As a community of members of the church, we have been praying for our temple to be able to restart and for needed moisture. We were asked to fast for these things and the Lord heard our prayers and recognized our fasting. Shortly after our fast, we got word that the temple construction could begin again. The Utah Supreme Court ruled that the church could go ahead with construction even though there is still a law suit pending its legality. With the idea that the building would be torn down if the ruling went against the church, the judge said that construction could start again. The church must feel pretty confident that they will win the law suit as construction vehicles can be seen working at the temple site. This is a blessing from the Lord as any further delay would mean millions of dollars added to the construction costs and our temple would not be a reality for many years to come. We pass by the site almost everyday and love seeing the gates opened and people working.
We also fasted and prayed for moisture. This has been one of the driest winters in Utah ever with very little snow falling. Our snow pack is at record lows and the fear of no water for the summer months was real. At our HOA meeting, we were told to expect limited water for our lawns and that an almost dead lawn is slightly alive. Our prayers for moisture were answered with snow falling in Heber so that means the mountains got several inches. The next week, we had rain and the forecast for the first week of March should bring more moisture. Another answer to prayer and fasting.
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| We got upward to 8 inches over a three day period |
Another great thing that happened this month was that our granddaughter, Lydia, received her mission call. She attended one semester of college at BYU Idaho before returning home to get her wisdom teeth out and then to submit her mission papers. With that finally accomplished, she was anxiously awaiting her call. It finally came at a time when she was home alone as her parents were on a cruise. She couldn't wait for them to get home before opening it so she did so over Facetime with her parents. She has been called to the Arizona Gilbert mission and leaves the first part of April. That is an unusually fast turn around but she is so excited. She will make an incredible missionary. We are so proud of the beautiful women she has become and for her desire to serve the Lord.
Basketball would be the next item to discuss this month. The basketball team was performing well and the prospects of a high seed in the tournaments was looking good. It all changed just minutes into one of the first games in February. Richie Saunders, one of three main players and the leader of the team, tore his ACL and would be out for the season. Since the injury to Richie, the team has lost most of their games with the rest of the season looking pretty bleak. We knew Richie was important to the team but we had no idea he was the motivation behind the winning season they were having. He has been missed terribly.
On a more positive note, at the game on February 14, Jimmer Fredette was honored as they retired his jersey. It is now hanging in the Marriot Center with only 4 others that have received that distinction. When we got to the arena that day, they were handing Jimmer cards and each seat had a jersey bearing the number 32, Jimmer's number. We were able to find medium jerseys to take home for Nathan and Grace who are avid BYU basketball fans.
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| The arena with all the white jerseys on the seats. |
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| Paul donned his shirt during the game |
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| Fredette's many trophies |
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| Jimmer accepting this honor |
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| His jersey hanging in the Marriot Center |
We attended one of Aria's gymnastic meets this month. She is doing quite well at level 6. She moved up from level 4 this season. At the meet, she mastered her beam which was a great accomplishment for her as she had fallen off the beam at all her other meets. Speaking of other meets, Kailee and Todd have had to travel to California and Washington state for those meets with Aria. Gymnastic is quite a commitment for the family. It will only get worse as Avery is loving gymnastics, too. We haven't seen one of her meets yet, but we did see videos and she is looking good, too.
On a side note: We went to see the movie Melania. It was a depiction of the 20 days leading up to President Trump's inauguration as the 47th president of the United States. It was amazing to see all that the incoming first lady has to do in preparation for all the events that take place on that day. She is such a beautiful and accomplished first lady. We loved the movie that critics said was terrible. We think those critics must have been suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.
I only have one meme for this month but it is a good one.
