now is the most beautiful place I have ever lived.. As I meet with the sisters and get to know each of them I am amazed at their compassion and love for us. It is such a joy and I love each day more than the last.

            Our first visit this week was with the sweet family of Bishop Lowe.  Jennilee and their 3 children. Sarah, Bonnie & Issac.  They are a military family, Bishop Lowe is the Air Force liaison to the Navy Missile program at Patuxtent Naval Air Base.  We were invited for lunch with Jennilee and the kids and had a wonderful time.  She is such a wonderful young mom and I just loved getting to know her and spend some quality time with her and the girls.

Jenni with Sara, Bonnie & Issac

            Kim was our next visit, she has just been called to be the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society in the Lexinton Park Ward.  What a great lady she is.... she is a very talented seamstress, plays the piano & loves to read. Kim is a nurse practitioner and the mother of 4.  Two of their children are married and they have 6 grandchildren. Her husband works for Lockheed at the Naval Air base. It was so fun talking to her and sharing her story.

            Tuesday morning I was up at  5:00 a.m. to take Sister Brown to the airport.. She needed to be at the Regan National Airport at 7:00.. There was a critical accident on the freeway that we usually take, so we were re-routed  along with everyone else on another route.. We made it to the airport by 7:20 so it was in plenty of time. So I am an empty nester until June 9th.

            I spent Tuesday evening with Bishop Martin and his family. They invited me to dinner and to attend their daughter Emily's end of year concert at her school.  Since I would be missing the concerts of my own grandkids, I jumped at the chance to go. It was the 6th, 7th & 8th grade choir and strings concert of John Hanson Middle School.  Emily did a great job.  Bishop Martin is feeling great after his surgery, placing a titanium disk in his neck to relieve the pressure and severe pain he had experienced for over 8 months. I just love spending time with them.  They have adopted me into their family.

            Wednesdays are rainy days and temple days.. they seem to go into go hand in hand each Wednesday.  That didn't dampen our spirits though.. Bonnie and I drove up together and had a wonderful day serving in the temple. On the way home we decided to stop at Wegmans.. a giant gourmet grocery store.  Ann Giles (from my Phoenix home ward) had said that it was someplace that I needed to go to for sure while I was living in DC.. It was her favorite place to go in DC.. WOW... it is so neat.. a huge area of prepared food for sit down or take out..and then the store has everything you ever wanted and then so many you never thought of.  I was able to find several of my favorite non-dairy foods that I can't find anywhere else.. so it was a great stop.

            Beth had invited me to lunch on Thursday so we decided to meet at Panera's. I asked Bonnie Ramon if she would like to go with me on my visits and she said "she would love to". Since she is the stake Relief Society President and the one overseeing our schedule and service of our mission, I thought it would be good for her to see just what we do each day.  We met Beth and her adorable grandson, who is 6 months old.  She had invited another sister Jodi Davis and her beautiful daughter Abby. Beth is also in the Stake Relief Society Presidency and in the Lexington Park Ward with us.  I had met Jodi before but really didn't know her so it was really great to get to know her.. We had a wonderful lunch and talked and laughed and had a great time.

 Jodi & Abby

Beth and her grandson

            Tami Tennat is a young bride who I met last Sunday and church and asked if I could visit with her.. the tough thing is that she and her husband are moving to Virginia on Saturday.. She hasn't been able to find a job since moving here and things were getting tight, so they looked in Virginia where they met and both lived before they got married..Tami is a dental hygienist and found a 2 part time jobs back there and her husband got a job back at the company he was at before they moved.  I am so glad that I got to meet her, what a special young woman she is. 

            I wanted Bonnie to meet one of the favorite ladies we visit, so I called Arline to see if we could come by and she said she would be happy to see us.  Arline is so lonely and always loves to have visits. Since she has lived in this area for 40 years she know so many people and she and Bonnie knew so many of the same people. When we were leaving Arline just kept talking and didn't want us to leave. She just loves to have someone to talk to and loves to have us come over..

