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Hi Everybody,

Just as we sat down to type this email, we realized that at this very time you are all probably "sitting down"  to family dinner....together....minus us.  We'll go have a Klondike Bar and pretend we're there....boo hoo!  I attempted after all the cooking I've done during the week to actually make us a meal tonight.....homemade chicken noodle soup with dumplings!  How can someone mess up on anything from the 5 Ingredient cook book??  Well.... I could write a book on that topic starting today!

So tonight we'll start with the weather report.  Somebody at Church today said that Ithaca has more snow right now than at any other time that they remember here.  Actually we want to say that it's pretty much like many Idaho winter days so we can handle it.  After we finished last weeks' letter, it started to snow and didn't quit until a foot and a half later.  So last Monday after early morning BB (Dad) and laundry (me) we were pretty much grounded for the rest of the day.  The wind blew, the snow flew. and it didn't make any sense to go anywhere so we didn't.  FHE was even cancelled so we were thrilled when our "old folks" FHE in Orem called....they made our night!  Our snow is all still on the ground plus another 6 inches or so.  We have fickle weather.  Last week the temperatures weren't much out of the teens and with wind chill sub-zero....a good excuse for this senior sister missionary to wear slacks and boots everywhere.  We had one night of ugly driving coming back from our Owego Institute for about the last 15 miles....lucky us or should I say Dad.  He drives, I back seat drive.  Now today it's in the high 30"s and we're supposed to have freezing rain.  None yet but we have an ice skating rink on the entry-way to the 4 apartments that we're part of.  It's what happens when maintainence doesn't clean the rain gutters in the fall and all are overflowing with dead leaves and water and 6 foot icicles from the top of the 2nd floor apartments.  Now we could be home and have to deal with 65 degrees in February....no fair!!

We had to say goodbye to more missionaries this week....dang!  Sister Anaya, who was a "visa waiter," got her visa last week and we took her to the Syracuse airport to send her off to Portugal.  Hard, hard, hard to say goodbye but she was excited to go so we were happy for her.  She was hoping to finish out this transfer and possibly have another one here.  So that left Sister Frisby with no companion so she was temporarily assigned to another district in our zone, hopefully to be back here with a new companion the first week in March.  So now our only two Elders left here are trying to hold down the fort with one companionship where there used to be three.  And the work is getting pretty busy so they're calling for help.  We went with them yesterday for some new member lessons which is fun.  One of our newest members, Angela, is moving to Salt Lake on Friday to begin what she hopes is a new life.  She's living with a member friend of a friend until she can find an apartment and establish herself in a profession (has a degree in Marketing) and she has several interviews lined up.  She worked for NuSkin in Taiwan.  She's an amazing, dedicated new member who is so excited at the prospect of being by so many temples.  So we've told her so many good stories about you all, if you get a phone call from her, it's just because she wants to meet you and see if our stories are all true.  We're hoping she loves it there and is still in Utah when we get home. 

Let's see if we can sum up the rest of the week in a paragraph.  Watch for Valentines in the mail....hope you get them before the 14th.  One of our really difficult responsibilities (NOT) last week was going to Ithaca Bakery and having really good food while we listened to  one of our YSA play a "gig" with another branch member and friend in their band.  The music was great (3 guitars and vocals) and like we say when we get to go to anything our YSA do,  "somebody's gotta do it!"  A perk of senior missionary work!  We had a crowd at Friday Forum last week and another "loaves and fishes" miracle.  That group included 6 non-members!  They left contact information so if something comes from it, it will be worth the hours of preparation!  Friday night we got to be part of an on-line "Evening With a General Authority" that was broadcast over the CES website for seminary and institute instructors.  Elder Holland was absolutely great and made us want to "convert" every young person in that age group!  After visiting early morning seminary classes here, we wanted to cheer when he said "there is a throne in heaven for early morning seminary teachers."  And he all but pounded the pulpit when he talked about "trendy transgressions" and not being afraid to teach true doctrine and "absolute 1st Level Truths."  Then we finished off the week with a branch "welcome back to the new semester" Valentines social.  About two-thirds of the branch will be graduating and leaving the end of the semester and they will surely be missed!  And our Chiong grandpa and grandma, the first people we met here from China, went back home this week after being here as long us.  We still speak no Chinese, they still speak no English, but hugs and goodbyes are the same in any language.  They brought us homemade dumplings and we gave them chocolate and we took pictures and we will miss them much!! 

Well....dear family (and dear anybody else who reads this):  We love you this week and next and all the rest to come!  We're glad we don't live a continent away, and we're glad we have email and facebook and phones, and we're glad, most of all, that we have you.  Have a good week and remember what day this Saturday is and do an extra kindness for somebody who needs it!

XOXOXOX  Dad and Mom and Grandpa Sr. and Grandma and E and E-tte Jolley