July 12, 2015

July 6-12, 2015

Annette and family went to Ohio Monday morning.  They visited Kirkland and then went on to Toledo to meet Rob’s aunts and go to Cedar Point.  (it is an amusement park with lots of roller coasters)  We worked in the office while they were gone and on Thursday after work we met up again at our home. 

It rained all day Thursday and was still raining pretty good when we decided to go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant.  We drove through the rain and it was raining even as we parked.  It was a little drizzly as we walked to our seats and wiped them off; but then the rain quit and we had a beautiful night*.  This was the dress rehearsal and it went very well.  We loved the pageant and how it taught about the Book of Mormon and Christ.  Conner said that his understanding of the Book of Mormon was really helped by the pageant.  Rob had buyer’s remorse after the pageant and said, “I wish I hadn’t spent the money on all those umbrellas!”

We took Friday off of work and drove over to Palmyra again for a calzone at Nima’s.  It was good again!  We were just leaving Palmyra and Dennis thought he saw Rex Brown.  We stopped and parked and went back and sure enough—they were visiting for the pageant also.  They are having a great mission also in the Utica Mission.  We went to the movie, ‘Inside Out’ with the kids and it was a cartoon that made me cry several times.  It had true teachings within it—how we need to have sadness in order to know joy.  I have thought about it several times.  It is about the attitudes we allow ourselves to have and how they can help or ruin our day.  I really liked it!  We shopped at Stein Mart (but didn’t buy anything) and then just looked around at a few other places.  We went into Trader Joe’s and there is always something there that we can use.  Annette, Summer and I went into the Eastview Mall on the way home and sent the men home with the kids.  We didn’t get very far into the Mall (actually, we only saw Macy’s)  They were having their one day clearance and most everything was on sale from 50-80%.  We had a good time there and I got a couple of tops.  (funny thing, when we packed to come here—it was super cold and winter and we were in a hurry and not many summer clothes came with us)

We got things ready for them to fly home today.  They packed, cleaned, and made sure they had everything.  They looked like the ‘grapes of wrath’ going into the airport.  I’m sure people wondered about the many carry-on bags.  But, with 7 people there is a lot of luggage.  

We had lunch at Big Pauly’s in Batavia and ate the buffalo wings that Chris had enjoyed and recommended to them.  It was sad to see them leave, but we reminded them that we would be home in 4 weeks for the special day for the family in the Temple.

Today, Sunday, we got to have a special treat and fill an assignment at the Hill Cumorah.  They had asked each branch or ward to have people help with keeping an eye on the sets at the hill.  Dennis volunteered for the 9-1 shift so the Batavia people didn’t have to drive so far that early.  It was a beautiful, peaceful morning and we enjoyed our time there.  We visited with tourists, workers, and as a special surprise-- Jesse and Debby Byram called and came to see us there.  They had just put their daughter and family on the plane in Rochester.  It was so good to see them and hear about their mission and what they have been doing. (I wish I had taken a picture)

*We found out that Jeffrey Holland was at the Hill Cumorah on Thursday and had talked with the cast of the production. (over 700 cast members)  He said a special prayer that the rain would stop for the production that night as his family was going to be in attendance.  He wasn’t able to stay as he caught a plane back to Salt Lake to go to President Packer’s funeral.  He had rented a bus and had his children and grandchildren touring the sites and some of the other states here.  He told them that he was providing this trip to his family and to keep in mind that they were spending their inheritance.  What a great thing for a family to see and do to help them with their faith and testimonies. 

Blessings:  Being able to see the hand of the Lord in our lives and the lives of those we love.  He is so good to us and we can see miracles almost daily here.  If we look close enough we can see this.  He loves us and wants us to return to Him because we love Him!

Happy Birthday this week to Ryan, Tate, and Jackie!  We love you!