            Bonnie invited me to have dinner with her and Gary.. they are the other two that have taken me under their wing and make me feel so special and part of their family. I always love spending time with them..       

            Friday morning I was getting ready for the appointments that I had down south, i called Mary to see if noon was a good time to arrive at her house. She apologized and said that she forgot she wasn't going to be home today.  So we agreed to visit in the next couple weeks.  Then I called Marsha about my 2:30 appointment  and she said that she had forgotten that she had a dentist appointment this afternoon.. So we rescheduled  for next Tuesday afternoon.  Marsha is a sister that has been having severe health problems that have kept her away from church and she has just started back..

            Since our new area is at least one hour south, I didn't want to just head out and drive and drive trying to find someone home..  Lots of folks have Memorial Day plans and were not available on Friday afternoon, so I set up appointments for next week and worked on my card class that I am teaching here the first of June for the card club in 1st ward.  I am teaching 2 cards and making my wedding card for the exchange.

Saturday =    

got my car serviced (way over my service mileage )

             ran errands with Bonnie 
             bought my birthday present . . . a new acer tablet

       Sunday I started out by going to White Plains 2nd ward to see old friends and to support Bonnie who was talking in sacrament meeting.. It was so fun to see so many old friends and have then excited to see me and hugs, lots of hugs.. I left after their sacrament meeting and headed south to the Patuxent Ward for their church meetings.. I was sitting in relief society and talking to Jeanette who was sitting next to me and asked if I could come over and visit with her and she said sure, but not this next week.. Her mom was here and would be here for the another week.. When the meeting started they introduced Jeanette's mom and she said she was visiting from "Nampa, Idaho", I said no way!  we have to talk.. I found out she is the older sister of another girl I went to school with named Joanne Decker.. She said that I really look familiar and she couldn't figure out why.  Wow that is so neat.. 2 people in this ward who are the nieces of classmates of mine from high school.. It was fun to talk to her and she was excited to call Joanne and tell her that she met me.. She remembered Kent too.  It was a long day but a very neat one.. Love both of these wards and was so happy that I attended both today..

            Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I have been invited by Bishop Vance to attend the special tribute at Arlington National Cemetery by President Obama.  Bishop Vance plays in the Army concert band and they are performing at the tribute.. I am excited and will share with you next week.

 I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

Historical events this week. . . .

What a fun week..we had....

• Mother's day
• Visited 13 wonderful sisters
• Spent one day with my sister Judy
• Field trip to Gettysburg
• Celebrated Sister Brown's birthday

      I always love Mother's day and this one was no exception. We had a wonderful day at church with talks centered around Mothers. The young men handed out yummy bags of chocolates to all the mothers.. After church we were invited to Noni's home for a Mother's day dinner.  Lasagna and salad with crusty bread and a variety of desserts.  She has 2 children still at home her daughter is in 6th grade and her son is a Freshman.  It was so nice to get to know such a wonderful family.  When we arrived home I got to talk to my family and that made the day the best ever. 

Noni and her kids

     We went to Jennifer's home for lunch on Monday. She is the mom of 4, her two oldest were in school, but we got to see Evan who is 2 and baby Kate who is 12 weeks old.  Jennifer fixed brunch that was yummy.  Her husband is in the bishopric and they are such a special family. We had a great visit.

Jennifer & Kate

     Our next visit was with Gayla..she lost her husband last fall and is still suffering greatly from the loss.  We thought since both Sister Brown and I had also lost our husbands we could give her some comfort.  She is very angry and not wanting to accept the loss.. We understand that she used to be very involved in so many activities and now sits in her beautiful home and stays away from everyone and everything.. It was hard seeing her in such pain and we spent quite a bit of time just letting her talk and vent.  We are very close to her daughter Kristin and love her to pieces.. We will continue to visit with Gayla and give her as much help as she asks for.
    
