018 Tuesday to Tuesday, Aug 20-26

Tuesday to Tuesday (Aug 20-26)

I’ll start off this week’s commentary with a quote from Elder Packer, “We are not obedient because we are blind; we are obedient because we can see.”  I love that.

It has been a week of grandbabies going back to school, and parents developing schedules to accommodate school schedules. Our oldest granddaughter, Maddi, has actually started college (dual enrollment allows her to take two classes at the local community college on Tuesdays and Thursdays). She says she enjoys them, and the English class is actually easier than that at the high school. Hummmmmm

Zach is in a STEM program, and I talked with him this week as he had a history project to get our parents’ names. His math class is advanced, but he told me the first homework he had was order of operations. I had to remind him of how many people would take 4 x 10 + 1 and get 44. He laughed like that was an impossibility, NO! I taught that concept. It sounds like he is really going to enjoy his classes in 8^th grade. Rylie is in third grade! I thought it was a typo when Amy sent out her first day picture, but it has been confirmed. She has the same teacher as last year, so hopefully, she will enjoy school. While she can read, it appears to cause her great pain, unless she is reading about her favorite comic characters. She is fun to talk to, and I can’t wait to see if this teacher can bring books to life for her.

We have a couple of new kindergartners with Griffey and Ian – the start of a long journey. Wednesday the 20^th was Griffey’s birthday. (These birthdays come so quickly in August.) He was a big whopping 5. Just in time to start school.

The first day of school, I don't think Griffey was impressed. On the second day, Griffey took his book to school for reading time, but no such thing happened. The next day he took another book and after waiting patiently, he decided to take matters into his own hands and asked the teacher if it was possible to having reading time that day. She informed him that they would have to wait until everyone was “ready” for reading (actually, the wording was more like when everyone had learned to read). I think Griffey was disgusted and wanted to tell the teacher he already knew how to read and could they just get on with it.  Ian, who has been in a Spanish preschool for the last two years, was a little put out on the first day when he found out that they were going to do baby stuff like colors, letters, etc. He, also, was ready to jump into the “hard” stuff and get the show on the road. It could be a long year for both of these boys.

Leah got to school 20 minutes early on the first day and ended up having to race to class because kindergartners take so much time getting into their classrooms. Jackson started the year with great macho. He is ready for a new year of teaching the class. As a teacher, we loved having kids who came to class prepared. I think that we are very lucky grandparents. All of our grandbabies are learners.

Anden started with a long face, but he appears to be adapting well. I believe his mother described him as embarrassed to have a first day picture taken and just wanted to get in the school. Finley and McKay have spent the first week taking math and some other type of test. What would we do without tests? How did so many of us make it through school without being tested at every step of the way? Finley started with none of her friends in her class this year. I hate that. She is so cute (looking more like her mother every day), and every child should have an old friend in their new class. McKay goes with the flow. He is like his Grandpa Lenhard in that everyone is his friend.  Graysen has recovered nicely from having his tonsils and adenoids removed. I hope he sleeps better. He still takes naps, and Katie hopes he never realizes that kids his age usually have stopped the daytime nap. Kyler is absolutely unbelievable. She has the cutest curls ever (and so much hair, I’m envious). Every picture we see of her has her smiling big time.

The Utah Lenhards really started school in August for about 3-4 weeks, now they are out for about that same amount of time, and then they begin again. This year-round school is confusing. Their family went off to play at the Aspens (a camp under BYU’s watch), and from the pictures, it would seem all are having a great time. Our little Bentley decided he would potty train himself – just like his daddy did, oh so many years ago. Another family without diapers!  Whoo-hoo. Take that you diaper industry!  

