"You can't be ready for the Promised Land until you've gone through the wilderness."
"God sees in us where we have been, where we are, and what we can become."-Bruce Carlson.
July
17 PMS (died 21 Nov 2006)
20 Karen Ouimette
21 Allen Campbell
21 Hallie Webber (Cara's) 2001
21 Kelli and Allen married 2004 San Diego temple
24 Pioneer Day
28 Seara Ricks (Janae's) 2005
30 Megan Smith
August
1 Leandro 2012
1 Monta and Rob married 1978 in the Ogden temple (TOS sealed them)
2 Harrrison (Timm's) 2005
I thought I sent this out, but now I can't find when I sent it, so here is it, (maybe again.) This is information for the blogs I am aware of. I am happy to send out any others that are not listed here.
FAMILY BLOGS
Trent & Lyndi: trentonandlyndi.blogspot.com (email lyndismith@gmail.com for invite)
Davis & Asialene: davisasialene.blogspot.com (email asialene@gmail.com for invite)
Cara & Barry: barryandcarawebber.blogspot.com
Janae & Sam: www.samaeshow.com
Lissa & Severin: severinlissa.blogspot.com (email byugirl1@hotmail.com for invite)
Stuart & Shar: sharswhim.blogspot.com
Erik & Angela: mordecai-smith.blogspot.com
Timm & Megan: megsoutlet.blogspot.com (email timmandmeg@gmail.com for invite)
Kelli & Allen: kellisthoughtsandoddities.blogspot.com (email kccampbell21@hotmail.com for invite)
McKay & Stephanie: thingsdaily.com
Boston & Craig: babydollpete.blogspot.com
Katie & Connor: connorandkatie.blogspot.com (email eitak86@gmail.com for invite)
Natalie & Kenny: barlowfamilyfun.blogspot.com
Easton: eldereastonsmith.blogspot.com
Missionary updates
Easton in Canada--we got caught in the biggest rainstorm probably ever. The highest rainfall Toronto has seen since the 50's. We were SOAKED and so was all the stuff in my backpack. My scriptures probably got the worst of it. They were so wet I could squeeze them and water dripped out. Not okay. But they survied and they just have a little more......character than they did before. :) It was tons of fun.
It has been a rough few weeks. The hardest part is that I am trying so hard to be the most obedient that I can. I have a quote taped to my desk that sums up the situation pretty well. "If, for a time, the harder you try the harder it gets: take heart. So too it has been with the greatest people who have ever lived." Jeffery R. Holland. You can always count on good ol' Jeff to say stuff that makes sense and makes it all seem alright. My Zone Leader then shared this quote with me last night during call ins. "Our most significant opportunities will be found in the times of greatest difficulty." Thomas S. Monson. You cant count on him too. :) So hopefully things will get better and I'll leave this time better than I came into it.
Liam in Madagascar--speaking of a solid investigator who they have been teaching, On Friday we had a special gift for Renee. We were sent some white shirts and ties as part of an eagle scout project and so we had to find those who didn't have a white shirt or tie. Renee doesn't, well didn't. We gave him a nice, new, white shirt and a nice geoffrey beene tie. He was smiling from ear to ear. They are the most grateful people. It was the least we could do to express our love for them. He looked like a great priesthood holder and patriach of his family on Sunday in his new white shirt. They have a bright future!
(picture from Madagascar)
another investigator story--While we were teaching, the mom had two of her granddaughters with her. They were probably 4 or 5-years-old. We started off the lesson, speaking of Faith, by asking, "How do you know God is really there?" Everyone was quiet and thought it out. After some silence the mom turned to the two little girls and asked, "How do you know God is really there?" The two girls thought and one then simply answered, "the Holy Ghost." It was a seemlingly simple, possibly meaningless answer, but I took it as more. It seemed to me like a honest, heartfelt answer. Something pure, just as pure as these two little girls are. Children, to me, tend to be much more in-tune spiritually than adults in many instances, if not most. It seemed clear to me that this little girl felt God's presence. Something real. And she knew that she was feeling God's direct love through the Holy Ghost. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Cameron in California-is in a new area, with a new companion...I had a hard time leaving Cardiff, but I am liking Escondido Hills and I have a great companion. My companion is Elder Dart, who I replaced in Cardiff, who Elder Blake finished training right before I came. So we are brothers in the mission, and know a lot of the same people. We live in an apartment, which I spent the first week cleaning. I guess I am a bit of a clean freak, or at least wiping everything down and organizing. The area is good, it is mostly housing and apartments, not many stores. It is about a third the size of my last area because, this is a split ward. We don't teach much yet, but we have some potential, so I will work to grow that.
