Winter in Palmyra New York

The Palmyra Temple in December. We took a walk today thru the grove. It was cold, slippery and not a leaf anywhere.

We went shopping on Pday and Paul ended up looking at hats. We said we would put them on the blog and have a vote as to which would be the best.

This is the home we are renting. It is beautiful and so cosy. We are enjoying it very much.

This was suppose to be on our Christmas cards but it didn't snow in time so enjoy it here.

Paul shoveling during the first real snow fall. We have a snow blower but he doesn't know how to use it yet.

Monday evening we went to the Bishop's Storehouse to help package nuts for the holidays. These are our friends, the Zsembery's, Sister Chapman and me.

We had our Ward Christmas party on Saturday night. Nice ham dinner and program. Tonight we are going to a fireside on indoor winter gardening by Pres. Jones. Have a great week and remember the reason for the season. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

News Alert

Kory and Katie have two new businesses you might want to check out. I highly recommend them.

The first is a digital scrapbooking business Katie and her sister, Leslie, do. They have beautiful kits so if you are into scrapbooking check out this site.

ggdigitaldesigns.com

Kory and Katie have just gone into the vinyl lettering business and also have a site you can check out.

adheringthoughts.com

Enjoy, you will love their work.

Happy Holidays, Christmas is around the corner!!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is behind us and we are well into December. But before we move on we have to say we had a wonderful trip home and visit with our children and grandchildren. They have all grown so much. Courtney and Kaylee will be turning 11 and 9 in just a few months and Riley turns a year on the 6th of December and Gage is right behind him in February. We are so proud of them all, they are doing beautifully.

We spent 24 hours a day with them all for a week and had a great time. The day we left SL it was snowing. We got back to Palmyra and it started snowing here also. So far it's been "fun" for Paul to shovel the snow. I'm waiting to see how long that lasts.

President Cederlof asked us to serve in the office on two shifts, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We will begin that tomorrow night. We ushered December in with a Church and community "Sounds of Christmas" at the Church. I sang in the choir and then Sunday I gave the RS lesson on Pres. Eyring's talk from April Conference "This Day". We then went back at 8 pm for the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional. With snow continuing to fall and Christmas music playing in the background, we are getting in the mood. We are off to the Bishop's Storehouse to help unload a semi of goods so will get back to you later, I hope.

2nd Week of November

Today we had the opportunity to pick up Cieanna (a 2 year old) and bring her to nursery. She is such a sweetheart. Her mother works at the Palmyra Inn and is a new convert to the Church. She had to work today so we picked up Cieanna for Primary. We are trying to pick up where the Crookstons left off with these wonderful people. We had Fast and Testimony meeting today because of Stake Conference last week.

Getting ready to start our walk through the Sacred Grove today.

After Church and choir practice today we took a walk through the Sacred Grove. It is getting cold. This is the new section they have built for groups to have testimony meetings in the grove.

Won't be long until there are no leaves at all. We are getting a really good view of the temple now.

After walking through the Grove we went over to the Hill Cumorah where we watched the "Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration" movie. We love it and we love him. What a remarkable man. Today in RS our lesson was on the Prophet Joseph. What an example of faith and courage.

We had to walk through Zion's Camp also even though it is empty. Such great memories we have of this wonderful place.

Paul leaving the temple. His favorite job is to haul out the trash at the end of the day so the temple president doesn't have to do it. Saturday we spent the morning, three sessions, in the baptistry. I believe we had about 50 youth come through. Luckily for us we had a volunteer in the laundry. They are the most wonderful people, so needed in a not too glamorous job.

We will be gone for two weeks so will not have a post next week. We are flying to Utah to pick up some winter clothes and take care of a few things that need to be done so we can stay another year. We get to spend Thanksgiving with our family. We are so blessed.

Have a great couple of weeks and know that we are so thankful for each of you and your influence for good on our lives. May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember He who gave us this beautiful world and the blessings of the gospel.

Palmyra Temple Winter Schedule Begins

Check out Katie and Kory's blog site. She and her sister, Leslie, have a wonderful digital scrap booking business going. You will love what they do. She also has some great pictures of my grandchildren. Katie has become quite the family photographer.

Paul and I will be serving on all of the Winter schedule shifts. Tuesday we go in at noon and help clean the temple and work in the office until 5 pm when the evening shift begins. Wednesday is P-Day and I have started to walk in the mornings with some of the sister site missionaries at 7 am. We now have a house to clean and a yard to take care of so that takes some of our time. Thursday morning we are at the temple by 7:30 am and serve until 1 and then come back for a 5 pm preparation meeting. Friday evening we are there around 4:30 until closing and Saturday 7:30 am till 5 pm. We get lots of variety in the ordinances. I believe we were followers on at least three sessions this week and Saturday I got to help in the baptistry all morning.

