"I have long felt that happiness in marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley

A Sacred Experience

I was sealed to my Eternal Companion yesterday in the Seattle Temple. It was the kind of sacred experience you want to share with everyone you love. I truly wish everyone could feel the Spirit we all felt in that sealing room. It went beyond anything I have ever experienced. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel to my Heavenly Father.

Here are some of the people who brought the love... Jack and Sue Cousins, our dear friends and Home teachers.

Bob and Heather Call. Extra special, because Elder Call's "free time" is so limited and sweet Heather was recovering from Bronchitis

Becki and Chris Blackner. Our dear friends who are just so special to us. A big thank you for sharing your talents and surprising us with these pictures, sweet girl!

Tracie and Rick Hartman, our forever good friends!

Chris Blackner with our Bishop and dear friend, Don Scott (JoLynn was away at a soccer game for Kirsten)

Our Stake Pres. and his wife, Gary & Debbie Gessel. Our back door neighbor and dear friends.

Jim and Jane Dewey. President Dewey performed our sealing, (even though he was recovering from pneumonia.) He made it such a beautiful, personal, ceremony.

From left: Chris and Becki Blackner, Bob and Heather Call, Kathy and Ron, Debbie and Gary Gessel.

The only couple we didn't get a picture of was Gary and Denise Shaw. It was so sweet of everyone to drop what they were doing to come to the Temple on such short notice. Everyone has such busy lives, and Ron and I appreciate the love and support that was shown to us that day. It really was a day to remember.

Grandbaby #17!

Ben and Erin gave us our 17th grandbaby. Bringing our total to 13 boys and 4 girls. Blake Talbot Abrams. What a precious little guy. I love baby boys.

Fave Photos of the week

Our Call to Serve!

When we got home from our trip, this is what was waiting for us on our bed! It's our Mission call! We were able to skype with most of our kids and one of my sister's, and call with Shannon and Ron's mom while we opened it. We have been called to serve in the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission! We are thrilled to be able to serve the Lord and we look forward to sharing the Gospel with everyone in our new assignment! We have started a mission blog that will just talk about us preparing for the next 4 months and serving the following 18 months. The address for that is ourmissionispossible.blogspot.com. Join us on our journey!

We received our mission call...

But we aren't home to open it.

A Brief Intermission...

I'm jumping ahead to today while I've got a minute. We left Sonia's this morning and drove up the coast. First, we got lost at a detour in Palos Verdes, which turned out to be serendipitous because it was a beautiful place to be lost in! Look how pretty that is behind us. And right near there the road had "sluffed off"(the cause for the detour, Yikes!)

Then we drove up to Santa Barbara then to a cute little Swiss Town called Solvang, and had dinner at Pea Soup Andersens. Man, I look as tired as I feel!

There are vineyards all over the place. It was so pretty, we stopped to snap a quick picture.

We are headed up to San Simeon to Hearst Castle in the morning. Upon recommendation, we made a stop in a little town called Cambria...probably a good thing, because by the time we reached this town the highway was closed beyond here until tomorrow morning. We turned off the highway, with the fog rolling in off the Pacific Ocean and no moon, it was pretty dark as we drove down the windy road following the one sign that directed us to this town. No street lights, no houses, no cars in front of us or behind us...I see a Wes Craven movie in the making. Finally we see a little town up ahead! (Thank heavens) We'd kinda been joking that our situation sounded like something out of The Twilight Zone, or a Hitchcock movie, but at last we saw a place we could lay our weary heads for the night, and there is a vacancy!

I'll write more tomorrow. It's my turn in the shower. ******************************************************************** Next day... Let's take a little tour of our room, shall we? First, the toilet:

Everyone feels safer and more "sanitized" when there's a strip of paper across the toilet seat, right? I know I do. ****************** Next, the soap: Do they really think this is a deterrent?

How am I supposed to "steal" the little soaps and shampoo's when they bolt it to the wall?? ****************** Nothing says "you are the first person to ever touch this-never been used-half roll of toilet paper" because it has an envelope-flapped point.

...and....the Pia de resistance:

If this doesn't conjure up memories of Janet Leigh's Psycho shower scene, I don't know what would! Ha! It is RED marble in the shower...the only person who should be killed in this scenario is the decorator, for having insanely bad taste! Actually, I kid about this being a bad motel. Although this is what it felt like last night in the foggy darkness:

It really was quite clean and sweet:

And now, we are off for more adventures!