Appomattox Court House Trip

 We took flight early in June for a couple of reasons.  We wanted to celebrate our anniversary some way and we wanted to check out things for a university concern.  I was enamored by the Detroit Airport.  It had this water works fountain in the center with a train up above.

Then the way to the gate was paved with a color-changing, pulsating experience that was unique for us.









 The McLean House in Appomattox Court House is where the actual signing took place of Lee's surrender.

This is an artist's rendition of the event.

 This is the Appomattox Courthouse in the village called Appomattox Court House.  It houses the National Park Service for the area.

We only had about an hour to check out the Museum of the Confederacy before it closed, so Don went in by himself and paid the entrance fee while I stayed out and read in the car.  However, when the docents realized why Don was there, they were very solicitous and gave me a short tour.  We were impressed with the aims of the museum and what they had.  It's a subsidiary of the Confederacy Museum in Richmond.

Of course, our trip wouldn't be complete without visiting our loved ones!  Dustin and Nicki fed us a great breakfast before we took off on our adventures.

 When we came back from checking out the battlefield sites of Appomattox, Petersburg, and Richmond, we went on a short battlefield tour together in their area.  Nicki, Conner, and I inhabited the back seat and I took the opportunity to capture the many moods of Conner.  (Don't worry!  I won't put them all in here!)

He was very tired.  I love how he puts one of the knot edges of his favorite Spiderman blanket into his ear while he's sucking his thumb! :)  He never did go to sleep.  And we didn't, either!  It rained so we didn't get out much, but just drove around a couple of the sites.






Oh, how fun it was!  Maybe that wasn't quite what he was saying......

      It's been so long since I attempted to write, that I am almost afraid to tackle it.  Do I catch up or leave it all behind?  Do I make excuses or just let it go?  Hmmm.  Let's just say I'm repenting and call it good!
      Perhaps some highlights?

This little dear has gone through a traumatic experience, but stayed fairly good-natured through it all.  The family moved into their apartment on Saturday, May 18, and then the next morning she and her mother fell down the stairs.  Tiffani got a big bruise, but Rachel got her legs broken above the knees.  She was life-flighted to Kansas City without her parents, wasn't allowed to nurse, was poked 11 times and prodded many more and finally admitted overnight.  The medical professionals took lots of tests and wanted to take more until her parents protested that she had already had all they needed to determine if she was okay on the inside.  The break was more like a bend-break, not completely severed so they determined to cast both legs underneath and wrap the rest completely.  She got very tired of her legs being straddled out straight and not being able to move them.  The parents started to worry that the wrapping was becoming loose so made an appointment to go back to Kansas City after 3 weeks of dealing with it.
After x-rays, the doctor determined that she was

healed enough that they could remove the
cast.  What a miracle!  It could have been so much worse. Several blessings were noted.  One was that Rick's mother was with them to help them move so she was able to take care of Sam while the rest were in the hospital.  She was able to stay longer and  helped them get settled at a time when dealing with Rachel's legs and Tiffani's aches would have made the moving in process miserable. The elder's quorum president was able to come and help Rick give her a blessing.  The Relief Society found out quickly and stepped in to offer help.  The teacher of the class Rick missed was understanding.  Perhaps there were others that I'm forgetting or was not aware of...
When we pick her up, she still keeps her legs straight and straddled out as if they had casts on until we grab on for a better hold.  She is starting to move more now, though, so maybe she'll forget to pose with her legs straight?  I think Tiffani took the longest to heal and no one even examined her injury...

Rachel loved biting and playing with this vibrating massager.




While they were dealing with these concerns and we were worrying here at home, Accalia, who was 8 months pregnant according to calculations, started bleeding and we didn't know if we were needed there.  In the meantime, some of my siblings were planning on staying with us so we were preparing for their arrival.  Things ended up working out for the little family after a couple of hospital visits and the baby was born safely at home and her mother was able to get her flight shortly thereafter.  Our 20th grandchild, Avonlea Accalia,  made her appearance very quickly on May 24th.  I love it when stories have positive endings!

God's Handiwork

Every year Don has the privilege of scouring this area as part of the Christmas Bird Count for the Audubon Society.  He gets in on his brother Ken's coattail. Thanks Ken! This particular place is called Parunuweap Canyon and is private property.  During this last year's count, the birds weren't posing much for the photos, but the area was still full of the majesty of God.

I guess it could show where "wings of lightning" come from:

What a great day!

