Matthew's Report

Matthew chose to do a report on Morten Sorensen for his  immigrant report for school.  We need a picture and description of him.  I am using the materials Aunt Eva gave us for Christmas in 2001.  (Thank heavens for those materials.  I use them often.)  The pictures are really small.  Do you have a larger picture of him?  It can be the one with his wife when she is turned sideways to hide her damaged eye.  We will be creating a poster which includes a photo of him, of the place he came from (I will look for something online) and other interesting details.

AnnMarie

My New Motor Home

Gordon Smith sent a photo of an extremely extravagant motor home with this comment: I just thought I would send all of you a picture of my new motor home.
At least I wish it was mine.  However, I wouldn’t even be able to buy the gas for it.


Myrna wrote: Nope! I'm with my dad: take a comfortable car that can get into any parking lot, eat out and sleep at a good motel. Take your time and have fun. Can you imagine trying to drive that thing in Nauvoo? If you want to camp out, you couldn't even get that thing in a campground. Sometimes, big isn't better.


Gordon wrote: I don’t really want a big motor home like that one either.  We have a nice medium sized travel trailer.   We enjoy it very much. The trouble with motel camping is:  I can’t take that motel and park it along the stream where I like to camp.  I can’t sit around the camp fire and watch the fish jump in that stream while I roast a hot dog when I motel camp.  I can’t sit in a folding camp chair and look at the beautiful sky, watch for satellites, find the big and  little dipper with the North star, without being hampered by all of the surrounding city lights when I am motel camping.  I can’t conveniently cook my favorite forty mile Dutch oven stew on the
asphalt in the motel parking lot.  I can’t walk on the trail through the trees along that stream while camping at the motel.  There are a million reasons why camping in the mountains is better than camping  in a motel.  But most of all, the food just tastes better up there.  And I like to watch all of the animals.  Last time we camped, I saw deer, forest grouse, wild turkeys, many types of birds, butterflies, fish. squirrels, and voles.  Plus, if I want to, I can take my trailer to trailer parks near all of neat places a person would like to go like Disneyland, Nauvoo, etc., etc.

Oh well, motel campers help me to have more space in the mountains.

Lots of love,

Gordon


Myrna wrote: I didn't mean to imply that we don't like camping because we do. We have family camps and 'just us" camps all summer long. We love it and always have. So did my dad who would invite us all to go boat-fishing with him. BUT, when we drive cross country to Boston to visit Melanie, or Johnstown (Todd), or Colorado Springs (Kirsten) or El Paso (David), we drive long days and stay in motels at night. We'd rather spend the time in the homes of the kids than drag a trailer around. We have a mid-sized trailer that sleeps eight and we spend a lot of time camping in our beloved mountains. I still like campfire cooking even though we have a good stove and oven in the trailer. (We even have a microwave, if you can imagine the weirdness of that.) We'd rather Dutch oven our meals. Remember, I am married to a man who has 40-years of scout mastering in his blood. He even likes tent sleeping.


Gordon wrote: Myrna,  Do you have any idea how special you are?

Yes, there are times when it is better, and easier, to stay in a motel when you travel. And I also have enjoyed tent camping.  However, this old body of mine with the artificial knee, artificial hip, back with two rods and six screws,  three vertebra unroofed in my lower back, and three vertebra fused in my neck, I just don’t sleep very well on an air mattress anymore.  As my English Department chairman at Spanish Fork High School said to me the year before she retired, “Old age is a s _  _ of a b_ _ _ _!”  She just came into my office, shut the door, and said, “Gordon.”  I said, “What.”  She then said what I have quoted her as saying.  She then opened the door and left.  That was the total conversation.  She was a jewel.  I loved her like a sister.  The students
loved her too.  She retired the next year, and was dead the next year.  The stress of public education does not kill you.  However, the stress of it lowers the ability of your body to defend itself from other problems.  She died of cancer.

