New York New York

We had so much fun in the COLD Big Apple with Nicole and Dan. The pictures from Scott's camera won't download (ugh!) but here are some shots from mine. Thanks Nicole and Dan for being such fun travel partners!


Love is in the Air!!


Rockefeller Center


Jersey Boys



This is what I really think of you Dan!! :) We hit the Empire State Building just as a cold front came in and the wind up there was amazing!! So were the views.

nyc

Times Square

TAXI???



Girls Night Out at Hairspray



Nicole and Dan with a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity

We had a great 4 day weekend in the Big Apple. I have not been in New York since I was 12 years old and lived there. (We won't count how many years that is!!) We took Nicole and Dan for a carefree getaway before baby girl Davis comes on the scene! We hit great weather for February. Our apartment was just 1 1/2 blocks from 5th Avenue not far from Central Park. Dan, with his handy iphone, was our guide. We ate, we walked, we taxied, we shopped, we subwayed, ate some more, and even rode by horse drawn carriage through Central Park. Friday night the guys split off to the Knicks game at Madison Square Gardens and the girls hit Hairspray. Saturday night we all went to see Jersey Boys. Great fun.

A Little Family Folklore

With the passing of our dear President Hinckley my mind has been flooding with memories of him through the years. President Hinckley had a strong impact on our family growing up long before he became the prophet. When my dad was a young stake president in San Jose, CA, Elder Hinckley was our first general authority to come stay at our house. When Dad brought him home we all came to the front door to greet him. He leaned down to shake hands with my little brother Brett who was about 2 at the time. He reached out his hand and said, "Well hello little fella" to which Brett responded by kicking him as hard as he could in the shins!!! I guess he wasn't sure about who this man was who had caused such a fuss in family preparations all day. Elder Hinckley smiled and was cute with him while a tear was running down his cheek from the pain. It cracks me up to think of my mom scrubbing bathrooms, washing sheets, making a nice dinner, cleaning up the kids never imagining that it would all be overshadowed in an instant by a swift kick to the shins! Ahhh, motherhood - it keeps us humble.

Cut to about 7 years later and my dad was opening the Ecuador Mission. Elder Hinckley was assigned as our general authority again. We were getting dinner on and we couldn't find Brett. Mom sent me to find him. I finally did - hiding under his bed in his room. He had heard the story through the years and was afraid Elder Hinckley was going to be mad at him! Well I brought him down and told everyone what was going on. Elder Hinckley was so cute - he started sharing all these funny stories about notoriously wild kids of the stake presidents that they had to go stay with. He had us all in stitches and had Brett feeling alot better about himself.

Several years ago I was at Education Week with my parents - going to hear my same brother Brett who now draws hundreds for his classes there. I was walking along with my dad when he received a phone call from President Hinckley. He was asking him if he and my mother would serve as Temple Presidents of the Guatemala Temple. Mom had just started having some troubling health concerns at that time. But neither of them could imagine saying anything but "yes" to their beloved prophet.

my baby girl's having a baby girl

Obviously I need some lessons on scanning pictures to my computer. But I just wanted to CELEBRATE the fact that Nicole is having a baby girl - due July 4th.



It gets me all choked up inside to think of the incredible little companion Nicole was to me. And as a young woman she has become my dearest friend.



I'm so excited for you Nicole to have that kind of feminine companionship and friendship in your life. And Danny boy - Scott still dies over his daughter and laments the fact that he didn't have more girls. You guys are in for a real treat! Just ask Michael and Candice!!



Congratulations!

More from the Field

Robby had commented to me that he wished that while on his mission he could be able to just sit and visit with me every once in a while. I mentioned this to my friend Sherri Bewsey. She said she used to feel the same way but had come to appreciate the wisdom in the missionaries not being able to do that. She said those are the times when they have to really turn to the Lord and rely on Him and thus develop a strong relationship with Him. I had passed that on to Robby and this was his response in his next letter:

mom, i really appreciated your comment from sis bewsey. That really hit home for me because those are some of the exact struggles that I was going through, and now I found the solution. That also applies to the smackdown I received when reading the scriptures the other day. As I have expressed, i was getting super frustrated with all my situations, the language, the work, my comp (He has a comp who doesn't want to work much), mosquitoes, just to name a few. And then I was getting mad that I wasn't happy and didn't know why I was always so bitter. Then I was reading in Alma 60, i don't know the verse, maybe somewhere around 23, where captain moroni says something along the lines of "don't you remember that we need to first cleanse the inner vessel, then will the outer vessel be cleansed also. So be up and doing." and it hit me so hard that I have been trying so hard to work about cleaning the outer vessel with all the situations and circumstances, when all I needed to do was focus on the innver vessel. After that I tried singing hymns, reciting articles of faith and scriptures and just trying to think positive thoughts, and I was so much happier even when people wouldn't be at the appt. So another part of cleansing the inner vessel is really coming unto the Lord, leaning on him, having him be my mom or dad to turn to while I am out here. Then I will be cleansed inside and out. So thank you mom and sis. bewsey. and capt. moroni.



More from that letter (Nov. 11, 2007)

The area is so sweet. this could probably be the best area for my entire mission. it is so beautiful. Our are is huge, and part of it runs along the ocean and part of it is in like the middle of rice and corn fields. This one family lived like literally in the middle of nowhere. We had to walk 5 minutes in the middle of fields just to get to this one house. It was pitch black at night and all they had was one tiny oil candle. it was such a unique experience. I loved it.




From Nov. 25, 2007
Earlier in the week, I did exchanges and went to another area. it was way fun. Elder janson is an American and we have a lot in common. He was on scholarship for baseball at ASU. So it was nice to be able to speak english and let my regular personality come out. and we went to this guy who lived in the middle of a rice field and the only way to his house wasthrough so much mud it was ridiculous. It had just poured before that so it was insane. On the way back, we just took off out shoes and socks, rolled up our pants, and charged. We walked in the middle of the rice patties like with water almost up to my knee, and then just walked through so much mud barefoot. I'm probably going to get some parasite and die, but it was so cool.

Time for a little catch up

I am obviously not very consistent with this. I also don't really know what I'm doing. Nicole or Candice have helped me before. So here I go solo. Robby mentioned in his last letter that he was having baptisms this week that he was real excited about.

We have 4 baptisms this saturday. and they are all people who i started teaching. one of them is a man that we found through tracting, the other 2 referrals. and one is a little kid of a family who has been members for 2 years. but i am very very excited aout it. this is the first group of people who i really feel i was a huge part of bringing them to the gospel. they have strong testimonies and have been huge. plus they really understand the meaning of baptism and what its going to do to their life.





These are photos from his first baptisms. Yes, they are in the ocean. And Robby doesn't mind that they have to go way far out to get deep enough! The "hut" is where they go to hold their meeting before the baptism. He says it is awesome.
In one of his letters he actually said he thinks baptisms in a font are better in some ways because it is easier to keep a reverent spirit.

Here's Robby's home for the holidays.






But here is his HOME SWEET HOME