     Our last visit on Monday was with a darling lady names Ada.  She is in her 80's and such a sweetheart.  We loved our visit and as we were leaving Ada said, " I wouldn't trade a million dollars for this visit".. we were so touched and know we will visit her often.
    
     We kept having the impression that we need to re-visit a young mom Lindsay, that we visited last week.  She is the mom of a 2 year old and a new baby and is overwhelmed.  She was so appreciative of our visit and thanked us so much for thinking of her and coming to see her again.  I love when we get impressions like this and follow it and know it touches the lives of the people we visit.
    
     Christine was our next visit.. she is a counselor in the RS and a young mom of 2 very cute active boys, 2 and 4 and expecting her 3rd boy.  It is so much fun to go into a home with little children, they have to perform for us and show us all their stunts and tricks. We love it and love being welcomed into their homes. Christine is a delightful young mom and it was a great visit. Her husband is in the Navy and stationed at Patuxtent Air Base.  He is studying Physics' in the Navy.
    
     We were invited to go to dinner on Tuesday with Rose.  We had a wonderful time with her.  She is a beautiful native Navaho from Yuma and loved to talk about Arizona. She works for the State of Maryland in their DMV division.  She and her husband have lived in Maryland for many years. She has a son and a daughter and we were so surprised to find out that we know her son's in-laws.. they were in our ward in White Plains 1 and I am in the card club with Jane.  Both of her children live out west, her daughter in Rexburg and her son in Provo. It was really fun to get to know her..  We made plans to do it again soon.

     On Wednesday I sent Sister Brown to the temple and I hopped on the Metro and headed to downtown DC to meet my sister Judy and her two oldest grandkids.. We met at the Smithsonian American History Museum.. I got there a little early and told Judy I would be sitting by the steps.  I got a call about 15 minutes later saying they couldn't see me and we discovered there are "2" entrances to the museum.. I was on one side they were on the other.. My brother in law is in DC for business and Judy and the kids came along to see the sights of DC.  It was such a fun day, filled with laughs and adventure as we toured the museum.  We then  walked over to the Natural History Museum and had lunch.. and the kids really liked this museum better.. there is so much to see and we also saw the  I Max movie "Tornado Ally", and visited the butterfly pavilion. Visiting the museums with 2 ten year olds is way fun, they were so excited at each exhibit.  It was so much fun to spend the day with my sister and wish it could have been longer.. I then got back on the Metro  and headed home.. a wonderful day... 

Keelyn & Anders with Me

Judy in the butterfly pavilion

Ready to see "Tornado Alley"

      Thursday we started with a lunch appointment at Kitty's home.  She was so much fun and had fixed the most delicious chicken chopped salad.. Two of her kids were home from BYU for the summer and they joined us. Julia is 21 and has just received her mission call to serve in Sacramento, California as an American Sign Language Missionary.  Nathan, Kitty's son is 22 and served his mission in Las Vegas. Kitty had invited Ann, another sister from the ward to join us for lunch. We had a wonderful visit with everyone.

Sister Brown, Ann, Kitty & Me

We added Julia and Nate

     We drove over to see Diana, who lives in an assisted living facility. When we arrived we discovered she was in a event being held at the center and we really didn't want to disturb her, so we will visit her again on another day.

     Our next visit was with Sarah and her adorable daughters Abby who is 2 and Ellie who is 3 months.  Ellie had open heart surgery when she was 10 days to repair a hole in her heart.  They are the absolute cutest girls.. Sarah's husband is a full time student and they are living in the basement apartment of her parents home. 

Sarah, Abby & Ellie

      On Friday we were invited to have lunch with Johnna.  She is the niece of one of my friends I had growing up thru high school.  It is so fun to have a connection with her and to be able to talk to her and hear how her Aunt LaVerda is doing & catch up on her family.  Johnna is the mom of 4 and the grandmother of a darling little boy 2 years old.  Johnna and her family have a very large iguana who is 11 years old.  She used to have an iguana rescue facility when she lived in Florida and now just has the one.  Johnna is the young woman's president in the ward. Her husband is in the Navy and is in charge of all the vehicle maintenance on the base.  

