I just posted a couple of days ago, but I just wanted to write down some thoughts before forgetting them.  This picture was taken on Friday afternoon --

We are concerned about the heat and drought in the West --the fires and all are awful.  I do know that 115' is too hot for me even with air conditioning.  I know the dry heat makes warm days more bearable, but the heat the past few days in the Southwest is difficult, to say the least.  Our thoughts do wander back to the west coast and the concern for one and all.

We went to bed on Thursday night with hard rain, and we woke up on Friday morning with it raining just as hard.  We talked to the maintenance man here at the apartment complex, and there are other basements here that have flooded now.  Because our basement became a continual problem they finally put in a sump pump -- our basement is dry.  It definitely is not cold with the rain.  It gets quite humid, but our apartment is comfortable if we have the dehumidifier and air conditioners on.  Our air conditioners are definitely not what you would call "designer dreams".  Cool is worth the ugliness.  We are up above the streams, but many roads are and have been closed.  Downtown Utica was flooded and lots of inconvenience with road closures.  We are grateful for safety.This weather is supposed to continue for the rest of the week.

Herkimer was in the news again.  Our branch is located there, and the city was flooded horribly on Thursday night/Friday morning.  Our missionaries had water up to the dashboard and into their brand new car.  The car still worked, so they went to Utica to the mission home where they have a wet/dry vacuum.  They have stayed a couple of days because the hot water heater not working as it was down in the basement and it was flooded.  The National Guard was called in to help. 

Above is a picture of the Mohawk River/Erie Canal.  The water was above the wall and yachts were on the grassy area.  Water went across the road and across the divider.

Here the water has receded about 8 feet. 

 This was one of the village streets, and this certainly was not the worst -- the National Guard was there and it was not possible to get any closer.  The mud and silt make such a mess.

We had branch members who lost everything except their house-- their animals, garden, complete back yard.  The water completely covered their backyard.  A large work party went to their home yesterday to try to re-route the normally shallow little stream that at most is 6' wide.  There are streams all over the county, and the flood alert is not over.  The mission president went to this home, and when it is time that the water has receded enough, the missionaries in this zone will go out there to try to help with the cleanup.  Other people had basements flooded, no electricity, etc. etc. etc. 

I must say that it is beautiful here with all of the green.  We went out to the branch president's home yesterday -- without the GPS we would never find anything.  Their home was 20 miles away in the most beautiful countryside.

The freeway picture is the Revolutionary Trail now a freeway.  Such a lot of history here, and the villages are often more than 200 years old.  We don't always get our Preparation Days, so we are only able to explore once in a while.  Next Saturday we have a baptism -- which is a great thing!!! 

 

We were sustained and set apart today as Primary workers.  We teach the 7 year old CTR class, a great group of kids.  I hurry from class to Sharing Time where I play the piano -- I don't do that so well, but getting better.  I used to know the Primary songs on the piano, but if you don't use it you lose it. 



Again, we feel very blessed to be able to serve a mission here in New York.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I am happy and pleased that we made the decision to serve.  Our lives are blessed from associating with the missionaries, the humble people in the branch, our mission president and the others with whom we serve.  I will never be the same.  My love for the Savior has increased, and I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and our modern-day prophet.  We love each of you and are so grateful for notes and emails that we receive.  It means a lot.

Loves,
Grammy and Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler, Friends

I have  to go back and relearn  how to do this blog every time I do it, so please be patient with me.  We have had a couple of great weeks.  I am finally over my stomach ache.  I no longer drink milk but have been drinking Almond Milk.  Weird, for sure, but I just do not tolerate milk very well these days.  The second thing is that I have conquered the Mail Merge!!  I started working on it again, and knew that there was something we were missing.  I knew that the excel worksheet I kept saving was not quite right.  My partner in the office, Sister Barlow, suggested that we try one more time and add info into the IMOS program.  At any rate, we figured it out and I am now able to do the Mail Merge without looking at the directions.  This is a huge mountain I have climbed, and I am so grateful to be able to do it now.  It does save a lot of time.

