Stake Conference

Tom writes:

This has been an interesting weekend. It was a rare insight into the divinity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the authorized use of priesthood keys to make major changes in the organization of the Church in our area.   A new stake was created from four other existing stakes, three missions and two temple districts. In addition to the calling of a stake president and two counselors for this newly created stake, this action also necessitated the reorganization of one of the effected stake presidencies.  And the inspired process for calling these six brethren involved only a few hours.

I was one of those invited to be interviewed Friday evening by two Seventies authorized by the First Presidency as they sought to prayerfully select the person God had prepared to be called as the stake president of the newly created stake. This required a four hour round trip for a short visit with these two inspired priesthood holders. Shortly afterwards I was released to go home.  

This process was repeated the next day for the second stake that was being reorganized. It wasn’t until today’s session of stake conference that we knew who the Lord had selected, when the names were presented for our sustaining vote.  As Elder Southward, one of the visiting Seventy, stated,  the mind and will of God has been done today.  As the names were announced, there was that comforting feeling to me that reaffirmed that these men were indeed called of God.  The work of our Savior continues to roll forward as Daniel prophesied; he truly is hastening his work in this area. 

Mountain Home is now part of the West Plains Stake, the newest stake (at least for today) in the world.  It is an exciting time to be part of this great work and see the Church grow.  Yes we will be affected by this growth since this is a smaller stake and more of our members may be called to serve in stake callings, but what a great opportunity for us to grow.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is led by a prophet today and is a church of continuing revelation!

New Baby Reck

Monday morning I finished up some odds and ends.  I got the last packing done.  At noon, Tom and I headed for Little Rock to put me on the plane to Deborah's.

Tom has been trying to get his tractor up and running. He's tried a lot of different things to get the tractor running smoothly.  This last issue is going back to the first one-- a needle valve that keeps clogging.  He thought he might be able to get a part in the Little Rock area, but they had to order it.  So he just dropped me off and headed back.

Had an uneventful flight and Deborah picked me up.  Tuesday I got reacquainted with the grandchildren.  Christopher welcomed me... which was nice.  I figured, as the youngest, he'd feel the most displaced with the new baby. I learned where the pre-school was and the store.  And the things in the kitchen.

Wednesday Deborah and Ian left very early.  I got the kids off to school.  As I was picking up Samantha at 12:30ish,  I got a text from Deborah that she was at 7cm... and opted for an epidural.  About 12:40 text: 9 cm.   Baby born 1:05. Boy. 7lbs 15.6 oz.  And 20 inches long.  They named him Simon James Reck.

That afternoon, after the kids got home from school, we drove over to see Deborah, Simon, and Ian. The kids were well behaved.  They were happy to see Mom and excited to hold Simon.  Each got a turn to hold the baby.  Even Christopher got to hold Simon while sitting on Ian's lap.  They all looked so cute loving the baby.

We came home, had a quick dinner and off to bed.  Thursday was similar-- Ian left early for school.  Kids all off to school (except Christopher). I made a quick run to Smith's for apples and almonds, then picked Samantha up at 12:30.  Sarah and Steven get home a little before 4 pm.  We had dinner.  They played like banshees for a bit of the evening.  To settle them down, I called Deborah and had them visit with her by phone.

Friday, Samatha had no preschool.  But we had "Parents and Pastries" at Sarah and Steven's school. So we all walked over about 8am.  We read books together until 8:30 or so. Then we went into the cafeteria where we had donuts and milk. Then Sarah and Steven went off to choral practice and we walked back home.  I love it that the church is across the street and the elementary school is a block away.  It makes it so convenient!

The kids just had a half day on Friday.  Shortly after they got home, Deborah came home with baby Simon.   He is a cute thing.  He often opens his eyes and just looks around.  You can tell he's trying to figure things out.

