41,995 Verses

That is how many verses of scriptures (according to Scripture Statistics) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints's complete scriptures!  Despite that, I get "surprised" sometimes when people in talks or lessons quote scriptures that I "don't remember."  That happened today when we were attending the Walnut Grove Ward to hear our friends, the Olsens, talk before their mission.

In a youth talk before they spoke, the young woman quoted a scripture from Proverbs--Prov. 16:9 which reads:

A man’s heart ^adeviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

I immediately pulled out my scriptures to mark this and to ponder it later. She was talking about setting Christ-centered goals, but I realized how important it was for all of us.  And how true that has been in my life....although I have made many mistakes along the way and have a list of things that I wish that I had done much better...on the big stuff, I feel like we have been directed by the Lord and we have been willing to follow that direction.  The scripture is not saying that we can't set goals for ourselves, it is just reminding us who should be in charge.

The reference attached to the word 'deviseth' is Ether 2:16-25 which talks about building the boat and the brother of Jared working with the Lord to solve the problems of light and air.  This is one of my favorite scripture stories and I think it shows that the Lord works with us in different ways to lead us and direct us in the right direction.  Our hearts need to always be in the right spot as well.  It is not often that we get that Paul or Alma the Younger experience where the Lord calls us in the midst of rebellion.  The "way" we are divising for ourselves should be totally in line with the principles of the gospel as we understand it.  Then when the Lord directs, we can be ready to go.

As Steve Olsen spoke, he suggested that every couple should be actively planning to serve a mission now so that they are putting their lives in order so that when the time comes, they are ready (even though there is a lot that would still need to be done.)  Steve and Kim began working on their mission papers at the beginning of December, waited over four weeks for the call to come, and are leaving 11 days after receiving their call for the MTC and then Hawaii. Not much time to get your life in order.

Although we have set 2020 a our mission year, we have wondered over the past several years if it would even be possible for us to serve a full-time mission.  Like everyone we have a list of responsibilities and concerns which we thought might keep us from serving a full-time mission.  We weren't sure if we could leave those things and serve.  All I can say is at one moment it didn't seem possible and my worries were too much and the next moment, those worries left me and I felt it was time to begin the paperwork.  As Gary and I have discussed with each other, we do not take that as a sign that all will be well with those we care for and those responsibilities that we have.  We take it only as the Lord's direction to us to begin this journey.  Where it will end, what will be the outcome, and what will happen as we are gone, we do not know.  I imagine it will be a collection of good things and hard things--for us and those we leave---that is life!  The best we can do is step in the direction that we feel we are being led without requiring a witness that all will be great while we are gone.

Self Care- Revisted

As I have referred to in the past, as part of my social work training, we had to identify a self-care plan to help us manage the work of being a social worker.  As part of that, I bought a plant and kept it in my office at The Children's Center.  My idea was that the plant would serve as a reminder to me to take care of myself so I could do my work well.  I had identified several activities that I needed to do and the plant was just a visual reminder.  I do not have a great history with plants so I was a bit nervous how well this would work--what would happen if my self-care plant died??!!

Anyway, my plant did fine at The Children's Center, especially after moving to my south facing office during my last two years there.

Here is a photo from that office window last year--

I worried as I brought it home last May if I had a window with the right amount of sun to make this plant happy and to continue to remind me to watch myself and take care of myself.  A couple of weeks ago, I look at my plant (sitting on the edge of my tub) and thought for the first time in a long time--Look how much this plant has grown and how happy it is to be right where it is.  Just like me, as much as I loved working at The Children's Center, it has been good to be home much of the time (well, maybe not actually AT home, but you know what I mean) and be able to do other stuff that I love.  I am happy and so is my self-care plant!

Ben's plant which I have taken care of for about four years is also doing great since moving it down by this window.

And my orchid which had already bloomed twice in my window at TCC--just started blooming again for the third time!  Never in my limited experiences with orchids have I ever had that happen.

Life is good---but can I take my plants on my mission???

ANOTHER FULL WEEKEND OF FUN

Friday was dental exams and cleaning, skiing, then theatre and then a stop to visit Ben and play some games.  (Gary missed out because he was been dealing with a cold all week.)

The weather was not quite as clear and beautiful at Snowbasin this week, but Jena and Terrie said the snow was great.

