Safe at home!

Just after Sacrament Meeting on 11 Apr, Kerry, me, and sister Betty headed for Utah. Oh, my! It's been a few years since we made the drive out there, and it has truly gotten longer. It was even longer on the way back. We drove ten hours that first day, spending the night in Chilicothe, MO.

We loved looking at the varying degrees of springtime all the way across the country. Usually crabapples bloom quickly - then they're gone. Not this year! They seem to be lingering. Coupled with the red bed trees, dogwood, and a few others, it's enough to take my breath away.

Monday found us wandering around Church historical sites in Missouri - Adam-ondi-Ahman, Far West, Richmond, Liberty Jail and Independence. It has been many years since we were there, and Betty had never been there. Kerry has excellent recall on all things historical, so he was the perfect tour guide for Betty.

Kerry and a statue of Joseph Smith - look at the height - Kerry is 6'2".

Liberty Jail - the man in the dark waistcoat was 6'6" and the jail was only 6' tall. He could never stand straight up the 4 1/2 months they were imprisoned. When released, he never stood straight again.

General Alexander Doniphan - a friend of the Mormons and "champion of the downtrodden".

One of the best ideas I've ever seen. Old headstones that had been broken and/or could not be identified with graves were laid down in cement to preserve them. I will show this at ever cemetery class I teach.

That evening, we had dinner with Mike and Vicki Taylor - good friends of ours that lived in Mansfield a few years ago. It was SO good to see them and catch up on each others' lives.

The next day began our long trip across the state of Nebraska. I'm telling you, it was longer than the last time we drove it. Almost as soon as we entered the state, wind began blowing at 50 mph, with gusts higher than that! We stopped at a rest area called Mormon Island Wayside (years ago, a man stocking the fish pond fascinated my kids with all of the fish in the back of his pickup). We ate lunch in the van, for the food would have surely blown everywhere. (Betty? Bacon?) But, the whole time, this little bird just sat in the parking lot not getting blown anywhere. I could not stop thinking about that bird...

After making a necessary stop at a Dairy Queen in the middle of nowhere, going through a fast and quick storm, we pulled into the Sierra Trading Post outlet, found our hotel, and crashed for the night in Cheyenne, WY. I just don't know how the pioneers did it. (For LDS - if you stay at LaQuinta, ask for the LDS Church Travel discount - 20%). The last leg of our journey took us into the mountains in Wyoming and into Salt Lake City. We checked into the Plaza and began to walk and unfold and stretch our legs.

Downtown Salt Lake is beautiful in the springtime. Most places are. But, the gardeners on Temple Square just seem to have the magic touch.

Kerry is sitting by a plaque that states: "The funds for the construction of this fountain were generously provided by Glenn E and Olive Nielson, Cody, Wyoming". This was Kerry's mission president, who was also president of Husky Oil. The fountain is on Temple Square.

Thursday, I was in the Family History Library nearly all day. I am the type of person that does not like to be taken on a tour - let me discover everything for myself. I was quickly absorbed in the stacks of books - many which cannot be found anywhere else. I found Betty, but she was not feeling well. On the way out, her neck had begun to hurt. We stopped to buy a heating pad, but by the time we got to Utah, it was worse. In the library, she could not bend her head forward to read a book, neither could she turn it from side to side. She was in true misery, and we ended up taking her to the airport Friday morning after a scrumptious lunch at the Lion House. I worried about her the rest of the time, and Kerry truly missed her. He was continually remarking how she would have like to have seen this or that. Betty is good. Betty is fun. If you don't like Betty, what in the world is the matter with you?

Kerry and I enjoyed dinner Marie Callender's Friday evening, then attended the wedding of his sister, Joy, the next day.

It was just a week ago today that we sat in the audience of the Tabernacle to be part of the Sunday morning broadcast. What better way to spend Kerry's 58th birthday! We are so happy that nephew David has been formally called to be a member of the Tabernacle Choir.

We made a visit to the "This is the Place" Monument at Heritage Park. It had been quite awhile since we had been there.

We dropped by David and Martha's that evening, where Martha had prepared a lovely dinner and birthday cake for Kerry. It was good visiting with them and catching up on each others' children. We even got to speak with Jacob for a few minutes.

Monday morning came too soon. It was time to leave for home. We stopped in Mt. Pleasant to take a few pictures for Kerry's family history, including the graves of his parents and sister, Gay. We met Chris and Kristy there, as well as baby Elena. Her adoption was to be finalized on Wednesday.


How I miss them!

Kerry and I returned home on Wednesday evening and took our time unwinding and unpacking. Early the next morning, we drove to Akron to return Betty's van to her. Her neck was better, but still limited.

