Pictures of Elder Hatch

I sure do love this missionary son of mine! He sent us a (surprise) Christmas package that we were instructed to open right away. It included this key chain to be used as an ornament for our tree. It's an elephant carved out of ebony.

Here are a couple recent pictures of him:

With his companion outside the government building to renew visas

Singing in a quartet at a Zone Meeting

Showing off his new elephant tie that was a Christmas present from the home stake of his mission president

He also says that it's a lot hotter to wear his one long-sleeved shirt, so he only does it for special occasions.
He calls this his James Bond look...

The Nativity (in stained glass)

click here: mormon.org Story of Christmas

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving was a pretty low-key affair this year around here. The best part was that we were having it with our good friends, the Wildes, at their house. The second best part was the beautiful weather! It was so pleasant. Sunny and fairly warm, I even wore sandals that day. We divided up food responsibilities for the dinner, and since it wasn't at my house, I didn't even have to clean the kitchen from my cooking :)

We had a pretty traditional turkey dinner with one exception--Aubrey had requested bratwurst to be added to the meal, since that's what he'd had for "Thanksgiving" while in Germany. So we had brats to go with our turkey. And since it was such a nice day, we even grilled them outside before taking them over.

I had asked Elder Hatch what they'd be having that day, beans? But he said no, they were going to a nice restaurant for a dinner of steak au poivre and frites. YUM! Lucky missionaries! The restaurant meals there are not too expensive (about $10 US for a complete steak dinner), so it was not a hardship for them. Elder & Sister Henrichsen sent a letter that described their Thanksgiving: "We ate with the two other senior couples down by the beach at a resort.  Very atypical for our Philippines area with so much poverty and bare necessities.  But we enjoyed our special day....no turkey or pumpkin pie....but we still ate "too much" and didn't feel a bit guilty!  As we drove out of the resort the sun was starting to go down and there was a rainbow in the clouds"

As I have reflected on my life during this season of gratitude, I have felt so blessed. I have wonderful kids who are doing good things. I have great friends who support me and love me. I have a home to shelter my family and me from the elements. I am in good health, as are my children. I am associated with so many missionaries throughout the world who are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have that same gospel to guide me in my life. I know that I have a Heavenly Father and Savior who love me. What more could I need or want?

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving day:

It's like when she was little and would say "cheese" for the picture

I have goofy kids...

The tasty, tasty bratwurst

Part of the dinner spread--YUM!

See my sandals?

This one's going on the Christmas cards :)

Elder Hatch (yellow arrow) with all the Elders at the restaurant

Good Words from Elder Hatch

From Carson's letter this week:
We were in a lesson after church and it was not going well. I was tired, impatient, and kinda grumpy with all that was going on. The Spirit was not there that lesson, until the end. At the end I said to myself, "Ok, there are more things that are important than you. Power through it, you'll be glad that you did." So I focused up and then, after I bore testimony, the spirit was there. It was after that point that this woman we were teaching finally got the idea that Jesus' church wasn't always on the earth and that we needed a restoration. Just goes to show that if you focus on others and not yourself, miracles can happen.

I'm so glad I have this boy to remind me of such truths.

Special Experience

I haven't posted this experience yet because it's pretty close to my heart and I didn't want to be inappropriate by sharing in a public space. But since this is currently the only form of journal I have, I thought I would go ahead and record it so I won't forget. The best way to do this is to copy what I wrote to Elder Hatch in a couple of my letters to him.

From my letter to Elder Hatch September 8: Did I tell you that a few weeks ago Pres. Sermon asked me to bear my testimony in the adult session last night? Yeah, that's right. He asked me to bear my testimony of temple covenants. He asked me just a couple of days after the funeral for Whitney & Kyle's baby, so I was pretty emotional. And since it's a testimony, I figured I probably shouldn't write it down and read it like a talk...but I did a lot of thinking over the last few weeks about what I might share. I prayed right before leaving and asked Heavenly Father to help me to be clear and concise (because sometimes I ramble on) and to share what someone needed to hear. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I know I talked about the hope and knowledge that comes from the sealing covenant. I talked about how it binds us across generations. I talked about how important it is to keep all the covenants we make in the temple so that we are worthy of the blessings of the sealing covenant. I talked about how the sealing covenant blesses me not only in the eternities, but every day. I talked about Jane, Nana, and Dad (Gary). I guess I did all right because several people complimented me, even people I don't know. And I didn't even cry very much during my testimony.

And from my letter to Elder Hatch September 22: In your letter last week you told me about an experience you had with Branch Council meeting and your prayer being answered. Let me share one of mine. Do you remember a couple weeks ago when I told you about bearing my testimony in Stake Conference? Here's the rest of the story. I told you that before I left I prayed I would be clear and concise and be able to share what someone needed to hear. I also told you that I felt good about what I had said and that several people complimented me, so I figured all was good. Well, the other night at work, someone I know from the stake (Sis. Smith) was checking out a book from me at the desk. She told me how much she appreciated my talk in stake conference. Then she went on to tell me about a woman from their ward who lost her husband nearly two years ago and has had a very difficult time since then. She shared with Sis. Smith how much she had needed to hear the talk in stake conference by the woman who had lost her husband (me). She felt like my example could really help her. So my prayer was TOTALLY answered in all 3 ways. And it was such a tender mercy that I was able to find out. Heavenly Father loves us so much and is waiting to bless us if we just ask.

Last week I ran into President Sermon who thanked me again for sharing my testimony in Stake Conference. He said that it was exactly right and that it was very powerful for everyone to hear. I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given to reflect on and share my testimony of temple covenants.

Fall Drive

During Fall Break a couple of weeks ago, Maren and I went to Provo to have lunch with Aubrey and Malary (my niece). After a couple of other errands down that way, we decided to take the long way home--via the Alpine Loop and Cascade Springs. The pictures don't do justice to the magnificent views we saw. Cascade Springs wasn't green and luscious like in the summer, but it certainly had it's own beauty on this October day.