 Johnna & Me

 YIKES

            We visited with Arline next.. One of our favorite ladies to spend time with.  Her husband Pete's hearing has been impaired for a long time and the doctors finally figured out if they put tubes in his ears it should help.  They had just gotten back from the doctor and Pete said he could hear a little already and the doctors said if would continue to improve.. He is very excited.. He was busy in his workshop and said he would show Sister Brown his flight simulator next time.. We sat and visited with Arline for about 2 hours and she really opened up about the death of her daughter and the struggles she and Pete have had since his illness caused his career as an airline pilot to come to a halt.  We love to spend time with her and hear her stories.

     Our last visit of the day was with Melissa.. we had an appointment at 5:00, but when we showed up at her apartment she wasn't home.. so we left a message that we were sorry we missed her and we would call soon. 

     Saturday the senior missionaries had a field trip to Gettysburg, PA.  We met in DC at the visitors center and all drove together. I love learning more of the history of our country. We had nine of us on our outing and it was really a fun time.  We hired a tour guide that drove our van and spent 2 hours showing us all the important historical facts of Gettysburg and the pivotal 3 day battle of the civil war.  This is where President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address.. The town of Gettysburg is beautiful and quaint and we had lunch in the Farnsworth House Inn.. It has been voted one of the best places to eat by many authorities.. and we loved it. 

 Our guide lined us up as the troops lined up for battle

 President Lincoln delivered his famous address on Nov. 19. 1863 at Cemetery Hill.

The Farnsworth Inn

     Sunday, Sister Brown wasn't feeling well so I headed south alone to church and then to dinner at the home of the Hendricks. They are the parents of 3 VERY active boys.. Kenneth is 2, Logan is 4 and Jared is 9.  Dr. Hendricks is a Flight Surgeon for the Navy. We had a wonderful visit and great lunch. Sister Hendricks is expecting another baby boy in July.. She was a joy to visit with.  

Dr. & Sister Hendricks and boys

            Sister Brown is leaving on Tuesday to go home to Utah for some special events in her family.  I will be solo for two and a half weeks..

"When hard trials come, the faith to endure them well will be there, built as you may now notice but may have not at the time that you acted on the pure love of Christ, serving and forgiving others as the Savior would have done. You built a foundation of faith from loving as the Savior loved and serving for Him. Your faith in Him led to acts of charity that will bring you hope."                                   --Henry B. Eyring

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all my friends.. this is always a very special day in my life.

I have the privilege to be Mom to six fantastic people, Steve & his wife Karen, Kristan & her husband Don, Jason  & his wife Jamie, who have given me 13 wonderful grandchildren
 and 2 precious great granddaughters.

My mother taught me so many things that I am thankful for:
She taught me to be kind to everyone I meet
She taught me to strive for the very best in all I do
She taught me to be a hard worker
She taught me by her example how to be a wife and mother & grandmother
She taught me to love my family, and spend quality time with them
She will always be my example of the kind of woman I want to be.
Thanks Mom. .

      We started our week with being the host's of our monthly "Empty Nester's" family home evening group.. We had asked the Franklin's if we could host it at their home and they agreed.  The host provides the main dish and the activities for the evening.  We decided to have a bar-b-cue.  So brother Franklin grilled the 1/4 lb. hot dogs that we got at Costco and they were delicious.. Everyone else brought sides and desserts and we had about 20 people there that evening.  The Franklin's live in a beautiful wooded area and it was a wonderful evening.  After we shared our dinner with each other we all gathered in the living room for our activity.  We shared some of the thoughts that Elder David A. Bednar had talked about at the conference we attended last week with the group and then we played a game of word search.  I had put together game using words from our ward, our stake and all about us.  President Volk was the winner with the fastest time and Linda Haycock came in a very close second.  It was such a fun evening.. Love to be with all those wonderful people.

