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The Time Is Far Spent

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In the quiet morning there is reverence.  Santa in the library.  All the way from Alaska to make our days merry and bright.  Christmas and children:  joy!  It appears that I fell of the edge of the blogging world, but am hanging on barely to tell my few faithful readers farewell and THANK YOU for reading the past fifteen months.    Just under three weeks before our release date.   Emotional.   I think there may be a few tears when the mission sings, “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again,” even though I have been telling myself, “No.”             Things I won’t miss:   library training; library drama; sticking to a prescribed schedule; the inversion; the drive to Wal-Mart; fighting sleep while staring at the computer screen.                    Things I will miss:   Sunday morning with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square!!!; the simplicity of apartment life; the opportunity to go to Conference Center events; walks in beautiful Temple Square (not so beautiful now
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Light the World

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Writing at times seems like “mission impossible,” especially when it comes to recording events that I know I won’t be able to find words to describe.   So a feeble attempt.             I took leave from the mission from December 7 to December 14 and flew to Kansas, using new baby Wesley as my reason for absence.   I did get cuddle time--and pacing time--with him and also time to enjoy my other Kansas kids.   Not enough time.   When it was time to leave, 3-year-old Benson spread himself wide across the door and told me, “Don’t you dare!”    A grandma divided is a mix of happy-sad—always.             The week before Kansas, some of Elder Challis’ siblings joined us for dinner and a walk through the lights.   Cold noses, but warm hearts.   The two of us have discovered that the best time to walk through the lights is at 6 am.   We have “the place all to ourselves.”   I think it would take me a very long time not to be amazed at the sight every single morning, especially with the tem
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Giving Thanks

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I hope it’s true that pictures are “worth a thousand words” because I am too tired on a Sunday night for many words.   And looking at the schedule next week, I see there won’t be time to “multiply many words.”                Seven  reasons to give thanks for the week:                 We had company!  Helen Walton spent Sunday afternoon with us. So nice!  We had a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving with the Moon Family, filled with turkey, the best fresh cranberry sauce, rolls, and pumpkin pie—and Turkey Bingo.   We were safe in the snow—and what a beautiful sight it was walking around in huge flakes early Thursday morning. The lights are on in Temple Square. We witnessed the sealing of Elder Challis’ niece in the beautiful Payson Temple. We broke our fast today with Christopher, Melissa, Harrison, Mary, and June.  Then we watched "Prince of Peace" for FHE.   AND our twenty-third grandchild was born the day after Thanksgiving in Kansas:   Wesley Aquilla Chall
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Spiritual Feast

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Tis the season of feasting and we started our week with a spiritual feast.   Monday morning devotionals are always inspiring, but this week especially so.   It was presented by the Support Services Zone where well over a hundred missionaries support paid employees with such tasks as creating security cards, organizing interpreters, answering questions from prospective senior couples, supporting humanitarian missionaries, maintaining mineral and water rights on church property, overseeing Church farms and ranches, reaching out to those who in correctional facilities, establishing indexing programs in prisons…to name a few!     Listening, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the job--and magnitude of the blessings.   Especially touching, were the thoughts expressed by the elder who oversees the outreach to correctional facilities.   Blessing broken lives.               Monday evening, our MTC group gathered to hear Herbert Klopfer, a member of the Church Music Committee and talented
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The Joy of Life

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The past two weeks we’ve put a lot of miles on the Escape, driving back and forth to Utah Valley. Our daughter, Megan, flew in from Anchorage for a week to tend her daughter Challis after ACL surgery.   Rough for Challis and for Megan, but nice for us to have some time with Megan. It was a hard farewell at the end of the week, Megan wondering if Challis could manage on her own—and Challis wondering the same thing.   We’ve seen Challis since and she is doing it!               With Lindsey and Brent, we went to the Timpview musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which Lindsey choreographed.   My cousin, Grant, and his wife, Tessa, met us there.   It was nice to connect with them and applaud Lindsey’s success.   Even though she’s not teaching fulltime, she still has her toe in the dance world.             More miles on the car were added with three trips to Riverton.   The first was to the Loveland Living Aquarium where we met Jaynie’s family.   We found out that Hal is fasci
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Missing Person

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Some highlights of the week: A veteran missionary at the Library requested that the topic of 10-minute training be about using source linker. Of course, I had to find a record hint in my own family to create the training.      I “randomly” chose a hint which eventually, with some homework (which I try not to do), led to finding a “missing person,” Annie Fullard.   I and others had assumed that Annie and her sister Nellie were the same person.     Once I created Annie in the tree and attached sources, the search engine gave me more about her husband and children.   Maybe not random? Christopher and Melissa joined us at the Mount Timpanogos Temple on Friday evening for a sealing session.   The sealer had a sense of humor:   “You don’t have to have brains to be a sealer—just good hair.”   Even though the other couples in the room were strangers, it didn’t feel like it.   And there were likely other “familiar spirits” with us.   Friday night, we attended, with Lindsey, La Luz de Lo
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Farewell Fall?

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  Saturday, until late afternoon, we were enjoying running around in the sunshine.   Then the wind came up and was quite serious about bringing us winter. The next morning, we were looking for coats, heat pads, and wool socks while snowflakes fell.      Sad the brilliant fall colors are mostly faded and carpeting the ground.   Time for Christmas lights—I wish!             The library remains busy, especially with groups.   Some come and stay the entire week.   Elder Challis has many opportunities to help, while I am mostly in the zone office organizing prayer meetings, training and scheduling trainers; making birthday cards and banners.   Who knew organizing missionaries would be practically a full time job?             It was another fun week with family:   playing in a corn box—not a sandbox, but a corn box;   helping Lindsey stage an elaborate Quest for Hank, Mary, June, Henley and Hal—they had to save Halloween from the Pumpkin King, played so convincingly   by Elder
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