It has been hard lately, haven't found anything interesting enough to take a pic of.

But this was on Sunday night as I was driving to the church to pick up the Sisters. I was driving alone so it was kind of hard to get the pic when I wanted to, but it was sure pretty.

One of Dad's cars what got smooshed! Someone pulled out of a parking lot and hit the Elders.
New policy now in missions--you must see a doctor if you are in any kind of accident, bicycles included. They are both OK.


These are my little starts off the leaves that Erin mailed to me in a plastic bag! I love to grow things I guess. They are coming along nicely. Two different kinds. I have not ever seen the white ones. Don't know how they are going to look.

I got these two pics switched. This is Elder Mackie. I love him. He has called in more referrals than anyone in the mission. I think he must talk to everyone that he walks by, meets, or maybe even trips in passing. Anyway, the other day he was in the office and we were talking about Elder Clayson (picture below) and how he had lost so much weight. Elder Mackie said, "I cannot afford to gain weight, this face already looks old and more weight would only make it look older, and I do not want to attract some 35 year old woman!" Oh, we had a good laugh. He does have an older looking face, especially compared to some out here. He is a wonderful missionary.

This is Elder Clayson and I think I have told you how he reminds us of our own boys. If he leaves me a message on my phone, he always says, "this is your favorite missionary in the whole mission". Gosh, it would be hard to pick a favorite, but he is way up there on my list! The last time he was in the office he had lost 25 pounds and you could really tell and he looked so good. I have heard Elders say that he is up to 30 pounds now. His method: 2 Slim-Fast a day and two good snacks and one sensible meal. It is really working for him. He is so good. Doesn't even dip into my candy jar! He lives in American Fork.

We have new arrivals on Wednesday. Here we go again. There are 15 missionaries coming in. Then Thursday is transfers. Everyone is wondering and worrying or hoping! Some want a change, some are going home, some don't want to move again, oh, the emotions running around are evident. Tomorrow we will know a little more.

Finished my second little baby quilt. This one is for Grandma and Grandpa Stutz. Their youngest daughter and husband have been to China to pick up a 2 year old boy. They have four other children, one is a daughter they adopted from Taiwan. So after Sister Stutz saw the first green quilt, she asked if we could make one for thei new grandson. So we went shopping and she picked out the fabric and I made it. This one took a week. The first one took 2 days! Can't believe I did it in 2 days.

I like the back almost as well as the front!

Kind of looks like railroad tracks, doesn't it?

Well, it was fun and I hope he likes it.

How about one pic! Everyone knows that I have been addicted to BYU Ranch Dressing for years. I have actually made trips to Provo to buy it and have had different people pick it up for me when they are there. Well, being several hundred miles from Provo, it has been difficult to ask someone to pick some up for me! I came to Independence and I cannot tell you how many different ranch dressings I tried. It is really pitiful! So I just came to the conclusion that I had to find something else. And heeerrrrrrrreeeee it is!

It is really very good and seems to have taken the place of BYU Ranch. And I think I can find it anywhere. Try it, you'll like it!

Tried to do this on Sunday night but met up with my usual tech problems. It would not let me bring my pics in. So I don't even remember what these pics were, so here goes.

This is a pic as we were driving into KC on Saturday night. I don't know why the skyline always looks so different. I guess because you kind of drive in from the high side and there are no mountains around to look, so you just see the buildings against the skyline. It is always kind of cool looking.

This I took when we got into the car on Friday to go somewhere. As we left the temp read 112'. We started driving and it went down to 106'. Dang, it is hot here!

Don't even know where this pic came from. I think it is old. It is out in front of our apartment building. Another of those little rabbits.

The temp has cooled here a little. On Monday morning as we went out for our walk, it was actually a little cool. We thought maybe in the high 70's or low 80's. And that was at 6am. Now for the second day also a little cooler. And the humidity is down a little.

We had missionaries to dinner tonight. Dad ran dinner down to the Sisters at the VC and then the two Elders came to the apartment. Great kids! Elder Thomas from Kaysville and Elder Murie from LaVerkin. They are just soooo good.

Can you handle this! I am deciding that it is easier to do a little at a time. You know, just keep up!

OK. Did you get a good look at the above pic? Not much to look at is there? That is the parking lot at the mission office. Dad has sold all, yes, all of his cars. At one point there were 15 cars for sale in the parking lot. And now they are all gone. They have been going like hot cakes these last few weeks. And since the last one disappeared off the lot, there have been 5 people calling wanting to buy a car. One guy in Wichita just wanted a car right now. He didn't even have to see it! Well, the good news is that Dad has been told that we are getting 9 new cars and then today got a call telling us that we were getting a new van. There are 3 or more people who want to buy the van. Dad did not think he was going to be a 'used car salesman', but he is doing a good job at it!

