OH NO, NOT AGAIN!!!!!!

So here I sit wanting to make my blog awesome, and what have I done???? Lost another camera! STINK, FUDGE, HOLY COW! Somewhere between here and Idaho my camera is cooling off after me using it almost every day I have been in Nauvoo.  So for awhile, I will have to just post my comments.  I am sure to lose readership, but I am lucky I still have my head!  Getting older stinks!

We are back from Idaho and the return trip was as exhausting as the going.  We started out in Idaho at 6:30 A.M. and got here in Nauvoo at about 10:30 P.M. Quite a day.  We got back home on Sunday and Monday was Christmas Eve.  I am not going to kid myself or anyone else.  It was hard on me to be away from my family.  They have done so many wonderful things here to keep us busy; parties, cast parties, caroling, dinners, firesides, but I was still homesick!!!So I keep telling myself, I can do this one time, but one time only.  I could hardly even talk to anyone on Christmas.  One thing that I can tell you, it is not about the gifts, it is about Christ and family! How grateful I am for both.

TRIBUTE………………….

It seems quite a while since I have written on my blog. That was something that I was not going to be remiss at but life and circumstances are ever changing. 

My sweet Mother-in-law passed away on the 17th of December at the age of 97!  She has been living with Chris for the last year and was having mini-strokes. The last one happened a few weeks ago and she never recovered from it.  Hospice came in and helped Chris and I don’t think anyone can ever sing their praises enough.  But the praises I want to sing go to Chris and Lee.  No one will ever know what a difficult, although loving, thing to do, to care for someone in your home.  It is an emotional journey and we will be forever grateful to them for their selfless service. Lee had been asked by Grandma to talk at her funeral.  He being the only non-member in the family, we all chuckled, but he did a fabulous job.  He brought some humor to the service but centered it around the fact that Grandma was always a lady.  Richard gave the other talk and her grandchildren sang a song together, then her grandsons sang a song in parts that was beautiful.  The four oldest granddaughters gave the life sketch and it was wonderful.  All of the girls there wore a piece of Grandma’s jewelry.  I think there were over 200 people there, considering she outlived almost all of her friends and her family.

So we flew out on a Tuesday. We drove to St. Louis, flew to Denver, changed planes, flew to Salt Lake, rented a car and drove to Idaho Falls.  LOOOOONNGGGG day.  We did our best to help Chris prepare for the onslaught of people coming.  All of Jenny’s kids came, even Clark from Virginia.  Jerianne was there with her family, and Jonathan got stuck in Kansas City.  There was a huge storm in Denver that kept my other children away.  But over all, most everyone was there.  Mom has 78 great-grandchildren, and around 30 grandchildren.  Quite a posterity. 

I have been so very blessed to have Lois Lovenia Peterson Jardine as my “other” mother.  She has been so good to me, taught me many things, loved us all and been an example that no one else can rival.  I will be forever grateful to have her in my life and look forward to being part of her family forever. 

WHO KNEW????????I DID!

So here we are in Smalllllllllllllllllllllllll town America.  The only grocery store in town smells……..literally and figuratively, there are  no amenities except for Casey’s gas station and who would think there would be a good barber here to cut Richard’s hair?  Well, lo and behold, he has a man named Robert who does his hair better than anyone I have ever seen.  He actually is trying to get your dad to comb his hair differently.  Keep in mind that people call Richard helmet head because his hair has never been combed differently in 60 years!  But come to Nauvoo and look what you get!

The most beautiful, full, coarse hair ever!!!

So here is to handsome.  I am sure when we go home, it will go right back to the same thing…….

And So It Thankfully Continues.

I have loved looking forward to something each day from Richard and my children, and so we continue….

From RIchard, a Nauvoo keepsake.

The Conroys do know I love bling!!!!

Beautiful picture of my newest granddaughter.  Thank you Toria for writing to me.

I guess you are never toooooooo old, just almost!

You got that right!!!!

What a treasure, a happy marriage!!!!!!

I’ll always take care of you Ryan!!

Favorite movie, favorite thought!!! Jerianne, you remember everything!