We had 24 new missionaries come in on the eleventh of June, and we had two sister missionaries stay with us that night.  The breakfast went well (served 40 people), and then the missionaries had training.  We helped set up for the lunch, but there was one hang up -- the 30 pizzas that were ordered were late in coming.  Everyone was wondering what was going on and why the delay.  I would not say that the missionaries were cross, but it was getting a little late for their lunch.  One of the elders sat down to the piano and started playing "Called to Serve".  The missionaries came back into the room and got into a huge half circle and started singing with gusto.  It was incredible.  He played "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" and a couple of other favorites and the spirit in the room was so strong.  President Wirthlin went around shaking hands and came back to the front of the room in tears.  I have the responsibility of taking the pictures of the new missionaries, their companions, and then with President and Sister Wirthlin.  That went smoothly and by the time we were finished the pizzas had arrived. 

Having all of the missionaries hanging around the office that day was also an incredible experience.  We really can feel the priesthood power when they are there, and we are so blessed to be able to participate in these transfer days.

That night there was a dinner at the Wirthlin's honoring the missionaries going home the next morning.  That experience is always special as well.  These missionaries were a huge addition to the mission and will be missed.  I must say, though, the new ones coming in are pretty awesome.  One of the Visa Waiters can speak Portugese fluently as well as German.  The way the missionaries are paired together is always a huge miracle. 

We went on a road trip on Saturday.  It is so beautiful here this time of the year.  We have had some HUGE lightning and thunder storms, and the rain comes down so hard -- sometimes it hails as well.  This Saturday was beautiful and clear.  We went up into the beginnings of the Adirondacks. 

The colors were beautiful -- this yellow area off to the side of the road was so pretty.  Does not show up as beautiful as it was.  Below is a lake that winds around to the left.  There were cabins there, and it looked like a fun place to visit again. 

 

 

This is a covered railway bridge next to the lake.  Some of these places are so old -- we plan to take a train up to the Adirondacks -- if not soon then in the fall.  Beautiful!!!

 

We went to a city called Boonville.  Our office partners are doing some genealogy for a member whose family is from Boonville.  We decided to go to the cemetery to see if we could see any of his family names. 

We did find some of his family names, whether they were his or not does not matter -- we just found some quite by accident on the side of the road.  This cemetery goes back to the 1700's.  The town of Boonville is in the distance.  These small towns are so interesting, and they date back to before the Revolutionary War.  One thing that we have a hard time with, though, is that there are no mountains to give us an idea as to which direction we are going.  The sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west, but part of the day we can't see it.  Reminds me of the First Presidency Message by President Uchtdorf in the June Ensign, "Walking in Circles".

As we were heading back we saw this Nirvana Spring Water sign.  This bottled water is supposed to be the BEST spring water.  I just plain and simply thought it was so funny to see this sign and then the spring with Canadian Geese all around in and about the water.  My love for Canadian Geese is not very great because of all the poop they drop all over the place.

 If you look closely you can see the geese in the distance.  Just one of my quirky pictures..... .

Last Thursday, June20, Dad and I needed to go to Hamilton, NY to see an apartment where sisters were living.  They were trying to have a sense of humor and not complain about their situation, but when we saw the conditions there I told Dad that we had to get them out.  I took pictures, but I won't bore you with those.  The place has been rented for 10 years or more, and there was so much stuff collected in the apartment that you could hardly move.  Plus it was dirty.  I really felt sick to my stomach when we left.  The landlord owns 200+ apartments in Hamilton and the surrounding area.  He was willing to let the church roll over the lease and security deposit.  We found another apartment, and yesterday (Wednesday, June 26th)  they moved in .  They are so excited, and I am very pleased for them.  Many of the apartments have been rented for several years, so we will be going out and inspecting the places to see if they are okay.  The Assistants are going to be moving as soon as they can find an apartment -- their place is nice enough but needs painting, etc and cleaning out the accumulated junk.  One nice thing is that you can put stuff out on the sidewalks where it is collected.  That will be a huge help!!!

