Visit With The Reynolds

While our young missionaries don’t have the option to travel home for special occasions, we ‘senior missionaries’ do!  Our mission leaders flew to California for a son’s wedding.  Hermana VanAlfen went to Utah when their only daughter had her first baby.  The Nye’s returned to Idaho for their daughter’s wedding.  It was my turn in October when I flew to Washington DC to be there when Mary and Mark’s youngest was sealed to them in the DC Temple.  

Trevor Jake Reynolds

Jake was my Daddy’s name.  

The day at the temple was the reason for the visit.

Families can be together forever!

George’s sister Karen, me,  Mark’s mom Jan, the cute family, Mark’s sister Amanda and Mary’s cousin Mindi.  Mary and Mindi had been friends for several years before they discovered that they were 2nd cousins.. 

Happy Grandma!  Next time I hope someone reminds me that my glasses get dark in the sun.  Looks like I am hiding from the paparazzi!

In addition to the temple, we enjoyed the park.

Cool shadow photo

The National Zoo

Fun on the carousel!

And plenty of play time at home!

Jackson is pretty good at sharing his toys with little brother.

As long as he is in charge!

The truck that Trevor is sitting on was mine when I was a little girl.  

And I had plenty of opportunities to eat all the American fast food I had been missing.  Wendy’s,  Chick-Fil-A, and Cafe Rio!

When I flew to DC my suitcase was almost empty but not so on the way back.

Lots of Amazon orders and shopping for food we can’t get in Peru, like brown sugar, canned pumpkin, taco sauce, dry mustard, Dijon mustard, zip lock bags……

I flew back to Peru with a 50 pound bag and a carry-on that I could barely lift.  I bought enough new clothes to keep me happy for the next year.  Since the weather doesn’t change much in Piura, you don’t have seasonal clothes changes and I was tired of my clothes already.  Now I just need to ration them out over the next 10 months.

I am happy I got to be there for shoppping and fast food but 

I am thrilled that I got to be there to enjoy such a special time with this darling child.

Grandma and Grandpa Are Going on A Mission

Ever since George stopped working, I have been talking about serving a senior mission as a couple.  True to our personalities, I was immediately enthusiastic and George was much more thoughtful and concerned with details like finances and our house and our cars.....

I knew that Matt and Cady were planing on moving sometime next year and hoped to live with us while they had her house on the market.  One day I casually asked Matt if they would consider living in our house for 18 months while we went on a mission.  I was pleased when he said that was something they would consider.  Several more weeks went by and George was still 'thinking'.  He wasn't opposed to the idea, just not totally on-board like I was.

Then came a Sunday when several talks at church were about the blessings of serving a mission as a senior couple and the great need throughout the world.  That very evening, Matt texted.  "Mom, are you and Dad serious about going on a mission because Cady and I think it work for us to live in your house while you are gone."

Ah a sign from Heaven that now was the time for us to go!  George recognized it  and knowing they would take good care of our house, we got the process started.

Now came interviews, doctor and dentist appointments, and lots of questions, which ranged from 'what is your interest in learning a new language?' to 'can you drive a truck?'  to 'what is your level of expertise with computers?'. The application process took 5 full weeks.

Senior couples can list eight 'preferences'.  Our list included Nigeria, the Congo, the Philippines, Vietnam, Niue, and Guatamala. Finally our papers were complete and we had our last interview and our missionary application was officially submitted.

Just before submitting our papers,  our Stake President (an ecclesiastical leader over 9 congregations in our area) asked us to consider going to Peru where another couple from our area are serving as Mission Leaders.  They have no senior couples in their mission and are desperate for help.  We enjoyed meeting them through a 'FaceTime' chat.  As we ended our conversation, they said that they were going to officially 'request' that we serve in their mission.  It wasn't a 'done deal' and still required confirmation from the spirit to the Apostle who was extending the call. 

