The Busier We are, the Faster Time Goes
I have missed posting in my blog because we have just been too busy.
When we are at an internet, we are helping people do Family Hisory.
Here are the pictures since last time I posted:
We went to Joe & Tesha's to watch conference. It was wonderful to see them and their new house. It is part of a real house, rather than an apartment, so it feels like a home.
Tesha holding Zach, Ben, and Joe holding Leah
On a lookout tower in Dover
At a park very close to their home
I would find half-eaten apples you kids would leave. Joe & Tesha find half-eaten red peppers
Yeah! Playing games
Beautiful leaves
In front of their place
Joe and Dad cutting pork to can and I am sewing curtains
It looks like a pepper, but it is a tomato
Trying to make mints for Ellen's wedding
A very hard Goodbye - It has been so wonderful to be so close to them. Their apartment is half of this house. They have the downstairs and the upstairs of half of it.
District meeting activity at a pumpkin patch. The Elders in our District
We didn't climb the haystack
The slide was incredible. I didn't rotate the picture, sorry.
It was a big air compresser. It shot the pumpkin way far.
Dad reading cool facts about pumpkins
A maze out of haybails
The home
The front yard with cornstalks and wooden statues
The hayride to go out into the pumpkin patch.
They had all these old pumps to pump water into the rain gutters and plastic yellow ducks.
The big barn
Elders having an arm wrestle.
This was an amazing old fashioned donut maker. It was the best apple cider cake donuts I've ever eaten. Dad was very fascinated with the machine. It dropped the dough in, it floated up and was carried along the hot grease, then dumped out in the big bowl of sugar & cinnamon.
This is Sister Vanderworkin. She is originally from Smithfield, married a man from here in New York, and they came back here to live. He joined the church and was the first branch president in their area. They raised 8 children on this big farm. He passed away several years ago, but she carries on the tradition of doing this the month of October. They have done it for maybe 10 years or so.
We had a wonderful visit with her.
This is us with Rita Webster who we have been seeing our whole mission. She is in the nursing home in Catskill. She is the one my Achievement Day girls tied a quilt for, we had a sacrament meeting at the nursing home for her, and we took her out for a banana split one time and then worried we might have made her sick because she at the whole things - three big scoops of ice cream with toppings.
We took Walter Kruppenbacher (the one you did temple work for) for a trip to see the leaves and meet Henny Vogel. It was an amazing day on Saturday. We took him and David Chase, the young man (36) who we have been teaching weekly since we got here. He is just making his way back into the church. Henny has such a healing influence and it was no different with these two.
She told Walter it was an honor to have him in her home and it meant so much to him.
Our missionary couple from Hawaii that we grew to love on our mission to the Church History Library stopped overnight for dinner and a wonderful visit. They had toured down south, Washington DC, New York and they saw us on their way to Palmyra, Kirtland, and Nauvoo.
There Grandson was their chauffer. We thought that sounded like a good idea for us to do one day.
I'm sure we could find one or two grandsons who would do the driving for us!
I love you all. This is my letter. We are very busy, very excited to come home, and having a hard time saying goodby and trying to get so much done in so little amount of time.
Dad ordained our convert, Michael Vulcano, to the office of an Elder and gave him the Melchezidic Priesthood after Stake conference Sunday. It was a very spiritual moment and such a wonderful thing to do at the end of our mission. He and his wife are coming for dinner tomorrow night. A young man in our branch was also ordaind as an Elder by his father. One line from the blessing he gave has stayed with me to ponder upon. He blessed him to "open his heart and put God first."
That is my message to all of us. I know it sounds simple, so try and feel the power and direction that comes along with it. I love you all, Mom/Grandma
