Grandchildren are the BEST

Tyler (6) Josh (3) Gage (3 mos)
Had to send this picture of Kory and Katie's boys. They are growing up so quickly and having such fun with them.

Gage David Lewis

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Courtney (10) Brayden (3) Mallorie (5) Kaylee (8)

In Memory of a Dear Friend

John Joseph Hackett, our longtime friend, passed away on Friday, May 25th in Torrance, CA. In November John had moved to Torrance to be with his son, John and grandchildren, Ryan and Jennifer. We appreciate the care they gave him. John was born October 21, 1922 in Ohio, he was the oldest of three children. He served in the US Navy and spent some of that time boxing. He returned home where he married Hazel and had four children, John, Paul, Nancy and Evan. He became a teacher and taught High School and Jr. High PE, which he loved. He also loved tennis and was an avid player as long as his body would allow. His poems were readily given and received by many. He will be greatly missed.

Busy Week

Now that I look back this has been a busy week. We started off Monday with our FHE Group taking a trip on the Erie Canal. We went through lock #29, had dinner on the boat, and spent about 2 1/2 hrs. on the canal. The Canal was completed in 1825 and is 363 miles long and links the Atlantic seaboard and the Great Lakes.

Elder Lockwood, who is serving in Camarillo, is from Canandagua and we have met his parents and grandparents. His grandparents have two 1960 Chevy's and belong to a classic car group. We went to see them. Over 200 cars meet at Wegman's parking lot every Thursday evening. They had some nice looking corvets there.

Paul Crookstron & Paul Lewis

On P Day, Thursday, we went to the Sonnenberg Mansion. It stands for "sunny hill" in German. It was a home built in the 1887's by the Thompson family. He made his money in banking and they had five homes throughout the East. They had no children. She was from this area and gave a lot back to the community. They built this home on 50 acreas and it has five or six gardens, Italian garden, rock garden, rose garden, Roman garden and bath, Tea house and garden and the blue and white garden and old fashion garden. It was a little early for the gardens to be in full bloom but they had to have been beautiful in there day.

Carriage House Sonnenberg Mansion (Tonita & MJ) Stoddards, Crookstons, Jacobsons

Thursday evening the Gary andLinn Evans Family came through Palmyra. We met up with them at the Sacred Grove and took them over to see the Canal and Lock 60 and then went to dinner. Had a wonderful visit and they were having a great trip. They were headed off to NY in the morning.

Gary & Linn Evans Family from Camarillo 2nd Ward

Friday night we joined our Palmyra Ward in the temple on the 7:30 session. We can't figure out what else to do on Friday nights. Old habits are hard to break (been in the temple on Fridays since 1992). Saturday we were assigned to serve in the baptistry and we had two great youth groups. Saturday afternoon we went over to our friends the Amdsens and Paul climbed on a tracter to do what he likes best, mow some lawn. They have a huge lawn, they are the family with the lamas and goats and Dee is office manager at the temple.

This weekend they held a huge Young Adult Singles Conference at the Grove. You can't tell from the pictures but we had over 100 tents at Zion's Camp. They were all over the place. It's definitely the beginning of the summer. Lots of people around.

Today we went to Church with the Brittons. They are assigned to the Rochester 3rd Branch and were speaking in Church today so the Crookstons and us decided to lend moral support. What a great experience, they had about 50 people attend. We stopped on our way home at Lock 60. I have to include a picture of the Hill Cumorah. It is so beautiful and I'm still walking. Have a great week.

Paul, Crookstons, & Brittons

Week of May 14

This is Elder Decker, one of our temple missioanries, from Eagle, Idaho. He was a seminary and institute teacher and he and his wife are in charge of our FHE. He rides a unicycle every day and sometimes his bike up the Hill Cumorah. Elder Decker rides his unicycle and Elder Lewis rides Elder Decker's bicycle everyday to pick up the newspaper.