Saturday, Jena started early with a birthday party for her friend, Dani, at Dartside at the Layton Hills Mall.  They had a fun time and Julie (Dani's mom) who was inside with the girls said that Jena was giggling the entire time as she was shooting her friends.

Here is the group of them with their guns.  Dani in in the green shirt in the front.  Dani actually also lives near us and is in the same ward that we are in.

 Singing "Happy Birthday to Dani"--Jena is leading.

We headed straight to bowling after the party, and then to ushering at Centerpoint.  We finished the day hanging out with the four grandkids in Magna.  For some reason, both Liam and Zander were connected with Jena and often came for hugs or got her to play with them.

A busy weekend--and Jena has not done her homework yet for school.  Glad we have an open morning tomorrow for that.

Gary has mentioned  to me that he appreciates that I have not worried about leaving the grandkids to serve a mission.  I don't worry about it, but as I held Alex last night to rock her to sleep, I did think about how different a two-year old and a 3 1/2 year old are--the span that the twins and Ava will be while we serve.  But I am sure their parents will remind them about us and we will continue to exchange cards and letters and photos with them.  All of us are going to learn a bit more about somewhere or something as we serve.  ( I guess you can see that I am a bit obsessed with all of this mission stuff.)

Our Mission Journey--Photos and Stuff

Nothing says mission pictures like a new haircut and shaving of the moustache (for men that is!  :) ).

A week ago, Gary pulled this shirt out of his drawer and wore it:  In honor of his moustache which would soon be gone.

It was a funny thing and both of us got a laugh out of it, but it served as a reminder that there are many things that we will be "leaving behind" as we prepare and go to serve on a mission.  I am sure as this journey progresses we will understand more and more the sacrifices which will be required of us.  However, I am confident as everything else in my life has proved, that my "sacrifices" are a drop in the bucket compared to the blessings that are available from Heavenly Father.

So last Monday, the moustache was "off" and then a text from our sweet friend and photographer, Ashlee, that she was sick with a stomach flu.  Luckily, we have an awesome neighbor who also was a photographer and she was willing and available to step in and take our photos.  Rebecca Jensen is amazing and we now have our official missionary photos--

Our cute extra companion--

And one of the three of us for use on our mission plaque for display at our ward building.

This week we also completed our dental exams so all that is left is our medical exams which are scheduled for this coming week.

This week I have also been talking to friends who have served missions or served as mission presidents including one who also took their son who has Down syndrome with them.  Mostly I was trying to get a feel for what is the appropriate way to complete all of the "preferences" that you can select as senior missionaries.  I think I have mentioned that once I came to feel that I would be happy to serve in a Salt Lake mission, then I truly felt I was prepared to go anywhere that the Lord would send me to serve.

MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU WANT TO KNOW 

ABOUT OUR MISSION PROCESS SO FAR

(please feel free to skip unless you really want to know the nitty details of the process!)

Couples do many different things.  Some identify a place and type of mission they want to serve, call and make connections with that mission president and then can be requested for that mission.  Tomorrow our friends, Steve and Kim Olsen will be entering the mission home and then going to Hawaii to serve on the campus of BYU-Hawaii.  That is what they did.  On their preferences, they only listed service opportunities in Hawaii.  And they were assigned to the place that they had found on line.  Other people reach out to friends or friends of friends who are serving as mission presidents and look for opportunities to serve that way.  That is how our "new friends" the Fletchers, got their call to Belgium mission.  That was the first mission president who responded "Yes" that he would love to have them bring their daughter with DS to that mission. Both sets of our parents who served about 20 years ago, put no preferences and my dad and Karla served in Japan and Gary's parents served in Nauvoo. (Of course, it wasn't quite as organized and online like it is today.) No matter what you do, the site is very clear that calls are issued by the Apostles and may or may not be one that was requested.  Some friends of our friends put four missions--Hawaii, two in Europe, and New Zealand--and received a call to Siberia (not on their list as all). My friend said in that case, you REALLY know that the Lord called you where he wanted you to go.