This is Jenny Chamberlain. She walked into the office today looking for a Toyota dealer. Just happens that Dad and I were there yesterday and so I was doing a MapQuest for her because telling someone how to get anywhere in Missouri is nearly impossible.

She is an amazing person. She asked if we had any old Ensigns in the office. We found the October one that she was looking for and she opened it and showed us an article about her. She teaches early morning seminary, then goes to the local college and teaches sociology and then works with mostly migrant workers kids at night. She talks a mile a minute and is quite dramatic and it is fun to listen to her. We sat in the office and she told us her story of the Book of Mormon. The words just flowed. She lives in Texas, Donna is the name of her city, three miles from the border and sometimes sees no Anglos all day. She inspires these Mexican kids and coaches them in basketball, track, and something else. Many of them call her their second Mom. She loves them, has handed out 200 Books of Mormon. Had 25 baptisms. She has never married and left Utah because she felt like she had a work to do somewhere else. And she is doing it!

We left the office about 6pm. I had put a roast in the crockpot this AM, so when we got home I called the Bouys and then called the VC and found Jenny there and asked her to come to dinner. Sister Bouy brought some cukes and tomatoes for the salad and cooked some peas in a steam bag. Ever done that? They were good. We had some potatoes and a very enjoyable dinner with Jenny. She told us about her family. Unbelievable! She is oldest of 8, parents divorced when she was 17. Mom has been married 7 more times. Grandma married 9 times and has tried to start 4 different offshoots of the church. But the 8 kids took care of each other, helping with each others missions, college. Oh, I could go on and on. This is Sister Bouy and I with Jenny. She is 6 feet tall and six feet of goodness. She invited us to come and see her. And by the way, she doesn't think it is that hot here! Good people all over the church that you just feel like family. The Gospel is true and the greatest blessing in our lives.

It never fails. I thought I would sail right through this tonight. You know, my third night in a row! As soon as I get a little confidence and feel like I know what I am doing, I get shot down. Can you believe I loaded the pics three times! I have no idea where the first two went. And the third I messed up on. Oh well.

Last week I got an invitation to a shower for Andrea. I was planning to make something for her but I thot I had till September. So you know me, I went to the store on Friday night and bought fabric, then I was talking to Linda and told her what I was doing and she said she had a new idea for a baby quilt. Anyway, from the description on the phone, this is how it turned out. I don't know if it is really what she was telling me but I think it turned out cute. I started it on Saturday afternoon, worked the rest of the night and then after church on Sunday, the rest of Sunday until 1am. But yes, I got it done and in the mail on Monday.

This is a close up of the stitching. I had a cheater tape to help me make straight rows and even stitches. It is called Tiger Tape. Great stuff! And I just ordered it out of a catalog a couple months ago and it was sitting in the drawer waiting to be used. Sometimes I am inspired

On our drive home from the airport where we picked up four people, two of whom were the Johnsons, who had our jobs just before us, we drove past the Kansas City Temple site. (what a sentence, did you run out of breath just reading it?!) Just lots of earth moving and a big hole in the ground at this point. But we will update it and you can see how it is going while we are here. There are several of us who are already planning a trip out here in a couple of years to see it when it is finished. You know, it kind of becomes 'your temple'.

This is the Sisters in the van on the way home from ZC after being treated to ice cream by Elder Linde. There are really eight girls in there. Don't know how we lost a couple of them.

Trying to build my confidence, so will try again tomorrow. Bye

How do you like this little rabbit? He was right outside the office door when I got this pic. These little rabbits are all over. In people's yards, in fields, yes, and splatted on the street.

Last Sunday we were just kind of bored in the afternoon. It is too hot to go outside and do anything, so we got in the car and went for a drive. I think I have told you how up and down this area is. Just lots of hills. Quite surprising. We got on Truman Road and headed into Kansas City. This is the KC skyline.

This is Elder Morgan from Morgan. Another one of those sweet, kind of quiet, Elders. Another one to bring home!

This is the sign that Andrea sent me quite some time ago. I have had it hanging inside and this summer I put it outside our door on my cute little table. I love it!

We went to get into the car the other day and this is what we saw on the front of the car. You cannot tell how big it is in this pic, so go to the next and maybe you can get an idea.

