Full House

There are times when being alone, with the blessing of spending time just the way I want, is so fun.  Other times, having my days full of the people I love, is also so fun.  Gerald and family have been here for a little over a week.  Audrey and her four kids joined them for a week or so too.  So all of them were settled upstairs for a few days.  Even Chase, our college grandson, was here and brought his girlfriend, Morgan.  Wow.  Every bed was filled.  I loved it.  We shopped and visited a few local places.  We made pie.  Lots of pie.  But mostly we just hung out.  It was a sweet, familiar feeling of being surrounded by family.  I love just having them near.  Isn't it interesting how natural it is to love the people you are related to.

Gerald, Fran, Seth and Angelica on a snowy morning.

Granddaughter Allegra

Adams-Hart family:  Isaiah, Audrey, Chase, Rayne, Allegra

Chase and his girlfriend, Morgan.

By Saturday morning everyone was gone.  It would have felt quite empty except that our singing group had its first performance Saturday afternoon.  We all met up at a hotel in downtown Boise for our gig.  I was dressed in black with sequined vest, matched by the rest of the girls.  Layne sung his solo, and we belted out 4 of our numbers to a full room of people.  There was a lively spirit and, I think, a great response to our efforts.  What fun!  I had forgotten how energizing it is to perform.

We attended our stake conference this weekend.  I've not been to a better meeting for a very long time.  Our stake leaders gave a truly inspired presentation.  I felt such a desire to improve my spiritual life.  Often when I hear advice for parents I feel badly that I didn't do more of the recommended things for forging a strong family.  This time I felt some of that, but I also felt inspired to change some of my personal habits.  Since I've been feeling a little off the spiritual mark lately, some changes are in order.  I'm going to pray more often, have more regular sharing time with Layne, try to ponder things more, and attempt to feel more of the Spirit.  It is good to be among people who take their spiritual lives very seriously.  I find it inspiring.

Friends Jody and Jerry Jensen stopped in for a visit today.  Our afternoon was full of catching up gab and the fun of being with good people.  So, for the last couple of weeks our days have been more than full.  It has made the time rush by, but fills the minutes of our lives with sweet memories.  I'm so grateful that, in spite of the troubles of our deteriorating society, there are things to celebrate.

Ballooning With Family

I'm a scaredy cat by nature.  So there are a lot of activities that I admire from afar but am quite hesitant to actually do.  Riding in a hot air balloon is one of those things.  But when Layne saw an ad for a balloon ride for half the usual price, he asked me if I'd like to go.  In a bold move I said yes.  So he bought tickets for us.  Since son Gerald and daughter Audrey were soon to visit with their families, he bought tickets for most of them too.  We joined with Gerald and his two kids (wife Frances declined) early last Friday morning to see if the weather would permit us to ride.  It did.

We climbed aboard a basket that seemed pretty small to me.  Our driver, Layne, me, Gerald, grandkids Seth and Angelica all crowded in.  In short order we were up and away.  Well, we were definitely up but our away was really mostly a hover, as the wind was rather unimpressive on that Friday morning.  Layne went on and on about how amazing it all was.  The kids peeked carefully over the edge of the basket.  Gerald and I hung on for dear life.  Yes, it was a little scary at first.  But, as with most fears, once you are into it and nothing bad happens for a sufficient period of time, the fear tends to dissipate.

And so it was for us.  My hands, clinched on the poles and handles nearby, began to loosen and I began to enjoy the ride.  It was lovely to see the area from the big picture a little height offers.  The sky was blue, the wind calm and people below us waved as we passed slowly by.  A little change in altitude speeded up our movement, taking us above the rooftops of a neighborhood as we headed out towards nearby farmer's fields.  Beyond that lay our landing spot, determined by wherever the winds take us.  Part of the adventure is you never know where you will end up.

Landing turned out to be part of the adventure, as we wound up in a farmer's field next to a gravel pit and surrounded by water ditches.  That left us with no easy exit.  Landing was bumpy but adequate.  We all climbed out and pulled on the balloon to help it deflate in the best possible space.  The trailer assigned to follow us and pick us up could only approach us from the other side of the ditch.  While our rescuers worked on how to get the balloon and basket out, we crossed the ditch and rode out with a very nice lady from the balloon company, leaving the others to the rescue challenge.  What a fun adventure!  The weather willing, it will be repeated next week with Audrey and her kids.

Me with grandkids, Angelica and Seth, in front of our inflating balloon.

A view from the balloon.

Our landing spot, with Gerald and Layne by our deflated balloon.

