Missionary Papers----

They have been submitted by our Stake President soon after we met on March 3rd.  Yay!

HAPPY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

Taken from my post on Facebook:

Our anniversary this year was set on a Tuesday which is normally a day that I work from 1:00-9:15 pm.  Without telling Gary, I had blocked out my time from 6:00 on so that I could surprise him for an anniversary dinner.  Gary and I are not big celebrators or gift givers on our anniversary or Valentine's Day.  Over the years, going on a trip together sometime in the year was our default celebration/gifts to each other for both of these holidays. I thought having a dinner together would be a nice surprise.  But then the stake executive secretary reached out for an appointment for our mission interviews.  6:30 Tuesday turned out to be the only time that worked for the Stake President and for us that week.  I was very glad that six weeks ago, I had blocked that time off.

How will you spend your 42 anniversary! Gary and I had our interview with our stake president (the leader of the larger area in our Church) tonight and he will be submitting our missionary "papers" to serve a senior mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are planning to leave in the fall, we have no say where we will serve although we did make some selections about types of mission and preferences, and we should hear in about 4-6 weeks. We are lucky because last week, we got an "exception" to take Jena with us. She will be called to serve a Church Service mission in the same area after we have received our call.

Let the guessing begin--one inside the states and one international! We will keep track and there may be an ice cream coupon for the closest!

Thanks to Rebecca Jensen for our missionary pictures!  (and I posted the photos which I have already included in the blog earlier.)

Our anniversary this year was set on a Tuesday which is normally a day that I work from 1:00-9:15 pm.  Without telling Gary, I had blocked out my time from 6:00 on so that I could surprise him for an anniversary dinner.  Gary and I are not big celebrators or gift givers on our anniversary or Valentine's Day.  Over the years, going on a trip together sometime in the year was our default celebration/gifts to each other for both of these holidays. I thought having a dinner together would be a nice surprise.  But then the stake executive secretary reached out for an appointment for our mission interviews.  6:30 Tuesday turned out to be the only time that worked for the Stake President and for us that week.  I was very glad that six weeks ago, I had blocked that time off. A small thing but one of the little miracles that have been happening.............

We did go out to eat afterwards at the Texas Roadhouse since we had a gift certificate for dinner there.

Family History Continues....

Valerie and I had one more family "history" moment after I dropped Jena and Emily off at their apartment in Provo.  We had arranged to meet up with my cousin who lives in Mapleton and have dinner together.

My cousin-in-law, Raelene, snapped this photo of Valerie, our cousin-Dan Gibson, and I while we were reviewed old pictures that Dan had on his computer of all of us when we were little.  His dad, my Uncle Grant, was a photographer, and due to that, we have many photos of us as cousins lined up for photos during our summer vacations to Portland, Oregon, where our grandmother and aunts, uncles, and cousins lived.  These were usually not planned and organized pictures of us in our Sunday best, but us in playclothes, hot from summer fun, lined up or bunched together for one or two shots of us.  Didn't matter if someone had their eyes closed or someone else was picking their nose--it was recorded--life at that moment in time--no reshots--or do overs.  But how grateful I am for those photos that connect me to my childhood and those I loved.  And it was a sweet time that we spent with Dan and Raelene, talking about those things and our own memories of our grandmother we share.

One example:  My mom, Grandma Owen, Aunt Lois holding Lura
Marilois, my brother-Todd, me, Renee, Becky
sitting:  Margaret  (other than Todd and I--these all belong to Aunt Lois)

Family Discovery Day 2020 at ROOTSTECH

Mid-January, I ordered 3 tickets to RootsTech Family Discovery Day which is a Saturday event associated with RootsTech for members of the Church and their families.  Gary and Jena had bowling that day, but I decided to order tickets for them just in case something happened with bowling and they were free to join me.  That didn't happen, but instead I had a ticket for my sister, Valerie, who came in town to spend some time with our dad.  Lucky me--she stayed with me for the weekend and then spent the following week with our dad.

It was awesome to spend time with her--both in conversation and at the Family Discovery Day.  We both like family history, although Valerie has been engaged in the work of it for a very long time.  I am a more recent participant. 

Elder and Sister Stevenson

Saturday morning started off with Elder Gary and Lesa Stevenson as they shared a bit about their family history and how the sharing of family stories connects us to each other and to our faith.  Then Emmitt Smith, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, told his story of family and family history connections.  He told about watching a football game with his dad and some of his dad's friends when the Dallas Cowboys were playing the New Orleans Saints when he was seven years old.  (I think this was a championship game) He turned to his dad and told him that he was going to play football for the Dallas Cowboys and win a Super Bowl ring.  He said that his dad and friends all laughed in that fun way people do when kids say stuff like that, but in his heart, he knew it was true.  And he got 3 Super Bowl rings and so many records.  He had never even played football at that point in his life.  He shared key things that coaches and his parents taught him that lead to his success--hard work, setting goals.  It was very interesting!  We all have these types of stories which are a part of who we are and what we are becoming!  Which is why we should write those important stories down and honor those who were important to us---even if we never win the Super Bowl or achieve extraordinary things---living ordinary lives which touch others for good and honor our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ!  That is all that really matters.   

As we were wandering through the Expo Hall, I randomly noticed the name on someone's badge as they passed in the opposite direction-  "Kent Parsons."  I mentioned to my sister how odd that someone would have the same name as someone from our ward in Amarillo, Texas.  She turned to look and said, "That is Kent Parsons."  We went back and it was our friend.  He is my age and our parents were very close friends.  My dad and his dad served together many years in a Bishopric.  Kent now lives in New Mexico and regularly attends RootsTech.  It was fun to have a quick conversation.  (Valerie was able to recognize him quickly because she is Facebook friends with his younger sister who had recently posted a family photo of her and her siblings.)  Fun times.

Random fact:  His other younger sister, Edith, was the first and really only person with Down syndrome that I met in my growing up years.  Their family was one of the role models that I clung to when we began our own journey with Down syndrome years ago.

So tell a story, write a story, share a photo---you (and I) are the link between our ancestors and our descendants!  There are easy ways all around to do it!  Just do it!