Saturday the kids and I cleaned house-- or at least picked up and dust mopped.  Sarah changed the sheets on the beds. I did laundry.  It's been a bit cold-- ice in the puddles.  But it warmed up and the kids played outside on Saturday.  We ordered Pizza for lunch.  Deborah had a coupon about to expire for a free one.  It was tasty.

Shortly before dinner, Ian's Mom Deb and her exchange student Simone arrived from Portland.  She'd had the car checked out before she left-- tires off, brakes checked.  Just as the came into town, the car started acting poorly.  Ian went to check the car and found only two bolts holding one tire on.  Two of the pins had also broken off. Ian will take the car in Monday.  Eryn, Ian's sister came over to rescue them and take them to her house (where they'd planned to go.)

We practiced the "loaves and fishes" and invited them to dinner.  All ate and there was still leftovers.  Then it was Saturday baths and bed.

Saturday night, Simon seemed to be awake more than he was asleep.  We went off to church and let Deborah and Simon sleep.  Apparently he's a good sleeper during the day. When we came home from church, she fed him and then they both slept again.  The kids played with dominoes and other games while I wrote to missionaries.

Now it's time to fix dinner.

Life in the Fast Lane

When I started this week, it looked to be totally crazy.  I wrote down all I had to do and it seemed impossible to get it all done.  Saturday we had an assignment to clean the Kansas City Temple. It's such a long drive, Tom wanted to go on Friday and spend the night.  Should I go, or let him go with someone else?

I decided to go.  I suggested we leave about noon, so I could work in the morning.  Then take in an evening session.  I could work Saturday morning while Tom took in a session, then we'd do two together, a few initiatories, and clean at the end of the day.  I felt even better about this decision when we learned of the 12 slots needed from our ward, only 4 were going... and that included Tom and I.

So I jumped into the week working to finish both newsletters. I didn't know if I'd have new assignments from the web designers. I emailed, and they said, not yet!  Hurray!! I acted responsibly, but had no responsibilities. That was good news. I could move on to other things.

I also had deadlines on Spec assignments from the AWAI Bootcamp.  Then I learned that with most all of them I could just send samples.  So I spent a day updating my website and directed them there. The one that I needed to write out, I'd done some research on, so while it might not be my best work, it was pretty good... and it's DONE and send off.

We went and did our visiting teaching. I got a raindrop treatment. I taught institute, and did seminary supervisor stuff with a new teacher and encouraged my teachers to fill out the reports.  We listed our eggs for sale on the trading post... but didn't sell any. We do need to find a market for that.

I learned how to cancel our LLC that's in Missouri that we don't' need any more now that the houses are sold.  Tom and I have listened to Options Animal and worked on our learning there.  I also listened to a few webinars on copywriting.

I worked on three chapters for the book and am down to the last few chapters for the first review-- excepting the case studies which aren't written yet.  And I got my weekly executive coaching blog done.

By the time we were ready to leave for the temple I felt like I'd cleaned my plate off, and might have to look for work to do!  It truly was a miracle.

Tom spent much of the week trying to beat the leaves into submission.  He started raking.  Then moved to the mower.  He could make about half a circle  around the yard before having to empty the catcher and start again.  It made an amazing difference.

 (After we went to the temple, we came home to find the wind had swept a 10'x20'x2' high pile in front of the garage.  Ah, the "downer" of fall.)

Mid week was bitter cold-- below freezing.  Then, as we drove to the temple the temperature rose.  Had a nice evening session and took some pictures of the temple all lit up.  By morning the weather moved into the 70's.  Tom left early for the session and I got some work done.  He came back, after having checked the schedule.  We needed to be there a half hour earlier!  Fortunately I was all packed and ready.

We weren't sure we'd have time for lunch, so we made egg salad sandwiches and headed over. It was such a joy to be in the temple.  I'm so glad I committed to go. We finished with sessions and cleaning by about 5pm and started the 5 hour drive home.