We spent a good portion of Saturday taking care of the 5 youngest of 7 children of members of the branch.  They were desperate for help, so it was our fun to help out.  They live in a 200 year old brick house in the country -- bricks falling off of the siding, and lots and lots of work to renovate the place.  They are a cute family and we had a nice time.  We had a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant called The Chowder House.  I had the best scallops ever -- even beat out Ivars!!!  I am hoping that we can go again because the meal was so good.

The meeting on Sunday night for missionaries and local church leaders was a wonderful meeting.  Elder Holland conducted the meeting, and he said, "To all the full-time missionaries sharing in this broadcast around the world, we say never again in your entire life are you going to be part of a zone conference this large!"  We looked for Kara in the choir, but we did not see her.  What an incredible experience for her to be there.  The missionary work is going to move forward at a greater and greater pace -- just hope we can keep up.  The Lord will not let this work fail, and we are so thankful to be here at this time to be part of the tsunami.  The members of the church will have an increase in responsibility for missionary work.  Lots of changes......

Will close for now.  We are doing fine -- still so very tired after spending the day in the office, but we are happy and healthy.  We love you each one, and you are in our thoughts and prayers.  Have a good weekend!!!  Be safe and know of our love.

Mom and Dad, Grammy and Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler


 



We are back!!!  As I have said before, the weeks fly by and we find that we are behind in our blogging.  Groundhog Day does not describe our lives, but we do a lot of the same things during the weeks of the month.  We had some time to do errands at lunch on the 16th of May and decided we would eat at a Asian restaurant at the mall.  We will not make that mistake again.  We both got horrible food poisoning that lasted from that night until Monday the 20th -- sick sick sick!!!  We continue to get stomach aches.  The awful thing about the whole experience is that at an office staff meeting  the AP's asked us where we had eaten -- and they said we had not eaten chicken.  What?  Then what did we eat?  They were not going to tell us, but others wanted to know as well.  It came out and we almost got sick again -- we had eaten possum....... Gag again!!!  I said "you mean we ate road kill?"  Yup.  No way -- Elder Tollefson said the restaurant is being investigated for serving sub par food -- not what they are advertising to be serving.  Well, Scott asked me whatever were we thinking to eat Asian food in a small Asian restaurant in rural New York?  I guess I will wait until we get home to eat at "The Taste of Asia" -- awesome food there.  We were so sick, and we missed an "exploring" trip with our friends and Stake Conference.  We were most disappointed. 

We were sad to hear of the passing of Sister Frances J. Monson. 

She was truly a remarkable woman.  As I have read the Church News, over and over the remarks about her life indicated how dedicated she was to serving the Lord.  President Eyring said, "Her talents were many, her love abundant, her character above reproach and her faith unshakable."  She is a good example for each of us to follow.  There is much more I could say, but there will probably be a book written about her that we can read.  We were able to watch her funeral on the computer in the office. One thing that we noticed was how old President Monson looked, and his coloring was not good at all.  I am sure that he has had a big load with her illness, his health issues, and the huge responsibilities that are his being the Prophet.  He has also been an incredible example of a life in service to the Lord.

The week of the 24th of May Dad was busy trying to get 8 apartments.  They now use the missionaries, primarily the zone leaders, to find the apartments that the President wants in the various areas.  It is amazing how it all comes together, and Dad has said many times that he has felt the tender mercies of the Lord in finding these apartments.  They are all nice apartments and furnished nicely as well.  The missionaries are all awesome!  They always seem to come through.  They are out in the various areas, find an apartment, call Dad, take pictures of the apartment inside and out, email the pictures to Dad, Dad calls the manager, and then the leases are put together.  Amazing how well it has worked.  There has only been one that Dad said he would not let a pig of his live in -- and so the missionaries are now very careful.  Google Earth helps as well.