We are settling into a pattern here at the temple and things are getting busier and we are feeling more at ease in what we are doing. We have had a cold spell and it has been in the 60's. We need the heater on after being gone all day. People assure us by next week, Memorial Day, everything will be in bloom and gorgeous. That's not hard to believe, it's already pretty.

On Monday we had two of the Elders for dinner, or rather we took them to Newark to a Mexican restaurant. They called and needed help getting an investigator to his paycheck. This was going to be on Wednesday, which is the day we have a double shift and are evening coordinators. Paul said sure, we just need to be back by 4. We left the temple at 1:30 picked up the Elders and their investigator, who only speaks Spanish, one of the Elders speaks some Spanish. Off we go thinking we are headed for Sodus Point where the light house is. We get there but that is not the place so we head to another town further out. Four towns later we find the correct place, then we backtrack to pick up another paycheck from his cousin who then joins us on the trip back. We pull into the temple at 4:55 just in time for our Preparation Meeting.

Thursday we went to the Clarks to help put up a fence for their horses. The white wire is what
we helped put up.

. This is their home and is 107 years old
We have a small pond behind us and the gooslings have hatched and are out and about being watched carefully by their parents.

Saturday we worked a double shift in the temple subbing for someone in the afternoon. We worked in the baptistry and it was really fun to work with the youth from Hornell, NY. We then had Stake Conference and had a wonderful Saturday night meeting. Pres. Price, a counselor in the Rochester Mission, spoke and he had Paul beat. It took him 25 years to join the church. He has been a member 11 years now and talked about how he had been blind and then he could see. Paul was impressed because each 1st counselor spoke since the Mission President, the Temple President, and the Stake President were at another assignment. He thought about President Figueroa in the Camarillo, CA stake. Sunday's meeting was a telecast for the region from Salt Lake. Pres. Monson, Elder Eyring, Elder Robert Oaks and Sis. Tanner spoke. We belong to a most amazing church. We love you all and think often of the great influence you are on our lives. Have a great week.

Grandchildren are the Best

Here is my beautiful granddauaghter, Mallorie on the right, getting ready for her dance recital.

Mother's Day 2007

I am a very blessed Grandma, Thanks Kimberly, Gary, Kory, Katie, Kelly & Rob

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to you wonderful women that we know and love. We had a wonderful day and were remembered by many. We especially love our children and their spouses. What special people they are with many wonderful talents. We feel so blessed to be a part of their lives. Katie made a wonderful picture for me and I'll soon have it on my blog.

The Palmyra Ward treated us with candy and the RS had a special speaker, Sister Wendy Cederlof, Assistant Matron of the Temple. Some of her words of wisdom: Mothers, we do need help, ask, you cannot pester the Lord, motherhood is hard, we need to help and stand together. One mother said "I didn't know I had a temper until I had a two year old." Ask and accept help from another sister "I felt so valued and so loved by her service," let us draw close and be there for each other. Don't quit, the Lord is with us. Remember to love our children and let them know you love them. The RS Presidnecy then had a lovely brunch for us.

The husbands in our temple group made dinner for us this evening. We had BBQ ribs and chicken, dutchoven potatoes, baked beans, salads and sherbet. It was lovely and we didn't have to do a thing. What great husbands we have. We are blessed to be so cherished and loved.

It's getting busier at the temple. More groups are starting to come. Saturday Paul and I worked in the baptistry for the first time. It was fun and we were busy. One of our big challenges is the laundry even though we do not rent clothes we do have clothing for the baptistry and initiatories and the temple has two washers and two dryers. It takes time to get it all done.

Thursday morning we woke up to rain but by afternoon it was nice so we went over to see High Falls in Rochester. The Genesee River flows right through the city. By the early 1800's the river was supplying the power that made Rochester the flour capital of the world.

Saturday after our shift we went with the Crookstons, they are from Harriman, originally from Price, UT and former school teachers and principals, to the lilac festival in Rochester. It is a large park with over 500 varieties of lilacs and magnolias and other trees. We had a nice time walking and smelling and seeing beauty everywhere we turned.

