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..