My Tree

Here’s “my” tree with its first “real” storm of the winter.

What we see when we look out our front windows.  This is a beautiful line of evergreen trees all dressed up for winter.

  

Some great ice cycles on the Fayette chapel and visitor’s center on the Peter Whitmer Farm.

4 Church Intersection

Here are some random shots I took as we explored the area while we had Christmas visitors.  So glad they came.

These two are of two of the steeples of Palmyra.  There are 4 churches on an intersection in downtown Palmyra.  They claim it is the only place in the United States where there are 4 churches of different denominations situated like this.  Someday soon I will get a good shot of all four steeples in the same picture.  But for now, here’s one pictures with 2 of the steeples and one picture of one alone.

Crooked Creek

Here is a clip of “Crooked Creek” on Christmas Day.  This brook runs just outside the Sacred Grove.  One has to walk a bridge over it to get inside the Grove.  In the summer they say there are frogs here, but on Christmas there were no sign of frogs on the ice. 

Sacred Grove Snow

On Christmas Eve, my brother and his wife flew here and spent one whole week with us.  It was a great week and helped us forget we were not with our children on Christmas.  On Christmas Day, we took a walk in the Sacred Grove.  It was cold and snowy, but it was so worth it to see the Grove all dressed up for Christmas in her coat of snow. 

Here’s Elder Poulson walking along a path some previous visitor made for us.  The snow wasn’t too deep but you can see just how deep it was in this picture.

Here you can see Larrie and Nell on the path of snow in the Sacred Grove.

Elder Poulson Vandalizes Church Property

Hello, Sorry it’s been almost a full month since we've updated our blog.  We have been busy but not taking too many pictures.  For our own purposes, we are posting some pictures from November 2012.

When our daughter and two little boys came for a visit, we had a marvelous time.  One night, however, was a bit frustrating.  Since the apartment next to ours was vacant, Amber and her sons slept in that apartment.  Her oldest son, unknowingly locked the apartment door when he slammed it shut on his way across the hall to our apartment.  Somehow the dead bolt spring flipped and the dead bolt locked shut. 

Our “key of all keys” that is supposed to fit every lock on Church property in the area doesn't fit that lock, sigh.  Elder Poulson tried everything even driving 30 minutes away to retrieve a key that was supposed to work.  It didn't.

So, last resort, pry the door open.  It took about 10 minutes and a large prying tool but he got it opened.  The result was that the boys and Amber could sleep in their own beds in their pjs AND the door needed a big repair.  Here you see the door clamped together and drying.

Here is Elder Poulson inspecting his work.  Notice our Christmas Tree behind him.  We set it up in the hallway between the apartments because we have no room for it inside our apartment.

Mission Christmas Confernece/Party

We have an Elder here in the New York, Rochester Mission that has been taught the Indian Hoop Dance by his father. He performed for us at our Mission Christmas Confernece/Party last week. Check out these videos. He began with only one hoop and progressed until he had 8 or 10 hoops.

FHE at the Smith Farm

On December 17th the missionaries hosted a Family Home Evening at the Smith Farm.  Three stakes were invited to participate and we had over 400 attend on the cold, wintry night.  First stop was the Welcome Center at the Smith Farm where groups of 10 to 20 people were formed and the sister missionaries, wearing Santa Hats, led them to the Smith Log Cabin.  At the cabin a senior missionary couple, dressed in 1800 period clothing, read "The Night Before Christmas" to each group.  Then it was on to the Smith Frame Home where another senior missionary couple, dressed in period clothing, read the nativity story from Luke 2.  Next, it was on to the thrashing barn where the young elders were waiting to show the children, and adults, some of the games children played in the 1800s.  Lastly, the groups were led back down the gravel road to the basement of the Welcome Center where hot chocolate and homemade cookies were waiting and several talented missionaries performed for the visitors.  Here are some pictures of people walking along the road between the stops.  They were all singing Christmas Carols as they walked and it was all very festive. 

Elder Poulson and I had the job of lighting the gravel lane between the Smith Log Home and the Smith Frame Home.  We had restrictions like, no generators and no electrical cords, etc.  Tough assignment, but we did it.  We used an airplane landing light, furnished by one of the senior couples, to light up the gravel lane between the homes.  The light runs on a car battery and so we parked our truck at the end of the lane with our headlights pointing into the threshing barn to provide light there.  Then Elder Poulson attached the landing light to a pole and tied it to our truck.  Like magic, both the barn and the lane were lit up.  We used another missionary's car to shine its lights on the pathway leading to the Welcome Center basement.  Mission accomplished.

Here's a picture of the barn all lit up with people learning the games. 

Here's a picture of Bill as he sat in the truck monitoring the lights, the truck and the safety of the visitors.