 Last   month I was able to be with the Olsens as this precious little one was born.  She had a fairly bad case of jaundice and had to stay on the lights for about a week which complicated matters in the adjustment. I came away with a healthy respect for Sharla as she manages a household of now ten children.  Things don't always run smoothly, but then things never do! While I was there, I cooked and cleaned and tended and chauffeured and shopped and even did a bit of sleeping!  Sharla had to take her in for tests every day and we were always glad when the numbers were down!



On one of those days, Alyssa and Lena were allowed to play with play dough.






 She got the lid off herself!

They had to get it just right!
Reading was next:

Watching out for Shalyn was pretty important!












The toys had to be nestled up just right........

And then Lena said with more enthusiasm than the picture shows:  "This is the best day I never saw!!!"  (That night she also said her food was the BEST food she never ate!)

Heaven in Aldie --Part 2

Sometimes heaven is hard to find if you misplaced your pictures on the computer...:)  We enjoyed our visit to Aldie, VA quite a while ago now.  As luck would have it, Tiffani and Rick's spring break coincided with the conference Don was back there for.  They decided to drive the 8 hours to spend some time with family.

We played while Don and Dustin worked.  So sorry to both of you !
Here we are getting bundled up ready to go outside to play.

We carefully made our way to the playground.

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down! 

Robert Louis Stevenson

Conner is happy both ways--alone and with help!!

Not sure who won this jumping contest....:)

I

Rachel seems unconcerned.

Sam had to try a different ride.















We were supposed to fly home the next day, but the snow inhibited that event.  Because of the snow, our flight was canceled (as well as the replacement flight later on in the day) so we were able to spend an extra day with our loved ones!!
Rachel seems happy enough as they were getting ready to go home.   The snow that had fallen didn't thwart her mood. The rest of us were a little more somber.  But we all arrived home safely in spite of things.  That was the good part.  And we took with us some great memories!  Many thanks to Dustin and Nicki!

Elder Mak Is Back!

   When we arrived in Hong Kong to serve for three years in late June, 2000, we immediately linked to our special office elders.  Elder Johnson Mak was one of those.  He was very soft spoken and kind, but determined to do his best and work hard.  He helped us acclimate and take care of all the little details we needed to do as a family to get us legal to be in the country–like get our driver’s licenses and our bank situation set up.  He almost always was smiling.

    After a while, he was reassigned to another area to do his missionary work.  Imagine our sorrow when in October, President Hinton received a call saying that Elder Mak’s mother had died.  That was one of his hardest chores of our service there.  She was the only other member of the Church in his family and the only one who wrote him letters so we knew it would be a blow.  Of course it was hard, but he took it well and stayed to finish his mission in spite of much criticism from his relatives.  His dad was okay with it because he knew it was the mother’s wish that he serve for the whole two years, but other relatives really gave him a hard time.  To top it all off, Elder Mak suffered with extreme headaches most of his mission.  We sent him to various doctors, but nothing seemed to help.  He refused to give up and just dealt with the pain while he continued to work hard.  
    Elder Mak’s quality was very apparent-- even as a child. Elder Mak’s family moved from Kiribati to Hong Kong for a while when he was very young.  His mother’s health wasn’t very good then and they were very poor–eating oatmeal everyday. Johnson tells about running away to school when he was five and then telling his teacher to call his mom and tell her that he was safely there.  He was so afraid that if she continued to walk him to school and then back up the huge stairs to home that she would die.  When she realized that he knew the way and could get to school safely on his own, she let him walk by himself and Johnson was relieved.
Elder Mak went to BYU-Hawaii after he was released as a missionary. He met a choice girl from Taiwan and they got married and now have three children.  Recently we had the wonderful experience of renewing our friendship in Logan where they reside as he works full-time and goes to school for an advanced degree.  Cute family!  We love seeing our missionaries as they grow and live the lives of a committed member of the Church!  And we thoroughly enjoyed re-connecting with this quality young man and his family.

Alma 17:2
. . .Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

Heaven in Aldie---part 1

We so enjoyed getting better acquainted with our grandson!  It's only the 4th time we have been around him. 

We went to the British Pantry and then to eat at Middleburg.

Conner would rather be in the toy box himself playing his harmonica!  The toys feel better on the floor, I'm sure.:)

But he surely knows how to be extremely quiet and content while watching the Chinese version of Cars!

Dustin speaks Mandarin to him all the time.  He learned it himself on his mission to Taiwan.