Ellie has begun to grow up big time, in a very mature sense.  She will be in a preschool class this year, getting ready for kindergarten next year. Bentley will be involved in a Joy School.  We love to skype with their family (hint, hint – anyone else out there?). Ellie showed us her kitty costume for Halloween (good grief, it’s getting to be that time already?). Kennedy is quite the reader. She loves to read about new worlds and the adventures of children entering those worlds. She has been reading Fablehaven and was excited to learn they are going to make a movie of it. YEAH! She and Leah, who is also a big reader, would make great reading pals. They are very much alike, and it would be fun to watch them grow up together. Maybe the two of them should become penpals and share what they are doing and reading. Noah is in his Chinese immersion program again, and this year has a male teacher for the first time. He says he likes him, so it will be interesting to see what happens as the year progresses.

And so, I get to my little girl who has her little boy and girl, progressing quite nicely. I predict that Cohen will be the death of her yet. Hahahaha  That boy is quite the learner, having figured out that if you pull a stool next to the counter you can climb up and get whatever is there.  Mallory will no longer be able to leave her treats on the counter thinking he won’t see them and she can sneak them without him knowing. He will not only know, he will get them. He is just shy of two years old, and Parker has been a major adjustment. He is making the transition much better, and it is probably because they are finally left alone as a family and no one is coming in to admire the baby. Parker is beginning to fill out, and no longer looks like spider baby with long skinny arms and legs. She is a good sleeper and is much more patient for a mom who has to deal with brother usually right before eating. I think Mallory has it way too easy! What do you think girls?

Now, that I’ve bragged about all my grandkids, please tell me I didn’t miss one, I’ll get down to my usual diatribe.

On Wednesday morning we had a webinar from Ancestry.com. Good grief, there is so much to learn. We need to know as much as possible since we are out there teaching people how to use it with Family Search. I hope each of you have your Family Search account set up and are working on it. It is fascinating work. Joseph Smith once said our family history work is the most important work we can be doing, and it doesn’t mean just collecting names and dates. We need to get the work done. We spent considerable time working on contacting and organizing information for the South Stake on Family History (FH) consultants with whom we will be working.

On Thursday and Friday, we realized that Spanish Fiesta was coming up quickly (Saturday and Sunday), and we needed to make sure our Spanish Elders were prepared. They had not attended a festival yet, and we hadn’t heard anything from them. I gave one of them all their instructions, shirts, wrist bands, etc. at the tour meeting with Elder Martino, but we hadn’t heard back. So Elder Lenhard worked on trying to contact them and getting the instructions down clearly so that they would know what to do. We also had to prepare for the Fiesta, and we were still working on trying to find the contact information for the FH consultants. I realized that I couldn’t find my emails regarding the feedback we had gotten from some of the Bishops/Branch Presidents on who was called as FH consultants in their wards/branches.  We sent inquiries to all leaders in both the North Stake and the South Stake. We are not working with the North Stake on the FH stuff, yet they were the ones who sent us the most information. We are supposed to have internet access to both Stakes directories for members and leadership information. The North has come through, the South not so much. Wouldn’t you know we would need the South and not the North? So we worked on a spreadsheet with the materials we had, prayed that we would get more information for the ones we needed, and tried to get organized.

On Thursday night, we had to go to one Stake building to monitor an ESL test for the upcoming Pathway year. This program is so important to the Church. It is growing by leaps and bounds, its focus is to bring people back into reactivity. What a great way to do so. Our class has met its goals, so we will for sure begin on the 18^th of Sept. It will require a bit of preparation. We’ll both feel like we are back in the school room again, but it will definitely not be the worldly kind.

Friday night we went to dinner with a family named the Armstrongs. They are really a great couple. He is a member, she is not. For some reason, just the idea of getting baptized scares her to death. She says she does not have a good feeling about it. He has been a member for many years. They read the scriptures together, and they go to church more than some of the members do. They have a hard time with all the noisy children. Consequently, they sit in front. I told them I just thank the Lord I’m not having to wrestle with those children. We’ve done our time.  Hahahaha  I know the General Authorities have talked with us a lot about controlling our children in Church. We want them there to learn reverence; however, in the process, it takes lots of years to get them there. There really is no excuse for keeping a screaming child in Sacrament other than the parents have become so used to it that it doesn’t bother them, but it does bother the investigators who aren’t used to it. I’m so grateful all my grandbabies are good in Church. I know some of you don’t think so, but believe me they are good. My philosophy is to never sit in the back. It gives the little ones the idea that they can act like the others who are going wild. Up front it is quieter and more reverent. As a Church we struggle with this, but it is amazing to watch the children as they get older begin to mature and become more reverent, listening to the talks and paying attention. Anyway, we went to the German restaurant, Kegel’s, and had a great dinner. They are a great couple to fellowship, and they are our ages. She has made the comment that the majority of people in their ward are young, and they need older people to fellowship with and with whom to become friends.