That is the front driver's side window and the hood of the car. Can you picture the size of this bug? He was huge. A katydid I believe.

Another new week. Who knows what is in store? But All is Well.

Oh, how the time is flying by! I mean it. It is going quickly, but only because we are so busy and don't really have time to think about it. Has it really be three weeks since I was last here? Amazing. Partly because I haven't had time to do anything because I am rather tired at the end of the day. Tired and kind of mentally exhausted. You know how your heart just winds itself around some people---well, that is how it is with these missionaries. There are a lot that you would just like to put in your suitcase to take home.

This pic is taken from the car. I was waiting at the light just coming out of the grocery store as the sun was going down. I just whipped my camera out and got this pic. I really love clouds and the clouds out here are very different that in the West. Must be because of no mountains? I don't really know. But with the sun on it, it looks lovely. Fun part was that I looked at the weather report that night and they showed this pic. You would have thought it was my pic. Someone else beat me to it!

This is Sister Sasaki. She is a sweetie. She is from Hawaii and a convert at age 14. She has a beautiful voice. Makes your Dad cry every time he hears her sing. We love her.

Here is Elder Wilder with Dad and I on transfer day. He arrived the day before and was assigned to Olathe. We knew he was coming and were so excited to see him at the mission home last night. I actually gave him a hug! Kind of hard not to hug a kid you have known since he was a toddler!

This is a pic of Elder LeSuma and Elder Childs. LeSuma is an outstanding missionary and Elder Childs now has the distinction of being the tallest missionary in our mission. He is 6'9" up there!

LeSuma and Clayton and Allred and a few others are way up in the 6's, so he doesn't look quite so big unless you are standing next to him. Puts a crink in my neck to look up at him! He is from SLC. Went to Skyline and lives somewhere East of us. Already has shown what a wonderful missionary is.

This is Elder Childs with the Van Komen's. Yes, he looks quite tall here.

This is Elder Wilde and Elder Wilder. The missionaries are always putting their names together and hoping to be companions. Elder Wilder was with Elder Childs in the MTC, so they were known as Wild Child! We have Sisters Power and Love who were companions. The Power of Love.

All missionaries were out in their areas on the 22nd and you just hope and hope some more that all will be OK with the new companions. But it is never all OK. There are usually emergency transfers, ET's. On Monday, the 26th, Sister Lee received a call from Kathy Wilder. She told me she was not sounding very happy. So I went outside and called her. She told me that Brian, Elder Wilder, has emailed her and the President and said he wanted to come home. I talked to her and she told me a little about what was going on and we should have recognized a red flag right off. Elder Wilder had lost 12 pounds while he was in the MTC and he did not like the food. Well, that is so unusual, because there is such a variety of food and you can eat all you want. Most of us gain weight at the MTC! So something was not right. All forces possible were marshalled to see what we could do to help out in this situation. Monday night he had a Priesthood blessing. He came in on Tuesday to see the nurse and see if there was something medically that was wrong and how could we help. He was also not sleeping at night. I had a good talk with him and he wanted to serve his mission, but he could not eat or sleep. The AP's went to his place in the evening and gave him another blessing and had a good talkwith him. He got a mild medication to help him sleep and did sleep slightly longer that night. On Wednesday, they came to see a counselor and afterward Dad and I took he and his companion to lunch. He then went back to his apartment. A couple of hours later the AP's came to my desk and said that he was going home on Thursday. Salt Lake had said to get him home. He had lost almost 20 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks. That is not good. So he was honorably released for medical reasons. At this time none of us know what is wrong but our prayers are with he and his family. Dad and I were at Zone Conference in Topeka on the 29th and so we left there and got to Olathe and then took Elder Wilder to the airport. It was hard. But one thing we have learned here is that we get our hearts broken quite regularly. But everyone will mend and the work goes on.

This is Elder Lamprecht. He is another one that is easy to love and wraps himself around your heart. He called us about 8:30 on Friday night and asked if we could take him to Wichita the next day. Of coarse. You don't say, well, that is my P day or do you know how far away that is! We got him at 7:20am and headed to Wichita. You know, Kansas is a pretty flat, green, spread out state. Not a lot between here and there. It was an enjoyable ride though. He is going home a couple of weeks early so that he can start at BYU. We will miss him.

It is late and my bed seems to be calling. Oh, Dad and I are doing some new back exercises. Janae had told us about a book on how to live pain free and we are giving it a try. Every two hours we lay on the floor and do our exercises. I can feel things in my back that I did not know were there. Also shows how stiff we are. We are hoping for PAIN FREE!

Loves to all.