Ages ago, Jonathan gave us some CD's with a zillion talks on mp3 format.  For years, we didn't have an mp3 player.  Now the car does (well, and the computer) so we spend the time listening to all these talks.  It's great because each speaker has his or her own topic, voice tone. and cadence. So each is a change of pace.  I can't say it makes the time go faster... but it makes it go.  We got home about 10:20.  In bed by 11pm.

Today Tom left about 7:30 am.  He got home about 1:45 in time to do the Bishop's Youth Discussion.  Then he took one of the youth and went home teaching.  Got home about 5:30.  I fixed a quick dinner.  He was on the phone by 5:30 making calls, then left at 7 to visit a brother whose father just died unexpectedly.  Such is the life of a bishop.

Family and home

We started the week singing church hymns together as siblings plus Mom. It was delightful! Then we listened to alphorns.  And finally we packed.

Monday we breakfasted and made lunches. Except for the pickles.  The ones in my hand one minute... and on the floor the next.  I think we got up all the glass.  The smell?  Well, it was a fair trade.  The place smelled strongly of bleach when we first got there.

Cynthia, Sally, and I drove home in one car, and Steve, Mom and Tom drove in another.  Sue and Steve took their car back to Brentwood.  We hugged them tightly good-bye. We wish them well on their mission... and it will be a long time before we see them again.

We had a nice visit on the way back and took turns driving.  We got back only a little sooner than Mom and her group. We did some laundry.  That evening, we went out to the best Chinese food I think I've ever eaten! My tummy was so happy.  Then we stopped for a last shopping at Trader Joe's before leaving California.

Steve took us to the airport bright and early.  We had a three hour layover, so the trip took all day. We got to North West Arkansas airport about 8:30pm and home about 11:30.  We went from summer to deep fall. The trees are still full of lovely leaves and daytime temperatures are not bad. But the nights are nippy.  We've enjoyed the fireplace.

Wednesday I dove into my writing.  I really felt blessed to be able to nearly finish my newsletters.  They went much more quickly now that the template is in place. And I'd tried to write some of the article on the plane. I'm still revising chapters for the Infinite Banking book. I THINK we are making progress. Wednesday night I taught institute class. Tom was busy with his Bishop things.

Thursday Tom and I went out shopping and running errands. I got some work done. In the evening we went to a play put on by the Junior High.  One of the church kids was in it.  It was surprisingly well done. The props were impressive.  It was a musical and we could hear all the words. The play, called "Into the Woods" revolved around fairy tale characters. Our member played Little Red Ridinghood. We also met Rapunzel, Jack-- of beanstalk fame, his mother, and his cow.  The cow stole the show.  Fun antics while others were saying their lines.

Friday we went to take another look at a house we may want to buy and flip.  We've never done that before.  So we're trying to evaluate what it will cost to fix, what we might get when we flip it, and what we can afford to pay for it. It really looks solidly built.  But we can't get a second opinion on the possible sale price because another Realtor won't look at it til we own it.  A recent appraisal and the tax records offer a favorable price.  So this week we may be making an offer.

Saturday Tom had two baptisms to attend. One in West Plains and one here in Mountain Home.  I had a meeting in Branson for seminary training.  I took the car... Tom drove the truck.  I had a great meeting.  Not a lot of attendees, but good dialogue, good teaching and learning.  This was my last training before the stake splits.  Who knows what I will be doing three weeks from now.

In the evening I was able to chat with Bobby Rice about infinite banking, our insurance policies, and the book I'm writing for them.  It was an educational call.

When we got home, I decided to start a lemonade cleanse.  I've had some rashes on my body that the essential oils were not knocking out.  Since the liver is the first line of defense, and the skin is the second way of getting rid of toxins, I thought I'd do this for a week.  It's a little tough, but better than I'd expected.  I don't know that the rash is disappearing, but I'm shedding a few pounds.

Today we had 5 new people moving into the ward.  That's always nice. Got to visit with some of them. The stake president visited... one last time for him to make that 2+ hour drive.  He's such a good man.

Hope you all are doing well.

