Wonderful News from Home...

Just as we got home from church today we got such wonderful news from Boise - our second daughter Julie and her husband Matt had their baby girl!  She is a week-and-a-half early and the birth was pretty fast.  Julie said, "She is so small" but I said, "no, she's just normal size, not 11 pounds like your last one."  Baby girl weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was born at 10:06 this morning.  What a blessing, and we were able to see Julie, Matt, and baby on Skype or FaceTime or something just a few hours later.  Congratulations to the beautiful Thueson family.


So that is our big news.  We also realized what a miracle our flat tire Monday morning was.  We had heard a few odd noises as we went to Moorefield, then beyond with a couple of our missionaries for a dinner appointment and other visit Sunday evening.  Evidently the tire had serious problems and could have gone flat while we were going 70 mph down the freeway or on an isolated country road with the freezing wind and snow swirling around.  So it was a miracle that it held together and didn't go flat until it was parked in front of our apartment.  We did have to get two new tires and have them all aligned or something, but we are grateful it was as easy as it was to fix.  (Easy for me,  I just watched from the warm apartment...

Tuesday we were hit by another snow storm.  Our zone meeting in Woodstock was cancelled, as were a couple of lessons we were going to go to with the Elders.  It has been so cold since that we have lots of ice and frozen snow, making it difficult to get in and out of steep driveways and we have to be careful where we go.  We did stay in enough that I was able to get my cross-stitch picture completed for the new baby,  I thought I was early...  Now I just need to add name, date, and weight.  One highlight of our week was a Mission Conference in Frederick, Maryland, with a visiting Church authority, Gifford Nielsen.  He used to be a quarterback for BYU, then for the Houston Oilers.  What a great motivational speaker and fun guy.  We enjoyed the meetings very much.  We took the four Petersburg missionaries with us, then made a couple visits on the way home. Took the sacrament to our friend Woneda Kenney in the Baker nursing home and also to Jane Halterman, out in the country.  As we were approaching Moorefield on our way home to Petersburg about 7 pm, Wayne asked the Elders if we could take them to dinner at the Ponderosa Steak House buffet - oh, were they excited about that.  What fun to watch four hungry 19 and 20 year olds attack a buffet.  They loved it and we loved watching them.

This morning was windy, snowy, and cold - not a very good turn-out at church.  But those who came went in with a smile because this snowman was there to greet them.  

We took some more pictures of our meetinghouse to use on the cover of our ward bulletin.  I'll try to add them here too.

In our studies this week we are supposed to be studying the Christlike Attribute of Patience.  "Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious.  It is the ability to do God's will and accept His timing.When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. President Monson said, 'Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature.  There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all.  Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.'"  Okay, this topic was just for me,  I'm working on it. You can tell I'm not doing too well, as I express my frustration at the weather and plans that don't work out as "I" expected.  I'm sure I'll get much more practice at working on this attribute.

Happy Birthday last week to Matt and Kaleb Thueson.  And next Friday to Sara.  Thanks to the Acors for the card you sent Dad and for the great little adhesive calendar for my van.  It was perfect.  Please remember Uncle Don Jensen in your prayers this week.  We love you all.