Bananna tree at the conservatory, sorry I forgot to turn it.

We are so grateful to be serving the Lord in this beautiful spot. We feel His spirit in all we do and thank Him for this privilege to be of service. Love you all and happy birthday to my three brothers, Steve, Don and Ron. I am also grateful for my mother, Verletta and Paul's mom, Margery, what great women and examples of womanhood they have been for me.

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Sunday was a special day for us. Kory and Katie blessed little Gage David Lewis. They say he was a perfect angel through it and he certainly looks like one. He was born February 27, 2007. Kimberly and Kelly and their families and all of Katie's family were there for the occasion. It's wonderful to have good family support. We missed this special day but know our family is being blessed becasue of our service.

It was also Fast Sunday in Palmyra and Paul stood and bore his testimony saying that 18 years ago sitting in the same seats, the last pew on the left but a different chapel, he bore his first testimony as a member of the Church. He was also released from the Stake Presidency in Camarillo, CA. on Saturday evening. It was very hard for him, he loves everyone in the Stake so very much. Thank you for all your love to us both. It was a privilege and blessing to serve with each of you.

Sunday evening our little group at Zion's Camp got together for dinner and getting better acquainted. The Thrifts from Houston, TX put on the dinner for the 32 of us. What a great group we have. Monday night we had Family Home Evening at President Seibach's home with President Jones doing the program. He chose wheels as his theme. We sang "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel", he showed a small portion of a video his stake did when they took their youth on the Martin and Willey Handcart trek. He said we know of the two rescues, first when Brigham Young sent out the rescue mission from Salt Lake to help these pioneers cross the Sweet Water and bring them to Salt Lake, the second when the Riverton Wyoming Stake researched all the pioneers who were in those companies and did their temple work for them; and third, our goal is to get back into the presence of our Father in Heaven. No matter how hard we try we will never make it back into the presence of our Heavenly Father unless we are rescued and Heavenly Father sent a rescue and that is Jesus Christ He will pick it up when we can't go any further. The rescue we need in our lives comes from what only the Savior can do for us.

We then had a wonderful demonstration and instruction of pioneer spinning from the Catons who have lived here in Palmyra for 20 years. She took up spinning one week while her husband was away to Scout camp and now demonstrates in the elementary schools in the area.

We have a wonderful life, we recommend a mission to all of you. What a blessing.

First Week Working in Palmyra NY Temple

Monday was our last Monday off so we decided to see some more sites. We went to a place called Letchworth State Park. They have three waterfalls, Upper, Middle and Lower falls. We bypassed the lower because you have to hike in 4 miles but could drive right up to the other two. There is lots of water and it is really beautiful. We went with the Jacobsons who are from the Sacramento Temple. Right now the trees are just starting to turn and so we must go back in a month and see it again.

Tuesday the summer schedule for the temple began. The 13 couples who came for the six months now work on Mon, Tue, Wed, and Fri am and Wed pm. Each of us also have another shift assignment and ours is Saturday morning. The shift is 8-1. We also clean the temple on Tuesdays. It was a good week for us to get settled in. People are just getting use to our summer schedule and small family groups are starting to come in. In fact we had our first visitors from home on Friday. Bob and Sharon Lang from Westlake came with their five children and spouses to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. If any of you are coming be sure to let us know (805-377-8395) or look us up at the temple.

We have been assigned two home teaching families, young families in part-member homes. We went out and visited with them and look forward to getting to know them better. Paul volunteered to help in the nursery next week for Mother's Day. We are right on the Erie Canal and this is lock 27.

We found a Mexican restaurant that we really like and have been passing the address around to everyone here at Zion's camp. We continue to drive around the area. Thursday we drove up Sodas Point on Lake Ontario to see a lighthouse. Lots of apple orchards all the way up. The blossoms were just coming out so another place we need to go back to.