Thanks, Sister!

One of my favorite things about moving to Utah has been getting to spend time with Stacey. It has been over seventeen years since we have lived near each other, and I have missed her. Now that we are a mere 15 minutes away, it is great to be able to see her and her family on the spur of the moment. A couple of days ago, Stacey called me to tell me that she had a surprise for me. I love surprises! Turns out Stacey went to Voesens, the German backerei in downtown Salt Lake, and while she was there, she bought me a freshly-made stollen, as well as some German cookies and fresh Lebkuchen for Opa. I don't have to tell you that I chowed down on that stollen immediately! For those who don't know, stollen is a German holiday yeast bread, filled with raisins and other fruits and rolled in powdered sugar after baking. It is delicious! This gift is special to me, not only because I love it, but because it brings back a childhood memory for me: that of my Nana making stollen at Christmastime. It was one of the delicious baked good I remember from my childhood. Although Nana was Wisconsin-born, she lived a life steeped in the German traditions of her parents and grandparents. And thanks to my girl Stacey, I not only had a delicious treat, but a sweet memory brought back to my mind. Thanks, Sister!

Christmas Tree Decorating at the Vasses

It's Official!

I just signed on to lds.org and guess what! We are now officially in Harvest Hills 6th Ward! Hooray! Just thought yall would like to know!

My Dog's Name is Rex!

I talked to Annie yesterday morning and she told me about a man who they had over for dinner on Sunday. It seems he is a member of our church who is in Mobile to build the organ for the renovated sanctuary at Dauphin Way Methodist Church, which is where my friend Jo attends. So I thought that was a pretty neat coincidence. Then she told me the rest of the story. This man does work for our church, working on new buildings, etc, all over the country with his father. Ricky (who is still visiting in Mobile along with Lynne, kids, etc) mentioned that our next-door neighbor here in Harvest Hills also works on church building all over the country with his dad. So the man asks what our neighbor's name is, and Ricky says Nielson, and the man says his name is Nielson...... Anyway, it turns out that the man and Isaac Nielson, our neighbor, are cousins! And he said that when Isaac and his wife Erica had their third child earlier this year, that it was the 116th great-grandchild for their family! Which I found even cooler than the "my dog's name is Rex" coincidence. It's hard to try to wrap your mind around 116 great-grands. Are you reading this, Mutti? Try buying Christmas presents for that crew! So I started thinking about my friend Brenda, and if that could be a possibility for her. She and Tom have 12 kids. So if each of their kids has 12 kids, that would be, what, 144 grandchildren? And if each grandchild has, say, only four kids..... You do the math....

By the way, if anyone is a little confused by the title of this post, "My dog's name is Rex" is one of our favorite lines from what is probably our official favorite family movie, "Rustler's Rhapsody." So if you hear one of my kids ever say "Throw another faggot on the fire," or "I've got a match for you" or "My dog's name is Rex!," you will know where those lines come from!

Turkey Bowl 2007

Final Score:
Hawks (Andrew, Brian, Justin/Chris): 112
Cougars (Rich, Tyler, Justin/Chris): 72

See you next year!

Just Walkin'

Well, Opa and I just came in from a short but very cold and pleasant walk around our new neighborhood. It is dark here, so we had the chance to see the Christmas lights on our street. This may seem like nothing special to do on a Monday night, but I can't think of any way I would rather spend the evening! I have always wanted Opa to walk with me, but the weather is so HUMID in Mobile, that it just seemed quite unappetizing. So now we have had our first evening walk, not very long, but very enjoyable, and hopefully the first of many!

Yesterday I did make it to choir practice, which was great by the way, and on to Stace and Rich's for supper. We had such a nice time, visiting around the table most of the evening, making plans for our trip to see the lights on Temple Square on Saturday, where we will meet up with Tom and Brenda, and their daughter Ashli and her husband and five children. We are very excited to have Ashli Thompson get to meet Ashli Vass, who is her namesake. I am hoping that the Benhams will want to join us as well.