It was such fun walking through all these leaves in the sacred grove, so crunchy

The Hill Cumorah

We decided we needed to get over to the Sacred Grove before all the leaves were gone. We went on the tour with Elder Beal and met another missionary couple who were on their way to the Utica New York Mission to work in the office. I can tell you this is the most wonderful thing to do, serve a mission for the Lord. Our love for the gospel and our Savior has grown so very much and our love for each other continues to grow. We recommend this to you all. What a glorious way to spend your time.

We drove by Zion's Camp and they have locked the gates for the winter. Seems so strange. We got the trailer covered and winterized before the Crookstons left on Monday. The last of our group, the Hutchinsons, left on Wednesday. We have made some lasting friendships.

Empty Zion's Camp

The trailer winterized, the Harmons and Crookstons

Today was Stake Conference and Elder and Sister Marvin Jensen were the visiting authorities. Elder and Sister Jenson were mission presidents in the Rochester Mission in the early 90's so it was a wonderful homecoming for them.

In the Saturday night meeting he left us with this thought from President McKay. "that man is most truly great who is most Christlike. What you sincerely think in your heart about Christ will determine what you are and what your actions will be". He also told us that on the first Thursday of each month the Presidency, Quorum of Twelve and all the Seventies who are in SL attend a meeting in the temple. Pres. Hinckley never falls asleep. Pres. Hinckley's son said he asked Pres. Hinckley's, "Why don't you ever fall asleep" and he answered "I won't let myself fall asleep." What a remarkable Prophet we have. We are so very blessed.

Sister Jensen spoke about families and said we need to enhance our role in our families. We need to save some of the good stuff for our families. Say "I love you", express your feelings, rethink how we act and make family the most important part of your life, give them your best.

We feel very edified and ready for another week. We express our love and appreciation to our family who whole heartedly support us. We are grateful for so many friends who are also our family and are constantly expressing their great love for us. May God bless you for your goodness. Now go out and have a "perfect week". A quote from Pres. Jones, a member of our temple presidency. He always says, "let's have a perfect day in the temple."

Goodbye to our Temple Family

Zion's Camp has gone from 11 missionaries to four. Zion's Camp is looking pretty bare. We have moved into the Taylor's home and it is so very nice. We are very blessed. It has a garage, two bedrooms, family room, dining room and living room and a basement with a laundry room and family room. In a really nice neighborhood with lots of families with young children. We are ready for visitors.

Friday after our last Temple Shift we all joined the Temple Presidency in the waiting room for our final goodbyes. We had a kneeling family prayer given by President Siebach. The missionaries then gave each member of the presidency a 14" marble statue of the first vision done by D. J. Bawden. The original is located in the Welcome Center at the Smith Farm. We have forged such wonderful friendships, it was hard to say goodbye. We and the Harmons are the lucky ones, we get to stay.

Pres. & Sis. Cederlof, Pres. & Sis. Siebach, Pres. & Sis. Jones

It was a week of lasts, last time to be Wednesday night coordinators, last FHE, etc. For our last FHE the Presidency took us out to dinner at Bellims, an Italian restaurant. They told three wonderful stories about relationships.

A picture of the Sacred Grove. The colors are changing quickly and we may get a freeze tonight. We are so blessed to have a wonderful family and friends who support and love us. We love you all and especially our Heavenly Father. We are so grateful for His plan of happiness which will bring us back to live with Him. Have a great week.

Last Week of the Six Month Mission

You are probably wondering what happened to us. Just a little slow this week. We have been moving into our new home and Sunday we had the Crookstons and Hutchinson over for dinner. It was such fun to have room for company and actually cook a dinner for someone

The Sacred Grove from the temple, the back trees

A small orchard next to the Palmyra Inn

The Taylors' home we are moving into. The tree is on the neighbors property.

The Sacred Grove

The Hill Cumorah, at the top

I took a few pictures of the colors last week and they are beautiful. Yesterday it was 82 and today it is 57 and raining. A lot of the leaves are falling fast.

Saturday night the Palmyra Historical Society sponsored a Cemetery walk at the local cemetery. What fun. We walked around the cemetery being introduced to about 10 local people who lived in Palmyra. One was Winston Churchill's father and mother, several military men, Lucy Harris, wife of Martin Harris and many others.

Sunday I started practicing with the Ward and Stake Choir. We are getting ready for Stake Conference Nov. 4. It's fun to sing with the choirs.

Last night was our last FHE with the missionaries. The Temple Presidency took us all out to an Italian Restaurant and shared some wonderful stories about relationships and talked about the relationships we have forged here in this special place. We are all changed by our experience here and our testimonies have grown and are stronger.

It is such fun to read your comments. Keep them coming. We love you and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Extending for a Year!!

We are so excited. We get to stay at the Palmyra Temple for another year. We submitted our papers for another temple mission. When President Siebach heard that we had put in for another temple mission he asked if we would like to stay here. We said, yes, yes, yes. He then wrote a letter to Brother Arnold and the extension was granted. We will now get to experience a New York winter.

