Week #48, June 18-24, 2018, SLC, Utah

One of my favorite flowers are Hollyhocks.  I love everything about them.  Their size, shape and colors and that they remind me of pioneers maybe from pictures I've seen or because they grow so beautifully here on Temple Square.  This little cabin is right next to the Family History Library where we work.  It is a wonderful replica of what the early Utah pioneers lived in when they arrived here in the mid-1840's.

This week we had the special treat of meeting a Temple Square missionary, Sister Von Wallwitz, who is from our ward in Brazil.  We love running into people we knew from our time there.  We sure do love our Brazilian friends.

For our temple day this week, we drove to American Fork and attended the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  It's a beautiful temple and the peace and joy we felt there was profound.  We live in such a loud and fast-moving world that it's so wonderful to be able to step out of it and into a place of pure peace and quiet.

After the temple, we had the wonderful opportunity of attending the Utah Valley Parade of Homes.  We saw some beautiful homes and lots of fantastic decorating ideas!  I love kitchens, mudrooms and playrooms the most and of course, gorgeous yards are fun too!

I have to admit, model homes and parade of homes are a weakness!  I can't help myself. This year's paint colors are definitely in the white family!

On Friday, Eric and I drove down to Manti, Utah, where we watched the Mormon Miracle Pageant.  Such a beautiful setting and the pageant was very touching.  It was about the early years of the church and also showed scenes from the Book of Mormon as well as the Saints coming across the plains to settle in Utah.

Since the pageant didn't end until 11:00 pm and we had a long drive back, I stayed at Eric's apartment over night.  He has a wonderful apartment, very comfortable and there's a really nice feeling there.  A very nice refuge from the world.  Such an important thing for our homes to be.  This is the view from Eric's front windows.  Awwwmazing!!

Since our Parade of Homes tickets were good through Saturday, Eric and I checked out a couple of more homes.  So fun!

We got to babysit for Violet on Saturday night!  She is growing so fast it's amazing!  We loved every second of our evening with her.  Hannah and Chase had a fun work event at Lagoon amusement park.  They had a fun evening too!  Aunt Viera made that beautiful baby blanket for Violet!

We keep getting new flowers every week and this week's edition brings us these gorgeous Rose of Sharon flowers!

Couldn't resist posting this picture of Austin and Quinny from Colorado Springs.  Our sweet daughter-in-law, Jaimee, had appendicitis and had to have her appendix removed this week.  So grateful that they live near Ryan and Ali and can help each other out in emergency situations.
How cute are these two--all rough and tumble boy and little girly girl!  Darling cousins!

Our days are long and we work hard trying to make a little difference to someone here and for those on the other side.  We love the Savior and we love our Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation.  Families can be together forever and we can find lasting joy here on earth today!  I love how serving a mission keeps our focus on things that matter most; our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, our families and serving others.  Those are the things that mean something to me!

Our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, said this about where we should have our priorities.  "Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel.  It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought.  But when we do, our doubts and fears flee....When you reach up for the Lord's power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.  When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him--when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life--you will be led by the Holy ghost to know exactly what you should do."