I would like  to take our trailer and travel across America and back some year.  Travel three or four hundred miles, stay for a week, see what you wanted to in that area, travel again, stop again, etc. until we had been to the states and places we would like to see.  Then come home.  However, I am not sure this eighty year old body of mine will let me.  Therefore, maybe I will just take us to the nice places  closer to home.   I do still go on the deer camp with our boys each year.  I don’t hunt.  Just camp and cook.  The last time I hunted was when I was seventy two.  I did get my deer that year, and drug it out by myself.  Three years ago, Roberta went with us on the deer hunt.  The boys all had permits in the Book Cliffs.  We stayed nine days.  The boys all got a nice deer.  That was the year I received my artificial hip.  I am sure Roberta went just to take care of me.  However, the boys have all said over, and over, that it was the most fun hunt they have ever been on.  It wasn’t the deer they got.  It was just that  mom was there.

We have taken the trailer to Utah Lake State Park during general conference in the Spring.  It is nice to relax there and watch conference in the trailer.  I want to do the same thing at Rockport Reservoir some year.  We camped there on the deer hunt one year.  I found that you can get channel five on television there.  Good fishing too.

Well, I am sure you are tired of reading all of this blarney.  And I think I better get to bed.  It is 12:40 am.

You and that good man of yours have a good day

Love Ya,

Gordon

Arranging for Baptisms

Ed wrote: We can work out something for the 21st. Call me. 835-2291. Love, Pres. Pinegar


"Call me 435-835-2291 or 435-835-4727. Schedule your baptismal dates with the temple 435-835-2291. I look froward from hearing from her (AnnMarie). Love, Pres. Pinegar"  


Myrna: President Pinegar spoke at Julie's conference session on Saturday. When I got home from the temple that night, he had left a message to call him because, he said, he had it worked out. I knew he was speaking again today at a different place so I decided to just facebook message him. He usually answers on Monday morning, though the temple isn't open until Tuesday. I would still call him tomorrow on the special number he gave you.

I have commission meeting on Tuesday morning but Dad is planning on coming up for little Rachel and for the other kids if they need picking up or whatever. He said he and Rachel would go to McDonald's for lunch and she could play there for awhile. I hate that we have holidays on Monday because that always fouls me up. Dad said he will miss me only because he will end up sitting on the floor playing dolls with Rachel. (Secretly, he likes it--being the doll that does whatever Rachel tells it to do.)

Ed Pinegar wrote: "Perfect. Call me at the temple between 7 am and 2 pm Tues Weds or Fri and we will work it out. Love" 

"Myrna, You and your great husband are examples of light to all who know you. Thanks for your kindness. Love, brother Ed" 

Faith

I would like to start off my email by telling you all a story of true faith, one that I believe you will enjoy.
Once upon a time there were two Sister missionaries who belonged to the Idaho Pocatello Mission. The dear Sisters had a fairly large area, and the district to which they belonged covered vast amounts of land in southern Idaho. One day after having some meetings and some appointments, the Sisters got into their cute, little Toyota and started driving; however, the Sisters forgot to check their gas gauge before getting into their car and driving away. After a while the car ran out of gas and the car came to a complete stop. The Sisters were bewildered and had no idea as to what could have happened until they noticed that there was absolutely no gas in the car. Confused and nervous the Sisters brainstormed and tried to be missionaries of solutions, not problems. Finally the Sisters got out of the car and did the only thing that they could think of. Yes........they filled the tank with a few gallons of WATER. They took the water that they had for emergencies and poured in all into the gas tank. The Sisters then got back in the car and prayed that the Lord might bless them and change the water into gas. One of the Sisters turned on the car, but to their surprise, NOTHING HAPPENED. Lesson learned? The faith of two Sister missionaries just outside Pocatello, Idaho is not great enough to turn water into combustible gasoline.
Gas: $2,50/gallon One Toyota Car: $30.000 Trial of Faith: Priceless

It is interesting to think about how much faith they must have had to have that idea and think that it would work. The Lord promises us miracles all the time, but we really do not understand how He will do them. I really like this story because, apart from being freaking hilarious, it helps me to realize that we all need to trust in the Lord so much and we need to rely on His ability to work whatever kind of miracle in our lives. No matter how big, no matter how small, he will be able to help us with any problem and He will do his part to help us.

