Adventures of the Heart this week.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Yea, yea, yea - the sun has been shining for several days and I am LOVING it!!!  And the weather app on my phone tells me we will have mostly sunshine for this next week - so I'm REALLY loving it!

Every day of the past week brought a little pinch to my heart as I saw or talked with missionaries and realized it might be the last time.  We didn't have any special meetings so mostly saw the missionaries we are most familiar with - those who serve around here.   It all started with a lovely dinner at John and Beth Taylor's house last Sunday.   They are a great family.   He looks a little like George Albert Smith, but always has a smile and a cheery word for us.   He likes to work in his yard so gave me a little explanation about some of the plants growing in his front yard.

I believe he said this is a weeping red bud.  You can see how the branches grow toward the ground and it is not just the foliage that weeps.

This bush had lots of these upside down little white blooms.   Brother Taylor had two or three of these bushes along his fence and said these are his blueberry bushes......he got about 9 gallons of blueberries off the bushes last year.

When the blossom falls off, blueberries are beginning to form.....don't you think a warm blueberry picked and eaten straight off the bush would taste good on a summer afternoon?

He also showed me the tiny blooms off another bush he had there - so dainty, delicate, and detailed in such a tiny bloom!

The missionaries came into the office and we were able to grab a picture with them.  I love how full of energy they look......I don't love how worn out I look - even Elder Ashton looks like he is full of energy compared to me.   I think I had a headache that day - at least that's the excuse I'm sticking to ;-)

I drove over to Great Clips on Wednesday evening to get a haircut and was excited to see this little family out for a walk.   I've been keeping my eye out for the last couple of weeks in that area because I thought it was about time for the goslings to hatch - sure enough some have started to come out of the shell.   I think it is interesting that even in the animal world, (at least geese) there is a mother and a father watching out for the little ones.   Looks like the one leading out is looking around to check out any possibility of danger

Here they are again, making their way across the grass.

As we entered the apartment parking lot on Thursday, my eye caught on two flowing shrubs that I hadn't noticed before.   Both shrubs are Azaleas and coming into full bloom - so pretty,

I have nicknamed this the "Redskin" Azalea with the Red and White colors for SJ Redskins :)  Look at the intricate coloring - almost like brushstrokes on the flowers!

On Thursday night we had the opportunity to go out with the young Sister Missionaries and introduce the Book of Mormon to a man of the Muslim faith.   He seemed very interested in the book and said he would definitely read in it.   I don't know if he is just curious about our faith or what he is looking for, but I can tell you he seemed like a very genuine and kind man.   He had the cutest little 5 year old girl names Layla who was very well behaved.......he and Layla were at home doing laundry while Mom was working.    The missionaries have been invited back to answer his questions when the wife is home.

Elder Ashton and Elder DeBow in training mode on Friday.   As you can tell from the key garage, Elder Ashton is a bit compulsive about organization and I do believe that Elder DeBow is a notch above him - it is interesting to hear them talk about organization options for the Vehicle Coordinator and get excited about different ways to organize things.   I also thought you might be interested in Elder Ashton's reminders to the missionaries that he has tacked up on the wall - how to organize gas receipts when they turn them in and how NOT to park your car if you want to avoid a tow.  You would think that after living with Elder Ashton for nearly 49 years his compulsion for organization would have rubbed off on me........hmmm... not so much!

Sister DeBow training on financial matters and how those impact housing on Friday.   They are both catching on to the tasks REALLY well and will keep the mission humming along.

When the sun is shining we have lots of contrails that we can see from the military jets.   This picture of the blue sky, white contrails, white clouds and soaring trees makes me count my blessings that I live in the USA.

On sunny days, it is a beautiful time of year to drive around town.   We go past these properties several times of day on our way to and from the office.   I think the different colored Azalea hedges and the flower bed are beautiful in the yard in the foreground and when I look up and see the flag flying in the yard in the background, it seems like a great scene to me!

A little more packing up each day as we continue to prepare for the long road trip.   I think we are about half done with packing and the truck is about half full so we just might be able to cram everything in.

Counting down the days with excitement when I think of going home to family and friends.

Counting down the days with dread when I think of leaving behind the mission, missionaries and friends.   The closer we get to the end, I realize more and more that this really has been an excellent adventure in MANY ways!