Our Missionaries

Layne and I are now coordinators for the Church's addiction recovery and support program in the Boise Valley.  Which means we supervise the missionaries working in the various addiction groups.  Yesterday we had our first training meeting with them.  We planned to motivate them to step beyond the meetings they regularly attend and be willing to pursue speaking to the various wards in their individual stakes about addiction, prevention and recovery.  Layne spent hours preparing materials for them.  We presented our plan to them yesterday afternoon and they were so enthusiastic about agreeing to do it! There was a wonderful Spirit there with us; I could feel the warmth throughout the meeting.  Just about everyone lingered afterwards for awhile, visiting and asking questions.  I've noticed that lingering is a sign of a sweet spirit that they don't really want to leave, so they stay.  I'm so glad that it worked so well.  Layne did an amazing job of organizing it and preparing materials.  He has the happy and rare ability to research needed information, plan and organize well, and relate to people in a positive way.  Everyone can do some of those things but not very many people can do all of those things.  He can.  The sweet feeling from that meeting is lingering in my heart today, as I sit in front of our cozy fire counting my blessings.

Here's  view of our fireplace, surrounded by our pine trees, filled with orange lights (for Halloween).  Their glow warms the space and fills me with happy thoughts.

Autumn is here, with its cooling days and increased storms.  Our garden is finished I think.  I picked the last of the tomatoes and have them sitting on the counter waiting for processing.  As usual when we are outside working, the kitties join us.  It was somewhat rainy when I chose to harvest the tomatoes.  The lawn was wet. The kitties won't walk on the lawn in that condition, so Cherry, my sweet little black and white cat, carefully walked around the lawn and joined me by the tomato plants. It took an extra effort on her part.  There she sat and kept me company, asking for an occasional pet and scratch.  She is a lovely little companion.

Lately my grandchildren, Seth and Angelica, have been writing to me.  I love it.  Each week we exchange e-mails.  It is fun to hear from them so often.  Last week Seth included this selfie.  It makes me smile every time I look at it!

Birthdays

My sister's birthday comes around each October 2.  So does my grandson Seth's.  Layne's soon follows on October 5th.  Seth is too far away to visit easily. But Maryanne is just 6 hours away.  So I planned to visit her for her birthday.  I asked Layne to come along.  After all, it didn't seem right to be gone for his special day.  His twin brother lives in Kaysville, an hour away from Draper and Maryanne's home.  So I plotted a meeting between them to celebrate their birthdays together.

"I don't need to be with Lynn to celebrate," Layne assured me.  He is of the notion that you don't actually have to spend time together to be close.  I simply don't accept that point of view!  I believe that we DO have to spend time together, to make connections and memories that unite and tie us together.  So I wrote to Lynn to see if he was available to celebrate a birthday with Layne.  We agreed to meet for a birthday lunch on the 4th.  Layne agreed to come along.  Sometimes I feel a bit frustrated with my man.  I try to do these special things for him and he just doesn't appreciate my efforts!  I predicted that he would enjoy meeting up with Lynn, despite his longing to stay at home.  And he did.  He and Lynn talked and talked, mostly about politics and the latest state of affairs.  They think so much alike!  It was fun to hear them echo each other.  Twins.  I guess that's how it is.

I don't remember ever celebrating Layne's birthday with his brother.  That means they have not been together for their birthdays for over 50 years!  Perhaps this is the start of a birthday tradition.  Wouldn't that be nice!

We celebrated Maryanne also by baking our favorite lemon fluff pie.  We consented to let Bob have a piece.  Layne doesn't like it.  We ate the rest!  Its tradition!  You must never let a lemon fluff pie rest overnight.  And we never do.  I didn't get a picture of the birthday girl, or the pie.  You'll just have to imagine it!

Maryanne is almost recovered from surgery on her shoulder.  That girl has been through a lot this past year; brain surgery and now her shoulder.  But in spite of all that trauma, she looked good.  Her hair is back, she has a sparkle in her eye and she is functioning better.  It is a happy time these days with Bob and Maryanne.

We are back home now and happy to look forward to several weeks of staying put.  Our retirement years have taken on a busy-ness that I had not anticipated.  I like to be busy but not too busy.  How can that be arranged?