Las Vegas

Sandy started the week out with her mom. She flew in Saturday evening from her copy writing training in Florida.  Tom drove to 'Walmart International' airport in Bentonville Tuesday morning to join them, arriving without incident that evening.  We spent the next two days relaxing, visiting, dining with family, and attacking the list of honey dos.  Aunt Ruth invited us to join her and daughter Sheryl for dinner Thursday at the Towers; I had to borrow a coat since it was formal dining.  We had a delightful time of enjoyable conversation and food. 

Friday morning, we arose early so we could meet Sally at the Newport Beach Temple for the 8:30 session.  Normally we drive 5 hours to get to the Kansas City Temple, so we could not pass up the opportunity to attend a temple only 20 minutes away.  As always, it was great to enjoy the spirit that accompanies this work!

We rushed home to change, load the car, and hit the road for Las Vegas.  However, when we arrived at the house, Grandma informed us that long time friends from Switzerland had just arrived in the US and would be stopping by for a short visit.  We took a photo of us and Hans and Kristy Spring before we all left.

We did have a good visit and were not delayed too long.  But since it was lunch time, we just had to stop at 'In and Out' burger before leaving the LA area.  Sandy drove up with Cynthia and left just before us, while Grandma, Sally and I drove up in Grandma's car.  Beautiful scenery and a good drive, until we got to the Las Vegas traffic.  Love that rush hour, bumper to bumper, slow crawl traffic.

Sue and Steve arrived earlier from Utah and picked up the other Steve at the airport and Cynthia was able to pick up keys at the Polo Towers, where we are all staying while we were still stuck in traffic.  A last minute decision sent us to the Hofbrauhouse prior to our arrival at the hotel and we all arrived about the same time for a delicious German meal of wurst, sauerkraut, red cabbage followed by apple strudel.  Then back to our lodgings, where the wise thing to have done was to get a good night's sleep, but we choose to visit.

 Standing in front of the Ballegio talking tree.  Below-- some of the treats at the patisserie.

Saturday morning we slept in and then gathered to walk to Bellagio's for breakfast.  After a decadent breakfast of blueberry muffins, yogurt, cinnamon roll, chocolate croissant, and almond croissant we strolled back to the hotel.  No reunion would be complete without puzzles, and there were two that beckoned most of us to spend time seeking the right place for each of those pieces. 

After a tummy loving dinner of taco salad and chocolate chip laden brownies Sandy and I walked the 'strip' at night.  We stopped at the M & M store; if they can put M & M on it, they sell it!  Mugs, pencils, stickers, PJs, pillows and lots more.  You could get any color of  M & M's and have them personalized (Initials, etc) for a small fortune.  Or, for only $12.99 a pound, you could get any color or combination thereof.  We passed on all the above.  We also walked to the 'Aria' resort casino - a huge complex.  They have a magnificent fountain out front - we referred to it as a fireworks fountain.  There were multiple high power fountains that changed angles with a variety of sequences with different colored spot lights that from a distance, really looked like a fireworks display.  And behind that, was a captivating water wall.  Amazing what a vivid imagination can do with water.

This morning we attended the Hacienda Ward down the road from where we are staying.  Very friendly and welcoming.  Good testimonies. Sally and Susan went with Mom and Cynthia to an Episcopal service after Sacrament meeting. Good music there, I understand.

 Singing together.  And alphorn playing.

In the afternoon we sat around and sang for several hours.  We almost got through all the hymns before Tom heated up the spaghetti dinner Sally brought.  Yumm again. We visited and created a family medical history.  On the whole we're a pretty healthy family.

In the evening Sue and Steve serenaded us with the alphorns. They placed the ends of the alphorns out on the balcony of the 15th story of the Polo Towers.  I'm sure they were serenading all of the Las Vegas Strip for a half a mile.  It certainly was an improvement over some of the other music, sirens and motorcycle reeving.

Whirlwind Week

This has been another action packed week. It was a quick day home on Monday.  I got my hair cut so I’m not nearly so shaggy.  I had a 2pm appointment with a web design firm.  They were looking for a copywriter.  I had an interview there and it looks like I’ll get some work from them.  I did laundry, ironed, and packed.