                                                              Brother Franklin at the grill

 Some of our friends at the FHE

                                                   Linda in the middle was the 2nd fastest

President Volk on the right was the fastest to finish the puzzle

      We have a new procedure for the youth coming to do baptisms at the temple. I got to be a part of it this week. Instead of arriving at the door to the baptistery on the first floor, they now check in at the front desk on the second floor and are escorted through the main lobby and beautiful hall of the temple.  They stop to look at the beautiful mural of Christ in the main rotunda and it was amazing to see the look in their eyes and feel the wonderful spirit that was present. We then proceed down the beautiful staircase that is lined with stained glass to the first floor and walked past the many amazing pieces of art featuring the life of our savior Jesus Christ, on our way to the baptistry.  I love working with the youth. They touch my heart each week as I help them. 

      The sisters we visited this week were so inspiring and each time Sister Brown and I leave a home after a visit we look at each other and are so touched by how wonderful they are. 
       We visited with Lana and had a wonderful lunch with her and her 15 year old daughter Amy.  Lana is the mother of 5.. and Amy is the youngest.. I kept looking at her thinking how much she looked like my granddaughter Maddi. Lana home schools Amy and she has a straight A average, a very smart young lady. We had a very fun visit with both of them. 

                                                             Lana and her daughter Amy

       I had visited with Sue on a day that Sister Brown was not feeling well and I wanted her to meet Sue.  So we called to see if we could drop by to see her and she was excited to have come on over.  What a wonderful lady.. She tells the best stories and keeps us entertained for the entire time we were there.. She is lonesome in the assisted living apartment and loves to have our visits.. She always sends us home with "food", we tell her that it is not necessary and she insists that she always sends food home with the missionaries and so we are willing to accept her kindness.. what a blessing she is in our lives.
        Our next visit was with Allison a delightful young sister with 2 adorable children. James is 2 and her new baby is Kate.  Allison is a teacher and worked for 6 years before she had James, so now she is a stay at home mom.. They have lived all over the US and also in Japan as a military family.  James is the most adorable little guy and kept us laughing at his antics.. Allison's husband is a pilot in the Navy and is in training at the Patuxtent Naval Air Base to be a test pilot for the F/A-18 Hornet like the Blue Angles fly.  Such a fun great visit and a wonderful family.

Allison and baby Kate

 Adorable James

 Beautiful Navy housing

       On Thursday evening we were part of the visiting teachers conference and as I told you last week. We performed a reading of the visiting teaching version of The Little Red Hen. Bishop Reed helped out and it was a great success.. We also put together a flyer with ideas for different and fun ways to visit a list of Internet sites that they could go to for ideas to help spark their visits.. Our message was:

ALWAYS MAKE THE SISTERS YOU VISIT FEEL SPECIAL

      On Friday our first visit was down in Lexington Park about 1 1/2 hours south of us.. We had set an appointment for noon and when we arrived brother Fletcher walked out and was very surprised that we were there.. he said " sisters if we would have know you were coming. . .  .." we said " we had an appointment at noon, didn't Denae tell you?"  "Oh no he said we are leaving right now to take our son to the doctor. He has strep throat and we are so sorry".. he just kept saying "oh sisters I am so sorry".. we assured him that it was fine and we would visit them again soon. 

       Liz was our next visit..what a talented amazing young mom.. She is a writer and in the process of writing a novel and has already written several short stories that she wants to get published.  She asked us if we would like to read them and we agreed "of course" we would love to.. so she sent them to us.. She is also a very talented sculpture.. her work is incredible and I bought one of her pieces (picture on my blog).. We each also ordered a couple of other pieces that she is making for us.. We told her she needs to start selling her fantastic work.. She is the mom of a delightful daughter named Izzy.. her husband is a project manager for a company that provides companies with carpet..Liz grew up in a military family and lived all over the world. Her dad was in Naval intelligence officer and can speak 20 languages. He is now retired from the navy and works as an independent contractor for the military in the intelligence field.  What an marvelous visit we had with Liz.