Robbie in Colorado-He only has a few weeks left on his mission. The exciting news is that since being on a mission, he has decided to go to college! No college for either parent or his sister, but he is GOING! He just got accepted to LDS Business College. He is super excited, as he should be! He started out in the Colorado Denver South mission, but with a new mission added to the area, he is finishing up in the North mission. He writes---
Fun little miracle this week- We have an investigator named Matt. He's the one that we street contacted who grew up Jehovah Witness, but now hates that church.. When we met him he said Jehovah witnesses always get mad at him for asking this but he's always wondered "Where did the truth go for 1700 years?" .. The other day we got to meet with him again, taught him a more formal Restoration (whereas last time we really only taught The great apostasy and a little bit on the restoration) .. And towards the end we were talking and he says how he's always wondered what happens to people that just never get the chance to accept the gospel here on this earth. Oh my goodness. This guy is AMAZING! The questions he asks, and the order he asks the questions are AWESOME! It's been pretty fun-
Family Updates
First, the BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK!
Natalie and Kenny had their baby. Saturday, 27 July 2013 at 12:43 pm. He was 8 lbs even and 20.5" long. Mom and baby are doing good. His name is Truman Patrick Barlow. Yes, indeed, a boy in the Baker family! :)
We took Addie to visit them in the hospital. As we were leaving the hospital, I was thinking, "It's too bad Mom and Dad weren't here to see Truman! But then I realized that Mom and Dad probably were part of the send off committee! I love the teachings of the gospel!
Thank you to those who sent blogs and info to me! YAY!
_________________________________________________________________________________
Megan and Timm--The first week of May, we moved into our new house! I detest moving. It is so much work! However, we love our new house and our new neighborhood so it was all worth it. We still haven't taken a picture of the family in front of the new house, but here it is right before we moved in.
Timm's brother, Jared, flew down to help us move. I'm pretty sure we would not have made it through the move without him. He was a tremendous asset! He moved boxes and furniture, watched kids while we closed on the house, and even picked up Elliot from a school visit. Plus, he brought his daughter, Madison, so the kids had a cousin to play with all week. We love having those two at our house. We were so busy with everything that I only got one picture of the kids all together. They sure enjoyed playing outside, riding bikes, and playing in the pool and water table.
Now we are working on putting in our yard. I'm excited to have grass instead of all the dirt that gets tracked into the house and mud when it rains. The kids will sorely miss playing in the dirt and mud.
A week after we moved into the new house, Timm and I spent 16 fabulous days in Europe. I absolutely loved travelling around and seeing places that I had dreamed about visiting since I was a kid. I can't thank Timm's parents enough for making the trip possible and my mom for watching our kiddos. We began our trip with 2 days in London and then met Timm's family in Barcelona to embark on our cruise.
(the pictures and timeline were wonderful. It is too long to include everything, so check out her blog for more details. Here are some highlights....)
 | ||||||
Buckingham Palace
|
(Here is a picture of when Emmeline insisted on dressing herself. Love the attitude! :)
After a quick trip to the store, we got back in the car, and then Emmeline said, "Mom, thanks for being so good at the the commissary." Ummm, you're welcome...?
They just had family pictures taken. I lifted some from facebook...
They just had family pictures taken. I lifted some from facebook...
_____________________________________________________________________________
site of the Boston Massacre
Monta continues....And then we went to Lowell, where the textile mills were during the industrial revolution. It's a national historic park and was amazing'. This first pic is Rachel and Greg's apartment building. It's an old mill!