On Saturday the 25th of May, we had a pancake breakfast at the Barlow's.  His pancakes are so very good!  We then went out exploring.  This time of year is so beautiful here.  All different colors of green.  There aren't any mountains, so it is hard for me to get my bearings, but with the GPS we are able to do fine. We headed out of Utica towards Rome, NY.  We saw an obelisk on the right hand side of the road and took a side trip to where the Battle of Oriskany was fought in August of 1777.  It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War.

 

This was one of the few battles in the war where almost all of the participants were North American:  Loyalists and Indians (against the Revolutionaries) fought against Patriots in the absence of British soldiers. There is a lot I could write, and it was a very interesting side trip in preparation for our time at Fort Stanwix.                                                              

 

      

Fort Stanwix played an important role in the Revolutionary War period.......

 

The 27th I went with Dad to deliver some phones and then he had to do the final work for a lease.  It was a beautiful day and we drove along the Catskill Mountains and over to Cooperstown.  The countryside was absolutely gorgeous.  The day was a bit hazy, but I had to take a few pictures to show we were there.   I love pictures of silos,

so I try to take  a picture whenever I can.  This  one was set against the Catskills, but they are not mountains as we know them.                                





 

 

 

 

On June 1st, a week ago, we drove to Clinton, New York and saw some beautiful old churches -- 1700's.  There are all different kinds of churches, each unique in their own way.  It is hard to get far enough away to get the church without the electrical wires, but here is a sample of one in Clinton.

 

 

Our day would not be complete without going to a bakery.  They said that these "half moon" cookies are famous from this area -- delicious too!

 

 

It was a fun day  -- went to farmer's markets, antique markets, the Oneida Silver Store in Oneida,
and just lots of looking around. 

We are so thrilled to have Kara out on her mission now.  The MTC is a wonderful place, and I know she is feeling the spirit in great abundance.  She will be a fantastic missionary, I know. And our love and blessings to Kirk as he starts his time as a Bishop.  He will be fantastic, and his family will be a great support to him.  Julie, you will be blessed as well!!  

Sunday, June 2 we had a fabulous musical evening put on by the Utica Central District.  Elder Borgia (from Morgan Hill) played the acoustical guitar and sang, and Elder Rymer (from Mapleton, Utah)played the piano and sang also.  Both are very talented, good voices, play their instruments well, and then the other missionaries in the district each had speaking parts to pull the evening together in a celebration of Christ.  It was wonderful!!!  We were very impressed with the music and the spoken word was good as well.  Such a nice Sunday evening, and another  great testimony of the role of Christ, his atonement, and the restoration of the gospel.

Monday, June 3.  Today is my Dad's (Mom) 98th birthday!!!  Does not seem possible that so many years have passed by without him.  He was 54 when he died.  He was a good man and has been missed by us all. 

This week Dad has been delivering furniture to the eight apartments.  The missionaries at the different locations do the lifting and carrying, so Elders Barlow and Cutler just get the furniture there and supervise the delivery.  The system works well.  I had a very slow week as far as the weeks I have experienced so far.  I was doing things that had not been done in a long time and feeling pretty good that I had worked ahead of schedule.  On Thursday afternoon as I was working at the computer I had a real shock -- I was supposed to have the Monthly Newsletter ready for Friday delivery to the Zone Leaders.....  I had half of it done, but I had to really get going on Friday to have it finished in time.  I was so glad that I was able to finish in time -- the typing and computer angels were by my side for sure------

We had another tender mercy yesterday in regards to another apartment.  As we were leaving the office on Friday, President Wirthlin told Dad that he needed to get one more apartment.  Changes in the missionaries coming on Tuesday made this extra apartment necessary. I guess President Wirthlin had told the zone leaders in Albany of the need.  We received a phone call yesterday morning that they had found an apartment.  The lease has been emailed, the pictures emailed, and yesterday we spent our Preparation Day buying the things other than furniture that are needed for the apartments -- lamps, irons, ironing boards, pots and pans, etc. etc. etc.  We were able to finish and get the trailer loaded by 3:30 yesterday afternoon so that the furniture and all can be delivered tomorrow.  I will never doubt that the Lord is in charge of this important work.  .He knows the needs.  We are so lucky to see these things take place first hand.

