DOCTOR!!!DOCTOR!!!!DOCTOR!!!

Okay, so I know that we are not a mission full of young, agile, flexible, strong physically astute missionaries….I get that, but seriously this is like living in an assisted community!

Another fall this morning on the slick ice and down goes another sister.  Thankfully, we have another doctor on the premises! She broke her leg right above her ankle, she has been here one week.  So there goes Richard’s next week schedule already!  Bless her heart, Sister Mendenhall is studying to be Agatha, so I will get to know her fairly well.  She is not allowed out of bed for a whole week and then no weight baring for three weeks. 

Sister Germer is limping around with tears in her eyes.  She has a bulging disc and whenever I look at her I feeeeeellllll her pain.  I told her this morning to wear a back brace.  They are trying to get her into a spinal dr.  So our Gynecologist here is getting much more than he signed up for. 

Sister May is still not working at sites, she had knee surgery.  So older missionaries????? I tell you, I am keeping my head down, shoulder to the wheel hoping to spare myself any doctor visits here.  Keeping my fingers crossed……….

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.