On Saturday, we went to Mexican Fiesta. It was a delight. So much fun, but we have to say it was the one festival so far where people are the least interested in their family history. As many indicated, their parents are illegals and so were some of their grandparents; they don’t know who, what, when, or where to begin searching for family. We did learn some new information though. For example, during the years of the inquisition, when the Jews were being murdered, many converted to Catholicism to hide. As a result, many of Spanish or Mexican heritage have Jewish ancestors also. They are the Sephartic Jews. It was amazing how many of those who came to the festival already knew this, and those who did not found it very interesting. 

 

The performers love to dance and sing. I love the costumes.

Elders Ship and Gibbs working with Margaret Skrem the organizer of our genealogy booth.

Even the fiestas allow for confessions. There was a tent set aside as a Church area.

 One of the craziest things that happened on Saturday was the weather acting like something you see in movies. It was cloudy, the clouds were actually on the ground (if that is possible), the air was misty and every now and then you could feel raindrops. Visibility was poor, and in the park you could not see beyond 100 feet or so. When we looked out over the water (all of the festivals are held in a park next to Lake Michigan), you couldn't see anything but a massive fog. It was weird. I believe some poet talked about fog creeping along on catlike feet. If not, then a poet should have because that's the first thing I thought of when I looked around.

 One of the Spanish Elders who came to work with us acted as a greeter, and he could see the performers on stage in the same building in which we were working. A group was performing, and they were well received and there was so much noise, we couldn’t talk to one another. The Elder pointed to a young man on the stage and said, “I know him.” When the Elder was in Mexico (before his mission), he was in a Mariachi band with this performer. Afterwards, the young man on stage came down, and they were so happy to see each other. This young man lives in Madison, WI. He is a member, and I believe getting ready to go on a mission. How funny to see so many of these instances! 

Elder Jimenez and his friend from the band.

The fiesta was so bright with the beautiful colors and trinkets on sale. I bought two Day of the Dead dolls for Halloween and a manger scene with the characters made from corn husks. I love it. It is not the scene I want to buy for Christmas, but it is wonderful to add to my collection. When I get home, so help me I’m going to get all my manger scenes out and decorate from top to bottom. The upstairs Lenhards are going to be amazed at what I have to show.

They are so cute. Just in time for Halloween.

This is so vibrant in colors. I love it.

 

On Sunday, we went to Sacrament and then left for the festival. The Branch President has cut our meetings to 2 hours because he says there aren’t enough people to work. Our Mission President is trying to encourage him not to do this, but we have at least one more week this way. We have so many students who went on break, and they hold many of the callings in the Branch. Hopefully, they will get back soon. I think they want us for Primary. Our problem may be that we won’t be there every Sunday.  It should get interesting.

Monday saw us helping a brother get food; fretting over the Pathway program ins and outs; picking up Sisters from the grocery store; and sitting in with the Armstrongs for a lesson. We saw some powerful teaching that night from the Sisters who have been working with them. They are going on an Alaska cruise next weekend, and one of the Sisters and I decided we would make a list of scriptures (one for each day) that they could read and think about during that day. The scriptures would teach about Christ. I typed them up and got them to the Sisters to take to the Armstrongs before they left Friday. We pray they have a great time. We sure did when we went and would love to repeat the experience.

Tuesday found Elder Lenhard going to the jail to see a member who hadn’t paid child support for more years than he could remember. He had left the country, and upon reentry, they got him on an outstanding warrant for the money. He messed up big time. Full-time missionaries are not allowed to teach the Gospel to someone in jail. That is up to the members of his unit to do. So Elder Lenhard went to see how the man was doing and reported it back to President Fritz. We tend to do all kinds of odd jobs in the mission. It’s great!