This has been a busy week at the temple. W e had some of our tour groups come in on Monday and Wednesday. In fact on Wednesday night, our night to coordinate, we had our first own endowment, a young man from the Palmyra Ward who is leaving on a mission to Lubbock TX and a tour group.

Today, Sunday, we spoke in the Oneonta Branch which is down by Cooperstown. President Siebach let us take Friday off and we headed down early to see some of the sights in that area of NY. First we drove up into the Adirondak Mts. to see the fall colors. Some of the other missionaries had taken a train ride up into the mountains during shutdown. It was raining but very beautiful anyway.

We went from the mountains over to Cooperstown where we stayed with President and Sister Bruneau. They moved here about five years ago from NH and started an apple orchard. They have planted over 9,000 trees and at the present have nine different varieties that are producing. He took us out and we picked a box full to bring back to the temple.

On Saturdays they go the Cooperstown market. Joan and her mother, Dorothy, made jams, applesauce, apple turnovers, apple twists, apple cinnamon rolls and everything else they can think of. They had a great day and sold most of their apples and baked goods.

After helping getting things set up we set out to the see the sights of Cooperstown, the baseball hall of fame. Of course we enjoyed it very much.

Paul with the "Babe"

We spent a whole afternoon in the museum and then on Saturday watched a little baseball at the Doubleday Field. We also went over and enjoyed the Fenimore Art Museum. That's the Fenimore Cooper Art museum, author of "The Last of the Mohican's. Here's Paul enjoying the art museum.

On our way home today we stopped off at Niniva, NY which is where Joseph and Emma were married, and then on down the street we stopped at the Josiah Stoal home where Joseph and Emma lived for a short time. We also drove by where Joseph Knight had his home. As we were driving by Waterloo we decided to stop at the Whitmer Farm again. Elder Taylor from Arizona took us on the tour. Sister Pinegar encouraged us to all revisit the sites before we left. Lucky us, we get to go lots more times.

It's turned off cool here so we have had to pull out our sweaters. We are expecting a great week.

October Week 2

Thursday we decided to stay around and start to get things ready to move out of Zion's Camp. We are washing down the trailer getting it ready for winter.

This is the Wildey Family. They are in the Palmyra Ward. They are on their way to the temple and Autumn gets to stay with me for the evening. She is such a sweetheart. They are expecting their second child, a boy, in November. Heather is 2nd Counselor in the RS. This is as close as I get to grandchildren. I offered to baby sit when I first got here and Heather is the only one who took me up on it. What a blessing it has been for us.

Saturday the temple was closed for General Conference. It was shown here at 12 noon, 4 pm and the Priesthood session was at 8 pm. We were invited to President and Sister Siebach's home on Saturday and enjoyed it with them and the Warrs, another missionary couple. That evening the Sisters had a girls night out during the Priesthood session and we all went to dinner at the Great Wall. (Chinese food) We decided we should have been having more of these outings.

Sunday morning we took a walk up the Hill Cumorah through the trees and came out on top by the corn field. We decided we had never walked the length of the Hill so off we started. When we reached the edge of the property we went down the back side and all the way back to Zion's Camp. It was wonderful morning. We then had to hurry and get ready for 12 o'clock session of conference which we watched at the Stake Center. For the afternoon session we drove out to Fayette, the Peter Whitmere Farm. In 1980 President Kimball broadcast the 1st satellite broadcast from here and dedicated the visitor center and the Whitmere home.

We are so blessed to belong to this marvelous Church, restored to the earth again. Our Heavenly Father loves us so very much that he sent His son to show us the way. How blessed we are to have living prophets on the earth today and it was wonderful to be taught by them this past weekend.

Tonight for FHE we had a special treat. Elder and Sister Ed Pinegar, who are site missionaries here in Palmyra taught us about the Book of Mormon. His background is that he was a dentist and taught seminary every morning for a number of years and then went to teaching Book of Mormon at BYU fultime. He also was President of the MTC. Just a few one liners we learned from him tonight.

The Book of Mormon will bless and save your soul

• David O. McKay said grow, self mastery, spiritual life


• All growth begins by remembering the tender mercies of God
  The scriptures are to be lived
• Read together with your spouse every night 5 pages, if so you can read it 3 times each year
• The spirit and the word are inseparable
• Faith--you hear the word; moves us to repent
• Prayer is the most vital link to God Laman and Lemuel murmured because they did not ask
• 1 Ne 15 :24 "it was the word of God and whoso would hearken unto the word of God and would hold fast unto it neither could temptations or the adversary overpower them" If you know this will you have scripture time?
• Faith is to accept and repentance is to live it
• Sacrifice your very souls; give your will over to God's will

We saw a doe and fawn on the way from from Fayette.

Have a great the get reading and praying.