Thanksgiving at the Vasses

First Day in Our New Ward

We have been looking forward to attending our new ward, Harvest Hills 6th Ward, and today was the day! I must say that we were not disappointed. Sacrament Meeting was first, and even with low attendance of Thanksgiving weekend, there was still a need for nine brethren passing the sacrament! We sat on the last row in the chapel, and I suppressed the urge to turn around to see how many people were there, back in the folding chairs in the cultural hall, but there must have been a lot. It was a sweet experience for me to partake of the sacrament in our new ward. I felt and feel so blessed to be here, and felt the spirit in that meeting. Next was Sunday School, which was held in the other cultural hall (we meet in the Stake Center, which is why there are two cultural halls.) Brother Thomas taught the lesson on Pure Religion, which covers the book of James from the New Testament. According to the ward web site on lds.org, we were supposed to be having 1, 2 and 3 John, which is what Opa and I studied for, so I guess they are behind a couple of weeks. No matter, even though we had already had this lesson in Mobile, we enjoyed it so much here. Again, a very sweet spirit permeated the class, as Bro. Thomas taught the lesson, utilizing a clip from Elder Holland's May 07 conference address, concerning bridling the tongue. There were appropriate comments from the class members, and we both left class feeling fulfilled. Next was RS for me, and priesthood for Opa. I love Relief Society in this ward, having visited periodically since Lynne and Ricky moved here in 06. I really felt at home today, even though some of the sisters I have become friends with were not in attendance, due to visiting their children for the holidays. I sat with Kathleen Hansen, whom I have gotten to know, along with her daughter Shannon. They are missing Gavin! We had Teachings for our Times today, with the discussion around President Eyring's conference address "O Remember, Remember" from the recent General Conference. Great address, and great lesson taught by someone whose name I didn't catch, and again, lots of pertinant discussion and again that very tangible spirit present in the meeting. I am going to enjoy this ward! In RS, one of the brethren came in at the beginning of the meeting to ask for two sisters to feed the missionaries on two different dates in December. Quite a change from the missionary dinner calendar going around weekly in Mobile! Opa told me how much he enjoyed Priesthood meeting today. He said that Ray Hansen (Kathleen's husband) taught the same TFOT lesson that we had in RS and that he did an excellent job teaching.

So we drove the one minute drive home from church, ate lunch, and now, as soon as I finish this blog entry, I think I just might walk on back over to the church for choir practice at 2:15. They are working on some music to sing for Christmas, and I would really like to be a part of that! Then when I get back, we will go to Stace's house where we will get to help decorate the Christmas tree. And eat some delicious Thanksgiving leftovers! We had such a wonderful time spending Thanksgiving with the Vasses, Dave and Bryan, and Josh and Amanda. Rather than write all about it, I will just post some pictures I took of the day.

Signing off with love,
Mimi

Gentle on my Mind - the video

Photobucket Album

Gentle on my Mind

Jim and I have enjoyed relaxing with a Kris Kristofferson song or two, when the mood strikes us. We especially like to sing "Me and Bobby Magee" as well as "For the Good Times." Seriously good times. But probably my personal favorite that we sing together is "Gentle on my Mind." We even sang it once at a ward talent night, and managed to not make too big fools of ourselves. On our trip out to Utah we listened to lots of our favorite songs to pass the time, including "Gentle on my Mind." Jim commented that the melody was a little monotonous. Maybe so, but the words are so sweet that they make up for it. This little film clip is one Annie took of us while we still had furniture in our house. The remembrance of the little girls and our daughter with us that evening, as well as the silliness that prevailed truly lies gentle on my mind.

Walking to the Edge of the Darkness

We've dreamed about it, talked about it, wished we could, and now, finally we have taken the plunge! We have moved to Utah. Not exactly as we had planned, but here we are. All seemed to be going great for our home sale and move, including an enthusiastic buyer who wouldn't even look at any other houses. November 15 was to be the closing date. The evening of the 14th our realtor called and said the buyer's agent said they needed two more weeks. After eighteen months of renovating our home, six months on the market, two months with a sold sign in our yard, two more weeks was somewhat of a disappointment. Jim had already closed down his business, our utilities had been shut off, our mail had been transferred. How could we leave for Utah with no money in hand? Simply by following the advice Pres. Harold B. Lee gave to a young and very junior apostle, Elder Boyd K. Packer: "Boyd, sometimes you just have to walk to the edge of the darkness." As of today, November 24, our realtor has not heard back from the buyer. Will they show up with the money at the end of November? Who knows.... Our house is back on the market, and we are just going forth with faith and a lot of prayers.

Saying goodbye to my Mom and the Emmertsons and Jake and Sheree was so difficult. My heart hurts just to think about them. But the difficult moment passed and soon we were in our truck, driving through Mississippi and onward. Our crossing the Mississippi River seemed to be symbolic in a way. I did get a few pictures as we went over the bridge.