Tuesday we left about 6:30 to take me to North West Arkansas for my flight to the AWAI Bootcamp—a copywriter’s conference.  I’d gone last year, so I knew somewhat what to expect.  At the Palm Beach airport shuttle, I met two other writers going to the conference, so we chatted on the way there and became friends.  I had not met my roommate, but she was delightful (except for her phone announcing text messages all night long the first night.)  She’d met a friend on the shuttle… so now I had 4 friends.

One enterprising writer organized a newbie luncheon for all of the new people coming to Bootcamp on Wednesday.  I joined in and got acquainted with a few more people.

Then the adventure began.  Classes, dinners, breakfasts.  Wednesday 3:30-9.  Then Thursday starting at 7am we had classes going until 9 pm.  Friday it was 7-5.  Saturday 7-2 when I left to catch my plane.

I had learned that many people don’t ask the speakers to lunch… so I did.  I talked with the B2B (business to business writing) editor heading up AWAI’s new program.  I took her to lunch on Thursday and invited another B2B guru to lunch on Friday.  My roommate was so excited, I invited her to come, too.  When her friend suggested lunch, we invited him along.  He was so pleased… he picked up the tab for all of us!

 Josh Boswell was the MC, father of 10 1/2 and a Mormon.  Nice guy.

By the end of the first day, my head was STUFFED FULL of information.  Ideas of things to do.  New ways of writing better.  New ways to get clients.  Better methods of presenting myself.  I decided more firmly on a niche I want to write in.  I decided to join Circle of Success—it gives you all of AWAI’s programs and free …um, well, prepaid… Bootcamps as well as a two year training program. It also gets you into special classes at Bootcamp.

  Mark Ford

Mark Ford, founder of AWAI and of the Palm Beach Letter and a host of other enterprises was there and spoke.  So did Clayton Makepeace—one of the highest paid copywriters ever.  At one point he made nearly $2M. in one month. (Financial copywriters get royalties on each letter sent out.)

 Clayton Makepeace and winners of his contest.

Friday we had a job fair.  I learned about some interesting companies and I need to follow up with them. In the evening, my roommate invited me to meet with other copywriters who belonged to a Facebook site: CopywriterCafe. We walked about a mile to another hotel.  Really one of the few times I left the hotel… even though it’s just across from the beach.  We chatted and then were entertained by a guitarist.  It was a culturally expanding evening for me.  I don’t usually see guys with make-up jumping on tables to play guitar. I presume he was very good.  Also very loud.  And I was tired.  So I left early.

 Kelvin on guitar

But then… a Ben and Jerry’s reached out and grabbed me.   Loved the hat of the Ben and Jerry server.  Had to be the owner.  Could you pay someone enough to wear that?

Here is a tender mercy.  Well, first the ice cream was delicious.  But I started talking with the lady in line in front of me.  She said she was scheduled to go on the van with me to the airport. (I’d put up a notice asking who wanted to share a ride.)  Then a friend of hers came in and joined us.  She also wanted a ride to PBI about the same time.  “Palm Beach???” gasped the first lady. “I need to go to Ft. Lauderdale!” 

Imagine what would have happened had she just shown up at 2pm and discovered we were going to the wrong airport.  So lady #2 took her place… and I guess she found another ride.  But I’m glad I stopped at Ben and Jerry’s.

Drayton Byrd came from Britain to speak.  As I was going through security at the airport, he was in front of me.  So we chatted as we walked to our gates.

One of the delightful things is that people are so friendly.  There’s no competition or snobbery.  Everyone is very willing to help you and talk to you.

The flights to Orange Country were uneventful.  I was a tired puppy, but I didn’t sleep much.  It was nice to see Cynthia, Jim and Mom at the airport.  When we got to Mom’s I had some delicious apple pie with ice cream and went to bed.