We love each of you and pray for your wellbeing.  We are very blessed that you are part of our lives.

Love, Elder & Sister Cutler, Grammy & Papa, Mom & Dad.





 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                    

 

Our weeks are flying by in the mission!!  We get up on Monday morning and the next thing we know it is Friday afternoon.  Last week we both were intent on not only catching up but getting ahead in our mission assignments.  The church financial systems will be updated from the 15th of May until they are done with the update, which could take anywhere from a week to perhaps 10 days.  So, Dad has been busy paying rent and utilities.  This could not come at any more difficult time, as Dad is responsible for obtaining leases for 8 apartments by the first of June.  This means that he needs money!!!  His mission credit card was increased so that he can get cash, charge, and also use it as a debit card.  That was a huge blessing as the costs are enormous -- approx. $20,000 for furniture and furnishings, plus security deposits and first month's rent will cost at least $10,000 for the eight apartments.  Not having access to writing checks is a huge issue, but he thinks that he will be able to handle the situation with the increases with his card and the President's.  I am just paranoid about having another month like the first month we were here.  I might work myself out of a job if I am not careful.  I am more than caught up on the files, binders, booklets and such that need to be done for the next group of missionaries that come on the 11th of June.  I just do not like feeling that I am going to fall apart!!!  At last I am conquering Mail Merge, yippee!!!  I guess we both are becoming A-type personalities. 

 

Dad is starting to feel better, for which I am very grateful.  He gets really tired, and he just cannot do any lifting, so he is not doing the mail run so much anymore.  If it were just letters it would be okay, but there are huge packages that weigh a lot -- no can do.

 

Last week we went out for a walk one afternoon.  I have mentioned that we have not seen the golf course across the way from our apartment complex until the middle of April, so now we know that there is a green golf course nearby.  I think it is a private one, and without golf clubs, he won't be doing any golfing.  Just not enough hours in the day.   The weather last week was balmy and warm.  It was wonderful!!!  We opened up our windows and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air.  By Saturday it was raining torrents and quite cold.  We did the laundry at the Laundromat.

 



 The countryside is all different colors of green,and the blossoms are out and very beautiful.  The rain kind of destroyed the blossoms, and hopefully any fruit trees did not get ruined.  We live in an area where there are lots of apples, and Dad loves to go to a store called Twin Orchards and get his Dutch Apple Pie.  He now is a fan of Pirate's Booty!!!  He has given me trouble for years about liking the tasty morsels.  I guess it is an acquired taste, but we are great fans.  I remember when Madelyn Staffieri loved the Pirate's Booty -- does she still like it?  This tree below is right outside of the mission office.  The blossoms are gone now.

 

 

 

 

 

We went out to dinner with President and Sister Wirthlin and the Barlows on Friday night.  It is fun to have the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with these great people.  We had a nice Sacrament Meeting on Sunday.  A young priest gave an incredible extemporaneous talk about how much his mother meant to him.  It was pretty remarkable since he thought he was going to be teaching a Primary class.  The main speaker spoke on the sacred nature of mothers -- talking about Eve, the prophetess/judge Deborah and Hannah, the mother of Samuel the Prophet.  We taught the 6-year olds in Primary, and then the Elder's Quorum took care of Sharing Time in Primary so the sisters could go to Relief Society. 

