Elder Austin Key

Received a letter from Austin yesterday.  He was transferred to Irving Texas.  They had Ice Storms and then a snow storm and had no car!  He said they walked and visited members & were looking for investigators  The prior missionaries left no food in the apt and well..... he was experiencing sacrifice for the word!
He is indicating that Mormon.org is a big thing for missionaries right now and the church is all hyped up about it. You can get on that website and make a profile for yourself on there and he is encouraging us to do that. I will report on that here when I do. He told me he is on 3rd Nephi, his SECOND time reading the Book of Mormon, wow, I havent even got through it once this year, but I'm about half way!!!
He and his new companion sat down to eat lunch next to an older gentleman and started to talk to him, eventually they taught him the plan of salvation.  He had lots of questions Elder Key said and they made an appt to talk to him again later.  He was excited about that.
 The area conference they had really pumped  him up and he is determined to babtise the whole town of Irving!
He is such a good boy!  and we are so proud of him.

Weathering the Weather

Hey everyone!  We've been here now for at least 30 days and love this weather!  Yeah, you have to put on layers and yeah, its cold.  But we are prepared. Here are the things we've done since getting here:

1)  Purchases "all weather" tires
2)  Gloves & hats come with us each time we go out
3)  Long underwear is a must
4) We just changed out the window washer fluid to the kind that can't freeze in 30 degree temps
5) Stay home
6) Drive very slowly in icy conditions. (Sometimes people pass us, OH WELL!)
7) Looked at some houses.  It is always fun on a good day to check out the area.
8) We stop for hot chocolate a lot.  Yumm!!!

Here is a pic of Hal cleaning off his truck.  Isnt he cute?

We miss Harkins theaters!  Movies are expensive here!  So we won't be hitting the movies like we used to.

My job is going well too.  I like my fellow employees & the boss, Dan Keegan is great.  I am learning a lot about insurance and also sharing what I know with them.  I am excited to take on new tasks.  The pace isn't as crazy as I thought, and when it is, its actually fun.  I have my own desk and my own office.  I wish it was a bit more private, sometimes insureds come in and talk REALLY loud.  I will post pictures now that I got my camera back from the shop.  The door to the battery was broken.

Thanks everyone!! Have a great one!

I have accomplished much today!

Well for all of you whom want to know how I am...  I am good.  I did something amazing today and am proud of myself. It was one of my biggest worries. I drove in slushy snow!  At first I was scared.  I came out of our drive way with my Prius and I could NOT get any traction and so when I turned on the road, I went about 6 miles an hour for about 30 seconds.  NO matter what I did nothing would happen.  I kept putting along and finally got up to 23 miles per hour. A truck came up behind me and I thought for sure he/she would honk at me, but I guess if you live here, you expect that.  It was crazy!  I lost traction several times, slid a bit, but kept my composure.  I am discovering that I never panic or freak out when I face danger, but have a good strong composure.  AFTERWARDS, I fall apart!  haha.  

So I couldn't find this restaurant and pulled into a mall instead.  I sat there and pouted.  I got my second wind, plugged in the address in my Droid's GPS, which by the way, is awesome!  It said I was 1.4 miles from the restaurant. So I got back in my car and drove very slowly.  I can't believe it, I found it!!!  I really felt someone was watching over my shoulder and helping me out.  So got out of my car, pulled up the windshield wipers and went in to lunch with my fellow New York CPCUs.  It was wonderful, but more than that, I had faced my biggest fear! 

It was very satisfying!

While I was there,   a young lady told me she used to have a Prius too. She said they do not get traction in this kind of weather. I was surprised because several people told me this car would do well here.  She said it has something to do with it being a Hybrid car.  Hummmmm,  so what do I do?  She suggested snow tires with spikes.
Guess I'll be looking into what that costs now.

