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| 3 inches of snow on April 25 |
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| Pear tree blossoms trying to survive in the snow |
Despite the unpredictable weather, we have had some great things happen this month. It was General Conference April 1 and 2. Ryan and Katie left on April 1st, right after the Saturday afternoon session. We had the privilege of attending the Sunday morning session at the conference center with one of our investigators, Sandra Verbino. We had a lovely visit as we drove to and from Salt Lake and the conference was wonderful. We went early to hear the Tabernacle Choir broadcast which was delightful. Hopefully Sandra felt the spirit of the meeting and gleaned an increase in testimony from the messages presented.  |
| The beautiful conference center with the Tabernacle Choir in their seats ready to perform. |
On April 10, we attended the funeral of Neil Hilton, the husband of a couple we had visited a couple of times. He was struggling with diabetes and it finally took his life. The week after the funeral, we visited with Nancy, his wife, to see how she was doing and if there was anything we could do for her. She seems to be adjusting fine, actually glad the ordeal she has been dealing with for months was finally over. Once Neil's family stops bothering her about the estate, she will be much happier and more at peace. We will keep in touch.
Later that week, we had the privilege of meeting with one of our Russian young single adults, Inessa. She attended our institute and pathway classes for two semesters before leaving on her mission to St. Petersburg. She hadn't returned before we left so it was so great to visit with her again. She was on a break from Rexburg, Idaho where she is attending BYU-I. She hopes to come to Provo this summer, work, and then attend BYU in January. She is a special person so we hope things work out for her.It was Olivia's birthday in March and we finally got around to taking her out for her birthday dinner. With Spring break and a trip to Arizona, she was not available until into April. She turned 12 and looks so grown up. We took her to Texas Roadhouse which was where she wanted to go. She loves their ribs and rolls of which she ate many. We enjoyed our time with her.
And then it was Easter Sunday. We attended three sacrament meetings that day. We went to the Old Mill Ward to witness Rick and Carolyn Kinsie partake of the sacrament for the first time in 40 years. A joyous occasion and so appropriate for Easter Sunday. We also attended the sacrament meeting in the Heber 6th ward, in the North Stake. We wanted to hear Ruthann and Shawn Galuska sing in the choir. Her brother, Jim, was there so we also got to see him in his new suit. I had hemmed the pants for him during the week.
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| Barbara Campbell, Ruth Ann, Jimmy, and Shawn |
After church, we had a houseful for dinner. Jon and MIndi and family, Todd and Kailee and family, as well as Jake and Nicole and family all joined us for cordon bleu, rice pilaf, green beans and homemade rolls for dinner and crepes for dessert. There were 14 of us so I had to sit the two girls on their own little table. They loved having their own special place to sit. After dinner, Olivia and Carly played Easter bunny and hid candy filled plastic eggs all over the backyard for Aria, Eva, and Sadie to find. With Todd's help, Aria really got into to finding them.
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| Elder Abbot on the right |
As for missionary work, we continue to very busy with appointments from 6 to 9 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday, we have our district or zone meetings and then we attend the temple. During the day, we plan and prepare lessons as well as visit those who are home during the day. We attend several sacrament meetings each Sunday as well as, at least, one ward council meeting. We, also, feed the missionaries every Tuesday. This month was transfers and we lost Elder Abbot who was transferred to the Spanish Fork area. He will be missed.
Our new elder is Elder Thompson from Wisconsin. He is really sharp and will be a great asset to the area here in Heber. He reminds us of Elder Hoffman, one of our favorite elders from Moscow. These elders told us that their district now consists of a former assistant to the president, a zone leader and 2 former district leaders as well as the sister trainers. We're thinking that President Hodgeman is really expecting big things to happen here in Heber.
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| Sister Mason and Jay Todd |
One special thing that happened mid month was a Curtain Time USA reunion. This was a group I performed with in college, touring the Middle East and Europe on a 4 month tour with the United States state department. I had missed the 50th reunion because we were in Hawaii with Deon and Gary right after our mission so this was the first time I had seen everyone for many years. When I walked in I wondered who all these old people were but soon began to recognized them, realizing that I probably looked just as old. We had a great time visiting but the highlight of the afternoon was a Sister Mason, whom we had met in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, over 50 years ago. She is now 92 years old and recalled with us the answer to prayers we all experienced on our first performance night in Ceylon. We were to perform to 10,000 people on an outdoor stage and the rains were threatening. We all prayed as did Sister Mason for the rains to hold off so we could perform. The rains didn't come until we were singing our closing song at which time we all felt a drop of rain on our heads. We had just enough time to leave the stage and then it poured. At the time, her husband was not a member of the church but was impressed with our show and the wholesome character of the performers. It planted seeds deep enough that, when they returned to the U.S., he was baptized. They have since been married in the temple and sent several sons out on missions. One never knows when what you do or say plants a seed that will someday blossom into a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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| Jay Todd, Glen and Kim Overton, Glenda Gardner and Janet Todd |
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| Roger Call, Carolyn Beasley, and Michael Bollingbrook. |
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| Tanya Hale and Linda Smith and myself. We were a dance trio on the tour. |
This month, we also babysat Aria again, but this time for only 3 days. Todd and Kailee met her sisters in Las Vegas for a Backstreet Boys concert. Todd went for the golf. We loved having Aria with us and were sad when it was time to take her back home.
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| Aria loves pulling these blankets off the ottomans at the foot of our bed. This time she discovered they were silky and fun to play on. |
At the end of the month was my birthday. It's hard to believe I'm 72. The spirit doesn't feel that old but my body often does and, then, when I look in the mirror I realize I'm no spring chicken anymore. Oh well, it's all in the plan. We had a district meeting on my birthday so Sister Gordon made me a birthday cake for all to share. It was so sweet of her to take time out of her busy week to make a carrot cake, with a temple on top. After the meeting we went to the temple and visited a brother at the hospital whose wife was in intensive care. At 5:30, we met Jon and Mindi and Todd and Kailee for dinner at Pizza Factory. A great day for sure. |
| Aria at Pizza Factory |
The day after my birthday, I drove to Provo to do some shopping. Chico's was having a 40% off everything sale so I wanted to take advantage of those reduced prices. I found a couple of skirts and a pair of black dress pants. I also stopped at a couple of other stores and found a jacket, a scarf, a blouse and a knit top. Finding clothes for the summer that look good on this old body is no easy task. That evening, we picked up Kay and Marv Rust and drove back to Provo for dinner at LaJolla Groves and a musical at the Orem Hale Family Theater. We saw Betty Blue Eyes. It was hilarious. A wonderful evening.Also, in the last week of April, Don and Dana came to stay at our home. They came in on Thursday evening and stayed till Monday afternoon. They came to watch Bryce compete in a track meet for UVU at BYU. He is a triple jumper. When they come they spend most of their time in Provo with Bryce but we had some good visits in the evenings when we all got home. Sunday, after church, we ate dinner on the blue Lenox china of Mom's. It was a time of remembering for Don of our life growing up in Bakersfield. Fun to be with family.
A couple of interesting items to conclude this month:
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Dad posted this on Face book - complete with an emoji. Amazing at 100 years old...............................
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Of course, we can't end the month without more pictures of Aria....
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| New hair do - a bun!!!! |
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| Aria loves to climb up on things |
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| At JCW's for lunch and a milk shake |