We thought we had district meeting that afternoon, but it turns out we didn’t, so we took care of lots of paperwork at home and went to Costco to get some groceries. We got lost using our GPS, which just irritates Elder Lenhard tremendously, but I realized I had put in the wrong address again. I’ll eventually get it right.

Our Scripture for the month of September comes from the Book of Mormon, Omni 1:26:

“And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.”

Makes it sound easy doesn’t it. A Church that does not require sacrifice will not stand. The Lord wants it all, with the promise of great blessings than we can’t even begin to understand. Hang in there. Make prayer an all day activity. Start your morning and end your day talking with the Lord. He wants to hear from you. We love you all.

ANOTHER DAY SERVING IN MILWAUKEE

We had a wonderful experience today while serving in a genealogy booth at Milwaukee's MEXICAN FIESTA! Wonderful Elders and new Milwaukee friends! Tremendous day!

It's too late to share anything else right now, but this is a sample of pictures to come!!!

Sorry it's blurry….it's from my phone!

017 - Tuesday to Tuesday, Aug 13-19, 2014

We finished another week with the question most on our minds – Where is the time going?  We passed some interesting milestones during this time. I finally finished the papers to get us buried. It is a doggone shame that you have to pay some much money just to rent a box for a period of time until we get resurrected. Surely, our leaving this world should be cheaper than when we entered it. Oh, well. It is done. The kids will not have to worry about what will happen. Like I said before, teach those grandkids how to play “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes. Enough with this, let’s get started.

Wednesday began just like any other day. We had to get out of bed and actually move like we were alive. I think it gets harder and harder to get up in the morning. It is my opinion that people tend to get old no matter what. We like to believe that we won’t feel the effects of age like our parents did, but it comes to the best of us. We moan and groan as our joints take time limbering up, and it takes a little walking around to convince ourselves that we are going to live. And, live we did. We got to go to the Chicago Temple with one of the young men we had been teaching in the Temple Prep classes. 

 

Elders Cutshaw, Santos, Ellsworth, and Ward. See the man working on the Temple in the background.

 His name is Xavier Watts, and he is headed for Birmingham. He says he will be going to Tuscaloosa and Huntsville, so it looks like they have a big mission area. How fun! We will have to contact some of our friends in both cities to be on the lookout for him. He told me he had looked up Bear Bryant – since he is too young to have heard of him before. He loves football so he is heading into football heaven. It was really special to see him at the Temple as he made special covenants with the Lord to do all he could to return to our Father in Heaven. We had to leave at 12:30 to get the missionaries we were taking with us and get on the road. Our wonderful GPS took us through some lovely unnecessary sites to get on the interstate. Xavier’s appointment time was 3:00, and we didn’t want to be late, but once again that GPS was smart enough to take us off the tollroads and into the back country. We saw some interesting places; some reminded me of Chilhowie and Abingdon. My sisters and brother will understand what I’m saying. We did actually make it in plenty of time and are grateful that we did. It was a nice cool day (as usual) with a bright sunlight. I love this weather. The Spirit was present, and we felt blessed to be in the Temple.

The Temple session was over at 5:30pm, and we had to get back to Milwaukee by 7:00 for a genealogy society meeting that we attend. We joined their organization and love to attend their meetings. They are a PAF group with 600 members. On average, 150-200 attend each month. These are serious genealogists, and they have a lot to share with those of us who are still rather newbies in the work. While there, the Stake Family History Consultant told us about the Scandia Festival that she wants us to attend. We love this place. It truly has an unbelievable international culture that is exhibited in their festivals. It was really late when we finally got home.