Thank goodness for service opportunities

Yesterday I had an opportunity to be of service to my fellow man.... or woman!  We heard about a women stuck in her apartment who was very sick. She was on a respirator from years of smoking. I guess the habit got the best of her.  She had been sick a long time, but now she is worse. Her son and her did not have a very good water heater and so the bishop was encouraging the landlord to come in and change it to a bigger one.  The water is very cold and no hot showers, no hot water to do dishes or wash your hands.  And with it being about 21 degrees outside this would be impossible to survive. But because she was very sick, she could not keep up her apartment and she was afraid the landlord would evict her as soon as he saw the condition of the apartment. When we walked in, there wasn't a place to even set our coats.  With gloves and our might, we began to tackle the big job ahead of us.  Where to start?
So me and three other ladies packed up garbage, recycleables, clothes, dishes and began the task. I had to boil water in a teapot to do the dishes and we used lots of bleach.  I think some of the dishes were left over from Christmas.
 But as I began the job, I didn't feel disgust.  I didn't feel pity.  I didn't feel sickness or anger.  I felt love.  Yes, even though I didn't know this woman.  I felt empathy & compassion for her.  What a horrible way to live! If I were in the same situation, I would hope someone would come in and help me out.  She has no family and just a 15 year old boy to help. We know how teenage boys help, don't we?
It took four women, two and a half hours to at least put a dent in the kitchen, bathroom & storage room. We are planning on going back today to do some more.

 I'm so thankful for service opportunities to help me be grateful for what I have.  The biggest thing I have is my health. I will do everything I can to preserve it.

I have a feeling as sick as she is, we won't even get a thank you.  But that is okay, Heaven Father will know and that is all that counts.
What is that scripture? "when you have done it unto the least of my people, you have done it unto me"

On my Way to Albany.....

Well, we covered 627 miles yesterday.  We went from Tucumcari, NM to Kansas City, Mo.  I can't say it was fun, but enjoyable to be in the car with my hubby!  Our cat, Mr Biggs, was freaking out a bit.  We have a pet carrier, but we took him out and let him explore the car.  He sat on top of it and mewed every once in a while.  At one time, he had his head under our coats, but his body was sticking out! It was funny. If I could have taken a picture, I would have.  I have a very funny picture of him, but I don't have the cord to attach to my laptop from my Droid to post it.  I will try and do it tonight.
Today, we are going to visit the historic LDS temple grounds and Liberty jail. (is that an oxymoron?)  I guess its named after the city, not anything else.  LOL

Our  Prius is doing very well on gas.  We are always amazed at how well it does. Plus it keeps us very warm and warms up quickly!
Leaving Mesa, AZ behind was hard and I finally shed a few tears the night before we left.  I tried to be tough, but I knew somewhere down the road I would be okay.  My sister, Patti reminded me once I leave, it will be better.  So many feelings came out and so many thoughts of others who had to leave so much  behind. I have to be positive & remember I felt good about this change in our lives.
I will post again!

STUFF

There's nothing like a major move to humble you.

What do I mean by that?  Well, I mean that... well stuff!!!  We have a lot of stuff.  Cute stuff, useless stuff, good stuff, stuff we might use someday, stuff we've never used... stuff, stuff, stuff!!!!

Why? 

It is an inherent need to hold on to things.  We fear we are going to forget. Hal and I have great memories in the things we have, but we need to trust our brains.  Our brains will keep what's important and what's not.  But what if it doesn't?

Yikes, its hard to trust it, isn't it?  Especially with Alzheimer's and Dementia lurking.


I'm attaching some photos that don't mean a thing to you, but will show you boxes of "stuff".  This is the stuff we are keeping.

 

I think I better fix this tipping stack, don't you?

Oops, how did that get in there?  Silly Grand daughter found some of our stuff!  hahaha     !!

Do you see the numbers on the boxes, I'm such an organized person, I have numbered each box and I have a pad of paper that describes what is in the box.  Some day I'm going to transfer it to a word document.

So What's my philosophy? 
If you are going to have stuff, make sure you have a place to put it!

Hal's 60th

Okay, here is what you were waiting for.  I surprised Hal for his 60th birthday by flying into Philly airport and driving down to Albany the next day with my sister.  We showed up at the Christmas party for the ward we are going to be in and hid in a sunday school room.
Watch the video, he couldn't speak at first. ....