This is the surprise that showed up on our doorstep. I spent the weekend holding and cuddling her. Isn't she (Taylee) beautiful?! How lucky I am to have a daughter that loves me so much.
Break time at Zone Leader Council. Aren't they handsome!
Formal picture time at Zone Leader Council. None of us enjoy this, but we put up with it for the history and the mothers.
Week one is our time to meet with our Zone Leaders and truly counsel together. I see this time together as quite choice and important. It gives us a good forum to train them for sure, but it also gives us precious time together to listen to the concerns from the missionaries in their zones and to try and understand how we can better help them all fulfill their purpose. This day together at the beginning of the transfer cycle is wonderful for us, and we hope beneficial for the missionaries attending. Since the week is not quite as booked up as other weeks, it gives us some needed time to prepare for upcoming talks, to study, and to reflect on where we are and where we are going – individually, as a couple, and as a mission.
We had three additional blessings in our lives in week number one. One which was available to all was the opportunity to listen to General Conference and hear from the leaders of the church. This time of reflective consideration is such a personal, spiritual boost that we are so grateful for. We hope we continue to learn how to take full advantage of this blessing in our lives.
The second blessing in our lives this week was a short visit (this was a complete surprise to Sister Macdonald) from our daughter and her new baby. She was able to fly into town on Friday and left on Sunday. This was an idea that she and her husband hatched and secretly told me about a few weeks ago. I was to arrange to “run a few errands” and pick her up. When I went to leave to pick her up, Sister Macdonald suggested that she should come along with me. How do you tell the person you love, and is your eternal companion that you would rather go alone and not offend her or tip off that you are planning a surprise? Well, I said I had several calls to make and would just do that as I drove alone. I found out later in the day that I wasn’t too successful at not offending her as she had been a little upset with me, but all was forgiven when she discovered the reason for my secrecy. Since we are not able to go home and see the baby, we were thrilled that our daughter was willing to come here and let us joy in the experience. We realize that this was a sacrifice for her, her husband, and their three little girls who had to miss Mommy for the weekend. We are so grateful that they were willing to share her with us for a few days.
The third blessing in our lives this week was really just another validation of some of the blessings we already knew we had. We are so blessed to have caring wonderful children who love their families and have solid testimonies of the gospel and are willing to do whatever is asked of them. When that type of preparation meets a need, the local leaders of the church know they can call upon them to do whatever is needed. This week our son-in-law was called to be the bishop of his ward. I am confident that any of our other children's families could step up and do the same if it was needed. This drove home to us the need to work with our missionaries to help prepare them for lives’ experiences that will come to them. Two things that can help anyone prepare for this type of service is their mission experiences and marrying the right person, in the right place (the temple) and by the right authority. We hope we can help these wonderful missionaries have great experiences here in the OEM, and that they will choose wonderful eternal companions when they return home.
We had three additional blessings in our lives in week number one. One which was available to all was the opportunity to listen to General Conference and hear from the leaders of the church. This time of reflective consideration is such a personal, spiritual boost that we are so grateful for. We hope we continue to learn how to take full advantage of this blessing in our lives.
The second blessing in our lives this week was a short visit (this was a complete surprise to Sister Macdonald) from our daughter and her new baby. She was able to fly into town on Friday and left on Sunday. This was an idea that she and her husband hatched and secretly told me about a few weeks ago. I was to arrange to “run a few errands” and pick her up. When I went to leave to pick her up, Sister Macdonald suggested that she should come along with me. How do you tell the person you love, and is your eternal companion that you would rather go alone and not offend her or tip off that you are planning a surprise? Well, I said I had several calls to make and would just do that as I drove alone. I found out later in the day that I wasn’t too successful at not offending her as she had been a little upset with me, but all was forgiven when she discovered the reason for my secrecy. Since we are not able to go home and see the baby, we were thrilled that our daughter was willing to come here and let us joy in the experience. We realize that this was a sacrifice for her, her husband, and their three little girls who had to miss Mommy for the weekend. We are so grateful that they were willing to share her with us for a few days.
The third blessing in our lives this week was really just another validation of some of the blessings we already knew we had. We are so blessed to have caring wonderful children who love their families and have solid testimonies of the gospel and are willing to do whatever is asked of them. When that type of preparation meets a need, the local leaders of the church know they can call upon them to do whatever is needed. This week our son-in-law was called to be the bishop of his ward. I am confident that any of our other children's families could step up and do the same if it was needed. This drove home to us the need to work with our missionaries to help prepare them for lives’ experiences that will come to them. Two things that can help anyone prepare for this type of service is their mission experiences and marrying the right person, in the right place (the temple) and by the right authority. We hope we can help these wonderful missionaries have great experiences here in the OEM, and that they will choose wonderful eternal companions when they return home.
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