There is an option to leave all preferences blank.  We considered that since we are open to anywhere that we can serve with Jena. However, we (mostly me) came to feel for us that the preferences we choose gives a flavor of who we are and may assist in leading our call to where we should go. So, because everyone has been asking us, this is generally what our preferences look like on the site--
Geographic Regions--no preferences
Type of Mission-- (there are 16+ types of missions available)  Office Support, Family History, Church Headquarters, and Member/Leader Support.
Mission opportunities:  Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan,  Church Headquarters, Korea, Kentucky, and North Carolina (not sure of the exact order and some have more than one opportunity in that country.)

When we would talk about serving a mission, Gary would  say, "We are going to serve in Hong Kong because that is what Judy wants, but then we will go on another mission and serve where the Lord wants us to go."  I think that is where the idea of serving two missions started.  Of course, I would defend myself and say that why wouldn't the Lord want us to go to Hong Kong--at least we wouldn't complain about the weather or the food or the lack of certain groceries because we have dealt with that before.

Actually, we had a sweet friend already reach out to the Hong Kong Mission president (because they are friends) unknown to us, but they do not have a Church service mission opportunity for Jena because the temple is currently closed for remodeling.  He (the current mission president) encouraged us to apply in three years when the temple was reopened.  That works perfectly for us! (As Gary is now saying, it looks like we are going where the Lord wants us first and then we are going to Hong Kong.) We left it on top of our list as a reflection of our love for the Chinese people and our experience there.  While each Asian country has their own culture, food, and history, we love that area of the world and it would be so exciting to serve there.

There are SO many opportunities and needs for senior missionaries.  How would we possibly know if North Carolina is a better place for us than Oregon or if Nebraska needs us more than Kentucky?  So glad that we don't have to decide.  The only reason we added North Carolina (because everyone that I have known that has lived there loved it and it is across the States from where we have ever lived) and Kentucky (because both of us have family from there and our niece loved it there on her mission) was to indicate our willingness to serve anywhere. My friend, Gemie Martin, says we should come to Dallas again!  One great blessing about serving in the States is that I know that we will make great friends where ever we end up. Truly the world is open and I am sure we are in for an exciting ride.  Because it has already been exciting and filled with sweet experiences and insights from the spirit.

What year are you planning on going on a mission????

Mission Update

Today (January 19, 2020) we had our "official" meeting with our bishop on our senior mission journey. The next steps for us are to get our mission photos taken (tomorrow), do our medicals (at the end of the month) and dental appointments (this week.)

Our stake president is starting the process to get the exception that allows us to take Jena with us on our mission.  That seems somewhat straight forward from what other parents have told me, but until it is received from Salt Lake, we can't submit our completed application.  My idea of perfect timing would be to submit our paperwork mid-February so that we could get our call in March which is our 42nd anniversary month.  However, I am sure that these things can take longer than you expect so we will just plug along with our side of things and let the rest play out as it should.

Friday Fun-Second Verse

Not quite the same as the first--but still Jena was having fun on Friday again---

This time it started on a snowy mountain top as her ski season with Terrie started at Snowbasin with Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports:

It had snowed throughout the night and in the early morning, but the skies were blue and the snow was fresh at the resort.  Terrie said that Jena did great and remembered her ski skills from previous years.

 Lining up for the ski lift---

That cute skier in the blue coat is Jena coming down the mountain--

We then left skiing and headed to Friend to Friend where Jena shared her talent by singing and dancing to the song "Happy."  No pictures as she used my phone for music.

Then we headed to Salt Lake for the UDSF Bingo and Karaoke Night. Jena didn't know many people but she had fun playing Bingo and singing.

She chose a song from Newsies "Seize the Day!"

She is brave and a good example of having fun doing lots of things. And we have another crazy Friday coming up this week--but maybe not quite as fun since it includes visits to the dentist. 

More "Seussical" Action

After Friend to Friend leaders announced that they were going to do Seussical, Jena was even more excited for her Monday night "Roomate Night" at the Hale theatre's production of "Seussical".  It happened that Jena and also two of her BYU roommates had all been in a production of the play while in school.  So we got tickets for Christmas for all of them to join us to see it.

 Jena, Katey, Emily, Esther, Myan, and Meggan

They sat together on the north side of the theatre and I had two tickets on the south side.  (No fun to hang out with your roommates if your mom and dad are there.)  But actually, Gary stayed home to help with a bowling league and my friend, Cindy Anderson, went with me.  We had a fun time and she LOVED it.  She had never been to the Hale Theatre before and Seussical was spectacular. 

