Change is in the air

The season is changing. The leaves are turning color. The beautiful red leaves are some poison oak photographed by David Blake down at Findley.  Change is the one constant in life.

Some people welcome change and in fact, thrive on it. I think Velvet and Carl must be like that. Other people resist change and wish that things would stay the same. They get comfortable with the way things are and don't wish to have their boat rocked.

One of the most challenging of changes is when you get a new church calling. We generally accept this as the Lord's will for us and recognize that He must have a reason in His grand plan for our lives to give us a new challenge.

Ken said he was comfortable in his calling as ward mission leader and loved working with the Elders. So just when he gets comfortable, he gets challenged with a new calling--1st assistant in the High Priest group leadership. We're proud of him and know he'll learn to love that too as he gets involved in helping people, albeit older ones than he's used to.

Sheryl loved being the Young Womens president and felt quite badly when they wanted to release her. But she and Jonathan have been given two new joint callings which fit their expertise--ward organists and preparedness specialists. They will learn from these callings and from doing them cooperatively. It will prepare them to be senior couple missionaries some day!

The Andrei got shaken up too. Mike was released as executive secretary and called to be the Young Men's president. And then, so there wouldn't be two presidents in one family, they released Brenda as Primary president and asked her to teach the 15-year olds in Sunday School. The teens will love her and respect her because she's not old fashioned and knows how to communicate with them.

We are proud of you all for accepting these new assignments with enthusiasm. We pray the Lord will bless you as you fulfill them faithfully. I can personally witness to the growth that has come through study and service in the various callings I have had. I know the Spirit prompts you to know what is needed to be done in that calling and fills in to make up for your weaknesses. I also know the Lord loves you for accepting these new callings and helping His work go forward. Just like you promised to do in the Temple!

Visit to Stephanie's new apartment

It's rather amazing to see your granddaughter who was just a little girl yesterday, being a mom and homemaker.

Eldon and Emily and I were invited up to Steph and Jeff's for Sunday supper. I don't know why but I was surprised she is a good cook! She had an excellent casserole, a salad, and green beans. I think Jeff made the brownies. 

They live in a beautiful area on a hill out in the country west of Salem and in a very nice complex of apartments. They should be quite comfortable there while Jeff is in graduate school. Steph was called to be the Primary pianist and Jeff is serving in the Elders quorum and on the Scout advancement committee.  A new meeting house is planned just a few blocks away.

They showed us pictures and souvenirs from their trip. It sounds like they had some great adventures. Perhaps the highlight was getting to go to the temple--Stephanie in French and Jeff in German--while the other tended Ariana.

Bald Hill

Emily doesn't have a lot to do until school starts besides running and more running. In fact when Bishop Harper asked her to be the Relief Society pianist she asked, "Is that all?"

So one day we decided to hike up Bald Hill. I love autumn time with the crisp air and leaves turning color. It was worth the hike to see the view of the valley to the west.

Later in the day Em went running with a nice boy named Jacob in the same area and took a tumble, not for the boy but the ground and came home with her arm bleeding enough that Grandpa bandaged it up.

Ken's Return to the Temple

After a 12 year hiatus Ken returned to the temple. What a joyful day! Brenda fixed a nice supper for us afterward. 

It was good to be in the temple with 2 of our 5 children. Last Thanksgiving we were in the Medford Temple with 4 out of the 5. Hopefully soon we'll make it there with all five of them! 

I remember there was only one time when my parents had all of their children together in the temple, and they only had 3 to get together! There was a short window of time between when Gail got active in the church and when my Mom died. This is what I wrote about that one special trip to the temple:

"August 14, 1979: On this day the parents and all three daughters met and went to the Provo Temple. As they waited in the chapel the temple president, Orville Gunther, went around the room asking where people were from. He called on a young convert woman and Janeil (since she said she was from Montana) to bear their testi- monies. Janeil said this was a very special day because it was the first time her complete family had been in the temple together. In the past year Neil had undergone open heart surgery and Ruby had had a stroke. Although they were doing well now and enjoying life again, it made them all realize how tenuous life is and what a privilege it was to be there together.

"Then President Gunther said, 'I think we have time to hear from the sisters!' First Gail told about how she hadn't been active in the church all her life and now regretted the time wasted when she wasn't. She told of going through the Temple the first time a year before when she had been introduced to President Gunther. He had talked to them about their desire to have children and gave Gail a blessing and was impressed to tell her that she would be a mother in this life. Gail said, 'Now in my 34th year, we are expecting our first child next month.' The Lord has truly blessed her.

