Welcome, Welcome Sabbath morning....

I woke up with that song in my mind today.  I wasn't  surprised because last Sunday evening I had already decided to use that title for the blog post today about LAST Sunday.  However it did make me smile--I am glad today is the Sabbath day, too!

Last Sunday was just a sweet and relaxing day.  I wrote in the blog in the morning, then we had brunch with cinnamon rolls (although not homemade ones like when all of the kids were home.  That is a lot of work for Gary and I to eat all of the yummy but fattening goodness.) while we watched the first session of Conference.

It was nice to see and see Pres. Monson's sweet and short talk at the opening of the session.  I would imagine that he will not be around for many more conferences.  It is sad but he is and has been a great leader and follower of Christ.  His ability to respond and connect with people one on one is a great attribute and one that I am trying to improve in myself.  The moments when you connect with someone in the present 'one and one' are some of the most important moments of life.

After the session, we hopped in the car and made the 90 minutes drive down to Provo to visit Ben. He is doing a tiny bit better and actually played a couple of rounds of Uno with us.  He was still fairly distractible but he did give answers to a couple of questions so that was great too.

We listened to the last session of Conference on the way home from Provo except for the last 30 minutes which we enjoyed on our family room couch.

Then about 2 minutes after the closing prayer was said, Gary's mom was in our driveway for a trip up north and east to Ogden Valley whee Vonette and Gary live.  It is fall and a great time for a drive to their house.

The leaves were changing everywhere.

Taken from the car as we drove down what is called "THe North Divide"

Views from a moving car as we went down the east side of the divide and you can see the valley below.

We made the trip because our niece, Nikki Kerr, was going to share her mission call with family and friends.

A bonus was we got to see our newest little family member--this is Emily McKinney holding her cousin Emerey Elaine Nakae who was 9 days old.  She was born on Gary's birthday.

 Nikki and Vonette had prepared these cute little cupcake and pumpkin rolls for the occasion.

And here is a view from their yard of the beautiful fall colors.  When I visit in the summer or fall I wonder why we don't live up here because it is so gorgeous, but then I come in the winter or spring and I remember that I love the other side of the mountain better.

Nikki had received her mission call on Wednesday and had opened with her parents then.  However she didn't tell anyone else until Sunday evening when we all gathered.  She is leaving on Nov. 9th and will be serving in Louisville Kentucky.  There are lots of Halls from Kentucky although Gary says the main counties are just outside her mission boundary.  It sounds like a beautiful place to serve with its own bits of culture for her to learn and experience.  We are happy for her....and sorry, no picture of her but will try to get one on the day of her "farewell".

We headed back home and relaxed.  It was a great day and a sweet Sabbath day.