                                                    The darling sculpture I got from Liz

The HIGH bridge over the Patuxtent River

        Our next visit was with Stephanie who lives in Lusby which is over the Governor Thomas Johnson bridge which spans the Patuxtent river and is really HIGH..  I have now driven over the bridge "2" times.. I get so nervous as we approach the bridge and found out that I just have to keep my eyes on the road right in front of my car and NOT look ahead.. Lusby is on Solomon's Island and when you drive through the area not close to the shore it is like driving up in the mountains in Flagstaff, 2 lane winding roads with tall trees and dips and turns.. We have such beautiful landscapes to see as we drive around Maryland, the seashore, hills with tall trees, farm land and cities. So our drives are always fun.. we get to see so many different things on our trips.
      We arrived at Stephanie's home and she was waiting on the porch and we thought it was for us but found out her son Thomas arrives home from pre-school around the time of our visit.. She is a very quiet sister and it was like pulling teeth to get her to talk to us.  She gave us one word answers and we really wanted to help her to open up and have a conversation with us.. We could tell she was very bashful and had a hard time opening up.. so we concluded our visit by giving her the handout card we give each sister we visit with our contact information on it, in case they need to get a hold of us for any reason.
      On Saturday evening, Bonnie and Gary Ramon took us out for a pre-mother's day dinner. We went to Outback for a fantastic evening, with lots of fun conversation and food. They are so good to us and have taken us into their lives like family. We really do have a lot of adopted family out here that helps ease being away from our families back home.
       Next week my sister Judy and her husband Jim will be in DC on a business trip and they are bringing their 2 oldest grandchildren with them to see the sights of DC.. While Jim is in meetings, Judy and the kids are spending the days seeing all the wonderful things in DC.  I get to spend Wednesday with them and I am so excited.

     This week was hot and humid.. It rained buckets and buckets with loud thunder and lightening.. then the humidity.. I will have to judge it against the HEAT of Phoenix, as the summer draws near..
      We visited several great ladies this week and had some very special experiences, during those visits.  As we leave each house we look at each other and say " Isn't she so neat".. We just love everyone we get the privilege of visiting.
       Our new area is an hour to an hour and a half drive south .We started the week visiting with Faye, who has had very severe health problems, she is improving and said she is about ready to start driving again.  She is very involved in indexing the census records and so she and Sister Brown had a lot to talk about.  Sister Brown has been working on the 1940 census and also was asked to be an arbitrator to check and make sure the work is correct.  Faye is also a fantastic tole painter and had many examples of her beautiful work displayed throughout her home.  We had a wonderful visit with Faye, she is such a sweet lady.
      Next we met with Annette who lives in one of the original 200 salt box style homes built for the Naval officers in world war I. It is near the Naval Base at Patuxent.  The neighborhood is darling and each home has a character of its own.  Annette is a counselor in the relief society and a wonderful teacher. She is the caregiver for her 90 year old father.  Her husband works for the Navy as a civilian contractor.

 The Coleman's

     We were invited to the Coleman's for dinner.. Rob is the elders quorum president and  such a neat guy.  He sat and talked to us our first week in their ward and he told us all about his wife and how they met.  He and his wife Lindsey are the parents of a darling little 2 year old named Donna and a new baby girl.  We had a great dinner and then stayed for family home evening. 

      Our visit with was wonderful, Jamie is a very talented artist & she has a mural painting business and her work is beautiful. She also does fantastic pencil drawings.  She teaches early morning seminary and loves seminary & working with the youth. She and her husband have 2 daughters and 2 sons, her husband is a Physicist for the Navy. Jamie was a delight and we loved visiting her.