 

I was fine for the day and I guess I had a steel rod going up my backside to keep my emotions together.  As the day turned to night the tigers started coming out, and I pretty much had a meltdown. I can explain -- I grieve for the loss of Claire (even though I understand she is out of pain and all), but I also grieve as a mother for Debbie.  It is hard to watch any of our children struggling, and I think about each one every day.  Our mission experience has taught me a lot, for sure, and I see the difficulties many people are facing in this area.  Poverty is a real issue for many, and we are very blessed.  We are quite comfortable in our apartment.  I did two loads of laundry downstairs last night, so I am moving forward on that weekly chore.  I guess that is good......

 

I have been sad over the death of Nettie Noble on Mother's Day evening, but I know that she has suffered a lot the last while and she was very ready to move on.    Before the mission, Sharon Albrecht, Gretel Ferwerda and I brought lunch over to her and she proceeded to show us what her coffin would look like, where she would be buried (St. George) and we took some pictures that are priceless now. So cheerful while suffering.  So grateful I listened to a prompting to call her last Thursday -- there are no coincidences in this life!!!  I was able to tell her that I loved her while she could barely speak.

 

Enough of the preaching.  We know the church is true -- Christ is our Savior and we are very grateful for His atoning sacrifice.  We have had a good week so far and are loving the work.  We love each and every one of you and so enjoy calls, emails and notes.  We look forward to mail just like the elders and sisters do!!

 

Love to all,

Elder and Sister Cutler



 

 

 



Coming back to the mission after an emotionally-filled week in Seattle was not easy.  We did not get back to Utica until 1:30 in the morning and slept in on Sunday until 10:00.  The quiet time together was nice. The next morning we were up early and at the mission office before 8:00.  We arrived to see these beautiful flowers sent by dear friends from St. George.  It was appropriately pink in every hue.  It was beautiful.

We have a staff meeting at 9:00 in the morning, and those are always good for us.  President Wirthlin gave a timely spiritual thought:  Scripture:  Job 22:21 -- "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:  thereby good shall come unto thee."  He shared a quote from President Ezra Taft Benson -- "It is a great blessing to have an inner peace, to have an assurance, to have a spirit of serenity and inward calm during times of strife and struggle, during times of sorrow and reverses.  It is soul-satisfying to know that God is at the helm, that we can with full confidence place our trust in Him.  I believe that all the truly great men of the earth have been men who trusted in God and who have striven to do that which is right as they understood the right"  (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 68).  This was timely for me, and I believe he was inspired to say these words that morning.  I was caught up and the week gone was not a problem.  Dad had some apartments that needed to be found and rented, and the tender mercies continue as he does this work.  He had hernia repair surgery on Thursday, so he has been under the weather since that time.  However, he has gone into the office each day for a couple of hours and tried his hardest to get done what he needed to do.  He came out of the anesthetic asking for his mobile phone so that he could get the last apartment rental in order.  We went into the office on Friday night so that he could actually cut the checks and get everything done.

Plant arrangement sent from Relief Society friends in St. George -- Beautiful!!

This last week was transfers and we had 25 new missionaries come.  We are so lucky that the mission office is located in a stake center, as we are always in the middle of all of the activities.  We had two elders stay with us on Tuesday night, and were able to get to the office by 7:15 so we could get the breakfast done.  Sister Wirthlin is amazing, and we served breakfast for 45 and lunch for over 100.  When the new missionaries are assigned to their trainers, it is really exciting.  President Wirthlin relies heavily on inspiration from the Lord, and he is very drained when this is over.  On Wednesday night we attended the dinner for the missionaries who are going home.  It was a fabulous dinner!!! 

 

After dinner it is tradition to have a testimony meeting.  These missionaries are impressive.  I am so grateful that we are included in these special occasions.  One of the elders said something that made a large impact on me.  He said that the reasons we come out on our missions are not always the same reasons for which we stay.  The more we respond and are open to the promptings of the Spirit bring us closer to Christ, and our testimonies of Him, His mission and the Atonement greatly increase.