So this week has been rather interesting. We had another training activity in Managua on Tuesday, and then Tuesday night I went to go speak to my Zone Leaders' investigator. Their investigator had been having some problems in deciding to get baptized and finalizing a date for his baptism. On the way back from Managua I was speaking to one of my Zone Leaders and he looked at me and said,"You need to go meet/talk to Denis tonight." I said, "Okay." Well, the other Zone Leader and I went looking for this man. He wasn't at home, he happened to be in the hospítal tending to his sick mother, so ZL 2 and I went on the hunt in the hospital. On the 4th floor we found him with his mother, the poor woman. Side note: Hospitals in Nicaragua are like hospitals from horror movies, with the light, the same look, feel eerie sense of something lurking about in the darkness waiting to come out and snatch you. After a few minutes of chatting with this man and his mother I told him that I would like to speak with him alone to see how much the "lazy boys" were teaching him. ;) We started talking and I started doing his interview with him. He answered all of the questions well, but there was something inside me that was telling me, "He's still doubting. There's a problem." and i was just like, "GOSH! What do I need to do? How can I help him?" ANd then I just started asking him a few other questions until I finally asked him what his worry was, why he was doubting everything. He explained it, laughed a little bit and then just looked at me. In that instant I was able to see him as a child of my Heavenly Father, I was able to love him and testify of what I knew, believed, and felt. I was able to help him. He got baptized on Saturday. That was an amazing experience that made me SO happy.

Wednesday was interesting, but I cannot remember why. Thursday and Friday we did "mini changes" in the Zone. I was assigned to be with an elder for 24 hours and then we went out to work together. We had so much fun and we worked really well together. I got to know him very quickly and we get along so very well. We talked about everything from surfing to Russian literature, from family to strange cultural identies. We talked about a lot of different things. We also found a few interesting people to teach. Then Saturday came and I helped the Zone Leaders out with their baptism and went to the Adult Session of Stake Conference with a recent convert family. Sunday was equally crazy and packed full of fun crying babies, crying adults, people running around in the hallways and missionaries trying to count the assistance of the conference fervently while having literally hundreds of people getting up and walking around, talking, eating you name it while the conference was happening. Fun stuff.

I just want you all to know that despite the amount of complaints I make, I really do love my mission. I love the opportunities that I have to help the Lord's work here in this part of His vineyard progress. I am so grateful for the wonderful people that I have met in every single one of my areas and for how much they care about me, how much they teach me and how much they are willing to sacrifice for my wellbeing. Right now I love this one family in my ward, the Acosta famliy. They are some amazing people. Next week I will tell you about them a little bit more. Apparently they have not been very happy with a lot of the missionaries that have been here in the past, but they love me and my companion and they are willing to help us do anything.

Well, I love this mission. I love this area. I love my companion. I love my investigators, my Savior, the family Acosta, the food here. I am so grateful for this blessed opportunity. I hope that you all have a great week and that you are all able to find peace, tranquility, and happiness this week as you go about your varied activities.

Grandma, I cannot wait to get back and go to Manti with you and Grandpa. I have never been that great of an artist, but I am good at public speaking and things dealing with writing creatively. Hahaha. Still proud of me?
Andrea and Alena...how's life? Maybe I'll have to save up money when I get back to invite you, your husbands and your children to Brick Oven. :P

Love,
Elder B

Emma

Kirsten wrote: Momma, 

You have a granddaughter with your talent for artistic detail. Just got a note from the school district that one of Emma's pieces of artwork has been selected to be displayed in the District Office and has now also been automatically entered into the AAFCU Art Scholarship Contest. Just thought you'd like to know that your talent totally missed me but lives on! :)

Love you! Kirsten

Myrna wrote: Congratulations to Emma are in order. I am happy that the generation coming is so talented. How lucky am I to have grandchildren who are so wonderful in so many ways?


Todd wrote: Nicely done Emma!


Shawn wrote: Good job Emma, how delightful.



Myrna wrote: I am so proud of Emma!!!!! Thank you for letting me know about her artwork! I hope she knows how important I think her recognition for work well-done is.