On Thursday, we were glad for a slow day. We began by visiting Jane Maher, the woman who was in charge of Irish Fest, and getting our tickets and parking pass for the festival.  She had mailed them to us, but we didn’t get them. With the tickets for Friday, she also gave us complimentary tickets for Thursday evening. We decided to go at the last minute, and it was a blast. There was some drinking, but it was mild compared to the German Fest. People were really listening to the bands – there were at least three that night. They were all good. We had a chance to stay after the closing (10:00pm) to listen to a band that was making a video and we could have been in the audience; but we were too tired.

 

I believe this may be a Scottish band playing through the Festival.

 

I think this is called an Irish Cross and was part of the decorations for the festival.

 

Just to prove that we were there!

 

One of the bands we got to listen to on Thursday night.

The morning of Irish Fest kept us busy as we had  much to do with organizing our work for helping new members do their genealogy so they can take names of their ancestors to the Temple for the first time. That is a big deal. We try to explain to people when they ask why we are so interested in genealogy that it is all about family. If we all do our family work, then we can find the connections that will bring us together. Families are so important in God’s plan, and if we raise good strong families, our world will be a better place in which to live. People in Milwaukee love to do family history, and if they haven’t done it before, they get so excited when we help them find some of their grandparents or great grandparents. It really means something to them, and that is why we enjoy doing this work. We spent the day emailing and making spreadsheets as we received information from throughout the Stakes.

Friday morning we went to the gym and then tried to get some other business cleared up before we began our work session at the Irish Fest that afternoon. We left at 1:30 to be able to find the parking lot. The night before we had located a man who sold some beautiful pottery. I had decided I wanted a piece and had told him we would be back on Friday. So we left ourselves enough time to do that before we began our genealogy workshift. I chose a beautiful red gravy bowl with lid. I asked him if he did the Scottish Fest also because I had seen the same pottery there when we went to the small one in July. I will probably pick up another piece when the main Scottish Fest comes back at the end of August. I’ve got to collect something, don’t I? 

 

Much redder than picture shows. I'm not as good a picture taker as Craig.

Hey, before I forget, children if you want to contribute to a manger scene for my Christmas present, I’ll happily take donations. I found it at Holy Hill, and it is different from all my other ones. One day one of you will inherit it. Hahahaha  - any takers???

The tent that we worked in that evening was really big and hot. I wore a dress for cool weather because the night before it was really cold. Naturally, it was too hot on Friday. We were in an area that blocked the normal breeze that would cool us off so I was glad when I could stop sweating later in the evening as the temperature dropped. We met such nice people at the festival. We got to work at one table that looked up surnames to help people declare that they really were Irish, and then later we worked the computers to help people find their ancestors. I worked with a husband and wife on his genealogy and found his great great grandfather and grandmother. We were able to find maiden names for all of the women in his family. He didn’t have any of the information for his people, and he was so grateful to find the information we did.

I may look like I know what I'm doing, but I'm struggling with all the information.

Let me backtrack for a moment. As of last Wednesday, we had not received any information about Irish Fest even though another senior couple had gotten their tickets. So, I had called Jane last Wednesday to ask if she still wanted us to work with her at the Festival. She sounded really old and grumpy and it seemed as if she didn’t think I was telling the truth about not having gotten the tickets in the mail because she had sent them. I assured her that we hadn’t gotten them, and that is why we had to pick them up the next day. I made the assumption that she was going to be a tough one to work for, but when I met her that morning, she was very nice. Then she gave us the complimentary tickets for Thursday also, and I realized I needed to change my opinion of her fast. When we met at the festival on Friday afternoon, she was wonderful. Her son is a Catholic Priest, and he was quick to make our acquaintance. Craig and he got along really well. It is humbling to make quick judgments without all the facts, and I’m glad we got to work with them. She told us that several years ago the LDS Church had promised they would set up a table in their tent to show off FamilySearch and at the last minute they called it off because someone said it was too dangerous to be at the festival . She called them and told them they were expected to come, but if they didn’t, it would be alright because she would put up a sign that said in effect, “The LDS Church was supposed to be here, but they decided not to come. Maybe they’ll come another year.” I don’t really think those were the exact words, but evidently we got the message because we showed up. However, it left a bad impression with her. We received a really nice compliment when she told us that it was such a pleasure to work with us, and she was glad the Church was willing to come again. She would love to work with us next year. If we hadn’t had to leave the next morning for Mallory’s, we would have worked all weekend.

