27 August 2018 - Monday

27 August 2018 - Monday

Birthday eve!  It is hard to believe that I will be 68 tomorrow.  What is my world coming to?  I was adding up the number of birthdays I have been in the mission field, and, for both mom and me, it will be three times.  We are both so grateful for your love and support as we have been away!  And we are looking forward to celebrating future birthdays with our family!

One of my favorite traditions in celebrating birthdays was giving my mom a phone call and thanking her for having me!  When you think about the struggles and challenges that bringing a child into this world has on our mothers, I am humbled by her willingness and unconditional love to bear me up during those nine, presumably long and uncomfortable, months.  And then for her to endure the delivery that comes at the end of nine long months, has always generated in me a feeling of great appreciation for my mom!  

The one comment I had sealed in my mind, for my birth on August 28, 1950, was my dad's comment on seeing me for the first time.  He said;"He's a fine looking boy!".  Now, 68 years later, (minus one night), I am working on living up to that accolade both inside and out.

A morning view of the sun trying to break through the clouds

The morning temperatures were in the mid 50's.  Mom and I had the assignment to clean the restrooms at the Homestead.  When we have the assignment of the restrooms or Wilma, we are done for the day after we complete the work.  So mom and I got an early start this morning!  After our morning prayers and Scripture reading, we got ready for our assignment and left for the Homestead at about 6:45am.  We started the job, and attended the correlation meeting, and then completed the assignment by 9:30am!  

Once we got back to the Missionary Village, mom completed the laundry she had started before we left.  I checked out the weather reports and discovered that snow was forecasted above the 9,000 foot elevation.  Here it is, August, and snow is being forecasted!  The temperatures stayed below the high 60's, all day, and the wind was pretty strong throughout the day.  We wanted to make some phone calls to our family but had very limited phone reception.  The wind plays havoc on the dial tone over at the Pavilion.    

Mom and I did receive a nice surprise from the Ramsey's!  They left us with a gift card for Red Lobster!  There is a very nice Red Lobster in Casper that we will use it on.  We found out that our work schedule will change on Friday due to some missionaries who had to leave the mission field for a sick relative.  That gave us the closing shift in the Visitors' Center on Friday.  We decided to drive to Casper, on Friday, and celebrate both birthdays at Red Lobster, and get back in plenty of time for that shift.  Then, on Saturday, we will just spend the P-day hanging around the trailer and doing our weekly cleaning chores.  I so enjoy our time together on these special days!

Mom and dad playing a game?

In the picture above, the Ramsey's introduced us to a fun game.  As you know, we don't play many games, so this one must be a real treat, and it is!  Mom has gotten so good at this game that she let me win two of the five rounds we played!  Look for this fun activity, for up to four people, at the cabin in October!  Can't wait!

The push is on to get the mission ready for a Wyoming winter.  The hours at the Visitors' Center are being changed and fewer missionaries are being assigned to the Visitors' Center.  That gives more of a work force in other areas in the mission to accomplish the closing procedures before missionaries start heading for home.  Over two thirds of the missionaries will be released by September 20th.  All the rest of us will be released by the middle of October, unless it snows at our elevation of 6100 feet.  That will leave seven couples to work through the winter months.  

I am personally ready to spend the winter months with precious family members!  I am looking forward to working and playing with the grandchildren!  However, I have one major concern.... can I remember how to make Little Bobby's chocolate chip cookies???  Are there any grandchildren that remember the recipe?   Maybe working together we can "piece" together the recipe, and enjoy some pioneer stories from Granny and Grandpa's missions!