Final Days of "Splinter"

President Savoldi, a counselor in the Mission Presidency, coined the "splinter" phrase. I think it is so appropriate. We have had a mixture of winter and spring weather and it still feels pretty cold most mornings and evenings. Yesterday we woke to snow on the ground and there were flurries most of the morning. I drove south to have breakfast with my friends, Shari Fullmer and Carol Clark, and found more snow the further south I went. At 7200 south there was at least 8 inches of snow covering the ground. I felt like it was winter again. Before going to breakfast I walked The Square and took some pictures of the poor tulips. Because there wasn't as much snow in town they didn't fair too badly.





Today is May Day!The sun is shining and the beds are looking glorious! Here are some of them:

The Family History Museum bed.


The Rose bed in the afternoon sun.


Bed looking toward South Temple.



Bed looking toward North Temple and the Conference Center.



Aren't the rose bushes looking good?! I am so excited to see these roses develop. These roses were blooming into December last year and I can't wait to welcome them back!

This week began with our Monday Mission Devotional celebrating the Savior the day after Easter. It was a beautiful musical program and then President Simmons spoke to us. He read from the scriptures and, using Pres. Monson's April 2010 Conference talk, taught us about our Savior. I was filled with emotion as he recited the scriptures, including the Aramaic words of Christ from the cross, "Eli, Eli,lama sabachthani?" President Simmons concluded by saying, "May we have the wisdom to see, hear, believe and act on what we know from the life of the Savior." It was difficult to sing after that. The choir concluded the devotional singing "Love One Another" and the Deaf Zone (and others who are learning to sign) stood up and signed the hymn. It was very touching.

I have tried to make it to the signing class for over a month, but this week I made it for the first time and I am excited to continue learning this language. It is not easy but I found in just the first class that the signs make such good sense and so it is easier to remember them when you understand where the sign came from. I hope that I will be able to continue with the class.

We also enjoyed the Annual Family History Department Devotional on Wednesday this week. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve, Richard J. Maines and Kent F. Richard of Seventy and Jay Verkler who is the Director of the Fam. History Dept. sat at a round table on the stage of the little theater in the Conference Center and answered questions and then Elder Scott closed the meeting by speaking to us from the pulpit. It was remarkable. Combining the business of Family History with the calling of serving the dead requires a lot of honesty and integrity along with much prayer and guidance by the Spirit. So much is happening in the field of genealogy it is so interesting to watch. Ed and I heard on the radio in the car on Friday that Ancestry.com reported earnings that were way up which caught the attention of Wall Street and a comment, "Apparently the Family History business is booming!" Yup! It is!

Last Tuesday was the last of the three bread making classes I have been attending with my niece, Miriam, and my mom. Mom has been ill for two of the three but Miriam and I have had great fun in the classes and we made mom's share of the bread and took it too her after each class she missed. Tuesday we learned how to make Focaccia Bread, Pita Bread and Pizza Dough. We had so much fun learned how to hand toss pizza dough! What a riot! We enjoyed eating the pizza afterward and I took most of the breads to work the following day and it was gobbled up. I don't have the time or space to make the breads while on my mission, but I will look forward to doing more of it when I return home. I did let my sourdough starter die which was sad, but at least I know how to make it again!

I am sitting here looking out across the valley with mostly blue sky and looking forward to walking across The Square to church. I love being here. I have noticed that the birds come to The Square and sing loudly there now that spring is here. Even yesterday at 6:30AM with snow on the ground the birds were singing inside the walls of The Square. I couldn't hear them as much outside the walls, but that may be due to traffic and other sounds that the walls actually help to mute, but it was delightful to hear them calling. I enjoy it so much. I feel each day that it is such a blessing to be serving the Lord here with my husband, making a contribution and enjoying such beauty and talking with our children about their progress in life.....what more could I want?

Oh.....maybe welcoming our grandson! ^_^
We can add that one in the next couple of weeks, then all will be perfect!

We went to another fireside tonight where Brother and Sister Klopfer told us "The Rest of the Story" about how Brother Klopfer learned to play the organ in East Germany before they escaped. It was an interesting fireside because they both told about the process of having their hymn, "Home Can Be A Heaven On Earth" put into the 1985 Edition of the Hymnal. Brother Klopfer is now the senior ranking member on the Church Music Committee so he also taught us some doctrine about music in the Church. It was interesting to hear that the Music Committee is still in the process of translating the hymns into the primary languages from around the world and it will be 2-3 years before that project is completed. At the conclusion of the fireside I waited until most everyone had left the chapel and went to Brother Klopfer and told him I was so disappointed because I really was hoping to hear him play the JSMB chapel organ and really show us what it can do. He looked at me and started to smile a bit, then he went to the organ and began to play "Come, Come Ye Saints". He looked over at me and gave me a look like, "Is that what you wanted?" So I said, "No, lets hear what this organ can do!". He smiled a little broader and opened up the organ and it was glorious. It is really the baby of the organs on The Square, with the Assembly Hall next, then the Conference Center organ and the Tabernacle organ being the biggest. What a pleasure to hear.

At least every other week there is a fireside of some kind for us to attend. Almost every weekend there is a concert to attend on The Square and there is usually a group of missionaries getting together to go. We are so busy with all these good things that sometimes I am happy to get to work on Monday mornings! (Just kidding!)

So, another week ahead of us. The forecast for the week is sunny with very little chance of precipitation so we are probably out of "splinter" and into Spring. This area of the country will have to be watchful for flooding with the snow that has come to the mountains, but floods are not as dreadful as the tornadoes that have saddened so many communities recently. We are prepared and shall not fear but will look forward in faith to another wonderful week serving the Lord.

I have posted a few more pictures which I hope you will enjoy.