"Lois expressed her faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then President Gunther said, 'Now, we would like to hear from the mother!' Ruby hesitated and as she started to go up to the front, he said, 'The father had better come with her.' Ruby bore witness to the power of faith and that though she had come close to death, she had felt the near- ness of her Father in Heaven helping her through the trials and weaknesses since her stroke.

"Then Neil sealed it with his testimony, expressing gratitude to President Gunther for this opportunity. He bore testimony to the vitality of the Gospel in his life and the meaning of the sacrifice of our elder brother, the Savior.

"After the testimonies, President Gunther asked Gail to come back up while he spoke of the growing life within her. He quoted J. Reuben Clark Jr. as saying that the spirit of the mother influences the baby growing within her. He expounded on the uniqueness of each of us, pointing out Gail's unique nose and ears and dimple where the angels kissed her when she left to come to earth!

"He then invited the Fugal family to leave the chapel first. As they sat on the front row waiting for the session to begin, Neil looked over at the four women dressed in white homemade dresses and he must have noted their individuality and uniqueness. The daughters felt a special kinship sitting there with their mother whose spirit had influenced theirs these many years. And the four women looked over at the man who had been a guiding and stabilizing power in their lives. They all felt the impressive possibility of becoming an eternal family unit and resolved to live so that possibility could become a reality."

 

A Fall Outing

We went with David and Cherrie Blake down to Findley Wildlife Preserve and walked on the Woodpecker Loop and stopped at a few other viewpoints. We saw hawks and pelicans and one blue heron and several smaller birds. The weather was beautiful. After a picnic lunch under a shady tree, we drove on down 99W a few more miles to Hazelnut Hill and had yummy hazelnut ice cream in their homemade waffle cones made with hazelnut flour! What a treat. 

The Youngest High Priest in Our Family

Last night Ken phoned his Dad to ask him to come to the 3rd Ward's priesthood meeting to ordain him a High Priest. Tom Sherry of the stake presidency interviewed him and challenged him to attend the temple within the month--and that it would bless his family. So he's going to do that! We are thrilled and amazed at the progress he's made.  He has stepped up to be a leader in his family and his ward. 

"I have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in truth."

Life with Emily

Emily came to live with us a little over a week ago. It's fun having her here. She is very polite and easy to get along with. She tends to ask for permission to go places and Grandpa finally said, "You don't need our permission; just tell us your plans." She said she'd feel better with permission. I guess that's good because then when she's invited to do something she doesn't want to do, she can use us for an excuse to get out of it.

She's gone a lot with the team. In fact, she only eats with us occasionally. There is an athletic cafeteria where she can get brunch and dinner if she wants. One morning Grandpa muffed an omelet so she quickly made mine and hers and it was delicious!

She has spare time now which she won't once classes start. So she got a library card and reads alot.

She also plays the piano every day. Right now it's Bach and Debussey and lots of arpeggios. She does her own laundry. She keeps her room tidy. She helped me finish a puzzle.

She finally made up her mind to go to church at the university ward on Sunday. As I dropped her off she almost chickened out because two beefy Samoan guys were heading up the steps. But then she squared her shoulders and said, "But I can run faster than they can."  For the get together at Bishop Harper's that night we lent her the car with Maggie giving directions to his house.  And she figured out how to use Maggie to get home again!

Some kids from the ward invited her to go with them to Salem to a baseball game. I thought that was good because she shouldn't spend all her spare time with her aging grandparents. I think we're getting along pretty well. It's easier than when my kids were that age because I was bossier with them. Or maybe because she's more tractable? Whatever. We love life with Emily.

Labor Day

I wondered how Labor Day came to be, so I read up on it on the internet. The first Monday in September is set aside to honor the workers who have contributed to the prosperity of our nation. The first one was in 1882 in New York assisted by the labor union. So it's to honor workers, not to work.

But we decided to work today. In addition to the usual Monday housecleaning and laundry, we got some free Gravensteins from the Nashes and did 13 quarts of applesauce. We also did 3 quarts of pears off of our tree out in back. That sounds like a small accomplishment compared to the 60 or so quarts we'd do in the old days. But I've found it takes just as much work to clean up after 16 quarts as it does for 60 quarts! But it sure makes you feel good to see the results of your labor on the shelves.