 Fun times and even a few things to ...."think about!"

If you enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss's books (maybe in spite of their political overtones), you will love "Seussical."

I know that there are people in the world that don't enjoy the theatre.....but I am glad that I do (and that I married someone who does as well.)  "Break a leg!"

Friday Fun

Our activities for Friday didn't end with our temple trip.  We went to the Bountiful Temple, because we could then head straight to her Friend to Friend theatre class at Centerpoint in Centerville, Utah.

I dropped her off early so she could change clothes into her theatre clothes (and I headed to Kohl's because I discovered that I had left my jeans folded neatly on my bed instead of in the car so I could also change clothes from a dress.  Silver lining though-I have been looking for some navy dress pants for six months for work and I found some in my size and I happened to be wearing a blue shirt so that worked.)  Headed back to the theatre to watch their annual talent show.  They announced at the end that the play for this semester is going to be "Seussical!"  Jena is thrilled!  She was in that play in high school and we are also going to go see that play tomorrow night with her roommates from BYU at the Hale Theatre.  Perfect year to do it for her since she won't be in F2F for the next few years while we serve our mission.

And if you thought the day couldn't get any better for Jena, you are wrong!  She and I had a mom-daughter night out for a Vocal Point concert at BYU!  So after theatre, she changed clothes ONCE again into casual clothes for the concert (and now you know why I couldn't manage to wear my skirt for the whole night.)  We had seats in the balcony in the middle of a packed house and it was so much fun.  Check them out on youtube if you like their type of music.

Afterwards Jena wanted to go shake hands with the group.  She decided to buy a CD and the person said that they could sign it for her.  She loved that and each of the nine members of the band signed it and said hi and talked to Jena.  She was still smiling about that on Saturday.

It was about 11:30 when we got home that night, but it had been a fun-filled Friday for sure.  Skiing starts next week so more fun in the horizon (and of course the play tomorrow night.)

Whew, I am actually caught up with the blog.  I don't think that as happened since we went to Europe.

Unexpected Stuff

This past week, I had already planned to watch Jessica's kids twice during the week as they have doctor's appointments for Zander scheduled.  However, on Monday, I got a call from Jessica (who rarely calls on the phone--texting was created for her.)  Carter was breathing funny and they were taking her to Urgent Care.  That led to her being sent to Primary's and spending four days there while they tried to keep her O2 levels up, especially while she was sleeping.  She had no signs of being sick until about Wednesday other than her breathing and the fact her lungs were cloudy on the x-rays.

She is home now and doing well.  The other kids especially Alex were so excited to see her when she got home.  With all of that excitement, I got to spend a few extra days handing out with the other kids while Elessia and Jessica managed Carter, doctor's appointments, and life.  I know what it is like to have kids in the hospital so I was so glad to be able to help out from time to time this week.  So glad that I am not still working full-time--that really interfered with my grandmothering and mothering and wife-ing fun!

Family Dinner

With sickness and snow, our Family Christmas dinner got moved to the first Sunday of January.  It was good to have Jessica and Elessia and their kids, Ben, Jena, Mom Hall, and Dad and Karla here to share a dinner.  Jena's new bean bag was still growing in our living room and it was a big hit with the grandchildren.  They will be sad now that it has moved to Provo.

An aunt moment with Zander.

I couldn't figure out why there isn't a "U" at the end of "BY."
Then I realized that I had my Texas apron on and the
strap was covering the "U".

Temple Visit

If you want to have a sweet experience, take Jena Hall with you to the temple and do a session.  Just walking through the halls with her, people notice and give her special smiles and sweet greetings.  In that place as in no other place in the world, they understand who she is and understand that her contribution is exactly right and they stand ready to help when needed. There is no worry about her pace!  One word, one moment at a time is good enough.

This was our first trip to do endowments at the Bountiful Temple so we took a few pictures.  She reminded me that she had been there a couple of times to do baptisms for the dead when she was younger with Gary and the YW.

Love the clouds 'shooting up' behind the temple steeple.

We got out around 4:30 so the sun was starting to set over the Great Salt Lake.  The Bountiful Temple has a gorgeous view of the lake, Antelope Island, and the Salt Lake Valley, especially at this time of day.

Thanks, Jena, for sharing the afternoon with me in the temple.