Some Things That Keep Us Busy

AUGUST 26, 2014

LUNCH AT GOLDEN CORRAL

Don is so appreciative of the Sister missionaries.  He invited us to lunch at Golden Corral, one of his favorite spots, the day before we did service for him.

 

Sister Stokes, Don Sampson, and Sister Pasa Vaili  

 One of our Albuquerque friends.

Don showed Elder Ellis things he would like to have done around his home. 

  

 AUGUST 27, 2014

 SERVICE AT DON'S HOME

 

Sister Pasa Vaili, Elder Ellis, and Sister Stokes pulling the few weeds that were there.  

"There are some trees coming up there that I can't get to." 

Elder Ellis squoze himself in between the shed and the wall, and the tree starts were gone. 

It didn't take much to make him happy. 

Don gave him the hat, and insisted he keep it when we were finished. 

Just a silly pose to end the service project and photos with - he's exhausted, and I'm pointing out more work for him to do.  Elder Ellis did work hard - he had to do all the digging.  That's what he gets for being the strong man on the job. A beautiful day in Albuquerque.

VISITORS TO OUR MISSION

We have been delighted with visits from family and friends who have come to stay for a few days, or who were just passing through. 

MARCH 29, 2014

A surprise visit from the Greenwell family!  Well - it was a surprise to Sister Ellis.  Elder Ellis knew all about their trip here.  I came home from Women's Conference meeting to find them in our apartment.  What a wonderful surprise!!  It was SO GOOD to see them, but even better to hug them - especially those granddaughters!  Parker is serving his mission in Kennewick, Washington, so it was the family without him.

Karly - busy on her phone, and Lexi - who always has fun, no matter what she's doing. 

It seems that we eat often! 

Lexi, who is almost 17, with her Baptism quilt from when she was eight years old.

Chef Richard - but today he burned something!  Unusual for him.  Guess cooking is different in Albuquerque!

Perfect weather for swimming, and the pool's just in the back of our apartment.  It's hard to tell if they came to visit us - or to swim. 

A swim before breakfast is a great way to start the day.

A trip to Old Town in Santa Fe, New Mexico 

Time to say goodbye.  It was so nice to have some family here.  We enjoyed their visit, and it took away some of the homesickness and the feelings of missing our family.  

* * * * *

THIS VISIT WAS A TOTAL SURPRISE!!!!!!!!

May 27, 2014

 

We had ordered our food at Fudrucker's and were sitting with Sister Yerkes.  Elder Yerkes was outside on the phone - for quite a few minutes.  She said he was talking to one of their children.  He finally came in a sat down in the booth with us.  Just a couple of minutes later, we looked up and there stood the Ellis family!  Elder Yerkes had been talking to Gary, telling him how to get to where we were.  They'd been in contact for several weeks, planning their visit here.  What a wonderful surprise!!  We had no idea they were in cahoots, we sure did enjoy the surprise!!

Arriving at our apartment.

What's better than having a roomful of people you love?

Time for a yummy breakfast.

 I had some really cute helpers for fixing dinner.

I think Dixon liked the hot rolls.  That's about how many he'd already eaten.  Fun to spoil him, since we won't see him for two years.  He leaves July 2nd for Mexico MTC for six weeks; then to serve in the Seattle, WA, Spanish-speaking Mission.

A little game before bed.

 

There's a pool in our backyard, and they loved it!

* * * * * 

MAY 31, 2014

We met George and Rosie Davis and some of their family at Cheddar's for dinner.  It was a short visit, but we were able to spend time with one of my favorite cousins.  They are from Arkansas. 

Elder Ellis and George always seem to hit it off really well - two characters!

August 19, 2014 - Lee and ____ Roberts stopped by on their way to Texas.  We went to dinner at Monroe's, a very busy Mexican restaurant.  (Imagine that!)

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September 27, 2014

My sweet cousin and her one-of-a-kind husband came to visit on their way to Las Vegas and took us to see "Wicked".  It was wonderful!!  Everything about it was just incredible, and we loved every second of it, not to mention being able to spend some time with them.  We sure do love these two!!

The show was at The Pope Joy Theater - sitting outside until time to go in. 

These two get along so well - like two peas in a pod! 

 

OK - enough is enough.

He's got to be up to something.  That's just George! 