Navie Elin, you’d better keep hold of that THING…….I don’t know if I will every be able to feel safe in my home again!!!!!!

So I am waiting for tomorrow………

JINGLE ALL THE WAY!!!!

Not a minute here of free time!  It seems that I am always  on the run and tired, but I have to remember I am anxiously engaged in a good cause. I helped with training meeting last Wednesday and that was very successful and from there I moved on to the Cast Christmas Party.  I was in charge of the games and must I say, it turned out very well. What a fun group of people I am serving with.

Tables decorated so festively……

25 Christmas songs posted on the walls that we had to guess…..

Good!!!! Food and friends…..

Elder Jonny Johnson who is hysterically funny.  He makes me laugh all of the time.  Luckily they are in my cast, he was the MC but jokester for the evening.

So we played “Chubby Snowman,” and I love this game. What good sports these men were, although some of them cheated by eating the marshmallows on the side.!!!

Elder Wise is one of my favorite people in this whole mission.  He is the Santa in Gregg Olsen’s paintings.  He plays the doctor opposite my Agatha. I love to pick on him…..

People were laughing hysterically!!!

UNCLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Word to the wise, be very careful when you put me in charge of the games, Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy Hands, Busy Hands…….

Thank goodness the sites are not too busy at this time of year. I have so many hugs from Nonna to make! Greer’s and Delaney’s are done and will be sent out so that they make it for their birthdays.

Delaney’s purple and green….

Greer’s called Sitting Pretty………..So not bad for my first attempts at “stick sewing.”

Blakely’s blanket……..

I am loving this advent Christmas.  I so look forward each day to see what they family can come up with.  I am sure they will start running out of ideas soon and start repeating themselves, but for right now I am having fun.

I am putting everything up on my bedroom wall and will keep it there the rest of my mission.  It is wonderful to wake up to “love” every morning.

You’ve just gotta love Kelly!!!!

Jacqui and Delaney’s contribution. I look on the back of all of these to read what Delaney puts on as well.

JAGGER!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HOLDING A SNAKE!!! YOUR DADDY IS MAKING ME CRAZY!!

So here is to 24 days of Christmas. Thank you all so much. Magical moments in my history.

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH…

We have a Zone Meeting every month and in that meeting they have a disc of pictures that people have taken in the mission.  I love it!!! So many talented people that “see” beauty with different eyes than I have.  I mean who sees the reflection in a raindrop!!! Come on.  But how I love it.  Nauvoo means “beautiful place” and I truly think it is. I marvel at the sunsets, the Mississippi, the change of seasons and all of the profuse colors, the animals, I love the animals and your dad can’t do one danged thing about the squirrels!!!!! RUN FREE! I  just stand in awe at the workmanship of our Heavenly Father’s hand.  So in order to remember it, I am just going to post a bunch of pictures so that I can reflect on my time here,  and that you can enjoy it as well.

You see these huge barges going up and down the river all hours of the day and night.  It is fascinating to watch them go through the lock and dam.

These are the tug boats that push them up and down.

Looking through the bullet hole that killed Hyrum Smith to the window that the Prophet fell out of.

While we are sitting in the sites, we make things for the humanitarian efforts here in this area.  These are “Boo” bears that we give to the police and firemen.

Layettes for every baby born in Hancock County.

Double sided adult bibs for the nursing homes.

Hats and booties.

Quilts, I think I helped make over 10 in the last two weeks.

Remember I said that the Mississippi is the route for over 40% of migratory birds.  I love watching them fly in.

These are sitting in the river by the hundreds.

Bald Eagles nest here.  We saw two more today on our way to Keokuk.

We have had several days of beautiful fog that hasn’t lifted all through the day and night.

Geese fill the fields.  I love to watch them fly over and hear their wonderful honks!



The sunsets are this stunning almost every night.

I would love to know how to paint!!! Isn’t God an artist!!






My favorite……………….

Training our new baby oxen……I see them several times a week because they are in the Brigham Young pasture.

So, I am grateful for eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that appreciates it all.