 

On Thursday night I did what I have been dreading for three months:  I went downstairs to do one batch of our laundry.  I am glad that I finally did it, but yesterday we did the remainder of our laundry at the Laundromat.  It is just so much faster -- even though the cost is more.  I survived the experience and know that I can go down to the basement if necessary.

 

Saturday we did a few errands and went to a late lunch at this Hot Dog/Hamburger stand that we have been looking at since we arrived.  It just reopened during April, and the lines go out to the street.  We wanted to find out what it was like.  It was great!  Dad had two great hotdogs, and I had a good hamburger.  It is quite the place and famous in the area for the good food. 

 

 

Today we went to the branch, and it was nice to be back.  We are rubbing shoulders with wonderful, humble people -- all have interesting stories from their lives.  We enjoy the drive over there and the scenery has changed drastically since we first started.  The trees are in bloom, the grass is green, and there are flowers also blooming.  Spring has been here this week -- we keep our windows open and the temperature gets up to 75'.  Now once Dad is feeling a little better we will start doing some exploring. 

 

We love each of you and love hearing from you.  You are dear to us.  We are blessed to be here on our mission and are grateful for this opportunity.  Although we are not proselyting missionaries, we know that the work we do is valuable and we feel the Lord working in our lives.  I have conquered the Mail Merge, so that is one HUGE blessing!!!

 

LOVE YOU!!!!

 



Sunday, April 28, 2013







Because it has been a while since we have posted, I will do a quick review of the last three weeks. 

General Conference Weekend:  April 5 - 7

We were able to get permission from our mission president to go to Connecticut to spend the weekend with Scott's family.  We left Utica about 2:00 in the afternoon and arrived at their home at 6:00.  It is an easy drive, and with GPS we were able to find their home easily.  We could not have found it without the GPS -- too many small roads, lots of turns, lots of trees, and no way to get our bearings as to whether we were going north or south.  It surprised us that we were able to manage the roads so easily.  Melissa had prepared an awesome spaghetti dinner, and we enjoyed being with the family.  It was so cute to have the kids tell us that we were not supposed to do anything but rest -- no clearing the table or doing dishes -- just relax.  We were so very glad to be there with them.  We so needed that time.... We relaxed at home that night while Scott, Melissa and Audrey went to the junior high production of "Once Upon a Mattress". Jack was participating in it and we planned to see it the next day. 

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting acquainted with the new little addition to their family:  a very small dog named Pepper.  She is one adorable dog and we fell in love with her.

 

 

The whole family is totally smitten with her, and they are doing a very good job of training her.  They have to be with her all of the time while she is outside, as she is so small that the hawks would get her in a minute. 

 

On Saturday morning Scott fixed an awesome breakfast.  We went to Matthew's LaCrosse practice, but it was so so cold that we did not stay -- he was very excited and did not seem to mind the cold.  We prepared to watch the morning session of conference at noon.  Each one had his/her place mapped out as to where they would sit. 

 

 

 

 



We watched the morning session (most of us) and then had to get ready to go see Jack's performance in the school play.  It was great!  He is growing up too fast, I am afraid.  He had a great time and enjoyed the cast party after.  We made it back home in time to watch most of the afternoon session.

 

Scott prepared a dinner of baby back ribs that was so incredible!!!  I am including the picture of Matthew, as this is one of his favorite dinners of all time.

 

 

 

Dad, Scott and Jack went to Priesthood Meeting and the rest of us went to bed early.  On the east coast the sessions are two hours later than Salt Lake City, so we had late mornings and late nights.  We enjoyed the spirit of conference. Sunday Scott prepared a great breakfast again -- we were so spoiled by their wonderful meals.  Matthew, Scott and I went on a walk.  They live in a beautiful area, have a great house, and a big yard that will keep them busy for a long time.  Matthew is very happy as long as he has a ball of some kind in his hand.  Audrey loves her ballet lessons, and Roman just loves everything.  Great family.