Rosie is such a wonderful person, and loved by anyone who knows her.  Plus - she is incredibly talented.  She's always busy with something she's thought of.

This is the view from their hotel room - south and east of City Center. 

We ate lunch at Panera Bread on Paseo del Norte. (The GPS - nicknamed 'Sister Garmin' by the missionaries - pronounces the road 'Paseeoh del Nort'.  The correct way is like 'Pa-SAY-oh del Nortay'.  Those GPS people just aren't as smart as they're cracked up to be :).

Yup - that's George - always loving life, and helping everyone around him to join in.

George makes it fun no matter where he is!  

Oh - we hate to tell them goodbye!  They're off to Las Vegas, so we have to be thankful for the time we got to spend with them. 

A beautiful display in front of the theater.

You Would Love Them, Too!!

We go to the Beehive Home, a care center, every Wednesday from 11:30 to 12:00 and play a Bible story DVD and talk about it, or play a game.  Neither these people or the caregivers here know that some of our songs are Primary songs :).  Two of our favorites are 'Do As I'm Doing' and 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Elbows'.  We are quite limited on what they can do with the first song, but they try to do it along with us.  Wish you could be there when we do the second song.  They are so cute!!  We do it v-e-r-y  s-l-o-w-l-y, so they can do it, but the best part is the end - "eyes, ears, mouth, and nose".  Those darned parts of the head keep moving around!   We absolutely love the sweet people here, and love spending a little time with them. 

This is the gathering place of the BeeHive Home, right next to the dining room. 

Sister Stokes, from Plain City, Utah, and Sister Pasa Vaili, from California. 

This is John.  We're not sure just how old he is, but he is the cutest little man.  He has a little miniature Collie in his room with him who is deaf; her name is Sizzle, and they are great companions for each other.  He is our favorite when it comes to singing the songs.  He does his best to do everything we do.  Sweet man.  John passed away January 15, 2015, and we feel like we lost a dear friend. 

This is cute, cute Sylvia.  She is 98, and will be having her birthday in November, I think.  She gives a kiss in the air whenever we come or leave.  I look in these people's eyes and think, "When we're all in Heaven, they'll remember us when we see each other."  What a wonderful day that will be!  Just can't say how much we love them. 

Liselore Larson never says anything, although she sings along with us, and is always happy to see us.  She knows we feel the same about her. She passed away January 17, 2015.  They only held a visitation on Saturday, so we attended it because we had learned to love her.  Her family had some pictures of her through the years.  What a beautiful lady she was.

Sweet Mignon usually has a hard time staying awake, but she's bright-eyed and perky here.  She doesn't usually participate, but her heart does.   I think she passed away at the first of 2015.

This is Pearl.  She's always so sweet and friendly.  She hasn't been coming out the past month or two because of health problems, but she has a sweet granddaughter who comes every day and spends the day with her.  What a devoted granddaughter.  

Beverly usually doesn't like to participate in the songs, but she likes to see us come and enjoys what we do. 

I think this man's name is also John, but he has only been out with us a few times.  Sweet man. 

Oh, boy!  We wish you could all meet Francis.  She must have been a character all of her life; probably got in trouble in school for talking.  She is so much fun.  She'll start singing "Sing a Song of Sixpence", or some other song, or sings "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know" - all verses.  She loves to tell little funnies, like - "I had two and a half dozen children" - which means she had eight.  She has rhymes and jokes, and always sings along with us.  In fact, she's sung a solo once or twice.  We love this little lady.  I think she's 90. 

This is Charlotte.  She was probably such a sweet girl when she was young; she is always so polite, and always has a smile on her face.  She can usually answer our questions, and sometimes sings along with us.  She is a sweetheart.  She's getting ready for lunch here. 

Right after we finish, their lunch is served.  The food always looks yummy, and the whole facility is very clean.  They have such good care here.  We have met the man who owns these, and more in other states.  He is in the stake presidency in one of the other stakes here.  With us are Elders Engle and Sircable.  They're both waiting for their visas to go to Brazil.  Such sweet, outstanding, hard-working missionaries.  We are so blessed to get to be involved with the young Elders and Sisters. 

The Sister missionaries also go every Thursday from 1:30 to 3:00 and read the numbers for Bingo.  You'd be surprised how sharp these little people are at finding the numbers.  Sister Pasa Vaili is helping Claire, and Elder Ellis is in the background reading out the numbers loud and clear.