I should have stayed with art and not journalism. Pass that on to her for me. Tell her to keep at it. My high school guidance counselor told me that art was a waste of time and did not pay for a woman (or man) because very few became famous. (In spite of the fact that my college education was paid for by an art scholarship.) Well, I have news for Mrs. Peterson, in today's world those paintings by unknown artists still get several hundred dollars on the market. Show me a newspaper article, even a prize-winning one, that commands that.
 
TAKE PHOTOS! I remember how proud I was when my poppy poster (7th grade) placed in the state finals and I won a check. It got sent on to the national contest and placed there but I never got it back. The same thing happened when the mural I painted (5th grade) was taken to the state board of education for display. It was selected to be kept there. I didn't ever get it back either. I sold my paintings that were on display at the bank in Price. I don't know if they are on someone's wall or in the trash. And there was the chicken I painted from life (in pastels) that was selected for display at Carbon College. I never got it back. TAKE PHOTOS!!!!!!

Couple Things

AnnMarie wrote:

1.  haven't heard back from President Pinegar.  He has my cell phone number, so it might be that it is taking some time to figure out if it will work after all.  Could you kindly check when you go tomorrow?

2. Rachel's kindergarten program is Friday, March 4.  I know that is a terrible day for you.  It is at 10:00 am and then again at 6:00 p.m. (I think.  I could be off on the times.)

3. We are still looking at going to Disneyland in April.  We will drive to St. George on April 9 and stay over through church on Sunday.  Then we will drive to California.  Brandon wants to do the park Monday - Wednesday (it seems like the passes were usually 3 days to be used over 5), then leave Thursday and arrive in St. George Thursday night.  We will come home on Friday so the kids can do homework on Saturday.  You can join us and stay with us on the 9th, or come down on the 10th.  Either way would be great, they have plenty of room in the house to accomodate us.  Same thing on the return, we are planning on you staying with us in St. George on the return since it will be at the end of a long drive.  These are tentative plans.

4. I might need some help on Tuesday (March 1) with daycare.  I have to come to court here and help Perry with a jury trial.  Brother Burnside is still recovering from his ankle surgery, they had to put metal plates in to hold the bones in place.

Thanks,
AnnMarie

The #4 date is wrong.  It is this coming Tuesday, Feb 22.  I don't even know what week I am in, pretty scary.


Myrna wrote:
1. We will check with President Pinegar and with the office.
2. We would need to do the 10 a.m. program.
3. Are Brandon's folks still going to Disneyland with us?
4. Tuesday will be great! There is no problem.


AnnMarie wrote:
1.  Thanks.
2.  Ok.
3.  No.
4.  Thank you.  I'll talk to you about it.  Pick-up Megan at 2:15.  Pick up Rachel and Matthew at 3:15 (use Megan to run to the door since they are cracking down on leaving vehicles in lower lot and sometimes upper lot is full).  We have voice lessons in Orem for Kyle and Alyssa at 4:15 - 5:15.  Dance for Rachel at 5:15 (then I go pick up Kyle and Alyssa).  Brandon should be able to pick up Rachel at 6:15 so you could leave after you drop Alyssa and Kyle off.  Sorry it is so crazy.  I didn't plan on working on Tuesday, but Perry would like an assistant for his jury trial.  

Aprons

EllaDean wrote: I would love to have pattern for some of the old aprons. Miss my Grandma and seeing her in her aprons!

(Notice that a "Medium" is a size 14 - 16)

Remember making an apron in Home Ec? Remember Home Ec? If we have to explain "Home Ec" you may delete this. I just don't have the energy anymore. Read below.

The History of  'APRONS'

I don't think our kids  know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons required less material.  But along with that, it served as a potholder for  removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
 
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma's aprons..

REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.  Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love.

Myrna wrote: You think about it, though, and I don't think Grandma's apron was ever dirty. She would change it a lot. I wondered, as a child, if that sweaty dress did not also need to be changed. It lasted all day and sometimes through two days. Grandma was clean and washed herself a lot but that second-day dress, if I wore it, would be a problem. The underarms would smell--and not with the good odor of talcum powder. My smell would not be something that could be covered up.
 