 

It was sad to leave on Sunday afternoon.  Melissa stocked us up with her jam, some frozen spaghetti and frozen stroganoff, drinks and such that we felt like a couple of college kids going back to school all loaded up so that we would have some good homemade meals.  We so appreciate the love we felt in their home. 

 

The sun was shining brightly, so it was hard to keep eyes opened without squinting, but pictures are needed as the weekend meant so much to us.  We love our mission, but we have definitely missed our family. Little did we know about the following week.

 

Monday morning, April 8 we awoke to three inches of snow.  Had to put on our winter coats again.

After listening to conference and being with Scott and Melissa and family we were refreshed and ready to get to work.  I was working well ahead of myself that week and was more than caught up, and Dad was busy again trying to find apartments for the new missionaries.  He is having the missionaries, and particularly the zone leaders, try to find appropriate apartments in the areas of their zones that the mission president wants to open.  It is working quite well, as they are able to email pictures and it is easier for Dad to approve the housing arrangements if he does not have to travel to the areas.  The mission covers a large geographic area, so this method is working out quite well. 

 

Wednesday afternoon we knew that Claire was not doing well, and by Thursday afternoon we knew that the end was probably very near.  I woke up about 3:00 on Friday morning and could not get back to sleep.  We received the word that Claire had passed away at 3:38 am.  Heartbreaking, to say the least.  We do know God's plan, and are grateful for our knowledge of the atonement and Christ's mission on earth.  That does not make this easy for us.  We went into the office about 9:00 and tried  to wrap things up so we could be gone for the next week.  We were able to get a flight out on Sunday and then needed to go back into the office on Saturday to finish some more things that needed to be done.

 

Melissa and Scott were at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15th.  This picture is right after Melissa finished the race and at the very spot where one of the bombs went off.  Scott and his friend Jess were right there during the race.  It give me chills to realize how close they were.  Scott felt that they needed to get out of the area, and they were one block away when the bomb went off.  They hurried to their hotel, packed up, and were about the last car to get out of the parking garage before it was closed down.  Text messages were going back and forth through the family -- and of course we are so grateful that they were not harmed.

 

 

 

The week of Claire's funeral covered a huge range of emotions for me.  Dressing her in the baptism dress I had made for Julie was sweet, sad, heartwrenching, precious, and an experience I will always keep close to my heart.  Melissa had bought some beautiful little white shoes that were perfect for Claire to wear along with some white tights. My dear friend Rhea had altered the dress for Claire to wear, and she made her a shocking pink tutu to wear under the dress.  It was so sweet.  She was covered with her "Cozy" and had her favorite pink minky in her arm along with a new stuffed animal (dog) named Pepper.  She looked so peaceful, and Debbie put a pink bow in her flowing red hair that was perfect.  I will never forget kneeling in prayer around her coffin and praying for strength and comfort as we did this difficult thing.  It was a beautiful and sacred experience for me.  Heaven has gained a fiery redhead who can walk, run, climb and stand without pain.  How she will be missed by us all.

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

The funeral was beautiful, a wonderful tribute to Claire and her family.  Each one who participated had carefully prepared, including prayers and talks.  It was an inspiration.  It was a tender time to be together as an extended family, and I so appreciated the efforts of each one to attend.  Our immediate family had a good time together.  On Thursday we went to the Paul Allen Music Museum in downtown Seattle, to the Food Court at the Space Needle, to the Space Needle, out to the wharf and onto a ferry and ending up at Cutter's for dinner that night.  On Friday we celebrated the 14th birthday of Mark Trammell by going bowling, to a sky diving center, then to dinner for pizza.  That evening the girls had their "spa" time by getting their nails done by their Aunt Lenessa and their hair fixed in special rollers.  The cousin time was awesome.

Leaving Seattle was not easy for me to do, and after being with family it was hard to think of going back to New York.  There was no question about whether we would leave and go, but needless to say it was difficult.  I was emotionally drained and physically tired.  We were grateful to dear friends Bob and Patty Folkman who let us stay in their home that week.