So we had no idea how all of this would turn out.  Where would we be spending 18 months of our lives? Now the wait began!  Three to six week waiting time was the norm.  Patience doesn't come easily to me but I did survive the nail biting weeks before we learned where we would be going.  

November 12th we both woke up to this notification: 

And turned on the computer to see this 

One more click took us to this screen

And then we stopped and looked at each other and knew that we were supposed to open it with our children.  So we waited another day until everyone could arrange a FaceTime that fit work schedules and time differences.

After a few technical glitches getting all of us on FaceTime at the same time, we opened the call and learned that we would be serving for 18 months in Piura, Peru.

It's in a desert area way up in the north of the country. 

Pirua has 12 days with rain on average each year.

Boise has 89 days of rain.

Portland has 157

Harper's Ferry has 117

Phoenix has 33.

Yes it is a desert!

Funny how when the call came, it immediately felt right.

And like really there was no other place where we could have gone.

It was meant to be.

It's where Heavenly Father wants us to serve.

We go into the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on March 3 and fly to Peru on March 15.

So happy and excited!

And a bit nervous as well.

Crystal Grotto

Mark and Mary know all the most interesting places to visit.  As I have said many times, if your daughter lives on the other side of the country, then it is wonderful that she lives in a area with an unending list of things to see and do.

Crystal Grotto near Bonesboro, Maryland is billed as the 'most naturally kept cave in the world.' First opened in 1922, it has more natural phenomenon per square foot than any cave known to man.  

The crystals formed by calcium carbonate are six sided.  At the rate of one cubic inch every 100-150 years, trillions of these crystals add up to create a whole range of delicate formations. 

Those are some seriously old stalactites. 

Funny how being in a cave caused me to remember learning about caves in elementary school.  You can remember stalactites because they 'hang tight' from the top of the cave and stalagmites grow from the floor and you 'might' trip on them.

Jackson really enjoyed using the 'gem mill' to sift sand and look for gems.

The gems he found were all treasures!

We loved spending the day exploring with this cute family! 

Family = Home

 I so enjoyed our days in Lonoke getting to visit with people I love; people who have been a part of my life for so many years.

First day we were there we met a group of my Lonoke Class of 1971 friends at the Grumpy Rabbit.

How I love these dear friends who I have known literally all my life!

Danny Chivers, Me, Barbara and Jim Fitzhugh, Barbara Jones Chivers, Ross Moore, Karen Lewis Mashing, Pam Cordell Landis, Amos Pack, Mike Pack, Shelia Childress Johnson, Elaine McElyea Anderson, Carolyn O'Bannon, Kirt Fort, Ronnie and Sherry Wallace, George

I don't think I've ever had a personalized menu before.

Also met some new 'cousins' that have joined the family in the last few years.

Mary, wearing the red dress, who is the wife of my 1st cousin twice removed, Logan Dewitt and Logan's sister Ashlynn .  

Darling girls!

George and I drove 2 hours down to Monticello, Arkansas to visit my 1st cousin once removed, Amanda McGraw's family.  

1st cousin twice removed, Tabor's wife Hannah had become my Facebook friend and I really wanted to meet her and see their cute little baby Tatum John.

Well worth the drive through the delta!

My cousin Amanda, her husband John David, son Tabor, wife Hannah holding TJ, and daughter Kelsey.

I loved meeting these new cousins....however many times they are removed! If you are keeping count, Tabor John is my 1st cousin  3 times removed.

Poignant meeting with the husband of my cousin Joy, who passed away two years ago, as Charlie has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and isn't doing well at all.  I remember Charlie when I was just a little girl since he and Joy dated for many years.  The thought of loosing him is painful.

With his two daughters Amanda and Leigh Ann and Leigh's husband Mark.

On a happier note - my youngest 1st cousin Robin Moore Lewis has two new grand-babies that are just darling.  She retired from teaching after a long, illustrious career and is a full time care taking grandma.  Lucky her!  And lucky babies!

I am sorry I haven't gotten to meet her son and daughter in-law but maybe next time. And I'd love to see her daughter Scarlett....