I love our life here, except for the absence of family.  My cup has been filling these past few days as Gerald and Audrey and families are here.  We girls went shopping yesterday.  There has been great conversation, games, and general fun in each others' company.  I have a feeling that our children are not completely at peace with our move here.  It isn't logical for us to move away from family.  That is still an issue for me.  I have hopes that it will all work out to our eventual good but can't help a sadness at being so far away.  And I want our children to feel good about it.  They are good people and, I think, really care about our welfare and enjoy our company.  I want them in my life on a regular basis.  It is a quandary.  Layne is very happy here and, especially, grateful for our much improved financial situation.  How can I resolve these conflicts?  Perhaps time will help.

Seth and Angelica on our new mower.  

People and Stuff

It has been two months since we moved to Idaho.  I can honestly say that never before in my life have we acquired so much stuff in so little time.  Wow.  Our home is now fully furnished.  All in two months.  Whenever I told Layne that I had found something that would work in the house, he answered, "get it!" What an amazing response from him this is!  I like it.  It looks like we are slowing down at last.  No more stuff for awhile.  You may imagine that the part of Idaho that we now know is where to shop.  But we hear there is more to Idaho than this.

Our friends Pat and Larry Green have taken on the responsibility of showing us some of the Idaho sights located beyond the shopping malls.  Last week they invited us to join their "Thing" group and drive out to Swan Falls and a place called Walter's Ferry.  In case you are not familiar with "Things," they are volkswagon jeep type cars that really are called Things.  Pat and Larry belong to a Thing Club; a group of Thing owners that love to get together and drive all over the area, especially to places where normal cars would dare not go.  Last week we joined them in their Thing and off we went, in a Thing procession, to the Falls and the Ferry.  Pat and I sat in what could be called the back seat and attempted to bond in our usual chatty way amidst the very loud noise of the engine roaring in the back of the car, which is, as you may remember, the location of engines in volkswagons.  Amazingly enough we got used to the noise and managed a continuous conversation in spite of it.

"Things", all lined up during our Thing trip.  Pat and Larry's is on the left.

Layne looking at the Snake River below.  The "Falls" and Dam are  close by.

We toured a small water generating plant called Swan Falls.  In spite of a detailed tour, I could find no falls; just an electrical generation plant that has some water running through it.  But no falls.  Still, it was interesting.  Next we went to Walter's Ferry, a location south west of Boise where gold was discovered in years past.  That brought lots of people to the area, necessitating a way to cross the Snake River to the gold mines.  Thus the ferry.  Eventually the ferry became a bridge.  But the place is still called Walter's Ferry.  A doctor and his wife eventually bought Walter's Ferry and surrounding area and settled there.  His wife was a collector of things of all sorts.  The doctor kept putting up buildings to hold her growing collection.  He died.  She kept collecting and eventually filled the land surrounding the full buildings with statues, signs, and objects of all sorts.  At first it looked like lots of junk.  But as we walked the path around her property, a lovely collection of bronze statues emerged to reflect her strong Christian faith.  Positive affirmations of faith and family filled the path along with the statues, telling a story as we went.  It ended up to be very impressive.

Larry and Layne in front of a home-made chapel at  Walter's Ferry.

Me with some of the bronze statues, these depicting a teacher and her students.

Layne in front of a depiction of the Tomb where Christ was laid,
located along the path around the Walter's Ferry property.

Pat and Larry also wanted to offer us some friends, so they invited us to an Easter dinner, with two other couples.  The eight of us bonded over Easter conversation and met again at our home to discuss our mission to Mongolia.  It was a fun time, and, I believe, we will enjoy an ongoing friendship with these folks.  Making friends here seems to be easy.

Layne discussing Mongolia with new friend Marianne Wilcox
on the left and "old" and true friend Pat Green on the right.

Now that we are mostly settled, I am enjoying our Idaho home.  It is so inviting and warm.  In fact, I enjoy everything about this place except the absence of family.  Happily, my sister Maryanne and hub Bob came to visit for a few days.  Maryanne is very good at decorating so I picked her brain the whole time they were here.  The place looks much better for her influence!  Son Gerald and family are coming back today for over a week. That should fill my family cup for awhile.  I'm so excited to have them with us.

Sister Maryanne Berrett with her hub Bob.

Layne and I watched General Conference together and enjoyed it very much.  I love the thoughts that come to me as I listen.  I have started writing the applications to my life come to me as I listen and feel so encouraged and enlarged by the practice.  My overarching feeling is that relationships are absolutely the most important thing in life.  I'm going to make a greater effort to seek them out.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by blessings.  I wonder what the Lord would like from me in return.  To have health, comfort, freedom, familyand gospel blessings is overwhelmingly wonderful.  I feel so grateful.