      Amy is a young mom of 3 energetic girls, ages 1,3 & 5. They moved to Maryland recently and are still getting settled. Her husband is an engineer for the Navy and travels quite a bit.  We had so much fun with her and the girls.. They even called us grama..and we got lots of hugs.  I love to be able to visit those young moms who are overwhelmed and give them a break for an hour or so. Amy is a seamstress and has a business providing local shops with her fun creative work.  She is also a quilter.. Such a sweet busy mom.. A great visit.
       Our dinner appointment for that evening was cancelled because the mom & dad and one daughter had strep throat and the other daughter had pink eye.. a darling family & we will get a chance to spend time with them soon I'm sure.
       Our day at the temple was great again and both Sister Brown and Bonnie were feeling better this week so theyt were able to go with Kathleen and I so we had a full car, which is a fun ride.  One of my assignments was working in the office of the temple.  I have gotten to be friends with the girls who work in the office and they are letting me work on some great projects. I really do love working in the office. it is so fun to be involved in different projects each week. 
     On Thursday we had made an appointment for a visit and even called 20 minutes ahead to verify our visit.. When we arrived and knocked, and rang the bell and knocked again.. no one would answer the door, even though we could hear them inside.. Oh well, it doesn't happen very often and we just know we tried.. We then drove over to another home and thought we would see if they were home since we were down by the Patuxent river.. When they weren't home we drove to the end of the block to the beach and sat for awhile on a bench enjoying the view and the cooler day and being thankful to live in this beautiful part of the world.  

     On Friday Sister Brown had an Epidural injection for her back.  She has been is severe pain for our entire time here and doctor recommended this procedure to block the pain. So far it is working great, the prognosis is that the pain blocker can last a short time up to a year.. we are hoping for long time..

 Elder David A. Bednar

Elder Ge'rald Causse'

Elder Steven E. Snow

           Saturday we were privileged to attend a tri-mission conference, including the Washington DC North, the Washington DC South & the Baltimore missions.  We had the honor to have Elder David A. Bedner, of the quorum of the twelve, Elder Ge'rald Causse' of the presiding bishopric, Elder Steven E. Snow of the first quorum of the seventy & the church historian recorder, Elder Jack Gerard, an area seventy.  It was an amazing day and we were inspired & taught by these amazing men of God.  A couple of the favorite quotes from Elder Bednar, "Pray that I might change, not that the things will change", and also "Knowing is great, Doing is what's important". 

     Our drive to church is 70 miles round trip, along a beautiful stretch of road. On our way down this morning we saw 2 eagles flying overhead and I love to see their large wing span and the way they glide through the air.  We have a lot of eagles around where we live and they are always out floating in the air.
      Today in church we heard about a young mom who was moving with her family and had to take some of her food storage over to her moms home because they couldn't take it with them.. Later in the week she was cleaning out her car and couldn't understand what was all over the carpet of her car.... upon further inspection she discovered that is was some of the wheat that had spilled while she was moving it and because of the heat and humidity we have had this past week it was "sprouting"!  We all laughed so hard..
      We are the host's for our White Plains 1st Ward empty nesters family home evening tomorrow night.  We are holding it at the home of the Franklin's.. Each host decideds on a menu and they provide the main dishes and everyone else brings sides or desserts.. We are having bar-b-cue. We are also in charge of an activity or lesson for the group. I put together a word search game for everyone to complete with words that are about our wards and church.. It should be a fun evening..

       We have been asked to take part in the program on Thursday for the visiting teaching
conference.  I found a cute skit about visiting teaching called the "Little Red Hen". . . . so we will be performing it with style I'm sure. 

"Faith in Jesus Christ is more than just believing in Him; it is trusting in Him that He loves us, that He knows what’s best for us, and that His commandments are for our benefit. Sometimes even the no answers to our prayers can help us strengthen our trust in Him, and we can better understand that His will is better than our own desires."
--Larry Howel

Have a great week everyone..