Robin holding Graham and her son, Mitch holding his son,Caden.

George and I also had a great dinner with my Depriest cousins but I forgot to take a photo of the whole group.  Janie's son, Tommy, and daughter in law, Anne, have restored one of my favorite Lonoke houses.  My Grandma Boyle lived next door and I always thought it was just a beautiful house.  They have made it a show piece with beautiful woodwork and lovely arches! I totally love it!

Ronnie and Janie Depriest Raper, Tommy and Ann Swint

I am truly blessed with the best cousins!

 

Family Home Evening

Every January, I get the urge to clean out and throw things away.  One of the treasures I unearthed recently was the 'Family Home Evening' chart that George and I used faithfully for many years with our children.  When we had our 'family home evening', one of us chose and led the opening song.  One conducted the meeting, another had a scripture thought, another a lesson.  We always had a game and then a closing prayer. Each week we rotated assignments.

I hope our children remember that we did our best to be consistent in teaching them and enjoying this time together.

Some nights were definitely better than others.

Family Home Evening has been jokingly referred to as 'the only fight that begins and ends with prayer'.  

To quote one of our church authorities about his family's FHE

"We wondered if our efforts were worthwhile. Now and then during scriptures study there were outbursts such as, "He's touching me!" "Make him stop looking at me!" and "Mom he's breathing my air!"  Family prayers were sometimes interrupted with giggling and poking.  And family home evening lessons were not always calm with three active, noisy boys."

I can definitely relate to his family.  It wasn't always a spiritual and reverent experience but I am glad we tried.

It was in 1915 that the leaders of our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called on parents to gather their children once each week for a “Home Evening.” Families were to take time to pray and sing together, read the scriptures, teach the gospel to one another, and participate in other activities that would build family unity.

In 1970 President Joseph Fielding Smith joined with his counselors in the First Presidency to designate Monday night as the time for family home evening. Since that announcement, the Church has kept Monday evenings free from Church activities so families can have this time together.

Monday nights never worked for our family as someone almost always had soccer practice so we decided to hold our 'family night' on Sundays. 

And we usually did.

These days, I never hear anyone refer to Family Home Evening.  Instead we are encouraged to use the 'Come Follow Me' program of scripture study to teach our families.

I teach 9 year olds in our Primary organization.  I can attest to the fact that the young families in our ward ARE definitely teaching their children from the scriptures.  The kids in my class know details of the stories and how those stories can influence their lives for good.

I have been very impressed.

 

The 'baby' of our family is now 35.

We haven't had a formal 'family home evening' for many years yet I have kept this chart.

I think I have kept it to remind myself that we did try our best to follow the counsel of our church leaders.

We weren't perfect but we made the effort.

I'm grateful that we did.

And if you are curious, on this particular night according to the chart:

 

George, the muscleman, chose the opening song.

Mary, our butterfly, conducted

Matt, the snowboarder, gave a thought from the scriptures

Scott, our hockey fan back then, taught the lesson

Lonoke Jackrabbit, Marilyn picked a game

Johnny, our goal keeper choose the closing song.

Hooray for Today!

 Isabella's shirt tells how I feel about these first week of July!

Hooray for today!

We continued our 4th of July tradition of hiking in the foothills to watch fireworks all over the Treasure Valley. 

Glow in the dark jewelry and a glow in the dark ring toss game added to the fun.

George had meetings so he missed the annual 'Wet & Wild' parade which is a part of Eagle Fun Days.

And yes you do get soaked!

Our water loving granddaughter loved getting wet and getting people wet!

The parade is definitely one of her happy places!

Isabella was very determined to overcome her fear and practiced learning to ride her bike.

Just look at that concentration!

And that smile of success!

One evening we took a walk down by the river to do some birdwatching.  The little owls have flown away but we did see a Swainson's Hawk and osprey.  

And of course, had an impromptu photo shoot!

Isabella loves to pose!

Hooray for the golden hour!

Hooray for family!

Hooray for today!