Christmas A to Z: ZION

And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.                                         1 Nephi 13:37

More Highlights from Korea

Let's start with King Sejong, often called the DaVinci of the East for his many interests and achievements, including the invention of the Korean alphabet, called Hangul. 

Can you guess where we're going?

And here it is!

The temple itself was closed for routine maintenance, so we enjoyed the grounds which are lovely.

I call this the Dr. Suess tree!

Of course I have to have a picture with the lilacs!

 And look who we saw in Seoul:

Elder Law and Elder Ney with PFCMom

He's Home

Elder PW - home from Argentina

We met him at the airport on Wednesday, April 4 at 10:45 AM, true to his teasing nature, he was the last one off the plane. I started running toward him and the gate guard cautioned "Ma'am, you can't go down there." I ignored him and ran to give my son a hug.

He is the same person, just a little taller, a little slimmer, and a lot more emotional and spiritual depth. He is settling in and making decisions about the future, taking care of business such as dentist and doctor visits, making contact with Westminster College and hundreds of friends.

PW's first request was to eat Pizza for lunch. Here he is with Topdad, and then his first taste of American pizza.

Then a short drive in JET's car

Oh yeah, this is sweet!

Here we are on Easter Sunday:

JET, Rozylass, Elder PW

The Man!

Parental Paydays!

Motherhood is an unpaid, many times unappreciated, more than full-time career. I chose it and have given my very best efforts. My husband and I count parental paydays as anytime we are praised, shown love or appreciation for our jobs as father and mother. This can be as simple as a slobbery kiss and an "I love you" from a toddler to a comment like the one we received at a symphony concert to which we had taken our five children ages 16 to 7. At the intermission, a woman sitting behind us said "You have most well behaved children I have ever seen. You really have done a good job with them." Cha-ching! Parental Payday!

Today I got one from our missionary:

Mom, I want to once again thank you for putting up with me for 19 years and diligently teaching me. I know I put you through a lot of hardship, bad days, tough times, and I may not have always been as respectful or loving as I should have been; However, therein lies the beauty of the Atonement and the gift of forgiveness. I have changed. I have learned. I am trying hard to be better each day, and frequently Elder F lets me know of improvement. He also has a few nicknames for me, as in Elder Einstein, Elder Nigh (Reference to Bill Nigh the Science Guy TV program), and Elder Emerson (I hop I spilld that rite!).

He makes a comment and I back it up with science. thus the nicknames. They are all good-natured and he never does it without humor, so I take it nicely. And he is the one that attended BYU before the Mission. I am the Utah Red-Neck/ Midnight-Shift worker. But I did read encyclopedias as a child, so there is not much to be said. Except maybe "Thank you Mom, for putting them on the bottom shelf of the bookcase, within easy reach of hands driven by a hungry mind."

Also, "Thank you Mom, for teaching me a little cooking before the Mission. I am SO teaching you how to make Argentine Empanadas while conversing in about 2 months!"

So, today is a good day!

P.S. I don't know why the spacing is so weird and don't know how to correct it. Sorry.

Would You Look At That!

One hundred posts in just over a year. Who would have thought. I hope to do much better than that in the coming year. This weekend I asked TopDad what my strongest talent is and his answer was "Writing." I take that as permission, as well as encouragement, to keep going.

Blogging is enjoyable to me for two reasons; I get to write about my life, my interests, and express my opinions, and secondly I've "met" so many really interesting and knowledgeable people.

Thank you dear readers. I wish you'd leave more comments, but I understand time limitations.

So here's to another year of exploration, musing and expression.

BONUS: Just received and email with this picture -

Behold a Royal Army - Elder PW is in the back row, third from right.

Burst of Tears

Friday we received an email from Church Travel detailing our missionary son's homecoming arrival date and time. As I read it I burst into tears, joy and relief. It's been a long two years! He'll be leaving Argentina on April 3 and arriving here on April 4. Ten weeks from Wednesday!

Elder Thoelke with President and Sister Peterson

Veteran's Day

Day Eleven of Count Your Blessings

I attended a Veteran's Day program at the high school this morning.  Our little town loves and honors the Veterans.  Five current members of the National Guard were the color guard; the high school band performed a medley of the service songs, and choir performed the national anthem and Battle Hymn of the Republic; a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars was the Master of Ceremonies; members of the speech team gave a wonderful presentation of the symbols of America. The last presenter talked about the youth of this generation carrying the torch of freedom and preserving all the hopes and dreams of America. It was an inspiring program in which all the Veterans of the different eras were asked to stand and be recognized: World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Prisoners of War, and then we all stood and observed a moment of silence in honor of those who gave their lives, the ultimate sacrifice, to preserve our freedoms.  My husband sat by me and stood as a Veteran of the Viet Nam era, and Desert Shield/Storm.

As I watched the members of the color guard I teared up thinking of another veteran, currently serving in the Air Force. And here she is at Recruit Graduation in San Antonio, Texas.

I was so impressed with the graduation ceremony.  They really made a BIG DEAL of all these recruits. The commanding officer thanked us, parents, families, spouses, etc., over and over for allowing, encouraging, and supporting our loved ones in their decision to serve their country, especially in a time of war.  That brought tears to my eyes.  I don't like being reminded that my sweet little girl is a warrior. Fortunately her job will not be in harms way.  Her training is too expensive and valuable to risk losing her.  We had a great time visiting her and seeing her in her new role. 

Airman's Run

Do we look like proud parents?

Well, we were and are!                  

We have another family member who is part of a Royal Army serving far away in Argentina.  He also is a warrior in the fight for freedom and liberty. We are so proud of him as well.

Elder PW is fourth from the right on the very back row. 

We love our veterans, both military and missionary, past, present and future. Thank you for serving valiantly and faithfully.

One final thought: As I watched the program today the words of a hymn came to my mind --

"Oh youth of the noble birthright, carry on, carry on, carry on."