Sister Chicks from Charlotte

Myrna wrote: Thank you, Sister Chick! “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”

Charlotte sent: To all my peeps!  

WE SISTER-CHICKS NEED TO STICK TOGETHER - LOVE AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER - STAND WITH AND FOR EACH OTHER - SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER - YEP - THAT'S WHAT SISTERS DO BEST!!!


YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO TELL 10 SISTERS THAT YOU LOVE THEM (INCLUDING ME)
BECAUSE  TOMORROW'S NOT PROMISED. SO.... I LOVE YOU! GO!!!!

Avon Ring

Myrna wrote: Bree, It seemed to go through OK. It asked for your telephone number and I entered the one from your ad. Please check and make certain you got credit for the sale. The particulars are below.

It is a very pretty ring. I will wear it in place of my wedding ring. I still feel terrible about losing the setting. It makes me want to cry all over again.

Welcome, Myrna

Thank you for your order. It has been forwarded to our fulfillment center. 

The confirmation number for this AVON order is: AVO0119614226 
Subject to credit card approval your expected ship date is Friday, February 18, 2011. 

To check your order status at any time, please go to the 'My Account' section of the website. You will also receive an email containing all order details within the next 24 hours. 

If you have any questions regarding your order, you can email us or call 1-800-500-AVON (1-800-500-2866).


Bree, if it goes through and you get the proper credit, I will use this method for future orders. If not, I will be upset. PLEASE let me know. Love you, M

From: DearAvon@Avon.com
To: mandlht@msn.com
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:30:00 -0500
Subject: avonshop Receipt

 Dear Myrna:

Thank you for shopping online with AVON. 
Your order is on its way to being processed.

AVON Confirmation Number : AVO0119614226

Your AVON order will be shipped Standard Ground. The expected ship date for your order is Thursday, February 17, 2011. At the time your order ships, you'll receive another e-mail confirming the shipment. You can expect this order to arrive within 4-7 business days (Monday through Friday, excluding holidays). 

 If you have any questions about your order, simply reply to this message, or call us at 1-800-500-Avon (2866). Please have your order confirmation number available.



PayPal Transaction ID: O-7X12473462800970C
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Revas family photos‏

Patty Edards wrote:

Hi Myrna,

I hope this email finds you well. I spoke to Charlotte a few weeks ago to see if she would send me a copy of the disk with the Revas family photos. She was very nice and agreed to send it; I have not received it yet. I don't mean to be a bother, but I was wondering if you could send me a copy of your disk, then if I get Charlottes I will have the names to go with the photos. Three of my mother's siblings are living, two of them could assist me with putting names to the people in the pictures; the other sister, Georgia, is afflicted with Alzheimer's.

If you are agreeable with sharing the pictures with me, I will send you my address or, if you would like, I can send you my Sam's Club membership card number and you can upload your disk to the photo center and I can pick up a copy of the disk at my local store.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Patty (pe.socalsis@gmail.com)


Myrna wrote: My big problem is figuring out who the Revas people are. Unfortunately, not all of my dad's photos are labeled so I do not always know which person is which or who is who. Some are labeled with first names only. How about sending me some of the names of the folks you are looking for and I will be happy to comply. It was too bad that I did not pay good enough attention while Dad was alive. I thought I was but I should have written more and talked less. How does your connection work? You, ?, ?, ?

I would like having your address but I think downloading directly to you would work well. I think the best way to send the photos would be to send them as attachments to email. That seems to work well. We do that all of the time for the newspaper (Nephi Times-News, where I work). Then you can do what you would like. If some of them are not on the mark, for example, you would not need to print them.


Patty wrote:

Hi Myrna,

Sorry to be an inconvenience. My Internet connection is fiber optic so downloading a large file shouldn't be an issue.
The people in the Revas family are as follows: Tom and Cleora (parents) and their children: James, Georgia, Luke, Bill, Christene and Catherine.

My address is P.O. Box 934, Chino Hills, CA 91709.
Thanks again,
Patty