Today was a celebration of the reformation at Mom’s church complete with bagpiper to celebrate the Scottish heritage.  Then they had a Scottish lunch afterwards.  I have now tasted haggis. It is not as bad as people say it is.  Of course, I don’t really know if this was cooked in a sheep’s stomach.

More traveling. More good times.

The week started at Adam and Savannah's.  We had a nice Sunday walk and the kids played at a small park.  Portland is full of little neighborhood walking trails.  We took several walks during the week down narrow paths in and around the surrounding neighborhoods.

The housing areas are very picturesque with nicely manicured lawns.  We admired all the Halloween and fall decorations on the houses and lawns.  Also nature put on quite a display.  Gorgeous fall leaves!  The trees were on fire.  And I loved the little creeks and drainage areas everywhere with arched footbridges over them.

There were many little parks tucked in corners. Some just had swings, or a climbing toy.  Or a single rocking animal.  Others were more complete parks. We found a new one with a climbable snail and worm.  Lots of fun for the kids.

Savannah is very organized and her days had routine.  In the mornings, I often played pirate with the children.  Since Denali is very creative, I didn't have to think a lot.  Just smile and say, "What a great idea."  The children would go down for a nap after lunch and I'd get some work done.  Then after they woke up from naps we'd read books and magazines, then go on a walk, then get dinner ready.

Adam worked pretty long hours.  Some evenings he'd get home in time to put the kids to bed.  Sometimes not. He loves to play with them before bedtime.

Piper seemed to fit well with this schedule.  She is a good baby.  Eats well. Sleeps well. Isn't very fussy.  And is very cute. What more can you ask of a baby?

Well, one day when I was holding her she did give more than I asked.  Upchucked and wet me to the skin.  I think she didn't get burped enough.  But mostly she does not spit up at all. George just lucky!

On Tuesday and Thursday Savannah had doctor's appointments, so I watched Denali and Carter. One day we did art projects.  It was fun to see their creativity. Watercolors, rubber stamps, crayons, glitter glue, and plain glue for googly eyes and puff paper hearts.  Oh, did I mention they also decorated with stickers?

It was a fun time!

Friday, Adam drove me to the train station.  We boarded the train to the airport.  Part way there, Adam got off to continue to his classes. The train dumped me right at the airport. Easy-peasy.  Worked out well getting through security and the flights were uneventful.

Tom met me at Branson. We went to dinner. How good can a restaurant with a giant chicken in front be?  Actually pretty good.  Tom had a Harry and David coupon burning a hole in his pocket so we went shopping. I also wanted to find a blouse or two that looked more professional for the Job Fair on Friday at my Copywriting Bootcamp.

While it had not rained at all in Portland, it was drizzling in Branson.  It felt like winter.  But here, the leaves were only starting to turn.

Saturday we went out for a big breakfast.  Tom loves breakfasts, so we went back to the Giant Chicken and had their buffet. Tom attended the Auxiliary training at the Branson building from 10-12.  I sat in a classroom and worked on book revisions. They had lunch for the attendees. I don't think Tom ate. And I wasn't tempted. I was still full from breakfast. I had a chance to visit with Jane a bit.  I had helped her with her book-- actually did revisions on chapter 1 on the plane ride home.

We got back to Mountain Home about 2:45.  It was good to be home.  Unpacked.  Did laundry. Visited the chickens and said hi to the garden.  Moved data between computers and sent out work that I had completed on the plane.  Ahh. It was nice to sleep in my own bed!

Picked up Ernie for church.  He does love going. Sang in the choir as they performed today.  I think it went well.  Good speakers.  We had Bishops Youth Discussion here today.  Tom made a cake for it Saturday and I  frosted it and decorated it. It was to represent the Celestial Kingdom.  A cupcake for the Terresterial kingdom. and a single Oreo cookie for the Telestial kingdom.  Tom thought the lesson went well.

While I was gone, Tom started re-staining the deck and railings.  But the weather was not cooperative.