Saturday, we were out of bed at 3:00am in the morning. Had to catch the 6:30 plane, and it was all we could do to make it out of the apartment and to the airport. I slept the whole way to Colorado, and I rarely ever sleep on a plane. We had a very short visit for Parker’s baby blessing. All of Brad’s family except for one sister was there, so Mallory appreciated that we could come and represent her side of the family. Parker has sure grown a lot in three weeks. Cohen is such a doll, but it appeared his two-year molars must be breaking through because he was not a happy camper for some of the time. When they gave him some pain medication, he finally began to return to his usual happy self. He is fun to be around, but I had to admit I was a little jealous that he kept calling Brad’s mom, grandma. That’s my name!  hahahaha  It doesn’t really matter, but I thought back and remembered that we always called our grandparents  as “Granddaddy Dowell” and “Granddaddy Walton.” They didn’t have special names to distinguish between the different sides of the family. Times are achanging.

 

Good picture captured by Craig.

Sunday, we went to Church for Sacrament and then back home to feed family members who were supposed to leave early in the afternoon. Brad gave a beautiful blessing to Parker, and we found other Ivey family members who also lived in Colorado. Mallory will be surrounded by family, and that’s a good thing.

Sorry the picture is so washed out, but this is Parker, Mom, and both Grandmothers.

Monday, we spent the day helping Mallory with chores around the house and getting prepared to leave that evening. Brad’s mom, Donna, was still there and would leave on Tuesday, so between the three ladies we got lots done. We hated to leave, but we were feeling the need to get back to our most important work at this time. We are grateful for a Mission President who allows us to participate in family events, but we go knowing that we must return quickly. We left at 5:00 (should have left sooner) and got into the slowest traffic ever because of two accidents about 30 miles away from the airport. Nothing puts Craig on the hotseat like being late for our plane flights. We actually did get there on time. It helped that I had prayed that the plane would be delayed, and it was for about 15 minutes. We were grateful. We got in after 11:00 and hit the bed as soon as the door was closed and locked.

Tuesday found us at District Meeting. We had to go to Denise’s place after the meeting because she was holding a farewell party for Elder Ellsworth who would leave on Thursday for Arizona. I had to make cornbread, and of course, I had no eggs. So I got all the ingredients ready to take and make at her place. We would buy eggs on the way over. She had also asked that I bring potato salad, so I had to get some of that too.

Our District Meeting was excellent as usual. Elder Ellsworth is a country boy, lives around Mesa somewhere on a farm. He breaks horses, and he always has some homey saying coming out of his mouth. Craig’s favorite is “you can lead a horse to water, but it is very hard to drown it.” Now, why is that funny? Don’t ask me its significance, maybe you already know. Anyway, he’s always coming up with something his daddy said. He obviously admires his dad a lot. He mentioned another saying that I’ve heard before, but it struck me again and I’ll paraphrase it here, “Good timber does not grow with ease, the stronger the timber, the stronger the breeze.” I know I’ve heard it in a Conference talk, and it strikes the truth within us. Our testimonies do not grow without opposition. A mission is the hardest thing we ever learn to love. Opposition is not to pull us down, but to lift us up and to strengthen our testimony in Jesus Christ.

Our Scripture this month is D&C 82:10:  “I, the Lord, am bound when you do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”  What is that promise, eternal life with one another and Father in Heaven. What else is important? Nothing in this life is worth losing eternal life with our families.

At our District Meeting, I learned a couple of other things that stood out: Our commitment to the Gospel is important. If we keep the pedal to the metal and continue to move forward, if we are climbing a hill and we go as far as we can, as fast as we can, and as hard as we can, the Atonement will take us over.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

How often do we offer nickel prayers and expect dollar answers? We need to up the ante!

Keep up the good works. Try hard in keeping your commitments to Father in Heaven, and trust Him. He will direct your paths.

We love you all.