Kerry and I worked at the temple on Friday, then returned for a special occasion. The day marked Peter's 31st birthday, and that was the day we prearranged to bury his remains. He's in a little country cemetery just around the corner from us. His bus drove by it every day. He rode his bike past it on the way to the pool. He's close to home.

It was a little bit hard, but very necessary. I'm so glad Jordan and his little family and Erik were able to be there for the occasion. We later went to an Amish restaurant nearby and enjoyed being with each other.


Now we go on without Peter and with Harmony living far away. I've always told my kids I don't care where they live - but I do care how they live...

This month, we wish a happy birthday to:
Bliss - dau of Kerry's sister, Content - May 2
Congratulations on graduating from College of Arts and Humanities-Valedictorian!
Hyram - grandson of Kerry's sister, Content - May 2
Melissa! - our d-i-l - May 18
Austin - son of Kerry's brother, Chris - May 10
Alice - my friend since the first day of first grade - May 14
Eamon - grandson of Kerry's sister, Joy - May 20
Joseph - grandson of Kerry's sister, Content - May 21
Brent - s-i-l of Kerry's brother, David - May 22
Harmony - Kerry's sister - May 24
Chester - my dad, who would have been 98 this year! - May 24
Isaac - son of Kerry's brother, David - May 25
Mariah - dau of Kerry's brother, Kelly - May 26
Katelyn - granddaughter of Kerry's brother, Steve - May 31

And a happy anniversary to:
David & Martha - Kerry's brother and s-i-l - May 8
Danny & Holly - stepson and his wife, Kerry's sister, Content - May 25

He is risen!

Today was one of the prettiest Easters ever. What better way to commemorate the Lord's resurrection than enjoying the renewal of the earth during springtime. All things testify of Him. How grateful we all should be at the sacrifice He made marvelous gift of the Atonement for every single one of us.

Once again, we gathered up on the shores of Lake Erie at sister Fern's house to enjoy a tremendous Easter feast. My little Ohio family was there, meaning Jordan and his family, along with Erik and his friend, Oscar.

It was a bit of a challenge getting all three of the grandboys to look in the same direction at the same time. They were so cute today - and so, so good.

Part of Betty's little family was there, too - Justin, Erin and Baby Vanessa.

Fern has a circular staircase in her home, and Kerry rammed his head into it. He's fine with hardly a mark. The staircase is fine, too.

I got a good picture of Jean and Earl so they could post in the newspaper that their 50th wedding anniversary is this year. Their friends, Pat and Patty, had their picture in the paper today celebrating their 50th - Happy Anniversary this week, Pat!

And of course, the Sisterhood - Fern, Jean, Betty, Peggy. Harmony started calling us that years ago. I guess it stuck.

It was also Mr. Kerry's last week at work. Oh, I can't tell you how happy we are that this day has arrived! Lots of people have asked me if I think I will get sick of him. I don't think so - we're pretty good friends, we are not joined at the hip - meaning we love spending time together, but still have our own interests apart from each other, we are not mean to each other, and we genuinely like each other. Not only love, but like.




His last clocking out.

Leaving it for the last time.

Do I even need to explain this one? I wonder how many miles those feet have on them...

That evening, there was a priesthood barbecue at the church before the broadcast from Salt Lake City. I surprised Kerry with a cake for all to share, a card to sign, and the portfolio from the post office congratulating him on 30+ years of service.

Kerry has done a fine job supporting his family. When times were tight, he worked hard, even some overtime, sometimes a second job so his family would have a home to live in and food to eat.

He was out there when the weather wasn't always so nice - sometimes very, very hot. sometimes extremely cold.

But, there was one time I'll never forget. I've mentioned this before, so if it bores you, move on...When letter carriers first begin working, their clothing allowance doesn't always cover all they need. Kerry's shoes were wearing out, and we needed to just go out and buy some new ones. We didn't have a lot of money on a single income, so we went and bought what we could. After wearing them a few days, I asked how they were doing. He just said, "Well, they'll feel a little bit better when they're broken in some more." I never thought anything more about it.

Later that week, while doing laundry, I came across his socks. They were all completely stuck together and encrusted in blood. The shoes, cheaper than they should have been, had basically rubbed holes in his ankles. Hence, his socks...

He never said a word. Never complained. Never whined. He just went on doing what he was entrusted to do.

If it had been me.......Well, we all know.

When I say he is truly the best person I've ever known in my life, this is one of the countless reasons why.

Now begins a new phase of life for us. We're still basically young. We are in good health. We have three of our four children to enjoy, plus perfect, perfect grandchildren.

Yeah, life is good.....