We've had some hot days here in Manhattan so far this summer, especially with the humidity, so we've been trying to keep cool. Luckily most of the parks around here have water fountains that they turn on when it gets hot. [SP: And if it gets super hot, the firefighters open various fire hydrants around the city, resulting in scores of children playing in the street.]
My brother Tyler met up with us for breakfast during his layover on the way back from an internship in Brazil. It was really fun to see him and for him to meet Powell.
We took a weekend trip down to D.C. for Severin's cousin Natalie's wedding and got to spend time with all of Severin's family.
My Aunt Carol and Uncle Bryce were kind enough to watch the boys for us one of the nights so we could go to one of the wedding events. They also had us for lunch on Sunday before we headed back to NYC. It was really fun to see them. Hamilton also got to play with his second cousin, Jack, who was staying with Bryce and Carol (along with his mom, my cousin Stephanie). [SP: The Bakers are always so nice to watch our kids or feed us when we're in town. Now they just need to come up to visit us...]
Cara writes--Hallie turned 12 and had a Rainbow party. (As usual, Cara had a lot of fun activities and decorations with that theme!)
Happy birthday Hallie!
The boys just finished their baseball season. They had a great time and enjoyed being on the same team. They improved a lot and both had at least one game where they made a significant contribution. I think they will really miss it!
And this post, which is one of my (Carol's) all time favorites!....
I love my husband. A lot. Months ago I saw online that Vocal Point (BYU's men's a capella group) was going to be performing in Nauvoo, Illinois in the summer. Our family LOVES Vocal Point. L.O.V.E.S. I wanted to go. Really wanted to go.
Well, when I finally figured out the when and where, we were about a week away from our trip to Utah. It was looking like I was going to miss my chance! But Barry, being the amazing husband that he is, called his wonderful mother to watch the kids, took off half a day of work, found a darling bed and breakfast, and took me on a quick get-away. We left Friday at lunch and came back Saturday after dinner. It was amazing! Love that man.
I love my husband. A lot. Months ago I saw online that Vocal Point (BYU's men's a capella group) was going to be performing in Nauvoo, Illinois in the summer. Our family LOVES Vocal Point. L.O.V.E.S. I wanted to go. Really wanted to go.
Well, when I finally figured out the when and where, we were about a week away from our trip to Utah. It was looking like I was going to miss my chance! But Barry, being the amazing husband that he is, called his wonderful mother to watch the kids, took off half a day of work, found a darling bed and breakfast, and took me on a quick get-away. We left Friday at lunch and came back Saturday after dinner. It was amazing! Love that man.
Even the drive was fun! We don't get to spend enough time together so having several uninterrupted hours to talk and laugh was awesome! And Barry was even a hero and saved a turtle off the side of the road.
_______________________________________________________________ _______________
Monta sent updates from her blog as well!
Here's some pics from our recent backpacking trip. The 4th lady is my friend Mary from work. The first day the rain was amazingly heavy. The whole mountain became a torrent. We (and all our stuff) were soaked. The next day--and the rest of the 3 days) was beautiful. We dried out all our stuff and had a lovely time. I even went swimming. A great time was had by all. 
Also, Monta's family went to Boston. Like Megan's Europe post, this entry is a little longer, but really good, so check out her blog for more details!
_________________________________________________________________________________
And a post from Lissa--again, check out her whole blog....
Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum
Arlington Cemetery
The wedding
D.C. Temple
Bryce reading to Jack and Hamilton
.
__________________________________________________________________________________
From me-- This month, I was released from my RS teaching calling and put into the nursery. It is quite a change! Except for not seeing adults any more, and missing the social element, I am doing great in the nursery. Two of my favorite people in the ward were called into the nursery as well. So it is a little party, with snacks every week!
As usual, I am kept busy quilting, but I actually spent quite a bit of time dejunking parts of the house. I have yard sales when I dejunk. But they are free yard sales. I advertise on Craigslist and Freecycle, put everything out, and leave it. Everything is free so I don't have to watch or monitor it. I LOVE it. And so does everyone who comes. I usually get rid of about 90% of my stuff at a free yard sale!
Guess that is about all. Make it a good week! Serve others at some expense to your self. Make your parents proud. Work hard, study hard, pray hard.
Carol
No comments:
Post a Comment