Hi Everybody,
We'll
see what that (winter storm warning) means by tomorrow. Supposedly
we're going to get 10-12 inches of snow by mid-morning. Luckily it's
preparation day and we don't have to go anywhere except 6:30 a.m.
basketball (Dad/Grandpa) and 7:00 a.m. laundry (that would be me). How
many emails have we written since we've said how much we've missed our
washer and dryer?? Actually the laundromat is about 100 yards from our
house so we can't complain too much. Then we need to go to HEG (FHE)
tomorrow night which is always nice because we don't have to do anything
for that except show up treats in hand. Yay for BJ's (our Costco
knockoff)! We are practically on a first name basis with the checkers
and the "receipt puncher" there.
So
we hear that it's Spring there....how can that be?! We think that
means that in April or May you'll have a foot of snow just in time for
the track and soccer seasons. For those who've expressed concern via
text or email about whether or not we're buried under 5 feet of snow,
thanks. So far, so good and yesterday we even had a brilliant sunny day
with a fresh 5-6 inches of snow and 25 degree temperatures. That's
rare. The snow is weird here when it falls. It comes down light and
fluffy and then freezes on the windshield of our car so every night when
people are done driving for the night, they stick their wipers up and
out....otherwise you have to wait for 15 minutes for them to unfreeze in
the morning. If it weren't cold and dark at 10:00 at night, we'd take a
picture. And also coming out to the Cornell parking garage after a
basketball game at night is not fun because the temperature is 20
degrees colder in there! If the BB team (just reminding those who
wonder if we're keeping mission rules, one of our YSA is on the team :))
had as many people come to their games as the hockey team do to theirs,
we'd really be in trouble. Those hockey fans come early to get seats
and take up all the parking! We pretty much have our pick of any of the
cheap seats in the basketball arena and since we look old enough to be
boosters we've sat in the chair seats a time or two and pretended we
belonged there....lots of room there as well...even for the Harvard and
Yale games. That would be like going to a BYU/Utah game 10 minutes late
and sitting 20 rows up mid-court. Hockey is king here.
We've
had a crazy busy week and won't send you a re-run except to say it's
nice to be done and looking forward (??) to another one this week. We
resolve to be more efficient the next 7 days! One of the highlights
though was a program we participated in as part of CURW called "Faces of
Faith." It was student planned, student run, and involved mostly
students but some of the CURW chaplains as well. We had several of our
LDSSA leadership come with us. It consisted of a wonderful catered
meal, and we (about 100-120 of us) were all divided up into tables of
8-plus who ate together and then discussed how faith plays into our
lives. So there were no two people of the same faith on a table and it
was a fascinating look at how we all believe. My table was agnostic,
atheist, Muslim, Unitarian, Jewish, Catholic, and Moon Unification.
Dad's was Lutheran, Muslim, Russian Orthodox, Hindu, Catholic, Varsity
Fellowship, and Protestant. How incredibly grateful we are for Prophets
and Apostles and additional scriptures that not only clarify doctrines
and principles but most especially teach the nature of the Godhead and
the amazing power of the Atonement and faith and repentance and baptism
and the gift of the Holy Ghost. How we wished we could have just given
each a Book of Mormon! By the end of the two hours, we were all great
friends even though we'll probably never see "our group" again. As each
was asked to tell what we believe and how our belief guides our lives,
we were able to testify of a loving Heavenly Father and His Son who
know and love us. Our new LSDSSA leadership, Matt, Mike, and Xan are
The Best! They. along with the missionaries, handed out over 200
pass-along cards and several Book of Mormons (Books of Mormon??) and a
Bible at the last "table-ing" experience and at our table at Club Fest
last week.....and we had 5 non-members at Friday Forum and the one young
man who went through the food line 3 times, is having his first lesson
with the missionaries this week. Did we ever say "If you feed them,
they will come?" Well, we're saying it now. Sometimes when I get tired
of cooking/baking, I think that physical sustenance and spiritual
sustenance often go hand in hand....sort of like what we discussed in SS
class this morning about Living Water.
When
we take a few minutes to sit on our sofa and take a deep breath, we can
see all the family pictures we have around the room....and we count our
blessings and name them one by one until we get up to at least more
than we can count. We're here and missing all of you (yes, still, but
that will just be a fact of life), but because we have been given much,
we too must give. Thanks for being who you are and who you will become
and for what you do for us and each other and for many others. We are
Grateful!! And we love you....and we think about you....and we pray for
you....and we know that Heavenly Father answers your prayers and ours.
Be good this week and smile, particularly when you don't want to, and
don't get too used to your January heat wave.
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